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The E3 2015 PC Gaming Show was really long in the tooth without much to say, and as such, many people thought it was easily the worst out of all the E3 2015 press conferences. Due to its absurd length and cheap setup, a lot of legitimately exciting PC gaming news was buried in the proceedings, with the news getting the most attention being Xbox related, such as Gears of War: Ultimate Edition coming to PC and the rebooted Killer Instinct also making the jump to PC.
ArenaNet was one of the PC bright spots of the unusually dull show, bringing with them an epic new trailer for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 expansion Heart of Thorns. Guild Wars 2, for those unfamiliar, is one of the most popular and successful MMORPGs ever made. The Guild Wars franchise is one of the few MMO experiences that, while not true competition with Blizzard's World of Warcraft, has still managed to stand toe to toe with that mammoth of a game, whereas countless other MMOs have floundered and failed over the years.
Part of the success of Guild Wars 2 can be attributed to its lack of a subscription fee, as well as its extreme amount of polish, setting it apart from the sea of similar games. The game has certainly earned its success, with 2 million units sold shortly after launch, and much more since then. Considering the success of the base game, ArenaNet is counting on the first major expansion, the aforementioned Heart of Thorns, to give existing players plenty of new content to enjoy, as well as convince lapsed players to resume their online adventuring.
An exciting new gameplay mechanic is coming to Guild Wars 2 via the Heart of Thorns expansion, as highlighted in the E3 2015 trailer, in the form of Guild Halls. Guild Halls serve as bases for guilds. A guild has to band together first, and then cooperate to clear the hall of enemies before claiming it as their own. Once a Guild Hall has been claimed, it can be filled with specialized buildings that serve various purposes, as well as dotted with a wide variety of decorations to liven the place up.
The Guild Halls will also serve PvE and PvP purposes as well. Players can meet up at their Guild Hall's arena to battle against one another, or they can use it as a meeting place before going on a quest.
Along with these details, ArenaNet was on hand during the PC Gaming Show to announce that Heart of Thorns is currently available for pre-purchase on the Guild Wars 2 official website. As an added bonus, anyone that pre-purchases the expansion will be given access to all future Guild Wars 2 beta events, offering players an opportunity to test and try out new content first.
The Heart of Thorns expansion for Guild Wars 2 doesn't have a release date just yet, but pre-purchasing for the game is open now, and will guarantee consumers access to future beta events in the game.
