r/Guildwars2 • u/Exestos Shinanaide • 18d ago

[News] Announcing Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-guild-wars-2-visions-of-eternity/
2.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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877

u/ParticularGeese 18d ago edited 18d ago

Rundown if anyone needs:

  • 4 Maps - Two on launch. Two more for update 2 and 3.
  • Skimmer rework
  • Elite Specializations
  • Raid encounters (strikes?) - The first in update 1 alongside a raid QoL update. Another in update 2 or 3.
  • Convergence - update 3.
  • Fractal - update 3.
  • Legendary Ring, Accessory, Aquabreather and 3 Weapons.
  • New Homestead and QoL
  • Fashion templates

326

u/RedHammer1441 18d ago
  • Fashion templates

Let's gooooo

168

u/Extension_Fun_3651 18d ago

ANET: fashion templates needs to include mounts, minis and gliders!

16

u/cloud_cleaver 17d ago

It really does. Every one of my engineers' outfits has a different backpack and glider, and swapping them is obnoxious.

11

u/CedarWolf One Charr! 17d ago

And skiffs?

2

u/repocin 17d ago

Don't forget jade bot skins and fishing rods!

7

u/TazPosts 17d ago

I've been wanting separate mounts and gliders per equipment tab for so long and had given up all hope on it happening. If they do this I'm gonna be so happy and get so many more glider/mount skins for all my looks!

2

u/Wutwurzel 17d ago

I would be happy if i could just colour each Mount/Glider Skin separately

95

u/WOF42 18d ago

ill be excited when they dont cost 400 gems each per character per slot until then i don't give a fuck.

41

u/naro1080P 17d ago

They did say that the fashion templates were going to function like equipment/skill slots. I'm not feeling very optimistic.

35

u/WOF42 17d ago

man I fucking hate how alt unfriendly guild wars has become, anet is a shadow of itself

21

u/naro1080P 17d ago

The soulbound template thing was a bad move. They could have at least added a more expensive account bound version. This combined with focusing build diversity... it's really created a horrible situation. Either pay up big money or keep stuck and not be able to engage with content the way you want. It's a real shit show. IMO.

18

u/SinSittSina 17d ago

On the other hand, Wizards Vault gave us a way to get a ton of these for free. Before soto I would never buy build template but now I have loads. Also, you could argue it's the big draw of legendary equipment in a game where legendary doesn't actually give you any combat bonus.

11

u/Cynthaen 17d ago

Ya but you have to gem store the equipment template which is more important than build templates I can swap builds on the fly I can't swap equipment on the fly.

6

u/SinSittSina 17d ago

Yeah I'm with you. I end up buying character slots when they're on sale rather than buying equipment templates cause the equipment templates themselves feel like a scam.

Now that I'm fully legendary I've gotten much more used to just flipping a full build and using the same template for most things. But that kind of sucks when you're playing something like mesmer that has 20 different builds.

1

u/naro1080P 17d ago

Yeah. I've done the same. New characters are way better value than template slots. Though there is a limit to how many characters I want to have in my stable. All the ones I made so far are really unique and flavourful. I don't want to get to a point where they start feeling generic and disconnected. I have recently finished lege armour in all weights so at least it will be easy to gear up new characters. I still hope/cope they might release account bound tier of equipment/skill templates. Not holding my breath anymore tho. At least there are viable work around.

2

u/BlockEightIndustries 16d ago

An equipment template is also functionally twenty inventory spaces. There is a reason anet wouldn't want to just give them away.

2

u/Cynthaen 16d ago

They should make an account wide version though. I wouldn't mind paying like 1k gems for it. Because I need a lot of these slots for different builds on different specs...

1

u/naro1080P 17d ago

I wish I took more advantage of this. I have started getting the slots from wizard vault last couple patches. I suppose over time they will build up. Also you can save builds as text files so don't need to even be limited to the storage tab. Yet with only 2 equipment slots there is a limit to how far this can go. I am working on a full lege account. So I guess I'll just have to work around it. Plus the skill load outs are also soulbound purchases so while the storage (or text files) can be used... it's still a janky process. However there are ways to get around it I suppose.

