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. 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. muddycoffee
    Nov 14, 2017
    2
    I am surprised Path of Fire got such a high metacritic rating. in Player Vs Environment, i ran out of things to do after about 2 weeks playing the expansion.

    Unfortunately, the expansion also broke my favorite game mode (World vs World - large scale PVP) with terrible class balance so i have no refuge. The latest patch didn't address these issues so i guess it's not a priority for the    I am surprised Path of Fire got such a high metacritic rating. in Player Vs Environment, i ran out of things to do after about 2 weeks playing the expansion.

    Unfortunately, the expansion also broke my favorite game mode (World vs World - large scale PVP) with terrible class balance so i have no refuge. The latest patch didn't address these issues so i guess it's not a priority for the developers.

    Visually - the game looks like any other decent MMO. I found the story a little incoherent. The combat system is pretty engaging (apart from the recent gamebreaking lapse in class balance) .

    I understand there's also some angst regarding microtransactions recently.

    I would advise to wait for the next living story release and patch before purchasing.    … Expand
  3. Ananisapta
    Nov 20, 2017
    2
    GW2 used to be a fun game where a casual player could find lots to enjoy. AN has goosed the difficulty considerably in this expansion. It may now be fun for the hard-core enthusiasts with very quick reflexes and a lot of time for practice, but for the casual player it sucks! You'll get pounded over and over until you are running around naked, hoping to get in a lucky shot to end yourGW2 used to be a fun game where a casual player could find lots to enjoy. AN has goosed the difficulty considerably in this expansion. It may now be fun for the hard-core enthusiasts with very quick reflexes and a lot of time for practice, but for the casual player it sucks! You'll get pounded over and over until you are running around naked, hoping to get in a lucky shot to end your misery. I had leveled three toons in the classic game but only lasted a week in the expansion. Only if you plan to be teamed up throughout your combat career should a normal player consider this miscarriage.… Expand
  4. smeliukas
    Jul 18, 2018
    0
    Pros:
    Nice graphics
    Fun low end PVE Many skins to customise your character Cons: Extremely toxic community (if you are new player, one of five people will help you, others will send you ***. If you aren't experienced in PVP or high end PVE, you will be kicked and called all kind of words) Very weak PVP and WvW balance (classes and matchmaking are probably worst of all other MMOS)    Pros:
    Nice graphics
    Fun low end PVE
    Many skins to customise your character

    Cons:
    Extremely toxic community (if you are new player, one of five people will help you, others will send you ***. If you aren't experienced in PVP or high end PVE, you will be kicked and called all kind of words)
    Very weak PVP and WvW balance (classes and matchmaking are probably worst of all other MMOS)
    Becoming grindy
    Prepare your wallet if you want nice skins or progress faster
    Loads of game mechanics abuse and GMs don't care
    Not polished content, loads of bugs.
    GMs not communicated with players.
    Competitive play non-existent

    When GW2 was released it was fun, a lot of it. However, after it became free to play and with every new expansion, it just became non balanced, toxic and money grabbing game. I was playing it since day one and today I would strongly suggest new players to avoid it, especially if you're under 16. This game will take all enjoyment in gaming away and after playing it, you will become not relaxed, but more angry. Avoid.    … Expand
  5. xcxioos
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    The inclusion of loot box mount skins has spoiled an otherwise great expansion. Arenanet has shown they are inclined to included content in the form of paid loot boxes when the expansion lacks long term goals.
  6. pofreview01
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    Loot box skins has ruined this game it was good but a couple of months after release there is nothing to do and now there are paid loot boxes instead of content. I can't recommend this game to anyone now. Hopefully the devs stop making paid loot boxes and start making good content.
  7. Skellimancer
    Jan 25, 2018
    2
    Pay2win trash expansion for PvP with Overpowered to the max specs. Zero balance to pvp leaving scourge and mirage to dominate everything. Pve adds mounts which make a lot of content laughably easier than it already was.
  8. 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
  9. captnobody
    Jul 3, 2018
    0
    Beyond Frustrated

    Just bought the two expansions after playing the game a bit all the way back when it came out. I've been looking for a new game to play for a while and the new content looked like it might be fun. After verifying I was me twice through email and once thought text. I try to log into the game only to see that I'm locked out because it thinks I'm an unauthorized user    Beyond Frustrated

