The new Raids and Wardrobe quarterly update is live today, and the Lunar New Year festival has begun! Read on for highlights of the Raids and Wardrobe update, and catch the full release notes on our forums.
This release is an example of the ways that player feedback shapes our approach to development. In our retrospective on Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™, we talked about changing our release plans based on responses to the quarterly releases for that expansion. This new approach allows us to modestly increase the amount of story, but more significantly, it allows us to bundle the story in a way that should make the second and third major updates for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity feel more satisfying to play through. It also allows us to focus this release on other parts of the game. As we talked about in that retrospective, we’re excited to deliver features that make the game easier understand and more enjoyable to play by refining and modernizing the systems that are already in the game. Today’s release is doing exactly that for two big areas of Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity—raids and the wardrobe system!
The Raids Feature and a New Raid Encounter
Players can now challenge the new raid encounter, Guardian’s Glade, and face off against a truly awe-inspiring crustacean! The challenge mode will become available in three weeks. One of the easiest ways to access the new encounter is through the new raid UI, a core part of our raids update, which also features the merging of Strike Missions into raids as raid encounters. You can read about the raids improvements in detail in our recent blog on the topic and raid livestream. When you get into the game, be sure to check out the Achievements tab and the new raid reward vendor in the Lion’s Arch Aerodrome to start exploring the changes for yourself!
Fashion Templates and Fashion Week
When you first log in after downloading today’s update, you should receive an in-game mail with some free transmutation charges encouraging you to try out our latest wardrobe system update: Fashion Templates! You can learn all about the changes in our blog or preview livestream, or just open up your Hero panel and go to the Fashion tab (not the Equipment tab!). When you do, you’ll get a one-time prompt to save your current cosmetics to Fashion Template 1 for free. You start out with two free Fashion Templates, and more—up to a total of nine—may be purchased through the Black Lion Trading Company.
To celebrate the addition of Fashion Templates, Fashion Week is taking over the official Guild Wars 2 forums from February 3 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) to February 10 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)! Fashion Week’s theme is “God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals,” and it’s your chance to channel your divine presence, overwhelming power, or quietly terrifying reverence through your look. Whether you arrive as a benevolent deity or something far more ominous, we can’t wait to see how you command the runway. And for those who truly ascend above the rest, the grand prize is a legendary weapon of the winner’s choice! To enter, head over to our forums and leave the mere mortals in your wake.
Wizard’s Vault Improvements
Alongside the seasonal refresh of new rewards that come with quarterly updates, we’ve made a number of improvements to the Wizard’s Vault. At a high level, this update focuses on making objectives clearer and more flexible, improving reward variety, and protecting the long-term health of the game’s economy.
Daily and weekly objectives have been refreshed to improve variety and reduce friction, with several older objectives retired and new ones added that better highlight core activities like fractals, world bosses, and World vs. World (WvW). We’ve also introduced greater flexibility in how you engage with the system: daily and weekly objectives can now be selected independently, and you can freely adjust your chosen categories as long as you haven’t started progressing them. Combined with new special objectives that will roll out over the course of the season, including ones tied to festivals and bonus events, the Wizard’s Vault should feel more responsive to how and when you want to play.
The Wizard’s Vault shop has also received a broader tuning pass this season, including updates to pricing, quantities, and item availability. We’re updating the seasonal inventory with three Black Lion Keys and a Bag Slot Expansion, alongside other new additions and astral acclaim price tuning. As part of this work, we’ve removed the unlimited Bag of Coins option and adjusted the remaining limited-supply gold reward, which now offers more total gold per season at a slightly higher astral acclaim cost. These changes are intended to limit gold inflation and support the long-term health of the game’s economy. For full details on shop changes and reward availability, be sure to check out the complete release notes.
And, of course, there’s a refresh of the rewards in the Wizard’s Vault for everyone to collect and enjoy. The Castoran Coral Quest License takes you on a journey to obtain the Coralheart Pillar staff and Coralheart Stake sword. These ascended weapons grow bioluminescent coral formations as you wield them! The Seaside Scholar’s set is now complete with three new skins to help you become a beach-loving sage. Then there’s the Toxinshell weapon set with its beautiful-but-deadly design for all of our terrestrial weapons. Finally, the Tropical Leaf Cape Set grants you dramatic leafy shoulder and cape skins that surround your character with impressive foliage.
