Guild Wars 2 update rebuilds Lion's Arch, overhauls skills and traits

It was over a year ago that ArenaNet destroyed Guild Wars 2's capital city as part of the end of Season One of the Living World story. Since then, diligent NPCs have been hammering away at bits of the city. Last night, their hard work paid off. The MMO's latest patch features a rebuilt Lion's Arch—and it's a dramatic change from the old pirate-themed haven of the initial release.

To encourage people to explore each corner of the city, a new achievement tasks you with exterminating an infestation of Karkas. The reward for doing this is Princess; the Dragonite Ore eating companion to Mawdrey II and the Star of Gratitude.

Despite appearances, the new Lion's Arch isn't the most substantial part of the update. That goes to the changes being made to the way Traits and Skills are handled. Every character class has been overhauled with a full balance pass as part of an entirely new system for unlocking and assigning passive buffs and active abilities. The changes are far too numerous to detail, and—to be perfectly honest—I'm still getting to grips with it all. If you want more details, take a look at ArenaNet's two part primer for Specialisations and Reward Tracks.

Also as part of the new update, the inventory wallet has been upgraded to allow for new currencies—including Geodes and Bandit Crests. That sound you hear is your bags breathing a sigh of relief.

Head over to the Guild Wars 2 forum for a full list of patch notes.

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.