Guild Wars 2

I’d love to be able to pre-purchase HoT however I just don’t know enough about what I’m actually getting.

WvW

1. New borderland map
2. New siege weapon
3. Changes to supply and upgrade mechanics
4. Changes to rank points and abilities

All this I understand we get without buying the expansion.

PvP

1. New stronghold map and mode
2. New reward tracks
3. Mist champions in Stronghold

I gather this is also being added to the base game but with some champions locked behind reward tracks and/or buying HoT.

Guild Halls

1. Rework of the influence and merits mechanics
2. Instances owned by guilds and decorated by guilds
3. Based in the jungle and has to be fought for
4. Kind of like a guild hub for organising and relaxing

So is all of this expansion only or some of it? I gather the actual guild hall will be added to the base but some of the fancy bits HoT only so as to not fragment playerbases.

Fractals

1. Rework of fractals into single fractals
2. Now go from 1-100 and revamped rewards.
3. Legendary backpiece
4. New skins
5. Ascended salvaging

Is this added to base or do I have to get HoT for it? Do I need HoT for only part of it as in 50+? This wasn’t made clear.

Elite Specializations
Now this I know is HoT only, some I like, some I’m ambivalent to, it’s not enough to make me run out and buy now instead of waiting.

Revenant
As above, looks nice, still under work, not really got to see much of it (In terms of synergy, interactions, combinations etc) or get a feel for it. Again, this isn’t going to make me want to spend the asking price even at launch.

Masteries
So yeah this does look good and it’s the horizontal progression but is it HoT only? Are the masteries in the base areas added to base or is the whole system HoT only?

PvE

1. Verdant bank map, only seen 25% of it.
2. Jungle with 3 biomes, core, root, canopy
3. Adventures.
4. Gliders, mushrooms and masteries interwoven to get around and interact with it.

This is the part I really want to know about, yet we have no idea of the following:

1. How many maps? Not even a rough figure.
2. How much story is there? We only know DE is held captive and we go further to killing or befriending Modremoth.

This is the real sticking point, with so much of it being systems added to base I want to know what content I’m buying. I want to know how long this is going to last, if I could be sure we’re getting 12 maps and a story as long as LS2 or at least the personal story then I’d be able to pre-purchase with confidence. Until then I can’t pre-purchase

http://mmoarlee.com/2015/07/07/everything-we-officially-know-about-heart-of-thorns/

There’s still a lot of info left to be revealed between now and the expansion’s release.

Ayrilana.1396:

http://mmoarlee.com/2015/07/07/everything-we-officially-know-about-heart-of-thorns/

There’s still a lot of info left to be revealed between now and the expansion’s release.

I know what has been announced and I was looking at the wiki when I wrote it. The problem for me is that a lot of it is systems that have been announced but we have no clue if it consists of 3 maps and 10 missions.

I certainly don’t think it can be considered worth getting for that given how much of it seems to be folded into the base game too. Though I guess all masteries is HoT from the link. It also seems like only the guild leader needs HoT from the link.

Four Masteries are found in HoT, and three in Pact Tyria of the seven available at launch.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/masteries-info-on-ign-com

The article cited in the above post is a bit out-dated, though informational.

Good luck.

I suggest waiting until more information is released so that you can decide if it’s worth buying for yourself. The reason why I included the link was because they identified what would be HoT only and what would be available to all. It may help in the future at answering your existing questions once more content is revealed as the author appears to been updating it.

Yeah I guess the wait keeps on going, shame though as I’d like to have participated in the betas. Thank you for the responses, hopefully we’ll get some more info on just how much we’re getting this week.

Without HoT, the future of the living world will be inaccessible. If you plan to continue playing the living world, it really doesn’t matter what HoT includes itself because what you’re actually paying for is the next ~2 years of development.

The expansion will likely launch with little content, then grow into it, in the same way Dry Top was released over time. Would it be better to have ~10 maps up front to burn through, or new maps/content every other month or so until the next expansion?

Healix.5819:

Without HoT, the future of the living world will be inaccessible. If you plan to continue playing the living world, it really doesn’t matter what HoT includes itself because what you’re actually paying for is the next ~2 years of development.

The expansion will likely launch with little content, then grow into it, in the same way Dry Top was released over time. Would it be better to have ~10 maps up front to burn through, or new maps/content every other month or so until the next expansion?

They’re asking for an upfront amount of money, £35. I want to know I am buying what I perceive to be that much worth of content not promises which may or may not go fulfilled. I expect a certain amount of maps, and content to be able to occupy my time with after purchasing an expansion.

Especially when we already have a cash shop for supporting Arena Net between expansions, and yes before you ask, I have bought gems with real money to support Arena Net.

If the expansion launches the way you say, with little content then there is no way I will buy it any time near launch and they will be facing one of the biggest player base backlashes since the pricing fiasco.

Just wait for release, you don’t have to pre-purchase you know. I’m satisfied with what Anet has shown so far so I did but none is forcing you to.

I’m not sure just because you won’t be purchasing HoT anywhere near launch, that that indicates a big playerbase backlash.

There seem to be some indications that many have decided to pre-purchase. If only one-quarter of the present accounts purchased, that would be somewhere between $50 and $100 million dollars. Though not an astounding amount of income, it would probably be enough to keep the game afloat for awhile.

Good luck on wherever your adventuring takes you. =)

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I’m not sure just because you won’t be purchasing HoT anywhere near launch, that that indicates a big playerbase backlash.

There seem to be some indications that many have decided to pre-purchase. If only one-quarter of the present accounts purchased, that would be somewhere between $50 and $100 million dollars. Though not an astounding amount of income, it would probably be enough to keep the game afloat for awhile.

Good luck on wherever your adventuring takes you. =)

I was meaning in the way Healix was saying which is a few maps when HoT is released then slow releasing later.

I’ll put it here in case you missed it:

“The expansion will likely launch with little content, then grow into it, in the same way Dry Top was released over time. Would it be better to have ~10 maps up front to burn through, or new maps/content every other month or so until the next expansion?”

If it shipped that way with only 1 or 2 maps with a new one every month there would certainly be a backlash. I would much rather have 10 maps up front if I’m paying that way than bribs and drabs after paying.

Anet has constantly been releasing new information. They are releasing info slowly to build up hype. This also allows players themselves to slowly beta test without loosing interest in the game/expansion. You can either wait to know more about the game or you can take a chance and pre purchase so you can play the betas. Everyone who prepurchases a game takes a risk. You can even wait a couple months or so after release to gain even more information about the game and how much people like it before you purchase.

If I had a choice between announcing HoT later with all information announced and announcing information slowly while allowing the possibility for many dedicated players to beta test many aspects of the game to make sure it is what they want, I would choose the second option.

Well, the Devs have said that content releases will continue with Heart of Thorns. They will be using the same releases model as before. Thus, I expect there will be more to HoT than at release day.

Regardless, no matter what ArenaNet does, there is some kind of ‘backlash’ on the forums. It seems to be some forum-users’ favorite part of the game! Lol.

Good luck.

@OP, these are all very good questions that should have been made clear by now. Can we please get an official answer on this?