Guild Wars 2 has presented a roadmap for the summer in a new blog post and also shared first information about upcoming updates and the fourth expansion. There are many indications that the expansion will come in 2023.
What does the roadmap say? Guild Wars 2 has revealed the upcoming updates through July:
In the long term, a “reward system of the base game” should also be revised and the remains of DirectX9 removed from the code. This will be followed by graphics and performance updates.
What’s up with the new expansion? The developers announced at the beginning of the year that there should be more frequent extensions in the future, which will be slightly smaller. The first details and a concept art have now been published for expansion number 4.
Guild Wars 2: Everything you need to know about the new expansion End of Dragons in under 3 minutes
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Developers are already working on post-expansion updates
What do we know about the upcoming expansion? The expansion is said to be smaller than the three previous ones. It includes a new storyline, two new maps, two attack missions, new masteries, and new gameplay and combat features.
There is now also new information about the latter. The blog post says:
The way elite specializations are currently designed and implemented, with each new expansion we feel that there is less and less “design space” for new and differentiated roles for each class. In other words, most of the playstyles that we’d like to see support for in each class already exist, or at least should exist, in the existing specialization options.
In our next expansion, we plan to increase the combat options for each class, adding new tools to their arsenal and removing restrictions, allowing for an unprecedented amount of customization options based on playstyle. At the same time, however, Guild Wars 2’s combat feel stays true to its roots. A lot of work awaits Theorycrafter.
In concrete terms, this means that the next expansion will definitely not bring any new elite specializations, but a different innovation for the classes. On Reddit, fans are speculating about new weapons for the classes or new skills per weapon when a specific elite specialization is equipped. Alternatively, just the weapons previously tied to the elite specializations could simply be made generally available to the class – which some call a “too small” change.
The blog post goes on to say that ArenaNet has changed the internal structures in such a way that the updates for the fourth expansion are already being worked on.
While the developers at End of Dragons worked on the completion up to the last minute and we therefore had to wait almost a year for new story content, the first update for the fourth expansion should come within the first 3 months.
This would also be due to the fact that ArenaNet has hired more employees than in 2022. In addition, more new developers are expected to join the team this year. In general, 2022 was a very successful year: Guild Wars 2 celebrates its best year since 2015 – “Active players have doubled in recent years”.
In expansion 4, players will also fight against completely new villains. Since End of Dragons ended the story of the Elder Dragons, there is now room for something completely new. In line with this, a first concept art was shared:
Is the GW2 expansion still coming in 2023?
When is the new expansion coming out? According to the developers, the story of End of Dragons should be fully completed in May. Since a major update is planned every quarter and these are supposed to be part of an expansion, the next expansion could follow as early as Q3 (July to September). However, an initial patch would also be possible, followed by an extension in Q4.
Officially, the developers have not confirmed the new expansion for 2023. But the current statements suggest that it is still coming this year.
What do you think of the Roadmap 2023? Do you like the new information? And are you already looking forward to the next expansion?
2022 was all about legacy content for Guild Wars 2. In the meantime, you can return to the old version of the capital Löwenstein via a special achievement:
Guild Wars 2: Guide to the Lion’s Remembrance Achievement, which takes you to Ancient Lion’s Arch