Guild Wars 2

I recently got back into this game after not playing it for a while and realized there was a new expansion pack. I went to go check for the price of it and saw it was $50 but it also includes the core game. is there a way to buy HOT separately so I don’t have to re-buy the game?

It just won’t load it. They made HoT essentially be the game for new purchasers. They made the old stuff (including Living Story chapters) free.

OK, so i’m guessing the only way for others to get it would require that person to get the bundle?

It’s not a bundle. That $50 is the cost of Heart of Thorns. New players simply get the core game for free if they purchase HoT (and it’s worth noting that the core GW2 game is free to play now anyway, with some heavy restrictions). GW2’s base game is no longer purchasable as a standalone product. In purchasing HoT new players just get access to core GW2, with the free to play restrictions removed. Which is pretty fair. Anyone who has already owned GW2 before the free to play conversion has the added benefit of having been able to play the game for the last x number of years and gain a serious advantage over newer players. They also don’t have to play with any restrictions and can jump straight into the HoT content, whereas a new player has a whole lot of game to play before they get to HoT.

If you want to play HoT you’ll need to purchase the $50 version, or one of the other editions, and apply the serial you receive to your existing account.

Tej mouse.1852:

OK, so i’m guessing the only way for others to get it would require that person to get the bundle?

There is a very long thread on the topic. The gist is that it’s not a bundle, the expansion costs $50 (or less if you find a legit seller from the approved list offering a discount). They decided to not make new purchasers buy both the core and the expansion, but even if core wasn’t included it would still be $50. Whenever the next expansion arrives it will include the HoT content without making people new to the franchise buy previous versions on top of the new stuff.

Older purchasers had the option to play the game and get their money’s worth out of it in the three years before the expansion arrived. Those who bought the game after HoT was announced but before the inclusion of the core game was made known had a window of opportunity to get a refund without having to restart their account. Veterans who owned the game before the HoT announcement got an extra character slot for pre-purchase so they would have room for a revenant (not at first, there was a lot of bad PR before that was added in) as well as a thank-you Outfit, the Royal Guard.

Whether all that is or is not fair is the subject of the long thread.

HOT looks really cool but i don’t think its worth 50 alone, Anet is basically saying that the core game is literally worth nothing. Do you have a link to that other thread? I would like to see what others think about this

Tej mouse.1852:

HOT looks really cool but i don’t think its worth 50 alone, Anet is basically saying that the core game is literally worth nothing. Do you have a link to that other thread? I would like to see what others think about this

Don’t buy it now. Expansion have many bug which make you stress than to enjoy a game. Core guild wars 2 is better than HoT for me.

Robotukas.1673:

Tej mouse.1852:

HOT looks really cool but i don’t think its worth 50 alone, Anet is basically saying that the core game is literally worth nothing. Do you have a link to that other thread? I would like to see what others think about this

Don’t buy it now. Expansion have many bug which make you stress than to enjoy a game. Core guild wars 2 is better than HoT for me.

See personally I would say do buy it now. I’m yet to encounter any bugs and the HoT population is in a really good place.

It IS worth pointing out for OP that I think Arenanet have said that with each new expansion the previous releases will be made available for free. So theoretically when the next expansion comes out, buying that will also get you HoT. So you may find the purchase to be more worth it then.

When Living World Season 3 comes out however, you’ll need HoT to unlock it. So if you don’t have HoT you’ll miss out and will have to pay to purchase it later. So it should be noted that when you buy HoT you’re also paying for any future LS releases. That’s definitely worth it in my opinion. HoT also adds a lot of new content.

Tej mouse.1852:

Anet is basically saying that the core game is literally worth nothing

They’re not just saying it’s worth nothing, anyone can register a core account for free and start playing. Their new business model is to sell a single box while offering the past game for free. Every MMO includes the original games for free eventually, GW2 just did it an expansion or two early.

You can find HoT on sale at various official retailers pretty much always. DLGamer.us for example has had it for $35 almost every week for the last several months.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

Robotukas.1673:

Tej mouse.1852:

HOT looks really cool but i don’t think its worth 50 alone, Anet is basically saying that the core game is literally worth nothing. Do you have a link to that other thread? I would like to see what others think about this

Don’t buy it now. Expansion have many bug which make you stress than to enjoy a game. Core guild wars 2 is better than HoT for me.

See personally I would say do buy it now. I’m yet to encounter any bugs and the HoT population is in a really good place.

It IS worth pointing out for OP that I think Arenanet have said that with each new expansion the previous releases will be made available for free. So theoretically when the next expansion comes out, buying that will also get you HoT. So you may find the purchase to be more worth it then.

When Living World Season 3 comes out however, you’ll need HoT to unlock it. So if you don’t have HoT you’ll miss out and will have to pay to purchase it later. So it should be noted that when you buy HoT you’re also paying for any future LS releases. That’s definitely worth it in my opinion. HoT also adds a lot of new content.

I will eventually end up buying HOT but not now, maybe when the next expansion comes out ill buy it

They just screwed over longtime players by charging them the same as a new player. Longtime players should have been able to add the expansion for 15 or 20$ instead of the full retail. (Regardless of the doublespeak by some as well anet trying to justify their price.)

Tej mouse.1852:

I recently got back into this game after not playing it for a while and realized there was a new expansion pack. I went to go check for the price of it and saw it was $50 but it also includes the core game. is there a way to buy HOT separately so I don’t have to re-buy the game?

your missing the point, its Hot for the standard AAA price and they throw in core for free for those that don’t have it.

Dunno. 50$ for a f2p game isn’t much. And it’s f2p. Not f2p as in WoW’s “best mount for only 40$ on the store”, RIFT’s “Latest BiS raid set for only 600$, 900$ if you want the weapons aswell” or many other games’ “f2p” model. This game is indeed f2p after purchase, and for me it’s been worth every cent.