As a passionate Guild Wars 2 player and content creator since the original 2012 launch, I couldn‘t be more thrilled to welcome new, returning, and veteran players to experience GW2‘s ever-expanding world in 2023. With stirring storylines, varied gameplay, and regular content updates, ArenaNet‘s flagship MMORPG remains one of the most vibrant virtual fantasy worlds after a decade.
This detailed guide will summarize the optimal order to experience GW2‘s story, features, and endgame in 2023 – helping new players avoid confusion while demonstrating to returning players just how much new content awaits in Tyria!
The Story of Tyria: Summary by release year
Here is a brief timeline summary of major beats in GW2‘s overarching storyline across core personal storylines, Living World episodic updates, and expansions:
Personal Story (2012 launch)
Establishes player character as heroic adventurer confronting rising Elder Dragon, Zhaitan. Sets up Destiny‘s Edge guild. Climactic final fight with Zhaitan leaves Tyria forever changed.
Living World Season 1 (2013-2014)
Scarlet Briar emerges with unknown alliances and sinister plots. Leads attack on Lion‘s Arch city. Storyline builds towards revelations on Sylvari race.
Living World Season 2 (2014)
After Lion‘s Arch rebuild, the Elder Dragon Mordremoth‘s power grows. Story follows efforts of Destiny‘s Edge and player to confront the dragon‘s forces.
Heart of Thorns Expansion (2015)
With Mordremoth‘s awakening, players journey deep into the Maguuma Jungle to assault the Elder Dragon and protect invaded territories.
Living World Season 3 (2016-2017)
As magic leaks from Mordremoth‘s demise, player stabilizes disrupted ley lines and discovers lost human god Balthazar‘s emergence on Tyria.
Path of Fire Expansion (2017)
Balthazar destabilizes Elona and kill two Elder Dragons, threatening Tyria. Player pursues rogue god, meets allies, and discovers Kralkatorrik, another destructive Elder Dragon active in Elona.
Living World Season 4 (2017-2019)
With Balthazar defeated, Kralkatorrik remains the greatest threat to Tyria and Elona. Player helps build an alliance of armies and advocates to directly combat rampaging Elder Dragon.
The Icebrood Saga (2019-2021)
In the frosty Far Shiverpeaks, Jormag – the fallen Norn Spirits of the Wild – and Primordus, an Elder Dragon long thought dormant, emerge to spread their destructive influence. After initial failures, an uneasy pact is struck…
End of Dragons Expansion (2022)
The deep waters between Cantha and Tyria are no longer impassable! But the return to Cantha reveals the disturbing origin of the Elder Dragons, a painful history, and another direct confrontation players must survive.
As this summary shows, GW2 has accumulated a vast, multifaceted lore. While each chapter adds complexity, the connective tissue centers on the player character‘s prolonged struggle alongside allies old and new to understand and overcome the existential threats posed by the destructive Elder Dragon forces awoken in Tyria.
The key to appreciating this overarching narrative is to experience content in order of release from 2012 onwards. This allows major plot threads, character development, emotional payoffs, and world events to accumulate logically rather than seeming scattered or confusing.
Playable Content Types in Guild Wars 2
Beyond the critical story experience, GW2 offers a wide array of open-world exploration, story-driven instanced dungeons, rewarding meta event boss fights, challenging small group fractals, 5-person dungeons, 10-person raids, dynamic large scale WvW battles and structured sPvP fights.
Open World PvE Content
GW2‘s expansive open world maps set in disparate regions of Tyria provide hundreds of hours of content. Diverse biomes burst with dynamic events, jump puzzles, minidungeons called Hero Points, collections, mounts to earn, masteries to unlock and vistas to reveal. The core world spans Ascalon, Shiverpeak Mountains, Kryta and more iconic GW zones.
