In May 2019, Living World Season 4 ended, and since then, Guild Wars 2 fans have been left hanging. However, a major announcement is planned for the end of August regarding the future of the MMORPG.
What announcement is it about? On August 30, at 6:00 PM German time, an event will take place at the Moore Theatre, where the developers want to discuss the upcoming Season 5 of the Living World.
For the immediate future, no further expansion is planned, but regular content updates are to continue. New is that features that are typically reserved for an expansion will also come with the Living World.
New Elite Specializations and Masteries
What are features of an expansion? Since the announcement of Living World Season 5 by Game Director Mike Zadorojny, players have speculated about what could count as features for an expansion.
So far, both expansions, Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire, have had in common that they brought new class expansions:
- These include elite specializations that provided the class with a new direction of play.
- On the other hand, the masteries, which changed the movement of the characters through gliding, jumping mushrooms, or mounts.
Additionally, both expansions brought new areas, new stories, and new cosmetic content. These aspects are already being constantly expanded through the Living World.
The same goes for new raids and fractals, as well as small “quality of life” changes. These are not exclusively tied to an expansion, but also find their way into the game outside of that.
What’s in Living World Season 5?
What content is very likely? In addition to the typical content consisting of new areas and new storylines, we can therefore very likely expect new elite specializations and a new mastery in the coming months.
The mastery will likely consist of new mounts. Even the later introduced mounts like roll beetles or sky scales were well received by players. Only the WvW mount stood out negatively.
Furthermore, ArenaNet has already announced some things that are to come to the game in the future. These include:
- Build Templates
- Cooking to 500
- Jewelry to 500
- The overhaul of WvW
- The overhaul of the PvP tournament system
In addition, new raids and fractals, preferably with a challenge mode, could find their way into the game.
How many of these changes will actually be announced on August 30 remains unknown. However, ArenaNet should at least have a few innovations up their sleeve, as some players have recently expressed discontent.
Guild Wars 2 Needs Fresh Air
What is happening in Guild Wars 2? Currently, many veterans are not entirely happy with the development of the MMORPG.
Although many festivals have returned, often bonus events are taking place, and even innovations like the legendary runes and sigils have come to the game, many feel the current release rhythm is too slow.
Thus, the intervals between episodes of the Living World have become increasingly larger throughout Season 4. The gap between new raids is also growing, and the two newest wings were simply too easy for many hardcore players.
The two competitive game modes PvP and WvW have not seen a major update in years. In world vs. world, people are already waiting 18 months for the much-anticipated alliance update. However, there has been no news on that in recent months.
Players now hope that the announcement on August 30 will also tell something beyond new areas and the story.
Players Want New Races and a New Continent
What do players wish for the future? Looking around in the forums and on reddit, players often express their wishes for Living World Season 5.
At the top of the list are new playable races and a visit to the continent of Cantha, which is already known from Guild Wars 1.
While Cantha could be chosen as a destination for new areas, new playable races are rather unlikely. The effort would be enormous, as skins and lore for a new race would need to be adapted.
However, players’ greatest hope is that everything will simply come more regularly. Whether updates for PvE or PvP, for balance, or completely new raids and fractals.
That Guild Wars 2 does many things right is also shown by the map from May. It is still enjoyed:
