Guild Wars 2 Roadmap Includes Birthday Celebration, Festivals, Elite Spec Tests

It's August in Guild Wars 2, and you know what that means? Well, the answer for many players has been “not a whole lot,” which is surprising considering that the month usually brings anniversary celebrations – GW2 launched in August 2012 – and we've usually seen the Festival of the Four Winds by now. Did ArenaNet forget its own birthday?

Maybe, or maybe the team was so wrapped up in expansion prep that it felt the need to push the usual events back a bit. But worry not, Tyrians, it will soon be party time again!

The new fall and winter roadmap for GW2 reveals all the important events and dates through early 2022. You already know about the End of Dragons elite specialization tests, the next of which kicks off on September 21, and the continuing Living World unlocks every Tuesday.

More imminent, though, is the Festival of the Four Winds, which starts next week, on August 31. That's followed by the Shadow of the Mad King Halloween celebration on October 5, Wintersday on December 14, and Lunar New Year on January 25, 2022; charity event Extra Life 2021 is on November 5. There's also a DirectX 11 Beta scheduled for September 21, and WvW Alliances Beta on September 24.

What about that birthday celebration? Yes, it's still in the mix, with a Committed Anniversary Achievement Box filled with plenty of prizes – including cake, naturally – going to the first character on your account to hit the nine-year mark.

ArenaNet celebrated the milestone with an infographic, claiming 16 million accounts created, over 190 million hours – or 21,000 years – of total play time, and 12 billion achievement points. I'm responsible for around 20,000 of those achievement points, so I hope ArenaNet recognizes my contribution. Players have also been downed over 11.5 million times by pocket raptors and, uh, I've contributed to that total, too.

Finally, if you want a little less looking back and a little more looking forward, there's a new End of Dragons teaser video that highlights two of the new features coming in the expansion: fishing and skiffs. “Tyria's fish will never be safe from you again,” the video concludes; neither will other anglers once I get my skiff up to speed.