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Which expansions are available, and what should I buy first?

Expansion Guide: What to Buy and Why

At a glance

Start with the Path of Fire + Heart of Thorns bundle. Playing these expansions lets you unlock mounts and gliding, then improve them through masteries. Consider the others as you go.

Suggested purchase order

If you need a starting point, follow this order.

1
Path of Fire + Heart of Thorns bundle

These two expansions are sold together. Unlock and train mounts in PoF and gliding in HoT, with both expansions’ stories, maps, and elite specializations included. Do not confuse this bundle with the similarly named Guild Wars 2 Starter Pack. That separate pack only provides a basic raptor, basic gliding, and convenience items, so we do not recommend buying it.

2
End of Dragons

Choose this next if you want to continue the story. It adds Cantha, fishing, skiffs, and more.

3
Secrets of the Obscure / Janthir Wilds / Visions of Eternity

These are the newer expansions. After exploring the earlier content, pick the one whose features interest you.

Suggested purchase order

Elder Dragon Saga: Complete Collection
Includes: the base game + Heart of Thorns + Path of Fire + End of Dragons + Living World Seasons 2–5
Compare this package if you want the first three expansions and the stories between them. Be sure to distinguish it from a standard collection without Living World.

Buy for your account type: Before creating an account, you can compare regional prices. If you already have a Steam account, buy on Steam. For an ArenaNet account, buy the matching product from the official store or an authorized retailer.

All six expansions

Listed in release order. Buying Path of Fire includes Heart of Thorns at no additional cost.

Free

Base game (free) Free to Play

Core / free permanently

Play to level 80 without a subscription. Includes eight professions, the base game’s Central Tyria areas, PvP, and WvW.

⚔️Eight professions: Warrior, Guardian, Ranger, Thief, Engineer, Necromancer, Elementalist, and Mesmer. Revenant requires HoT, PoF, or EoD.
🗺️Base-game Central Tyria areas: Level 1–80 quests & events
⚔️PvP (Structured PvP): Competitive 5v5 matches
🏰WvW (World vs. World): Large-scale battles between three teams
💬Trading Post restrictions: free accounts cannot freely buy and sell any equipment or material they want. Only allowed items, such as logs, ore, and some crafted equipment, can be traded. Applying any expansion upgrades your account, and Trading Post restrictions lift five days later. You can freely whisper mutual friends. Other recipients must be on the same map, and you can start a conversation with a new person only once every 30 seconds.
🎒Two character slots: Five on a paid account
Key point: Buying an expansion gives you access to its areas, story, and masteries, and lifts free-account restrictions. The base game alone still offers plenty to play through level 80.
HoT

Heart of Thorns Included with PoF

Released in 2015 · 1st expansion

The first Guild Wars 2 expansion. Its story takes you into the Maguuma Jungle, and it introduced gliding, the mastery system, and the revenant profession.

🪂 Gliding: Glide through the air; available in most open-world areas once unlocked
⭐ Mastery system: Progression beyond level 80
⚔️ Elite specializations: A first advanced specialization for each profession
🏰 Guild halls: A dedicated space for your guild
🗺️ Four Maguuma Jungle maps: Layered terrain with plenty of vertical exploration
🧙 Revenant profession: A new heavy-armor profession
For new players: Included when you buy Path of Fire. To unlock gliding through HoT, complete the story chapter Torn from the Sky and train Glider Basics. You can then use it in most open-world areas.
PoF

Path of Fire Recommended first purchase

Released in 2017 · 2nd expansion · Includes HoT

This expansion introduced the mount system, bringing a major change to how you move around the world. Heart of Thorns is included at no additional cost.

🦅 Six mounts with PoF unlock routes: Raptor, springer, skimmer, jackal, and griffon; warclaw through its WvW unlock route
🐉 Skyscale: Own PoF and all six Living World Season 4 episodes, then complete the unlock collections. SotO offers a separate route.
⚔️ Second elite specializations: A second advanced specialization for each profession
🗺️ Five Crystal Desert maps: Wide, open landscapes
⚔️ Three raid wings: Challenging content for groups of ten
🐆 Permanent raptor unlock: Available at level 10 with an expansion purchase
For new players: Mounts are useful in most open-world areas, from leveling to endgame. This expansion transforms travel, and the included HoT gives you two expansions in one purchase.
EoD

End of Dragons Recommended second

Released in 2022 · 3rd expansion

The conclusion of the Elder Dragon Saga, set in the Asian-inspired continent of Cantha. It adds fishing, skiffs, raid encounters, and more.

