A New Mount Is Gliding Into Guild Wars 2

Fantasy gamers love few things more than dragons, a truth Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has a keen awareness of. In an exclusive reveal for Eurogamer, the company introduced the Skyscale, the game's second flying mount. Mounts first came to the popular MMO as part of the Path of Fire expansion, though most were standard fare. Even the griffon, previously the lone flying mount, does little more than provide a movement boost. Based on a Eurogamer interview with lead designer Linsey Murdock, the Skyscale comes with more impressive features. 

"We talked about the griffon [the game's existing flying mount] being a jet engine. It goes very fast in a straight line. But the dragon is more like a helicopter so it can take off from the ground and go up. It can gain altitude; the griffon can't." Beyond its flying abilities, the dragon can scale walls, recharging its endurance before leaping to greater heights. "It can climb a cliff," said Murdock. A handy trick indeed.

No self-respecting dragon would dare show its face without the ability to breathe fire, and the Skyscale is no exception. When the player dismounts, the dragon spits out a ring of flame, crisping enemies and granting its rider an edge in combat.

The Skyscale mount will arrive with the next Living World episode, "War Eternal." Capping off the current Guild Wars 2 lineup, "War Eternal" will be the sixth and final installment of Season 4. Though ArenaNet has yet to provide a release date for Episode 6, players should prepare themselves for a good fight. As Episode 5 ended with the escape of the wounded Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik, the final episode may see players take to the sky for some dragon-on-dragon action. Either way, ArenaNet has set the stage for the Skyscale to make a glorious debut.