Guild Wars 2 Heart of Thorns Review in Progress Part 1 .

Reviewing an MMO is more difficult than reviewing single-player games. Like an RPG, MMOs rely on the concept of character progression and (unlike most RPGs) that progression is expected to take place over months, if not years.

The launch of Heart of Thorns, as exciting as it’s been, is not the final story for this expansion. As a casual player I have just begun to really dig into the new content! The game has already changed from October 23 with the first patch of tweaks (more on this later), and there are many more things for me to see and do and grind.

All this is a long-winded way of saying that my general Heart of Thorns review will be introduced over the next four weeks, as we all gradually experience the content provided and see how it – and us – changes over time.

But with that, let’s get on to some first impressions!

 

The Good

The zones in Heart of Thorns are beautiful. Seriously, ridiculously beautiful. They are detailed and lush and huge, and there are moments when you’re gliding above it all when the views can be literally breath-taking. Credit to the ArenaNet art department – they know their stuff.

The story, or what I’ve played of it so far, is probably better than the Personal Story in the original game. Characters that we all like (no spoilers!) have returned, and the stage has been set for an epic confrontation. I also like how well the new story integrates into the zones themselves instead of feeling like their own separate world.

While the initial implementation of Masteries is a little frustrating, overall I think they are a great idea. Yes, it will take a long time to earn all of your Masteries, but they’re account-bound so you only have to do it once. The Mastery benefits themselves are interesting, and I like how you can set your own priorities for which ones to get first.

Also, the framework for Masteries creates an easy way to add character progression in the future – a year or two from now when we’ve all maxxed out our Masteries, Arenanet can just add a new set of skills to be earned and suddenly killing Shadow Behemoth becomes relevant again! This is a great longevity tactic without forcing players to grind levels or gearsets.

Credit is also due for the event design of the new zones. The idea of multiple mini-events leading into larger ones and finally into one very angry boss is, frankly, much more interesting than the old world heart quests to kill buffalo or throw snowballs.

Also the addition of activities is a welcome one. One day I’ll get gold level on Bugs in the Branches, darn it!

The Bad

One has to commend ArenaNet for withholding many of the details of Heart of Thorns until launch, particularly in this very well data mined day and age. It makes sense that a game with a focus on exploration and experience would want players to.. well.. explore. However, that lack of information can also result in disappointment when expectations don’t hold up to reality.
Many players expected to be able to access their new Elite Specialization almost immediately once Heart of Thorns went live, particularly as that’s the way it worked during the Beta Weekends. These players were surprised and unhappy to discover that unlocking all of an Elite Specialization required 400 hero points. 400!

Editor’s note: Since this was written elite specializations have been reduced from 400 hero points to 250 based on player feedback.

It makes sense for players to be able to try out their new specs on the new content, rather than having to grind hero points and then earn their Specialization once they’ve finished the new zones. While the situation has currently been remedied for the most part (again, more on this later) it stirred up a lot of resentment at launch.

I wasn’t too bothered about it, mind you, because I’m not sure playing a melee Scrapper in the new zones was such a good idea. The creatures there are HARD, and while I appreciate tough content I find them to be almost too hard. Getting around the new zones with as a solo player is an exercise in dying a lot, particularly as melee. Even tiny lizards will eat your lunch and send you back to the way point from whence you came.

That brings us to another negative point: navigation as a player with few Mastery points is incredibly frustrating. The zones have been designed to expose new territory as you gain Mastery in Gliding and Itzel Lore (for bouncing mushrooms), and while that’s a cool idea the result is that it’s extremely difficult to get anywhere as a new Heart of Thorns player.
Even now with the gliding skill – which is super cool, to be fair – it’s difficult to look at the map and know where I’m going. Can I glide to that next outcropping over, or will I need Updraft Mastery? Can I make it with my current gliding stamina pool, or will I need Advanced Gliding?

When there are a million different events and symbols on a map and no elevation information for landmasses, gliding can be pretty hit and miss for new players. Obviously that’s a problem that players will only have to experience once per account, but it exists now nonetheless.

The Changed

ArenaNet has responded to the post-launch feedback with their first patch, and to be fair it addresses many issues. Primarily, Elite Specializations have been reduced in cost to 250 hero points, which feels like a reasonable compromise.

The patch also made some tweaks to the number of players that could be concurrently on one map, and this is a crucial change. When your zone activity relies on people completing many disparate events at the same time, not to mention killing really tough monsters, you need crowds of people to help out. As suspected by some there appears to have been a mechanical issue keeping player numbers low, and changing that will make a huge difference in playability.

Even with the complaints, though, my first impression of Heart of Thorns is incredibly positive. There is plenty to do, and only more so as I gain more navigation Masteries. My Engineer has a huge wrench with which she can hit things, and gliding is every bit as fun as expected.

What will future zones and tweaks bring? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out!