So this is potentially a bit problematic. Once upon a time, ArenaNet prided itself on taking the “end” out of endgame in Guild Wars 2. And admittedly, it’s not like Tyria’s baddest beasties and best quests are suddenly making a beeline for the back of the bus. But ArenaNet is moving full-steam ahead with that oh-so-restrictive of popular MMO practices: gear checking. Put simply, if your stuff’s not up to snuff, the upcoming Fractals of the Mists dungeon will eventually chew you up and spit you out. The solution? A brand new “Ascended” gear tier that’ll allow for special upgrades that mitigate progress-slowing (and in tougher cases, halting) debuffs.

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