SECRETS OF THE DARK breathes new life into GUILD WARS 2

ArenaNet has done it again! Less than two weeks ago (as of this writing), the ArenaNet team went down Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Dark. This is the fourth expansion for the popular MMORPG and the first with the new model of smaller but more frequent expansions and content releases. THE Guild Wars 2 team was kind enough to provide me with some review code, but the thoughts below are my own.

In my humble opinion, they knocked it out of the park! I love damn The secrets of the dark. Sure, there are some growth issues, but overall it might be my favorite set. The two areas I want to address are the overall story and the new/improved mechanics/features of the game. I will do my best to keep spoilers to an absolute minimum. If any of this really worries you, just know that as much as I enjoyed the content I experienced in the preview event, I’ve come to appreciate it even more after launch.

I want to start by addressing the story. I loved it. Since we have finished the dragon cycle, the team had to find new directions to take us players. This breathed new life into the story. We get to know the Kryptis, reunite with old friends like Zojja, meet new friends who blow our minds, and more. Overall the story missions were a lot of fun and it felt like the team decided to experiment more with some horror vibes and it worked! I’m not much of a horror fan, but there was a new tension as we explored unfamiliar territory figuratively and literally. You’re not busy with Dragon’s Watch, which adds to that tension and creates more of a feeling of trepidation and loneliness. The storytelling is top notch.

My only complaint about the story has to do with the events of the Kryptis rift. Overall, I really like Rift events. However, you consistently reach a part of the story that is simply “complete rift events until this meter is full”. I understand wanting to make sure players are familiar with a new game feature, but I could have done that if those sections were a little shorter.

As for the new game mechanics and features, I really like most of them. I’m still waiting to see what people come up with regarding weapon master training (I’m not good at building builds), but I like how the classes open up differently instead of just throwing another d specialization into it. ‘elite. I also like how the Skyscale has been made easier to obtain since it’s vital to the gameplay The secrets of the dark. I regret that people who have already unlocked Skyscale essentially have to unlock it again if we want one of two things: the new Kryptis Skyscale skin via the A New Look achievement, and loads of Astral Acclaim (the currency for the Wizard’s Vault). Speaking of the Celestial Staircase, as mentioned in my preview event piece, new masters on the way The secrets of the dark you go a long way to making Skyscale infinitely better with the new fireball attack, the ability to use updrafts, and even the ability to mount while in combat.

I want to step back and talk about the Wizard’s Crypt. I know there has been a mixed reception. I personally love it. It seems easier to use in outlining the different objectives than the previous system and is much faster to access with a combination of keys. I also really like the Astral Acclaim system. There are some amazing things you can get, like the gorgeous new Griffin skin, the legendary starter kit, and even some easy gold. I also want to acknowledge that the Mage’s Crypt isn’t perfect. There are items in the shop that are ridiculously bad deals, our goal was to complete a very buggy mini-dungeon, and more. Thankfully, ArenaNet listens at least sometimes and recently announced the removal of that buggy mini-dungeon and announced that they will be adding additional achievements. With the September 12 patch, players will be given five possible daily objectives to complete, but will still only be required to complete 4 of them to unlock the chest. This adds some flexibility that players have been craving. I look forward to seeing what happens as the team further fine-tunes the Wizard’s Vault system.

Let’s talk about the right events of Kryptis introduced with The secrets of the dark. Aside from my earlier complaint about their somewhat forced inclusion in the story, I think they’re a fantastic feature. They fit your group so you can even do them yourself if you can’t find a group, they don’t take too long and are easy to find. I wish that the Heart of the Dark One would continuously follow a rift so you don’t have to keep hitting the button every now and then to make sure you’re still in the right direction.

I want to briefly discuss Relics. I think in the end these will be fine. Unfortunately, ArenaNet has decided to make the tooltips not very useful. The tooltips give you a general idea of ​​what the Relic will do, and for some they provide enough information. However, others like the Relic of Cerus simply say it will summon a damage-dealing Eye of Cerus. There is no information on how long Cero’s Eye will last, how much damage it will do, etc. Much like the Mage’s Crypt, this is something that I hope continues to be improved to make it more useful.

At the end of the day, The secrets of the dark it’s exactly the expansion I wanted. The story feels fresh in many different ways. The new rifts are fun. I like the Wizard’s Crypt and so much more. I highly recommend getting the expansion if you play Guild Wars 2.