Guild Wars 2: Part 1

Originally released on August 28, 2012, Guild Wars 2 has since enjoyed a strong, loyal following. They followed up that release with Heart of Thorns, the game’s first expansion, October 23, 2015, some 3 years after the game’s release. For an MMO game, that may seem like an eternity, but ArenaNet, like Blizzard (where the founders were from, prior to creating ArenaNet), takes their time and really polish their game. Path of Fire is no different, however, the team was able to produce the second expansion in only two years, instead of three. While development cycle was shorter, Path of Fire still continues an extensive amount of content and additions to the core game. Some of those include new areas like the Crystal Desert and Elona and elite specializations for each profession. But Path of Fire brings with it, the biggest addition to Guild Wars 2, mounts.

Reviewing an MMO is a tricky task because the game is always changing, always growing and it can be a completely different game six months to a year from now. Developers are always listening to feedback from players, so to give you all a hard review, is nearly impossible. Instead, consider this review a heartfelt suggestion, a review in progress, if you will, that may be revisited from time to time. I will keep you informed on what the expansion offers and whether or not I think players, new or old, should pick it up. The story is the first big change in Path of Fire (PoF), like the original game, the expansion furthers a dynamic story, that changes, depending on the actions of the player. In PoF, the rogue god of war and fire, Balthazar, has returned and is hellbent on dominating (or destroying) Tyria.

With Humanity’s prayers to the six gods going unanswered, Balthazar reveals himself as the reason why and just like he extinguished their prayers, he plans to eliminate life. As part of Balthazar’s quest for domination players will be forced to discover new areas, like the Crystal Desert and the Kingdom of Elona, to put an end to his plans and stop his murderous army.

As with any new map or area in an MMO, it’s divided up into zones. Regardless of what MMO you’re playing, discovering that zone is part of the game’s intrigue and sadly, its reveal only happens once. Through exploration, you’ll more than likely find a zone that you may designate as your favorite, however, the excitement of finding it for the first time is never replicated. So with that being said, I won’t go into too much detail about the zones, I’ll just brush over them so that you can discover them in your own way.