Claw of Jormag – Guild Wars 2

The Claw of Jormag is a World Boss and while you might think it’s a good 15 to 20 minutes to kill, you’d be wrong. Players have 30 minutes to complete the fight and it involves multiple stages where the Claw can’t be hurt. It can be damaged in between but otherwise, you’ll be running around breaking the corrupted ice shield, protecting Pact Bomb Golems, etc etc. An exasperating fight, even when everything is going your way.

After reports surfaced last week about the same, Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet confirmed that it would make “staff reductions.” Today, it confirmed to GameDaily that “a number” of employees were laid off as “as part of NCSoft’s ongoing restructuring of its development and publishing business in the West.” The exact number of employees that have been released was not confirmed.

Lead game designer Jennifer Scheurle took to Twitter and noted that the lay-offs were “one of the most agonizing things I’ve ever experienced.” “Many of the most talented, driven and skilled people, friends and colleagues, didn’t get to keep their job.” Scheurle did compliment the company though, noting, “ArenaNet handled the awful situation as well as you can handle a situation where everybody loses. It’s credit to a compassionate and skilled HR department that we are given as much information and time as we were.”

Interestingly, while ArenaNet claimed the lay-offs would not affect any Guild Wars 2 services, the game’s next mount – Warclaw – has been delayed to March 5th. A moderator’s post on the official forum stated, “In light of current events at the studio, we are taking this time to focus on our friends and colleagues. We hope you understand and we apologize for this delay. Thank you for your continued support of Guild Wars 2.”

ArenaNet isn’t the only company that’s been laying off employees this month. Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard recently released hundreds of employees across various studios. A recent report indicated that GOG had laid off around a dozen employees in the wake of financial pressure as well. Hopefully, all the unfortunate developers and employees will find employment soon.

This is true despite feeling that ArenaNet handled the awful situation as well as you can handle a situation where everybody loses. It’s credit to a compassionate and skilled HR department that we are given as much information and time as we were.

— Jennifer Scheurle (@Gaohmee) February 25, 2019

Remember that at every step of the way, there are people involved in this that have to go through grueling processes. They have families and emotions and sadness and anger. Keeping room for all of it is a great way to support people now.

— Jennifer Scheurle (@Gaohmee) February 25, 2019

Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet will be making “staff reductions” in the wake of unannounced projects being canceled. A report by Kotaku based on an internal email from NCSoft (which is the parent company for ArenaNet) initially revealed that a “significant” number of employees would be released. After PC Gamer inquired about the same, ArenaNet issued an official statement.

“We can confirm that due to the cancellation of unannounced projects, ArenaNet will make staff reductions,” the statement reads. “This is part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the west, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor is any upcoming game content canceled.” The number of employees that would be laid off was not revealed.

The “organizational restructuring” mentioned in the report probably refers to the merger between the publishing divisions for both companies. However, there was no mention about NCSoft’s live service revenue “declining as our franchises age” or mobile creating “further drains against our revenue projects”. On the bright side, it doesn’t seem like Guild Wars 2 is in any danger of shutting down.

Guild Wars 2 first released as a paid MMO sans subscription model in 2012. It went free to play in 2015 after numerous content updates, and also received two major expansions. Heart of Thorns arrived in 2015, followed by Path of Fire in 2017. Though the MMO’s popularity isn’t exactly through the roof, especially compared to stalwarts like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, it continues to receive support. Time will tell if things change, especially following this restructuring.

You can also see developers like Firaxis using smaller DLC to introduce significant new feature sets, units and missions to games like XCOM 2 while shipping larger expansions that could be full-fledged sequels like War of the Chosen. Of course, that’s not including the significant updates that have come to games like Path of Exile which added numerous new story acts and will have a ton of new maps for its end-game system by the time you’re reading this.