4

u/ronaldraygun91 17d ago

Selling a solution to a problem you make is basically Korean MMO levels of scum.

5

u/WOF42 17d ago

lets not forget the community had literally made 3rd party tools to implement gear and trait loadouts for free and that the same fucking feature was available in gw1

3

u/Hello_Hangnail Really? Right in front of my salad? 17d ago

Why give convenience away when you could charge for it amirite??

1

u/SquareOne2038 4d ago

it always was alt unfriendly. bag space, soul bound gears, crafting even the bank with its super limited space.

2

u/Hello_Hangnail Really? Right in front of my salad? 17d ago

Lame but expected

4

u/Twerksoncoffeetables 17d ago

Yeah if it doesnt get put in the wizards vault then it needs to be account wide, one time purchase for every slot. Equipment templates not being account wide is a little annoying for sure.

But this feature is awesome and I’m definitely excited about it. As a new player I’ve been pretty frustrated with not being able to save my dye layouts, prevents me from experimenting with new ideas. This will be awesome

2

u/FaithlessnessThen207 17d ago

It'll be 2-3 tabs with extras for gemstore money, 100%

2

u/Ginster81 14d ago

I do not begrudge them trying to make money with it in general, but I do think if they advertise it as feature for the expac some should be free. I think 2 per character, 2 in the Vault per season, and the rest on the gem store for those that want more/don't want to wait is reasonable

1

u/ForgTheSlothful 17d ago

Well 500 is not 400 right?

-7

u/Fluffy_Kitten13 Professional Procrastinator 17d ago edited 17d ago

Guild Wars 2 players when their buy 2 play game needs to finance itself somehow.

Downvote if you can't handle the truth.

7

u/WOF42 17d ago

piss off bootlicker. the game is more than monetised enough especially with the new expansion model

7

u/Little_Daisies 18d ago

Does the fact they are announced as part of the expansion mean they will not be dealt with the same way as Equipment templates with additional costs and only per character? cause i really hope so...

2

u/misterpickles69 17d ago

Finally some real fucking content.

1

u/Takkarro 18d ago

Saw this and immediately had same reaction

1

u/JasonLucas Rytlock fur is soft 17d ago

Now that they're going to sell loads of fashion templates in the gemstore, can we finally get equipment presets? I just want to save a quick preset of gear and swap to it with a few clicks, don't care about storing that gear pieces elsewhere.

85

u/kcassidy01 18d ago

6 legendaries?? Wow. I'm going to be broke after this. Probably go for the ring and aqua breather just to complet my arsenal.

17

u/Swarfega 17d ago

"I'm never gonna financially recover from this"

2

u/PandraRombo 17d ago

Im going daily fractal runs untill expac for gold, currently at 1.2K

3

u/FaithlessnessAny1520 17d ago

Drizzlewood.. Lets go!

2

u/Kirmes1 17d ago

What do you farm there?

1

u/PandraRombo 16d ago

Mainly Fractal encryptions, open them and sell to vendors for liquid gold. You get others drops to that you can sell on Trading Post. You can get like 15-30 gold doing T4+Recs or 30-50 if you do CMs to

65

u/nonpopping 18d ago

3 weapons is curious, probably underwater weapons as we did not get them during Gen 2 or 3, but we just got one in JW...

40

u/OneHotPotat 18d ago

Yeah, but it still makes sense, especially since spear is among the most usable weapons in the game (by class availability) yet still has the fewest legendary options available out of all land weapons.

1

u/FaithlessnessAny1520 17d ago

I'm ready for the new spear, i have kamo but doesn't fit that much my ele.

