Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

 PC
  • Publisher: NCSOFT
  • Release Date: Oct 23, 2015
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 981 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 670 out of 981
  2. Mixed: 72 out of 981
  3. Negative: 239 out of 981
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  1. Thaksin
    Apr 12, 2022
    8
    Great MMO game, one of the best and the place is deserved! The content that is added in the new addition clearly belongs to the hardcore, but nevertheless, did not stop being interesting :)
  2. Raizsthorm
    Mar 17, 2022
    8
    Globally the expansion is fun and brings new stuff such as :
    - The glider is a nice addition and drastically change how you approach certain things even on core maps.
    - The new elite specialization can be a pain to get because some Hero points are hard to solo and it's hard to follow people without the flying mounts but it's worth it and bring a new dimension to your class. - The story    Globally the expansion is fun and brings new stuff such as :
    - The glider is a nice addition and drastically change how you approach certain things even on core maps.
    - The new elite specialization can be a pain to get because some Hero points are hard to solo and it's hard to follow people without the flying mounts but it's worth it and bring a new dimension to your class.
    - The story was more engaging that what I expected even if slow at the beginning.
    - The new maps bring new events that are fun but require a few people to successfully complete them and you can easily get lost in their multi-level floors.

    The only thing I did like is how they handle the mastery system. You arrives in these new maps and see could stuff such a vents that brings you up when gliding, speed boost, jumping pad, but too bad you can use them you need to unlock them by farming experience. Some of these mastery are required for the story. So between this and if you want to get a specific mastery such as the infinite gliding you won't unlock many of these "bonus" by the time you're done with the story.

    However seeing how guild wars 2 works you'll probably be back in these maps either with alt or to get new shiny stuff later on so in the long run it may be better than when you first experience the maps and story.    … Expand
  3. TerterBG
    Mar 14, 2022
    10
    Great soundtrack.
    Awesome maps. Lots of verticality.
    Metas are super cool mega events.
    The mastery system that they've added is a great vertical progression.
    The revenant feels very polished.
    The new elite specializations make you play you character like a brand new class.
    Raids are very hard and I love it!
  4. Torgall
    Dec 12, 2020
    8
    The most complex and often annoying maps in the game. The step up in difficulty is very noticeable. Gliders where nice change, but after POF are mostly obsolete. BEVARE the tiny raports.
  5. kimi1775
    Nov 9, 2020
    9
    ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎
  6. Angenix
    Sep 7, 2020
    10
    Loved map design. Meta events are the best of entire game. Cool elite specs.
  7. FennecFeathers
    Sep 1, 2020
    9
    Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns innovates on everything you might think of when you hear MMORPG. The core game was innovative for the time, but HoT takes it to an entirely new level. Despite a few growing pains in the first month or two of launch regarding balance and community reaction to the time investment in gaining new elite specs (something I never thought was egregious or over theGuild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns innovates on everything you might think of when you hear MMORPG. The core game was innovative for the time, but HoT takes it to an entirely new level. Despite a few growing pains in the first month or two of launch regarding balance and community reaction to the time investment in gaining new elite specs (something I never thought was egregious or over the top anyway) - it adds many new features that enhance your gameplay experience and a unique horizontal progression curve for your character, so you're never in the traditional MMO rat race of constantly power creeping.

    First; the Mastery System. This is the primary feature of the MMO and introduces a form of horizontal progression - focusing less on power creep and more on simply offering a plethora of options to enhance gameplay, which really suits the feel of mastering the Maguuma Jungle. While at the start of the expansion you have to slowly push your way through a threatening and hostile jungle environment, by the end of its story you're already gliding through the air and utilising the tunnels of the new Nuhoch NPCs to cross it in no time with an adeptness that would make anyone feel badass.

    Secondly, Elite Specialisations; These are trainable specialisations for your character class that add a new weapon, a new trait line and a handful of more utility skills. The difference between a core thief and a daredevil in terms of how they feel to play is night and day, and broaden the amount of builds any class could go for. With some very slick new animations and some creative new ideas, the feeling of choosing a new elite spec is almost like changing class entirely but managing to do it without a steep learning curve.

