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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. TehOwn
    Sep 22, 2017
    10
    Path of Fire reminds us of what MMORPGs are all about. Exploration, discovery and joy. It takes us out of the dungeons and into a diverse, exciting and challenging world.

    Mounts are designed to be the main feature and it shows. Each mount is unique and maps are designed specifically with their strengths and weaknesses in mind. Swapping between them is a joy and as you unlock their    Path of Fire reminds us of what MMORPGs are all about. Exploration, discovery and joy. It takes us out of the dungeons and into a diverse, exciting and challenging world.

    Mounts are designed to be the main feature and it shows. Each mount is unique and maps are designed specifically with their strengths and weaknesses in mind. Swapping between them is a joy and as you unlock their abilities, you discover new places you can reach.

    The maps are filled to the brim with locations to explore and enemies to fight. Diverse combinations of enemies can pose varying risks depending on your skill choices and some are their own little puzzle.

    Path of Fire unlocks the joy within a game that was already vastly improved under new design direction and marks what I can only hope is a golden age ahead. Now is the time to dive headlong into the world of Tyria. TO VABBI!

    12/10    … Expand
  2. Gamenurse
    Sep 26, 2017
    10
    Stunningly beautiful game, deep storyline, thousands of hours of voice acting, the attention to detail is incredible. Cannot say enough about this game!! Tons to do, in any play style you want, PvZ. All are amazing and I cannot find enough hours to play my fav, wvw.
  3. MagicFind
    Sep 28, 2017
    9
    I am a long time Guild Wars franchise follower, started back in 2006 with Factions and have played it all since. Why I took the time to make an account and write this review is because Path of Fire finally gave the original fans something meaningful in ArenaNet's sequel, Guild Wars 2. Yes the maps are fun, the mounts give us something new to experience, but the story is what I loved inI am a long time Guild Wars franchise follower, started back in 2006 with Factions and have played it all since. Why I took the time to make an account and write this review is because Path of Fire finally gave the original fans something meaningful in ArenaNet's sequel, Guild Wars 2. Yes the maps are fun, the mounts give us something new to experience, but the story is what I loved in this expansion.

    I'm talking about deep references, even things that hardcore GW1 fans might have missed their first time through.

    So if you are like me and cared about the story ArenaNet were making way back in the mid-2000's, give this game a go now. It has come a long way from its initial launch.    … Expand
  4. Kraistlin
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    The Path of Fire Story is the best in GW2. It is much better than the base game and HoT. Go deep into the Lore of the Guild Wars universe. The narrative has improved a lot too and is accompanied by an amazing soundtrack!

    The maps are incredible, you needed maps like this, full of beauty, different ecosystems, new enemies and secrets, many secrets !!! The mounts give variety in the    The Path of Fire Story is the best in GW2. It is much better than the base game and HoT. Go deep into the Lore of the Guild Wars universe. The narrative has improved a lot too and is accompanied by an amazing soundtrack!

    The maps are incredible, you needed maps like this, full of beauty, different ecosystems, new enemies and secrets, many secrets !!!

    The mounts give variety in the exploration and that always likes. I'm glad we finally have them! As for the design of the mounts, I find it incredible, they are really well made and feel alive! that each one I have a different type of displacement contributes to this, since that happens in our world, each living being has some unique qualities in which it stands out for better or for worse.

    The events, there is everything from events very similar to those we already know, to totally new ones!

    New specializations bring a wealth of options at the time of combat, new builds can come out and change the Meta, which affects all types of game. They are different and not superior is the key to variety and that in pvp, for example do not always stick against the same builds (obviating higher levels, where the goal is the goal).

    As objects, I suppose that is what you can expect, materials, armor and weapons typical of new areas.

    And it allows access to the living world fourth season. No monthly fee!    … Expand
  5. Zykrox
    Sep 23, 2017
    10
    Path of Fire is a great addition, to a great game. The new maps are gorgeous, there are not many games out there with a unique desert setting.

    The new Specs are awesome, the animations are well done and it adds a new touch to the gameplay.

    The Mounts are great too, easy accesable and every one with it's own special kind of use.

