Guild Wars 2's Homesteads: A New Player Housing System
Guild Wars 2’s next expansion, Janthir Wilds, is set to release on August 20, fulfilling one of the biggest requests from the community—a player housing system known as Homesteads. This new feature allows players to own a piece of the expansion’s new territory, decorate it, and customize it to their liking.
You’ll gain access to your Homestead during the expansion’s campaign, through interactions with the new faction of Lowland Kodans—a tribe of bear folk known for their cozy log cabins. Unlike traditional housing systems, Homesteads are instanced spaces, meaning there’s no competition for plots or upkeep costs. Once you own it, it’s yours to decorate as you please.
If you’ve ever tried decorating Guild Wars 2’s guild halls, you’ll appreciate the major overhaul that Homesteads brings to the system. The new toolset allows for more flexibility in placing, moving, rotating, and scaling decorations. You can even float items in the air or clip them through the ground, enabling intricate and creative designs.
ArenaNet plans to expand this toolset to guild halls as well, but the two systems will remain separate. Homestead decorations will be crafted through a new profession unlocked and upgraded through Janthir Wilds’ masteries, with lower resource costs compared to guild hall scribing.
Over 300 decorations are planned for the launch of Janthir Wilds, with more to come in future updates. Players can earn most recipes in-game, with a few exclusive to the Black Lion gem store. Additionally, Homesteads serve as a showcase for skins and cosmetics, providing bonuses for characters resting there and offering a stable for mounts.
New decorations also allow players to display achievements, such as character statues and earned weapons. Homesteads act as an extension of the game’s home instances, carrying over resource nodes for daily gathering. Future updates will introduce an auto-collect feature for resource nodes attached to the Homestead’s mine, logging camp, or farm.
Overall, Homesteads offer a personalized space for players to reflect on their in-game accomplishments and create unique environments to celebrate their journey in Guild Wars 2.
