New Beachside Homestead Plot and Elite Specializations Provide Launch Pad for Setting Sail to Undiscovered Lands of Castora
BELLEVUE, Wash., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today developer ArenaNet® announced Guild Wars 2®: Visions of Eternity™, the sixth expansion for the award-winning and critically acclaimed MMORPG Guild Wars 2. Releasing on October 28, 2025, Visions of Eternity will offer a suite of new content and features for established and new players alike, including a new Homestead plot, new and upgraded abilities for the skimmer mount, an all-new story set in the island realm of Castora, two new explorable maps, and a new elite specialization for all nine of the game’s playable professions.
The new Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity trailer can be viewed HERE, while further screenshots and concept images can be found at the online press kit.
Visions of Eternity will go on sale for $24.99 and, like its predecessor Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™, have three planned major updates scheduled for release throughout 2026. Launch day will open two new maps on the island of Castora, a heretofore unvisited part of Tyria and home to ancient magics that have warped the local flora and fauna in stunning ways. Amidst this enigmatic new land, players will be able to explore new build options for their characters as each of the game’s professions can earn a new elite specialization with a collection of new traits and utility skills that will further increase the game’s already staggering amount of gameplay customization options. The skimmer mount, already a master of aquatic environments, can develop new capabilities through one of three new mastery lines associated with Castora.
The Homestead system introduced in Janthir Wilds is being extended in Visions of Eternity. A new plot for players’ homesteads will be available on the sunny beaches of Castora. The expansion’s Homestead Layout feature will allow players to easily and quickly share their customized space with others, allowing a perfect duplicate of a construction so long as a player has the requisite decorations. Whether they want to live in the wintery vales of Janthir or among the waves of a new island paradise, a player can choose which of their homestead plots is active at any time and use Layouts to easily restore their favorite looks.
The three planned major future updates will launch at no additional charge and continue to add new experiences: two additional maps, new Raid Encounters, a new Convergence, new rewards (including new earnable items in the Wizard’s Vault), two extensions of the storyline, new legendary gear, and more will arrive in 2026.
Visions of Eternity‘s new story begins with rumors of an island fabled by the seafarers of Tyria, rich with magic and ley energy. Word arrives to the Tyrian Alliance that the Inquest, a conniving krewe of asuran technology researchers, has been in search of that island, Castora—and when the Inquest start sneaking around, it spells danger for the rest of Tyria. Together with those allies willing to brave a voyage into the unknown, the Commander sets off in the hopes of discovering what the Inquest’s goals are—and stopping them before it’s too late.
“Visions of Eternity continues our commitment to major yearly content expansions,” said Josh Davis, Guild Wars 2 Game Director. “Over a decade into the game’s life, we’re making improvements and enhancements to game modes and systems, expanding the horizon of Guild Wars 2’s gameplay. This expansion is offering up more elite specializations to further grow the possibilities for player customization and gameplay while becoming more seamlessly accessible across game modes and activities.”
A wealth of new features, activities, and storylines open up new possibilities for play:
- New maps: Two new explorable maps will be available on October 28, with a third and fourth to follow in future updates.
- Elite Specializations: A new swath of character build options arrives to provide even more gameplay possibilities. Each new elite specialization offers new utility skills and traits for players to discover and hone their preferred play style across the broad range of the game’s nine character professions. Anyone with a Guild Wars 2 account can partake in a beta to try out the new elite specializations August 20-27.
- New and improved Skimmer: Dive into the sea with improved exploration and combat abilities on the skimmer. The skimmer updates represent one of three new mastery lines tied to the region of Castora.
- New Raid Encounters and group content: The magically-infused landscape of the island is home to all manner of warped and twisted wildlife, which will provide groups of 10 players their ultimate challenge in instanced PvE content, coming in future updates.
- New Homestead plot: By turning the wreckage of an island shipwreck into a fantabulous beachside home, decorators will have full control over the furniture, structure, and accessories in their cozy new paradise. Homestead Layouts can be shared with other players, giving characters instant access to their friends’ best designs so long as they have the required decorations.
- New Legendary Gear: A legendary weapon and legendary acquabreather at launch will be joined later by a legendary ring, legendary accessory, and another legendary weapon in later releases. These, along with a host of new armor and weapon sets and new Wizards Vault rewards will bring a decidedly magic island vibe to the adventure.
Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity is available for pre-purchase starting today at https://buy.guildwars2.com/visions-of-eternity for $24.99, and includes a bundle of pre-purchase bonus items, including a Tropical Resin Kintsugi weapon set, a Sea Captain Hat headpiece, the Eternal Alchemist character title, a shared inventory slot, and a level 80 character boost. The Deluxe Edition ($49.99) comes with the standard edition bundle, plus another batch of exclusive items: a Castoran Tentacled skimmer skin, a set of Fairy’s Call Gathering Tools, an additional character slot, and an Identity Repair Kit. The Visions of Eternity Ultimate Edition ($74.99) includes the exclusive Standard and Deluxe Edition items, plus 4,000 Gems, Guild Wars 2‘s premium in-game store currency.
For more information about Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity, please visit the official web site.
About Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 is a visually stunning online game that offers players the epic grandeur of a massive role playing environment combined with action combat, large-scale dynamic events that players tackle together, plus both team-based and World vs. World competitive battles. Available on Windows PC, Steam, and the Epic Games Store, the game is updated frequently with expansion and free content that chronicles the ongoing story of Tyria and introduces new environments and activities to explore. Yet with all these updates, the game continues the no-subscription-fee business model that made the original Guild Wars® so popular. For more details, please visit www.guildwars2.com
About ArenaNet
ArenaNet is the developer of the groundbreaking Guild Wars 2 and best-selling Guild Wars online role playing games. The studio’s mission is to create innovative online worlds, cultivate a vibrant and engaged global community of players, and to incorporate handcrafted artistry into every aspect of their games. ArenaNet formed in 2000 and it has attracted over 20 million players worldwide, with press and fans consistently calling Guild Wars 2 one of the best MMOs and RPGs of all time.
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