Guild Wars 2 - Expansion Announcement

[Svifnymr]

They definitely need to stop flip-flopping about their business model and lay out a basic foundation for it...which they could do now, if they stick to the formula of "base game = free; old xpac(s) bundled and sold at discount with new one or new one sold standalone". Course, I state that, and they will do something completely different 2 years from now.

They posted something about how what they said was that they'd always have it for "a single price" or something, which is... odd. I mean, is bundling products really something out of the ordinary? Whatever I guess. My one friend that didn't buy HoT most likely won't buy PoF either, so not a big deal personally.

You know, I literally never bought Factions because I have Prophecy, Nightfall and Eye of the North, but Factions never became discounted enough to matter, they just bundled it in one of the packs. I don't need a pack, I have 3/4, but to buy Factions was the same price as the pack.

[LilSaihah]

Ordered it but it looks like there might be a quirk you can do. You may be able to:

Purchase POF
Purchase HOT (bundling for -$10)
Receive separate keys
Give the HOT key to a friend
Use the POF key for yourself.

If you've got a friend who wants HOT on the cheap, might be worthwhile.

[WhiteEagle888]

meh 10chars

[Kelimbror]

I told myself I wouldn't get excited and buy this, because I got burned hard on HoT's gameplay and zones being boring and grindy.

But ZOMG hoppy mounts and Balthazar, new baby blue toothless to defend, fun times. Def preordering.

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Actually, shop page isn't loading. Welp, nvm. Lol Anet.

[barackopala]

I told myself I wouldn't get excited and buy this, because I got burned hard on HoT's gameplay and zones being boring and grindy.

But ZOMG hoppy mounts and Balthazar, new baby blue toothless to defend, fun times. Def preordering.

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Actually, shop page isn't loading. Welp, nvm. Lol Anet.

Yeah, i was like "eh.. gonna wait till... holy shit architecture looks dope, mounts look dope and THE FUCKING HYDRA"

[Kelimbror]

Yeah, i was like "eh.. gonna wait till... holy shit architecture looks dope, mounts look dope and THE FUCKING HYDRA"

The mounts being primarily for unique travel is the exact way to do it in this game. I wish there were more than 4, but maybe they'll get added with content patches or the living story. But yeah, the game looks awesome.

[Tome]

I'm incredibly sad because I know those mounts will be poured in to the cash shop with ultra silly flashy skins that destroys the game world even more.

It's so heartbreaking seeing such a awesome game series turning into this.

[PACOX]

Thief stealth shot is 1500 range and turns boons into conditions. Looks like they are trying to build it around Malice, not sure what that is. Their elite allows them to remove the "revealed" debuff and restealth, 45 sec CD

Mesmer spec is basically built for pvp (chrono is too useful to drop in pve). Damage centered around condis.

[StationaryHawk]

Actually, shop page isn't loading. Welp, nvm. Lol Anet.

I can't get it to load in Chrome, but it works fine in Firefox. Maybe give that a shot?

[Sting]

I'd hoped HoT would be free now. As somebody who originally bought the box and plays maybe 2-3 weeks in a year, this is rather disappointing.

[Edge-]

Yeah its weird that a "guardian" is at the bottom of the list when it comes tanking. A thief can tank better a guardian.

It's deeply frustrating and disappointing. The primary role that I wanted to fill with my character and pretty much the whole reason I chose this class...and 2 expansions in it seems like even most of the squishy classes do a better job filling it than my heavy armor wearing guardian. I'd love to sit down with whoever worked on guardian in HoT/PoF and ask them what the fuck they've been thinking.

[PACOX]

Copy and pasted from reddit so no link or armor links.

