‘Guild Wars 2’ will bring back older content as next expansion is in the works

ArenaNet has announced that Guild Wars 2 will see the return of Season One, and has also teased the next expansion.

February saw the release of the Guild Wars 2 expansion End of Dragons, and now ArenaNet has written a lengthy blog post talking about some of its plans for the game in 2022 and beyond.

The biggest change and update planned for Guild Wars 2 is the reintroduction of Living World Season One. One of the most common pieces of feedback ArenaNet receives about the game is that the Elder Dragon storyline is hard to get into without the context of the first season. Now, “much of Living World Season 1 (“Scarlet’s War”) will be making a permanent return to Guild Wars 2 through the Story Journal.”

ArenaNet will be “combining the key story moments and experiences of Living World Season 1 into five episodes that will be released throughout 2022. Our goal is to provide a cohesive bridge between the personal story and Living World Season 2 and give players the opportunity to earn many of the legacy achievements and rewards that have been unavailable all these years.”

The first episode, Flame and Frost, will be coming to Guild Wars 2 on April 19, and the season will conclude with the return of Battle for Lion’s Arch, which includes a new strike mission and challenge mode.

Aside from the fact that old content would be returning to Guild Wars 2, the biggest piece of news is the tease of a fourth expansion for the game. The post notes that this is a very early confirmation, and to not expect news anytime soon.

ArenaNet also plans to keep working on the most recent expansion, End of Dragons, by “addressing content balance issues, exploits, and bug fixes.” Guild Wars 2 will see a variety of balance changes on its combat system, which includes the latest elite specialisations that came with the most recent expansion. The next story update for the game is also in the works, bringing in a new map set in the Cantha region.

A Spring 2022 roadmap was also outlined:

• March 15 — End of Dragons Polish Build
• March 29 — Super Adventure Festival, End of Dragons Polish Build
• April 19 — Living World Season 1 Episode 1, Aetherblade Hideout Challenge Mode
• May 10 — Xunlai Jade Junkyard Challenge Mode
• May 24 — Living World Season 1 Episode 2, Kaineng Overlook Challenge Mode, New Legendary Weapon Variant
• June 7 — Dragon Bash Festival, Harvest Temple Challenge Mode
• June 28 — Balance Update, New Legendary Weapon Variant

The post briefly also touched on the planned Steam release of Guild Wars 2, but because AreaNet wants to do it right, it is not ready to “commit to a hard date for Steam quite yet,” but still intends to do so this year.

In other news, Xbox is giving away a pair of furry Sonic the Hedgehog controllers.