Any word on when LS5 comes out or what we can expect for new content?

[Ayakaru.6583]

Wasn't that late August?

Good chance it'll come back, though

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"zealex.9410" said:

> > @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > > @"zealex.9410" said:

> > > Im just saying, based on the last 2 season every episode that was outside the 3 month mark was given a "delay" notice by mikez.

> > Even by that standard, we remain closer to the 2 month mark than 3.

>

> Didnt you just say the average w8 time was around 100 days? How is that closer to the 2 month mark.

 

The OP asked about when LS5 would begin. It's been 66 days since LS4.6 launched, which is closer to two months than to three. Accordingly, there's no delay relative to the originally stated cadence, let alone the actual release timing.

 

[Zeefa.3915]

Festival of 4 winds should be around late July and early August, thats when we had it last year and it was said to become an annual event.

We also got the anniversary late August.

When LS5 will start is anyones guess... only safe thing to say is "when its ready". I'll place my expectations no earlier than September. I would not mind getting pleasantly surprised earlier though.

[Danikat.8537]

I agree with everyone else. Festival of the Four Winds is supposed to be an annual event now, so it should come around the same time every year. So I'm expecting an announcement next Tuesday or maybe the week after and the festival starting early August at the latest.

 

Season 5 is harder to predict but I'll be surprised if we don't have something by the end of September at the latest. I don't know if they'll be sticking to the episodic format (we do know there won't be a new map with every release), maybe it will be more frequent smaller updates like Season 1 or the Current Events, or a mix.

[Fenom.9457]

> @"Glider.5792" said:

> 27.8.2019 most likely (at least what im betting on). Soo in 6 weeks from this post. Thats just how i see timings add up.

> In less than 2 weeks (30.7.2019) we are most likely getting the Bazaar of the four winds.

> 3 weeks afterwards, the festival will end.

> 1 week after that, new LS will release. If there are delay or whatever else, add extra 2-4 weeks.

>

>

 

 

Right on the money. The only way it could be sooner is if it launches immediately as four winds ends, but most likely they’ll fill that gap with an event like the meta event rush

[Donari.5237]

There was a dev post saying we would hear about the Four Winds soon, so I'm with Glider on this one.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> I agree with everyone else. Festival of the Four Winds is supposed to be an annual event now, so it should come around the same time every year. So I'm expecting an announcement next Tuesday or maybe the week after and the festival starting early August at the latest.

>

> Season 5 is harder to predict but I'll be surprised if we don't have something by the end of September at the latest. I don't know if they'll be sticking to the episodic format (we do know there won't be a new map with every release), maybe it will be more frequent smaller updates like Season 1 or the Current Events, or a mix.

 

We actually don't know if there will be a new map with each release or not. What was said is that they are considering it.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

Posting my usual response to these threads and people who say certain things that are wrong.

 

Content gets released during festivals so one coming doesn't mean there will be a delay for LW releases.

 

They usually announce the next major season of content (expansion or LW) immediately after the final chapter release. This is just odd they didn't do that this time.

 

The lack of info for what is to come is concerning, especially since now they have all of Anet staff focusing on GW2. Its understandable to assume that they should be kicking out serious content even harder now.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Eloc Freidon.5692" said:

> Content gets released during festivals so one coming doesn't mean there will be a delay for LW releases.

Content has sometimes been released during festivals, sometimes they've postponed one or the other. There's not any sort of pattern to it.

 

> They usually announce the next major season of content (expansion or LW) immediately after the final chapter release. This is just odd they didn't do that this time.

There just aren't that many examples to go by. I think this is another non-pattern.

* LS1→LS2: LS1 didn't have a formal end, because it was retroactively called Season 1. The Battle for LA ends with a cinematic showing Scarlet's final act. The episode launched in March 2014. The video for LS2.1 was published in [June 2014](

).

* LS2→HoT: LS2 launched with the new story journal, officially distinguishing the seasons. LS2.8 launched on 13 January 2015, and ends with a cinematic "easter egg" urging people to watch on Jan 24 for "what happens next." The HoT announcement was made then.

* HoT→LS3: HoT launched in October 2015, without a clear indication of what/when was next. LS3 didn't begin until July 2016, some time after the major "fix to HoT" patch.

* LS3→PoF: LS3's end in July 25 was followed [a week later](https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-guild-wars-2-path-of-fire/) by the PoF announcement.

* PoF→LS4: by this time, we knew there'd be a season 4 and it was assumed to start shortly after PoF, which it did.

* LS4→LS5: where we are.

 

So of five major transitions prior, only two could be said to clearly indicate the next major season of content. Two could be described as having no indicator. And one is ... well, up to the reader to interpret. Consequently, I don't think it means much one way or the other than LS4 didn't end with any foreshadows.

 

>

> The lack of info for what is to come is concerning, especially since now they have all of Anet staff focusing on GW2.

The amount of staff time dedicated to GW2 hasn't changed. All the information we have available suggests that NCSOFT cut the budget for just the non-GW2 projects. So while the studio is 100% focused on GW2 today (as far as we've been told), there aren't more people than before.

 

> Its understandable to assume that they should be kicking out serious content even harder now.

Based on staff time alone, no, that's not a safe assumption.

