Posted Sun Aug 30, 2015 at 02:11 PM PDT by Connor Sears
A free base game, with a paid expansion for fans.
After three years on the market, 'Guild Wars 2' is officially going free-to-play, developer ArenaNet announced at PAX. For fans who are interested in more than just the base game, however, the new expansion 'Heart of Thorns' is introducing brand-new game mechanics in the form of raids and other high-level content.
According to the developers, this model will allow them to get the game into the hands of players who wouldn't have considered the MMO otherwise while giving higher-level players who would like to pay for content the option to get new endgame-focused mechanics with the expansion.
"In making 'Guild Wars 2' free, we're not switching business models to a traditional free-to-play game, and we're not aggressively monetizing free players through microtransactions," ArenaNet cofounder and president Mike O'Brien said in a press release. "We're making the base game free because we're confident that anyone who loves 'Guild Wars 2' will consider buying 'Heart of Thorns,' continuing their experience into the expansion and beyond with Living World and our newly announced raids."
'Heart of Thorns' introduces Masteries, a new way to progress in skill once players reach level 80. It also includes a new profession and new specilizations for each profession. Perhaps the most touted new feature is the new raid system, wherein 10-player teams can take on daunting challenges that feature intimidating bosses.
For those who just want to test out the base game and see what all the fuss is about, though, they can now sign up for a completely free account.
'Heart of Thorns' is set to launch October 23.
Source: ArenaNet
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