=================
Warrior - Spellbreaker

Weapon: Dagger/Dagger

Skills: Meditations

Profession Mechanic: Full Counter

Uses adrenaline to absorb damage from an attack, and spreads that attack in an AoE around them
Armour Skin: Shoulders

Video Demonstration

Ranger - Soulbeast

Weapon: Mainhand Dagger

Skills: Stances

Profession Mechanic: Fusing with pet

The ranger fuses with their pet, gaining unique abilities based on the pet fused with as well as the kind of pet
Armour Skin: Shoulders Unknown

Video Demonstration

Elementalist - Weaver

Weapon: Mainhand Sword

Skills: Stances

Profession Mechanic: Dual-attunements

The elementalist cycles attunements from hand to hand, allowing two attunements to be in use at once. The middle skill (#3) becomes a new skill based on the two attunements. (Think of thief #3 skills)
Armour Skin: Unknown

Video Demonstration

Engineer - Holosmith

Weapon: Mainhand Sword

Skills: Unknown, probably a new type

Profession Mechanic: Photon Forge

Gain access to powerful new skills, with each generating heat. Higher heat means your skills are augmented, but if you generate too much heat you assplode. Being too hot deals damage to you over time
Armour Skin: Shoulders or Gauntlets

Video Demonstration

Guardian - Firebrand

Weapon: Mainhand Axe

Skills: Mantras

Profession Mechanic: Tomes

Tomes are essentially kits that replace virtues. Seems that each will focus on a different role (DPS, protection, etc)
Armour Skin: Unknown

Video Demonstration

Mesmer - Mirage

Weapon: Mainhand Axe

Skills: Deceptions

Profession Mechanic: Constructs

Shatter when touched, granting "mirage cloaks". Seems like mirage cloaks are another version of blur, as attacks go right through you
Mirage cloaks also replace traditional dodges
Armour Skin: Headgear

Video Demonstration

Necromancer - Scourge

Weapon: Offhand Torch

Skills: Punishments (seems to be debuffer/buffer skills)

Profession Mechanic: Sand Shroud

Imbued the sands of the desert with the Scourge's life force, raising sand shades that protect allies and damage foes
Armour Skin: Shoulders

Video Demonstration

Revenant - Renegade

Weapon: Shortbow

New Legendary Stance: Kalla Scorchrazor

Channel Kalla to summon warband members who buff allies
Armour Skin: Headgear

Video Demonstration

Thief - Deadeye

Weapon: Rifle

Skills: Cantrips

Profession Mechanic: Marks / Malice

Deadeyes can mark a target, generating malice against them. The more malice generated, the more damage done
Armour Skin: Unknown

Video Demonstration

[zito]

Nope, it is not.

They said that their ideal model was that players would only ever pay for the most recent content. HoT is not recent anymore. Wow makes every expansion free after the next one is released, as its unreasonable to have players pay for Burning Crusade, or WOTLK when they're several years old. SWTOR made all of its expansions free you only ever need to pay for the latest one.

To be honest, I'm not really THAT invested into this game to be willing to put actual money into it. Specially since as a venezuelan, videogames are horribly expensive and borderline impossible to obtain. My only interest when I saw a new expansion coming, was the possibility of HoT being free, and that being enough to revive my curiosity for the game, as I must admit the elite specialization of the necromancer was something I've been wanting to try for a while. But now that I know it wont be free, its just time to move on.

Ohh and for the record, I'm not "raging". Raging would be if I went into an angry emotionally-fueled rant against A-net calling them a multitude of expletives for their decision to still keep charging for HoT despite it being obsolete content now. I did not. All I did was express my disappointment on their step backwards on their "you'll only pay for the most recent content" stance. No more, no less.

Gw1 never gave expansions for free so I don't understand why people think gw2 would. Most likely hot will be heavily discounted in the future

My question is how does the story work. Gw1 had separate story's not related to each other but gw2 is a linear progressed story. What will happen when someone buys just path of fire? They are pretty much forced to get hot

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Thief stealth shot is 1500 range and turns boons into conditions. Looks like they are trying to build it around Malice, not sure what that is. Their elite allows them to remove the "revealed" debuff and restealth, 45 sec CD

Mesmer spec is basically built for pvp (chrono is too useful to drop in pve). Damage centered around condis.

Well mirage disappointed me. Absolutely useless in pve since clones instant die and mobs ai just auto know who you are and more conditions

Fucking dumb

If rev doesn't play like ritualist ill pass

[Val the Moofia Boss]

It says a lot when a Anet has the decency to announce their expansion only a few months before release, for only $30, and yet I'm still not excited.

