Last weekend was about looking back. As I relax and let the week end on a high note, I look back at two games: one looking towards the future, and another concluded with its future uncertain. Some quick thoughts.
Preparing for Guild Wars 3
Ever since Guild Wars 2 released in 2012, I always had the game installed and ready whenever I wanted to return. On and off I go back to play the latest expansion and create this personal goal to chase. Be it farming for a legendary item or completing everything there is to do in their latest map. Whatever I plan on doing, I do it in my own time without much worry or fuss.
Guild Wars 2 has been my comfort food for years, and I’m excited that developer ArenaNet is taking a bold move with the announcement of Guild Wars 3. The new game won’t have a subscription fee, and it’s set 1,000 years before the first game.
The devs are slowly giving out more information about the new game, but also about what they plan to do with the first two games. Simply put, they’re supporting all three at once. With Guild Wars 3 development ongoing, Guild Wars 2 will continue to receive not minor updates, but substantial ones, as the 13-year-old game will wrap up the last expansion’s content later this year and get a feature that allows players to earn rewards for Guild Wars 3. It’s all about polish for the GW2 team, but once the new game launches, they will be back to releasing new expansions. Guild Wars Reforged also has a dedicated team behind it, and that game is set to hit mobile later this month.
Live service games are a tough business nowadays, and ArenaNet is set to support three. All of this encouraged me to boot up Guild Wars 2 again, and that urge to play on a daily basis is back, and it seems like the same is true for many players. The developers mentioned that the announcement triggered a spike of returning players stronger than any of its recent expansion launches. The hype for a new MMO is real.
Logging into Destiny 2’s Final Update
Excited for one, sad for another. Destiny 2 received a major update for the last time as the Monument of Triumph has shaped the game into its final sandbox. Hundreds of changes, tons of added dialogue, all of it proving further that this is truly the end.
I haven’t grinded all that hard; I’ve just been picking up new dialogue and watching the scenes locked behind certain activities. This final update is really about leaving the game in its best possible form, with storylines closed and hints of what could have been if it had been given the chance to keep going. The more you play, the more the pain of there being nothing after sets in. There are thousands of players who considered Destiny 2 a second home, content creators who built entire careers around the game. It’s a strange thing to sit with, but there’s a silver lining: at least Bungie gets to give it a proper send-off.
That’s what this update did, in the end. I know this is as dire as it gets, but it could have been worse. They could have left the game as-is, without a Monument of Triumph update, just whatever was released earlier this year. Feeling unfinished.
Another way to look at it: at least the FOMO is gone. Some players might miss that feeling most of all, but now everyone can go back and complete whatever they missed without worrying about being undergeared. Hit the last gear score and you’re set: clear any Dungeon or Raid at your own pace. Chase achievements and play as much as you want on your own terms.
I don’t know how long Bungie can keep the servers running, and honestly, I hope they keep them on for years. With a peak of 160K players on Steam for the final update’s release (Destiny 2 has a lot of console players too ), it would be foolish not to keep catering to that community. Both Sony and Bungie owe them at least that much.
Respawn Monday #01: Abiotic Factor, Marathon Runs, and Outward 2
Respawn Monday #02: Marathon Season 2, Game Shows, and Darktide
About the Author – Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.