Back to school is not necessarily just for schoolchildren or students, but also for video game studios, it seems. Many releases are planned this month and ArenaNet is also playing the game by offering players the prologue to Season 5 of the Living World. This one was presented to me for an hour during a game session with developers from the studio.
Much requested by players, the narrative mode of this new episode will drastically change by no longer offering a linear format where you alternate between card exploration and a series of instanced fights. In this new episode of the Living World, storytelling will remain the central point of your adventures but you will be much more free on the new maps. You should know that for this new season, the studio teams have grown to achieve many ambitious additions to the game.
The new map, Grothmar Valley, is a fairly well-known map if you've played the game's first installment. These aren't the only nods to GW1 in this episode like the addition of the Dance of the Necromancers, either. or different cosmetics that you find in meta-event rewards or vendors. Some items can be both found in the “big” chests on the map or purchased from vendors for volatile magic or the new currency on the map. It will be the same equipment between the two versions with the difference that one will be linked (seller) while the other will not (chests).
Times are calm in Tyria and the nations are celebrating the latest events that have taken place. You are invited by the Charr race to attend various games / events and especially a metal concert as a meta-event ending. Besides some pretty classic escort or item pickup events, I was able to experience two completely different events than what we usually saw: a mobile platform shooting event and vehicle PvP combat. On the narrative side, we are going to learn a lot more about the Charr race and especially about the different legions that make it up. Additionally, if you play a Charr character, you will have additional dialogue.
One of the novelties, which will also be in the next episodes, is the addition of attack missions (or Strike). These missions allow you to go with a group of friends (10 maximum) to face emblematic bosses of the game. There is also the option of going on a public mission and wait for others to join you to start it. In the mission that we were able to play, we had to go through different deadly obstacles as well as a jumping puzzle before getting to the boss (if a person crosses the obstacles, a way to teleport is available by clicking on the mini menu). We faced an ice giant with different phases of combat. Depending on the time you put in, you will earn more or less card chests.
I won't be talking about the concert that is the culmination of the meta-event, but this one will offer you plenty of mini-activities to earn more rewards at the end. It will also change depending on the success of these events. In any case, concerning this prologue, it is really promising. The novelties brought by the studio augur well for the continuation of Living World!
