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. 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 !
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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 :)
  6. Angenix
    Sep 7, 2020
    10
    Loved map design. Meta events are the best of entire game. Cool elite specs.
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. kimi1775
    Nov 9, 2020
    9
    ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎
  10. 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.
  11. 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!
  12. 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
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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

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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]
See all critic reviews »