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An Expansion, Finally!

David North Posted:
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Is this real?  Has the moment I, and countless other Guild Wars 2 players, have been waiting for finally come?   I mean, why else would ArenaNet register another name?  What other reason would they possibly have to book an entire room to themselves at Pax?  If this doesn’t all lead to the official announcement of an expansion, then I have no idea what ArenaNet has around the corner.  I guess they could producing a series of Amiibo like figures to act as adventuring buddies. 

I’m calling it right now.  The air is filled with a certain electricity that only happens when a major MMO is getting an expansion.  There’s no doubt in my mind!  To me, there are more important questions to be asked here.  For example, what method will be used to release expansion material?  Will we see a sweet collector’s edition featuring another awesome statue, and maybe some more behind the scenes books?  I could even see this released through digital means, making players upgrade their accounts to download the new material just by logging in.  Personally, I want another sweet statue.  But I'm willing to bet both a retail shelf refresh and a digital release are in the cards.

So when would this expansion be released?  Season 2 of the Living World is over, and it seems like any other fighting against Mordremoth will be reserved for Heart of Thorns.  This could also means we won’t see the Living World for a long time.  Maybe another Season leading into Heart of Thorns before its release? It’s doubtful they would leave players without any form of new content for more than a year.  At least, I hope not!

This logo shows us Mordremoth is going to be a pain.

Expansion packs always mean more content, but how much new content would we be getting?   Guild Wars 1 had such an interesting method for content additions.  ArenaNet added entire campaigns to the game, taking players to other lands around the world.  It wasn’t till the very end a more traditional expansion was released.  It may be wishful thinking that we will get to explore the other continents anytime soon, especially with empty spaces on the Tyria Map.  Mordremoth’s reach is far and wide, but I doubt it’s that far.  

Guild Wars 2 is an amazing game, but it’s not perfect.  Feature patches have been released, but they haven’t addressed what we players would consider to be on the top of the priority list.  The expansion may be what the developers were waiting on to bring in fixes to the core game, that way they can get it all done and done right.  Just think, they’ve had all this time to take feedback and plan for the "Next Big Thing".

Hopefully we will see some major changes to underwater combat. It’s a fun concept, but the experience feels incomplete.

New races, classes, and skills are just a few additions players have been screaming for such a long time.  Our wishes may come true with the release of an expansion.  Every expansion to every MMO I’ve played has added these to the core game.  It all comes down to what we’ll get.  Will heavy armor reign supreme with a new class?  Will the Tengu finally come out from hiding, knowing the threat that looms beneath their feet?  These are the real questions I can’t wait to get answers to.  Maybe we’ll get to see a good bit of this info on the 24th. 

Oh, I can’t leave out the Largos. They’ve become very popular as well.

The release of an expansion has been a topic of debate amongst players for more than a year now.  ArenaNet has always been one of the few developers to stay silent, even when their forums are lit by the fiery passion of the players.  If we haven’t learned yet, ArenaNet won’t say anything until it’s ready.  I can’t blame them.  Who wants to announce something, make a bunch of promises, and fail to keep them when it’s time for release?  We as players need to step back, take a deep breath, and trust our developers.  Especially ones that haven’t disappointed us in the past.  An expansion is coming, but what will be in the Heart of Thorns?

Do you believe Heart of Thorns will be the first Guild Wars 2 Expansion? What would you like to see?  

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