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.

ArenaNet announced that regular seasons for PvP where all players can compete and be rewarded are coming with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

The new system, called PvP Leagues, gives players regular seasons during which they can enroll in starter divisions and earn their way up as they advance their skills, earning unique rewards along the way. PvP Leagues will provide a system for better ranked play, improved matchmaking, and regular goals that give players a roadmap to become higher level competitors.

The launch of PvP Leagues in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns sets the stage for the future of top competition in the game. PvP Leagues will introduce six divisions, from division one, Amber, where every player will start out, all the way to the top Legendary division. Divisions will be broken up into tiers, and each tier has several pips. To earn a bump in tier players must earn pips that they can acquire by winning matches outright or putting in impressive performances, depending on the skill level of their opponents. In divisions two and three, players can lose pips they’ve earned but they will not lose tiers. Once players reach division four and five, where competition is expected to really heat up, both pips and tiers will be at stake based on performance.

PvP Leagues will incentivize competition with unique rewards including a new legendary back item, the legendary backpack. Along the way, participants can also earn badges for their character nameplates that change as they move into higher divisions. There is also the opportunity to work towards the Wings of Glory by earning league tokens that can be exchanged for different levels of wings to display. ArenaNet plans on adding new items in the future, and new items will always be offered for league tokens at a discount to encourage continuous practice and play. Guilds are also getting a boost with the introduction of Guild Teams in PvP Leagues. Guilds who form PvP teams will be able to track their progress on Guild Team Leaderboards, which will be based on the Elo system as skill-based comparisons between teams. Ratings will decay over time, meaning Guild Teams will need to stay active in PvP League play to maintain their ranks.

“We are thrilled to be bringing you PvP Leagues with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. It has been one of the last key pieces to the structure of PvP that gives players of all skill levels a chance to improve, advance, earn their place among the heroes of the Mists, and have something to show for it. We are looking forward to crushing our opponents (in friendly competition), standing atop their bloody helms (in the air of good sportsmanship), climbing to the next division, then casting their corpses away (all in good fun),” said Guild Wars 2 associate director John Corpening