Our second major update for Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ is coming on March 11, and we’ll be sharing many details about what to expect soon. Today, we’d like to spend some time recapping the known lore surrounding the nefarious and mysterious mursaat. Brushing up on these stories will help set the stage for our upcoming release—but with that in mind, there are some story and lore spoilers in this blog, so proceed with caution!

Ancient Rivalries

The mursaat are a species of powerful spellcasters with a long and shadowed history in Tyria. These tall humanoids possess elongated bodies, preferring to float ominously rather than walk. Alongside the dwarves, jotun, Forgotten, and Seers, the mursaat are known as an elder race of Tyria— the beings who preceded and survived the rise of the Elder Dragons before the events of the original Guild Wars®. In those ancient times, the mursaat and Forgotten allied to subdue Zhaitan, but their efforts failed, and the mursaat resented the other elder races for pulling their support away before the fight had even begun.

Sometime after the Elder Dragons returned to their slumber, the mursaat and the Seers waged war for thousands of years until the Seers were all but extinct. During that war, the mursaat began using a terrible weapon called spectral agony, which killed its victims while causing them indescribable amounts of pain.

Rise of the White Mantle

After learning to hide from those without the gift of true sight, the mursaat began manipulating Tyrian events in secret. Lazarus the Dire was a powerful mursaat who was instrumental in helping his people influence members of the other sentient races of Tyria. The mursaat were particularly interested in keeping the Flameseeker Prophecies—which foretold their own eradication by the titans—from becoming reality.

Lazarus chose the human Saul D’Alessio to form the White Mantle in an effort to rule Kryta as puppets of the mursaat. The mursaat helped the Krytans battle against the charr when they were outnumbered and desperate. This assistance came with a price, however, and the mursaat killed any they deemed unworthy, leaving only the most stalwart zealots alive. Saul realized too late that these “gods” were not the salvation he prayed for, and he was taken away by his Unseen masters.

Even after Saul’s abduction, the mursaat used their White Mantle puppets to commit horrific sacrifices in an attempt to keep the Door of Komalie shut and prevent the titans from emerging. One site of these atrocities was Gavril, a human village in Janthir Syntri, the residents of which the White Mantle had subjugated. When the village was emptied, the mursaat turned on their White Mantle sycophants.

Ultimately, the mursaat failed: the Door of Komalie was opened, the titans emerged, and the mursaat fell.

Mastering Mursaat Shadowcraft

The mursaat practiced a kind of magic called shadowcraft, which allowed them to travel through a shadowed pocket of existence within Tyria. Using mursaat mirrors, they were able to travel long distances in a short amount of time by passing through that shadowed realm.

A new Mastery line in the next major release will allow the wayfinder to tap into this same magic after learning more about the mursaat and exploring the outer ruins of one of their great cities.

Exploring the Mistburned Barrens

During the events of Guild Wars 2®: Secrets of the Obscure™, we learned that the mursaat do not originate from Tyria at all, but in fact came from Nayos, the Realm of Dreams. We also discovered that the mursaat weren’t entirely extinct, as we were introduced to Mabon, a senior member of the Wizard’s Court and our only known mursaat ally.

In the next major release for Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, the wayfinder will explore the ruined outskirts of Bava Nisos, an ancient mursaat city built on the battleground where the mursaat-Seer wars finally ended with the Seers defeated. With their enemies gone and the human gods withdrawn from the world, the mursaat thrived in Bava Nisos until the Door of Komalie opened. Shortly after that, the titans attacked and destroyed the city. Mabon, as one of the last remaining mursaat, had cast a ward over the ruins to preserve its memory, but that ward fell after his death. The city’s secrets are now unearthed for all to see.

There’s much to be learned about the mursaat from the newly accessible remnants of Bava Nisos. Studying their last home may provide deeper insight into who they were as a people. Make sure to check back next week for more information about our next major update. We’re excited for everyone to dive into this new area steeped in history and learn more about the mursaat!