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Everything revealed in the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons livestream

NCSoft and ArenaNet had a lot in store for players as part of the first look into Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. We're here with a full recap.

Ozzie Mejia

July 27, 2021 11:00 AM

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The Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons First Look livestream has come to a close and there was a lot of information revealed. This stream marked the first opportunity for fans to learn about what's coming in Guild Wars 2's third expansion, which will take players to the island of Cantha for the first time since 2006's Guild Wars: Factions. What else were players treated to?

Everything revealed in the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons livestream

An all-new trailer debuted during Tuesday's livestream. Much like last year's initial teaser, this new trailer started with the dragon Kuunavang before seguing into some more familiar voices from the lost world of Cantha. This will set the stage for an all-new story set in the region, which will take place 200 years after The Jade Wind left nearly everything petrified. Intrepid Canthan minds have managed to turn the new dragonjade material to their advantage and create a magical surplus. However, with the dragons beginning to fall, as seen during the end of the Icebrood Saga, the dragonjade supply has been affected in ways yet to be seen. These events and more will play into this new story that will feature new voice actors Erika Ishii, Noshir Dalal, Ry Chase, Rina Hoshino, Tina Huang, and Sarah Sokolovic.

One of the most anticipated additions to End of Dragons is a new series of Elite Specializations for Guild Wars 2's nine professions. This will open the door to new abilities for max level characters. While this will officially be a feature included in End of Dragons, some players will get a chance to see these new Elite Specializations sooner. One week per month from August through November will be dedicated to an Elite Specialization beta event. This will be free to all players and will give them an opportunity to try out some of the new Elite Specialization skills before the expansion's launch.

Those looking to amplify their power further can seek out new Legendary Weapons. These are inspired by the Elder Dragon Aurene and will be available to find upon End of Dragons' launch.

New Strike Missions will be available, building on the feature first introduced with the Icebrood Saga. While Strike Missions will continue to test squads of up to ten players, they will now include additional challenge modes. Those who dare to tackle these challenge modes can earn some unrevealed rewards, but ArenaNet does not plan to make these easy.

Cantha is covered in water and getting around can be time-consuming. ArenaNet will look to make traversal a little bit easier with some new mounts, including the franchise's first co-op mount. The Siege Turtle can hold two passengers and will allow pairs to battle in a new, exciting way. Those who prefer to travel solo can take advantage of Skiff watercraft. The Skiffs can take players to far-off locations, assist in exploration, or take players to more secluded bodies of water, where they can take part in the all-new fishing activity. Fishing can be used for cooking recipes, but expert fisherman will also be able to take part in new tournament events.

Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons was originally slated to release later this year before it was ultimately delayed to 2022. There is now a new release window of February 2022 with pre-orders now open on the Guild Wars 2 website. We'll have more details on pre-orders later today.

All of this is scratching the surface of what's coming to Guild Wars 2 with the End of Dragons expansion. ArenaNet and NCSoft will have more to say about this new addition to the game throughout the year, as the team plans to hold regular Friday streams on the Guild Wars 2 Twitch and YouTube channels.

Shacknews will keep an eye on everything set to come to Guild Wars 2 with the launch of next year's End of Dragons expansion. Keep it here for the latest updates.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?