    All in all, a great addon.
  6. skilledspell
    Sep 24, 2017
    10
    Gw2 is a game I've always been super critical of because quite frankly I think they have consistently dropped the ball in content they release. From base story, to xpac story, to dungeons story, etc. This xpac completely changed that. Honestly, the campaign was such a blast to play. Infinitely better than the 1st xpac. The story is less linear, the region of the world you explore is moreGw2 is a game I've always been super critical of because quite frankly I think they have consistently dropped the ball in content they release. From base story, to xpac story, to dungeons story, etc. This xpac completely changed that. Honestly, the campaign was such a blast to play. Infinitely better than the 1st xpac. The story is less linear, the region of the world you explore is more compelling and well designed. The story feels much more grand. Really what this game needed since 2012.
    I don't want to keep this too long but I cannot recommend this xpac enough, especially for players that were burned by the game's poor quality from 2012 to 2015.    … Expand
  7. BaconyInfusion
    Sep 24, 2017
    10
    I have not yet had the time to pay through all of the content. So far I've had a blast and and i can't put a finger on something i want to change so far.

    The maps are beautiful and the scenery is many screenshots worthy. The mounts feel very smooth, and it feels very natural moving with mounts. Even though i couldn't imagine mounts 2 months ago, it already seems perfectly natural and    I have not yet had the time to pay through all of the content. So far I've had a blast and and i can't put a finger on something i want to change so far.

    The maps are beautiful and the scenery is many screenshots worthy. The mounts feel very smooth, and it feels very natural moving with mounts. Even though i couldn't imagine mounts 2 months ago, it already seems perfectly natural and well intergrated. I haven't played the new specs alot, but I'm having fun progressing.

    It has been fun so far, and I'm very hooked on the story. I will update as i experience the rest of the expansion.    … Expand
  8. AesopMcLain
    Sep 23, 2017
    10
    Path of Fire adds a lot to Guild Wars 2. It adds 9 new elite specializations, which are practically new classes. Each elite spec. gives your character access to a new weapon and a lot of new skills. There are 5 new maps, which are the largest and best looking maps ArenaNet has created to date. These maps have a lot to do, with many events occurring to keep you busy. Mounts have been added,Path of Fire adds a lot to Guild Wars 2. It adds 9 new elite specializations, which are practically new classes. Each elite spec. gives your character access to a new weapon and a lot of new skills. There are 5 new maps, which are the largest and best looking maps ArenaNet has created to date. These maps have a lot to do, with many events occurring to keep you busy. Mounts have been added, each with a unique skill to help traverse the desert. These mounts can be used in both the new expansion areas, and the old core and Heart of Thorns maps. The story is great, taking you to many places from Guild Wars 1, and many unique never-before-seen locations. But the expansion doesn't end there. New maps will be added every few months with the Living Story updates. These updates are free as long as you log-in before the next one is added (if you miss one, you can use in-game currency to buy them).

    The expansion doesn't add anything new PvP or WvW, but that's because those are updated regularly when new content is ready (for free, regardless of where you own the expansion or not). You don't need the expansion for these PvP and WvW updates, even someone who is F2P can play that new content. The same goes for Fractals (mini-dungeons which get progressively harder).    … Expand
  9. SlangGod
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    this expansion sure is top of the line great work Anet...

    i just wanted to address some of the people who are complaining about this expansion and saying "just trash" about it. first of not having new classes, the new elite spec are the new classes for example the elementalist just look at how many verity of builds we had with tempest and now we get weaver who has a totally different    this expansion sure is top of the line great work Anet...

    i just wanted to address some of the people who are complaining about this expansion and saying "just trash" about it. first of not having new classes, the new elite spec are the new classes for example the elementalist just look at how many verity of builds we had with tempest and now we get weaver who has a totally different play style and abilities, sure it under the same class name as elemental, but the things he can bring to the table are totally different even if you wanted to go tempest dps it still different to the weaver and the play style, people are still experimenting on different builds and ways to play this elite spec whats the point in having a new class its that it plays and feels different to the others, well weaver plays and feels different to tempest. personally i didnt really like tempest that much, but with weaver i cant get enough and thats not including the whole other different classes that have their new elite spec another example would be the ranger it had druid and now it has soulbeast which plays and feels completely different and unique.

    that said about the class part now to pvp and wvw they already said will be coming out and that they are working on and in terms of new crafting professions not everyone actually likes crafting and to the some who actually do there are new gear and equipment that they can craft there is no need for new crafting professions in addition you can only learn 2 at max 3 crafting professions which a lot of people have already maxed out and i dont think a lot of people are interested in starting the whole process of gathering and max a whole new crafting prof.

