The long-awaited Homesteads are finally arriving in our upcoming expansion Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™, and PC Gamer has an exclusive first look at what players can expect!

Homesteads are a significant evolution of the home instances players are familiar with (although they aren’t replacing home instances—those will still be around!), offering an enhanced experience for personalizing and upgrading your in-game sanctuary. Items previously collected in home instances can be seamlessly integrated into the new homesteads, ensuring continuity and familiarity. Players can increase their comfort level through various activities such as harvesting nodes, watering flowers, fishing, swimming, chopping trees, watching cats do cat things, and much more, all within the confines of their homestead.

Customization is at the heart of the Homesteads feature, allowing players to tailor their space to their aesthetic preferences. New and existing decorations will be craftable through the new personal scribing crafting discipline. Additionally, players can stable their mounts at their homestead, giving them a much-needed rest after long journeys. Alt characters will also be making an appearance, adding another personal touch to each homestead.

For a more complete overview of Homesteads, head over to PC Gamer’s exclusive preview. Keep a lookout on the Guild Wars 2 channels for more details about how Homesteads work, plus everything else you need to get ready for when Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds launches on August 20!

Prepurchasing any edition of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds before the expansion launches will grant you the “Homesteader” title, the Whispering Serpents Pauldrons skin, and a box with your choice of one Serpent’s Wrath weapon skin.

Visit the official store page for full details on the items included in the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate editions.