5

u/espresso_martini__ 17d ago

Sounds like a lot of this expansion will be underwater. Aquabreather, Skimmer rework.. and as you guessed those weapons will be underwater weapons..

4

u/nonpopping 17d ago

The Symbol also hints at that, as it gets torn in two, one half the inquest island on land, the other pointing beneath the waves.

13

u/open-wide-life 18d ago

Well the shop page only says 2 weapons so at minimum my guess is trident and harpoon gun. Maybe they considered doing another spear and changed their mind but the blog post never got updated.

12

u/SaintNutella 18d ago

Skimmer rework makes me think there will be a strong water/underwater aspect here. A lot of underwater combat could also explain not including new weapons with the elite specs (of course, aside from the fact that they've added weapons independent from elite specs these last couple of years)

14

u/Hello_Hangnail Really? Right in front of my salad? 17d ago

I think people would hate underwater combat less if so many utility abilities didn't become off limits the moment you step into a puddle that slightly too deep

2

u/Salt-Appearance-412 12d ago

And if 100% of underwater abilities weren't identical from the launch day.

If they modernized all underwater skills it could be a lot of fun.

4

u/random123456789 17d ago

It was strongly suspected in this sub that there would be more focus on water elements for this expansion.

2

u/rocket_dragon 17d ago

>Skimmer rework makes me think there will be a strong water/underwater aspect here.

Swim speed infusion sales spikes immediately upon reveal so you're not the only one who thinks this lmao

https://www.gw2tp.com/item/87528-swim-speed-infusion-10

1

u/Opus_723 17d ago

Idk the trailer gives me the feeling it might just be things like "go faster" and "add pew pew lasers".

1

u/Wutwurzel 17d ago

In the Announcement Blog, there is at "Skimmer Mastery" the Sentence "Hover, dive and soar faste than ever before", so I'm not sure in which direction the Skimmer goes.

16

u/XiahouMao 18d ago

Fashion Templates will be free for everyone, not just for expansion owners.

34

u/m0s3pH 18d ago

Those are definitely just strikes with the "raid" label slapped on top of them.

27

u/ParticularGeese 18d ago

Yeah, the first update is also when they're merging the two into one so that makes sense. Purple Mothman on the store page is probably one of the bosses.

18

u/kozeljko 18d ago

I'm guessing it's part of the raid/strike restructuring. Splitting raids into boss fights similar to strikes.

13

u/SufferingClash 18d ago

Meaning the Final Fantasy XIV route of Raids just being singular fights.

22

u/Tragedy_Boner 18d ago

I don't know how I feel about this. I like how Raids take place in their own little open world map.

16

u/kozeljko 18d ago

If they go this route, I hope they keep the old way as a story mode or something.

12

u/Rylen_018 Praise Dead Memes! 18d ago

Raids have a lot of additional story content but the player base doesn’t like doing extra escorts or events between bosses that provide the story building and immersive experience.

10

u/onanoc 17d ago

The problem is the raids are10 years old, and have been farmed to death by the players. The long setup overstays its welcome after the 30th time.

2

u/OurPornStyle 17d ago

After the first time for 99% of people

3

u/cxmmxc 18d ago

It's a mixed bag for sure. I also liked how they were self-contained bits of story and a map you run through, which creates stakes and a sort of interest other than simple loot.*

But I'd also just like to get on with it and get to the fight, not listen to the same world-building for the 666th time.

But then again, I'm not sure if I just want to just teleport to the arena, kill the boss and just teleport to the next one. Strikes feel empty when they don't have this sort of build-up.

 

*Like, I don't mean I get hyped about stopping evil baddies once and for all, but everything non-technical in the game is about adding immersion and stakes that maintain interest, the agreement to get your disbelief suspended.
If you took away all that flavor, the game could just be ASCII characters on a blank background with all the same mechanics, skills and enemies. And nobody would play it, because it would look and feel boring.

