4 rugpjūčio, 2026
Hello, Tyrians!
Throughout this year, the Competitive team has been running beta tests to improve how scoring works in World vs. World (WvW). The focus of the betas has been to shift score generation toward tangible player actions like sieging, capturing objectives, and killing players while moving away from passive mechanics like owning objectives over time that can happen whether players are involved or not.
After the first beta, we shared our findings in a retrospective posted on our forums. Today, we’re here to discuss our feedback and changes based on the second War Score beta we ran during the matchup in May. This beta included new placement-based match rewards, a series of scoring adjustments, and the addition of points awarded for upgrading objectives.
Balancing Active and Passive Play
While the first beta started with zero passively gained points aside from supply deliveries, we agreed with players that defending objectives was not adequately rewarding. In response, we adjusted to a good mix of score accrual from holding objectives that still encouraged interaction from enemy teams. Some points were added back to holding tier 3 objectives, but a larger number of points were added to objective tier-ups. This created contention that players could expect and play around instead of having all objectives constantly trickling points.
So how was the balance? After fixing some extreme outliers—dolyak’s deliveries, for instance—we landed on a much healthier spread in Beta 2 compared to Beta 1:
- Objective captures resulted in roughly 30% of all War Score generated.
- Player combat was about 25% of all War Score generated.
- Progress ticks accounted for 5% of the total, but combined with upgrades, holding objectives jumps to 15%.
- The single largest source of War Score generation was keep captures followed closely by player kills.
For reference, the score breakdown for normal gameplay outside of the betas is roughly 40% player combat and 35% passive objective ticks with objective assaults being only 9% of the total score generation.
Adjustments for Beta 3
Dolyak deliveries are still on the watchlist. Supply is the lifeblood of WvW, so we’re very hesitant to remove scoring from dolyaks entirely even if they do provide a challenge for balancing passive score generation. We will continue to adjust their point value. Additionally, while guard kills do add some flavor with a low barrier to interaction, their total score value outweighs their mechanical contribution to the game mode, so they will no longer reward War Score in Beta 3.
One mechanic in the beta that hasn’t had much attention is scaling score based on player counts. The intent was to encourage player congregation, but the system has been overly complex to balance and not easily understood. Plus, the majority of points being scored were coming from objectives that already had naturally incrementing point values.
Therefore, for Beta 3, we will be removing player count and objective type/tier scaling multipliers for simplicity, though the capability will still be there if we want to bring it back.
Beta 3 will include the return of placement-based match rewards, placement-based skirmish rewards, more balance changes, and boosted points for defensive player kills. For defensive actions, smaller areas around objectives will be used instead of the entire sector.
Another exciting new feature to look forward to is an in-game breakdown of War Score sources. We believe that if there are rewards attached to winning, players deserve more insight into what results in victory and the ability to compare against opponents. We’re looking forward to your feedback on these additions!
What’s Next for WvW?
At the end of the War Score betas, we’re going to have new tech that we can leverage, regardless of whether we permanently adopt the adjusted scoring paradigms or not. This would include keeping the new in-game match scoring breakdown and placement-based rewards locked in to continue incentivizing players to care about scoring.
Lastly, don’t forget we’re also developing a new WvW borderlands map alongside the community. For a refresher on that and our upcoming WvW initiatives, here’s a recap of what our Game Director, Josh Davis, spoke about in June:
Beta 3 will begin in the middle of a matchup, so we want to make you aware in advance. We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback about our latest changes to War Score when you get to experience it in WvW during Beta 3 running from August 11 until September 4.
We’ll see you in the Mists!
GuildWars2.com
30 liepos, 2026
It’s time to dazzle your fellow Tyrians with displays of homestead creativity—the Homestead Design Contest is upon us! From now through August 6, submit screenshots of your best homestead design (from either homestead map) to our official Discord channel to share with the whole community. One submission (of 1–10 screenshots) per person will be accepted until August 6 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). Community voting will last until August 11 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). The top homestead designers, as determined by total number of emoji reactions received, will win gem prizes! Full rules and eligibility can be found here.
Twitch Drops are available starting now, so tune in to your favorite Guild Wars 2® streamers (or discover a new one!) to earn rewards between now and August 2. Join us Wednesday, August 5 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on our Twitch channel as our partner, EngleburtMeow, cosplays as a homestead and hosts a casual tour of some of the community’s most imaginative homesteads. Yes, you read that correctly. She will become one with the architecture, dressed in one of her signature cursed cosplays.
As a final part of the celebration, we have a discount on the Digital Deluxe upgrades for both expansions with a homestead map, Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™ and Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity™. Discounts are available in-game and in the official store until August 6, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7).
Check out our official Discord for more details and enjoy the week of homestead homages!
