GUILD WARS 2: JANTHIR WILDS Releases This August
ArenaNet and NCSOFT today officially announced Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds releasing on August 20, 2024. Janthir Wilds is the fifth expansion for my favorite MMORPG, Guild Wars 2, and will bring a new story and plenty of new features for gamers to enjoy. As with Secrets of the Obscure, Janthir Wilds will cost $24.99 and will receive three major updates released quarterly. There’s quite a bit to go over, so let’s get to the fun stuff.
On launch, Guild Wars 2 players will get to experience two new maps, Lowland Shore and Janthir Syntri. These maps include deltas and islands that the Lowland Kodan call home as well as “dangerous rocky shores, wandering titans, and mystic storms.”
Titans are a new thing for Janthir Wilds and the most we get about them is that they are mysterious magical entities that can channel energy from the land. I imagine that they’ll play a part in the story, meta events, possibly any new fractals, and possibly in the new raid.
That’s right, it’s been five years but Guild Wars 2 players are getting a new raid and Challenge Mode! The Challenge Mode will come in one of the quarterly updates, but a new raid is still very exciting. I still need to get into raids, but I know people have been vying for a new one for a long time.
Another aspect that Janthir Wilds is looking to copy from Secrets of the Obscure is the easier obtainment of a mount. In Secrets of the Obscure, the team made it a bit easier to obtain the coveted skyscale and in Janthir Wilds players will be able to unlock the World-vs-World exclusive warclaw.
I have thoughts on this. First, I think it’s great that players will be able to get the warclaw without entering WvW. WvW is not for everyone and I don’t think a mount should be locked behind it. That said, I didn’t like how much of Secrets of the Obscure was centered on the skyscale for traversal and meta events and I hope that the warclaw is not so central to Janthir Wilds.
Why? Because quite frankly, the warclaw sucks. It’s slow and just underwhelming in abilities. Every PvE mount is superior in just about every way. That said, it sounds like the warclaw is getting a revamp as it’s meant to help explore the mountains and river valleys we’ll experience using its double-jump traversal ability. Hopefully, Janthir Wilds will help me come to love the warclaw a bit more.
But wait, there’s more. Remember that tease about the spear coming to land? Well we have the facts about it. It is not just a staff skin. It is not the ability to bring aquatic weapons to land fights.
It’s the first ever brand new weapon type added to Guild Wars 2. What’s more is that the two-handed spear is the first two-handed weapon (and second weapon ever) to be available to all nine professions! Some will use it ranged while others will use it in melee.
Of course, with a new weapon means a new legendary spear will have to be launched and earned by players. It should be noted that your current spears will work in the terrestrial weapon slot, but the same spear cannot occupy both the terrestrial and the aquatic slots. A beta for spear gameplay will run from June 27-30 for any interested.
In addition, a new legendary backpack, and new armor and new weapon sets will also be released. The legendary gear and new sets will be released in future content releases. The third map for Janthir Wilds will also be released in future releases.
There’s one more big feature that was announced for Janthir Wilds and I know many people will be hyped for it: Homesteads. That’s right, Guild Wars 2 is getting a housing system.
We do not know very much about it, but it’s described as “the most player-friendly housing system in an MMORPG. With a brand new customization and decorating interface, heroes can create and adorn their very own housing space for their friends and guild mates.”
Based on the official news post they will even connect to home instances in some way. The below images are ones that I suspect are of Homesteads, but I have no confirmation at this time.
Talking about Janthir Wilds, Game Director Josh Davis said:
From the beginning we wanted to bring together many of the items that have been on both our and the community’s wishlist for years. Janthir Wilds is proof of our commitment to continue to surprise and delight while improving the Guild Wars 2 gameplay experience in unexpected ways, and to support game modes for both the cooperative and competitive communities.
Before we close out with two more pieces of news related to the release, I want to take a look at where it looks like Janthir Wilds will take place.
I’ve shared the section of the Tyria map where it sounds like Janthir Wilds will take place. The circle city towards the south is Divinity’s Reach and I think we’re looking at the area just north/northeast as Lowland Shores and a bit more into the water is Janthir Syntri.
I think the bit masses of brown and green will be the final map.
One piece of news that I was not expecting at all was the announcement that this summer, Guild Wars 2 and all of its content will be released on the Epic Game Store.
This will create a window for even more gamers to enjoy this game which honestly has me excited. I do expect that it will be like Steam where you will not be able to move your existing account to the Epic launcher version, but no official details have been released about that.
Finally, Janthir Wilds is now officially available for pre-purchase through the official website for $24.99. The base version comes with a Serpent’s Wrath weapon set, the Whispering Serpent Pauldrons shoulder armor, the Homesteader title, a shared inventory slot, and a level 80 character boost.
Meanwhile, the $49.99 Deluxe Edition adds the Wayfinder’s Versatile Table (I’m assuming for your Homestead), a set of Eldritch Gathering Tools (a new set of tools I guess?), an additional character slot, and an Identity Repair Kit. Finally, the $74.99 Ultimate Edition of Janthir Wilds adds 4,000 Gems (the premium currency bought with real money or converted from gold).