Episode 4 of the Living Story of Guild Wars 2 escalates the conflict in Kryta. While the capital Divinity’s Reach is under attack, the followers of the White Mantle have devastated the surrounding area. Together with the developers, we took a look at the new content.
“The Head of the Snake” in Episode 4 (Season 3) of Guild Wars 2 is none other than the cult of the White Mantle. These villains were already your arch-enemies in the first Guild Wars, and now they are back in Guild Wars 2. After the cult’s machinations have increasingly come to the fore in the previous episodes, the conflict finally escalates in Episode 4.
Guild Wars 2 – Death to the Mantle Bearers
In a hands-on session with ArenaNet, we were able to experience the key features of the new episode in detail. After you received the mission from Queen Jennah in Divinity’s Reach to stop the White Mantle, you immediately head to the outskirts of the city. The formerly quaint Kryta is hardly recognizable.
The cultists have laid everything to waste and set up their artillery positions everywhere. They are impressively bombarding the capital, which has quite an impressive shield. This shield still withstands the fire of the fanatics, but if you don’t quickly reduce the bombardment, the queen is in serious trouble.
Conceal and Deceive
However, even if you can provide temporary relief, in the end, the head of the snake must come down. To do this, you infiltrate a stronghold of the White Mantle, for example, by dressing in costumes and disguising yourselves as Mantle Knights. The deception is not perfect, so you must be careful not to be uncovered.
As a saboteur, you poison supplies, damage equipment, and create all sorts of havoc in the enemy camp. Later, you end up in remote areas of Kryta, where you encounter a quirky hermit who is preparing for the apocalypse and has built a small fortress in the wilderness. How fortunate that an army of Mantle Bearers is right behind you and you could really use the fortress.
However, since the owner hates centaurs, you must deal with the aggressive horse people in exchange for help. They trample everything down at regular intervals and have set up entire gauntlets with hidden archers. Without a good plan, you’re sure to go down here!
Reclaim Kryta!
Another cool feature of the new episode is the (re)conquest of various villages in the outskirts. If no one does anything about it, the White Mantle occupies these settlements. If you help the loyal Seraph Guard of the queen, you can boost their morale and start a reconquest. This is followed by several tough fights including a boss fight, and in the end, you receive rewards, and the settlement is back in the hands of the royal troops.
But that’s not the end of it. Every 40 minutes, the cultists attack some city again, and you have to defend it. There are also great rewards for this, and the more successful you are, the better your morale buff, which makes further battles easier. The White Mantle also has its own morale value. You lower it, among other things, by throwing rotten fish at them, soiling their cloaks, and thus demoralizing them.
Jürgen says: With Episode 4, ArenaNet continues the already fantastic third season of the Living Story. Especially the large battles over the villages and the overall state of war in Kryta provide a great atmosphere and really make you want to beat the wretched White Mantle. I’m curious how the conflict will end and what surprises the third season of Guild Wars 2 still holds.
Relevant to the topic: Guild Wars 2 – Fan film about the first season of the story
