Guild Wars 2's Homesteads set to receive a massive overhaul in the upcoming Visions of Eternity expansion

Guild Wars 2's next adventure is right around the corner, and that includes some much-needed updates and upgrades for the trusted Homestead. Introduced in the Janthir Wilds expansion, the Homestead is Guild Wars 2's second iteration of the classic player housing system, except with more control over the decorative aspects.

Players have long had access to a player home within each of the five races’ capital cities, where they can install a minimal amount of daily collectibles and some minute decorative items.

The Homestead is the complete opposite - players are given a large plot of land and an accompanying cottage to decorate and customize as they please. Better yet, all the collectibles from the racial homes can be freely put there in very thematic locations.

The Homestead feature is seeing its first major update beyond the scope of Janthir Wilds, which was a much more relaxed experience compared to previous expansions. On that note, let's look at what new tools we’re getting for Homesteading in the Visions of Eternity expansion.

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What ArenaNet envisions for Homesteads in Guild Wars 2's Visions of Eternity expansion

The perfect space where you can stow away any manner of secrets (Image via ArenaNet)

All of the information was shared with us by ArenaNet’s Senior Gameplay Engineer, Sarah Davies, who took us through an extensive showcase of the new Homesteading map, decorations, methods of customization, and many other quality-of-life features, which have become somewhat of a staple for every Guild Wars 2 update and expansion.

The showcase began with Sarah taking us on a tour around Comosus Island, which has a large beachfront and small streams leading into the first cliffside and cascading waterfalls. Behind this was the cavern with places to harvest one’s daily ores. It was filled with various crystalline formations illuminated via bioluminescence, with Ley Energy pouring in and out.

However, all of this paled in comparison to the star of the show: the shattered monolith at the center of the island. I couldn’t tell you what it was made of, but at night, and with the Ley Energy bursting from every crevice, it looked every bit as spectacular as it was foreboding. Speaking of Ley Energy, yes, the mounts can ride these short currents.

Overall, the new zone is gorgeous, but it is practically ethereal at night with the sea and star-filled sky serving as a backdrop. There are also several fishing spots scattered around the zone, and they actually hold fish that players can catch. Although classed as a leisure activity, the recommended fishing power of one particular spot was set at 650, which is anything but casual.

No tropical hideaway is complete without a bar to make some drinks (Image via ArenaNet)

First things first, the Homestead at Comosus Isle will still require players to own or purchase the Janthir Wilds’ expansion. It is complete with new features this time around. However, there are no quest steps attached to accessing the new Homestead, nor any of the features being introduced in Visions of Eternity.

When it comes to features, the first one that comes to mind is the fully modular Homestead. Yes, players will now be able to take off every single piece of decoration, wall, ceiling, and so on.

Furthermore, the new edit feature will allow them to control an existing piece of decoration in all three dimensions and store it on the map for future usage or repositioning. Sarah explained that this feature was added to reduce the amount of drag for players when they can potentially spend hours meticulously planning out their perfect Homestead.

The next big feature is the ability to create Homestead loadouts and share your creations via party play and through other out-of-game means, such as an XML file. And by sharing, the developers do mean absolutely everything, down to the very last table mat.

Players will have access to multiple saved stages. Both Homesteads will be saved under different names, so there’s some ease of navigation. Furthermore, players can relocate specific decorations from one loadout to another.

Yes, you can strip down this ship/house to its last straw, but why would you? (Image via ArenaNet)

Considering how spacious the new zone is, ArenaNet has recognized that not every player will want to travel inside the cave to collect their ores. The landing zone will have all the necessary collection boxes, so players can quickly collect their daily bounty.

The update will also allow players to duplicate existing decorations freely, provided they have the requisite materials at hand. An additional feature is that Guild Halls are now also shareable; however, this immense power only resides with the Guild leaders if they choose to make it so.

After the extensive presentation, Sarah sat down with us to answer some questions, such as how many new decorations will be arriving with Visions of Eternity. Around 75 new decorations will be available at the expansion launch.

We also asked Sarah about a potential preview screen for the crafted decorations. The simple answer was that the team did plan on it, but was unable to get it up and running within the timeframe.

And last but not least, all of the aforementioned features are being introduced to Hearth's Glow as well, so it is the perfect time to get introduced to Homesteading in Guild Wars 2 for the first time or polish your existing masterpiece.

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The Visions of Eternity expansion for Guild Wars 2 launches on October 28, 2025.

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