Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 264 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 185 out of 264
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 264
  3. Negative: 63 out of 264

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  1. Aelyn
    Nov 9, 2017
    6
    + Beautiful locations
    + Somewhat interesting story
    - Not a lot of things to do in game (even in the open world) after you've played for a while - RNG lootboxes were introduced to force you into gambling for new mount skins (number of in-game obtainable mount skins: 0) - A lot of class balancing issues, some of the Elite Specs (one of the selling points) are useless in PvE - No new    + Beautiful locations
    + Somewhat interesting story

    - Not a lot of things to do in game (even in the open world) after you've played for a while
    - RNG lootboxes were introduced to force you into gambling for new mount skins (number of in-game obtainable mount skins: 0)
    - A lot of class balancing issues, some of the Elite Specs (one of the selling points) are useless in PvE
    - No new raids, no dungeons, no world bosses
    - No major changes to PvP/WvW

    It is still a good game, but it's crippled with the developer's inability to satisfy basic needs of your typical MMORPG player.    … Expand
  2. breddy_gud
    Apr 21, 2019
    5
    The world, the story at least in parts, the amount of content in general is nothing to be overly critical about.
    The content itself, however, the pacing, the balance, is completely in shambles. It's recycled, regurgitated, it's built around making you run circles to stretch it thin and thinner. The only big thing are mounts and they're just used to gate content.
    The boss fights are an    The world, the story at least in parts, the amount of content in general is nothing to be overly critical about.
    The content itself, however, the pacing, the balance, is completely in shambles. It's recycled, regurgitated, it's built around making you run circles to stretch it thin and thinner. The only big thing are mounts and they're just used to gate content.
    The boss fights are an atrocity that ANet should answer before a court for.    … Expand
  3. ZeftheWicked
    Dec 12, 2017
    6
    A step backward.

    Unlike what most reviews here would have you believe Path of Fire is not the new best in MMORPG gameplay, heck it struggles to be "new" at all. Love it or hate it, previous expansion delivered tons of innovation both to the franchise and the genre true to it's Guild Wars 2 legacy. Gliders, amazing multidimensional maps you could get lost in, mastery system to    A step backward.

    Unlike what most reviews here would have you believe Path of Fire is not the new best in MMORPG gameplay, heck it struggles to be "new" at all.

    Love it or hate it, previous expansion delivered tons of innovation both to the franchise and the genre true to it's Guild Wars 2 legacy.

    Gliders, amazing multidimensional maps you could get lost in, mastery system to slowly turn uphill battle with hostile jungle maps into memorable moments when you traverse half of map in a blink of an eye or soar above cloud levels ignoring any danger you previously had to face...

    There was new WvW borderland, new sPvP map, new profession and ofc introduction of elite specs. New approach to events (outposts) and the huge replay value with massive amount of collections turned the definition of GW2 experience on it's head. And i loved it.

    Not all was golden, but it was there, and my biggest gripe at the time was the sales and marketing policies, not the product itself.

    And now? Path of Fire not only brings extremely little to the table in terms of novelty (and this is an expac of series that rose on innovating!), it even goes as far as to cut back on previous systems rather then expanding!

    The "big new" (and the only one so far) are mounts. I won't lie, they are extremely practical, and useful. But it's mounts ppl...feature every damn MMORPG out there already has...

    Mastery system got reduced, it's smaller here then it was in HoT. Basically just mount masteries, nothing more. No new profession. No new content for sPvP or WvW. Elite specs are hit and miss with the core mindset being "a role" rather then "playstyle" as it was in previous expansion. A decision i grealty detest. Gone are the outposts(!!) which were a great way for event-driven story telling and getting players to group together for later stages of map meta. Why was this great idea axed??

    Maps got back to being flat, something between HoT and core Tyria, but much more skewed to the latter's style.
    A lot of ppl are happy about it, beats me why. Every other mmo out there can muster flat maps with slight verticality. It was GW2 and HoT that gave us something new, unique and challenging.

    Lastly the replay value is also...well...nowhere near HoT, let's be honest.

    Where this xpac does shine are the areas where previous one struggled - smooth launch, good pricing, no sales or marketing ploys, steady content updates with no huge breaks before and after launch, and much more casual friendly.

    But to me that's not enough. It's predecessor at launch was really rough around the edges in many ways, but it went in there, innovated and turned GW2 (and general) mmorpg experience on it's head as it should, given it's legacy.

    While here i feel i'm getting "Core Tyria +", something that even if it was launched before HoT, would still feel as a very safe bet. Let alone after groundbreaking Heart of Thorns.

    The xpac itself is nice and well designed. But "nice" is not what i want or expect from this franchise. I expect daring and groundbreaking, because it's Guild Wars 2. This meek and apologetic approach that indirectly tries to pretend HoT didn't happen disgusts me, and leaves me with no more mercy for it then a 6 outta 10.    … Expand
  4. Drevia54
    Nov 27, 2017
    7
    After years of absence on GW2, I see that the game has not aged too much! With pleasure, I made a few parts and it made me want to buy the extension. Especially for the mount! it's also cool to have new areas to explore and a new story quest.
  5. Torgall
    Dec 12, 2020
    7
    After HOT the maps fells way to simple, but maybe players needed less verticality. The introduced mounts are the best, their implementation is very unique in the MMO genre. Story was ok. My biggest complaint is the path Anet choose after introducing mounts: PAY FOR THE SKINS or play with just the one. ZERO skins for being good player and playing the game, nothing. What of the most annoyingAfter HOT the maps fells way to simple, but maybe players needed less verticality. The introduced mounts are the best, their implementation is very unique in the MMO genre. Story was ok. My biggest complaint is the path Anet choose after introducing mounts: PAY FOR THE SKINS or play with just the one. ZERO skins for being good player and playing the game, nothing. What of the most annoying things is the ever present bug that makes your mount invisible, and your character stuck in place because somehow basic skin messes thing up. When I bought skins from gem shop and used them on mounts everything was fixed.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best PC Game of 2017
40
#40 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 10, 2018
    85
    A trip to the vast Crystal Desert is worth every penny if you’re mainly into PvE (the new maps are one-time affairs though due to lack of meta events), but it does not offer much to those who prefer PvP or WvW. [13/2017, p.44]
  2. PC Gamer
    Dec 15, 2017
    80
    Not the most inventive MMO expansion, but a robust chunk of new maps that flesh out the best MMO around. [Christmas 2017, p.66]
  3. Wccftech
    Nov 27, 2017
    75
    Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire manages to do just enough to keep fans interested in visiting the world of Tyria by adding much needed features like mounts. The new class specializations also provide new and interesting ways to play your typical MMO class archetypes. Still, Path of Fire probably won't convince anyone who wasn't already enthralled with ArenaNet's MMORPG.
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