The second part of Guild Wars 2's new expansion is out now, and it's taking players to the demon realm

pcgamer.com:

Today ArenaNet releases the next major update of Guild Wars 2's Secrets of the Obscure expansion, called Through the Veil. It's the second of four releases that will make up the full expansion's launch, and it adds the first part of the expansion's third and final map—a map that will continue to be expanded in future updates. We're heading off Tyria for this one: The map, Inner Nayos, is actually set in the demon realm, which means much of it is purple.

This is our first real look at how the MMO's new expansion cycle will work—our chance to see what a mid-release update looks like under the reworked system that prioritises smaller, more frequent releases. If you've not been paying attention to Guild Wars 2 this year—despite us naming it our Best Ongoing Game of 2022—it's worth checking out what ArenaNet is cooking. Obscure is a smaller expansion, sure, but the new release cadence is working so far. Anecdotally I've been playing more than ever, in large part because the new daily achievements system is better fleshed out, and far more rewarding, than its previous version.

This release could well enhance one of the more disappointing aspects of the initial release, too. Rift hunting—one of the major new activities of this expansion—was pretty basic in its original incarnation. It's a low level grind—nice in small doses, but hardly the linchpin of a new launch. In the lead up to today's release, though, I got a brief look at Convergences, a new, instanced activity that ties into the rift hunt reward structure.

Convergences are designed for 35+ players, and will be available to play in public form as part of the event timer—similar to the Dragonstorm and Twisted Marionette encounters. Pre-made squads will be able to launch