    about the game engine saying its old and needs work look at final fantasy or even wow non of these 2 games have changed their game engine because it wont be that easy it's like saying make a completely new game but with the same setting and if your fps goes down because of the game that just means you need to update your PC.

    this expansion has a lot to offer the content alone is more than enough making people actually communicate and work together to do bounties and other world events, if anything Anet has done a great job in these maps, story, and the new elite specs, also the mounts it's totally different than all other mounts in other games which are just for increased movement speed each mount actually feels different and unique.

    sorry for the long post, but i got tired of retarded people look for any excuse to bash was a great job Anet has done and i give them props for it they have improved so much since their first expansion and i havent even mentioned how incredibly amazing the PoF story is, so great job Anet and keep getting better and for those who keep finding fault no game is %100 perfect.    … Expand
  10. turin
    Sep 25, 2017
    8
    These are generally early impressions since i have not finished all the expansion has to offer. But everything seems really high quality overall. Almost everything that had community acceptance can be seen in PoF. The maps are beautiful, the music amazing, the content really dense after the 1st map and mounts are probably one of the greatest features to be added in game. Exploring theseThese are generally early impressions since i have not finished all the expansion has to offer. But everything seems really high quality overall. Almost everything that had community acceptance can be seen in PoF. The maps are beautiful, the music amazing, the content really dense after the 1st map and mounts are probably one of the greatest features to be added in game. Exploring these maps are a treat. PoF is the kind of expansion that gets every little thing completely right. Even the story, albeit a bit short, is of high quality, rewarding for lore buffs and well presented as opposed to HoT story that has been a bit problematic. Elites are also fun to play but it is too early to really give a critic on them. Overall PoF seems to worth every penny.

    My only two issues with the expansion is the lack of guild content. Guild missions need an update as they have been saturated and buggy for years and PoF would have been a great time to refresh them. Also I am a bit worried about the lack of map-wide meta events in the new maps. HoT maps metas are amazing experiences. It was really problematic that all of the maps were meta-wide maps. Thus reducing them and make PoF maps closer to core Gw2 is a good decision. But not even adding one such map-wide meta is the extreme on the other side. The ideal would be to have such an epic encounter only on one last map representing the peak of the story and lore process just like DS has done with HoT. Hopefully they will add such encounters in the future (LS4 should be coming soon) as they are one of the unique highpoints of the open PvE in the game.    … Expand
  11. TicTacTaco
    Sep 24, 2017
    9
    PoF is the best content GW2 has put out yet. The new maps are a joy to explore with the addition of mounts. Those mounts also aren't just a boring speed boost. They all feel unique and have specific uses that make some better in situations than others. They're definitely important for traversing the new maps, not only for how they handle the dangerous terrains, but also because these mapsPoF is the best content GW2 has put out yet. The new maps are a joy to explore with the addition of mounts. Those mounts also aren't just a boring speed boost. They all feel unique and have specific uses that make some better in situations than others. They're definitely important for traversing the new maps, not only for how they handle the dangerous terrains, but also because these maps are HUGE. Easily twice the size of the base game maps. I'm not even close to 100% on any of them yet and I've already put a good 20 hours in.

    The story is easily the best they've done. The villain is actually interesting for once! The story actually has some interesting twists and turns and most importantly, it NAILS the ending. It has a satisfying conclusions whilst also keeping some important story threads around for Season 4 of the living world.

    Now why didn't I give this a perfect score? Well unfortunately, there don't appear to be any major world bosses. Bounties have taken their place here and while I think they may actually end up being more interesting in the long run (because of their randomization), they don't really have the spectacle of bosses like Tequatl or the huge organization needs of the Chak Garent (though some bounties definitely are very tough).

    Regardless of that one complaint, I'm looking forward to playing through this again on another elite spec (I didn't mention those, but it's basically like adding 9 new ways to play the game).

    After HoT, I was apprehensive about GW2's future. PoF has done the opposite and delivered a near perfect expansion.    … Expand
  12. DemethValknut
    Sep 24, 2017
    10
    Path of Fire is what Guild Wars 2 has always been : Exploration, discovery, insanely fast fun, without constraints.
    The world building is a never match in the MMO scene before. The desert is huge, insanely big, and well crafted.
    The lore tidbits are everywhere, from dialogs, to the story, to random npc encounters and chats. The music is gorgeous, as much as the art style. Arenanet    Path of Fire is what Guild Wars 2 has always been : Exploration, discovery, insanely fast fun, without constraints.
    The world building is a never match in the MMO scene before. The desert is huge, insanely big, and well crafted.
    The lore tidbits are everywhere, from dialogs, to the story, to random npc encounters and chats.
    The music is gorgeous, as much as the art style.

