PAX West 2019: Guild Wars 2's Icebrood Saga Takes Players North To Battle Jormag And Learn About The Norn And Charr

ArenaNet's got a lot planned for the future of Guild Wars 2, and all was revealed during a live presentation at PAX West earlier today. OK, maybe not all, but quite a lot.

The big news was the announcement of the next Living World content coming to the game, The Icebrood Saga. As one might expect, this will take players into the northern reaches of the Shiverpeaks, where the Elder Dragon Jormag holds sway. Players will learn a great deal more about the charr and norn races (and specifically Rytlock and Braham), who originated in the north, and everyone -- even Jormag itself -- is wondering what the future of Tyria will be following the defeat of several elder dragons.

The first content being presented isn't technically Episode 1, but a Prologue titled Bound By Blood, which will be playable on Sept. 17 to players who own the most recent expansion, Heart of Fire. With Kralkatorrik dead, the charr are having an all-legion celebration, which even includes the villainous Flame Legion. As we saw in a brief teaser, it's not all parties and light shows, as Rytlock -- who's apparently a father -- has a falling out with a fellow charr right in the office of the tribune.

When the new season/saga's episodes do hit, they'll include a new mastery line, based on the norn Spirits of the Wild, including those that were lost during the journey south to escape Jormag, with the first mastery focusing on the Raven. Many of the monsters in the new season will have a "heavy Lovecraftian horror inspiration," and there's a new type of content, strike missions, that are like one-off raid-level encounters for 10 players.

There was more to announce than the new story content. A feature that's been requested since practically day one, character builds and gear templates, are still "coming," though there was no time frame on when that would be. Structured PvP will be getting a new armor set, mini-seasons, and Swiss-style tournaments at some point, and a world restructuring is in the works for WvW.

The next Living World story, The Icebrood Saga, begins on September 17—and in preparation, we’re including the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion free with the purchase of Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire. https://t.co/N0JF0sYB5b #GuildWars2 #GW2IRL pic.twitter.com/F8mIHP7FXk

— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) August 30, 2019

All of the above will be free, but what's not free is expansion sets for Guild Wars 2, though acquiring them has been made a little easier. Now, purchasing the second expansion, Path of Fire, will grant you the first expansion, Heart of Thorns for free. If you already have PoF but not HoT, you'll get the expansion added to your account next week, and all PoF owners also receive a Veteran's Pack that includes a Mordrem glider, "Vanguard" title, and voucher for one of 16 Gem Store armor skins.

Finally, if you're looking to spend even more money, there's a lot of GW2 merchandise on the way or already available. At the end of the presentation, NCSoft VP of Marketing Mike Silbowitz gave players sneak peeks at all of the following:

For more on the Icebrood Saga, check out the landing page on the Guild Wars 2 website.