"To put it more saliently, what makes an expansion “worthwhile” in terms of its content? How does DLC measure up and does it really differ from game to game and audience to audience?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, we have games like Diablo 3 and its Rise of the Necromancer DLC which drew heavy criticism from fans for offering a single character with some gear sets and cosmetic items for $15. Bungie’s Destiny 2 did a lot worse, amazingly enough, with its Curse of Osiris DLC that locked several Prestige activities and the Heroic Strike playlist behind a paywall while offering very little story content, recycled items from Destiny 1 and a hefty helping of content for its loot boxes. EA bungled its microtransaction approaches with Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Need for Speed Payback despite promising free post-launch content for the former.

It’s not like every triple A developer is getting it wrong. Surprisingly enough, Ubisoft is offering plenty of free content and updates for Assassin’s Creed Origins while maintaining an in-game cash shop and paid DLC. Tom Clancy’s The Division implemented paid cosmetic items and loot boxes but also added a bunch of new features like Global Events, Classified Gear Sets, Commendations and much more. The new Resistance is even meatier, introducing a brand new zone, a new Horde and PvP and sweeping changes to other content to keep it relevant.

In the midst of all this free content and paid DLC, how exactly does one approach a typical expansion any more? To put it more saliently, what makes an expansion “worthwhile” in terms of its content? How does DLC measure up and does it really differ from game to game and audience to audience?

It’s worth explaining what an expansion was referred to as in the old days. Expansions were essentially add-ons to the base game, bringing new areas, weapons, characters, plot-lines and what have you to significantly extend a game’s life. These were often smaller than the base game and required said game to even play. However, a number of expansions would often be stand-alone and not require the base game, presenting a story that stood on its own. You can see some examples like this even in the present day industry with Forza Horizon 2: Fast and Furious.

"However, this solidifies that the “DLC” term is pretty fluid and can refer to a number of different things. One reason DLC garnered such a bad reputation is in the value proposition it provides players."

You could also add games like inFamous: First Light, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy to the list though those are more like full games. They introduce brand new mechanics, stories and directions that are fairly different from their base experiences. It’s a hard line to differentiate but it presents a strong clue for the direction of expansions these days.

Now let’s look at DLC. DLC can include a number of things, from a few cosmetic additions and weapons to new side quests, difficulty options, New Game+, modes, raids, story missions, multiplayer maps and so on and so forth. The common theme of downloadable content seems to be that it’s not all the sizeable or large. But then you have DLC like Dying Light’s upcoming Bad Blood which adds a brand new PvP mode to the game, encouraging players to compete against each other, gathering loot and forming alliances before breaking them to eventually secure a set for extraction. Techland calls it an “expansion” which may not be too far off.

However, this solidifies that the “DLC” term is pretty fluid and can refer to a number of different things. One reason DLC garnered such a bad reputation is in the value proposition it provides players. Take one look at the Creation Club for Bethesda’s Fallout 4vand The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and decide for yourself how much value all of that holds. I have yet to see anything that’s worth paying real money for and yes, that includes the Survival mode for Skyrim which can be replicated using a number of user-created mods. Another reason for the ill-will towards DLC is the fact that content is seemingly removed from the main game and sold separately to generate additional profit.

Destiny has been a pretty egregious offender in this department. At first, it seemed like the DLC was hacked off not just to appease the need for additional profits but because the original scope of Destiny was too large for Bungie to put together, especially when it made the decision to start from scratch upon writer Joseph Staten’s departure. From there, it went to a more microtransaction-heavy, live event model that provided bite-sized content updates. We then had an “expansion” in Rise of Iron which was barely worth the $30 on offer and more live events.

"Rainbow Six: Siege is another good example – new maps and modes are free while Operators have to be purchased with in-game currency. If you purchase the Season Pass, you get early access to these Operators and don’t have to spend any currency."

Fast forward to 2017 and Bungie has seemingly again hacked content out of Destiny 2 to resell it as DLC all while locking a number of cosmetic items that could be earned from activities like Strikes, raids and whatnot behind the Eververse microtransaction store. It’s hard to follow all the lines of thought here, especially because Bungie’s idea of “additional content” has been infested with so many different profit-mongering tendrils.

But then you have “content updates” for games like Warframe and Path of Exile. Digital Extremes regularly releases new Warframes, weapons, reworks and other changes for players in the intervals between major updates like the Plains of Eidolon. When it’s not unleashing massive content updates like Fall of Oriath and War for the Atlas, Grinding Gear Games is busy adding new Leagues and items to Path of Exile on top of optional, paid cosmetics that have no bearing on actual gameplay.

