Guild Wars 2 update adds new quests, characters, and World v World changes

Guild Wars 2 's ongoing "living story" series of escalating quests got a lot livelier yesterday with the launch of THE RAZING . Oh my, sounds alarming, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, it's probably just a big barbecue or something - oh wait. No, it says here a "hybrid army" calling themselves the "Molten Alliance" has erupted from portals of flame in the Shiverpeaks and they're "wiping out all resistance." Sound the alarm. SOUND THE ALARM.

The molten attack will add a bunch of new missions to the open world in the Shiverpeaks. You can do some counter-espionage for The Vigil, the Order of Whispers are doing secretive biz in the Black Citadel and the Consortium are building a refugee aid program in Southsun Cove. The latest episode in the ongoing Fire and Frost saga ushers in a couple of new characters, Braham the Norn and Rox the Charr, who get their own playable story instances to say hello.

The latest update also makes a bunch of World vs. World changes, adding new ranks that can be swapped for titles and WvW-exclusive abilities. Check out our interview with Guild Wars 2 WvW designers Mike Ferguson and Matt Witter for more on Arenanet's thinking behind the update.

The Razing also makes loads of balance changes and bug fixes. You'll find the full list in the patch notes on the Guild Wars 2 site .

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.