This magnificent skiff is imbued with wondrous stars. Crafted with the glint of the cosmos, it shines with the eternal beauty of the night sky. The Star Blessed Skiff Skin is available for 1,600 gems.


Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, a second Black Lion Statuette, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Abyss Stalker Weapon Collection and the Snow Garden Weapon Collection.

Exclusive Item: The Stormpiercer Spear Skin

Draw upon the power of a violent storm with this thunderstruck spear. You will shock the battlefield with your electrifying presence! The Stormpiercer Spear Skin is a new, exclusive drop from Black Lion Chests.

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Starting November 22 and continuing for the next few days, select mount skins will be 20% off, including the Wolf Griffon Skin, Plush Skyscale Skin, Spineshell Roller Beetle Skin, Fluffy Samoyed Jackal Skin, Shimmerwing Skyscale Skin, Grand Lion Griffon Skin, and many more! Mount up and ride into battle!

Returning This Week

From today until November 26, Bag Slot Expansions are on sale at an incredible 20% discount. Loot everything without needing to worry about inventory space!


Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

Hello, Tyrians!

As the release of the next Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ chapter, “Godspawn,” draws near on November 19, we’re thrilled to share some exciting new trailers and an exclusive look at our first raid in five years, along with the upcoming Convergence event on Mount Balrior! Players will soon be able to explore this new, mysterious area, crafted to test even the most battle-hardened adventurers. Both the raid and the Convergence are packed with high-stakes encounters, hidden lore, and mechanics designed to challenge teams of all sizes, whether you're facing the mountain’s dangers with a ten-player squad or a fifty-player group.


To enter Mount Balrior, gather your team and travel to either the Lion’s Arch Aerodrome or Janthir Syntri, where a portal will transport you into the heights of the mountain fortress. Awaiting within is a treacherous path brimming with enemies.

Mount Balrior is structured with three main bosses and additional encounters, with each section designed to test your coordination and adaptability. Exploration will also play a key role for those looking to delve into the raid’s lore. You'll be teaming up once again with the Durmand Priory’s expert scholar, Glenna, and comparing notes about what has been occurring in the region.


Prepare to face a whole new level of intensity as Greer and Decima return with their differing combat styles—and while each boss will create its own set of challenges, we have designed the normal mode of the raid to allow pickup groups and more casual raiders a chance at success. Greer’s relentless, chaotic attacks are back in force, demanding sharp reflexes and adaptability, while Decima’s highly structured mechanics require meticulous planning and coordination to overcome. Their signature moves and visual cues will feel familiar, but don’t be fooled—each ability has been reimagined, layered with new complexities that will keep your team on its toes. And, of course, the titans aren’t finished surprising you yet; Greer and Decima have a few entirely new tricks to ensure a very challenging experience.

And to make matters more dire, Greer and Decima won’t be alone for long…

For those seeking the ultimate test, a future update will introduce a challenge mode for all of the bosses and a legendary mode for the final boss. These modes escalate the difficulty for thrill-seekers and top-tier raiders alike. The final boss’s legendary mode will demand unparalleled skill, offering a race to world-first completion.




Our newest Convergence activity, located at the Harvest Den bonfire in Lowland Shore, offers players a new challenge and a shared adventure. Like the Convergence in Guild Wars 2®: Secrets of the Obscure™, up to fifty players can take on this event, bringing squads together to face familiar foes with a twist.

Public squads, up to fifty players, launch every three hours, staggered to create Convergence events every hour-and-a-half as they alternate with Guild Wars 2®: Secrets of the Obscure™ Convergences. If you’d rather tackle it with a private squad of any size, you’re welcome to start the event for the cost of an Unstable Rift Motivation at any time! Players can expect a similar level of difficulty to the Convergence from Guild Wars 2®: Secrets of the Obscure™. Most groups will complete this event within 20 to 30 minutes, offering an exciting but approachable challenge.

Much like we teased in the prelaunch blog, this Convergence features the Claw of the lowland kodan, Stoic Alder, as he narrates the player’s journey to young kodan cubs. Alder’s storytelling adds a unique twist each time, creating unexpected moments that keep everyone guessing as the tale unfolds.

Our team took on the exciting challenge with this multipurpose map, which is designed to host Convergences, story quests, and raid content. Packed with hidden passages and breakable walls, it allows designers to modify and reshape areas, creating a truly unique environment for each encounter. Exploring its depths may even reveal a few hidden details for those who enjoy uncovering every secret!


