Back in March 2020, Arena Net released a teaser article about the upcoming expansion for Guild Wars 2. Today, we now know it’s called End of Dragons, and players will indeed be returning to the continent of Cantha.
A teaser trailer was dropped a few hours ago, and gave us hints on what to expect in this new expansion. Players of Guild Wars will definitely be able to pick up on the imagery portrayed in this video, as well as a visit from an old friend.
End of Dragons: A Quick History of Cantha
Way back in 2006, Arena Net released the second expansion pack for their MMORPG Guild Wars called Factions. The storyline for Factions revolves around the continent of Cantha, the Empire of the Dragon. Players are tasked to investigate a mysterious miasma that’s spreading across the land, bringing with it the Afflicted, the monstrous army of Shiro Tagachi, the Betrayer.
Factions expanded on the lore of Guild Wars, adding locales like the Jade Sea – the largest body of water in Cantha that was turned to solid jade, and the Echovald Forest – Cantha’s largest woodland turned into stone. Guided by the power of Kuunavang the dragon and the wisdom of the Celestials, players are able to defeat Shiro, unite the Luxons of the Jade Sea and the Kurzicks of the Echovald Forest, and end the threat.
End of Dragons: Trailer Breakdown
Factions was memorable to players because of lore expansion, new character classes, and new game modes. With the release of Guild Wars 2 in August 2012, we saw what had happened in Tyria 250 years after the events in Guild Wars and its expansions. With this new trailer, Arena Net confirmed that the Guild Wars team hasn’t forgotten about Cantha, but has worked it into the overarching plot of the game,
In the trailer, we were taken on a journey through various locales in Cantha players have encountered during the events of Factions. From Shing Jea Island where the telltale purple mist of miasma, we are taken to the canals and cramped housings of Kaineng City. We are then taken to a scene at the Jade Sea, where boats are trapped in solid jade, a remnant of Shiro’s cursed death wail.
All the while, there are two distinct voices heard: Kuunavang, the once-cursed dragon of Cantha, and an unknown voice. It definitely sounds like a new character, perhaps a new dragon. This ties in to the official logo reveal for End of Dragons: two dragons in a yin yang layout, with the colors of the Jade Sea.
The saga of Guild Wars 2 has always been laid out in the shadow of the world’s dragons as integral to the health of the world. In Tyrian lore, dragons behave like energy; they cannot be fully destroyed, no matter how malevolent they are. While Kuunavang isn’t at the level of elder dragons like Kralkatorrik or Zhaitan, she’ll definitely be playing a big part of the storyline that will tie together the whole plot of Guild Wars 2.
End of Dragons: Release Date
There wasn’t any solid release date announced, but the trailer did show that the new expansion will be released in 2021. Given how Arena Net goes about their timelines, we may very well see an End of Dragons pre-registration announcement going up around this time next year.
There are no new announcements for new classes or characters that will appear in End of Dragons, but this trailer is more than enough to make fans very happy for now.
Arena Net also announced that Guild Wars 2 will be available on Steam starting November, and has an on-going 50% off sale for Path of Fire (which includes a free copy of Heart of Thorns). For more information, check out their article.
JD Pablo Editor-in-Chief
JD Pablo is the current Editor-in-Chief of twenty8two. Enjoys video games, pizza, banana bread, and tea. Takes coffee black.
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