    The Maps in HoT are incredibly detailed and diverse, and extremely vertical - making those masteries a necessity to traverse them safely. A handful of new, huge, cinematic meta events go a long way to making these maps endlessly replayable.

    Raids; A bit of a tough subject for a lot of the more casual players, who may see raids as a gate to some of the best, coolest rewards and some of the most interesting storytelling of the series. The wings added with Heart of thorns are tough as nails and require perfect group communication and synchronisation. Without the power creep of some other MMOs thrown into the mix, they'll never stop being as tough as they are unless you simply learn them inside and out - the way raiding should be!

    Overall, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is a fantastic first expansion that had a very smooth launch compared to other MMOs' expansion launches (in EU, where I am situated. I cannot speak for NA). It innovates in new, unseen ways for the MMORPG genre and adds a great deal of content and rewards for everyone - especially the masteries which can be used anywhere in the core game or other expansions, greatly changing the way you see and move around old maps.    … Expand
  8. Chababa
    Jul 1, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. New environment and well...if my memory serves me right, beloved character(s) die. I still cared for the characters and the story.… Expand
  9. whatever523
    Dec 19, 2016
    8
    + New maps with a fantastic map design and good event chains.
    + Great vertical gameplay with gliders that really adds a lot to the maps.
    + Good sub classes. + The new masteries are good, with a few very bad exceptions. See below. = The story is more grown up, characters act less childish. It starts off good, but the ending is a bit uninspired and boring. It doesn't feel like a story    + New maps with a fantastic map design and good event chains.
    + Great vertical gameplay with gliders that really adds a lot to the maps.
    + Good sub classes.
    + The new masteries are good, with a few very bad exceptions. See below.

    = The story is more grown up, characters act less childish. It starts off good, but the ending is a bit uninspired and boring. It doesn't feel like a story that was crafted from great ideas, but from a writer who gets paid for it. The living world season 3 story seems to get better again so far.

