A teaser for the upcoming Fractal has been released on YouTube for Guild Wars 2. In the “Sunqua Peak”, players will return to Cantha, and there will also be an additional Hardmode. This makes many players happy.
What does the teaser show? The nearly one-minute long video showcases various locations and bosses from the new Fractal. Fractals are 5-player instances available in various difficulty and reward levels.
In the Sunqua Peak, players travel to an area influenced by the Cantha region from Guild Wars 1. This is already recognizable by the Asian-inspired temples and the many cherry blossoms.
Enemies include an Assassin, an Air Elemental, and a Fire Prowler – the burning cat seen in the video.
New instance is well received by players
What makes the instance so special? The new Fractal Sunqua Peak has several aspects that are well received by commentators on YouTube and Reddit:
- It is the first instanced content to be released in almost 1.5 years. The last was the Raid “Key of Ahdashim” which came out in June 2019.
- The setting takes place in Cantha, the second continent of Guild Wars 1. This continent is very popular and will also include the new expansion “End of Dragons” that is set to release in 2021.
- The boss fights look interesting, and the Assassin somewhat resembles Shiro, the final boss in Cantha.
- There is a Hardmode that can make the Fractal optionally more challenging, which players have wished for a long time.
- There is a jumping puzzle that many players love, which even a character in the trailer fails to master at second 20.
- Players have already discovered new Fractal weapons in the trailer. So rewards are guaranteed.
- There is again voice acting after voice recordings were not possible for a long time due to Corona.
However, there is also criticism that the area does not strongly resemble Cantha as some players would have hoped. The contents from the “original” Sunqua Valley are barely recognizable.
When will the Fractal be released? The new instance will be released next Tuesday, September 15th.
As the Icebrood Saga is currently in a summer break, the developers are regularly introducing minor updates. Besides the Fractal, just at the end of August the new version of the mount Skimmer that now also works underwater was released.
