(Courtesy of mmorpg.com)
"During PAX West 2016, Guild Wars 2’s new Living World Episode 2 was announced, coming out September 20, 2016.
The Ember Bay, set in the Ring of Fire Islands, is the new zone coming with Episode 2, and players would be wise right now to train up their Ley Line Gliding Mastery in order to rove quickly about the pretty large map (that’s the top tier of the Gliding Mastery). That said, if you’ve still got work to do there, don’t fret. Ancient Magic’s 2nd Tier will now have Thermal Propulsion which just costs 3 Mastery XP and allows you to basically be shot around from point to point across Ember Bay. Think of it like Nuhoch Wallows, but more explosive.
The map itself is an absolute work of art. Josh Foreman’s deft hands are all over the place, and yes that means there’s a new Josh Jumping Puzzle right at the heart of the Mursaat Fortress. So keep that in mind. The map’s not the same as Prophecies of course. Mordremoth, Zhaitan, and hundreds of years have passed and changed the area.
For those who played Episode 1, you’ll remember the cliffhanger that ended everything. With Primordus risen, bad stuff is happening once again in Tyria. Taimi, of course, is the one who wandered off to see what’s up, and so we (the newly coined Dragon’s Watch) are on our way to make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble.
The Heart quests from GW2 make a return in Ember Bay. In fact, they’re actually repeatable daily and have plenty of rewards tied to doing them. There are new consumables as well – a Skritt Contract that allows you to summon a skritt merchant to hawk your wears, and a weapon skin set that drops in-game only, not available in the Gem store. There are brand new armor pieces to be earned from Achievements too: a new shoulder and a new set of gloves.
There are a whole lot of Skritt in Ember Bay too, including a big set of Skritt Pirates lead by the Pirate Queen Hughes. You’ll have to help them create defenses, fend off attacks, and calm down the Pirate Queen by tossing Skritt Juice at her… which may or may not be akin to rum. There are new bosses too, including the Molten Dominator. If you beat him, you’ll unlock special updrafts that can get you to special areas otherwise closed off.
Along with Ember Bay and the continuation of the story, the 9/20 update will be bringing the first new conquest style map in a good while – The Eternal Coliseum. It’s the same 5v5 combat PVP fans have come to know and love, with 3 capture points being vied for while players also try to capture the Sword of Reaping or the Shield of Life. These two items either finish downed players for you or give a bunch of health and shielding as well as one revive should you fall while under its spell."
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