    - Missions and achievements are still bugged a year after release. Companies that don't fix bugs suck.
    - The central Tyria mastery points are a pain in the ass to get. I'm not complaining about the time it takes, but it becomes boring and annoying (jumping puzzles, waiting for WEEKS for monsters to spawn, buying items with gold [how is that a mastery?], farming the same area for days/weeks).
    - Still no guild wars in Guild Wars 2.
    - Too many items in the gem store that should be available through normal gameplay.
    - Gold to gem conversion prices are out of control.
    - Too many trash drops and no good way to deal with them (Bloodstone Dust etc.). After every run you need to destroy all unsellable items manually.    … Expand
  10. Alistairas
    Dec 5, 2016
    10
    Ok so first off for those that enjoy WoW and other grind fests please find another game. For those that enjoy a game where one can mindlessly kill mobs for an hour and feel like they did something you will not enjoy this. GW2 is in my opinion one of the most different mmos I have come across. First off leveling is in no way tedious I have made 6 characters for GW2 and never have I thoughtOk so first off for those that enjoy WoW and other grind fests please find another game. For those that enjoy a game where one can mindlessly kill mobs for an hour and feel like they did something you will not enjoy this. GW2 is in my opinion one of the most different mmos I have come across. First off leveling is in no way tedious I have made 6 characters for GW2 and never have I thought what I was doing could be considered boring. GW2 is a game that in my opinion most anyone should try at the very least just so they can see a different style of mmo, however that being said I am aware that there are those poor souls who will claim the game is bad. I looked through many of the negative comments for both GW2 and HoT I cannot agree with any of them in any way. Every class feels very different once you truly start playing abilities have very different animations and effects. What other games can say that they have a spell-caster who shoots laser beams out of a great-sword. I'll grant it that many of the skills seem "simple" howver that is because GW2 is not a game that wants players to spend hours trying to figure out what each and every skill does, when to chain it to another and why this one iss better than another. GW2 is a game that gives you a small selection of skills and says make your own style sure it will be somewhat similar on paper to another person's but how you play is up to you and HoT is a great example of that I main a daredevil running around dodging like crazy and murdering every enemy i find in 80% dps gear with a bit of extra health because i'm a filthy casual and occasionally sit in an aoe i shouldn't and would rather not die/ So for those that claim you can't live in HoT without being a tank i call BS. You think Open World HoT is dangerous try doing a raid those things are scary. GW2 is not a game that says hey you played for 2 hours today have a cookie, its a game where you say i want 250 elder wood planks for my legendary collection not because i need it but rather because chuka and chumpawaut looks amazing on my character. Being lv 80 in gw2 is nothing impressive. What you do afterwards is what matters whether that means map completing the world and learning every piece of lore or becoming a salty scrub in PvP because people are idiots that don't know how to capture a point or building a great sword that paints the sky and leaves galaxies in your footprints your time is your own the devs don't tell you how to use it and if you find yourself bored with the game thats fine go search for your hidden gem elsewhere GW2 will be here when you realize that there are not all that many games that have a solid world with an interesting story that so often seems to have some random tidbit missing waiting to be discovered and a reliable combat system that keeps you on your toes. Sure you could play WoW or Tera but if your looking for a new game to play try something new don't look for something you already have and aren't satisfied with. I would give this game a 9/10 simply because while i believe it is one of the best games out there when it comes to MMOs I will admit i find myself looking at other games sometimes however i have yet to find another mmo that i have devoted even half as much time to. Also for those who may try to claim this game is p2w I again call BS the closest thing to p2w is pay for convenience. I have some ascended armor on my thief acquired purely through crafting. Was it a pain sure but there was no reason to spend money to buy the gold i needed to craft the armor especially since i have perfectly usable exotic armor that was pathetically easy to get when i first got to lv 80 and while i am trying to get a legendary short-bow its not going to increase my dps or survivabilty one bit. I just want it for the simple fact that it looks awesome. the most expensive items on the trading post are legendary weapons and color dyes if you can somehow find a way to "win" gw2 congrats your a try hard in a game of casuals. The vast majority of people in gw2 are chill and more often than not will help someone because they feel like it and they might get some decent loot from the whole ordeal maybe karma will say they deserve an ascended armor box or a cool skin they hadn't found yet. I think i have rambled enough today and will leave with a simple request. When trying out gw2 forget the customs of other MMOs do things because its fun not because its the fastest way to your goal. The fun is in the shenanigans along the way. Make a Necromancer that looks like a butler or try to make a charr look fashionable be a fire tornado or run round as a rat thing dropping turrets because your character makes interesting remarks. Have fun with the game and ignore the people who can't get past the traditional MMO garbage that we in GW2 have left behind.… Expand
  11. Lluvia4D
    Sep 11, 2016
    10
    welcome to the jungle, guys. My initial impressions with this xpac have been outstanding. I played for practically two days straight, and had a blast the whole time. The maps are amazing, and literally rise above any map made by an mmo to date. I feel as if I am deep in the jungle. The ambience and soundtrack range from mystical hymns to terrifying growls that echo throughout the forest.welcome to the jungle, guys. My initial impressions with this xpac have been outstanding. I played for practically two days straight, and had a blast the whole time. The maps are amazing, and literally rise above any map made by an mmo to date. I feel as if I am deep in the jungle. The ambience and soundtrack range from mystical hymns to terrifying growls that echo throughout the forest. As I gain masteries, I constantly find new places to go.

    On that note, the masteries work very well. I can see how some people want the process to go quicker, but I don't mind it. I don't want to see it all in one day. Right now, the easiest way to level masteries is by completing the meta events in the map. These are really fun and unique, but they require a good amount of people to do them. If your map isn't that populated, its frustrating, but I feel this is a problem Arenanet will fix. Additionally, I know that the meta events are repetitive, and this will turn me off down the line.

    My only other gripe with the xpac is how grindy the process of unlocking your elite specilization is. Simply put, it's too much. Anet has already stated they're looking into the issue, so I'm not too worried about this either.

    The story isn't amazing, but in terms of Guild Wars standards, it is a huge leap forward. There are plot twists, deaths, and dramatic situations, something I haven't seen tried before. This was the first time I looked forward to continuing the story in this game. I got excited during each mission.

