ArenaNet invited us to take a tour and explore the Janthir Wilds ahead of the 20 August release of the new Guild Wars 2 expansion.
The Dragons are dead, the Kryptis are placated, and peace reigns again. This cycle of cataclysm is an increasingly familiar cycle for fans of ArenaNet’s lauded MMORPG, yet another crisis awaits. Next week, Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds launches. For anybody who’s been paying attention, this expansion looks like a perfect excuse just to stay at home, but we couldn’t resist an opportunity to take a look at what’s coming and get out to see the Janthir Wilds in person.
Stepping into the latest region, I’m reminded that the 5thexpansion picks up right where Secrets of the Obscure left off. It brings this tour back to a land that we left last year, alongside the Wizard’s Tower. The return will provide players with an opportunity to explore the themes and story threads that are still hanging, but away from the Astral Ward. That, of course, means a new region of the world will open up. Janthir Wilds awaits.
Beginning in the Unknown Territory, ArenaNet showed us around Moon Camp, a jumping-off point that is steeped in the ostentatious decoration of the Astral Ward. While it’s a fitting transition point from the voids of another realm into something more grounded, the statuesque marble of Moon Camp reminded me how glad I am that we’re headed back to a more grounded adventure. With a little lore behind us and a reason to head out into the expansion, it was time to touch Tyrian grass again. The opening backdrop for this expansion is reminiscent of early Norn regions and the likes of Drizzlewood. Unlike those coastal flats we’ve seen this verdant landscape is a mountainous approach. Steep cliffs sprout up across the horizon, peppered with massive trees that, in the real world, could be a cluster of redwoods. This starkly vertical map also provides a home for the Kodan that are slowly passing through. A ponderous but proud people, these bears immediately seem like a more complete version of their polar cousins. ArenaNet went to some lengths to draw inspiration from real Nordic myths, culture, and history to make the Kodan society feel authentic. The design team didn’t quite take a trip out to the Baltic Sea but did lean on the deep reservoir of knowledge in Seattle’s National Nordic Museum.
The Warclaw
This inspiration permeates far beyond the architecture of the upcoming Homesteads and village of the Lowland Kodan. The opening map gave us an opportunity to learn about this nomadic tribe. While it isn’t revolutionary to look at, there’s a noticeable lack of a large scale meta. Instead, you’ll see tons of hearts, events, and activities that are designed to immerse us all in the culture of this race. Early examples of this are the obvious connection to nature, depicted in the early unlock of the fluffiest Warclaw I’ve ever seen. The cutest of bois is available for PvE players during the Janthir Wilds expansion, breaking the shackles and crashing out of the Eternal Battlegrounds. The leap over from WvW to other game modes is more than just a straight port. Anybody interested in sieges will soon get the Warclaw in WvW by spending a single point in the Warclaw Mastery line, but the Kodan have taught this dog some new tricks for PvE. The most utility change, however, isn’t nestled in the mount’s action buttons. Instead, it’s a double jump. This Mario-esque leap, and then follow-up, adds verticality. This almost mirrors the introduction of the Jackal during a previous expansion and spins off in a different direction, making it a useful alternative to the all-conquering Skyscale. The Warclaw is a companion in battle. As a combat mount, you can call on it while in combat, and this opens up all sorts of possibilities for active weapon skills. The inclusion of pounce and dash skills is obvious for staying out of harm’s way, but the option to sniff out treasure or hidden enemies is much more of a surprise. The remaining skill slots for your new mount are a Chain Pull and a launchable Lance, which ties in nicely with the addition of spears on dry land. These skills are more than just playful additions when we waded into another highlight and a culture touchstone for the Kodan.
The Kodan
A fiercely competitive spirit is rooted in the heart of the Lowland Kodan, so a competitive Warclaw arena seems obvious. Right? Part maze, part point-scoring obstacle course, this group event was a fun distraction and a wonderful introduction to the Warclaw’s newest features. It didn’t challenge the same way that player-made Griffon courses do, but that’s not really the point.
Much like the rest of Harvest Den events, it’s an opportunity to know the Kodan and the new systems that you’ll use before heading out to face the rest of this expansion. The Sleuth Brawfields, for example, provide a great opportunity to try out the land spear in safety and celebration.