Legendary Rewards
Soak in perpetual vacation vibes with the new legendary ring! Endless Summer brings the beach with you wherever you go with splashing water effects and sand at your feet—complete with sandcastles, shells, and crabs!
Talk to Shaman Palak near the Hullgarden Pier Waypoint in Shipwreck Strand to learn more about making this ring your own.
Raiders will find new rewards waiting for them, including the new Dhuumscale skyscale mount skin. Six new combat relics for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity are also now available.
Lunar New Year & Upcoming Events
Gallop towards a fresh Lunar New Year with decorations and festivities in Divinity’s Reach! Of special note is the opportunity to earn the Celestial Hoofed Shoes boot armor skin that will grace you with hooves worthy of the noblest centaur. Other incredible rewards include the Plush Mordy Backpack, the Lucky Great Horse Backpack, Celestial’s Firework Weapon skins, and the Mini Horse-Gourdon!
This festival is accessible to players of any level. Even if you’re brand new to the game, you can easily take part in our Lunar New Year activities and earn new cosmetic unlocks, utility items, and more! Check your in-game mail for an Invitation to Lunar New Year, and double-click the item to teleport instantly to Divinity’s Reach. The Wizard’s Vault also has special objectives directing you toward Lunar New Year activities so you can earn more astral acclaim and collect your rewards!
This festival kicks off a quarter full of events:
February
February 3–24: Lunar New Year
February 24–March 10: Return to Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™
March
March 3–10: Dungeon Rush Bonus Event
March 10–17: PvP Rush Bonus Event
March 17–24: Bonus Event (to be announced)
March 24–31: Bonus Event (to be announced)
April
Mid-April: Super Adventure Festival
Twitch Drops and Sneak Peeks
Starting today, you can earn Twitch Drops when you tune into participating Guild Wars 2 streamers! Drops are active until February 8 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC -8), so connect your account and start watching!
Before we sign off, we wanted to give you peek at what’s still in development for future releases. Below you’ll catch a glimpse of the third map for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity. And, for a less visual preview: one of the two legendary accessories coming in the next major update will be acquired in WvW! We’ll also be back in a month or so to talk about some exciting experimental changes we’re making to War Score in WvW.
“With the staff in hand, the way opens before us. The only path to Tyria’s survival. A road I walk because someone must, and no one else will.” —Vloxx
The first major update for Guild Wars 2®: Visions of Eternity™ arrives on February 3 and will allow players to create and save Fashion Templates to easily swap between.
A New Home for Your Wardrobe
A new Fashion tab within the Hero panel will house wardrobe and gathering tool appearance choices, which means you will no longer find wardrobe or outfit selection in the Equipment tab. In the wardrobe, players can change the appearance of their armor, outfits, backpacks, and weapons.
As players of our own game, we’re particularly excited that the wardrobe now allows you to also edit the dye colors of applicable items, rather than needing to switch between different tabs for appearance and dye options. When you have an item slot selected, you’ll be shown cosmetic options, and when you select a dye channel, you’ll be shown dye options. The randomize feature will continue to only impact skins or dyes in a single randomization; selecting an appearance slot will change the randomize button to only randomize skins among those available to your armor class and race, and selecting a dye channel will make it only randomize dyes.
It’s important to note that the wardrobe will only display appearance options for the weapons that your character currently has equipped, and equipping weapons is still managed through the Equipment tab. Similarly, infusions are tied to the equipment item system rather than cosmetics, so they are still managed through the Equipment tab.
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Introducing Fashion Templates
At the top of the wardrobe, tabs will indicate which Fashion Template a character is currently using and allow for navigation between different templates to preview or edit. Every character begins with two Fashion Templates by default, so you’ll be able to swap between two separate looks. Additional template slots, up to a total of nine, will be available for purchase in-game through the Black Lion Trading Company for 600 gems. A template slot is for your entire account; each character will get the benefit of being able to swap an additional look for each template slot unlocked.
