Expansion

Expansions, short for expansion packs, are paid content upgrades for Guild Wars 2. They introduce new content exclusive to them, including story chapters, explorable zones, masteries, mounts, elite specializations, raids, and strike missions. They can be purchased as standalone products without needing to own the previous installments to activate the latest release. The stories are not standalone, however, and all Guild Wars 2 story releases follow one continuous narrative.

Purchase of expansions also provides access to the current Living World season content, through which further story releases, zones, and other content are periodically added to the game. Living World seasons are not included with the purchase of an expansion. An episode is automatically unlocked for free if the player logs in during the release of the episode and becomes purchasable when the next episode is released. Previous Living World episodes (excluding the free Season 1) can be purchased for play at any time through the Gem Store.

List of expansions

This is a list of all major releases: the core game, expansions and Living World seasons, ordered by their respective release dates as well as the story order. The first three expansions are referred to as "Elder Dragons Saga".

• Guild Wars 2 — the core game, released August 28, 2012. Free-to-play since August 29, 2015.
  • Living World Season 1 — began January 28, 2013 (re-release April 19, 2022), concluded on March 18, 2014 (re-release November 8, 2022).
  • Living World Season 2 — began July 1, 2014, concluded on January 13, 2015.

• Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns — first expansion pack, released October 23, 2015. Included for free with Path of Fire purchases since August 30, 2019.
  • Living World Season 3 — began July 26, 2016, concluded on July 25, 2017.

• Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire — second expansion pack, released September 22, 2017.
  • Living World Season 4 — began November 28, 2017, concluded on May 14, 2019.
  • The Icebrood Saga — began September 17, 2019, concluded on April 27, 2021.

• Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons — third expansion pack, released February 28, 2022.
  • What Lies Beneath, What Lies Within — additional releases from February 28, 2023 to May 23, 2023.

• Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure — fourth expansion pack, released August 22, 2023.
  • Through the Veil, The Realm of Dreams, The Midnight King — additional releases from November 7, 2023 to May 21, 2024.

• Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds — fifth expansion pack, released August 20, 2024.

• Untitled Sixth Expansion — future sixth expansion pack. Slated for release in 2025.

Expansion cycle

Original expansion cycle of Guild Wars 2 consisted of major expansions every two to four years with seasons of Living World releases between them. Starting with the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, a new cycle has been adopted: annual smaller expansions at a slightly reduced price as well as additional free post-expansion content through quarterly updates. Unlike a Living World release, all owners of the related expansion gain access to its post-expansion content, meaning there is no pressure to log in to unlock it and no gem cost for missed story chapter unlocks.

The first release in each expansion cycle is the launch point for a new story arc, bringing with it two new open-world zones, new gameplay and combat features, new Masteries and rewards. Following quarterly updates add another open-world zone, additional story chapters, challenge modes for the Strike Missions or Raids of the respective expansion, a new fractal dungeon and challenge mode, new rewards, additions to the new systems introduced in that expansion, and—depending on the release plan for that expansion — new gameplay and combat features. Once that expansion's story is complete, the cycle for the next expansion will begin, following the aforementioned pattern. Beginning with the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure expansion, there will be new content updates every three to four months following an expansion release. Alongside these expansion content updates, ArenaNet will be beefing up support for the core game so they can iterate and improve on Guild Wars 2, even while releasing new expansion content on a more consistent schedule.

Features overview

Some content features, such as mounts, have been integrated into previous content later on as a basic, full, or revamped version. The table below lists the features unlocked upon owning the respective content:

