Guild Wars 2's Festival of the Four Winds And Royal Pavilion Reopen Next Week

For the first time in four years, the Festival of the Four Winds is returning to Guild Wars 2. The Zephyrites, sans airship, are celebrating once more in the Labyrinthine Cliffs, and Queen Jennah of Kryta is doubling up on the festivities by reopening the Crown Pavilion in Lion's Arch.

The Zephyrite Sanctum may have crashed into the deserts of Dry Top, but the shops and festivities will soon reopen, along with new challenges and puzzles for players to figure out. “The map is mostly the same vertical playground that players experienced the last time we ran the Festival of the Four Wins,” Designer Matthew Media told MMOBomb, “but it's certainly undergone a few changes.”

Those changes include “new events, activities, and adventures that take full advantage of mounts and offer a whole new array of challenges to overcome.” Yes, mounts will be allowed in the area, which might make some of the older challenges easier to overcome, but Medina thinks the zone is “one of the best playgrounds we have for Griffons, Skimmers, and Springers.”

If you're looking more of a combat-oriented challenge, then the Crown Pavilion is the place for you. Veteran players will remember two main features of this area: the six-way group battle Boss Blitz and the solo Queen's Gauntlet arena. Both are returning, but with some changes.

“We've reworked the intermission period between rounds of the Boss Blitz to be more active, including a particularly dangerous new mount race around the Pavilion,” Team Lead Joe Kimmes told us. “Additionally, one of the six pavilion areas has been reworked entirely – we've replaced the Ogre opponents with an adversary that will be familiar to players who played Season 3 of the Living Story, the White Mantle.”

As for the Queen's Gauntles, the original bosses return (“with updated tuning,” Kimmes said), along with five new bosses, available for challenge after defeating the first tier.

The festivities start next Tuesday, July 24. You can get to either area via hot-air balloons in capital cities and Lion's Arch. Learn more about the events on the Guild Wars 2 site.