Creepy monsters, nightmares, and an epic fight for the survival of all worlds. Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure — The Realm of Dreams update is here, and it certainly isn’t everything we expected.
Returning to Guild Wars 2 today, players will face a land oppressed by a consuming evil and tainted by corruption but we’re pretty far from the squabbles of Divinity’s Reach. Instead, The Realm of Dreams takes us back through the veil and into Nayos. A realm that lies beyond the mind of man or Charr and might be mistaken for a nightmare. After some epic struggles, we got an early look at what’s here and we’re hoping that this time we’ll finish off the Midnight King for good. Arriving as the second major post-content update since we ventured beyond the Wizard’s Tower, the continuing saga of the Commander-turned-Wayfinder unlocks a new section of Nayos. Sprawling out to the west, this unfamiliar landscape is the next step in the battle to overcome the threats that lie beyond.
Maps, Metas, and Wyverns
Where the opening area of Nayos introduced an unusual organic landscape. The fog lifts and the oppressive haze gives way to something far more unsettling. The new map region is a fitting amalgamation of outcrops, dilapidated grandeur, and contorted growths that seep through the landscape with an insipid sort of malevolence. A malign organic influence that constricts the landscape seems to weave in and out of this strange new world.
Where vines and jungle debris worked as a fitting backdrop to the Maguma Jungle, here this infection feels present and deliberate. Tendrils creep out of the ground, swaying and pulsing as if reminding you that the enemy isn’t simply a force of nature. It is at hand and has its eye on you. It’s like we’re skirting around Sauron’s glare or falling into Vecna’s realm, and the inclusion of a dilapidated gothic spire punctuated by a luminous eye hammers home the feeling that something intelligent is out to get you all the time.
These touches of architecture and evil help sell the atmosphere of threat because the newest parts of Nayos sometimes feel like more of the same. The new region is far from expansive, and you’ll still be best advised to grab a Skyscale to get around. There’s tons of verticality but not a lot of ground to cover. While the design is absolutely first-class, it’s a very focused piece of work. That sentiment is relevant for much of this update. Even the narrative, which I’m not going to spoil, feels intriguing but frustratingly short. There are some great story beats about our own bias, uncovering complex ideas, and developing some standout characterization. The problem is that the core story content ends up being very direct and feels ineffectual by the end of this update. I wish that we had more time with the major players in this tale and were given a chance to establish a deeper connection with them.
Going Off The Map
While there isn’t a ton of new ground in Nayos, the focus for Realm Of Dreams adds some twists on the traditional episodic add on. A new large scale map event, which I struggle to define as a meta, drops into place. Players can kick off this event chain and head towards the Colosseum of the Midnight King to take down a massive Wyvern, after hacking through plenty of Kryptis soldiers. While I would really have liked something that wasn’t a Wyvern to burn down, this event is undeniably fun. It’s not going to pose much of hazard to a map wide zerg, but that’s where the twist comes in. Alongside other smaller scale events, the map meta for the rest of Nayos can run concurrently. Remember that both sections of this region unlock as one map, so you might not have all your forces on hand at once to cut through this unruly pet. This coupled with the announced legendary Convergences bosses makes Nayos feel like it’s built to divide attention and create an ongoing manpower problem. Whether that is how things play out, we will see.
Arranging bodies of fallen heroes around a brand-new event chain isn’t the only challenge Realm Of Dreams introduces either. A new CM variation on the Temple of Febe and new legendary Convergences bosses unlock for anybody feeling like the main map is just a bunch of us flailing around after new loot. More on the new loot later. The new version of this familiar foe is, like other Challenge Motes, an opportunity to try out against a sufficiently problematic twist on this content. However, with a bunch of journalists and a limited time, all I can say Is you should be willing to die plenty. ArenaNet did note that experienced teams should manage to get over this hill in around a week. Our 10-player preview squad, maybe a few months longer for that.
Whether you choose to battle it out in Inner Nayos or leap into the Temple of Febe, there are tons of different ways to experience this expanding warfront. Whether it’s a spiffing new hat or wielding an entirely new weapon. ArenaNet confirmed that players will have an opportunity to loot the tier one Obsidian legendary Armor sets, new weapons, Solar Astrolabe weapon skins, Skysage’s armor skins (gloves, helm, and boots), Leaf Glider, and incredible Cat Tree Chair. Many of these drops are part of a refresh of the Wizard’s Vault, described in a recent blog post, and giving us all an opportunity to keep playing fashion wars without having to invest huge amounts of time in raids or competitive experiences. That’s honestly welcome for those that aren’t going to barrel headlong into a Challenge Mote but might leave some of you feeling a bit empty. Personally, I adore the new Solar Astrolabe weapon skins and will be heading for those as soon as possible.
Of more direct use on the battlefield, and in some of the upcoming instanced content are the new Legendary relics. Much like gear, weapons, and the ilk, these add some welcome utility for the recently introduced power creep. Sure they’re not going to change the game but over a fairly limited map, they provide an opportunity to switch things up and experience this content more than one way. That is the best description of this update. It’s crammed full of new ways to experience encounters and boss fights, and interesting additions to the way the game plays, but ultimately feels like it lacks real depth. For those who missed the plethora of news last week, you’ll be excited to learn that new weapon proficiencies are another new way to play the latest update. Allowing your favorite class to pick up a new weapon, you can try out the following:
Warrior | Staff
Thief | Axe
Revenant | Scepter
Elementalist | Pistol
Engineer | Short Bow
Ranger | Mace
Necromancer | Sword
Mesmer | Rifle
Guardian | Pistol
There’s plenty to choose from. The pick of what I had time to play with is easily the Mesmer Rifle, this new proficiency just revolutionizes the way this class plays support. It’s genuinely refreshing and needs to be tried. Engineer’s short bow still suffers from many of the complaints that have already been raised and ends up feeling kind of underwhelming for somebody that usually rolls an engineer archetype.
We only had a couple of days to run through some of this new content, much of which isn’t necessarily achievable solo and there’s tons to try out and achieve in this update. Ultimately, that’s what this feels like. It feels like an update rather than an addition to an ongoing story. Where there was a focus, in the past, on episodic box sets, this feels more like giving players lots of new ways to experience the current game. Inner Nayos is hardly expansive, and the narrative doesn’t feel like it moves on very far, but if you’re looking to go out and conquer Tyria in a whole new way, then you’ll enjoy Realm Of Dreams. Check out even more about Inner Nayos over on the official website. Players who have the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure expansion