Rainbow Six: Siege is another good example – new maps and modes are free while Operators have to be purchased with in-game currency. If you purchase the Season Pass, you get early access to these Operators and don’t have to spend any currency. Shovel Knight is another great example, packing smaller updates like the addition of new enemies like the Battletoads while adding new features like customizing Shovel Knight’s appearance.

When you start to consider major content updates like Warframe’s Plains of Eidolon, Path of Exile’s Fall of Oriath and War for the Atlas, Dota 2’s Duelling Fates, Shovel Knight’s Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment and so on, it becomes more obvious that the old expansions of yore have basically become today’s free updates. I mean, even Shadowrun: Hong Kong gave away a multi-hour expansion to its main story completely for free. The Division’s update 1.8 could be a significant paid DLC in its own right.

"Is it justified to offer a paucity of content for $20 while locking a number of different things behind it and the cash shop?"

Sure, it’s a smaller scale game – many of the above examples are – but it really says something that some of the most significant and lauded “expansions” to a game are free.

Meanwhile, in the “triple A” space, major expansions are more often being turned into full-fledged games. Firaxis is still rolling on with expansions like War of the Chosen for XCOM 2. Horizon: Zero Dawn’s The Frozen Wilds is significant enough to be deemed an expansion. Destiny 2 will likely have its major “expansion” next year after the Spring 2018 DLC. Otherwise, the industry seems to be leaning more towards expansions becoming actual games. Saints Row IV evolving from a DLC for Saints Row The Third is one such occurrence and there have been numerous others since then.

Is the “expansion” term as we know it dead and gone? Well, not really and that’s more due to MMOs than anything else. World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 offer significant content drops every few months to appease their subscribers before charging money for a full fledged expansion. They both seem to maintain a two year development cycle for each expansion as well but the common theme seems to be that if you pay on a monthly basis, you’ll receive content that will keep you busy on a month to month basis.

There’s still the question of how much “content” is enough to justify the classification of something as an expansion or DLC. Is it justified to offer a paucity of content for $20 while locking a number of different things behind it and the cash shop? Does it make sense for developers to deliver a brand new game but as an add-on to a base experience that will only cost $40? Is the best route really to just offer major content drops for free while offering a completely transparent cash shop that lets players buy what they want, when they want for real money? It does boil down to the size and scale of a game but it also depends on the publishers and developers.

"After all, if the marks keep buying, even when you keep charging them more money, why wouldn’t you go by their standards?"

Some companies seem to treat their games as little more than a service to those who want to drop some cash. That can be both good and bad depending on the company in question. Others want to offer the best content at the best possible price, whether it’s in a full game or a paid expansion or even some DLC, before moving on to the next big thing (and it’s not like the same people behind the main game are all working on the post-launch paid content).

In light of the recent bumbling monetization efforts by a number of companies, you have to wonder about the future of post-launch content for video games. How much of a game will be removed and repackaged for the sake of additional DLC revenue? How far is too far for microtransactions and monetizing every single aspect of a game while making the actual gameplay process for those aspects as “fair” and “accomplished” as possible? The MMOs may have it figured out but you’ll still see instances of blowback against the likes of Guild Wars 2, a free to play MMO that recently added a loot box system on top of having paid expansions and microtransactions.

I suppose that it’s up to the consumer to decide how much value they derive from additional content. After all, if the marks keep buying, even when you keep charging them more money, why wouldn’t you go by their standards? The fact that there’s blowback to that practice at all goes to show that some people just want to support their favourite games and receive some decent content in return rather than being seen as ATMs for quick, hard cash for any dreg of DLC. At present, expansions or significant content updates to a game will continue in some shape or form because there is a market for it. And it’s thankfully not a market that’s completely dictated by today’s “triple A” behemoths.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to GamingBolt as an organiza

ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 is still going strong as a free to play MMORPG and will be receiving its second major expansion on September 22nd. Path of Fire will feature a new story where Balthazar, a higher being of fire and war, has returned to set Tyria ablaze.