    Overall, Heart of Thorns has held its ground. It introduced a whole new way to expand an mmo. The content doesn't seem like it will be abandoned soon, as it is in other games, and the vanilla game still proves to be relevant. They nailed so many things, and got a few things wrong, but it still gets a 9/10 from me. As I have stated, Arenanet has already announced they're looking into changes to the problems I have mentioned, so I'm not worrying too much about those hurting the game's growth. Check it out if you haven't already. Ignore the trolls.    … Expand
  12. crypticturtle
    Mar 8, 2016
    9
    This adds some much needed end-game content to GW2. The new zones and their meta-events are well designed, although traversing is difficult until you get the necessary masteries to use the environment to move around. The new glider is fun to use all around the world, especially at vistas. My only issue is that the new mastery system is very grind-y.
  13. Clopon
    Jan 1, 2016
    10
    Great expansion pack, even better than i expected. New maps are fun, mastery system is interesting and not too much grinding.
    And the raid is great, finally a challenging content for pve.
  14. Watanka
    Dec 31, 2015
    10
    Many good things was added to the game with this expansion (raids, guild halls, personnal quest, elite specs, ...).
    Some other features are still bugged or unbalanced right now, but wait few weeks for fixes and GW2 will more awesome than ever !
  15. Maelzrael
    Dec 4, 2015
    9
    New review update, changing score from 10 to 9, which is still a point higher than I want but I have to offset all the 0 scores somehow..
    So new skills/elite specs are really great, worth the price of the expansion.
    The new maps are really great visually but they lack the casual accessibility and hearts that made the core maps so fun. Basically they are tuned to high, they should scale    New review update, changing score from 10 to 9, which is still a point higher than I want but I have to offset all the 0 scores somehow..
    So new skills/elite specs are really great, worth the price of the expansion.
    The new maps are really great visually but they lack the casual accessibility and hearts that made the core maps so fun. Basically they are tuned to high, they should scale down to just one single player if that is all that is available. They don't. You'll need at the very least one friend to accompany you anywhere you travel in the new maps if you want to survive, more like a full party if you want to do everything. This might be good for an mmorpg but it is bad for a casual player with little time to commit to others in-game.
    Raiding is awesome and I'm so happy they've added it into the game. HOWEVER, they really **** up because the rewards are hardly better than anything else in the world, the bosses do not drop special raid only gear save a few pets and the promise of legendary armor in the years to come. Rewards have always been mediocre in this game but the Raids should drop **** unique and badass armor and weapons right from the first boss. It doesn't have to be statistically better than other gear, but it should look cool and NEW. This is raiding basics 101.. raids should drop the best rewards in pve.. simple.
    Fractals has never been my thing but as someone who is still under level 20 frac difficulty there is nothing new to see in the expansion save a new (awesome) back piece if you grind the **** out of it. Or so I hear.
    Dungeon nerfs was a bad idea. Really stupid to tie collections and gear for raid into old dungeons (monk runes) and then nerf them so most people don't want to do them anymore. Head up ass on that one.
    New Legendary masteries progression didn't really make legendaries all that much easier to get, save the RNG drop requirement.. which you can now craft for roughly the same cost you could buy it for. For a casual player this is hardly an improvement, they still feel impossible to get.
    Guild Halls, this is a big deal here, this was supposed to be an awesome new custom housing for your whole guild.. however the new scribe crafting for items takes a whole guilds effort to create.. it's a little insane. They can do better here.. an individual should be able to create housing items for the whole guild by themselves in my opinion.. I haven't even been able to touch the creative side of this feature because you have to be in a large guild AND high ranked enough that people want YOU to be the builder/decorator. It's a great idea but flawed in execution.
    New WvW maps are so empty, I'm on a t3 server, Crystal Desert, and WvW has been a barren wasteland sing Hot came out. This is unacceptable. Screw server vs server, you guys have to go megaservers and really get this revamp for WvW out soon.. also for the love of god please don't screw this one up with poorly thought out design decisions on good original ideas like we've seen with some of HoT.

