Guild Wars 2's next update threatens throats with deadly politics

Cutthroat Politics will be the next in the now regular Guild Wars 2 update cycle. As the second update of the month, it'll build on the airship/giant kite thing that landed in the previously released Bazaar of the Four Winds . Throughout the update, two of the game's characters will be embarking on the campaign trail in an effort to secure player votes for... some supposedly significant role created purely to support this election conceit.

During the two week event, players will be able to use support tokens and coins to canvas for their candidate - with the ultimate winner giving a set of bonuses that will be felt throughout the game. There isn't really much between the candidates, which I'm assuming isn't a satirical comment on real world politics. Ellen Kiel will cut teleportation prices for four weeks, embark on research into the Fractal's Thaumanova Reactor explosion, and "introduce a rotating schedule of activities such as Crab Toss and Southsun Survival". Bull-cat thing Evon Gnashblade, meanwhile, will cut Blion Lion Chest Key prices for four weeks, embark on research into the Fractal's Fall of Abaddon, and "introduce a rotating schedule of activities such as Crab Toss and Southsun Survival".

Some new events will round out the update. That includes the aforementioned Southsun Survival - a new last man/woman/plant/bull-cat-thing standing mode about scavenging supplies and killing people with a bow. There's also a new PvP mode, assigning players the power of sun, wind or lightning in a three-way team showdown; and a survival activity against waves of Aetherblades. Or angry steampunk pirates, for the uninitiated.

Cutthroat Politics will kick off next week, from July 23rd.

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.