Preview: GUILD WARS 2: SECRETS OF THE OBSCURE is a Real Treat!
On August 22, the team at ArenaNet will be launching Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure. This will be the fourth expansion for the hit MMORPG and the first under the new release model featuring quarterly updates. Earlier this month I was privileged to join in a hands-on preview and I think fans are going to love it.
The event featured very little information regarding the story that fans will unravel in SotO, but what little we did get to experience was fun. Let’s not dare venture into spoiler territory though. Instead, let’s discuss some of the new game features, starting with the Skyscale. Now, the official site recently had a whole post about changes coming to the Skyscale including a new attack, the ability to use updrafts and leylines, and more. I recently unlocked the Skyscale on my personal game account and these changes are incredible! They fix most of the problems I’ve had with the Skyscale, some of them I hadn’t even realized having.
First, the Fireball attack is a very welcome addition as it lets you do a whole lot more than you realize. Part of me does wish that it utilized the green targeting circles instead of a small reticle, but I’m sure there are others who feel the opposite. Second, the ability to mount your Skyscale in combat is absolutely incredible. You’ll be able to use this in a strategic way to find new means to tackle enemies or as a way to simply run away! Finally, it’s so nice to be able to use updrafts and ley lines is indispensable. During the final stage of the Dragon’s Stand meta fighting the Mouth of Mordremoth and during the fight against the Wyvern Patriarch in Verdant Brink are two moments that immediately come to mind. Needless to say, you’ll definitely want to take some time to really learn the Skyscale and thankfully, they’re making it easier than ever to get both in terms of unlocking the mount and in terms of rental while in the SotO maps.
Another big addition to Guild Wars 2 with SotO are Rifts. Once again, the team has written about Rifts on the past, but let me provide some more hands-on information. If you like Open World content, this is going to be really fun for you. I know there have been times that I want to participate in Meta Events, but I’ve got the timing wrong. The nice thing about Rifts is that they’re not on a timer which means you can engage with them whenever. In addition, I know there have been some questions regarding how they work. In short, your party will go and interact with the Rift which will summon a bunch of Kryptis monsters based on how many people are there. Once they’re all defeated you can then invest a specific type of item into the Rift and a bing boss Kryptis will show up (once again scaled to your party size) for you to defeat. You’ll then be awarded based on your participation level and how many people joined in. The actual encounter feels similar to a big boss fight like Tequatl, but it scales with your party and isn’t on a timer.
One more thing! Daily achievements are being slightly reworked. There will still be Daily Fractals, Daily PvP, etc. achievements, but the general Daily things (i.e., “Win 1 PvP Match”, “View 1 Shiverpeaks Vista”, etc.) are being reworked into a new system. This system will award you a new currency to use in a unique store with various rewards including mount skins, armor skins, a starter pack for legendary items, and much more. That’s right, the team is adding more ways to unlock skins without the need for the Gem Store. Another aspect I really like is that you can customize the types of Achievements that show up. If you don’t do PvP content, you can tell it to not show you PvP content and it’ll adjust to PvE and WvW. I’m personally excited for this update and even though I don’t have a Griffon yet, I do want a Griffon skin that will be available through here.
There are some aspects that I’m not allowed to share, but there’s a lot for fans of Guild Wars 2 to enjoy in SotO. I’m extremely excited for the expansion and cannot wait for it to release on August 22. You can pre-order your copy now through the official website or through Steam depending on which version you prefer.