For Guild Wars 2 fans, 2018 was a rollercoaster ride of little major content but many smaller features. However, 2019 will start with a large update, bringing hopes for more content.
What can we expect in January 2019? On January 8, the new episode of the Living World will be released. In “All or Nothing”, players prepare for the fight against the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik.
The update will also introduce the following new features:
- The map Thunderhead Peaks
- The fractal Siren’s Reef
- A completely new weapon set
- The legendary longbow Pharus
- New attribute combinations
- New miniatures and more small details
The trailer also promises some exciting story content. We will meet the dwarf Ogden Stonehealer, and perhaps we’ll even take a short detour into the cave of the dragon lady Glint.
There is also something for fans of instanced group content. In addition to the new fractal, new instabilities will await players. These cause special effects in the instances, such as damage to teammates if standing too close or reduced endurance regeneration. This makes the instances more challenging.
The new Living World Season 5
With the episode “All or Nothing”, the Living World Season 4 could come to an end. The title is comparable to “Triumph or Death”, the finale of the personal story in Guild Wars 2. The developers have already informed us that Season 5 will follow, not an expansion.
What do we know about Living World Season 5? The new season is supposed to continue the story from the past. Additionally, Game Director Mike Zadorojny promised in an interview with PCGames that older player questions will also be answered in this season.
Moreover, it has been assured that special content that might be withheld for an expansion will also come with Living World 5. Major innovations such as the mounts from Path of Fire might already find their way to Tyria in 2019.
The patch rhythm: In 2018, ArenaNet fell a bit out of the usual patch rhythm. Initially, one episode was planned every two to three months. This year, there were two delays.
For 2019, this rhythm could be adhered to again. In recent months, there has been a feeling that the teams have now settled in. For example, a fractal appeared in every second update, while a new raid appeared in the other updates.
Moreover, a new system team has been formed to comprehensively take care of rewards and smaller features. They were also involved in the fact that five major balance updates made their way into the game in 2018.
Will there also be many small changes in 2019? In addition to balance changes, the systems team has also worked on improvements to old systems or even completely new ones. These include, among others:
- Revisions of runes and sigils
- Roller Beetle races
- New PvP arenas
- New weapons
- Revision of gathering tools
- Sitting in Guild Wars 2
We can assume that the team will continue to work this way in 2019. A major wish feature of many players is saving skills and equipment. Perhaps this wish will be fulfilled in the coming year.
A festival every two months
This year, ArenaNet brought back the Festival of Four Winds. They not only made players happy but also filled the festival calendar. So we can look forward to five recurring events in 2019:
- The Lunar New Year at the end of January
- The Super Adventure Box on March 31
- The Festival of Four Winds at the end of July
- Halloween in October
- Christmas in December
Perhaps ArenaNet will even pull an event out of the hat in May or June. In 2013, the Dragon’s Brawl was celebrated there. It celebrated the victory over an Elder Dragon. If in the new episode in January the dragon Kralkatorrik is truly going to be taken down, this event could also return in 2019.