    Arenanet had taken lessons from the past. All the major issues GW2 had are no more. The game is stable, has a strong content, both casual and end game, it has a lot of variety of gameplay, content, game modes.
    The community is very welcoming, and the game is highly populated.

    If you ever played GW2 and want to come back, don't think it twice, just drown into it, you won't regret it.    … Expand
  13. TheGameQuotient
    Sep 27, 2017
    9
    Path of Fire is everything Heart of Thorns should have been:

    Gorgeous wide open maps that encourage exploration. A better balance between solo and group content. You can actually get 100% map completion without having to ask for help in map chat like was necessary in HoT. An actual logical integration of the Mastery system via mounts. I was worried adding mounts to GW2 would be    Path of Fire is everything Heart of Thorns should have been:

    Gorgeous wide open maps that encourage exploration.

    A better balance between solo and group content. You can actually get 100% map completion without having to ask for help in map chat like was necessary in HoT.

    An actual logical integration of the Mastery system via mounts. I was worried adding mounts to GW2 would be gimmicky, but they're absolutely not. Mounts are used for exploration and transportation and they enabled the maps to grow in size without the gimmicks of updraft gliding and other mastery travel options. If anything adding mounts makes the game feel less gimmicky and more natural.

    The new class specializations are unlocked faster and the new mastery trees for mounts are shorter than their HoT counterparts. This means you spend more time playing through new content and exploring than grinding levels for mastery points. This was a massive problem in HoT that gated content behind mastery skills and then forced players to grind. That grind is absent in Path of Fire. You generally get the basic masteries needed to unlock the majority of the content up front through exploring a new map. The progression is intuitive and occurs naturally. Grinding takes a back seat.

    I've not finished the story so won't be able to offer spoilers, but it seems the same stock storyline as we've had since LWS2. The plot is interesting enough, but the dialogue often feels kinda dopey. They've continued the full voice acting, which is nice provided you can stand the voice actor for your character. Unfortunately you continue to be "along for the ride" so to speak, with your character making decisions without your input. Not that this had any over-arching impact during the vanilla storyline, but it did help with immersion.

    All in all Path of Fire is a much more pleasant experience to HoT. The direction Arena Net chose to go in with this expansion hearkens back to what made the vanilla game so enjoyable and so novel, and throws in a hefty dash of nostalgia from revisiting old GW locations, along with a solid and inspired soundtrack, I feel this was the expansion we had all been waiting for.    … Expand
  14. lkilian
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    An amazing expansion for an amazing game. Visuals are incredible, mounts feel like actual mounts and not a speed boost, and the story is probably the best since the game's launch.

    If right now I had to say which has been my favourite gaming experience ever, I would probably say the launch days of Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire. If there is a reason I give this expansion a 10, it is the    An amazing expansion for an amazing game. Visuals are incredible, mounts feel like actual mounts and not a speed boost, and the story is probably the best since the game's launch.

    If right now I had to say which has been my favourite gaming experience ever, I would probably say the launch days of Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire.

    If there is a reason I give this expansion a 10, it is the same as the vanilla game: It is absolutely worth every penny.    … Expand
  15. Delekon
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    Many things were worked on since the last expansion, but what i like most is:

    1. Huge improvements to the skill system. Now, most kills are multi-faceted bringing 3-4 RPG - style effects into one animation. This makes the combat in modern GW2 the best i have seen in an mmo, 2. Small but vital tweaks to encounter design. The enemy and the setting of each fight has been tweaked, making    Many things were worked on since the last expansion, but what i like most is:

    1. Huge improvements to the skill system. Now, most kills are multi-faceted bringing 3-4 RPG - style effects into one animation. This makes the combat in modern GW2 the best i have seen in an mmo,
    2. Small but vital tweaks to encounter design. The enemy and the setting of each fight has been tweaked, making every one fell epic and memorable.

    Now, all those core improvements and the features of HOT are unleashed in the desert, such that the game finally has enough endgame content. Best expansion ever.

    The -1 point is for the lack of new clases. Also, the PvP content could have used more love.    … Expand
  16. Tibo
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    Incredible story, amazingly beautiful scenery, better progression. In short they've learned from the HoT expansion and made PoF GREAT! The story keeps you at the edge of your seat, It's incredible.
  17. Brainstrain
    Sep 27, 2017
    8
    Path of Fire is the best GW2 has been since it first launched. It's taken a long time for the game to find its footing, and there's still issues, but this is a seriously good MMO expansion.

