Guild Wars 2 Visions of Eternity hands-on preview: Setting sail beyond Tyrian shores for new stories

Guild Wars 2’s upcoming Visions of Eternity expansion is just one week away. For the first time in the franchise’s history, players will venture beyond what was explored in the two games and discover a new land, flora, fauna, and all associated dangers. Castora is an entirely new area, rarely discussed in mainstream Tyrian conversations outside of apocryphal sailor stories. From the very little information gleaned from such sources, it is an island of life and magic unbound.

ArenaNet invited me to explore Castora before its official release and experience the first zone for close to two hours, where the developers took us on a journey. I got to see everything from the new caves, coves, and shoals; I took part in an event against a T. Rex, ventured into an Inquest lab disguised as a Golem, and even fought in a meta event against two bosses. Not to mention, I also got a preview of the rewards waiting on the distant shores of Tyria.

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Castora is beautiful and deadly

Castora is positively brimming with ley magic, a future potential to introduce many magical entities (Image via ArenaNet)

Our exploration began on the beachhead established by a ragtag team of survivors, who call themselves the Hullgardeners. Meanwhile, our own group of Astral Ward and Tyrian Alliance members ventured inwards, through the snaking waterways and rocky outcrops. We did use the new Skimmer mount, and yes, they are being equipped with many new abilities in Visions of Eternity, such as a boost to increase flight time and height, as well as the ability to roll through without dismounting.

As we were exploring, we came upon an Inquest gizmo-laden Tyrannosaurus Rex, being mind-controlled and wreaking havoc. Naturally, everyone dismounted to stop such an inhumane experiment. The next 3 minutes were spent trying to calm the dinosaur down, while trying to stop the Inquest from conducting such an experiment, and the developers guided us through it (and helped us fight it).

It should be noted that only the first map was available for exploration, and the second one was completely off-limits. We also took part in the meta event of the map, where we went up against a norn duo who were strangely aligned with the Inquest. It became clear that there was another faction of survivors on the island, who call themselves Freebooters and are much more likely to fire the first shot and take your money.

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You have new tools to take on Castora’s deadly side

I'm starting my journey as a Guardian this time around (Image via ArenaNet)

During this entire excursion, I did not pass up the chance to play as the Guardian, specifically as the Luminary. Primarily because it is a class I didn’t get to experience during the Visions of Eternity Beta Specialization event, and secondly, because I found the specialization’s theme to be reactive. It provided just enough damage, boon support, and crowd control effect to make it an extremely versatile class.

You wouldn’t need such tools if Castora weren’t a dangerous place to begin with. Dinosaurs are scary as it is, and now the Inquest has given them mechanical implants and “upgrades” in Visions of Eternity. And then there are the Freebooters. Starting as mere pirates, they have also obtained Inquest tech and, naturally, have become formidable enemies. None more so than the two aforementioned meta-event bosses.

I won’t give out much information about the fight, just that players will find out they are almost magnetically attracted to one boss over the other, similar to how groups need to align themselves to specific emotions to combat Eparch’s summons. I don’t think it will be a very tight DPS chase like Eparch was, but it will be on the same scale as Greer and Decima in Janthir Syntri.

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Putting the action next to the adventure in Visions of Eternity

The Inquest is up to no good, as usual. And they have help, as usual. (Image via ArenaNet)

When we asked the developers about the biggest inspiration for the team and what shaped the overall development of Castora, “Action movie” was the answer every time. From the beginning of our journey at a shipwreck, to finding a lost island full of dinosaurs, to fighting pirates equipped with state-of-the-art tech, or even breaking into a secret lab in disguise, the theme was shining through.

Speaking of the lab infiltration, it was a very short campaign mission, which is a stark departure from the usual Guild Wars 2 offering. Normally, campaign missions are long and often have a lengthy walk from encounter to encounter as characters provide exposition and context. This was perhaps the biggest gripe of the playerbase during Janthir Wilds, which had more conversations than combat. Personally, I didn’t mind the slower pace, but I’m not opposed to a breakneck campaign either.

Side Stories are also an important feature in Visions of Eternity, focused on delivering shorter stories and interconnected tidbits through achievements and exploration. There are also new Masteries coming with Visions of Eternity, but to keep my experience somewhat novel when the expansion launches, I decided not to dive too deeply. The new Wavehawk (a.k.a Skimmer) abilities are a part of the new Mastery system.

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The rewards for exploration are Legendary

New threats mean new tools (Image via ArenaNet)

Just like every other expansion before it, Visions of Eternity is bringing a whole suite of new weapons and armour to collect and use in the wilds of Castora. And for the first time, the new Elite Specializations are bringing new and unique armour pieces as Specialization mastery rewards. This is a welcome change from previous expansions, which gave Ascended weapons as rewards for completing the Specialization collections.

The biggest prize for Visions of Eternity players is the new Legendary Aquabreather, named Selachimorpha. The first Legendary item of this class, Selachimorpha makes shark fins grow out of your back underwater and makes small fish follow you around. The only downside is that there isn’t a significant focus on underwater combat here, despite the theme, so Selachimorpha’s effects will be limited. There are also other Legendaries to be acquired in Visions of Eternity, mainly 3 weapons, a ring, and an accessory, but we weren’t shown those.

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Visions of Eternity is a completely new horizon for Guild Wars 2, as it is a truly uncharted territory for the franchise, with completely new lore and features. It is offering a new storyline, new interactions between the various Tyrian races, and the potential to recruit new allies and threats that have evolved without the influence of the Elder Dragons and the Mists. I, for one, am happy to play more Guild Wars 2 at all times, so this is a good time for me.

Guild Wars 2 Visions of Eternity launches on October 28.