Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns continues the storyline that has the game world of Tyria facing off against the Elder Dragon Mordremoth. As the storyline unfolded through the game’s Living World updates, players had speculated about one possible casualty in the war with Mordremoth. In one cliffhanger, Tyria’s iconic hero Rytlock disappeared into a mysterious void as he chased the weapon to end the curse of the Foefire and drive the ghosts of Ascalon away for good.

In Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, Rytlock not only makes a triumphant return from the mysterious Mists, he comes back with an all-new set of abilities. His return sets the stage for one of the expansion’s most exciting additions, the introduction of an all-new profession called the Revenant that channels powers from some of the Guild Wars universe’s most legendary heroes.

In addition to these features, ArenaNet showcased every key new feature the expansion brings to the core game, covering additions to both PvE and competitive PvP and World vs. World modes.  The trailer showcases each feature set, and set the stage for an ongoing series of updates now through launch that would delve much deeper into what each will bring to the expansion.

Mist Champions is an all-new element for the Stronghold PvP mode set to debut in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

Stronghold brings a new competitive experience to Guild Wars 2, introducing a PvP mode rich with lore where players fighting as pirates or knights infiltrate enemy lines and try to kill the enemy lord. The addition of Mist Champions fundamentally alters the gameplay associated with this power struggle by allowing combatants to purchase highly specialized champions which can be summoned to turn the tide of battle.

Mist Champions will give players three options to choose from, all of them with devastating super weapons at their disposal:

• Turai Ossa - Savour of Elona: This battle-hardened warrior can summon a protective barrier to aid the defense of friendly players and their Lord.
• Nika - Obsidian Flame Assassin: Long-time Guild Wars fans will remember this hero from another celebrated expansion, Guild Wars: Factions. Nika has the handy ability of being able to stealth a whole team at once, and their lord.
• Grymm Svaard - Sailor and Sword-for-hire: Supported by his flagship Nomad II, Grymm has the ability to call in cannon barrages which burn and knock down any enemies they hit.

A blog post from Game Designer Branden Gee and Stronghold Game Designer Hugh Norfolk offers more details about Mist Champions and each of their abilities, which include war cries, passive skills and elite skills.