    Mounts are fantastic. They handle well, have cool abilities, and are gorgeously animated. ANet has wisely moved away from multi-million xp mastery tracks, and you instead unlock most mount abilities    Path of Fire is the best GW2 has been since it first launched. It's taken a long time for the game to find its footing, and there's still issues, but this is a seriously good MMO expansion.

    Mounts are fantastic. They handle well, have cool abilities, and are gorgeously animated. ANet has wisely moved away from multi-million xp mastery tracks, and you instead unlock most mount abilities fairly quickly. The difference is huge.

    There are no new dungeons. ANet appears to be wary of that type of content, after many failed attempts to balance rewards of its existing dungeons. They are focusing instead on Raids, which is a strange choice for a game with such enduringly poor profession balance. In a game like WoW, dps differences of 5% are seen as huge. Some GW2 professions can differ by more than 25% - it's a total farce.

    The new zones are expansive, and an absolute joy to explore. Exploration has always been what GW2 does best, and they fully committed to it in Path of Fire.

    The new elite specs are fun, although balance (of course) varies wildly.

    I haven't finished the story, but it's been great so far. At this point, Heart of Thorns was wrapping up, but Path of Fire is only in its second act. Much more satisfying.

    All around, it's the best MMO without a subscription you'll find.    … Expand
  18. Nickptss
    Sep 26, 2017
    8
    The maps are amazing, the story was great. The difficulty is at a good level, harder than base game and HoT, it's now as challenging as it should be and it may give players an incentive to group together in order to complete events rather than solo. The biggest letdown is the lack of map-wide metas, like the ones we got in HoT, and how that is going to affect replayability.
  19. monzese
    Sep 28, 2017
    10
    Path Of Fire is not only an awesome expansion but made the core game and Hearth of Thorns even more immersive thanks to the new mount system.
    Anet did a really great job making GW2 a truly jewel in the MMO universe.
    A must buy for me... but if you can't afford try it with a f2P account, you'll never regret the time spent in the game.
  20. Dianji
    Sep 24, 2017
    10
    I love this expansion! In my opinion right now the best mmo out there. So much detail and amazing artwork. if you are not sure if you wanna come back or start gw as a new player.. dont hesitate. NOW is the time! :) you wont regret it.
  21. georgerock
    Sep 28, 2017
    10
    The story is absolutely amazing for what it is (we all know we can't hold mmo's to the same standard as single player games). It's more cinematic than ever before, with interesting and engaging boss mechanics, a lot of "I can't believe that just happened" moments. There is a healthy dose of well-done humor too.
    The new maps are huge and filled with content (i`m a bit sad that there are no    The story is absolutely amazing for what it is (we all know we can't hold mmo's to the same standard as single player games). It's more cinematic than ever before, with interesting and engaging boss mechanics, a lot of "I can't believe that just happened" moments. There is a healthy dose of well-done humor too.
    The new maps are huge and filled with content (i`m a bit sad that there are no new map-wide metas, but heart of thorns was full of them, this now strikes a nice balance between exploration maps and meta maps). There are things waiting for you around every corner, you will have a blast exploring them.
    The new enemies are cool and interesting both visually and mechanically, would have been nice if a bit more work went in creating new branded enemy types, but overall that's a small detail.
    The mounts are AWESOME, each one has a different movement ability that lets you go to places you couldn't without them (for instance one mount jumps long distances forwards, one jumps up really high, one can "run" (kind of glide) over surfaces that would otherwise kill you, like quick sand, and one can use portals scattered around the maps.
    The new elite specs are also really cool, much more detailed than the heart of thorns ones, and some of them are so different that it feels like you are playing a totally new class. Balance is a bit off at the moment, since there are basically 9 new classes added, but that will be worked out with future content releases.
    Also, for anyone reading this review wondering if you should buy it, take into consideration that if you get it early enough, you will also get living world season 4 for free as it releases, all in the same price.
    Overall, I think pof is excellent and would recommend buying it any day    … Expand
  22. zqooq
    Sep 25, 2017
    9
    Guild Wars 2 has absolutely nailed how to expand the game. I absolutely love it.