In the release of “Godspawn,” players who take part in the new Convergence will confront Decima and Greer, with a final boss joining in two future updates to expand the variety and keep players on their toes.

For those who’ve battled Greer and Decima in raids, you’ll recognize some of their attacks in this new Convergence—although they've been tailored for the fifty-player experience. Built specifically for Convergence encounters, these bosses will have distinct strategies and adapted abilities. Each boss will provide its own unique challenge and surprises throughout the Convergence, and you’ll need to work together to come out victorious.

Things are going to get wild next week when Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds—“Godspawn” releases! We'll leave you today with some fun facts about the bosses you'll be facing. Do you have what it takes to confront these titanic foes?


Please note, due to technical issues on Steams end not all content has been uploaded. To see both trailers and all images head over to the official blog here: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/raids-return-to-guild-wars-2-next-week/

Greetings, Tyrians!

It's hard to believe it's already been a few months since Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launched. As we wind down 2024, we'd like to give the community an update about all things Guild Wars 2. Our fifth expansion added one of the most requested features to the game—homesteads—and it's been wonderful watching the creativity of players as they decorate their new homes. You also got to experience the beauty of Lowland Shores and survive the dangers of Janthir Syntri with your new allies, the lowland kodan. With the kodans' help, you were taught to wield spears and ride the warclaw like you never have before. But Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds has just begun, and in one week, you'll be able to join forces to tackle our first raid in five years, craft a new legendary spear, and continue your story with the lowland kodan.

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"Godspawn," the first of three major updates to Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, is coming on November 19. Three new story chapters will continue your adventure against the threat of the titans. Will you and your allies be able to uncover a path to securing peace for the inhabitants of the Isles of Janthir?

In addition to new story chapters, there will also be a new raid and Convergence, the new legendary spear, Klobjarne, along with a new Wizard's Vault season, relics, weapon and armor rewards, a Mastery update, and new homestead decorations!

Stay tuned for previews of the new rewards and Wizard's Vault refresh in our launch day blog!

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In next week's update, we will be introducing our new 10-person raid, which will take you to Mount Balrior. It features three bosses and several smaller, varied encounters that will test your coordination and adaptability.

At the heart of Mount Balrior's narrative are Greer, the Blightbringer, and Decima, the Stormsinger, the two titans you battled in Janthir Syntri. After their defeat, they've retreated to Mount Balrior to recover and regroup. This time, they won't be alone. Their raid versions bring back the chaotic, relentless attacks of Greer and the structured, strategic mechanics of Decima, but cranked up to new levels of intensity. Expect familiar moves executed in ways that will keep your group on their toes, along with a few completely new surprises that Greer and Decima have in store.

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For a different flavor of group content, we are also launching a new Convergence in the "Godspawn" update! Like the Convergence in Guild Wars 2®: Secrets of the Obscure™, up to 50 players can participate in public squads every three hours, with private squads able to start any time. Expect a challenge comparable to the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure Convergence bosses, with most groups completing it in 20-30 minutes.

In this journey, Stoic Alder, the Claw of the lowland kodan, narrates your adventure to young kodan cubs, adding unique story twists with every playthrough. Fans of Greer and Decima will find familiar attacks, but with adaptations that make this event a fresh experience. As our first multi-purpose map, Mount Balrior includes hidden passages and adaptive designs, setting the stage for future rotations of bosses and a challenge mode arriving later next year.

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into what's next for both raids and Convergences in an upcoming blog later this week!

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Our team is focused on refining core systems in WvW while we continue planning for some of our larger, long-term goals. One major area of focus is incentivizing winning—or, in other words, creating shared goals that encourage teamwork. We've consistently heard two key pieces of feedback: players often have different preferences for defending versus not defending, and, more generally, many players feel there aren't enough incentives to win matchups. By aligning team goals around winning, we hope to address both these issues. It's a big task, but it's one we're dedicated to, and we're excited to start rolling out improvements.

We're also making some significant scoring adjustments for the first time in a while. This is an essential step in aligning player goals and encouraging teams to prioritize winning together. We've updated PPK (points per kill) values, the points for capturing objectives, and will soon launch adjusted VP (Victory Point) numbers tailored to different time zone coverage.

In the short term, we've been updating several key parts of WvW game elements. We've overhauled the siege system, improved the participation system to make earning repel credit more consistent, and introduced new attribute combinations exclusive to WvW (alongside tweaks to existing ones that don't impact PvE). We're also working to adjust certain tactics and strengthen objective lords to better serve as rally points for defenders. To make WvW more rewarding, we've added unique skins, infusions, new ways to spend WvW currencies, and better skirmish track rewards.