Grouping up and vastly outmatched by a single opponent, a group of Wayfinders channeled the Kodan’s spirit of competition and brawled with the humungous Barbed Vale! I, however, sat down and aided by cheering on the team and lobbing confetti into the action to add some much-needed buffs. The chaotic boss-style battle isn’t just a rehash of Norn exuberance. It’s an opportunity to show off or support, engage in less critical events, and understand the importance of this new race. If nothing else, the change of tempo is refreshing. Gone is the long lead-in, tons of talking, clicking, and getting lost in the lore. Now, we learn by doing.
Rather than discuss the ancient magics that lie beyond the warmth of the Kodan’s welcome, and ruin a perfectly good surprise, I’ll skip that section and bring things back to the Homestead. While plenty of other sneak peeks have had a rifle around Homesteads, it’s worth affirming the largely positive reception that they’ve received. The new personal home away from your Home Instance is fully featured player housing. Unlocking, again, early in Janthir Wilds, this housing feature isn’t a replacement for the traditional Home Instance. It remains in place. You can head back to the grove and see the Pale Tree whenever you want, but much of the same functionality ports into your new housing plot.
Housing
As an instance, the Homestead doesn’t require you to claim land. There is no tax. You simply call down a door and port out to another realm. This seems largely similar to the system-controlled spawns that lead into the Mad King’s Realm. Who knows, we might find out it’s the same lore in the background at some point. Out in the open world, however, access is similar to dungeon entry. Our tour was systematically split into parties rather than raids so we could enter, suggesting that’s what you’ll need to do. This makes logical sense, as Guild Halls can act as the scaled-up equivalent of these. On dropping in, the first item of note is the Home instance nodes. Your ore, cloth, and other gathering nodes are ported here, making the daily collection easier all around. There’s even the option to gather everything. No more hunting for that dammed Strawberry patch. One-click and a day’s gathering is done. Thank you, ArenaNet!
Other highlights include the alt characters that meander around, the mount stable, where you can pet, feed, and interact with your ride, as well as the option to toggle between day and a beautiful Borealis night mode. It’d be great to see other weather options outside of day and night, even some spooky Halloween weather, but maybe I’ll just add that to my wish list of future demands.
The central attraction for this new feature has already been explored by ArenaNet and content partners. If you want to take a look at the official line then this is available both on YouTube and the official Guild Wars 2 website. Trying this myself, I was extremely impressed. The Homestead construction systems are a generational leap beyond Guild halls, and yes ArenaNet confirmed to us we should expect to see these eventually being to fold into Guild Halls too. Basic building mode replaces combat skills, so I had to put down my sword for a time, but these are so intuitive. Grabbing some junk from a dedicated Decoration inventory allowed me to easily move, scale, place, and craft scenes both inside and out of your lodgings. Even if you’ve not had a chance to expand the available rooms, which occurs as part of the in game progression, just head outside, delete some grassland, and litter the landscape with an army of Mr Quiggles!
I don’t actually know if Mr Quiggles is craftable, but everything else on show is a mix of materials brought in from around Tyria, and Homestead-specific fibers that you’ll trade vendors for. It’s all very straightforward, and the range of options means you’ll likely have plenty to gather in and around the older areas of Guild Wars 2 while you wait on shiny new things to play with. What I didn’t see in this preview were visual achievements, seasonal updates, or high-end competitive collections to this new system. At this early stage, that’s really more of a like to have than a game-breaking problem.
Overall the breadth and scope of this housing system makes it clear that we’re going to see more but the base tools are well placed for creative types to get very busy.
An Unexpected Delight
Janthir Wilds is not exactly our normal expansion model. The headlines would fit most MMO systems with a brand new content drop, but they are distinctly ArenaNet by design. There’s an openness to the early content that encourages exploration more than combat. You’ll learn by doing, and you’re going to do a lot of crafting when you get home. I’m not going to intrude upon the story that unfolds beyond this early preview. What I can say is that feel like Guild Wars 2 might finally have found its feet and broken the dragon cycle this time. Check out even more about this upcoming expansion on the official Guild Wars 2 website now.
