PC Gamer - UK (2022-04)

A

top a crag amid the
mountains beside
Grothmar Valley, the
band begins to play.
“We are Metal
Legion,” croaks frontman Varus
Chainrazor, “and we’re here to put
the ‘band’ back in ‘warband’”.
Beside me, Fraser is losing his mind.

I never expected my friends to give
Guild Wars 2 an earnest try. As a
longtime player, I would jokingly
suggest it as our weekly co-op
gaming group bounced between
various games. When our interest in
any one waned, I’d mention the good
times we could be having in Tyria.
Eventually, it worked. In late-2021,
a handful of current and former PC
Gamer staffers downloaded the game.
As the veteran, it was now my
responsibility to keep them playing.
My tactic was to take it slow: to
gradually portion out the game’s best
and most surprising encounters. As of
writing – just before the the End of
Dragons expansion – Guild Wars 2
has 52 maps. And because, in its nine
years of operation, it has never raised
the level cap, most of them are
populated to at least some degree.

BOSS RUSH

And so, as the new arrivals level their

characters, I suggest a field trip to the

swamps of Queensdale. Here, they

meet one of Guild Wars 2’s world

bosses – giant monsters that spawn

as a dynamic event out in the open

world. The shadow behemoth isn’t a

difficult fight, but it does look

impressive as a swarm of players

converge to take down a dark beast.

I waited a few weeks before the

next big reveal: the Shatterer. Also an

open world boss, and also a relatively

easy fight, the Shatterer still stands

out because it’s the first of Guild Wars

“It’s an absurd showpiece, backed by

lore-appropriate rock music”

2 ’s dragon bosses – an imposing

spectacle that feels satisfying to kill.

Hitting the level cap unlocks a

new style of open world activity:

meta-events, where hundreds of

players work across an entire map.

They take part in a Charr civil war,

where players slowly earn control of

a map in a lengthy, brutal struggle.

And then, when they finally think

they know what the game is all about,

I take them to a concert.

Grothmar Valley is the site of a big

Charr party. In one of its four

meta-events, players must help the

rock band Metal Legion. As players

successfully complete each task, the

crowd’s excitement builds.

It ends in a dragon fight.

Pyrotorrick – a pyrotechnic metal

construct modelled after the Elder

Dragon Kralkatorrik – malfunctions.

It’s an absurd and spectacular

showpiece, backed by lore-

appropriate rock music. MMO

discussion is usually dominated by

talk of grind; of reward structures

and progressions systems. But

introducing new people to an MMO

that you’re familiar with is a great

reminder of the simple joys that these

massive worlds can contain.

Becoming a GUILD WARS 2 tour guide

HITTING THE LEVEL CAP

UNLOCKS A NEW STYLE OF

OPEN WORLD ACTIVITY

PHIL SAVAGE

THIS MONTH

Pushed an addiction upon

some friends.

ALSO PL AYED

Destiny 2

FAR LEFT: A stirring

rendition of classic

rock anthem Bound

by Blood.

BELOW: (^) Pyrotorrick
attacks.
THE GAMES WE LOVE RIGHT NOW
NOW PL AYING