Transmutation Charges are used to save a cosmetic skin to a Fashion Template, but Fashion Templates are free to apply. A Fashion Template is first edited (which has no cost), then saved (costing a Transmutation Charge for each piece of equipment to be updated in the template itself), and then can be freely applied to your equipment until it is edited and saved again. If a piece of equipment that your character has equipped is of legendary quality, saving a new cosmetic appearance for that item in a Fashion Template will not cost Transmutation Charges.
If a Fashion Template includes the appearance of a weapon (or any piece of equipment) that you are not currently wielding, that appearance will not be applied.
When this goes live, you’ll receive an in-game mail with some free Transmutation Charges and a suggestion to check out the system. On each character, you’ll have a one-time chance upon first visiting the Fashion panel to save your currently equipped cosmetics to your first Fashion Template without spending any Transmutation Charges.
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Fashion Endgame
Beyond the basics, there’s a bevy of options for fine-tuning your fashion. Right-clicking on any single item slot saved to a Fashion Template will allow you to apply it individually, rather than needing to apply the whole template. A new checkbox will allow you to apply your chosen cosmetics to any items that your character equips, so if you’re leveling or otherwise swapping out armor, you don’t have to reapply the template every time. And advanced controls within the wardrobe will allow you to inspect, clear, and rename your Fashion Templates.
Like Build and Equipment Templates, you’ll be able to select Fashion Templates through the quick-access menu on your skill bar and assign a hotkey to them. Hovering over a Fashion Template in the quick-access menu will show a preview of which items and dye choices are associated with that template.
And, like Build Templates, Fashion Templates will be sharable! You can generate chat- sharable Fashion Template codes that can also be saved if you want to preserve old looks or share fashion tips outside of the game.
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And Tools, Too!
Like other pieces of equipment, gathering tools and their glyphs will still be managed through the Equipment tab. However, gathering tool cosmetics will be separated from the wardrobe and Fashion Templates. Their appearance can be changed—for free!—through the Tools section of the Fashion tab.
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Into the Future, Fashionably
We’re continuing to work on the Equipment and Fashion sections of the Hero panel, including moving mounts, gliders, and conjured doorways to the Fashion tab; expect to see additional updates in a future release for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity.
We’ll be live on our Twitch channel this Friday, January 30, at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) to take a closer look at the Fashion Templates feature, so tune in to see it in action!
With a timeless design and crafted from the finest materials, these boots are made to be both stylish and practical for everyday use. Perfect for a walk in the wilderness or to mount up and set out on an adventure. The Classic Leather Boots Skin is now available for 400 gems.
What’s in Stock
We’re getting a restock of our chairs for the season! Starting on Friday, January 30, these novelty items will be hot with a 20% discount. This offer will last until February 13. Some of our favorite items include: Ornate Grand Piano, Candy Cane Chair, Dueling Elements Chair Package, Comfortable Reading Chair, Glacial Chair, and Skyscale Chair.
Returning This Week
Salvage all you need or expand your account with this week’s discounts! From today until February 3, the Copper-Fed Salvage-o-Matic, Silver-Fed Salvage-o-Matic, Runecrafter’s Salvage-o-Matic, and Equipment Template Expansions are 20% off and Build Template Expansions are 40% off.
Available Now in the Gem Store!
Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
The first major update for Guild Wars 2®: Visions of Eternity™ is on its way and coming with it are a new raid encounter as well as major updates for raids and the raid encounters formerly known as Strike Missions. Our goal with all of these is to unify Guild Wars 2‘s challenging instanced endgame content while making it easier to navigate. We introduced some of our thinking behind this change shortly before the expansion launched, which you can read here, and now we’re ready to share some additional details.
The Unification of Raids
Starting with the upcoming release, Strike Missions will be known as raid encounters, and they will be available alongside raid wings in the Looking for Group panel as well as the new raid UI and every raid portal. Through the raid UI, squad leaders will be able to select which encounter to enter, including specific bosses of multi-encounter raid wings and all challenge modes. The UI will also track encounter clears for the week.
