Guild Wars 2: 5 Reasons You Should Watch End of Dragons
In February, the MMORPG Guild Wars 2 gets the new expansion End of Dragons. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch was able to take a look at the new content together with the developers.
The Guild Wars franchise has been with me for over 16 years, more than half of my life. I’ve spent over 18,000 game hours in the two MMOs combined. I was accordingly excited to be able to play the new expansion End of Dragons as one of the press representatives.
In my session, I was able to ride ships with the developers in two hours, do some fishing, explore the first areas, complete some world events and play the first attack mission.
The impression of End of Dragons is positive, even if a bit too colorful in some places. With good graphics settings, it doesn’t look as flashy as some trailers suggested, but the colors are in stark contrast to the last expansion, Path of Fire.
Above all, the expansion offers more of the well-known content and no groundbreaking innovations. Nevertheless, fans of Guild Wars, but also MMORPG fans in general, should take a look at End of Dragons, because the content shown immediately makes you want more. I’ll give you 5 reasons and I’ll finish by explaining the best way for newcomers to get started with Guild Wars 2 right now.
End of Dragons brings more of the best content: the massive world events
The biggest attraction for me in Guild Wars 2 lies in the huge world events. Nothing feels as good in an MMORPG as defeating a huge boss with dozens of other players or influencing the development of the area by simply liberating a settlement from enemy hands and thus unlocking new traders.
For End of Dragons, we were presented with an event in the Echo Forest. The whole area is a rather gloomy and almost spooky forest where we meet the Jade Brotherhood. You already know them from Guild Wars 1, but back then they were more of a harmless street gang.
Now they have decided to experiment with crazy technologies and fight us with giant jade robots and genetically modified animals.
Arrived at Fort Espenwald we have to try as a group to storm the fort known from Guild Wars. The siege turtle plays a central role here, as it did in its predecessor.
We fight our way through several levels and have to defeat several champions, which would not have been possible without the help of dev tools with our group size of just under 20 players. At the end of the event, a special boss awaits: a runaway machine that threatens to blow up the entire surrounding area.
At the end of the fight there were several loot chests, as you are used to from meta events. As with other events, it is always a special feeling when you master such a challenge together with a large group.
The developers also promised that there will be some more big events in End of Dragons.
The coolest mount ever is coming
However, the real highlight of the first meta event was the new mount. Because the siege turtle was needed to destroy protective shields or fight enemies on high towers. However, only the second player could complete this task, because the turtle is a mount for two players:
- Player 1 controls the mount and can use it to dodge attacks or even hover in the air. He also has to move a lot, because that charges the cannons on the turtle’s back.
- Player 2, on the other hand, controls the huge siege weapons and has to take care of the destruction of the shields.
The turtle has other special features, including its speed. At first she walks very slowly and at a leisurely pace, but over time she builds up a good pace. However, it is so huge that its turning radius is huge. Braking isn’t that easy either.
It is precisely these mechanics – fighting and steering – that make the Siege Turtle the coolest mount in all MMORPGs.
Fishing is pure relaxation
Among the big innovations of End of Dragons are shipping and fishing. Both are directly related, since the ships are primarily used to go to a body of water, to find a fishing spot and to anchor there.
A ship, called a skiff in Guild Wars 2, can be used with up to five people. One of the players summons the ship and the other four can sit on it and use emotes while driving to give it a speed boost.
The fishing itself is a small mini-game. You cast the bait, wait for waves to form where the bait is, and then reel in the line. A small green bar moves from right to left. You have to catch it at the right moment, which was relatively easy, at least during the six fishing attempts on the test server.
You can basically fish anywhere in Tyria and you don’t need a special fishing spot. However, it should be particularly worthwhile to fish in these special places in the waters. In total, there should be over 200 different species of fish, each of which can only be found in certain places. This also applies to the base game and the old expansions.
Getting a skiff is said to be about as difficult as unlocking a mount in the original version in Path of Fire. Back then, you had to complete a heart and then buy the mount for gold.
Fishing, in turn, should play an important role in cooking recipes, but also in the production of the new legendary weapons.
I was also able to try them out in the test, although initially there will only be the Aurene weapons. However, they make a solid impression in the animations.
Finally group challenges again
At the end of the event, the developers took us to the first attack mission. The opponent there was Mai Trin, a pirate that players may recognize from Living World Season 1. The instance is designed for 10 players and comes in two different levels of difficulty: Normal and Challenge.
We only played the boss on normal mode, where he already had some crisp mechanics, including AoE attacks, a break bar, and regular phase changes where multiple phantoms suddenly appear, each with different mechanics themselves.
There is also an interesting phase change in the middle of the fight, but we don’t want to spoil it for you here.
In general, the new attack missions should be the link between casual players and raid fans.
- You get to know the bosses first in the story. There they are designed for solo players and can be defeated easily.
- Normal mode is designed to get players to delve deeper into the boss and its mechanics.
- If you want it harder, you can try the Challenge Mode. The level should feel “like a real raid boss”.
The developers first designed the heavy version of the boss and then lowered it to an easier level. More details can be found here:
Guild Wars 2 will fulfill a big wish of hardcore gamers with new expansion
An interesting mix of Asia and Steampunk
Personally, I like the style of End of Dragons best. Because it goes back to Cantha, the Asian continent from Guild Wars 1. But it has evolved and is now based on an interesting mixture of steampunk and Asia look.
- On the one hand there is Shing Jea, a traditional Chinese island where cherry blossom trees grow and everything seems somehow colorful and peaceful.
- On the other side, however, are the Jade Brotherhood and technological advances. Robots, chemical fumes, mutant creatures, giant shields.
This contrast runs through the whole continent. Jade plays an important role everywhere, for example as fuel. But technological progress also leads to problems and inequality in society. You could already see that in the first videos about the Jade Sea and the Echo Forest.
These worlds will probably collide in the capital city of New Kaineng, although we don’t know much about it yet.
Entry is also possible as a complete beginner
Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons is primarily aimed at the veterans of the game and of course at fans of Guild Wars Factions, after all it goes into the old areas. But even beginners can get started with the extension quite well.
In order to experience the new content, you must first purchase the expansion. This can be done either as a standalone for 29.99 euros or in the standard edition for 49.99 euros. The previous expansions Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire are also included.
Then it’s time for you to level 80 first. You can do this:
- Explore areas and follow the story
- Level up via professions
- The old dungeons are running
- Ignite the booster included with the purchase of the expansion
The booster should only be an option if you really want to start the expansion with friends. Because on the one hand you miss the beautiful world of Guild Wars 2 and on the other hand you start completely unprepared and without experience in content that can be quite overwhelming in the first few hours.
Although it is advisable to catch up on old story content, as you will get to know the characters of your group better. But basically you can start directly with level 80 in the content.
You can find more tips for a successful start in our beginner’s guide:
Guild Wars 2 Beginner’s Guide – Everything about the MMORPG in 2022
Reference-mein-mmo.de