Heart of Thorns is ArenaNet’s first major expansion pack to Guild Wars 2, released on October 23, 2015. The expansion introduced a number of new areas and features to the base game:
- New jungle region & story: the Heart of the Maguuma
- New profession: the Revenant
- Elite Specializations for every profession
- Mastery system for Level 80 characters
- The introduction of Guild Halls
- The introduction of elite Raids
- New Desert Borderland in WvW
- New Fractal Dungeons
- …and more!
You can read more about all the features included in the expansion pack on the official Heart of Thorns website.
In search of answers to your questions, you can jump to a specific section by clicking one of the links below:
COMMON HEART OF THORNS QUESTIONS
Q: Is the expansion “buy to play”?
A: Yes. Heart of Thorns is the first paid expansion pack to Guild Wars 2. When you purchase Heart of Thorns, you will unlock a new story, a new region of the world, and all of the new features provided by the expansion. Once you buy it, there are no subscription fees, which means you’ll have access to any future updates released for Heart of Thorns at no cost.
Q: Do I need to buy a copy of the core Guild Wars 2 game to play the expansion?
A: No. The core Guild Wars 2 game is available to play for free, and purchasing the expansion includes the core world and all of its features! If you are using a free account, you can purchase the expansion to upgrade your Guild Wars 2 account and unlock all the core game has to offer. This even comes with a Max-Level Boost to level-up and equip one character with everything you need to play the expansion content right away.
Q: Do I unlock future expansions when I buy Heart of Thorns?
A: Only if you choose to bundle the expansions together! We want to ensure that players have the option to purchase each expansion individually, particularly if they want to play through each before moving on to the next. Note that you can still choose to bundle the Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire expansions together when purchasing them, which also costs less than the total price of both expansions if bought individually.
Q: What does Heart of Thorns add to the base game?
A: Heart or Thorns introduces the Heart of the Maguuma region: a Level 80 area with a new story, new challenges, and new rewards to earn along your journey. Explore the domain of Mordremoth with your characters, unlock new elite specializations to evolve how they play, or create a new Revenant—a heavy-armor profession exclusive to Heart of Thorns.
You can visit https://heartofthorns.guildwars2.com/ for more details about the game and all that it offers to Guild Wars 2.
Q: How much does Heart of Thorns cost?
A: Heart of Thorns is available for purchase in two editions:
- Heart of Thorns Standard Edition: includes the base game and the following items:
- Max-Level Boost
- Heart of Thorns Standard Collection: includes the base game and the following items:
- Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire
- Max-Level Boost (x2)
You can visit https://buy.guildwars2.com/ for pricing and more details about the different editions.
Q: Is Heart of Thorns only available digitally, or will there be a boxed edition as well?
A: Heart of Thorns is available at select retailers as a physical box. Please visit our official site for a full list of the editions and exclusive bonus items, or click here to find a list of official retailers where you can find the game.
Q: Do I need to own Heart of Thorns to play future content releases?
A: The six chapters of the Living World: Season 3 and the first raid wings in the Forsaken Thicket and Bastion of the Penitent maps require Heart of Thorns to play. If you missed the Living World: Season 3 chapters, you can unlock them individually (or as a complete collection) via the Black Lion Trading Company to gain access to the maps and story between the expansion releases.
Q: How do you use a glider in Guild Wars 2?
A: Before you can glide, you will need to unlock the first tier of the "Glider Basics" mastery. This is done by earning experience in the Heart of Maguuma and earning enough Mastery Points to unlock the first tier of the "Gliding" track.
You can learn more about gliding on the official wiki.
STORY
Q: I have Heart of Thorns, but I don’t have access to the Mastery system! What’s wrong?
A: To unlock the Mastery system, you need to complete the Prologue (“Rally to Maguuma”) and first story step (“Torn from the Sky”) of Heart of Thorns. Note that players will need to complete the Prologue individually in order to progress to “Torn from the Sky”—you will not get credit for a party member completing the Prologue while you’re in the map.
Q: I played through the Prologue, and when I finished “Torn from the Sky,” I didn’t get credit!
A: Players will need to complete the Prologue individually in order to progress to “Torn from the Sky” – you will not get credit for a party member completing the Prologue while you’re in the map. Once you’ve gotten credit for the Prologue, you can then progress to “Torn from the Sky” and get credit.
Q: Why are some Mastery lines unavailable for me to train?
A: Some mastery lines require you to complete certain objectives before you can begin training in them. For example, to unlock the “Exalted Lore” mastery line, you have progress to the Auric Basin map. Others—such as the "Mount" lines—are unlocked when you purchase Path of Fire.
GUILD HALLS
- For a comprehensive look at the new systems for Guilds and Guild Halls, check out our blog.