    Heart of Thorns (HoT), the first Guild Wars 2 expansions, was pretty good in my opinion. It got some things right, and a number of things wrong. For Path of Fire (PoF), the developers successfully identified the aspects of Heart of Thorns that made it fun for players, and they have amplified those aspects    Guild Wars 2 has absolutely nailed how to expand the game. I absolutely love it.

    Heart of Thorns (HoT), the first Guild Wars 2 expansions, was pretty good in my opinion. It got some things right, and a number of things wrong. For Path of Fire (PoF), the developers successfully identified the aspects of Heart of Thorns that made it fun for players, and they have amplified those aspects for this new expansion:

    [1] Mobility & Exploration. Gliding was hands down the best part of Heart of Thorns. It was a new way to approach exploration, which has always been a key part of the core game with vistas, points of interests and hearts, diving points, jumping puzzles, and more to find. For Path of Fire, they chose to increase mobility & exploration with mounts. Mounts in PoF do even more than gliding did. There is a mount for crossing large gaps in terrain (raptor), scaling cliff-sides (springer), hovering over water and other ground material, and more. There is even a hidden mount that is essentially a much improved form of gliding.

    [2] Elite Specializations. With any major expansion you have to add more combat mechanics. Heart of Thorns did quite well with elite specializations, but again, Path of Fire just does it again and better. For example the Daredevil in HoT only essentially gave you a staff abilities, an extra dodge, and the standard few extra skills. In PoF, the Deadeye give you a new profession skill, new stolen profession skills, rifle abilities, secondary rifle abilities (when you are crouched), a secondary resource meter, and the standard abilities. They just made the elite specialization do more to change your characters and make them unique.

    [3] Maps and re-doable content. Heart of Thorns added little adventures that you can do repeatedly around it's maps. This was a great idea. But the maps themselves are rather tedious to traverse with so much vertical and branching paths. Path of Fire's maps are much more standard (they are mach easier to traverse) and they expanded on the re-doing of objectives. If you already beat a hero point mini-boss, but you see someone else doing it, you can go help them and you will still get a reward even though you already did it. Rewards (however small) are great for repeating previous content, and it helps keep places around the world populated. They also added Bounties, which is essentially a way of triggering a mini-boss. This feature is GREAT for small groups of friends, because it allows them to do bosses on their own time and not wait for things to spawn and such.

    Although I really like Path of Fire, there are a few drawbacks/short-falls of the expansion:

    [1] Possibly the biggest one for me is the lack of new armor sets. Guild Wars two has never really had a major push of new armor sets, and it is understandable why. Armor in GW2 effects multiple races, and you have hundreds of dyes that need to effect armor colors, so adding armor is a major chore for the development team.

    [2] World versus World (WvW). This mode has pretty much always been an afterthought since the beginning of the game. There are numerous flaws with the fundamental design of the game mode (as everyone is well aware), but it is still fun for what it is if you learn the ropes of how to be effective. Yes you can use the elite specializations of the expansion in WvW, but much of WvW revolves around moving through a map and taking side objectives from enemy teams. WvW never got a map that was designed around gliding, and it did not get a new map (at least so far) designed around using mounts in Path of Fire. They tried to make a new map with the desert WvW map, but that was a disaster from the ground up. I still think WvW could be an amazing game mode, but it would require some fundamental re-works (such as team selection rather than server-based teams), and it would require new maps that take advantage of the advanced movement options in the expansions.

    [3] Underwater combat. Underwater combat is like WvW in that it has kinda been an afterthought since the game released. It is slower paced than ground combat with less options due to skill restrictions and lack of weapon sets. HOWEVER, mounts could finally provide a solution to make underwater combat more fun. But sadly there are no underwater mounts in the game yet, and there is even a mount designed to float over water so you don't even have to swim. I personally hope the next expansions for Guild Wars 2 involves the water elder dragon, and it adds underwater mounts that will vastly change underwater combat for the better. (PLEEEASE Arena net. That would be so cool)

    Summary... I love this expansion, and it shows that Guild Wars 2 is not a dying MMO. It has a lot of life left in it, and now is the best time there has ever been to start playing. I can't wait to see what they do in the future with the game.    … Expand
  23. Aedelric
    Sep 26, 2017
    10
    The God of Fire and War marches on Elona, after a full season worth of build up by the living story Path of Fire finally arrives, and what an adventure it is!

