Guild Wars 2

Looking at the forum rules, there wasn’t anything forbidding us from discussing things found in the .dat file. Since this kind of thing is often discussed in the Living World subforums…

The Guild Wars 2 .dat file often is updated with incoming changes and features far earlier than those changes are actually implemented in the game. This has led people with enough technical expertise to mine the .dat file, searching for information on future updates.

Now, not all information there is reliable. Often something is never implemented, or the description doesn’t really match what the feature really is, or the process of mining the file simply got bad information.

In other words, caveat lector.

The latest dat mining can be seen here. What stands out are the changes to the transmutation system, allowing players to do many different things with their items. My favourite is this one:

Customize your Stats!
Change the stats combination once on a particular piece of equipment. Item will become soulbound. Combination choices are limited by item type, level, and rarity.

Now, we don’t know what exactly that is. It may simply be the feature that will allow people to change the stats of Legendaries. Or, it may be a new consumable sold in the Gem Store allowing people to switch stats of their items around.

IMO, this is a great idea. Considering the focus on making items time consuming to acquire (see Ascended gear), having the flexibility of being able to change builds without having to waste the existing gear is great. Even if it’s something sold in the Gem Store, it would be better than having nothing like that at all.