Accessibility for new players is a key goal, too. The warclaw is now immediately available in WvW, mastering it is faster, and new exotic gear with selectable attributes is readily obtainable.

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The World Restructuring team is currently focused on larger improvements to the team-creation algorithm, with special consideration given to improving the issue described in this forum post[en-forum.guildwars2.com].

We're also enhancing the guild panel with a new UI element that displays which members have selected the guild as their WvW guild, making it easier for guilds to coordinate their World vs. World activities and avoid missing team-creation lockout deadlines.

Additionally, we're updating the character select screen, replacing World Selection with a Region Selection UI panel. This will allow seamless transfers between North American and European datacenters. With this change, intra-region transfers will no longer be necessary, which also eliminates the risk of spending gems on redundant world transfers. Regional transfers will now have a flat cost of 500 gems simplifying the process.

Also, for players who took part in our PvP Push beta event, we recently sent out a survey to gather feedback on the event, and we'll be reviewing the responses and then determining our next steps for the game mode. There will be more Push news in 2025 as we continue to work with the community on building the Push PvP mode.

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Guild Wars 2 will be making its debut on the Epic Games Store later this month, and we're thrilled to welcome a new batch of players to the world of Tyria. Guild Wars 2 has been captivating players for the past 12 years, and we are excited to make Tyria even more accessible to players by partnering with Epic.

Keep a look out on our official platforms for a release date (and an epic new Guild Wars 2 trailer) soon!


While the year may be coming to a close soon, there's still plenty of things coming up for Guild Wars 2. November and December will also include more events: a two-week New Hero Jump Start event, a "birthday" bash for Evon Gnashblade, and Wintersday coming up on December 10. Lunar New Year and a second skills and balance update will be coming along near the end of January 2025. Around then—or a little after—we'll be back to talk about the next few months of Guild Wars 2.

[d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net]Here are some dates for our upcoming events to close out the year:

• October 29–November 19: Extra Life In-Game Bonus
• November 12–November 25: New Hero Jump Start Event
• November 25–December 2: Evon Gnashblade's "Birthday" Celebration
• December 10–January 2: Wintersday Event

And finally, as a reminder of what's still to come in Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds in 2025, we have this handy content chart:

[d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net]Happy adventuring! We'll see you in the game.

—The Guild Wars 2 Team

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This week in the Gem Store, we have elegant attire that suits all who enjoy a handsome style. The Dapper Suit Package is a staple in sharp couture. This package is available for 1,200 gems and contains the Dapper Coat Skin, Dapper Pants Skin, and Dapper Wingtips Skin.


Starting November 15 and continuing for the next few days, the following mount packs, adoption licenses, and select licenses will be 20% off:

• Warclaw Frontline Mount Pack
• Distant Lands Mount Adoption License
• Distant Lands Mount Select License
• Exotic Breeds Mount Adoption License
• Exotic Breeds Mount Select License
• Lost Era Mount Adoption License
• Lost Era Mount Select License
• Awakened Mounts Pack
• Canthan Vulpine Jackal Mounts Pack
• Canthan Tigris Griffon Mounts Pack

Choose your favorite mount skins and add them to your collection!

Returning This Week

Creative hearts rejoice! From today until November 19, Character Slot Expansions are available at an awesome 20% discount. Expand your alt collection with a shiny new character.

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Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

Note to users of third-party programs: The game may not launch or work properly after we release a new build if you use a third-party program, due to possible incompatibilities. ArenaNet cannot offer support if a third-party modification breaks, interferes with, or prevents you from playing Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2. Our policy regarding third-party programs can be found here.

• Improved mouse-drag behavior when playing Guild Wars 2 on a remote machine connection, such as the Windows Remote Desktop application.

• Fixed an issue that could prevent players from entering a party member's homestead by selecting "Join in Homestead" from the party menu.
  
• Stabled mounts in the homestead and open world will now display a portrait when selected.
  
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented homestead collection boxes from gathering from all nodes when used in rapid succession.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the default size of each homestead decoration in the Meditative Garden Homestead Package to be incorrect. Each decoration's default size has increased. Players will need to remove and replace or resize their decorations if they have already placed them in their homestead.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tournaments & Special Events panel to display incorrect live match scores.

• Fixed an issue that could cause a crash in WvW maps when using armor with special effects, such as Nightfury or Winter's Presence, while standard models were enabled.