Expansions extend open world content considerably:
- Heart of Thorns adds the thick Maguuma Jungle
- Path of Fire adds Crystal Desert and Elonian zones
- End of Dragons adds Canthan inspired archipelagos
Instanced PvE Content
Endgame PvE challenges designed for organized teams include:
- Dungeons – beginner friendly 5 person team content
- Fractals – tiered difficulty short encounters
- Strikes – 10 person fights against iconic bosses
- Raids – 10 person coordinated progression against very hard bosses
Competitive Content
For players seeking hardcore challenges, GW2 offers:
- World vs World – massive three server battles with siege weapons
- Structured PvP – 5v5 Conquest format arena battles
With millions of active players as of 2023 across this spectrum – Guild Wars 2 should absolutely be considered an alive, vibrant and ever-expanding fantasy world perfect for new or returning players!
Free to Play vs Paid Expansions in GW2
Notably, ArenaNet allows full free access to a wealth of content:
Guild Wars 2 Core Content – Free For All Players
- Entirety of core Tyria open world
- 8 core professions like Guardian, Thief etc
- Core personal story + racial storylines
- 5 key cities + capital cities
- Structured PvP + World vs World modes
- Trading Post + mail systems
- Level scaling + Sidekick system
However, acquiring GW2‘s expansions unlocks the full suite of features and all post-launch content additions.
Expansions Add
- Additional elite profession specializations
- New weapon types per profession
- New open world maps
- Mounts + Mount Abilities
- Mastery System + Gliding/Nuhoch Wallows etc
- Continued Personal Story
- Raids and Fractal Dungeons
- New World Bosses And Meta Events
As many players discover, GW2‘s free tier offers an immense amount of engaging content – but purchasing expansions allows deep investment through new builds, combat styles, better travel and rewards to further the adventure across Tyria.
Ideal New Player Progression At Level 80
While GW2‘s freedom is amazing, new players may feel overwhelmed entering unfamiliar systems at the level 80 cap.
My key tips for gaining your footing upon hitting 80:
- Initiate Mount Unlocks – Raptors, Springer and Skimmer offer immense mobility
- Work Towards Elite Specs – Key for varied builds and roles
- Get Exotics – Easy full armor/weapons to start content
- Run Meta Event Trains – Great loot and camaraderie!
- Find A Welcoming Guild – Learn, ask questions and make friends
- Unlock Fractal/Raid Access – Where challenge awaits
Thanks to excellent player communities organizing daily runs of endgame events, it is very accessible in GW2 to gear up and learn. The journey to high tier fractals and raid progression can take months – but with the right guidance and patience, the deepest rewards await.
Should I catch up on past Living World releases?
ArenaNet continues GW2‘s storyline primarily via time-limited Living World episodic releases. These temporary chapters alternate with permanent expansion pack launches.
If you were not playing during a given LS episode rollout, acquiring that LS season via the gem store ensures you benefit from:
- Participating in related map meta events
- Understanding the full story context
- Unlocking unique maps, masteries and rewards
My guidance for Living World priorities:
Given there are over 36 episodes spanning years, I suggest focusing first on LS3, LS4 and The Icebrood Sagareleases. These have the most direct plot and map relevance for properly understanding background context entering the End of Dragons Cantha expansion content.
Everything else can be eventually filled in based on your preferences!
Optimal New Player Content Order
If starting Guild Wars 2 with little existing knowledge, I strongly recommend this sequenced content path for the best experience:
| Order | Content | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core Personal Story | Establishes your character |
| 2 | Heart of Thorns | Gliding mastery + elite specs |
| 3 | Living World S3 | Context for PoF, core maps + rewards |
| 4 | Path of Fire | Mounts transform journey |
| 5 | Living World S4 | Directly leads into Icebrood Saga |
| 6 | Icebrood Saga | Background on Jormag + Primordus |
| 7 | End of Dragons | Brand new expansion! |
Supplement the above with desired Living World episodes, jumping into organized group content with welcoming communities, and exploring Tyria freely. GW2 respects your time no matter your play style – drop in for casual fun or pursue legendary goals over years. Either way, this vibrant world awaits!
Let me know in comments if you have any other GW2 questions – from lore summaries to technical tips, I‘m delighted to offer guidance so every player can find the same love for this game and community that I have for so many wonderful years. Just never forget to play your way – there are no wrong answers in Tyria.
Author: Passionate Tyrian Guide Writer
