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Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire is the second expansion for the Guild Wars 2. As the balance of magic comes undone, lead your allies in the hunt for the rogue god Balthazar, whose scorched-earth campaign threatens the very existence of Tyria.
Humanity has worshipped the six gods for centuries, even as their prayers went unanswered. Now the god of fire and war, Balthazar, has made an unexpected return, only to reveal himself as a ruthless manipulator with little regard for mortal life.
Tyria's heroes thwarted the first stage of his catastrophic plan to destroy the Elder Dragonsbut now he's raised a zealous army to cut a path of terror and destruction across the south. You must halt their march before Balthazar sets the foundations of the world ablaze.
New Region: The Crystal Desert
Balthazar threatens the Crystal Desert and adjoining kingdom of Elona with his Forged legions. Explore vast new maps filled with magic-drenched desert plains, ancient temples and ruins, and beautiful oases. Uncover the secrets of Tyria's history, and discover the fate of the Elonian people after years of silence
Introducing Mounts
Mounts are far more than a speed boostthey're a whole new way to explore the world of Tyria. Unlock and train your new companions using the max-level Mastery character progression system, and explore freely by leaping across canyons, bounding up high cliffs, and skimming over quicksand.
Nine New Specializations
Continue to evolve and customize your level-80 character with a new elite specialization for each profession. With a new variety of playstyles, weapon choices, and traits to choose from, there are more options than ever to play your way.
Desert-Inspired Weapons and Armor Sets
Collect and upgrade armor sets and weapon skins that reflect the beauty, magic, and history of the desert.
New Guild Hall: Windswept Haven
Claim a beautiful new home for your guild and live like Elonian nobility.
Springer's long ears and wiggly noses are charming, but the springer's greatest strength is their ability to make jaw-dropping vertical leaps. Traveling merchants and couriers use them to cross sheer cliffs in the Crystal Highlands, shaving weeks off their journeys.
Raptors are hardy and swift, and surprisingly easy to train due to their intelligence. They can cross great distances in a single leap, making them the favored mount of many of the desert's denizens. Travelers are advised not to leave the city of Amnoon without obtaining a raptor companion.
Jackals are elusive, magical creatures formed of shifting sands and given shape by magical runes. They can dissipate into sand to teleport short distances and dash through sand portals. The djinn of the Desolation create and tame them; prove yourself a worthy trainer, and you may befriend one.
Skimmers are graceful creatures native to the Elon River. They live above water, breathing through large air sacs as they float above the surface. While they cannot truly fly, they can hover for short distances at a height of several norn, making them indispensable for crossing large areas of treacherous quicksand or sulfur.
Guild Wars 2 Reddit and Guild Wars 2 Official Forums - Places for discussing all things Guild Wars 2, including being able to directly chat with developers.
Guild Wars 2 Wiki - A player created and curated encyclopedia of every item, event, and facet of Guild Wars 2. Can be accessed in-game by using the /wiki command.
Game Updates Forum and Wiki - Two places to see the latest patches for Guild Wars 2. The wiki will sometimes contain unlisted changes from the official notes.
Quantify and Metabattle - Two websites for builds and accompanying gearsets and rotations.
Dulfy.net - A great resource for patch details and screenshots of new weapons, armors, and outfits. Great guides for all patch content and videos of new skins.
GW2Efficiency - Using the official API, track everything you could possibly want to know about your account here, including your achievements, your next character birthday, or remind yourself which character is carrying your legendary weapon.
GW2TP - One of many Trading Post utilities.
GW2Crafts - Learn how to level up your crafting ability in the easiest and cheapest possible way.
GW2Timer - Resource maps, event timers.
F.A.Q:
Q: Is there a subscription fee?
A: No. Like the original Guild Wars, each expansion is a single up-front purchase with no additional subscription.
Q: Do I need to purchase the core Guild Wars 2 game or the first expansion Heart of Thorns to play Path of Fire?
A: No. You can buy Path of Fire and experience all the content in the core game and the Path of Fire expansion.
Q: Does the Path of Fire expansion include the previous Heart of Thorns expansion?
A: No. However, you can add Heart of Thorns to your purchase of Path of Fire for a discounted price of 20$.
Q: What content do I miss out on if I do not purchase Heart of Thorns?
A: Living World Season 3, Gliding and the other Heart of Thorns masteries, the initial set of Elite Specializations (Tempest, Daredevil, Druid, etc.), claiming Guild Halls, and Scribing.
Q: What about the Revenant class?
A: The Revenant class will be unlocked for accounts with only Path of Fire, however the first Revenant Elite Specialization, Herald, is still Heart of Thorns exclusive.
Q: Is there a physical version of Path of Fire?
A: Unfortunately not at this time, and probably never.
Q: What Living World content is included in the Path of Fire release?
A: As of now, only Living World Season 4, which will begin releasing a few months after Path of Fire, is included in the expansion. Living World Season 1 is not accessible due to the impermanent nature of the content, and Season 2 and Season 3 are available through the gem store in game, however Season 3 requires Heart of Thorns.
Q: Should I buy Living World content?
A: If you like the story, you will need to purchase this content to access all story steps. As of Season 3, each episode includes an entirely new map with exclusive items as well, adding to the value greatly.
Q: Is <my class> good?
A: Probably. Outside of high level fractals and raids, your class has no impact on your ability to do content. Guild Wars 2 has a good amount of depth and fairly punishing gameplay, however, so you may struggle even on a strong class until you improve at the game.
Q: This game has no endgame/no trinity/no difficulty! Why should I play?
A: Guild Wars 2 has changed drastically since it's initial release. Heart of Thorns introduced Raids and cranked up the difficulty of the open world, overall adding another layer of end game depth including a trinity of DPS-Support-Healing within 10 man content and even 5 man fractals. PvP content has also been expanded in terms of rewards and structure in recent updates including automated tournaments for Structured PvP and a progression system for WvW. At this point Guild Wars 2 is a content and feature rich MMO with a lot to offer. And no subscription fee means you're free to take it as casually or seriously as you like.
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Thanks to NormalFish for helping with the OT!
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Discord link if you want another place to chat about the game, quote to see:
Divinity is eating my time up.
