Later today ArenaNet’s Colin Johanson will release a blog post that sets out their vision for Guild Wars 2 in 2016. Alongside confirmation that they’re already working on an expansion pack (Cantha, here we come!*), it’s clear that ArenaNet are to take a step back from implementing new things and instead work with what they already have. Most importantly, this means ensuring that World versus World, Fractals and open world content are the best that they can be. This is a very good thing.

So what’s on the agenda for 2016? Seemingly a great deal, according to Colin. As a too long, didn’t read, the main points are the following:

Gliding in Central Tyria – players will now be able to use their Heart of Thorns gliders in Tyria, as long as they’ve unlocked the mastery.

Redesigned Shatterer boss fight – alongside being able to use your gliders whilst battling The Shatterer, there’s a new set of achievements, new rewards and

Lunar New Year – the seasonal event will return on January 26 and will run for two weeks, with all Guild Wars 2 players able to participate.

New PvP Mist Champion - Tybalt Leftpaw will join the new Stronghold game mode as an unlockable mist champion.

New Raid Wing - Salvation Pass will be unlocked for players to participate and die in!

Living World Season 3 - Finally the Living World will return and will allow players to once again continue the story from where it left off (be aware the blog post reveals some spoilers but provides warning).

As far as detailing the above, there’s a lot to divulge and Colin covers several additional topics. Firstly and before anyone asks, there’s no details on what the Shatterer will now do, but it will offer a unqiue back piece, provide more experience and offer much more of a challenge. Considering the dragon is a stunning spectacle, this is more than welcome. The encounter has often felt far too easy, especially when compared to other world bosses.

There’s going to be several specific changes to World versus World. The first is that scoring in World versus World is changing so that enemy players that die will now award 1 score. In addition, the number of players that can rally off a single kill is being reduced from 5 to 1. The idea behind this is so that small groups stand a chance against greater numbers. Lastly when it comes to World versus World, Colin states that “The Secured, Reinforced and Fortified objective upgrade levels of locations in WvW will be changed to occur after having delivered or received a certain number of dolyak caravans, rather than being timer driven.” Players will also be pleased to know that the World versus World overhaul is still underway and has been for over a year, with a Beta phase being held at some point in 2016. 

Moving on from World versus World, the PvP League will officially launch on February 23, with some key changes, including a pretty large balance patch. “This season will also include new rewards to earn, a reset of your league badge, a reset of the guild leaderboard, and new guild leaderboard rewards.”

Finally and without covering everything in Colin’s blog post, in a move likely to increase player footfall in other capital cities besides Lion’s Arch, players will be invited to join Master Brewer Desch Metz at the Eldvin Monastery in Queensdale. “He’s inviting everyone to join the Eldvin Monastery Brew of the Month Club and once a month, when visiting a major city, club members will receive a package in the mail containing that month's finely crafted brew. After collecting all twelve brews, club members will receive a title, a brewer's backpack skin, and a guild decoration in recognition of their devotion to the craft.” I think that sounds pretty cool.

To read the entire blog post and lots more information from it, head on over to the official website. Overall, I think these all sounds excellent additions and more than welcome. Guild Wars 2 already has a brilliant framework with many areas simply needing time and effort on ArenaNet’s part. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

*Only kidding, I have no idea.