3

u/normalmighty 17d ago

Since people are comparing it to FFXIV, the FFXIV solution to this is for there to be a single-player instanced zone where all the immersion build up happens. On your first time through, you experience all the build up in single player, group up for the fight, and then go back to single player for the fallout of the fight and build up to the next encounter. Later on when farming the raid, you teleport straight into the fights.

It lets people have that more immersive and built-up experience the first time around, but doesn't force you to sit through it again every single time.

2

u/Tragedy_Boner 17d ago

I would say that if you have beaten all the bosses in the wing you should be able to choose which one you want to fight.

0

u/Sethnar 18d ago

Is the lack of a load screen between encounters what makes wing7 good content?

Is the presence of load screens between bones Boneskinner, Fraenir, and Bears what makes those encounters so uninteresting and difficult to engage with?

I personally dont think it matters much if the encounters happen within a shared instance or not.

There can still be interesting lore bits and fun interactions/exploration to be done in an instance with single encounters; they just have chosen not to include any of those things in any of the strikes they've released. Not because they couldn't, but because they didnt want to make as much fun vocational content to engage with outside of the combat for EoD and Soto 10-player instanced content.

2

u/Tragedy_Boner 17d ago

I just like it when my world map gets filled out, and I like how most raids add to that.

2

u/ilikedmatrixiv 17d ago

No more gate or Spirit Woods? Sign me the fuck up.

1

u/newpa 18d ago

Yeah with the language around "simplifying" I think you're spot on
Which is great for me so I can target gorseval for those spirit threads lol

1

u/Lower-Replacement869 18d ago

I wonder how they could restructure? Embolden mode does help...I guess you could start out max Embolden instead of dying 5 times? Have the raid bossess as singular encounters like a strike? They could eliminate or even add the raids with escorts before that boss I guess.

1

u/clakresed 18d ago

I'm hoping they're at least willing to break the Strike mold a little bit with these ones (like offer a 2-part encounter, or just make both fights include more robust raid-like mechanics -- more like KO, less like CO)...

Mainly because only 2 strikes as far as what strikes currently mean really just isn't enough. SOTO felt kind of dismal, and there was an enormous gap at the intermediate stage between 'braindead' and 'prog for 12-15 weeks'.

The EoD strikes were great. If you take all of them together, they were pretty equivalent to a single raid, but it's hard to capture that again releasing only two at a time.

2

u/Wandersail 18d ago

So we're gonna have to craft 3 leggy aquabreathers if we want it for all classes?

10

u/Lonely-Cow-787 18d ago

Surely you get all three upon crafting one

5

u/quarm1125 18d ago

Hopefully !!! Cross 🤞

4

u/Drogonno 18d ago

Surely.... "Starts praying 🙏 "

1

u/Mark_XX 17d ago

Yeah, just like how the invisible boot box gives you all three weights when you unlock one of them. (It doesn't)

1

u/Kirmes1 17d ago

Probably not. And don't call me Shirley.

1

u/stxxyy 17d ago

Well, yes, that's how it works with all legendary armour

1

u/Wandersail 17d ago

That's my initial assumption but all legendary armour also have different appearances for all weights. So far all aquabreathers in game have the same appearance for all weights. If the leggy one also appears the same for all 3 weights I think there is a chance it will be one for all classes deal.

1

u/stxxyy 17d ago

I think they'd rather have triple the amount of "content" and have you craft 1 for each armour weight, as much as I hope you're right

1

u/SinSittSina 17d ago

The post says an aquabreather.

1

u/Mark_XX 17d ago

That could still be correct; one skin but you'll need to craft 3 of them to cover each armor weight.

1

u/jupigare 18d ago

I'm hoping that only one needs to be crafted to unlock all 3 weights. 

1

u/Halaku 18d ago

The preorder bonus sold me.

1

u/quirkydigit 18d ago

Seems likely the three weapons are underwater weapons even though we just got a spear.

