Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire expansion revealed

ArenaNet has revealed their second expansion for Guild Wars 2 and it’s called Path of Fire.

The Path of Fire expansion will launch on 22 September and players will be returning to the Crystal Desert from the original Guild Wars and Elona 250 years after the events of Guild Wars: Nightfall. Players are going to  have to battle Balthazar, the human god of war and fire who is threatening the Crystal Desert and Elona.

Following on from Guild Wars 2‘s third Living World season, Balthazar is on the hunt for Elder Dragons and his armies have invaded the Crystal Desert.

“This new expansion is all about content,” said Mike O’Brien, ArenaNet president and co-founder.  “An epic story, five immense new open-world zones, mounts that allow you to move through Tyria in all-new ways, and nine new elite specializations.”

Mounts are joining Guild Wars 2 with this expansion and they are not going to simply be a means of transport. Players will be able to unlock and train mounts via the max-level Mastery character progression system. The expansion will include new elite specialisations for each profession there’s new weapons, traits and more.

NCSoft will be holding a special preview weekend for those with Guild Wars 2 accounts. The event will take place between 11-13 August and players will be able to experience the opening story of Path of Fire, explore the Crystal Oasis map and jump onto a Raptor mount.

Pre-orders are now being taken for the standalone expansion starting at $29.99 or as part of the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns (starting at $49.99). Preordering comes with a few bonuses such as a weapons skin from the Sunspear Weapon Set, an “Elonia Envoy” title, and a miniature Balthazar.

The video below shows some of the perils that await as well as the new mounts in action.