Squad leaders will also be able to move the squad directly between raid maps without first needing to exit a raid before entering a new one, leading to a more seamless experience with fewer loading screens!
Raid Encounter Quickplay
From the raid UI, selecting Quickplay will allow you to enter the queue. When the queue completes and you accept the raid, you and your new squadmates will be transported into the raid. Nobody will be assigned a commander or lieutenant role by default, and all players will have the option to put down markers and start ready checks. All players in quickplay will have an effect applied that provides moderate bonuses to help groups succeed regardless of party composition. Upon successful completion of the encounter, you’ll be presented with the option to stay in your party and go to the Lion’s Arch Aerodrome or leave the party and return to the map you were in before entering.
Like the quickplay queue for Fractals of the Mists, the raid quickplay queue does not try to do any matchmaking for party composition. Likewise, it has also been curated to include encounters that pose a roughly similar challenge to randomly matched groups of players. At launch, that list will include:
Aetherblade Hideout
Whisper of Jormag
Boneskinner
Cosmic Observatory
Temple of Febe
Xunlai Jade Junkyard
Old Lion’s Court
Kaineng Overlook
Because of its newness, the new raid encounter will not be part of the quickplay pool and there is no bonus event planned for raid quickplay at its launch.
Rewards, Achievements, and Leaderboards
Rewards have been normalized across raid wings and encounters. This includes the conversion of Prophet Shards to Magnetite Shards; Magnetite Shards and Gaeting Crystals will be the currency for raid rewards moving forward. To accommodate that change, the weekly cap for Magnetite Shards has been raised to 800.
Raid bosses have been grouped into five categories based on difficulty, and each boss in the same category will award the same amount of Magnetite Shards. The higher the difficulty, the more rewards! Quickplay raids provide reduced amounts of the same currency as their non-quickplay version. Additionally, the reward for raid encounters is now gated weekly to be consistent with raid wing bosses.
Three new raid-exclusive rewards, including a new Dhuum-themed skyscale skin, have been added to the raid system as part of this update. These are not locked behind the same weekly gate as other rewards. Separately, a new raid rewards vendor will offer both one-time and weekly items in exchange for raid currencies.
A new daily achievement category, Raid Boss Bounties, will highlight raid encounter and raid wing bosses for bonus daily rewards. The Raid God achievement and several other new raid achievements have been added, and updates have been made to several wings and encounters to create achievement parity, including mentor achievements for the raid wings that didn’t have one.
Raid achievements that are not associated with quickplay cannot be completed in quickplay raid encounters. However, two new quickplay-specific achievements have been added. There is a weekly achievement with rewards for completing up to 10 quickplay raids a week, plus a single-time multi-tier achievement for completing quickplay raids that awards new relics from the upcoming release.
We’re also thrilled to introduce new raid leaderboards for challenge mode completions! These are similar to those used for adventures and will display global top completion times as well as your own time for raid challenge mode.
Coming Soon!
Everything we discussed today and more will be shown in detail during our livestream this week! Tune in to our Twitch channel this Friday, January 23, at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) to see it all for yourself, and then start getting ready; you’ll be able to put the new raid UI to the test and access an all-new raid encounter when the update lands on February 3! This will be followed three weeks later by a challenge mode.
We’re excited to have everyone jump in to experience quickplay and our other raid improvements. As always, let us know what you think on our official forums.
Guild Wars® Reforged is now available to buy and play! We’re excited to be making new improvements to the adventure that started it all for us. This update makes entering the original Guild Wars story better than ever and extends new options for hardware compatibility to invite still more heroes into Tyria. For information on all the changes, read the full release notes for today’s update.
Beyond today’s update, Guild Wars Reforged represents our commitment to ongoing improvements for Guild Wars. You can read our original announcement for more context on this project and our partnership with 2weeks that is making it possible.