    So what do I think they should do to fix this stuff? Well make the new maps scale to less players better for one. Maybe add hearts to new zones when they come out. Raids an meta bosses should be tough, but traveling the new maps should be scaled to match the solo player if needed. Fix dungeon rewards. Add new fractal maps and make the progression and reason for progressing more enticing. Make legendary crafting slightly easier to achieve than buying one outright. We are not chinese people with infinite time to grind out the required stuff. Take a look at the core Gw2 philosophies and clean up your mess here. HoT is great and I love Anet but you guys cannot rest until this game is perfect! That's it for now, will resubmit and adjust as the expansion and living story develope.
    Also STOP ADDING ALL THE COOL NEW **** IN THE GEM STORE.. You guys are **** in this regard, you need to hire double the artists and programmers and have thing switch back an forth.. one new set for the gem store, one new set for normal play/progression.. I have no problem with the gem store but when you launch an expansion with minimal new visual items sets an then release TONS of gem store updates afterwards it really feels like a money grab instead of a thought out badass expansion. Fix this **** please.    … Expand
  16. Chista
    Nov 25, 2015
    9
    The expansion literally brought me back from the de-install. There is a lot of new content that has kept me busy since the expansion launched. There may be fewer maps than i'm used to from different expansions, but each single map is huge, more than making up for it. The maps become easier to traverse as you progress through the new progression system, which for me is a leap up fromThe expansion literally brought me back from the de-install. There is a lot of new content that has kept me busy since the expansion launched. There may be fewer maps than i'm used to from different expansions, but each single map is huge, more than making up for it. The maps become easier to traverse as you progress through the new progression system, which for me is a leap up from simply incrementing LVL_MAX. The story is challenging, sometimes bordering on annoying, but feels hugely rewarding when you manage to complete a part. I'm currently looking forward to raiding, once i finish a healer's set (see below) and working on legendaries. To top it all off, this expansion finally gave me a class I love to play: The revenant.

    Now there are a few issues:
    possibly due to the economy still adjusting, the new profession is unfeasibly expensive. The que times for crafting materials that you first need to get a guild developed enough to even be able to start that que. You cannot level this profession unless you are highly ranked in that guild either. You need access to things stored in the guild, access to the que if you want to be able to even make the items. simply: it's a hot mess.

    Downside for me: I like playing a healer, but the only accepted -not just elitism, i actually accept the reasoning for this- healer set requires recipes that are no longer available, with materials that are so limitedly available that is costs tons of gold to get that set together. Would like to see more healer sets or better accessibility to the materials.

    A minor, tiny, point is that playing as revenant does cause a little bit of a disconnect from your suspension of disbelief: One of the main NPCs also uses the revenant class, and all other characters seem awestruck at this despite you actually using the exact same magic. Can live with it, but still somewhat cringey.

    Of course, we still have the living world to look forward to =)    … Expand
  17. MrKurteous
    Nov 24, 2015
    10
    I've had an absolute blast with this game, the maps are beutiful and filled with captivating and just-enough-challenging events to entertain for hours and hours. The gameplay is absolutely amazing and the progression is incredibly rewarding. The changes to PvP are darn juicy too. That being said, it's not everyone's cup of tea. There is a fair amount of challenge and most of the moreI've had an absolute blast with this game, the maps are beutiful and filled with captivating and just-enough-challenging events to entertain for hours and hours. The gameplay is absolutely amazing and the progression is incredibly rewarding. The changes to PvP are darn juicy too. That being said, it's not everyone's cup of tea. There is a fair amount of challenge and most of the more attractive rewards require a decent amount of work. If you're not too fond of the new gameplay it might feel annoying to get them, but in general both hardcore players and more casuals can have a great time.… Expand
  18. Revenanter
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    I've bought this game after 3 year, for only 49.90 i got 2 games for the price of one.
    And what a game!
    Never thought it may be so beautifull !!!
    Finally i've found my definite MMO to play for months to go.
    Really happy !
  19. maximay
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    Really great expansion full of stuff to do.
    Since Wow is dying, and it's dying pretty bad, GW2 is the new king of MMO...these is why so many 0 (zero).
    Please rosik more, can't stop laughing.
  20. nightfyre
    Nov 20, 2015
    9
    Was wanting to try the game again, and glad I did. It's become my time sink. The new areas can be confusing to travel, but you get use to them and have fun figuring out how to get to new areas. They still need to work on some of the 'balancing' but the game is fun. Don't follow the red reviews, they are just mad and are not thinking the whole thing through. Children... sheesh.
  21. HighestHand
    Nov 19, 2015
    10
    Love the new zones, and the quests that bring the community closer to each other.