There will be five new zones to explore, including the Crystal Desert from the first Guild Wars and Elona from Guild Wars: Nightfall. New mounts are also in store including a raptor and new specializations for each class. For example, the Thief gets Deadeye which allows for sharpshooting with a rifle while the Mesmer receives Mirage for close combat and dodging. A max-level boost will also be offered to bring one of your characters up to level 80.

Accounts in good standing can partake in a preview on August 11th to 13th which offers access to the Crystal Oasis, some story and the raptor mount. Pre-purchasing the expansion will cost $29.99. Check out the entire reveal of the standalone expansion, which comes two years after Heart of Thorns, below.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Soloing Co-op Missions

How many times have you had to solo the Nightfall in Destiny? What about partaking in the Weekly HVTs in The Division in the patch 1.3 days or current Legendary missions? Co-op missions are designed for multiple players and offer some great rewards in certain games. And while they could be soloed, having to brave that challenge alone is much tougher than having a team.

ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 has seen its first major expansion and raid with Hearts of Thorns but the developer’s free to play MMORPG is pushing forward. A new content update will be out on January 26th which will allow players to use their hang-gliders in the open world or through the city in Central Tyria.

Other changes promised include improvements to Fractals, markers and lieutenant promotions for the Enhanced Squad UI, a new Mist Champion, new decorations for world and raid bosses, some balance changes, adjustments to aspects like kill scoring in World vs. World combat and much more.

ArenaNet also has other plans in store with the Lunar New Year event on the day the update goes live, the Salvation Pass raid wing (currently undated), a new PvP league on February 23rd and in the coming few months, Living World Season 3.

What are your thoughts on the updates? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information.

To arms – Guild Wars 2’s first raid, as part of the Heart of Thorns expansion, went live last night.

Composed of three wings, Spirit Vale is the first wing of the raid. It sees you and nine other players investigating the disappearance of a Pact squad in northern Maguuma. Obviously, enemies and dark secrets await. ArenaNet has introduced some nifty new squad AI to help players organize their raid groups better (and which play a larger part in World vs. World PvP gameplay) in a new patch.

The raid itself will offer quite a bit by way of rewards, including ascended gear, miniatures, new weapon skins and components required for crafting Legendary armour. There aren’t any prerequisites as such for accessing the raid, though you’re advised to be in tip top form.

What are your thoughts on Spirit Vale and the debut of raids into Guild Wars 2? Let us know in the comments.

It’s amazing to consider that ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 released three years ago and managed to avoid one of the biggest staples of the modern MMORPG genre – raids – for this long. That’s set to change with the raid in Heart of Thorns, the game’s first major expansion, which debuts its first of three raid wings on November 17th.

Spirit Vale will see you and nine other players descend into a magical forest to discover the whereabouts of a missing Pact squad. As is usually the case, dark forces await. The raid will introduce a new enhanced squad UI which lets you take better control of your raid group and can also be applied for up to 50 players in World vs. World PvP. Raid participants can look forward to some great rewards including ascended gear, miniatures, unique weapon skins and even the materials needed for building legendary armour.

Guild Wars 2 is available to try for free but you’ll need to purchase Heart of Thorns. Will you be taking part in Guild Wars 2’s first raid? Let us know in the comments.

With the upcoming first expansion of Guild Wars 2, Heart of Thorns, the game will be getting a brand new Adventures mode, a new mode that developer ArenaNet hopes will acclimatize players to their full range of skills, while also exposing them to continuously new, potentially unpredictable kinds of content.

“Adventures are small, fast-paced, single-adventurer events that challenge you to master a wide variety of skills in a race against the clock. What’s more, adventures are custom-built with leaderboards that allow you to compete against your friends and guildmates for bragging rights,” the developer said.

Adventures will apparently be an evolution of the Heart Challenges, and will be tailored uniquely to each player, as well as their present location when they start one; the Adventures will also all be instanced, meaning that you shouldn’t run into another player trying to slay the same monsters or gather the same resources as you.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage on Guild Wars 2.