    The expansion brings five maps, the largest maps to date and that is no exaggeration. Combined with increased verticality it takes some considerable time to explore every region and even then you will want to revisit to complete    The God of Fire and War marches on Elona, after a full season worth of build up by the living story Path of Fire finally arrives, and what an adventure it is!

    The expansion brings five maps, the largest maps to date and that is no exaggeration. Combined with increased verticality it takes some considerable time to explore every region and even then you will want to revisit to complete collections and events you missed the first time around. The increased size would be hard to navigate if it was not for GW2's latest addition, mounts.

    What a breath of fresh air mounts are, unlike other MMO's Gw2's mounts are not just a simple speed boost. But rather and completely different way to traverse the terrain, from the Raptors leap to jump large gaps and traverse the terrain quickly, to the Springers jump to reach high up locations. To the Skimmers ability to avoid terrain effects by floating and the Jackals teleportation, there may or may not be a secret mount, which I will not spoil here.

    Just like everything Arena Net do, mounts are approached not just to fill a demand but to introduce something fresh, fun and accomplish in a way that leaves other MMO's trailing behind.

    The expansion brings a class balance and nine new specialisations to help spice up PvP and WvW with new desert borderland creatures as a bonus. It may not sound like much, but new specialisations and changes to meta are what PvP live for. That said the PvP side of the game is on a different release schedule and given as free updates, it is not something expansion packs are designed to cater to.

    As for the story, it is a truly epic journey filled with ups and down. The writing has come a long way since the original personal story. The voice acting is superb, especially John DiMaggio (Futurama's Bender) Canach. The main characters have quite a natural dynamic between them which is occasionally amusing quite, "cuddles". If you were a fan of the original Guild Wars, you will get a kick out of this expansion due to the numerous call backs to that game.

    Guild Wars 2 has hit a new high, much needed after the divisive Heart of Thorns and year long content drought after. I would happily recommend this expansion especially at the reduced price tag compared to HOT, Arena Net are back on track and the future looks bright.    … Expand
  24. Einlanzer
    Sep 25, 2017
    9
    This expansion did a lot of things right - the lore, the enemies, the mounts, the environments, the new elite spec - all superb. I'm only giving it a 9 because they dropped the ball on adding new weapon types and new dungeons, both of which had a great setup for this expansion and I've felt the game has needed for years.
  25. monzesandrea
    Sep 28, 2017
    10
    This expansion is a pure joy for the eyes. Wonderful and beautifully detailed areas full of events and players. Superb Dialogues, History Changing Depending on Choices Made, Gorgeous Background Music and Fuc*ing AWESOME MOUNTS.
    POF is simply a great expansion that made GW2 one of the best (if not the best) mmo one can play nowadays. =)
  26. Utrexx
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    Maps are full of detail, and are aesthetically inspiring. Ton to explore and discover, mounts to ride, and stuff to do! Everything that was featured was superb. 10/10
  27. RPGLife
    Sep 28, 2017
    8
    Characterization and dialogue is a bit shallow and unimpressive. Seems like the story writers are fans of tropes. Story had potential though. Characters do offer some humorous moments. NPC dialogue is polished. Do note that Path of Fire's story doesn't end with the expansion itself. Living Story is Guild Wars 2's take on limited time free DLC, and season 4 of the Living Story will continueCharacterization and dialogue is a bit shallow and unimpressive. Seems like the story writers are fans of tropes. Story had potential though. Characters do offer some humorous moments. NPC dialogue is polished. Do note that Path of Fire's story doesn't end with the expansion itself. Living Story is Guild Wars 2's take on limited time free DLC, and season 4 of the Living Story will continue the story of the expansion.

    Classes get an additional "specialization", which adds or changes some of the class' mechanics. Whereas Heart of Thorns (1st expansion) focuses on map "verticality", which is sort of like multi-level map layout, Path of FIre emphasizes map "horizontality", that is it has new maps that are expansive and have diverse terrain. To help emphasize the experience, Path of Fire introduces a unique take on mounts. Mounts have innate abilities that help traverse certain terrain. Masteries are also included in this game, particularly for the mount system. Masteries are account wide progression that functions similar to a skill training system of some RPGs.

    Addendum 1: I forgot to mention it also added a bounty system, similar to hunting special monsters in the Monster Hunter series. Bounties offer a challenge for players who would like to defeat monsters with unique abilities and mechanics, similar to a raid level boss. Bounties could be done solo or with a group of players.    … Expand
  28. Latorn
    Oct 1, 2017
    10
    TL;DR: Amazing expansion!

