Tyria Then And Now: Shiverpeak Mountains .

Tyria has been through a great deal over the last 250 years since the days of the first Guild Wars game. The landscape has greatly changed, and that isn´t just because of the massive jump in graphics technology. Since the days of Guild Wars Charr have reclaimed Ascalon as their own, Kralkatorrik has created the Brand, and most recently Scarlet Briar has devastated Lion´s Arch and many more locations around Tyria after Mordremoth woke.

While waiting for Heart of Thorns to drop I decided to take a short tour of Tyria to document the changes that have happened between the games. ArenaNet has done a fantastic job of showing of old ruins and statues that once stood tall. Iconic places from Guild Wars are now nothing but a pile of ruins in Guild Wars 2. The time has now come to visit the northern and southern parts of the Shiverpeaks, where the once snow filled lands are now completely turned to green grass.

 

Yak’s Bend

What was once a small village in the slopes of the Northern Shiverpekas, and the last refuge for travellers going through the rough mountains. It is now but a small camp for the Norn in a landscape where snow is starting to fade away.

Borlis Pass

This was once the closest and least dangerous way to travel from Ascalon over to the city of Rin, even if danger lurked at every corner. Now the dragon crystal has made it an even more dangerous path to travel.

The Frost Gate

While the gate itself is long gone with the cold weather, the outpost not long from there that once reach for the sky has now also been forgotten in time. Instead we find a small Norn settlement filled with Norn not knowing the path that used to lie before them.

Graggult’s Keep

It was once a huge fortress held by the centaurs after the dwarfs left it. It is now a smaller stone castle that has been retaken by the centaurs.

Beacons Perch

High up in the mountains we could find the outpost of Becon´s Perch, where one of the big fires warning for enemies could be lit. While we can still see parts of the path leading there today, nothing else remains.

Temple of Grenth

One of the biggest temples in Tyria has now after 250 years fallen, but the statue of Grenth that lies deep within the temple can still be found.

Statue of Dwayna

There are countless of statues of this great God shattered all over Tyria, and on the Shiverpeaks we could 250 years ago find the place where a large statue once stood tall. While the statue itself was destroyed more than 250 years ago, we can still today find pieces of it lying around.

Sorrows Furnance

The largest mine of the Stone Summit Dwarfs filled with dangerous at every turn, it is one of the few places which has managed to stand mostly intact over the years. The mine is still active today and still as dangerous as always.

Deldrimor War Camp

This outpost for war, was once instrumental for the humans survive and there battle against their enemies. Now the wooden structures and ballista’s are all gone, but small mementos can still be found if you search closely.

The Granite Citadel

A once huge fortress and safe haven held by the Deldrimor dwarves, a place where adventurers took camp too both catch a breath and craft some of the finest armour in Tyria. The wooden structure still stand tall in the snow as we speak.

Port Sledge

The old icy port which harboured many ships doing trade with the dwarves, is now a green place filled with lush Sylvari structures. It’s completely unimaginable that 250 years ago it was covered in snow.

Droknar´s Forge

The once big city in the Shiverpeak Mountains is but a memory with some remaining ruins. But mostly it has turned to a ship graveyard, reminding everyone that this was once one of the great cities in Tyria.

 

It was quite an adventure seeing how much has changed in the Shiverpeaks since the old days of Guild Wars. Global warming has clearly made an impact on Tyria, is it perhaps the work of the elder dragons? Next week Heart of Thorns launches and I’ll be rushing in to see all the fantastic ruins they have to offer.