Content	Free1	Open World Zones	Profession	Elite Specs	Weapons	Gliding	Mounts	Other main features
Elder Dragon Saga
Guild Wars 2 (Core) Buy-to-play: August 28, 2012 Free-to-play: August 29, 2015	1	36 (8 Hubs)		0	1	0	Basic: 2,3	Fractals of the Mists Dungeons Player versus Player World versus World Activities & Festivals Dynamic Events HLegendary Equipment (most)
Living World Season 1 (LWS1) Core required Original: January 28, 2013 – March 18, 20147 Re-release: April 19, 2022 – November 8, 20227	1	1 Hub	0	0	0	0	0	Public Instances (3) Strike Mission (1)
Living World Season 2 (LWS2) Core required July 1, 2014 – January 13, 20157	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	HLegendary Amulet6
Heart of Thorns (HoT) October 23, 2015	Bundled with PoF (August 30, 2019)	4			: : : : : : :	Full	Basic: 3 5 (PvE only)	Raids (4) Guild Halls (2) Bouncing Mushrooms HLegendary Armor HLegendary Weapons (all Gen 2)
Living World Season 3 (LWS3) HoT required July 26, 2016 – July 25, 20177	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	Downed Skill #5 HLegendary Accessory HLegendary Amulet6
Path of Fire (PoF) September 22, 2017	0	5			: (m) (m) : (m/o) (m) : : : (m) (m) :	0	Basic: 5 Full: 3	Raids (3) Strike Missions (7) Public Instance (1) Bounties Guild Hall (1) HLegendary Weapons (most Gen 2) HLegendary Ring
Living World Season 4 (LWS4) PoF required November 28, 2017 – May 14, 20197	0	6	0	0	0	0	Full: 9	Bounties Mount Skill #'s 6, 7, 8 HLegendary Accessory HLegendary Amulet6
The Icebrood Saga (LWS5/IBS) PoF required September 17, 2019 – April 27, 20217	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	Dragon Response Missions (10) United Legions Waystations Mount Skill # 9 HLegendary Amulet6
End of Dragons (EoD) February 28, 2022 – May 23, 20237	0	6 (1 Hub)			: (m) : : : (m) : (o) (m) : : (o)	Basic8	Basic: 34 Full:	Skiffs Fishing Jade Bots Strike Missions (4) Guild Hall (1) HLegendary Weapons (Gen 3)
Post-Elder Dragon era
Secrets of the Obscure (SotO) August 22, 2023 – May 21, 20247	0	4 (1 Hub)	0	0	Weaponmaster Training Expanded Weapon Proficiency: : (m) : (m/o) : (m) (m/o) : : (m) : : : (m/o)	Basic8	Basic: 3 Full: 9	Strike Missions (2) Rift Hunting Convergences (1) HLegendary Armor
Janthir Wilds (JW) August 20, 2024 – Ongoing7	0	4	0	0	Lowland Spear Training: : All professions	Basic8	Basic: 34 Full: 5 (PvE only)	Homesteads Raid (1) Rift Hunting Convergences (1) Exclusive Relics HLegendary Spear HLegendary Backpack
Untitled Sixth Expansion (TBA) TBA 2025	0	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

¹ Individual Living World episodes were previously unlocked for free by logging on to any character during the episode's original release or re-run window. Refer to each individual Living World Season for a history of free access dates.

² Each character that reaches level 10 receives a 10-hour trial of the basic raptor mount. The trial timer can be tracked by the  Mount Trial Active effect.

³ Accounts with any expansion are granted permanent accountwide access to the basic raptor mount after they reach level 10 (or the next multiple of 10) on a single character. Accounts with PoF can further upgrade the mount via the associated mastery track.

⁴ Accounts with EoD or JW are granted permanent accountwide access to the basic springer mount either by talking to Lieutenant Zhao in New Kaineng City, or starting the Janthir Wilds story, respectively. Accounts with PoF can further upgrade the mount via the associated mastery track.

⁵ Accounts with HoT or PoF are granted permanent accountwide access to the basic warclaw mount after entering WvW on any character. For use in WvW, accounts must own PoF and allocate a point into the Warclaw mastery world ability. Accounts which include JW can further upgrade the mount (PvE version) via the associated mastery track.

⁶ Requires all episodes of Living World Seasons 2 through 4 to complete the Seasons of the Dragons achievement.

⁷ Features gradually delivered over the release period.

⁸ Accounts with EoD, SotO, or JW are granted permanent accountwide access to basic gliding either by entering Cantha, or during the Hell Breaks Loose or Unknown Territory story steps, respectively. Accounts with HoT can further upgrade gliding via the associated mastery track.

⁹ Different mount mastery tracks are unlocked depending on which content the skyscale is obtained from (LWS4 or SotO). Fully training both mastery tracks adds quality-of-life improvements to the mount. The LWS4 mastery track is required to obtain the HLegendary Vision trinket. The SotO mastery track unlocks the same mount functionalities as well as combat-oriented upgrades, and the ability for both skyscales and griffons to interact with updrafts and ley lines when the respective masteries are trained.

See also

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Campaign.

• Living World — for the seasonal downloadable content.
• Release — for the complete list of game updates.
• Gem store account upgrades:
  • Bank Tab Expansion
  • Build Storage Expansion
  • Character Slot Expansion
  • Material Storage Expander
• Gem store character upgrades:
  • Bag Slot Expansion
  • Build Template Expansion
  • Equipment Template Expansion

References

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Guild Wars 2

Games	Guild Wars 2
Expansions	Heart of Thorns Path of Fire End of Dragons Secrets of the Obscure Janthir Wilds
Living World	Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 The Icebrood Saga
Other	Guild Wars Merchandise Promotions

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Expansion releases

Heart of Thorns Path of Fire End of Dragons Secrets of the Obscure Janthir Wilds