Guild Wars 2 released the new expansion End of Dragons in February 2022. After that, the focus was on reviving old content. But that has now come to an end. With “In Deepest Depths”, the MMORPG receives a new area, new story content, and numerous new rewards.
What kind of patch is this? In Deepest Depths is the first major update that corresponds to the new release rhythm of Guild Wars 2. It continues the story of End of Dragons and is free for every owner of the expansion. It brings:
- The new area Gyala Sink
- New story revolving around a dark threat discovered during mining in the jade quarry
- The new meta event “The Jade Crisis”
- Numerous achievements that you can complete
- A new Luxon weapon set that you can earn completely
- Additional rewards, including a holographic cloak and a Grinning Tahkayun mask
However, the update skips instanced content like a fractal or a strike mission, which is a shame. After the last announcement, it sounded like instances would be a bigger factor again and would appear more often.
When will the patch be released? It has already been released. You can watch the trailer here:
Mysterious Diseases and References to Guild Wars 1
What can I expect in the update? The new story sends you to the area Gyala Sink, which is roughly located where the Gyala Hatchery with siege turtles was in the predecessor. A major difference, however, is that jade mining in quarries has become a lucrative business.
However, a mysterious disease is spreading in these quarries. Apparently, a mysterious threat was unleashed during the work. Some workers have completely disappeared.
The setting of the area is exciting. While everything initially looks quite harmless, you will later explore dark depths. Along the way, you will also encounter special creatures from the predecessor Guild Wars 1. You will unlock the map piece by piece during a meta event, similar to the Dragon’s Stand in Heart of Thorns. However, you will need some teammates for that as well.
The story will occupy you for about 90 minutes, as usual, and is now listed directly under “End of Dragons” in the story journal. After that, you can still spend several hours completing achievements, participating in the grand meta event, and farming the new rewards.
Rewards include, among others, a holographic cloak that billows in motion, a throne that can be summoned anywhere as a chair, and a new weapon set, of which we have included examples such as axe, greatsword, and bow:
First New Content Since February 2022
What happened in the last 12 months? Guild Wars 2 regularly released new updates. The main focus was, however, on the return of Living World Season 1. The contents and story instances at that time were designed to completely disappear from the game after a few weeks because something completely different happened in the same location. The game world was indeed alive.
However, this created a huge gap in the story, which was particularly problematic for newcomers and returnees. In 2022, this gap was closed by several updates. The old content was also supplemented with new achievements and rewards. A highlight is, for example, the return to the old Lion’s Arch.
In addition, regular events such as Halloween, Christmas, or the Festival of the Four Winds were held again. In August, the release on Steam finally took place, bringing new achievements for newcomers as well.
These updates were all important but did not bring any real new content for veterans. They had to wait until today, February 28.
What do you think about the new update? Are you satisfied or rather disappointed by the scope?
