Dungeons are one of the main reasons I play multiplayer online games and one of the big reasons I loved Guild Wars so much. That’s why it brings a smile to my face to learn that Guild Wars 2 is not only going to have dungeons, but the dungeons are going to be a bit different and in my opinion a lot more awesome. We don’t know a whole lot about how the dungeon system will work, but there is a good chunk of information out there and we’ve collected it all here to share what we know about dungeons in Guild Wars 2.

Storyline Dungeons

Dungeons will be optional instances focused around Destiny’s Edge, that group of heroes who have fallen apart in recent times. It’s interesting that the dungeons, at least up until the endgame, will focus around one overarching story and one group of adventurers, meaning that you won’t necessarily run into a dungeon and have no clue what you’re doing there or why you’re in there to begin with.

The dungeons will be very difficult and designed around a five player group. The amount of difficulty isn’t known yet, but it should be around the point where all five players will need to coordinate with one another in order to advance through the dungeon but won’t be so difficult that it’ll be inaccessible to those who aren’t putting 110% into the game.

Epic bosses like the Shatterer should be inside of the various dungeons.

One really cool feature is that dungeons will have two modes. The first is story mode which you’ll complete the first time around. It’s your standard dungeon faire where you move from one end of the dungeon to the other completing the objectives and advancing the story. There will be a lot of cutscenes, story, and other things to make it an epic adventure. Then there is explorer mode which allows you to go back into the dungeon and complete a slightly more challenging version of the dungeon with sidequests and other adventures not related to Destiny’s Edge.

So dungeons seem to be something that will bring a group of players together to find out a part of the Destiny’s Edge storyline and then be something that you can repeat over and over to find out more lore and get more rewards from the same dungeon without having to repeat the same story/dungeon over and over again. You can do something different most of the times you’re in the dungeon so that by the time you’re finished you will not have to see the same bosses and enemies 100 times over.

Planned Dungeons

Currently we know a good bit about two dungeons. The first is Sorrows Embrace which is now the hideout for the Dredge. In story mode you’ll work through the dungeon and discover that the Dredge have sold their people into slavery for the Sereph so you’ll need to fight off the slavers, free the Dredge, and then you can go back in and aid the Dredge in fighting back against their leaders.

The other dungeon, my personal favorite so far, is Ascalon Catacombs. You’ll actually return back to Ascalon and fight the ghosts that now inhibit the city. The biggest thing for Guild Wars fans is that many of the old profession trainers are now spirits and you’ll need to fight them to put them to rest. Warmaster Grast makes a return smashing everything around him (the rubble can be used as an environmental weapon against him) while Necromancer Munne and King Adelbern make a return as final bosses in the dungeon.

Dungeon Loot

The biggest thing about loot in the dungeon is that you’ll get an item similar to the reward for finishing a campaign in the original Guild Wars that you can turn in for your choice of loot. That way you don’t have to run a dungeon 20 times to get the pair of pants that you need only to have gained so many levels that the piece of gear is now worthless to you.

Loot is an important part to any game, GW2 is not exception.

We can compound that with the fact that you’ll get your own personal roll in the dungeon for your own loot table. So you will not have to compete against the five other players since you’ll get your own reward yourself. That makes it sound like dungeons will be something you’ll run a few times and then happily move on in your quest to defeat the elder dragons.

That’s all we know currently about dungeons in Guild Wars 2. Can you not wait to hop in and smash some zombies with your allies or are you more of a quest until you’re the highest level type player? Come to the Ten Ton Hammer community forums and share your opinion!