This skyscale skin was designed by someone clearly influenced by Scarlet Briar’s clockwork designs, or at least someone who pillaged her workshop for spare parts! The ingenuity of Scarlet’s work has not been forgotten. The Steamwork Skyscale Skin is available now for 1,600 gems.

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Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, Mini Blue Cuckoo Hatchling, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Paladin’s Decree Weapon Collection and the Venombite Weapon Collection. Don’t forget you can redeem Black Lion Statuettes for past items from Black Lion Chests you may have missed!

Exclusive Item: Mystic Visionary Cape

Visions of other worlds cloud your mind. This mantle ushers you through timelines converging—witness the universe through the eyes of time. The Mystic Visionary Cape is a new, exclusive drop from Black Lion Chests.

[d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net]Foefire Weapon Collection

The spirit of the Foefire rages within these weapons. Memories of blue flames guide your hand into the heat of battle. Each Foefire weapon skin can be obtained in exchange for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket.

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Starting November 8 and continuing for the next few days, select dye kits will be 20% off, including the Smooth Berry Dye Kit, Charr Dye Kit, Norn Dye Kit, Lion’s Arch Commemorative Dye Kit, Aurene Dye Kit, Jade Dye Kit, Lion's Arch Survivors Dye Kit, Kralkatorrik Dye Kit, Mordremoth Dye Kit, and Vibrant Dye Kit.

Returning This Week

If you're a fan of an organized account, this is for you! From today until November 12, Shared Inventory Slots are at an incredible 20% discount.


Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

The warclaw mount has long been a favorite in the World vs. World (WvW) community, but with its recent revamp, this agile mount now roams the open world, thanks to the release of Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™. What started as a support-focused mount has evolved into a fast, versatile companion for exploring all of Tyria. Today, we'll give you an inside look at how the warclaw made its leap from WvW exclusivity to open-world adventure (with some help from some feline friends, no less).

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When the warclaw mount was first developed, the goal was to create a utility-based mount that provided a tactical advantage in World vs. World. While it served its purpose well in that game mode, as player feedback came in, the team's vision began to evolve. Over time, as we refined our approach to mount design—especially with the success of the skyscale in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™—we saw an opportunity to do something similar for the warclaw in Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds.

Looking at the warclaw, we noticed it was underutilized and had the potential for significant expansion and improvement. We started exploring how the warclaw could navigate the open world of Tyria; the idea was that it would no longer be confined to WvW battlefields, becoming a key tool for players in dynamic events and pivotal story moments in Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds.

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Several factors were crucial in making the warclaw's transition into PvE a reality. The success of the skyscale and the lessons we learned from its implementation in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure gave us valuable insight into how to repurpose existing mounts for new content. We took the base mechanics of the warclaw and, with feedback from multiple teams and the community, identified its growth opportunities and weaknesses. And of course, we can't overlook the influence that cats—our internet-favorite feline friends—had in shaping the warclaw's personality and movement. Who would turn down studying cats at work?

The main goal of revamping the warclaw mount was to make it feel like a living part of Tyria's world. We wanted to create a mount that had a lot of personality and was fun to move around the world on, while also helping players on their own journey. We leaned into capturing the essence of a cat's playful nature and incorporated feline behaviors into the mount's design. Watching how cats sneak, pounce, and explore places they shouldn't be in gave us the ability to make a mount that feels not only functional, but also full of personality.

As such, the warclaw was crafted to be the premier mount for Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, offering a versatile, all-around experience. Unlike other mounts, which often excel in specific areas, the warclaw was designed to be more of a generalist. It features a dash, but not one as powerful as the raptor's. It can go vertical, but not leap as high as the springer. It's fast, though not as quick as the roller beetle. And while it can navigate aerial spaces, it's not as adept as the skyscale. While the team didn't set out to make a jack-of-all-trades mount, that's exactly where the design landed, and the result is an incredibly fun and adaptable mount for a variety of situations.

Given that the warclaw's movement was inspired by the mischievous nature of cats, it also made sense to grant it no fall damage. Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds has a lot of verticality, and this feature makes the warclaw a great choice for navigating dangerous drops. Just don't go testing your poor warclaw's limits too much!

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Designing the warclaw came with its fair share of challenges, and one of the trickiest was perfecting its abilities—especially the fan-favorite double jump. There was a series of prototypes and iterations, each refining the mount's abilities to match both the team's vision and player feedback. Using the ability in various environments and increasing its speed and turn rate to test how it performed was crucial in getting the warclaw to feel just right in a PvE setting.

