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ArenaNet Announces 7 Million Guild Wars 2 Accounts, Launches new expansion Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151022/279763-INFO
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151022/279762LOGO
"This has been a memorable year for ArenaNet and our player community," said Mike O'Brien , co-founder and president of ArenaNet. "We energised our fans in January with the announcement of as the first expansion to , and we've seen steady growth in our player base ever since. Our community is widely recognised as one of the best and friendliest in MMOs – many of our veteran players organised in starter zones to welcome new players the weekend we made the core game free. We're eager to see how our fast growing community continues to flourish, and we hope they're eager to embrace where their journey takes them next in ."
The new infographic from ArenaNet catalogues hard data and fun factoids that highlight the continuing popularity of across the game, from open world players who focus on story content and world exploration to those who participate in the game's increasingly competitive Player vs. Player (PvP) and World vs. World (WvW) scenes. ArenaNet recently announced the launch of a $400,000 Pro League PvP tournament, launched in partnership with ESL, and the infographic highlights how PvP player participation has grown by 135 percent since last year. There is a statistic showing that 40 percent of max level players showed up in starter zones to welcome new players the day the core game went free, showcasing the friendly reputation of the player community. Topping it all is an astronomical figure – more than 1.4 billion hours – totalling the amount of time players have put into since launch, nearly the same time modern humans have spent walking the earth.
now extends the core game experience for this growing community as a paid expansion with a range of new content and features, including a unique new system called Masteries that redefines endgame character progression in . The expansion marks a couple of additional firsts for , introducing Guild Halls where guilds and groups of players can claim and customise a piece of the game world, and setting the stage for the first-ever Raids coming to the MMO and activating shortly after launch. As with the original which delivered more than 40 major content updates without charging a subscription fee, players who purchase will have access to future releases coming to the expansion free of charge.
continues the journey for players with the next chapter in their Personal Story saga, where armies in the game world led by players go deep into the heart of the Maguuma jungle to take on a sinister elder dragon. It also brings new game modes, features and game play improvements that touch on nearly every aspect of the game. There is an all-new profession called the revenant along with elite specialisations that add new weapons and skills to every existing profession in the game. There is brand new competitive game content with an all new PvP mode called Stronghold and the massive new Desert Borderlands map for the game's epic WvW warfare mode.
also sets a strong foundation for endgame MMO content. Masteries introduce new ways to pursue skills and progress characters. Raids and new Fractal dungeons deliver extremely challenging group content. There are new ways for players to earn Legendary rewards. For competitive players, there are in-game systems and leaderboards such as PvP Leagues and Guild Challenger Leagues that pave the way for players to develop skills to compete at an elite level.
For a fun tour and an interactive trailer highlighting all of the features in please visit: http://heartofthorns.guildwars2.com.
For information on the 2 core game and to download the free game client, please visit: www.guildwars2.com.
You can download the press kit associated with this release here: http://press.ncsoft.com/zip.asp?p=449WCTIM.
is a visually stunning MMO, a living world that offers players the epic grandeur of a massive role playing environment combined with innovative combat mechanics, dynamic events and customized personal storytelling, as well as fast-paced competitive play with team-based PvP and massive World vs. World battles. Building on the success of
, ArenaNet® has created an MMO that lets gamers play the way they want, while at the same time retaining the no-subscription-fee business model that made the original
so popular.
is the first expansion to . Founded on the same gameplay philosophy as the core game, where the journey is the goal, continues ArenaNet's tradition of defying MMO conventions to fulfill the promise of what online worlds should be.
For more details, please visit www.guildwars2.com.