Guild Wars 2

I’ve been a supporter of Guild Wars 2 since 2012 and as such have been keeping up with developments in-world and purchased Heart of Thorns when it first came out. I have also recently purchased Path of Fire and well, spend a lot of my time helping new players ease into the world.

A lot of these players have entered the game on demo accounts and have all sorts of questions – with the most pleasing being that they intent to pay for the game and get the full version when they can, if not immediately. So I provide them with information as to which version of the game to purchase and the recent update has led to much confusion on their part, so it is my intention here to ask a couple of basic questions so I can relay that information to potential purchasers.

Now, the original Guild Wars 2 package obviously provides the purchaser with all of the maps with the exception (or inclusion) of those which include Draconis Mons, Ember Bay and the Bitterfrost Frontier although I believe that they have to be unlocked by gem purchase, right?

In order to unlock the maps for the Heart of Maguuma it is necessary (or is it?) to purchase the first expansion, Heart of Thorns and that expansion also provides the player with the Revenant and with the ability to fly, and I assume that existing customers with the original Guild Wars 2 can purchase the Heart of Maguuma in much the same way the above regions were unlocked – or am I in error?

Now I’m aware of the upcoming Path of Fire and that it unlocks the capability for the user to employ Mounts for the first time, but does it also include the capability to fly for those who do not have the Heart of Thorns game? That’s the question I get asked the most – can I purchase that and not the Heart of Thorns and still be able to fly and I honestly do not know what to say to them.

Put simply, can a person purchase Path of Fire and be able with that package to unlock the regions provided in the first expansion simply by paying for them to be unlocked? If that’s the case, I’ll go and promote Path of Fire as the package to aim for, and not Heart of Thorns AND Path of Fire.

Please let me know – others are unsure too.

Belenus.9132:

Now, the original Guild Wars 2 package obviously provides the purchaser with all of the maps with the exception (or inclusion) of those which include Draconis Mons, Ember Bay and the Bitterfrost Frontier although I believe that they have to be unlocked by gem purchase, right?

LS3 content is unlocked with gem purchase. In your list you can add Bloodstone Fen, Lake Doric and Siren’s Landing.

In order to unlock the maps for the Heart of Maguuma it is necessary (or is it?) to purchase the first expansion, Heart of Thorns and that expansion also provides the player with the Revenant and with the ability to fly, and I assume that existing customers with the original Guild Wars 2 can purchase the Heart of Maguuma in much the same way the above regions were unlocked – or am I in error?

To unlock Heart of Maguuma maps, Verdant Brink, Auric Basin, Tangled Depths and Dragon’s Stand you need to purchase Heart of Thorns.
Gliding is part of Heart of Thorns as well, you cannot glide without it.
The Revenant will be available to those who buy Path of Fire, it is not Heart of Thorns exclusive, however the Herald, the elite spec for Revenant in Heart of Thorns, is exclusive to the expansion. You can only access these regions with purchase of the expansions and not using gems, unlike LS3 maps.

Now I’m aware of the upcoming Path of Fire and that it unlocks the capability for the user to employ Mounts for the first time, but does it also include the capability to fly for those who do not have the Heart of Thorns game?

No, gliding is Heart of Thorns exclusive.

Put simply, can a person purchase Path of Fire and be able with that package to unlock the regions provided in the first expansion simply by paying for them to be unlocked? If that’s the case, I’ll go and promote Path of Fire as the package to aim for, and not Heart of Thorns AND Path of Fire.

No. You can only unlock LS3 zones with gems, not expansion zones. Expansion zones, gliding, all the expansion1 elite specs, require purchase of Heart of Thorns.

Much appreciated – will format that into an easy to understand format for the new players and relay. Appreciate your time and intel.

Belenus.9132:

Much appreciated – will format that into an easy to understand format for the new players and relay. Appreciate your time and intel.

One thing I forgot. With gems you can unlock LS3 zones but you cannot play on LS3 zones without Heart of Thorns.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/guild-wars-2s-living-world-returns-on-july-26/

LS3 is a nice bonus for Heart of Thorns owners but does nothing for those who haven’t purchased that expansion yet. Path of Fire will probably be required to access LS4 content, and LS4 will be unlocked with gems, just like LS3, for those who missed it.

I’d say that Heart of Thorns offers more than Path of Fire in terms of content, when you include LS3 and it’s a better purchase between the two. However, when comparing the two expansions side by side, without LS3, Path of Fire has 5 maps, while Heart of Thorns has 4, by that alone we can deduce that Path of Fire will have more content than Heart of Thorns, but can’t know for certain til we play it.