The real breakthrough, however, came when the team decided to embrace the playful, exploratory nature of cats. Their instinct to sneak into places they shouldn't be served as inspiration for the mount's double jump and fluid movements. Never underestimate the power of researching cats!

In the spirit of transparency, we have to admit that, while cats played a big part in the design process, so did a bug we encountered early on. This bug allowed players to leap higher each time they connected with the ground, causing each jump to get progressively higher. While it wasn't intended, it sparked the idea to explore different jumping concepts. After several iterations, the team settled on the double-jump mechanic because it was both practical and easier for players to control. Of all the versions tested, it was also the most fun, capturing the core goal of warclaw's design and bringing the pure joy of movement to the mount.

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In the end, the warclaw transformation is a testament to the power of player feedback and the collaborative spirit of the development team. The transformation from an underutilized mount to one of the community's most beloved companions has been very rewarding for the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds team. Experiencing the joy of movement is what makes a mount truly special, and whether you're tearing across the WvW battlefield or leaping across Tyria's vast landscapes, the warclaw is there to make every journey a little more thrilling. Just don't forget to visit your feline friend in your homestead from time to time for scritches!

Join us this year in making the world a better place! Purchase the Extra Life 2024 Bundle and receive cool in-game goodies while donating to an amazing cause.

This incredible bundle contains five Extra Life Karma Boosters, five Temporary Selfless Potions, and the all-new Guardian Angel Pedestal Chair. Purchasing any of these items will also grant you the in-game title "The Extra Life" in blue text. The Extra Life 2024 Donation Bundle is available for 800 gems. The Extra Life Karma Boosters can be obtained separately for 75 gems each or 275 gems for 10 boosters, with all proceeds going to Extra Life.

To thank our generous donors, once we reach our stretch goal of $105,000 in direct donations on the Team ArenaNet Extra Life page, anyone who purchased any Extra Life item in the Gem Store will automatically receive two special selection boxes to choose fan-favorite rewards from past events. Select the Feisty Feline Tonic, Mini Mr. Sparkles, Celebration Hat, or ten Kegs of Liquid Karma.

Visit our Extra Life campaign page Team ArenaNet[www.extra-life.org] and help us reach our stretch goal of $105,000 in direct donations this year. And please check out our Extra Life blog[www.guildwars2.com] for more information about our upcoming 24-hour livestream on November 1.

We sincerely thank our community for always joining us for this incredibly rewarding event.

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Starting November 1 and continuing for the next few days, select unique chairs will be 20% off, including the Dark Wing Throne, Great Lodge Chair, Legionnaire's Chair, Qi Focusing Chair, Super Adventure Box Chair, Volcanic Throne, Street Noodles Chair, and Quiet Woods Chair. Long days of adventuring call for rest and relaxation; get your favorite chairs at an awesome discount!

Returning This Week

From today until November 5, Bank Tab Expansions, Armistice Bastion Pass, Lava Lounge Pass, Mistlock Sanctuary Passkey, Noble's Folly Pass, Royal Terrace Pass, Thousand Seas Pavilion Pass, and Captain's Airship Pass are available at a wonderful 20% discount. Easy access to everything you need!


Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

Creating large-scale open world events in Guild Wars 2® is no easy task, and when the challenge involves bringing iconic titans back into the game for the first time since the original Guild Wars®, the stakes get even higher. Today, our designers Travis Battig, Peter Larkin, Matthew Burke, and Brian Gilmore share some behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of the new titans and another community-favorite world boss from Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™. From technical breakthroughs to design philosophy, their journey is one of balancing ambition with careful, thoughtful iteration.

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When designing open world events, there's always the desire to do more, to make it harder, and to delight players with something bigger and more complex than what they've seen before. However, as it goes with every studio and project, we need to find ways to push ourselves while operating within our constraints. After a great deal of iteration on what the full experience would be, we decided it was best to allow the titans themselves to carry this world boss encounter—after all, this is their first appearance since the original Guild Wars.

We had decided early on to make Decima and Greer a world boss encounter instead of a meta-event. We also wanted to incorporate our reworked warclaw mount's mechanics into the design by having them be the solution to the titans' hardened armor. Early prototypes included porting over existing WvW door functionality onto a creature, armor gadgets we attached to a karka rig, and a dynamic race-gate placement. Ultimately, we arrived at the experience that's in the game: tripping the titan with your warclaw to make it break its own armor under its weight. When either titan is knocked over, their armor is shattered, revealing their inner core. As an homage to titans in Guild Wars, the resulting destruction generates titanspawn for players to defeat.