Stephen Clarke-Willson, the game director for Guild Wars, said, “The positive reception to the 20th Anniversary Masterpiece Collection reinforced our drive to keep this classic MMO thriving. As new players joined and experienced players rejoined the community, we discovered that people were playing on big-screen TVs and Steam Deck and other handheld devices, and so we decided to lean into supporting these playstyles fully with deep integration of controller support and big-screen TV support. Controller support has been a tough nut to crack for MMOs, and I think we dialed it in.”
If you’ve ever purchased a Guild Wars campaign, Guild Wars Reforged is waiting for you now, with quality-of-life improvements, graphical and audio updates, extended hardware support, and more. This updated edition makes all three campaigns for the original Guild Wars available at a new, discounted price, which means that anybody who has previously purchased any of the campaigns will now have access to all three. The Guild Wars : Eye of the North™ expansion and the Bonus Mission Pack are still available separately.
If you haven’t ever purchased a copy of Guild Wars before, Guild Wars Reforged is available now on our freshly updated official store and Steam pages. As you play Guild Wars® Reforged and earn various achievements and items, you’ll make progress in your Hall of Monuments—which will unlock rewards in Guild Wars 2®!
Please note: You’ll only be able to connect your Guild Wars Reforged and Guild Wars 2 accounts if you use the same log-in information (ArenaNet or Steam) for both. Because of that, we highly recommend that Guild Wars 2 players who log in to the game with their ArenaNet account purchase Guild Wars through our website, and that Guild Wars 2 players who log in to the game with their Steam account (which is different from merely having the game added to your library) purchase it through Steam. Visit our account-linking support article for more information.
It’s been a thrill to celebrate 20 years of Guild Wars this year, and we can’t wait to see what this new chapter brings.
“Wintersday, O Wintersday Time to give some gifts away! Let’s all have a snowball fight— We’ll laugh and play ’til late at night Jump ‘cross candy, race down streets, Find some kids to give a treat, Ring the bells and fix the toys— Revel in each of Wintersday’s joys!”
It’s the coziest time in the Tyrian calendar—Wintersday has come again! From now until January 2, players of any level can enjoy partaking in traditional Wintersday games and entertainments while earning seasonal rewards. Check out the full release notes for all the details, and head to Divinity’s Reach in the game when you’re ready to experience the magic for yourself.
Festive Rewards
Wintersday activities award Wintersday gifts containing an assortment of holiday treats and surprises. Festival currency includes snowflakes, snow diamonds, and karma, which you can exchange for minis, new Wintersday-themed guild hall decorations, recipes, tonics, and more. New to the reward lineup this year is the chillingly cute Plush Jorms Backpack and the Mini Plush Tiger.
Winter Snow Goggles await all those who finish off the festival meta-achievement, and you can complete the refreshed annual meta-achievement or weekly achievements to earn your choice of a Sugardrift weapon.
The Wizard’s Vault also has new special objectives directing you toward all sorts of Wintersday activities. Earn that astral acclaim and collect your rewards!
Getting Started
A letter from Toymaker Tixx should already be in your in-game mailbox, offering a handy invitation that will teleport you straight to Divinity’s Reach. Portals in major cities like Lion’s Arch and Hoelbrak also lead to the bustling heart of the festival.
Visit locations marked by peppermint candies on your map to participate in Wintersday activities. Don’t forget to visit Wintersday trees and Toymaker Tixx himself each day to collect gifts.
You’ll also receive a letter from Orphan Laine, who needs your help with a scavenger hunt. The hunt will require you to travel to some areas intended for level-80 players, but once you’ve unlocked it, you can complete it at any time, even after Wintersday ends.
And for adventurers roaming Central Tyria, keep an eye out for enormous, mysterious presents that hide holiday surprises—and sometimes mischievous skritt!
Festive TraditionsBell Choir Ensemble
Join the Bell Maestro in the enchanted snow globe for a collaborative rhythm game! Play iconic songs alongside fellow Tyrians to earn karma, Wintersday gifts, and more. Speak to the Bell Maestro near the Royal Terrace in Divinity’s Reach and enter the enchanted snow globe to take part!
Donation Drive
Speak with the Charity Corps Seraph in the Crown Pavilion to purchase rolls of wrapping paper. These rolls can be combined with various items earned from Wintersday activities to create wrapped gifts. Give these gifts to orphans throughout Divinity’s Reach and get some well-earned karma for your good deeds.
