Weekly Recap #486 March 4th – GW2 End of Dragons, SOLO Goes F2P, & More!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of March 4, 2022! Transcript follows.

Guild Wars 2 kicks off its third expansion, End of Dragons, Swords of Legends Online has embraced “Free to Play” with its 2.0 update, Dauntless has a brand new Behemoth variant to take down, and Valorant’s latest patch is all about the improvements.

What’s good everyone, JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of March 4th, 2022 and this week is a record breaking short week of news, and

Before we get into our regular gaming news, I wanted to share something else important. While the world has been watching the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, Jaime over at MMOHuts was able to interview the Ukrainian game developer Weasel Token as they shelter in a hallway in Kiev. It’s good to think about and remember the people being affected by this and there are some really great resources linked in the article if you want to help out.

Next up in the news Guild Wars 2 has released its newest expansion, End of Dragons, this past week! The game’s third expansion, End of Dragons lets players experience Tyria as the age of dragons is coming to an end. You’ll be able to explore the continent of Cantha, learn new elite specializations for your profession, and learn the science of dragon magic. You’ll also be able to go sailing on your own personal skiff, which can take an entire party aboard, go fishing for over 200 species, and raise your own siege turtle mount. Pretty cool stuff, so make sure to check it out.

Speaking of expansions, Swords of Legends Online has just launched its 2.0 expansion, The Firestone Legacy. This is a big one, introducing two new classes – Fox Mage and Warrior – raising the level cap, expanding the story, adding five new zones, and much more! This expansion also officially shifts Swords of Legends Online to a free to play model, which means if you’ve been wanting to check the game out, this is probably the best time to download and give it a try.

RuneScape has launched its Abyssal Slayers Creatures update this past week, which introduces a members only Slayer dungeon with three new Abyssal Slayer Creatures that require slayer skill 95 and higher to defeat. Rewards for besting them include a power armor helmet, a new melee weapon, and armor spikes upgrade. RuneScape has also brought back the Yak Track until April 24th, letting you earn Elder Gods themed rewards and pets during the event.

Dauntless has also launched a new update this week. Version 1.9.3, nicknamed Reach of Radiance, introduces a new Behemoth variant – the Lightbound Koshai. This variant’s parts can be used to craft a new type of omnicell, the Artificer, which lets you specialize more as support with a useful drone that can cleanse and even revive a Slayer. Along with this is a new cave system in Conundrum Rocks, a new aerial glider race, and more.

Next up Valorant has kicked off its second act of Episode 4 this week, and this time they’re bringing a focus on improvement instead of a new agent or map. First on their list was a Yoru rework, which includes changing his Fakeout to a full decoy and a full overhaul of his ult, Dimensional Drift. Other Controller Agents are also getting a tune up, as is the Icebox map. Of course this also comes with the usual battle pass, should you want to get collecting

And yeah that’s about it for the regular news and a quick look at this week’s free games on the Epic Games Store. It’s a double-game week this time, featuring two arcade classics from Atari that have been remastered – or “recharged” if you will. First up is Black Widow, a twin stick shooter where you play a spider actively defending her web. The second is Centipede, which will also have you blasting bugs! Both games have a classic endless arcade mode plus a collection of challenges to try. Seems to be a neat little twist to some retro games, and they are currently free so there ya go.

But with that said, that’s about it for all the major news and announcements for this week. Be sure to stay safe, and keep your families healthy! Like always you can find more information on the news topics, linked in the description below, feel free to discuss the news or even more news in the comments below and don’t forget to like, subscribe, wash your hands a bunch, hit that little bell icon to get notifications and of course share this video! But until next time guys that’s going to be it for me… I’m JamesBl0nde… see ya out there gamers!