ArenaNet have today published two blog posts. The first, titled "The Mordrem Are Coming" provides details on a new event. I can't remember the last we had so this'll be welcome timing on the back of free-to-play. Beginning on September 10th, Mordrem will start to attack Brisband Wildlands, Kessex Hills and Diessa Plateau (have these zones not had enough heartache already?). It also sounds as though participating in the event will net some rewards for those who hand in Modrem Blooms. With a recommend level of 18 and over, it's pretty much open to absolutely everyone. 

From 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on September 10 through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on September 13, Mordrem will be staging periodic incursions into Brisban Wildlands, Kessex Hills, and Diessa Plateau. Keep an eye on the world event UI, which will let you know when Mordremoth is launching its assault. Coordinate with other players to stop the Mordrem in their tracks, and you’ll earn Mordrem Blooms. Mordrem Blooms are the research samples the Durmand Priory seek. In exchange for the research samples, the Durmand Priory is offering concessions as a reward.

Alongside the invasion, ArenaNet have published a blog post detailing Raids and what challenging content really involves. For the most part, it's all kinda what I expected from Raids - players having to use everything they've already learnt from playing the game - but there's also a few pieces of information I found surprising. The main thing is the fact that Masteries will need to be used in raids and the second is that loot will be restricted to once per week (or at least, the best loot). My one concern about Masteries playing a part is the fact that it might require getting all 10 of your party to that level, and is that not in effect similar to an Attunement process?

The raid-specific Masteries will serve a couple of purposes, but chiefly they allow the designers to create a feeling of progression throughout the raid content. If a player who is new to raiding joins your squad, he or she will—for the most part—be able to assist entirely in the encounters. That said, there are a number of Mastery traits attached to various facets of the raid encounters. For example, if your squad is working on the last boss of a wing, and no one has a particular and clearly stated Mastery unlocked, you’re probably going to fail spectacularly.

As for loot, I actually quite like the fact the best will be gated to once a week. It means you won't obtain everything instantly and it'll provide you with time during the week to practice, possibly get the raid on farm and test different compositions. I'm looking forward to trying some unconventional setups and seeing just how viable they are. Most importantly, it seems ArenaNet are genuinely attempting to create scenarios where the current Meta won't be effective all of the time. 

 Some encounters are going to push you to try different weapons you rarely use, some are going to challenge you to select traits you haven’t considered equipping before, and some encounters may even require a member of your group to dust off that toughness gear to bulk up and tank some heavy hits to protect the condition-build players in the back. This is just a tiny sample of the types of build roles we want to push as a core part of Guild Wars 2 dynamic combat.

To read both blog posts, jump here and here.