Mount Racing
Speed through the snowy streets of Divinity’s Reach in the mount race! Even if you don’t own a mount, you can rent a raptor for just 10 silver.
Snowball Mayhem
Enter a snow-covered battlefield for a capture-the-flag-style brawl. Choose your role—supporter, heavy gunner, or scout—and help your team collect Wintersday gifts to claim victory. Speak with the festive Lionguard near the Royal Terrace in Divinity’s Reach to enter and choose your role!
Strike Mission: Secret Lair of the Snowmen
Assemble a squad and enter the portal southwest of the Crown Pavilion to take on Freezie himself! Heal his frozen heart in this epic Strike Mission, available to players at level 80.
Tixx’s Infinirarium
Help Toymaker Tixx keep his workshop running smoothly in this dynamic dungeon. Team up and work together to tackle malfunctioning toys and haywire machinery. Enter Toymaker Tixx’s airship from the candy cane portal just west of the Crown Pavilion to assist the asura craftsman.
Toypocalypse
Team up with friends to defend Tixx’s gift dolyaks from waves of mischievous malfunctioning toys in this tower defense-style challenge. Speak to the toy captain just south of the Crown Pavilion in Divinity’s Reach to enter this game mode.
Winter Wonderland
For jumping puzzle enthusiasts, Winter Wonderland offers a frosty challenge. Choose one of three paths, dodge exploding presents, and leap across melting snowflakes to claim your reward! Speak to the festive youth at the Crown Pavilion to enter.
Warm Wishes
As the nights grow longer and the temperatures drop, we have even more reason to be grateful for the things in our lives that bring us light and warmth. We remain deeply appreciative of the Guild Wars 2 community and all the joy you bring to us and to the world. May your time in Tyria ever feel like home, and may you make memories here that you cherish.
Get ready to celebrate the coziest holiday in the Tyrian calendar by building your very own gingerbread house. Your guests can enjoy the sweet aroma of Wintersday’s baked goods and maybe indulge in taking a bite. The Gingerbread Homestead Package includes one of each decoration and will unlock crafting recipes for all the items. This bundle is available for 800 gems and contains the following decorative pieces:
Gingerbread Wall
Gingerbread Roof
Gingerbread Gable
Gingerbread Window
Gingerbread Doorway
Gingerbread Door
Gingerbread Friend
Gingerbread Candy Bush
Gingerbread Frosting Trim
Introducing the Guild Wars 2® Starter Pack
Put some spring into your step with this collection of unlocks and upgrades! Unlock the basic raptor mount and gliding functionality; plus, open up more inventory and storage space. A Total Makeover Kit rounds out the package, allowing you to change your character’s gender and appearance once.
The Guild Wars 2 Starter Pack is available now for .99 / €19.99 / £17.99 and includes the following items:
Raptor Mount Unlock
Basic Gliding Unlock
Bank Tab Expansion*
Upgraded Bag Slot Expansion
Total Makeover Kit
*Please note: The Bank Tab Expansion does not increase the account’s bank slot limit. The Guild Wars 2 Starter Pack is nonrefundable and only one code can be redeemed per account.
Purchasing the Guild Wars 2 Starter Pack also converts free accounts to core Guild Wars 2 accounts with additional benefits.
Black Lion Chest Update: Steam Reflections Chest
Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, the Evon Gnashblade Wintersday Gift, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Reflective Koi Weapon Collection and the Fox Fire Weapon Collection.
Exclusive Item: Steam-Powered Legwear Package
The best Tyrian prosthetists created this intricate design. The steam engines and elegant style are eye-catching, making it a gorgeous, practical item, fitting for both the battlefield and your dance classes. The Steam-powered Legwear Package includes the Steam-Powered Legwear (Left) Skin and Steam-Powered Legwear (Right) Skin and is a new, exclusive drop from Black Lion Chests.
