There is an entirely new profession, the revenant, for players to master, along with new elite specializations that add new skills, weapons and abilities to every existing profession in the game.
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The expansion has a new approach to leveling up called Masteries, which replace traditional number-based progression once players reach level 80 with a system of contextual and skill-based abilities to pursue and earn. O’Brien said the company decided not to aggressively monetize the loyal users through microtransactions, as most other online game companies do.
#GUILD WARS 2 FREE VS PAY FOR FREE#
Heart of Thorns will follow a similar model, where updates are available for free for those who paid for the expansion. That means there will be new story-driven releases similar to episodic TV series. ArenaNet will offer regular updates for its “living world” expansion as well. Game director Colin Johanson said in an interview with GamesBeat that the new Heart of Thorns expansion will have a new form of challenges for players. And the company has delivered more than 40 content updates for players, fulfilling its pledge of providing additional free content for a long time, he said.
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It has sold more than 5 million units to date, O’Brien said. When Guild Wars 2 launched, it earned a 90 out of 100 rating on review aggregator Metacritic. “We’re confident that players are going to like it and then will pay for the expansion,” O’Brien said. O’Brien said that the model worked very well, and now the company hopes to stoke demand for the core game by making it free. “People questioned our viability, but it has worked out.” “We’ve been championing the simplicity of our business model for years,” O’Brien said.