The Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons Jade Sea meta is one of the most challenging metas players have experienced since the beginning of the game. Many players who have completed the expansion are having trouble defeating it, even with the most well-prepared groups. But a new set of changes have been patched into the game that will alter some of the mechanics to make it easier to defeat.
For those who haven’t finished the game yet, there are spoilers below regarding the mechanics for the last fight in Dragon’s End.
Although ArenaNet says that the Jade Sea meta is designed to be “the ultimate open world finale” and that it’s supposed to be difficult in the beginning when people are learning the mechanics, there are many players who are frustrated with it.
Before these changes are implemented, there are several issues players have been having when defeating the final boss. One of those issues is a mechanic where players are asked to stand inside green circles, which sends them to the bottom of the tower, turns them into wisps, and requires all of them to return to the top of the tower before the boss will become targetable again.
This is where the first change comes in. Players were incorrectly completing this by coordinating for only one person to enter a green circle so that the time to attack is not eaten up completely by multiple people jumping their wisps back to the top. The implemented change will require that each green circle is taken and each player must make it back to the top. Once they do that, the boss will phase.
In addition to requiring players to do the mechanic correctly, the devs are also reducing the time to complete it by 45 seconds, which means that if all players don’t make it back to the top, the boss will still phase earlier, giving players an extra 45 seconds of damage. There will also be an increased timer on the buff given to players who do the mechanic.
The second big change is that players will now have more time to break the bar. The “Exposed” debuff will get a 20-second increase, giving players ample time to break the bar, ensuring that the boss will stay in place. This gives players more opportunity to keep the boss still and damage it before it moves.
The final boss should also respond better to transition times, allowing for less wait time while the boss transitions from phase to phase when it’s pushed to certain health thresholds.
These changes should help players complete the meta, which is required to unlock the new Siege Turtle mount that was introduced with the expansion.
Because the meta is on a two-hour rotation between when preparation for it starts and when the meta ends, players have been increasingly frustrated that each two-hour cycle has ended with very little reward for the effort. These changes should ensure that the challenge is kept, but the probability of finishing the meta that was properly prepared for and coordinated improves.
The patch containing these changes is now live. ArenaNet will be monitoring the Dragon’s End meta event to further tune the fight if needed.
