Any popular MMO will be afflicted with a similar cry at some point in its lifespan. The call will go up from the community, asking, demanding, and begging for a particular new feature to be added. It’s always player housing, as adventurers crave somewhere to hang their hats after a day out battling dragons or despoiling corpses. Games like Lord of the Rings Online, Rift, ESO, Final Fantasy XIV, and Phantasy Star 2: New Genesis, all have robust player housing systems that act as compelling reasons to continue playing and show off your stuff – and now Guild Wars 2 is joining their ranks.
Homesteads are coming as part of the next Guild Wars 2 expansion – Janthir Wilds – and they’ll act as places to celebrate your entire career in the game, as well as hubs to hang out with friends. Probably the coolest and most unique feature hitting the MMORPG with these homes is how it’ll let you show off your alts. Log out in your house and your character will continue to chill there, earning special bonuses, and bringing a little life to what could be a solitary dwelling.
In addition to your alts Guild Wars 2 players will be unlocking an entirely new Homesteading Mastery progression system. As players proceed through this, they’ll gain access to new rooms in their homes as well as improvements to their household facilities. Mastery points can be spent to unlock decorations, which will be crafted using the new Handiworker crafting discipline. As you play you’ll gain access to more and more stuff to show off in your home – making it a representation of your entire Guild Wars 2 adventuring career.
While decorating is already in the game, used for guild halls and arenas, it’s getting a major revamp in Janthir Wilds too. Decorating mode will let players fine-tune the locations and how decorations are presented in their homes, with additional modes that will let players fly about to see every angle and use x-ray vision to check on things that might otherwise go unseen. Some things won’t be able to be moved, for example resource nodes and chests, as they’ve been specifically plonked down to work correctly.
To get a deeper look at how Homesteads will work in Guild Wars 2, head over to the official blog post to learn more, and check out the Twitch stream on Friday August 2 to see everything in action.
If you want to make sure you’re ready to get homesteading, you can pre-order the next expansion here before the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds launch date of Tuesday August 20.
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