    You have a day and night cycle and both cycles are extremely fun. You have raids that came out, personally I haven't tried, but I am a big fan of raids and challenging content. My philosophy is to git gud or die trying.
  22. gugliam1
    Nov 19, 2015
    10
    Simpy an awesome addition to an already great mmo !!!

    If you wonder why so many 0 (zero) ,here the answer. : read one of the many reviews from wow fanboys who rosik cause their mmo is dyning while GW2 is rising. diaper Nov 12, 2015 terrible game WoW is so much better. this game has terrible graphics and takes no skill and the community is garbage. nobody even plays it because    Simpy an awesome addition to an already great mmo !!!

    If you wonder why so many 0 (zero) ,here the answer. : read one of the many reviews from wow fanboys who rosik cause their mmo is dyning while GW2 is rising.

    diaper
    Nov 12, 2015

    terrible game WoW is so much better. this game has terrible graphics and takes no skill and the community is garbage. nobody even plays
    it because most people agree that it is terrible. I hate this game soo much!!    … Expand
  23. cioppete
    Nov 18, 2015
    10
    Awesome expansion, for one of the best, if not the best MMO today.
    Great graphics, immersive sound, strong gameplay with a pve quite difficult.
    Sorry Wow, but GW2 is my new home.
  24. Tatsu-Kan
    Nov 17, 2015
    10
    First, I would like to point that, yes, there are bugs, but all of them are going to be fixed.
    This expansion add a new way to explore content. I'm honestly in love with the news maps.
    And the gliding :] My only wish is that one day I can use the glider everywhere. This expansion does not add new levels to the character progression, which is perfect, it does not make our old stuff    First, I would like to point that, yes, there are bugs, but all of them are going to be fixed.
    This expansion add a new way to explore content. I'm honestly in love with the news maps.
    And the gliding :]
    My only wish is that one day I can use the glider everywhere.

    This expansion does not add new levels to the character progression, which is perfect, it does not make our old stuff obsolete. Arenanet found the perfect way, the new progression is based on masteries which is an account wide progression of ALL your characters.
    The first mastery you unlock is the glider, once done, you can use it on all your characters, even if they're not lvl 80. Ok, it does not matter, since the map where you can use the glider are for lvl 80 characters.

    Story : 10/10
    Open World : 10/10
    Music : 20/10 (They are fabulous)
    Fractals Dungeons : 8/10 (Need to be polished and the reward reevaluted)
    Raids : 9/10 (This is the hardest content of the game, added today)
    WvW : 8/10 (The new map is available for everyone, it's _too_ huge & beautiful)

    And the story continue, I'm expecting a pursue of the living story for a third season. I'm really impatient to see what they're planning for us :)    … Expand
  25. Egocentricion
    Nov 15, 2015
    10
    Guild Wars 2 continues to innovate after all these years.
    It is truly the only MMO on the market who actively seeks to please it's playerbase not by spoonfeeding them and hand holding them but with true innovation and challenge.
    Heart of Thorns is the striking proof that an expansion doesn't have to be half assed and dumb down a game.

    I recommend this expansion, it's all worth the money!
  26. jdross00
    Nov 14, 2015
    9
    Changing my initial review due to the addition of the 64bit client.

    Besides a few harsh setbacks at launch, HoT has given us enough new content and changes to make the game feel fresh again. Gliding is more enjoyable than anticipated. The specializations bring a welcome change to the core classes. The story no longer disrupts the immersion of the game with unnecessary 2D dialog. And    Changing my initial review due to the addition of the 64bit client.

