First Impressions: GUILD WARS 2: JANTHIR WILDS is a breath of fresh air

A few weeks ago, ArenaNet released the latest expansion for Guild Wars 2 titled Guild Wars 2: Janthir WildsThis is the second expansion released under the new annual model, where a large portion of the expansion is released early with quarterly updates that add more content.

The study claims to have learned a lot from Secrets of the Darkbut what does it look like in practice? A big thank you to the team who provided me with a code for this first impression of one of my favorite games, but all thoughts that follow are my own.

Filled with mursaat ruins and difficult to navigate, the fabled Janthir Isles have been carefully guarded by the mages of the Astral Ward and, to most of Tyria, are a distant legend.

But recent events have inspired the world’s leaders to form a Tyrian Alliance and send out the wayfinder to befriend new allies. As you search for the lowland kodan colony of Janthir, you’ll explore, fight, and learn more about the mysteries of Tyria’s past.

I won’t lie, I really love you The Wilds of Janthir so far. I’d like to talk about some aspects of why I like it, but before I do that I’d like to address the concerns I have.

As I write this first impressions piece, there still seems to be a few random glitches here and there. For example, during one of the later story missions, you’re teamed up with about three NPCs in an instance and have to complete a small objective in five places.

For some reason, one of the NPCs who was supposed to be having a conversation with another NPC got stuck at an earlier point, which meant I was silent for a while until I realized what was going on and started turning around to find the NPC so I could actually hear his side of the dialogue.

I’m sure the team is still working on little bugs like this, and I don’t hold that against them. It’s just something to keep in mind while playing.

Another part of The Wilds of Janthir I don’t like the hives. From what I understand they are adrenal mushrooms and are only useful for resetting cooldowns on riding abilities while trying to move around the maps.

I honestly don’t understand why there are two types (enhanced and heliotrope-enhanced) and so the fact that two masteries are used to cover them seems stupid to me.

Am I missing something about heliotrope-enhanced hives? Also, I haven’t found them helpful, but I know some people have, so I wouldn’t rule them out entirely.

Of course, my biggest complaint has to do with a problem I’ve had since End of the Dragons. I HATE RESEARCH NOTES! They are one of the worst, if not the number one, currencies in Guild Wars 2.

It’s annoying to have them piled up. I get that they’re supposed to be a pool of material that benefits the game, but it doesn’t make me feel good. I’ve also seen some complain about how thematically it doesn’t even fit, which I can understand, but that part doesn’t bother me that much.

I just wish we could get rid of Research Notes in general. I don’t even like it in The Wilds of Janthir I will have to accumulate this boring currency to get certain items/achievements.

I’m a big fan of many of these The Wilds of Janthir has to offer. While I don’t particularly care for it, I know a lot of people have been excited about the Homestead feature and seem to really enjoy it. I also like how they gave us a new weapon type.

Spears on land wasn’t my first choice and I haven’t played it much, but some people seem to really like it. Making it easier to get the Warclaw without WvW is HUGE for people who don’t like WvW!

I don’t want to spoil the story, but I’m enjoying it. I’m a little worried that it will happen again. The Secrets of the Dark and most of the other story content where there’s a new big bad, then you have to raise an army, and then it ends up being just you and a few NPCs who end up doing something. That formula feels stale to me, personally. That said, the more personal moments and connections have been really nice so far.

As for the land of Janthir, it feels so good after Secrets of the DarkIn particular, I found Nayos really bland and boring, while after a while the Skywatch Archipelago seemed too big to me.

Janthir is much smaller, which helps a lot for getting to events, but also feels more interesting to traverse. There are a lot of areas where the Warclaw feels like a really good mount to use, and nothing felt like a chore in my exploration.

One interesting aspect related to exploration is the way Renown Hearts are handled in Janthir. You can complete them once per day, and the more you complete them, the higher you level up and you can access more rewards from NPCs. It’s definitely an interesting rework, and while I’m not crazy about it, I think it’s actually nice to encourage engagement.

So far, I like it The Wilds of Janthir and from what I see, others are too. I’m enjoying the story and really hope the team doesn’t fall back into the same old formula.

After how disappointing Nayos has been, Janthir looks like a breath of fresh air and I hope the team can keep up the momentum. At the moment, I would say The Wilds of Janthir It’s worth getting for fans of Guild Wars 2.