Considering we live in a post HoT GW2, I'd love if the new expansion maps continued the theme of verticality, but so far what I've seen indicates that'll it just be the same single-plane maps (despite the announcement video's claims). They could've pulled it off given the desert setting with canyons, basins, and huge underground caverns, or flying Asuran complexes (larger than those barely filled pyramids they call a "city").

The mount idea sounds interesting, particularly using the bunny to jump up cliffs, but it all depends on execution. Despite Anet priding their game on it's "focus on movement", GW2 has very wonky movement. They also missed an opportunity for mounted combat (again, considering the wonkiness of movement in GW2, that might have never been feasible). Please, don't tell me that there's only going to be the four mount models...

The new specs are uninteresting, except for Ranger, which even then isn't that interesting. All it will do is just make me slightly stronger and give a buff and/or an ability that varies depending on the pet I had, and the specific uses of each ability on a weapon very, very, VERY rarely EVER matter, and even then only a handful of times, to the point where they mind as well be interchangeable. In fact, elite specs in GW2 so far have missed out on MASSIVE potential to do some really cool, truly gameplay revolutionizing things. How about a spec that has casting runes/saying magic words/making jutsus handsigns for your hotbar, and you press them in a certain order to execute a powerful ability? Or each ability you want to cast requires a certain group of keypresses, and the order of the key presses changes the effects of the ability? There's just so much they could've done.

Not even a word on new PvP or WvW maps. Or raids. Or dungeons.

I'll wait for the reviews, but darn, this is not hopeful...

[zito]

Ranger is most disappointing

"Fuse with your pet "

Your pet literally despawns and you get a rotating twig around you

That's not fusing with your pet... lol fucking lol

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Norn male legs clip through the deluxe edition exclusive armor

Seriously?

[lokoma]

ETA on gem store or legendary, "Has all the functions of all mounts" mount?

soon tm :P

[SirCowdog]

I should've edited that post to reflect that I did find that Twitter post while at lunch today.

I've seen the occasional "but ermagerd the jps and vistas"...we're talking about 5 year old content at this point. It's not like new players are gonna be using mounts to get all those anyway. Could they? Yeah. Is it really that big of a concern at this point, though? Seems like it's not, to Anet at least.

I think its more of a testament to the game engine that the mounts can be dropped into older content without harming much. A lot of the jump puzzles require precision that the mounts won't be useful for anyway.

And like you said, it's older content that isn't particularly relevant anyway.

[Edge-]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/...out_pof_elite/

Link to post about specializations with video links etc.

Fucking hell guardian looks awful. Everything about it seems uninteresting and unappealing to me, from a thematic perspective or a mechanical one (SWEET, MY VIRTUES ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AGAIN GUYS!). It feels like they save guardians for last in HoT and PoF and just use whatever leftover time they have after everyone else on guardian.

Ugh, unless they announce some shit-hot stuff about guardian I'm legit considering dumping my main, which is fucking soul-crushing for me. Especially since it means I'll have to suffer through HoT, again, on whatever alt I end up choosing as my new main...or I just won't bother with the expansion.

LE FUCKING SIGH

[SirCowdog]

Also, damn, it looks like HoT wont be free.

"It is available on its own for $29.99 or bundled with Heart of Thorns for $49.99."

Ohhh well. Time to move on.

Thats vaguely disappointing, but not at all unexpected. $50 seems to be the price point Anet has wanted to maintain for the game.

It will be interesting to see how the two interact, though, if you only buy the new expansion but not HoT.

[zito]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/...out_pof_elite/

Link to post about specializations with video links etc.

Fucking hell guardian looks awful. Everything about it seems uninteresting and unappealing to me, from a thematic perspective or a mechanical one (SWEET, MY VIRTUES ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AGAIN GUYS!). It feels like they save guardians for last in HoT and PoF and just use whatever leftover time they have after everyone else on guardian.

Ugh, unless they announce some shit-hot stuff about guardian I'm legit considering dumping my main, which is fucking soul-crushing for me. Especially since it means I'll have to suffer through HoT, again, on whatever alt I end up choosing as my new main...or I just won't bother with the expansion.

LE FUCKING SIGH

I like how tomes were talked about like actual skills but they gave them mantras and then visually changed virtues to look like books

Lol ok anet