    Pros: Mount exploration and mounts themselves are incredibly well done! Amazing maps! Story is fantastic! Minor Cons: Replayability of story and other things (Why isn't the sous chef minigame a replayable adventure? Why does the campaign award all skins on one playthrough, leaving limited rewards for multiple playthroughs- unlike HoT which was    TL;DR: Amazing expansion!

    Pros:

    Mount exploration and mounts themselves are incredibly well done!

    Amazing maps!

    Story is fantastic!

    Minor Cons:

    Replayability of story and other things (Why isn't the sous chef minigame a replayable adventure? Why does the campaign award all skins on one playthrough, leaving limited rewards for multiple playthroughs- unlike HoT which was great with rewarding Auric/Chak weps, etc.).

    While there are plenty of events, there is a lack of event chains and event achievements.

    Mastery exp is too easily gained (Down from 13.5mil to complete a track in HoT, to 2.5mil to complete a track in PoF? Need a happy medium).

    Once again, I overall loved this expansion and highly recommend it!    … Expand
  29. yugas42
    Sep 29, 2017
    9
    Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire provides a more coherent story than Heart of Thorns, and shows a greater amount of development time going towards narrative than engine upgrades and new game infrastructure. The expansion is a throwback to Guild Wars: Nightfall, having the player return to Elona for the first time in over 200 years. For any original Guild Wars players, this expansion is somethingGuild Wars 2: Path of Fire provides a more coherent story than Heart of Thorns, and shows a greater amount of development time going towards narrative than engine upgrades and new game infrastructure. The expansion is a throwback to Guild Wars: Nightfall, having the player return to Elona for the first time in over 200 years. For any original Guild Wars players, this expansion is something you should definitely own. The new content is appealing to players of more traditional MMO's as well, with the long speculated introduction of a mount system that can be used in vanilla maps as well.

    Further new content includes 9 new elite specializations for the existing 9 classes, which can be unlocked through the new maps, or with skill point currency the player already owns. This makes character progression quick and much more enjoyable than most games. There are numerous new collections available which grant items and achievement points, many more than Heart of Thorns launched with. Arenanet has also introduced the bounty board system, which is an open-world group content system with repeatable contracts that allow you to hunt down a specific enemy for rewards greater than those you would find just by running through the maps blindly. These bounty targets have randomized effects attached to them akin to Diablo 3 elite prefixes. Because of this each bounty target has to be fought in a slightly different way.

    With Living World Season 4 launching in about 3 months, players can expect more content to come soon, with at least 4 major content patches scheduled next year, provided Arenanet can keep their 3 month release cadence. With the base game just passing two years of free-to-play status, Guild Wars 2 is still one of the best western MMO's on the market, and has much more content scheduled into the coming years.    … Expand
  30. queru
    Sep 30, 2017
    10
    GW2 is nowadays a totally different game thant at launch in 2012. Especially if you own both expansions.

    PoF is located in wounderfully crafted vast area where you can explore all different types of desert landscapes, take part in lot of events and hunt powerful creatures during bounty hunting. The story is a good step forward from what it was before, there are amazing mounts that each    GW2 is nowadays a totally different game thant at launch in 2012. Especially if you own both expansions.

    PoF is located in wounderfully crafted vast area where you can explore all different types of desert landscapes, take part in lot of events and hunt powerful creatures during bounty hunting. The story is a good step forward from what it was before, there are amazing mounts that each of them has special abilities and functions like springer that takes you to higher locations or jackal that allows you to teleport through sand portals across the map. And another huge feature is a new set of elite specialisations for each core proffesion which allows you to expand your playstyle with tons of new skills. Again if you have old expansion then you have 2 elite specs per profession for different playstyles. You can also play core builds which are also viable in lot of game areas.

    Another great point is that with PoF comes a new living world season (which happens between expansions) - this means that every 2-3 months we'll get new episode of story and stuff to do. Last season gave one map per episode, so we can expect this to happen as well. This brings a huuuuuge open world zones to explore and fresh content to fill time between expac releases.

    Come, see it for yourself. It's a great experience! Join the guild, spend time with people chasing bounties, discover tombs of ancient kings, find lost treasures!

    I strongly recommend to also try HoT. But be aware that HoT has a bit more challenging open world than PoF (which means hard to traverse maps and powerful mobs that easily kill you. But when you get use to how to kill them it's a lot of fun actually).    … Expand
prev
Page:

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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »