Have you discovered the new hidden mount in Guild Wars 2 yet? Here is everything you need to know, including how to get yours.
When the new Guild Wars 2 expansion, Path of Fire, was launched, one of the new exciting features was the mounts. Despite being standard to most MMOs, mounts have never been available in Tyria before. But, typical of ArenaNet, the developers put their own unique twist on them.
At launch, ArenaNet revealed four mounts in the game. Each has their own special abilities and are needed to travel to certain areas and complete certain puzzles in the new Crystal Desert map. For example, the Raptor can leap large distances, to help players jump across a canyon, while the Skimmer hovers above the ground and will allow players to cross large expanses of quicksand or sulfur.
However, a secret, brand new mount has now been discovered – the Griffon.
This new mount can only be unlocked after completing the Path of Fire storyline. Its special movement is flight, and the mechanics are very similar to the gliders. While it can flap its wings to regain some altitude lost when gliding, the griffon cannot gain altitude on its own.
How to get your special mount
After completing the Path of Fire storyline, players will start to discover strange items around the map such as a Strange Pellet of Bones and Fur, Strange Droppings and a Strange Feather. These direct them to visit Beastmaster Ghazal in the Garden of Seborhin, in the northern Domain of Vabbi.
To get there, players must go through a large jumping puzzle using each of the other four mounts to get through to the Griffon Sanctuary. Players are then given the Open Skies collection, which they have to complete to unlock the mount.
There are ten items in total that must be obtained in each of the five new maps (or 50 items in total). In this huge treasure hunt, players must collect runestones from special events, find and collect griffon eggs scattered around the map, and buy items from Heart Merchants. Only once they have all 50 items can they obtain their Griffon from the Griffon Sanctuary.
Roy Cronacher, one of the designers of the mount, explained to MMORPG: “We were looking for a compelling reward as something to work towards after players had beaten the story of Path of Fire. Around that time, we were iterating on the griffon mount and it was such a big hit internally that we figured it would be a perfect fit for this cool surprise and a different enough mount to feel like a good reward for that extra effort. The puzzle aspect was also an opportunity for individual fans and the community as a whole to explore the world around them and piece clues together.”
While it’s a lot of hard work to unlock it, this brand new mount certainly looks worth the effort! Watch the video below to find out about the other four mounts and their special abilities.
Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire is now live! The standard package is available from £25.99 from the ArenaNet website. The Deluxe version available from £47.99 and includes additional character slots, as well as the Spearmarshal’s Garb outfit and a Lily of the Elon permanent pass, giving access to an exclusive vendor area in the Crystal Desert.