    Just bought the two expansions after playing the game a bit all the way back when it came out. I've been looking for a new game to play for a while and the new content looked like it might be fun. After verifying I was me twice through email and once thought text. I try to log into the game only to see that I'm locked out because it thinks I'm an unauthorized user trying to break into my account. Fair enough, I appreciate the game trying to protect my account. So I go the support page to make a ticket thinking this will take an hour or so for them to get back to me and we can clear this up. That was over 20 hours ago at the time I'm writing this. I haven't even received a email from them (besides the auto generated one when you make a ticket). This is unacceptable customer service. I literally just spent over $70, really looking forward to jumping into the game just last night and they can't have the decency to at least tell me that they are looking into it.

    Frustrated

    24 Hours later and still no response from their support. I'm putting in for a refund. Don't play this game, if you have a problem you will wait days for a response from them. Worst customer service I've ever experienced from a game.    … Expand
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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.
  13. Piani
    Oct 8, 2017
    4
    PvE review: Mount mechanics are clunky and controlling them is a pain. They added like 4 boss mechanics spread out between about 10 legendary bounties that everyone just swarms for a few minutes and moves on. The new map metas are either impossible to do because nobody knows they're happening or impossible to do because they were balanced poorly. The only thing to do after you beat thePvE review: Mount mechanics are clunky and controlling them is a pain. They added like 4 boss mechanics spread out between about 10 legendary bounties that everyone just swarms for a few minutes and moves on. The new map metas are either impossible to do because nobody knows they're happening or impossible to do because they were balanced poorly. The only thing to do after you beat the story is get a flying mount and do collection achievements for a not-so-great exotic set. Half of the new specializations are a mess and double the amount of key inputs. Game is rife with little annoyances that will have you quitting in a rage within 2 weeks, guaranteed. Like, HoT before it, wait until they get their act together before you bother with this one.… Expand
  14. ANHell
    Oct 29, 2017
    0
    ГВ2 всегда была инновационной ММОРПГ, первая избавилась от владычества WoW и ее стандартов, отошла от троицы, квестов, гир прогресса, лвл прогресса и т.д. HoT также принес не мало нового и интересного, крутого сложного контента, новую структуру карт и интересных МЕТА эвентов.

    PoF отошел от всех стандартов ГВ2 и не принес не в мир ГВ2 не в мир ММОРПГ ничего хорошего и нового. Вернулись    ГВ2 всегда была инновационной ММОРПГ, первая избавилась от владычества WoW и ее стандартов, отошла от троицы, квестов, гир прогресса, лвл прогресса и т.д. HoT также принес не мало нового и интересного, крутого сложного контента, новую структуру карт и интересных МЕТА эвентов.

    PoF отошел от всех стандартов ГВ2 и не принес не в мир ГВ2 не в мир ММОРПГ ничего хорошего и нового. Вернулись старые плоские локации, упростили получения всех мастери и скил поинтов теперь это все делается в соло как и вся сюжетная компания. Локации такжи простые и умереть на них очень сложно, но что самое главное не было добавлено не 1 мета эвента и нового ворлд босса. В итоге локации пустые скучные и уже через неделю все вернульсь в HoT.

    Booring flat maps, no meta events, no epic events, all content like story/mobs/skillspoints ultra esy and casual. Complite all things in 4 days and return to ultra awedome HoT location and Events. Worst expansion for me and loswet hour/gameplay, no bosses no fractals no dungeons no raids no new WwW or Spvp maps, no new class no new races.    … Expand
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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.
  18. Antorin
    Oct 4, 2017
    3
    The content itself is very high quality, but it's only open world exploration and the other 80% of the game goes completely neglected. If you are here for fractals/dungeons/raids/PvP/WvW this expansion has NOTHING to offer. At all. Except for a few new skills. Because of the lack of organized group content this is also a very antisocial experience, doesn't feel like an MMO.

    There is no    The content itself is very high quality, but it's only open world exploration and the other 80% of the game goes completely neglected. If you are here for fractals/dungeons/raids/PvP/WvW this expansion has NOTHING to offer. At all. Except for a few new skills. Because of the lack of organized group content this is also a very antisocial experience, doesn't feel like an MMO.

    There is no endgame. I had fun for a week, didn't rush the content, but there's just nothing of substance for me to do now. CEO hates dungeons and anything competitive, and it shows.    … Expand
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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.
  30. 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
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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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