Today, Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum posted on ArenaNet blog updates about the latest development changes, explaining improvements to the compass and meta-events, additions to the open-world content, hidden treasures and much more.

The Compass:
The compass now provides different zoom levels that let you get a better view of your surroundings. Just scroll the mouse wheel in and out to zoom. There’s also a nice little set of buttons to show you which zoom level you’re using. If you need a better look at the world just beyond the compass’s edge, you can also pan the map by right-clicking and dragging. The map will snap back to your character’s position once you start moving again.

Don’t forget: if you want to coordinate tactics with your party, you can use the left mouse button to draw lines and create circular pings they will see on their own compasses.

Meta-Events:
A meta-event might tell you the story of a norn area in danger of being corrupted by the Sons of Svanir, or maybe a human region constantly threatened by centaur armies. When the area is peaceful, you’ll know that the centaurs are being held in check, but when the invasion begins, you’ll see information pointing you where to go to help the people of the world stay safe from centaurs. Driving the centaurs back might require a herculean effort with groups of players destroying several catapults and killing centaur captains. A meta-event can cover a much larger region than a standard event might; you could as much as a quarter of the map thrown into turmoil by a meta-event!

Meta-events provide us yet another tool in our tool kit to create a world that reacts to player actions. Once you run across your first meta-event, we’re sure you’ll come back for more. And keep your eyes open in areas that seem relatively calm. The bandits might be just over the ridge, ready to put the torch to the village!

Hidden Treasures
Another recent development for Guild Wars 2 has been the implementation of hidden areas with interesting challenges. Our amazing environment artists have carved out a variety of caves, cliffs, and structures in the world. We’ve been stretching our imaginations to fill these spaces with content that should provide an exciting change of pace. Some areas will test your platforming abilities, requiring you to make a series of difficult jumps before you find your treasure at the end, while others contain dangerous foes that will stop at nothing to see you dead.

For more information visit ArenaNet blog.