'Guild Wars 2' news: 'Heart of Thorns' expansion DLC given release date

"Guild Wars 2" website

Fans of "Guild Wars 2" can now start marking their calendars, as "Heart of Thorns" is now officially set to launch on Oct. 23.

"Heart of Thorns" will be the first expansion released for "Guild Wars 2."

ArenaNet, the game's developer, chose to announce the release date of "Heart of Thorns" in conjunction with the three year anniversary of the game being initially released, according to Polygon.

Players can expect some new content as well as some changes coming to "Guild Wars 2" via the "Heart of Thorns" expansion.

One of the most significant changes being made to "Guild Wars 2" by the arrival of the new expansion will be the reimagined leveling system. The new system, known as Masteries, will not exactly be changing the way people level up as opposed to just altering it once players reach a certain point. With Masteries, players will begin to level up in a different way once they reach level 80. Instead, upon reaching level 80, players will now be given the opportunity to obtain skill-based abilities.

Players will also be given the opportunity to try out a new profession with the arrival of "Heart of Thorns," according to Venture Beat. The new profession is known as revenant, although at this point, additional details about it have not been given.

"Guild Wars 2" players can also expect the arrival of new abilities, skills, and weapons along with the new expansion, and they will be coming to all professions in the game.

"Heart of Thorns" will be available for $50.

In addition to announcing the new expansion, ArenaNet has also announced that they will be making the core "Guild Wars 2" game available for free. By making the core game available for free, ArenaNet is banking on the experience of "Guild Wars 2" on its own being enjoyable enough that players decide to eventually purchase the new expansion.