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- NCSOFT
- NCSOFT
- NCSOFT
- NCSOFT
Guild Wars 2 : Secrets of the Obscure
Released On: Aug 22, 2023
Metascore
Critic reviews are not available yet
6.6
All Platforms
tbd
Critic Reviews
tbd
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 47 User Ratings
6.6
60% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
30% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 47 User Ratings
6.6
60% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
30% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
New maps and new story. Get a full year of updates and none of that login fomo like the old living world seasons.
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PC
Solid for a 25$ package.
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PC
First off ignore the 0's and ignore the 10's on here. I've been playing since launch (with a 4 year break in the middle) and while I'm a fan of the franchise I do call out when ANET gets it wrong. There's a lot of trolls on here making up falsehoods it seems!
So to start, SotO is a smaller expansion. We were made aware of this prior to launch- the new release schedule means we get one smaller expansion every year instead of a larger one every 2-3 years with large gaps in between. SotO is split into four patches- a larger first act then three smaller 'patches' that add a number of additions. At the time of writing this Act 2 of 4 has dropped.
So now that this is explained lets get to my rather brief review! The expansion is, so far, pretty good. It hasn't blown me away in terms of story, new map design or features but it has added a lot to the lore of the world and given the new release cadence it is a worthy addition to the game.
I think what brings my score down a little is the lack of 'event' so far. It's like watching a spin-off series of a movie franchise you adore... it's great but everything seems toned down for a TV budget. There was little fanfare when it launched, unlike previous expansions and halfway though just wish I felt a little more excitement for the next patch. But that could be because the theme and setting (demons and a nightmare(dream) realm) aren't my thing and the lack of familiar story characters leaves me feeling a little alone (a design choice has you treading new ground alone).
I'll revisit this rating on expansion completion but for now it's short but solid.
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PC
Impression after one day revealing 50% of the new map:
Anet was very clever with the expansion: for the veteran players there are necessary changes like unlocking all weapons and useful ones like expanding their skyscale.
Unfortunately, the expansion picks up where the "What Lies Within" release (so far the worst content in my opinion) left off: A bit unfinished with bad/missing dialogues (non-English version) and a boring story.
Maybe the biggest change is the changed dailies system which will give you a new currency as reward. You can accumulate this currency up to a certain limit. To make it short: It seems that the cheap items you can buy will give you less than the old dailies but the expensive ones will give you more. For sure the rewards are more flexible now.
Also the chances of failing to fulfill a task and therefore not getting the daily reward can be higher now depending on your choice you want the tasks to be from (PvE, PvP, WvW)
Pros:
- didn't encounter any bug so far
- you will listen to music from all previous expansions on the map, not only one theme
- more flexible rewards from dailies
- as a new player you can do this expansion first since the story is not connected to the previous GW2 content
- Zojja (a key NPC in this expansion) is less toxic so far
Cons:
- the rewards of the new dailies can be worth less than the rewards of the old dailies
-- dialogue of the new story is not good and audio partly missing (non-English version)
- the story is boring so far but this may be individually per player
- a communicator is necessary for the story. It's rarely used and otherwise totally useless and takes up one inventory space of each character
- the map reuses a lot of existing assets which likely adds to the content being boring for GW2 veterans but also reconnects the veteran player a bit to the previous content
- I could reach all locations on the new map (I already own all mounts) so far which renders some of the new masteries almost useless. I don't have them yet and obviously don't need them but you still have to do them to advance the mastery track, of course. Basically they are a waste of mastery points.
- Compared to the previous expansions this one offers less for the money.
On one hand it may be good for players new to Guild Wars 2 to do this expansion first since you unlock the best mount in the game (with way less grinding, I think) and can use all kinds of weapons which will enable you to use a lot of builds published by other players. On the other hand this will somewhat spoil the experience. E.g. the positive effects when unlocking gliding in Heart of Thorns or unlocking your first mount in Path of Fire may be vastly diminished.
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PC
Calling this an expansion is just a way to get players to part with their money, this is a half cooked DLC at best.
Comparing this to the previous expansion SOTO is an empty hollow shell.
Chapters consist mainly of running around filling a progress bar to move to the next part, what story there is is laughable,
Closing rifts is hit and miss, more often than not you'll get to a rift only to find a group got there before you so now you have to traverse around the map on a buggy Skyscale (and it's extremely buggy) hoping you can get to the next one before that is closed as well.
For anyone looking to buy, my honest opinion would be to wait.
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PC
Summary A new chapter in Tyria's story begins August 22 with the launch of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, our newest expansion. Soon, you'll be soaring through new maps high in the skies above Tyria, testing your mettle against invaders from the Mists, and mastering new combat options. The adventure continues after launch, with major rel...
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Aug 22, 2023
Developer:
- ArenaNet
Publisher: NCSOFT
Genres:
