Guild Wars 2's guild quests explained - puzzles, bounties and chicken races inbound

ArenaNet have published a detailed post explaining guild quests, the new mission type due to arrive in Guild Wars 2 with the upcoming Flame & Frost update. It looks like an enjoyable addition to the game, providing a range of team building activities for guild members to play through. So naturally, I'm going to obsess over the bit of the included video where player-chickens race around a track. I'm a massive child.

The purpose of the quests is to focus guilds towards PvE play. To that end, five team-based mission types will be available, as explained by ArenaNet's Leah Rivera:

" Guild Bounty – Your guild is tasked with tracking down and capturing various targets for the Orders. These people are wanted for a variety of reasons and have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to resist arrest!"
" Guild Trek – Think you know Tyria? Well the Tyrian Explorer's Society has a challenge for you! Find the list of locations before time runs out."
" Guild Challenge – These challenges leverage our existing event system but are specifically geared to require multi-group, coordinated play to succeed. So gather your guild and see if you're up to the challenge!"
" Guild Rush – Test your skills with a mad dash over harrowing terrain, traps, and other hidden dangers. Just remember, there's safety in numbers!" (ALSO CHICKENS!)
" Guild Puzzle – It's a puzzle and a jumping challenge all in one! This mission type requires multi-group coordination as well as individual jumping skills to get to the treasure at the end."

Completing missions will earn Merits for your guild, which can be used to buy new guild upgrades. All missions will take place in the open world, meaning smaller guilds will be able to rally for additional players to help them.

Guild Wars 2's Flame & Frost: The Gathering Storm update is due out February 26.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.