In Guild Wars 2, numerous questions from the community were answered. Where is the living world?
The developers of Guild Wars 2 held an “Ask me anything” (AMA), where they addressed numerous questions from the community. We have summarized the most exciting statements regarding the future of the game, additional content patches, and even the next expansion for you.
Regarding the schedule
Currently, 120 developers are working on the “live version” of the game, while 70 developers are completely focused on the mysterious 2nd expansion. A significantly smaller team of 30 people is trying to bridge the gap and is working on both projects simultaneously.
They emphasize that it is not as important for the developers to deliver something by a fixed deadline. Things are only released when they are truly satisfied with them, as quality is deemed significantly more important than a strict schedule.
The main content of the April update will be the improvement of the gaming experience. They want to remove a large part of the grind currently necessary from the game and improve the corresponding rewards.
The third raid wing is expected to open in May or June.
The map design in Heart of Thorns
The developers are less satisfied with the current design of the maps in the new regions of Heart of Thorns. The current maps tend to force players to primarily engage in group events. This results in only a few characters being able to “explore the world freely” – something they would have liked to achieve. In the future, players should not see the “hour-long Zerg” as the only method to make progress.
Therefore, they want to improve rewards in other activities to support different playstyles. In general, the HOT expansion has shifted the focus strongly towards organized play, leaving the “casual” experience somewhat behind.
Where is the living world?
The “living world” has always been very popular in Guild Wars 2, meaning a continuous story released in several chapters. This will continue to exist in Heart of Thorns, but it won’t be until the quarterly update in July that players can expect it. To participate in the new season, one must own the current expansion. Additionally, players can expect “changes in the world,” which will permanently adjust certain areas to correspond with the new events.
Regarding the significant changes to WvW battles, while they do provide some answers, the statements remain relatively open and unspecific.
These are just a few highlights from the extensive AMA session. You can find a complete list of all answered questions in English in our sources.
For more news and articles about the game, you can find them on our Guild Wars 2 topic page.
