GUILD WARS 2: SECRETS OF THE DARK is out this August!

The fourth expansion for one of my favorite games, Guild Wars 2, it was announced. ArenaNet and NCSOFT recently announced Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Dark! This expansion for the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) looks absolutely amazing and features tons of huge changes for the future of gaming. The secrets of the dark launches August 22nd (less than 2 months from now!) and pre-orders are now live for both the standalone client and via Steam starting at $24.99.

In The secrets of the dark, players will encounter a new demonic threat called Kryptis. We will have to climb through the Skywatch Archipelago to bring the battle to the Demon Realm. I’m so excited for this! The trailer looks amazing and all the changes (discussed below) have me so excited!

The all-new story puts players in the role of both the former defender and the explorer of the unknown as they race to defend the world from a never-before-seen threat. The adventure begins with a climb through the Skywatch archipelago, the first of two new maps added to the game on release day. Hanging high in the sky above Tyria, these floating islands are under attack from the Kryptis, a demonic race of malevolent beings who traverse the instabilities of the Mists and threaten the fragile peace of the world following the elder dragons’ defeat. What follows is an epic fight in the Realm of Demons, where the fate of the world rests in the hands of the player and his new and secret allies.

Speak about The secrets of the darkgame director Josh Davis She said:

Finally revealing the secrets of the Wizard’s Tower was an idea that had been floating around the studio for many years (pun intended). With Secrets of the Obscure, we get a chance to explore the lore of Tyria in a way we’ve never been able to before. New areas of the world, new characters and enemies, and new twists to the core combat gameplay should excite fans with how they add to the game’s already legendary amount of content.

At launch, Guild Wars 2 players will find 2 new explorable maps (Skywatch Archipelago and Amnytas), a new hub area at Wizard’s Tower, the introduction of Astral Ward, a more streamlined way to unlock the Skyscale mount, 2 new Strike Missions, the introduction of Relics , Weapon Master Training and much more. In later releases, each class will have access to new weapons, challenge modes for the aforementioned assault missions, legendary armor obtainable through open world content, and more.

• New Maps: Two new explorable maps will be available on August 22, Skywatch Archipelago and Amnytas, with a third to follow in a future update.

• New hub area: The enigmatic Sorcerer’s Tower will serve as the starting point for players to explore Secrets of the Obscure and will be the central place that connects the player to the main characters and events of the expansion

• Astral Ward: As the Kryptis invade Tyria, players will be able to join a band of treasure hunters and adventurers known as the Astral Ward to help protect the world, undertaking monster hunts and bounty contracts throughout the game to rank up and earn new rewards and abilities.

• The Heart of the Obscure: This important tool will serve as the player’s master key to exploring the new expansion; as they progress in upgrading this mystical stone, they’ll gain the ability to open special doors and reward chests, craft support items such as leylines and updraft generators, and open and seal rifts for the Astral Ward.

• Advanced Flight Masteries: Acquiring the fan-favorite Skyscale mount will be easier in Secrets of the Obscure, but those players who train their Skyscale in both this expansion’s new track and the previously released Path of Fire will gain additional features for the their Skyscales. Two of the Secrets of the Dark Celestial Ladder masteries – mount in combat and use of updrafts – will also apply to the griffin’s mount.

• New Strike Missions: Two new challenging 10-player instanced encounters arrive with Secrets of the Obscure: the Cosmic Observatory and the Temple of Phoebe. Their challenge modes should become available in later releases.

• Wizard’s Vault: The Wizard’s Vault awards Astral Acclaim for completing daily, weekly, and seasonal objectives throughout the game. Players can exchange Astral Cheer for unique items such as armor, weapon and mount skins, gold, legendary materials, and more.

• Relics: Unlocked at level 60, this new gear slot will now be home to the wide variety of rune set bonuses previously found on different rune types, allowing for more customization of special effects and more freedom to choose stat bonuses that players want to use on their characters.

• Weaponmaster Training: Each of the game’s nine professions will now gain the ability to equip weapons previously reserved for their elite specialization, unlocking new game modes and building options for players.

• New Rewards: A deluge of new earnable rewards awaits players, including the game’s first set of Legendary armor earned through open-world PvE activities.

So with Weaponmaster Training, you’ll be able to use weapons previously reserved for elite specializations without being locked into that elite specialization. For example, a Soulbeast could use a staff or a basic Necromancer can now use a greatsword. This is very exciting as it opens up an incredible number of game options for the players. It’s also important to note that once Weaponmaster Training is unlocked, you don’t even need to unlock an elite specialization to gain access to its weapon nor own the expansion that the elite specialization is a part of. Theorists will go crazy! Here’s a quick list of what this unlocks for each class:

• Guardian: Ax (main hand), sword (off hand), longbow

• Revenant: shield (off hand), greatsword, shortbow

• Warrior: Dagger (main and off hand), pistol (off hand), torch (off hand)

• Engineer: mace (main hand), sword (main hand), hammer

• Ranger: Dagger (main hand), hammer, staff

• Thief: scepter (main hand), rifle, staff

• Elementalist: Sword (main hand), warhorn (off hand), hammer

• Mesmer: Ax (main hand), dagger (main hand), shield (off hand)

• Necromancer: Pistol (main hand), torch (off hand), greatsword

While new weapons are one way out, ArenaNet has announced what they will be. More details are on the way, but here is the list of upcoming new weapons for each class The secrets of the dark:

• Guardian: Pistol (main hand and off hand)

• Revenant: Scepter (main hand)

• Warrior: Staff

• Engineer: Shortbow

• Ranger: Mace (main and off hand)

• Rogue: Ax (main hand)

• Elementalist: Pistol (main hand)

• Mesmer: Shotgun

• Necromancer: Sword (main and off hand)

The last in-depth topic I wanted to cover is the introduction of the Relics. Runes will change to no longer provide a special ability/effect with the full set of 6. Instead, Runes will only provide stat bonuses while abilities will become a new equipment item called Relics. The example given by the team is that the Relic of the Trooper will have the effect of removing conditions instead of the Trooper rune set which provides that bonus. Relics will typically be obtainable through crafting, instanced content (Fractals, Strike Missions), reward paths, achievements, and more. All Guild Wars 2 players will get a free relic when The secrets of the dark launches this August.

There are so many updates that it’s a bit difficult to cover them all. I recommend taking a look at the articles on the official Guild Wars 2 site if you’d like more details on the story, combat, and rewards/system changes. I would also recommend checking out Mukluk’s breakdown video as he goes over everything! Can’t wait for August 22nd!