⛵ Skiffs: Boats for traveling across water and fishing
🐢 Siege turtle: A combat mount with seats for two players
⚔️ Third elite specializations: A third advanced specialization for each profession
🎣 Fishing & skiffs: New activities away from combat
🗺️ Five Canthan open-world maps: Asian-inspired cities and natural landscapes
⚔️ Four launch raid encounters: Aetherblade Hideout, Xunlai Jade Junkyard, Kaineng Overlook, and Harvest Temple, with challenge modes
🏘️ Isle of Reflection: A new guild hall map
For new players: Jade Bot system adds useful features. Equip sensory arrays and service chips to customize what your bot does.
SotO

Secrets of the Obscure Consider later

Released in 2023 · 4th expansion · First under the new release model

A new story after the Elder Dragon Saga. It began the shift from large expansions to smaller expansions with quarterly updates.

🐉 A shorter skyscale unlock route: A faster, easier route than the PoF + Living World Season 4 collections
⚔️ Weaponmaster Training ★: Use elite-specialization weapons with other builds. For example, a firebrand can use the longbow previously tied to dragonhunter. New weapons have their own unlock requirements in the relevant expansions.
🗡️ Expanded Weapon Proficiency: One additional SotO weapon type for each profession
💎 Relic slot introduced (also available in the base game): Usable at level 60; separates special effects from the sixth rune bonus
🌟 Wizard's Vault: Available to free accounts with a level-80 character. Some objectives and rewards require an expansion.
🛡️ Legendary armor crafting: An additional route to legendary armor
🗺️ New areas: Skywatch Archipelago, Amnytas, and Inner Nayos, plus the Wizard’s Tower hub
For new players: If getting a skyscale quickly is your priority, this expansion offers a shortcut. Weaponmaster Training also opens up more build choices. Consider it after exploring the earlier expansions.
JW

Janthir Wilds Consider later

Released in 2024 · 5th expansion

A new story in Janthir. Introduces homesteads for player housing and spears for use on land.

🗡️ Land spears ★: A new weapon option for every profession, unlocked through Lowland Spear Training
🐺 PvE warclaw: A PvE unlock route and mastery track to improve the warclaw
🏡 Homesteads: Account-wide housing. The default limit is 1,000 decorations; mastery training and purchased limit increases raise it to 2,000.
⚔️ Raid wings return: Mount Balrior, the first new raid wing since PoF
🗺️ Four new areas: Lowland Shore, Janthir Syntri, Mistburned Barrens, and Bava Nisos
For new players: Homesteads are appealing if you enjoy decorating and social activities. Consider this expansion after exploring the earlier content.
VoE

Visions of Eternity Latest expansion

Released in 2025 · 6th expansion

The latest expansion takes you to Castora. It adds another elite specialization for every profession and major improvements to skimmer movement through masteries.

⚔️ Elite specializations: A fourth advanced specialization for each profession
🌊 Skimmer mastery improvements: Improved hovering, diving, and upward movement
🗺️ Four Castoran open-world maps: Shipwreck Strand, Starlit Weald, Eternity’s Garden, and Leyspring Hollows (as of October 2026)
⚔️ New raids & fractals: Guardian’s Glade and Nexus of Eternity raid encounters; the Solitary Throne fractal
For new players: Although this is the latest expansion, the earlier ones make a better starting purchase for beginners.

What is Living World?

These are story episodes originally released between expansions. Season 1 is free. Season 2 only requires purchasing its episodes. Season 3 also requires HoT; Season 4 and the Icebrood Saga (Season 5) also require PoF.

Living World Seasons 3 and 4 are also useful sources of ascended trinkets. Season 3 maps use Unbound Magic, and Season 4 maps use Volatile Magic, to help you obtain stat-selectable ascended trinkets. Trinkets are a cost-effective place to start with ascended gear, so make use of these options if you own the relevant episodes.

The Elder Dragon Saga: Complete Collection (Steam) includes Living World Seasons 2–5. This Steam package cannot be purchased for an account that already owns the PoF/HoT bundle or EoD. Buy Living World with gems in the game on that account instead. You can purchase gems or exchange gold for them. ArenaNet accounts should buy the appropriate ArenaNet product through the official store.

Common purchasing mistakes

Buying the newest expansion first

Each expansion can be purchased without owning earlier ones. For a first purchase, choose the PoF + HoT bundle to get access to several mounts and their masteries, plus gliding upgrades.

Buying every expansion at once

Start with PoF + HoT to learn the movement systems and explore the content, then add expansions that interest you. If you plan to follow the whole story, compare the contents and total price of a Complete Collection that includes Living World before your first purchase.

Mixing Steam and ArenaNet purchases

If you started on Steam, buy expansions on Steam. For an ArenaNet account, buy ArenaNet codes from the official store or an authorized retailer. Products for a different platform will not apply to your account.