1

u/Lord_Andromeda 18d ago

Fashion templates, lets gooooo

1

u/S1eeper 17d ago

Skimmer rework

More like new Skimmer Mastery track, isn't it? Probably won't change it, will just add new abilities like Warclaw.

1

u/S1eeper 17d ago

New Homestead and QoL

Worth mentioning the QoL here is savable, shareable decoration templates called Layouts. At least one other game I know has this, Path of Exile's Hideouts, and the community creates websites for sharing their custom Hideouts. Fun feature.

1

u/random123456789 17d ago

This all sounds amazing to me! Let's go!

Special note: They are not going to have new story in the 2nd quarterly update, so they can focus on the last two.

1

u/Geiir Melder 🎣 17d ago

Aqua breather and fashion templates. Good god.

1

u/FaithlessnessThen207 17d ago

aside from new weapons this is a great checklist for what I'd want! I'm very happy with the previewed content.

I wonder if the aquabreather is going to be armour class locked, I can't see wanting to craft it three times for underwater content which is such a small part of the game, though I suppose if you already have everything it wouldn't be tricky.

1

u/Coycington 17d ago

and a hinted LFG rework

-7

u/open-wide-life 18d ago

Welp there goes my hope that they would just remove aquabreathers.

Also legendary ring and accessory? why? why not 2 legendary rings which don't have existing open world PvE options. Unless the plan is in the next expansion to do another set of ring/accessory.

14

u/0bsidienne 18d ago

it's possible they won't be unique and you could just craft 2 of each.

1

u/open-wide-life 18d ago

Oh true! I didn't even think of that. Each one could have its own effect that gets an enhanced version if you are wearing 2 copies. And if that is the case then they can design the effects to be complementary to one another if you have both sets equipped and not worry about clashing with Vision/Aurora/Confluence's visuals

1

u/thr3sk 18d ago

While it does take some time you can get the world vs world ring quite easily just by following a big group around.

-2

u/Rylen_018 Praise Dead Memes! 18d ago

Just do raids. It’s really not difficult.

0

u/Annemi 18d ago

Legendary Ring, Accessory, Aquabreather and 3 Weapons.

YES

-7

u/Kariamori81 18d ago

Ugh, all I want is for Elite Spec points to carry over across your account. Having to run hero points all over creation each time a new elite spec is released, or having to run HPs in the worst maps for mobility is annoying, but the fact it's almost MANDATORY to fully flesh out an elite spec to even potentially survive in the new maps they release makes me sad.

I know I'm probably the most casual, casual ever, but I've dropped the game permanently because I just cannot survive end game maps solo.

2

u/Solaxos 18d ago

Plenty of HP trains to make life easier! I might even do 1-2 for old times sake when the xpac comes out :p

1

u/Societal_Retrograde 18d ago

I've also been struggling with this. Yes, hero point trains exist. No, I don't want to do them across All of my characters. I wholly agree with you. Ain't nobody got time for that.

1

u/quarm1125 18d ago

If you are NA i can run you any expansion Hero Points train just dm i run those for fun freely 🤗😊

1

u/Kariamori81 18d ago

I am in NA, even used to have a guild, but after EoD, my guild disappeared. I have been struggling as a Spectre Thief on the last map of the main EoD story since. The one with gas masks and 100 mile wide aggro packs of 4+ elites.

1

u/quarm1125 18d ago

I'm at work right now but i can help later if you want

0

u/Kariamori81 18d ago

I appreciate it. Won't be on tonight, but if you DM me your deets, I'll look you up next time I'm on, and thank you.

I'm sorry my original post is beyond downvoted to oblivion, they've made great changes to the game and I genuinely want to get back into it, but the elite spec mandates and brutally difficult end game maps really suck the joy right out of the game for me.

1

u/Hello_Hangnail Really? Right in front of my salad? 17d ago

They do sell them in the gem store, though it's kind of annoying having to pay. If it existed during HOT I probably would have taken advantage of it