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The early concept art for Decima was inspiring, and the idea that she would use conduits in some way struck a chord. As a titan, she incorporates elements of her environment to form thick, rocky armor made of crystalline structures reminiscent of pyrite.

As the Stormsinger, her conduits allow her to manipulate the weather by generating and storing large amounts of arcane flux, a hybrid of air-attuned and raw arcane magic. Decima's rocky, hefty appearance isn't what you'd expect from a creature capable of generating and manipulating storms, wind, and lightning. This dichotomy was fun to work with and informed much of her design, especially her love of squashing things!

A key aspect of Decima's design is her massive beam attacks that fire from the conduit built into her left arm. However, matching visual effects to rectangular attacks of arbitrary length is tricky. Decima is so large that her beam attacks couldn't shoot directly from her arm, as they'd be too high up and off-center. To solve this, we used an invisible creature to act as an anchor for the beam attack, allowing the system to dynamically scale the beams to almost any length. This will become much more relevant in the upcoming raid!

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With Greer, the titan of rot, our goal was to embody the theme of "decay without life" throughout the encounter. Greer's ideal world would be what you would find underneath a kicked over log—rot without regrowth. A key aspect of Greer is his ability to corrupt boons, a mechanic usually not found in open world content, which adds a new layer of complexity for players in the PvE setting. Having a world boss that uses a player's own strengths against them encourages different builds and strategies, such as utilizing abilities that can cleanse conditions.

With the titans, we also introduced mechanics to the open world that were more commonly seen in strikes and raids. For example, to avoid Greer's rot eruption, three players have to stack up in the same spot, or decaying thorns will burst up from the ground and impale them. Earlier versions of this attack would simply target the players who were furthest from Greer, and while that did keep ranged players on their toes, it left no room for counterplay. In the end, Eruption of Rot evolved from an attack that harassed ranged characters into one that needed to—and could be—countered by player action.

We also wanted to make sure Greer and Decima felt different to overcome while sharing some similarities. Both have hardened armor and generate titanspawn when it's broken, but while Decima is more of a dance of death, Greer is more of a stand-up brawl. We can't wait for players to experience how Greer's titan-splitting mechanic evolves in the new raid coming soon!

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When we began research for Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, we stumbled upon bog bodies and used them as a point of inspiration. Bog bodies are basically mummies preserved in peat bogs, and we decided they would be reanimated due to the maggots infesting them.

The event chain started with the idea that you would be running around and squishing the maggots while riding on the warclaw. After several iterations, it evolved to requiring the players to dash through the maggots to stop them, which was more interactive. Once that system was ready, our attention shifted to designing the source of these maggots—enter the Bog Queen.

To bring the Bog Queen to life, we started with the Risen Priestess of Lyssa model, which hadn't been used much. Our Character Art Lead, Adam, did an amazing job updating and altering the design into the creepy visage you see in the game. We also upgraded her animations, which allowed her to hover as she commands her army of maggots and bog bodies.

[d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net]From there, we wrote some voice lines for her summoning poem, like, "Squirm and infest; rot and decay. Find a new home, all soft and warm. It's time to join my jubilant swarm!" Then our narrative lead, Indigo, fleshed out an incredible backstory for her with the help of some other talented contributors. We won't spoil anything, but be sure to poke around Janthir Syntri if you want the full story.

We also played around with the idea of having the Bog Queen sing her voice lines during the maggot summoning but ended up deciding against that in the end. Patty Mattson, who also voiced Peitha, absolutely crushed it performing as the Bog Queen. We love giving her nine-feet-tall monsters to play!

Overall, the whole team really rallied around the Bog Queen, and we are delighted to see that she's become a favorite of the Guild Wars 2 community. She wouldn't be the success she is without everyone working together to make it happen. Shoutouts to our map artists, design leads, QA, and the music team—the "Queen of Murk" track is unbelievable!

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Whether you're facing off against the corruption of Greer, battling Decima's lightning strikes, or dashing through maggots in Janthir Wilds, these encounters are designed to engage players in fresh, exciting ways. Each of these bosses represents the culmination of months of collaboration and creativity, and we were thrilled to watch the community's reaction to them when the expansion launched. We're equally excited for players to experience our upcoming raid and Convergences bosses in our first major update to Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds in November. We'll see you then!