What’s in Stock
Let’s get ready for another in-stock shuffling! Starting Friday, December 12, our lovely outfits will be 20% off until December 26. Make sure to check out some of our favorite skins: Fox Fire Outfit, Astral Scholar Outfit, Winter Monarch Outfit, Dynamics Exo-Suit Outfit, and Magical Outfit.
Returning This Week
Discounts this week contain a multitude of different items to expand your account! From today until December 16, Material Storage Expanders, Recharging Teleport to Friend, Black Lion Expedition contract boards, and Black Lion Garden Plot Deeds are available at a 20% discount.
Available Now in the Gem Store!
Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
What better way to close out one year and celebrate the next than with an epic adventure? Our Year-End Sale features price reductions on past Guild Wars 2® expansions, plus the Complete Collection that bundles them together:
Expansion 4—Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™ (Standard & Deluxe Editions)—30% Off
Expansion 3—Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons® (Standard & Deluxe Editions)—40% Off
Expansions 1 and 2—Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns® and Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire®—60% Off
Guild Wars 2—The Elder Dragon Saga Complete Collection (Complete, Deluxe & Standard Editions)—50% Off
The sale will be available through the Guild Wars 2 store and third-party retailers from December 11 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC-8) until December 18 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC-8). It will also be available on the Epic Games Store from December 11 at 8 a.m. Pacific (UTC-8) until January 8, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific (UTC-8).
This sale is not currently available on Steam, but check back soon—Steam discounts begin December 18 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific (UTC-8).
Third-Party Retailers
Our expansion sales are also available from the following third-party retailers:
Hello, everyone! The ArenaNet office will be closing for the holidays soon, so we have compiled a preview of all the new items and discounts for the weeks to come. This year has been a fantastic journey, and we wish our community a wonderful holiday season. Thank you, Tyrians!
Infinite Metal Legion Gathering Tools
Show your undying support for your favorite charr legion with gathering tools inspired by the coolest band in Tyria. The Infinite Metal Legion Gathering Tools include the Metal Legion Harvesting Tool, Metal Legion Logging Tool, and Metal Legion Mining Tool and are available now for 2,700 gems.
Painter’s Brilliance Backpack and Glider Combo
This beautiful, painterly item is imbued with the essence of Castora’s colorful landscapes. Every stroke is a piece of art in the making; wear an artist’s wild and unfiltered heart wherever the wind takes you. The Painter’s Brilliance Backpack and Glider Combo will arrive and be available for 700 gems on December 23.
Plush Skimmer Skin
Snuggly, squeaky, and incredibly adorable! Bring home a huggable friend that’ll accompany you on all of your adventures. The Plush Skimmer Skin is the best stuffed animal you could ask for and is purchasable for 1,600 gems on December 30.
Wintersday Gem Store Sale
Get cozy browsing our winter sales! This year, the majority of our cosmetic items added prior to September 2025 will be featured in the Gem Store at a sweet 20% discount. This offer will be applicable from December 16 until January 2. Tune into the spirit of the holidays!
Stock Rotation and Discounts
Below, we have compiled a list of everything that will be discounted throughout December and early January during our studio’s holiday break. Mark your calendars with the dates of the discounts you’re looking forward to the most!
Starting today and going to December 23, Bank Tab Expansions and all permanent lounge passes are available at a 20% discount.
Starting December 19, we will be shuffling the Gem Store’s stock of minis for the season! These items will be 20% off until January 2. Here are some of our favorites: Mini Garm, Mini Frozen Tik’Teek, Mini Polar Bear Cub, and Mini Snow Cougar Cub.
From December 23 to December 30, Shared Inventory Slots will be available at a 20% discount.
Starting December 26, keep an eye on our stock of gliders and backpack and glider combos. They are flying off the shelves with a 20% discount until January 9. Our highlights: Slender Fairy Wings Backpack and Glider Combo, Glacial Glider, Infernal Envoy Backpack and Glider Combo, Cosmic Surfer Glider, Sylph Wings Backpack and Glider Combo, and Cute Angel Wings Backpack and Glider Combo.
From December 30 to January 6, Character Slot Expansions will be available at a 20% discount.
