ArenaNet has announced Guild Wars Afterlife, the first new DLC for the original Guild Wars in close to two decades, launching on January 13th.
The studio revealed the add-on on X (formerly Twitter) with an announcement trailer, calling it "the first new Guild Wars DLC in 20 years." Pre-purchases are open now on the Guild Wars Store, and the DLC requires Guild Wars Reforged, the updated version of the game that bundles the Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall campaigns.
What Guild Wars Afterlife adds
Afterlife sends players to Xotecha, a land that, according to the store page, was "long believed lost to time." Players bring their existing characters into a dungeon called the Unformed, which changes from run to run and takes in jungles, cenotes and floating ruins. Inside it, character progression and inventory are stripped away, so each run starts from scratch.
The main hook is skill drafting. Players build a new skill bar for every run and can take abilities from any of the game's professions, a sharp break from the fixed builds Guild Wars is known for. Rewards collected along the way carry over to later dungeon runs, and some permanent rewards can be used outside Xotecha. Runs can be played with friends or with computer-controlled henchmen.
The DLC also brings a new story set deep in the Mists, along with new allies and enemies including Ancient Golems, Nightmares and the Cult of Odran. ArenaNet said an "unexpected adversary" is returning from the shadows, but did not say who.
Pre-purchase bonus and what we don't know yet
Those who pre-purchase receive the Vestments of the Order costume, tied to a group of explorers called the Order of the Moonless Night. The store page says the costume will be sold separately soon after launch.
ArenaNet did not list a price in its announcement post, and it has not said whether more content of this kind is planned for the original game or which platforms beyond its store will carry the DLC.
