Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure: Through the Veil Preview

mmorpg.com:

Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure is the first expansion ArenaNet has done since they announced the change to their strategy for handling expansions and the storylines in between. It was overall a success, but since then, we have been waiting to see what the first update, Through The Veil, in this new system would bring with it. In preparation for today’s update, I participated in a preview last week. So, let’s dive into what players can expect when they hop in.

With this update, we get three new story chapters, which continue where things left off at the end of the expansion storyline. For anyone who forgot where we left off: we dealt with Cerus with Peitha’s help, and she returned to the Wizard’s Tower with us. Sadly, I couldn’t play through the new story chapters, so I have limited information to share there. However, through the story, we journey with Peitha to Inner Nayos, where our adventures in this update take place.

Inner Nayos is a highly inhospitable place. Think back to our first steps into Verdant Brink; it’s like that but ratcheted up a couple of notches. Kryptis are everywhere. I didn’t see Kryptis pocket raptors, but I’m sure they are somewhere. Thankfully, the skyscale does help with getting around a lot, but there are, of course, turrets in the sky, so it isn’t free exploration that way either. I tend to prefer maps that lean a bit harder toward the exploration side of things, but that wouldn’t make sense in this case. After all, we are essentially going to an enemy stronghold.

The meta revolves around trying to bring down a barrier so we can assault a fort. The main goal is to light various braziers, which isn’t an easy task because you have to carry light from one brazier to the others, and if you