Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Expansion Announced

While at PAX South, ArenaNet announced the first expansion pack for Guild Wars 2, titled Heart of Thorns. According to the developers, the expansion is founded on the idea that the journey is the goal in and of itself, and with it they aim to rethink how progression is handled in MMOs and move the whole genre forward. It’s an exceeding bold goal, and I have to admit I’m not entirely convinced the developers will be able to reach it based on the content they have announced so far, but that’s not to say the content additions and systemic changes don’t sound interesting.

The Mastery system, for example, will offer a bundle of new progression options to max-level characters. A new profession, the Revenant, will combine otherwordly powers with the defense provided by heavy armor. Specializations will give the chance to every profession to unlock a previous unavailable weapon and new skills, traits and mechanics. A new World vs World map and a “Stronghold” PvP game mode are also planned, as is the ability for Guilds to claim a Hall. And, while I’ve neglected to mention it so far, a new chunk of content will also be added to the game: a new adventure in the Maguuma jungle.

Here’s the official trailer:

And the full press release:

ArenaNet Unveils Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thornsâ„¢ as the First Expansion to Guild Wars® 2

Livestreaming from PAX South, ArenaNet’s Mike O’Brien and Colin Johanson surprise fans around the world with Guild Wars 2 expansion details and debut trailer

BRIGHTON, UK January 24th, 2015: NCSOFT® and ArenaNetâ„¢, publisher and developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars franchise, today announced Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thornsâ„¢ as the first expansion to Guild Wars® 2. ArenaNet president and co-founder Mike O’Brien and game director Colin Johanson surprised thousands of fans packed into the PAX South Main Theater and many more tuning into the Twitch livestream from around the world with the announcement, unveiling a debut trailer and giving a presentation covering each of the core features the expansion would bring to Guild Wars 2.

ArenaNet laid bare the vision and philosophy behind Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. Many of the new features the expansion brings to Guild Wars 2 represent a re-envisioning of progression in an MMO. That includes the introduction of a new Mastery system that lets players unlock and explore new abilities for max level characters, and a brand new Specializations system that gives them access to traits, skills and unique mechanics that transform their profession into something entirely new.

(We’re thrilled to bring Guild Wars 2 fans their first expansion with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns), said Mike O’Brien, ArenaNet president and co-founder. (The features we’ll be introducing with this expansion have the potential to once again move the MMO genre forward. Guild Wars 2 defied MMO conventions in the way people play together and experience an ever-growing online world. In the same vein, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns will challenge the way that expansions traditionally treat endgame progression, and it’ll introduce new feature sets and content that reinforce our mantra that the journey itself is the goal in the way players experience and immerse themselves in an MMO.)

In making the surprise announcement at PAX South, ArenaNet also confirmed that the mysterious cinematic players had discovered in Guild Wars 2 last week was in fact their first glimpse of an expansion, and that Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns would continue the storyline that unfolded through the game’s Living World updates. The storyline has players and the game world of Tyria facing off in a war against the Elder Dragon Mordremoth and his growing hordes. As the story progressed, players had speculated about one possible casualty in the war after Tyria’s iconic hero Rytlock disappeared into a void as he chased a powerful ancient weapon.

In Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, Rytlock not only makes a triumphant return from the mysterious Mists, he comes back with an all-new set of abilities. His return sets the stage for one of the expansion’s most exciting additions, the introduction of a new profession called the revenant that channels powers from some of the Guild Wars universe’s most legendary heroes.

In addition to these features, ArenaNet showcased every key new feature set the expansion brings to the core game, covering additions to both PvE and competitive PvP and World vs. World modes. The studio premiered the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns announcement trailer as a first glimpse at these features, then set the stage for an ongoing series of updates now through launch that would delve much deeper into each.

(We know many fans have been waiting for this moment, for us to say this one single phrase an expansion is coming for Guild Wars 2), said Colin Johanson, game director on Guild Wars 2 at ArenaNet. (We wanted to go well beyond just announcing that an expansion is coming and then let our fans guess as to what it would bring, and so we waited until we could tell them every single feature that we think sets it apart. We only wanted to reveal Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns once we felt we could highlight everything that makes it an expansion worthy of Guild Wars 2, and that’s what we did today.)

What follows are the key features for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns that ArenaNet unveiled at PAX South. To check out videos, learn more about the game and sign up for the latest updates, please visit heartofthorns.guildwars2.com.

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns features
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is the first expansion for Guild Wars 2. Founded on the idea that the journey is the goal, the Heart of Thorns expansion continues the Guild Wars 2 tradition of challenging the conventions of MMOs to fulfill the promise of what online worlds should be.

• The Heart of Maguuma
  New adventures await you in the heart of the Maguuma Jungle. Confront the growing hordes of Mordremoth’s minions, discover allies from ancient civilizations, and battle new enemies.
  • Tackle challenging group content.
  • Explore new open world jungle maps.
  • Experience new events and storylines.
  • Test your mettle in new boss battles.

• The Mastery System
  We’re reimagining progression with our new Mastery system. Explore new training opportunities for your max level character with a system focused on evolving the core philosophy that the journey should be the goal in the game. The Mastery system adds meaningful progression without invalidating your hard-earned levels and gear.

• New Profession: Revenant
  Channel legendary powers to slaughter foes and unleash chaos on the battlefield with our brand new profession: the revenant. Enter the field of battle heavily armored and equipped with the otherworldly powers of the Mists.

• Specializations
  Evolve your gameplay. With profession specializations, you’ll unlock access to a weapon previously unavailable to your profession as well as new traits, skills, and unique mechanics all of which will transform your profession into something new.

• PvP: New Stronghold Game Mode
  Gather supply to hire soldiers. Battle for control of heroes. Man the trebuchet to defend your stronghold, and storm the enemy gates to defeat the guild lord! Use our new guild team feature to team up and battle to the top of the leaderboards. Stronghold offers an entirely new way to play competitive PvP in Guild Wars 2!

• WvW: New Borderland
  Experience epic battlefield combat like never before in World vs. World’s latest core addition, the new Borderlands map. Navigate treacherous heights with traps that blow your foes to the depths below and ferocious defenders to help keep the enemy at bay. Map objectives will be more important than ever before, as they’ll unlock new strategies, tactics, and play mechanics that you’ll want to use to your world’s advantage!

• Guild Halls
  Your guild has roamed the world together. Now, it’s time to claim a piece of it. Work with fellow guild members to claim and grow your own guild hall in the heart of Maguuma.

More information is available thanks to the FAQ on the official website, which clarifies that the expansion will be sold at retail and digitally, under the same buy-to-play model as the main game:

Q: Is the expansion (buy to play)?
A: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is a paid expansion to Guild Wars 2, but once you buy it, there are no subscription fees. This means that you can continue playing and access future updates for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns with no subscription fee.

…

Q: Will this expansion only be available digitally, or will there be a boxed edition as well?

A: Both. Once Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is available, you’ll be able to buy it digitally or get boxed editions at retail stores.

If you’re particularly interested in the title, you might also want to check this recording of the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns panel at PAX South though I have to warn you that the video feed is not available.