These are the unbelievable community homesteads homesteads that will be toured during our livestream. Images courtesy of ArenaNet partner: United Arts of Tyria
—The Guild Wars 2 Team
GuildWars2.com
23 liepos, 2026
Join us next week for a celebration of our Guild Wars 2® homesteads! Ever since Homesteads were released with Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™, we’ve been in awe of the community’s creative constructions. To celebrate that creativity and encourage new designs, we’re holding the Homestead Design Contest on our official Discord channel starting July 30!
Conjure your best designs in either homestead map and start snapping some screenshots. There’s no specific theme, so let your creativity run wild! Then, submit your screenshots for peer review and a chance to win gem prizes via community vote!
Submissions of 1–10 screenshots will be accepted from July 30 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) until August 6 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). Community voting will last from the beginning of the entry period on July 30 until August 11 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). At that point, voting will end and winners will be determined by the total number of emoji reactions received. Full rules and eligibility can be found here.
While the contest is running, there will be other reasons to celebrate Homesteads. We’ll have Twitch drops available for watching your favorite Guild Wars 2 streamers starting on July 30. And we’ll be hosting a homestead livestream on Wednesday, August 5 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on our Twitch channel. Check out Discord next week for more details, but in the meantime, have fun staging your homestead for sharing with the community!
—The Guild Wars 2 Team
GuildWars2.com
15 liepos, 2026
With Guild Wars 2® rapidly approaching its 14th anniversary, it’s abundantly clear that there are numerous ways to enjoy the game. For some, the draw is immersing themselves into the lore of Tyria and getting engrossed in the stories of its inhabitants. For others, it’s tackling the toughest encounters or knocking out every achievement they can.
Whether you spend your time collecting legendary weapons, decking your many characters out in the most fabulous ensembles, or exploring every secret nook in the vast open world, one thing is certain: there’s no wrong way to play Guild Wars 2.
Today, we invite you to go on a journey exploring the various playstyles of Guild Wars 2 with a video from one of our incredible partner program members, Kroof. And over the next few weeks, stay tuned to our social channels and Discord as we invite you to share with us how you play your way.
GuildWars2.com
25 birželio, 2026
Treat yourself or a friend to a new adventure this summer! Our summer sale features a 30% discount on select expansions, bundles, and more in the Guild Wars 2® store:
- Expansion 4—Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™ (Standard & Deluxe Editions)
- Expansion 3—Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons® (Standard & Deluxe Editions)
- Expansions 1 and 2—Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns® and Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™
- Guild Wars 2—The Elder Dragon Saga Complete Collection (Complete, Deluxe & Standard Editions)
- Guild Wars 2 Living World™ Season 2
- Guild Wars 2 Starter Pack—a one-time account upgrade with a Raptor Mount Unlock, Basic Gliding Unlock, Bank Tab Expansion, Upgraded Bag Slot Expansion, and Total Makeover Kit.
The sale will be available through the online store, in-game store, Steam, and third-party retailers from June 25 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) until July 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). This sale is not available on the Epic Games Store.
Whether you’re just starting off on your Tyrian adventure or continuing your journey, you can unlock new horizons to explore—and save money doing it!
GuildWars2.com
15 birželio, 2026
Starting today, you can play Guild Wars® Reforged on the go! Simply download and play for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play. For the first time, you can explore the same shared world of Tyria with players across PC and mobile devices.
Our UI and controls have been redesigned for mobile audiences and offer a deep, strategic MMO experience. Craft unique builds from ten professions and personalize your gameplay by combining armor sets, weapons, and thousands of skills that you’ll collect on your adventures.
Play with Everyone, Everywhere, for Free
If you already own Guild Wars Reforged, log in to your ArenaNet on mobile to progress your characters across PC and mobile devices with no cost, ads, or restrictions! Play on your phone when you’re traveling and then hop on to your PC when you get home.
Brand-new players can download the original Guild Wars: Prophecies™ campaign for free as an ad-supported experience during loading screens, but those ads can be removed with a one-time $6.99 purchase. Additionally, both Guild Wars Factions™ and Guild Wars Nightfall™ campaigns can be unlocked for $6.99 each. The Guild Wars Eye of the North™ expansion and Bonus Mission Pack will also be available on mobile for $9.99 and $5.99 respectively.
And, if you started playing on mobile first, don’t worry! Once you’ve purchased content with your Mobile ID, you can connect your account to an e-mail address that will allow you to log in and play on other platforms. Unfortunately, Mobile IDs cannot be linked to Steam accounts at this time.
Join our Official Guild Wars Community Discord server to discuss the game and find others to play with. There’s never been a better time to start your adventure, so grab your family and friends and hop into the classic MMO that kicked off the Guild Wars franchise. We’ll see you in Tyria!
GuildWars2.com
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