    Besides a few harsh setbacks at launch, HoT has given us enough new content and changes to make the game feel fresh again. Gliding is more enjoyable than anticipated. The specializations bring a welcome change to the core classes. The story no longer disrupts the immersion of the game with unnecessary 2D dialog. And the environments continue their artistic flair which is unmatched by any other MMO.    … Expand
  27. TNFox
    Nov 11, 2015
    10
    The greatest tragedy of these 'reviews' is the abuse of the word grind. If you are actually here for information that'll tip you to buy or abstain, go elsewhere. We got subreddits openly admitting in their submissions that they are part of a troll/hate group to affect the result of the metacritic scale just because.

    If you have not played gw2, try it out. It's free. If you're returning    The greatest tragedy of these 'reviews' is the abuse of the word grind. If you are actually here for information that'll tip you to buy or abstain, go elsewhere. We got subreddits openly admitting in their submissions that they are part of a troll/hate group to affect the result of the metacritic scale just because.

    If you have not played gw2, try it out. It's free. If you're returning and wondering if you should invest in the expac, get info from players in the game. Its one of the most helpful and mature communities so ask their experiences and if their values align with yours. Base your decision on who says what, not just what is being said.    … Expand
  28. lostinstereo
    Nov 6, 2015
    10
    I've played Guild Wars 2 since release and the game has never failed to keep me captivated and immersed. The story, the characters, the combat system, the crafting system, everything. HoT only expands on all of these and enhances many of the core games strengths while introducing new systems like the mastery system. Mastery is in my opinion one of the best post level cap progressionI've played Guild Wars 2 since release and the game has never failed to keep me captivated and immersed. The story, the characters, the combat system, the crafting system, everything. HoT only expands on all of these and enhances many of the core games strengths while introducing new systems like the mastery system. Mastery is in my opinion one of the best post level cap progression systems in an MMO to date and it can be expanded indefinitely. The Revenant is an extremely interesting class and as far as balance issues go, it is to be expected but is otherwise minimal compared to other MMO expansion launches. I think GW2 can only go up from here, HoT has captured my heart like Guild Wars Prophecies did in 2005 and GW2 in 2012.… Expand
  29. Ozimandeus
    Nov 6, 2015
    10
    The best MMORPG created, has just got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot better!! The elegant mastery system provides a new outlet for experience in PVE. The introduction of Guild Halls gives a focal point for guilds to work together on. PvP has been overhauled and made into an eSport. WvWvW is still unparalleled in this genre. Very simply put, this is as good as MMORPGs get.
  30. Gothic90
    Nov 4, 2015
    8
    It's a good expansion. The world stays relevant, people who do not buy it can still play (they arguably get a somewhat short end of the stick due to dungeon reward nerf, but definitely not hit as hard as players of many other MMOs, who can only play irrelevant content after an expansion hits). Mastery may be a bit grindy but opens up layer by layer and I kinda like this design. I neverIt's a good expansion. The world stays relevant, people who do not buy it can still play (they arguably get a somewhat short end of the stick due to dungeon reward nerf, but definitely not hit as hard as players of many other MMOs, who can only play irrelevant content after an expansion hits). Mastery may be a bit grindy but opens up layer by layer and I kinda like this design. I never expected much story from MMOs, but HoT's story is not a bad one, certainly much better than Kormir or Trahearne's story.

    Overall, a lot of good content and good designs. It's not perfect but still a good one.

    Still, a bit unhappy that WvW gets a pretty short end of the stick.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best PC Game of 2015
10
#10 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
15
#15 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    85
    Heart of Thorns is so good I forgot the flaws that made me lose interest in the original game after my initial delight with it. [13/2015, p.64]
  2. Games Master UK
    Jan 3, 2016
    85
    Not the biggest expansion, but it enhances the best parts of an already magnificent MMO. [Christmas 2015, p.75]
  3. Edge Magazine
    Jan 3, 2016
    80
    In spite of the odd stumble, it's a wonderful journey. [Jan 2016, p.120]
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