Last week, the first Guild Wars 2 expansion ‘Heart of Thorns,’ became available for pre-purchase. What caught many by surprise however was the fact that, though it had been made clear in the weeks before, during numerous sales on the core game price, that ‘Heart of Thorns’ would require the original game, the $50 price tag included the core game, and there was no option for a version that did not.
In short, veteran players received no additional bonus for purchasing the base edition, while new players received the entire core game for free, angering the many that purchased the game in anticipation of the new the expansion.
ArenaNet however, took fan criticism to heart, recently announcing on the game’s website that changes would be coming to the pre-purchase model. First off, for any who purchased the core game from the ArenaNet website between January 23rd 2015 and July 16th 2015, they can expect a full refund of that purchase, if they choose to purchase Guild Wars 2 Heart of Thorns before July 31st 2015. Secondly, between the same dates, if you purchased the game and no longer wish to play, a full refund will be issued and your account will be closed. Unfortunately however, both of these options only apply to copies of the game purchased from the ArenaNet website, not from a third party.
And finally, not forgetting about those that already play the game, ArenaNet has added the pre-order bonus of an additional character slot (a much requested addition given the expansion is adding a new character class, the revenant) for anyone who registers the core game before the expansion launches.
While not likely to appease everyone, the additions and refunds are a welcome step in the right direction. Will you be picking up ‘Heart of Thorns’? Let us know in the comments.