Image credit: ArenaNet
The Only Way is live, and Visions of Eternity‘s story has finally picked back up. To understand why that matters, it helps to know what Update 1 did and did not contain: a raid encounter, fashion templates, a legendary ring – all perfectly reasonable things. A single word of story progression, however, was not among them. For players who are here primarily for the narrative, that meant sitting out an entire content cycle and arriving at The Only Way after waiting not three months but six for the plot to move at all. That is a lot of runway for an update to either justify itself or disappoint.
If you haven’t made your way through the base VoE story yet, close this tab and do that first. The Inquest, the lost island of Castora, Vloxx’s deeply untrustworthy brand of self-appointed heroism – all of it matters here. Here’s Kyusai’s full Guild Wars 2: The Only Way review in detail.
Back in the jungle, with a machete
The Only Way picks up with the Commander and their crew – PTM, Isgarren, Rytlock, Sayida, and Canach – pressing further into the jungle, and when I say cutting through it, I mean that with some literalism. There is a machete involved. Vloxx continues to be a compelling antagonist, and Isgarren’s curse makes itself felt quickly enough that the story has a built-in reason to keep moving. What surprised me is that it mostly does. Nothing here is a jaw-dropper, but it is decently written and, more importantly, it is cohesive – which is not a word I would have confidently applied to either SotO or Janthir Wilds at the same point in their cycles.
The companions staying put is something I did not realise I needed until it happened. Both previous expansions reshuffled the cast halfway through in ways that felt arbitrary and a little exhausting, so having the same crew carry through is a relief more than it is a triumph. The trials section is genuinely frustrating, and I say that as someone willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Whether the finale avoids the mistakes of the last two expansions remains to be seen, but for the first time in a while, I am cautiously optimistic rather than bracing for impact.
Eternity’s Garden
The new map is called Eternity’s Garden, and yes, people are comparing it to Auric Basin. That is not an unflattering comparison, though I will note that Guild Wars 2 maps are almost always gorgeous when ArenaNet keeps itself from making something that looks like a cat was sick on a cave – Bava Nisos and Gyala Delves, I am looking directly at you. Eternity’s Garden is large, layered with old seer architecture, and the Inquest machinery scattered throughout gives it a visual tension that works. The map also does not shut down during the meta, and no events are locked to meta timing, which is great if you are the type to chase every achievement.
What loses me is the events outside the meta. The Simon Says variants and the “spot the odd button out” interactions show up far too often, and by the third or fourth time, they feel less like design and more like padding. The vacuum event chain in the east is a genuine bright spot, and the colour chain in the west – blue, purple, yellow – actually changes things up. But those are exceptions rather than the rule. It is a pleasant place to be in. It is not a map I expect to still be visiting in ninety days.
Shackles of the ancient
The meta is probably the best thing in this update, and, honestly, might be the best meta we have had since Mordremoth. It is multiphase: reclaiming the forge from the Inquest, working through a series of events to get it operational, then a final phase across six platforms anchored in what looks like magic-infused lava. Three platforms are active at a time, each with a boss that buffs the others – the ideal approach is coordinated kills, though you can chip through them sequentially if you have to. It is fun, it is well-constructed, and it asks for actual coordination.
The problem is that it is also, by most measures, the worst use of your time on the map if you are thinking about rewards. That is a frustrating combination, and it is one ArenaNet keeps doing. Building a strong encounter and then not backing it up with rewards that make people want to repeat it is such a consistent pattern at this point that it barely surprises me anymore. It should, though.
Rewards, legendaries, and the research paper problem
The legendary accessory being earnable entirely through PvE is a genuinely good decision. No Gift of Battle, no Shards of Glory – just open world content, which is where a lot of players spend most of their time anyway. The Swiftwing Raptor mount skin is earnable in-game, tradeable, and nice, though the fact that it cannot be mailed or stored in the guild bank is an odd limitation to include. Rewards and skins overall are in a decent place, and the new additions to the Wizard’s Vault are welcome, even if I wish there were more of them.
Research papers, as a legendary currency, can absolutely go. The masteries are similarly underwhelming – they ask for more XP than they justify, and the main way to generate that XP is farming rifts in the first VoE map until you would genuinely rather do anything else. Neither of these things is a new complaint, which is part of what makes them still being here feel like a bold choice.
Was Guild Wars 2: The Only Way worth it?
Honestly? Guild Wars 2: The Only Way is fine. It is more than fine in places, and noticeably weaker in others, and the overall feeling lands somewhere around whelmed. The story moves and mostly holds together. The map is pretty. The meta is the best argument for the update’s existence.
But this is an update I will probably exhaust in a few solid sessions. Then I will be back to waiting for Update 3, which is where the fractals and strikes are – content I would have preferred to see staggered, with something evergreen arriving now, actually, to bridge the gap.
The Only Way is a better update than anything VoE’s predecessors produced at this stage. I am also not sure that it is the bar that it should be measured against. It is competent, occasionally good, and not quite enough.
FAQs
Yes, Guild Wars 2 is free-to-play and has been for many years, offering players a free and paid account.
Yes, despite its age, Guild Wars 2 sees a solid and active community, with SteamDB claiming around 5,000 or so people jump in every day.
Yes, ArenaNet has confirmed that Guild Wars 3 is in development; however, it’s yet to be fully announced.
