I have been very uncertain for quite a while about what I was going to do with the newest announced Guild Wars 2 expansion, Secrets of the Obscure.
On one hand, I have been a devout follower of the series since quite literally it’s start on April 28th, 2005. I was literally a Day 1 player. There have been very few times where I’ve not been wholly certain that I was going to open my wallet for whatever content Arena.Net produced for this series.
Until now.
The entire narrative arc of Guild Wars 2 completed with End of Dragons. Everything this generation of Guild Wars characters fought for concluded with the resolution of the Elder Dragon problem. That should have been the end of the story for the heroes I leveled, geared, and ground out hours of work for.
Secrets of the Obscure should have been Guild Wars 3. It should have been an entirely new game with a new generation with a new experience with a new narrative arc. They should have been putting in the work to make this a complete title, not tacking it on crudely to a game that was already narratively complete.
Because Arena.Net has gone the way of so many other studios, and have leaned into the eternal “Games as a Service” model that emphasizes quick turnaround with as cheap of production as possible.
And I’m not interested in that.
I would have much rather given Arena.Net more money for a fully featured experience.
I would have opened the wallet for Guild Wars 3.
I have no desire to do so for Secrets of the Obscure.
It’s time to let my heroes rest, and for me to walk away from the franchise I’ve supported for eighteen years. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think my time was wasted. I don’t feel cheated. I don’t think this is a “slap to the face” or some sort of insult done to me.
I just wish I could have been compelled to spend more time and money in Tyria, and unfortunately Arena.Net wasn’t able to convince me.
TKO Creations 