There is also the different style between the expansions. Heart of Thorns has vertical action, and gliding, while Path of Fire seems flat with expansive zones and mounts. Honestly, the selling point of the two expansions and what new players would have to choose from, is between Gliding and Mounts. Vertical or Flat. Oh and between themes: Jungle vs Desert

what maddoctor said, there is a possibility that A-Net will make HoT free….but based on how privileged people got last time, I guess that A-Net will not be that generous a second time.

Have you logged in at all in the last year? If you did, you may find that after buying HoT, some of the LS3 zone are unlocked for free.

The way it works is if you log into the game after one LS3 zone is released but before the next zone release, you get the current zone for free even if you don’t have HoT.

E.g. if you have a core or F2P account and logged in now, then bought HoT after PoF releases, you’d get Siren’s landing free but need to pay for the previous ones.

Belenus.9132:

Now I’m aware of the upcoming Path of Fire and that it unlocks the capability for the user to employ Mounts for the first time, but does it also include the capability to fly for those who do not have the Heart of Thorns game?

No.

Belenus.9132:

can I purchase that and not the Heart of Thorns and still be able to fly

No.

Belenus.9132:

Put simply, can a person purchase Path of Fire and be able with that package to unlock the regions provided in the first expansion simply by paying for them to be unlocked?

No.

If you want gliding and access to the HoT maps, you must buy HoT. Same way, if you want mounts and access to the PoF maps you must buy PoF.

HoT and PoF are 2 separate products. PoF is NOT upgrade to the HoT.

Belenus.9132:

Now, the original Guild Wars 2 package obviously provides the purchaser with all of the maps with the exception (or inclusion) of those which include Draconis Mons, Ember Bay and the Bitterfrost Frontier although I believe that they have to be unlocked by gem purchase, right?

Even when the Living World Season 3 maps could be accessed without buying HoT (unlocking them with gems), you can not do much there without gliding and mushroom jumping. I am not sure if CAN buy those LS3 episodes without owning HoT, but you CAN NOT finish LS3 story without HoT masteries.

In a nutshell, purchasing Heart of Thorns allows one access to all Heart of Thorns content: the 4 original maps, the 6 Living World Season 3 maps (once unlocked, either by having logged into the game when live or purchased with Gems), Heart of Thorns Elite Specializations, and Heart of Thorns Masteries. Heart of Thorns must be purchased with real money.

Purchasing Path of Fire will grant access to Path of Fire’s 5 maps, Path of Fire Elite Specializations and Path of Fire Masteries, as well as the Revenant. Also, it will grant access to Living World Season 4 (maps and content). Keep in mind, Living World Releases are on a schedule of release every 2 to 3 months (usually), so we should expect to receive several Episodes (8 -12?) over the next 18 – 24 months before the next expansion. Path of Fire must be purchased with real money.

Living World Season can be acquired with Gems, either through real money purchase or Gold-to-Gems exchange.

Probably, the best advice to give is to purchase both in the bundle, but if players want to be able to access the current releases upcoming, Path of Fire would be the best choice of the two.

FogLeg.9354:

Belenus.9132:

Now, the original Guild Wars 2 package obviously provides the purchaser with all of the maps with the exception (or inclusion) of those which include Draconis Mons, Ember Bay and the Bitterfrost Frontier although I believe that they have to be unlocked by gem purchase, right?

Even when the Living World Season 3 maps could be accessed without buying HoT (unlocking them with gems), you can not do much there without gliding and mushroom jumping. I am not sure if CAN buy those LS3 episodes without owning HoT, but you CAN NOT finish LS3 story without HoT masteries.

One can not access Living World Season 3 maps without purchasing Heart of Thorns. Even if they are unlocked by logging in, access is locked behind owning Heart of Thorns.

For me, gliding alone was nearly worth the US$50 cost for HoT at launch; it’s so much fun. I suspect PoF will be worth $30 just for mounts.

Simply said:

If you want a complete story with no gaps, then buy both.
If you want a complete game with no restrictions to features, buy both.
If you don’t want to feel like a second class player, buy both.
If you want to stay competitive in PvP and WvW, buy both.
If you dont wan’t to be left behind by your friends and guild who bought it/them eventually already, buy both.

What are there for good reasons, not to buy the expansions?
Unless you are poor and simply can’t afford them???

Orpheal.8263:

Simply said:

If you want a complete story with no gaps, then buy both.
If you want a complete game with no restrictions to features, buy both.
If you don’t want to feel like a second class player, buy both.
If you want to stay competitive in PvP and WvW, buy both.
If you dont wan’t to be left behind by your friends and guild who bought it/them eventually already, buy both.

What are there for good reasons, not to buy the expansions?
Unless you are poor and simply can’t afford them???

Well…There are like 1000 other things to buy, specially now in the beginning of august/September. New clothes, haircut, new friends, parties etc.
It is like most of these (Just buy it) comments, are centered around the ideology of literally having nothing else to buy or being poor enough to only buy food?