In a post on the Guild Wars 2 website, ArenaNet broke down what players can expect from the new relic system coming with the next expansion, Secrets of the Obscure.
The Guild Wars 2 team explains why it felt that the current rune system needed some refreshing, stating that the way they are implemented now leaves some interesting bonus effects "underutilized." This is due to players not using some rune sets due to the stats they offered, leaving their bonuses on the wayside. The new relic system aims to help alleviate some of that.
While rune sets will retain the attribute bonuses they currently do when Secrets of the Obscure launches next month, the new relic system allows players to choose a "special combat effect" to compliment their play style.
"Separating the attribute choices from the bonus effects provides better flexibility and control in build customization, and we're excited to see the combinations that the community will come up with! This also allows us to design relics that focus on player interactivity rather than mostly passive bonuses, and this direction is more aligned with our goal for those special effects."
As such, Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure will launch with quite a few options for these relics, with forty core relics and twelve expansion relics to choose from. Characters level 60 or above will receive an in-game relic chest to get started, with relics able to be crafted and traded.
Legendary relics are also on the way, taking some of the functionality of legendary runes. However, legendary relics won't launch with the expansion, coming sometime in 2024.
"We believe the introduction of relics will allow for more meaningful choices when building your characters. To accomplish this, some of the functionality of legendary runes will move to the new relic slot. While legendary runes will no longer have six-tier bonus effects, they will retain their attribute-swapping flexibility."
Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure is set to launch next month on August 22nd. Players can take part in the Festival of the Four Winds, which kicked off earlier this week.