Starting January 2, miscellaneous items will be restocked at a 20% discount until January 16. Check out our top choices: Crystal Rune Conjured Doorway, Shimmering Aurora Homestead Sky, Peaceful Rainbows Homestead Sky, “/Channel” Emote Tome, and Brasswork Homestead Package.
From January 6 to January 13, Bag Slot Expansions will be available at a 20% discount.
Starting January 9, go on a gathering spree with our stock of discounted infinite gathering tools. These will be on sale in the Gem Store until January 23. We’ve chosen a few of our favorites for you: Prospector’s Gathering Tools, Firestorm Logging Tool, Earthshaker Mining Tool, Thunderstrike Harvesting Tool, and Infinite Glacial Gathering Tools.
Available Now in the Gem Store!
Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
With the holiday season upon us, the studio is preparing to take a short break to recharge, spend time with our loved ones, and of course, complete our annual Wintersday achievements. Before we log off for the season, we want to take a moment to reflect on the year we’ve shared and express our gratitude for the incredible Guild Wars 2® community.
Another Landmark Year
We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and the release of Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity™, our sixth expansion, stands as one of the accomplishments we’re most proud of as a studio. The team poured their hearts into this release, and it’s been gratifying to see how strongly the community has responded to the changes and improvements we introduced with this expansion.
At this point in its release cycle, Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity has already outperformed Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™ from a sales perspective, and the momentum from the expansion’s release has helped grow the game, generally speaking. In recent months, we’ve seen periods where more new players joined us than at any point since our 2022 Steam debut (which itself was a high-water mark). Veteran players have been returning in droves, and overall player activity is higher now than it has been in years. It’s been energizing to see momentum like this, and it’s exceeded our expectations in nearly every way.
This year also marked two big anniversaries for us—the 25th anniversary of ArenaNet and the 20th anniversary of the original Guild Wars®. Reaching those milestones while Guild Wars 2 itself is thriving feels especially significant. In celebration, we released a studio retrospective documentary in partnership with Second Wind, tracing our journey from the earliest days of ArenaNet to the world we build together today, a reminder of where we began and how far we’ve come. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it, you can check it out here.
At the same time, we announced Guild Wars Reforged, a renewed commitment to supporting the original Guild Wars game with a bundle that includes all three classic campaigns in a refreshed package with updated UI, modern platform support, and improved accessibility for returning and new players alike. It’s our way of honoring the legacy of the franchise and welcoming both veterans and fresh faces back to the world that started it all. You can learn more about Guild Wars Reforgedhere.
This year, we also explored new, bolder ways to introduce Guild Wars 2 to a wider audience. In June, we partnered with Summer Games Fest to showcase the game on one of the biggest stages in the industry, and just last week we premiered a new trailer during the preshow of The Game Awards, the premiere event in global gaming, reaching millions of viewers around the world. It was a proud moment for all of us and a wonderful opportunity to showcase Tyria on a truly global stage. If you missed it, you can watch the new trailer below:
Having those anniversaries, the documentary, and Guild Wars Reforged land during a year of resurgence, driven by Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity, makes this one of the most meaningful chapters in Guild Wars history. It reminds us: our story isn’t just about today, but about a legacy that continues to evolve.
To everyone experiencing Guild Wars Reforged or Guild Wars 2 for the first time, returning after time away, or continuing your long journey with us: thank you for making this world and this community feel so vibrant.
Looking Ahead to Early 2026
The team is hard at work on the upcoming quarterly releases for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity, and we’ll be sharing more details, and our next quarterly roadmap, around the release of Quarterly Release 1 early next year. In the meantime, here are some key dates to look forward to:
December 9–January 2: Wintersday Festival
January 13: Skills and Balance Update
January 13–20: Fractal Rush
January 20–27: WvW Rush
February 3:Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity Quarterly Release 1
New Raid Encounter
Raid/Strike System Unification with Quickplay
Fashion Templates
Wizard’s Vault Update
New Legendary Ring
Speaking of the new legendary ring, here’s a little tease of the visuals that come with wearing it:
Thank you for an incredible 2025. See you in the new year, and happy Wintersday!
