The fantasy MMORPG Guild Wars 2 has without much effort or fanfare, now announced the release date of the expansion Heart of Thorns.
This is quite disheartening. With a tweet, Guild Wars 2 has let the cat out of the bag: On October 23, the eagerly awaited expansion “Heart of Thorns” is set to launch.
Normally, there’s quite a fuss when such things are announced, but not in this case.
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns launches October 23, 2015. Pre-purchase bonuses available now! http://t.co/xhCTjuKHwe pic.twitter.com/aqteLdlv1u
— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) August 28, 2015
Well, quite a bit is already known about “Heart of Thorns”. Guild Wars 2, as we know, does not intend to overhaul, does not raise the level cap or suddenly go crazy with an item spiral. A large new zone, the Heart of Maguuma, will be introduced, along witha new class, the Revenant, grants existing classes “elite specializations” and gives players plenty to do through complex success systems, the masteries. Additionally, changes are being made to PvP to lay the groundwork for Guild Wars 2 to continuously improve in the coming years. Unlike games that go for the WoW approach of “higher, faster, further,” ArenaNet wants to find its own path,taking inspiration from games like the Zelda series.
Yesterday, it was “unofficially announced” that there might be plans for a free-to-play model and a focus on raids. A US gaming site prematurely released information, accidentally breaking the news embargo. ArenaNet commented on the mistake from the US site with “Skritt happens”, a verbal shrug. A way of demonstrating a kind of sovereignty.
We’ll see you at #PAXPrime on Saturday! #GW2HoT https://t.co/8GfDhhevbL ~RB2 pic.twitter.com/6C27bpGo7b
— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) August 27, 2015
So, it all starts on October 23, let’s see how it aligns with the other plans of publisher NCSoft. The free-to-play transition of WildStar still doesn’t have a set date, but it is on the horizon.
