Guild Wars 2 to explore The Origins of Madness next week

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As noted last week , Guild Wars 2's Living Story is moving towards its conclusion. Today, we learn how that conclusion will heavily involve creepy giant marionettes. ArenaNet have announced that the next update - due to launch January 21st - will be called The Origins of Madness. And while it kicks off the culmination of over a year of twice-monthly updates, and unveils the master-plan of repeatedly defeated villain Scarlet, the real reveal is the addition of two new world bosses to be blasted into treasure.

"Beginning with “Origins of Madness”, Guild Wars 2 players will once again find themselves pitted against the forces of arch-villain Scarlet Briar," explains the press release sent out by ArenaNet. Blah blah blah, "sinister sylvari engineer", blah blah blah, "wreaking havoc", blah blah, "motivations remain a mystery"...

...Aha, here's the good stuff. "Scarlet will unleash a brand-new mechanical monstrosity on the living world of Tyria: the Twisted Marionette! A gigantic robotic weapon of mass destruction, the Twisted Marionette can only be stopped by a concerted effort on the part of players.

"That's not the only threat awaiting players, as the teaser video reveals. Scarlet's machinations have unearthed something ancient and angry in Bloodtide Coast. The Great Jungle Wurm is a huge multi-headed creature so powerful that only an army of players can challenge it."

The number of players swarming through the video suggests that these will be proper World Boss encounters: something I'm personally pretty happy about, because, by and large, the game's World Bosses are great.

Keep an eye on the Guild Wars 2 update release page , where more detailed information about the upcoming events and rewards should be announced sometime before next week's patch.

Phil Savage
Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

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.