Guild Wars 2 announces its 10-year celebration kickoff and Steam Release for August 23, 2022.

Guild Wars 2 Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary and Steam Release

It’s crazy once you stop and consider that ArenaNet’s MMORPG, Guild Wars 2, has been around for almost 10 years. Since its inception, the game has had over 16 million unique players roam the lands of Tyria. At the time gameplay was extremely fun and fluid, as it shied away from World of Warcraft’s stationary tab-based targeting. Players could actually run around while casting spells. Crazy to think how something so simple now was revolutionary back then.

Throughout the years, Guild Wars 2 has had three expansion releases, five “Living Story” story seasons, and tons of free events and updates. Players have been able to explore dozens of unique zones, combat epic bosses, collect legendary armaments, and ride unique mounts. Next week, on August 23, ArenaNet will be celebrating the 10th birthday of its little project. This also coincides with the game’s official Steam Release.

Running on Steam

Guild Wars 2 has traditionally run on a separate, standalone client by ArenaNet’s design. Expansions and microtransaction currencies were purchased directly on the website or on the in-game menus. Coming on August 23 is the game’s official Steam Release.

Just like everywhere else, the base game will be free. There will be some restrictions, like a smaller character roster or the number of bag slots. Free players will also only be able to explore the base game zones – they will have no access to Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, or End of Dragons.

As of writing, the Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire expansions are bundled into one Steam purchase. Guild Wars 2’s latest expansion, End of Dragons, can be purchased separately. ArenaNet is also planning to sell a Complete Collection which will include almost 10 years’ worth of content. The Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection will contain all of the aforementioned expansions, plus Living World Seasons 2 to 5 (Season 1 is available for free to all players).

Adapting Guild Wars for a Wider Audience

To help facilitate a smooth game for all the new prospective players, ArenaNet has been busy updating Guild Wars 2. We do know that the game will still be supported as a fourth unnamed expansion has already been announced.

They have also very recently released info on a huge balance patch that will make some less attractive character builds more viable for meta raids and Fractal dungeons. Everything from weapons to class abilities themselves is being fine-tuned to make players feel empowered for choosing the characters they’ve selected.

The new player experience has also been revamped in many different ways. One of the biggest things for this is the addition of new achievements that will help guide the players on their options as they journey to the max level (which is 80).

They’re also giving new Guild Wars 2 players a time-limited Raptor Mount so they can experience some of the game’s extensive movement and exploration options. This is a good move, as mounts in Guild Wars 2 have often been highly praised, as they feel like separate entities and operate much differently than simply running faster.

Lastly, ArenaNet has also been working on improving Guild Wars 2’s game engine. While it was serviceable already back then in 2012, the engine was beginning to show its age. The main renderer that was being used was DirectX 9. The team updated the default renderer to be DirectX 11 instead to be a bit more modern while still supporting players on legacy systems like Windows 7 or Vista.

10 Years of Guild Wars 2

The Steam Release on August 23 will also kickoff ArenaNet’s 10-year anniversary celebration for Guild Wars 2. One way they’re promoting the game is by enabling Twitch Drops with various partnered content creators. Fans will be able to receive various boosters and cosmetics for tuning in to their favorite Guild Wars 2 streamer from August 23 to 28.

A new journey will also be available to all players, even after the anniversary celebration. This series of activities will have players go through the best of the best that the game has to offer. Activities will range from bosses, living world episodes, world vs world, and PVP. The new cosmetic Decade armor set will be the reward for players who brave these challenges.

We can also expect to find a 10 Year Anniversary gift in characters who are 10 years old on August 28. It is nice that every character has a yearly “Birthday” and receives rewards as well.

Looking for Guild

Guild Wars 2’s Steam Release and anniversary celebrations start on August 23, 2022. It is rumored that the Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection will sell for about $99.99, though it hasn’t been officially confirmed by the ArenaNet team. Players will still be able to purchase expansions and living stories separately if that price is too daunting.

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