New Heart of Maguuma region
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.
We're reimagining progression with our new Mastery system. Explore new training opportunities for your character beyond level 80 and master
abilities like hang gliding in the jungle, tearing the bark off of heavily armored Mordrem, or building new collections that earn precursors to a
legendary weapon.
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.
Example: Rangers can specialize as Druids.
New Weapons shown: Engineer Hammer, Mesmer Shield, Necromancer Greatsword
New Weapons shown: Engineer Hammer, Mesmer Shield, Necromancer Greatsword
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.
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.
New "Stronghold" PVP 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!
New WvW 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!
Heart of Thorns FAQ: (Official FAQ here)
- No release date announced at this time, but it will be playable at PAX East (March 6-8th).
- No price announced at this time, but it will be available digitally and at retail.
- Requires the base game to play.
- There will be an early-access Beta, but details are not available at this time.
- No new gear tier or level cap increase.
Blog Posts:
Journey into the Heart of Maguuma (Outposts & Adventures)
Reimagining Progression: The Mastery System
Revenant: The Master of the Mists
Meet the Wyvern in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Articles:
IGN: How Guild Wars 2’s Mastery System Could Change MMOs Forever
Polygon: Introducing Guild Wars 2's new profession: The Revenant
Videos:
PAX South announcement of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns – Expansion Announcement Trailer
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns - First Look at the Wilds of Maguuma Jungle
Screenshots:
(Seriously, the following contains spoilers for the last two years of story right up to two weeks ago, read at your own peril!)
Guild Wars 2's storyline involves the imminent reawakening of several ancient Elder Dragons, enormous creatures that devour magic and the various
races that use them. During the events of the Personal Story that shipped with the game at launch, players joined with a band of heroes known as Destiny's
Edge to face and eventually defeat the Elder Undead Dragon, Zhaitan.
Beginning in January of 2013, ArenaNet began the ambitious "Living World" in which new episodes of story-driven content were added to the game every
month (starting in May 2013, these episodes began release every two weeks).
The first Season of the Living World dealt primarily with a deranged Sylvari named Scarlet Briar who united various enemy factions into an army and used
their various magic and technology to further her own goals. Her main objective was to seek out and disrupt Ley Lines, streams of magical energy that flow
within the planet, directing the energy towards the slumbering Elder Dragons in an effort to awaken them early. When she discovered one of the main Ley
Lines passed beneath the city of Lion's Arch (the main hub city of the game), her army invaded and subsequently destroyed the city while Scarlet's massive
drilling platform dug into the earth beneath the city's inner harbor.
The season ended with the player killing Scarlet, but not before she was able to disrupt the Ley Line and redirect its energy deep into the western frontier
where Mordremoth, the Elder Jungle Dragon, stirred for the first time in over 10,000 years.
Season 2 began with an attack on the Zephyrites, a nomadic culture devoted to the teachings of Glint, a minor dragon who's Flameseeker Prophecies
defined much of the original Guild Wars Prophecies campaign. Their floating sanctuary crashed into the arid Maguuma Wastes, where players immediately
discovered both the origins of Scarlet's Madness and that the Zephyrites had inherited more than just Glint's wisdom. An unhatched dragon egg with the
potential to change the fight against the elder dragons was discovered in their care, though it was stolen by Caithe (one of the members of Destiny's Edge)
shortly thereafter. By tracking Caithe through the wilderness and experiencing visions of her past, players discovered that the Sylvari, one of the playable races,
are actually minions of Mordremoth who have retained their free will only by a twist of fate.
As the remaining members of Destiny's Edge lead a massive airship attack into the heart of the jungle, their Sylvari allies fall under control of the dragon and
betray them as the fleet is completely destroyed, the fate of several key characters unknown. This is where Heart of Thorns is expected to pick up...
During this special weekend only you can pick up a copy of Guild Wars 2 for 75% off. That's $9.99 US, a ridiculously low price to pay for a game of this magnitude.
The sale applies only to the Digital Heroic Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition purchased through buy.guildwars2.com from 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time on January 24, 2015,
through
Time Remaining for sale:
"I only see the Heroic Edition, where's the regular game?"
The Heroic Edition replaced the basic version of the game about a year after launch.
"Should I buy the Digital Deluxe edition?"
Probably not. Most of the items it grants are either short term boosts or cosmetic items and the special Elite skill is slightly below average in terms of usefulness.
If you decide you want those items later, you can always buy the Digital Deluxe upgrade in game.
If you want to spend extra money, you are better off buying gems (the in-game cash shop currency) for things like extra bank space, armor skins or convenience items.
"How much does it cost to play?"
Guild Wars 2 has no subscription fees; once you purchase the game you're free to spend as much or as little money as you'd like. Cash shop items are convenience or
cosmetic only, and in-game gold can be converted into the cash shop currency ("gems") so you're never forced to pay real money for any cash shop items you want to buy.
"Any advice for new players?"
Advice for new players here!
"Are there Oceanic Servers?"
There are not. However, several members of the guild from Australia and Southeast Asia report minimal latency issues when connecting to the North American Server.
"I bought the game and haven't played since _______, what's changed?"
A lot. Like a huge amount has happened in just the last few months. For a list of all the releases and a quick list of new features, see the wiki's Releases page.
Alternatively, you can scroll down to the second section of this post for just the major bullet points.
Is there a GAF Guild?
Yes, the GAF-based guild "Gaming Age Force [GAF] is quite active and has room for new and returning players. Simply post your account name (name.####) in the
community OT and one of our officers will invite you ASAP. Anyone is free to join, including friends and family, though we ask that potential members follow the guild's
policies (which are basically just NeoGAF's rules on hate speech and trolling).
We're a fairly laid back group that doesn't focus on any particular part of the game; you're just as likely to see GAFers in World vs. World as you are doing dungeons or
world events. There is no pressure to attend any guild events and we have no rules on representation (you can belong to 5 guilds at once, but only "Represent" one at
a time; some guilds have mandatory representation for.... whatever reason.)
GAFGuild plays predominantly on the Stormbluff Isle server, but due to the game's network structure players from any North American server can jump between servers
without paying to transfer. EU players who are interested in playing with GAFGuild should know that we have several European players who report minimal latency when
playing on North American servers.
Does Evilore Play Guild Wars 2 yet?
No, Evilore still does not play Guild Wars 2.
Is the sale only available in the US? I'm in Europe.