All we know for certain is that management would have seriously reevaluated priorities and decided what's urgent, what's important, and what's both. They might have ended up with the same list as before. Or they might have changed all their ideas.

 

Either way, it will be months, if not over a year before we might notice, because it takes that long to marshal all the resources required. New stories, new translations, new features... they all need lead time to do well.

 

****

tl;dr I don't think it's safe to draw any conclusions other than LS5 is next, that ANet is keen to make it a great experience, and that it's what happens _after_ that will tell us more about how the layoffs really affected plans.

 

[Pifil.5193]

We know they cut some (perhaps all) non GW2 projects and let a lot of people go, including people who were working on GW2, but we do not know that they've cut all non GW2 projects and are 100% focused on GW2 now.

 

Some people assume they all are but they've not said that.

 

Personally, I think they need to get on track soon, LS4 had a significant drop in the frequency of updates over LS3 which produced a release every 73 days compared to LS4's 110 days with similar drops in the frequency of fractal and raid releases. From May 14 to the end of September is too far IMO and filler recycled content like festivals or these already stale bonus events aren't enough.

 

They don't have a particularly good track record though so we'll have to wait and see what they can do.

[Danikat.8537]

At least 1 Anet staff member - Jennifer Scheurle - has said on Twitter she doesn't work on GW2.

 

This was a few months ago, she said something about listening to sad music to get in the mood for writing sad storylines and when people (me) got worried about what it might mean for our favourite characters she said it's nothing to do with GW2.

 

Of course she hasn't said what she is working on, and hasn't given any meaningful hints. It involves discussion sessions about how to establish trust between players and developers, and running down the corridor acting out mechanics but could be pretty much anything.

 

But that means they have at least one other project on the go, so we know not everyone is working on GW2. But I don't think there's any way to know exactly what the split is - we didn't know for sure they were working on other things before the layoffs happened.

[Ayakaru.6583]

> @"NYG.2568" said:

> "When it's Ready"......Anet!

 

"With what it contains"

- anet

[Astralporing.1957]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> There just aren't that many examples to go by. I think this is another non-pattern.

> * LS1→LS2: LS1 didn't have a formal end, because it was retroactively called Season 1. The Battle for LA ends with a cinematic showing Scarlet's final act. The episode launched in March 2014. The video for LS2.1 was published in [June 2014](

).

Scarlet final act, and _Mordremoth's awakening_. Notice how that leads not only to LS2, but also directly to HoT

> * LS2→HoT: LS2 launched with the new story journal, officially distinguishing the seasons. LS2.8 launched on 13 January 2015, and ends with a cinematic "easter egg" urging people to watch on Jan 24 for "what happens next." The HoT announcement was made then.

Yes, another cinematics at the end of the story arc, this one very clearly pointing to the direction next story arc will take us.

> * HoT→LS3: HoT launched in October 2015, without a clear indication of what/when was next. LS3 didn't begin until July 2016, some time after the major "fix to HoT" patch.

It had a movie at the end showing Glint's egg's awakening, and Mordy's power dispersing through leylines. Although i agree this might not have been a _clear_ indication of the direction of the future story, it still had shown one of its major points in a way that was easily noticeable.

> * LS3→PoF: LS3's end in July 25 was followed [a week later](https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-guild-wars-2-path-of-fire/) by the PoF announcement.

There was also a "vision" in the last story chapter showing us what comes next.

> * PoF→LS4: by this time, we knew there'd be a season 4 and it was assumed to start shortly after PoF, which it did.

It also had that "Kralky comes" cinematics at the end of the PoF story.

> * LS4→LS5: where we are.

Where there is an ending cinematics, but if it contains _any_ suggestions about what comes next, they are extremely cryptic, and well hidden, because nothing really seems to stand out as such.

>

> So of five major transitions prior, only two could be said to clearly indicate the next major season of content. Two could be described as having no indicator. And one is ... well, up to the reader to interpret. Consequently, I don't think it means much one way or the other than LS4 didn't end with any foreshadows.

I'd say that 4 have clear indications, while one (HoT->LS3)is less clear, but still exists. The only case of no indication whatsoever was Core->LS1.

 

>

> >

> > The lack of info for what is to come is concerning, especially since now they have all of Anet staff focusing on GW2.

> The amount of staff time dedicated to GW2 hasn't changed. All the information we have available suggests that NCSOFT cut the budget for just the non-GW2 projects.

There are some substantiated worries that at least some of the people working on those projects were first pulled off the GW2 expac team.

 

> So while the studio is 100% focused on GW2 today (as far as we've been told), there aren't more people than before.

Definitely. There may be even less, actually, than it was at some points in the past.

 

> tl;dr I don't think it's safe to draw any conclusions other than LS5 is next, that ANet is keen to make it a great experience, and that it's what happens _after_ that will tell us more about how the layoffs really affected plans.

Agreed. WIth the caveat that Anet being keen on making it a great experience doesn't mean they will work to make it a great experience. Some of the plans they mentioned in their so called "roadmap" post seem to sugegst to me they plan on cutting down the amount of content associated with LS seasons, not increase it.

 

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

I'm just saying with what info has been presented with us and has happened in the past with releases without making assumptions based on nothing. Saying that their staff is focusing on GW2 represents the opposite of there might being less people working on it.