What is coming after the Icebrood Saga?

We were all assured that Arenanet's developers are willing to continue Guild Wars 2 and that expansions aren't ruled out, as the Director himself pointed out in a most recent interview.

But at the same time it's still likely that Season 5 will click for the developers and they will focus on episodes moving forward, I mean Living World will replace expansions.

I personally think that Guild Wars 2 will be about its Living World and the game will sustain on Gemstore. It's also opportunity to make Guild Wars 2 a long running game, rather than putting a lot of resources on boxed expansions that will give one spike per few years.

I am neither against Living World or expansions, my mind is open for both ideas.

But the Icebrood Saga didn't yet show what can do, and we don't know what it will bring.

As for now I am very pleased by the story of the Prologue, for other content - I will wait and see how the developers care about PvP, WvW, Fractals and Raids.

Time will tell what's after, but I wanted to know what you think.Please be kind and respectful to one another. :)

a firebrood saga...

Personally, I find this to be premature since only the prologue has been released.

If they do a good enough job with LW, I'm okay with it replacing expansions and it might actually work better for this game.

But they have to do a really good job with it, and they never really have so far. This game would be mostly dead by now if we had not gotten HoT and PoF.

That means putting a bit less effort into story and a bit more effort into expansion level features and repeatable, immersive group content - we have to be able to look forward to expansion-level features like new weapon types, system overhauls, new classes/races, new dungeons, etc. Not just new story with a new map every few months.

@Einlanzer.1627 said:If they do a good enough job with LW, I'm okay with it replacing expansions and it might actually work better for this game.

But they have to do a really good job with it, and they never really have so far. This game would be mostly dead by now if we had not gotten HoT and PoF.

That means putting a bit less effort into story and a bit more effort into expansion level features and repeatable, immersive group content - we have to be able to look forward to expansion-level features like new weapon types, system overhauls, new classes/races, new dungeons, etc. Not just new story with a new map every few months.

Thatll be the hard part i think, ill change my mind on it if a LW release contains elite specs, or new weapon types or a new race/class but ill be very surprised if they do it!

You are aware that an LS takes around 1.5 years ...

It's really not time yet to speculate on what comes after season 5 when we only have the first episode out. That being said, given how time consuming development is, I think it's safe to say that Anet has already started working on the next thing after 'Icebrood Saga'. Be patient.

I think Anet is content with the gem store income via LS at this point. The focus seems more on new players, not so much on vets. Thats discouraging to vets, but they have to work harder to keep us involved. I think they decided the return on that effort is not worth it.

looks into crystal ball The mists clear and quite clearly says ' Come back in a years time'

The maintenance saga

Personally, I do not care. It is not likely that I will be even remotely active at the time. I also do not think Anet will be able to muster enough revenue at the time for expansion or expansion like content. It will probably be another season, saga or what ever the fuck you wanna call it.

How should we know?

From what I know of ANet, they like to experiment and test the market with new ideas. Even from early GW1 days the idea of a non subscribtion based mmo of its size was a new concept, and it worked well for them. Then when GW2 was released it was designed to push the boundaries of what we expect from mmos.

The approach they've taken with Icebrood Saga is new, and I'm guessing they plan to keep a level head and see how things go. They can switch their pitch on the fly, as they've got enough free reign to do that and find the best way to deliver the gaming experience they want.

Whatever the future holds for this game I believe it's always done with the best intentions to keep fans happy and interested.

Uh ... season 6 or whatever they decide to call it assuming the game is still around

@"kharmin.7683" said:Personally, I find this to be premature since only the prologue has been released.

It is not premature to talk about future content, to be honest. You can rest assured that "What comes after?" is already being addressed and planned/laid out, or it won't get done in time. They just refuse to tell us, yet. Criticism of "Oh no, no expansion after this season?!" is the only thing being premature, because we don't know how well their current format will fare.

continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

@Acheron.4731 said:continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

Hmm...Depends on what they put into the living world episodes.

Icebrood saga. ... Ice. ... Freezing. ... Frieza...

I'm gonna say the Android Saga is next.

@Acheron.4731 said:continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

You're exaggerating. There is so much more work involved in creating LW episodes. However, the spoon-feeding of one episode per so-and-so months really isn't pleasant compared to receiving an expansion package where you have the whole experience of a new story chapter at once. Those long pauses in story-telling do influence the experience negatively.

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@Acheron.4731 said:continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

Maybe :)But as a primary wvw player there is just nothing to 'prepare' for. It is bleak from my perspective.I am glad ppl like their living world, though, more power to them

@Acheron.4731 said:But as a primary wvw player there is just nothing to 'prepare' for. It is bleak from my perspective.

The WvW update will hopefully come before the new year. Otherwise, I don't see a bright future for that game mode, either. It is unbalance at the moment, in many regards. (For once, our server recently lost a few guilds, yet we are still not being linked and thereby quite outnumbered most of the time. I preferred the status quo before the link update a few months back.) Also, the same old maps are starting to get boring - we need fresh blood.

What's next? Well, in 2021, we'll either get ourselves Expansion 3 or Season 6 or Guild Wars Mobile.

@KidRoleplay.3615 said:Icebrood saga. ... Ice. ... Freezing. ... Frieza...

I'm gonna say the Android Saga is next.

The Simulacrum Saga*

The Red Ribbon Army'sInquest's Doctor GeroKuda doesn't deal in android phones.

@"Acheron.4731" said:continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

A "maintenance mode" by definition means no new playable content. So claiming that Living World Episodes = maintenance mode is an oxymoron.

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@Acheron.4731 said:continued living world episodes without expansion is just maintenance-mode repackaged

Yeah, the LW seasons give new stories, and new lands. Unless there is a major change (like adding the concept of mounts, or a new profession), there is not much need for an expansion. Because the mechanics are in the game, they can now add new gliders, or new mounts within the LW season. The seasons are very like expansions.

@Tukaram.8256 said:

@Ashantara.8731 said:You're exaggerating. There is so much more work involved in creating LW episodes. However, the spoon-feeding of one episode per so-and-so months really isn't pleasant compared to receiving an expansion package where you have the whole experience of a new story chapter at once. Those long pauses in story-telling do influence the experience negatively.

Except for what I wrote.

Destroyer Days