What do you value the most in an expansion?

ArenaNet's original plan was to release an "expansion-like" season 5. Granted, that was before the layoffs, so maybe the plan has changed; but the idea got me thinking: what defines an expansion? Why do we like it more than living world chapters?

In order to figure that out, I would like to ask you - what do you value the most in an expansion? As in, what kind of content do you like and antecipate the most?

For me there isn't really any difference between an expansion and living world seasons. One comes all in one go and costs extra, the other is spaced out more and free (if you log in during the release period for each episode) but once it's released the content is basically the same. They've added new movement abilities in Season 3 like they did in HoT and new mounts in Season 4 like they did with PoF. I can't see any reason they couldn't release new elite specs as part of the living world, or maybe as the big thing for another 'feature pack' update.

All of the above. It's not about just having a bunch of stuff being released at once. It's the type of stuff.New maps, new lore, new stories to explore. More elite specializations for me to love or hate and maybe even love to hate. Some new twist I didn't expect previously like gliding and mounts. A whole zone just filled with things for me to collect.

I love LS but it's just not the same as an expansion. It might have a lot of the same components but LS is like eating every day while an expansion is more along the lines of thanksgiving dinner.

Selected that option (the closest to what I want), would like to have a story that has nothing to do with dragons. Exploring the origin of races. Especially Asuras for me. Exploring woodland cascades/ maguuma wastes seeking for the ancient underground Quora Sum asuran capital. (Again, not against exploring charrs homeland too)

New zones, New story, New skills, new systems. In that order probably.

Most of the above. Although it's not really about having them "all at once" but about the quality and quantity of content that comes with expansions. Living Story was a novel idea and I liked its first iterations but the current release schedule is too slow for me and the content too "barebones". Most of the time I don't even remember what happened story-wise because it was 3-4 months ago. If they manage to cram some of the features mentioned here in their new "expansion-like" LS season I will be happy.

Here are the threads on the same topic, just since Christmas:

• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/70082/a-lot-keep-wanting-an-expansion-what-would-you-even-want-in-it
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/69974/suggestion-mini-expansion-to-bring-in-some-gw2-revenue
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/69476/expansions-side-stories-vs-living-world
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/68678/asuran-expansion-concept-idea
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/68176/suggestion-future-expansion-living-world-content
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/67084/what-features-would-you-like-to-see-in-the-next-expansion
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/64686/ideas-for-the-next-expansion
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/64634/next-expansion-selling-point-cast-your-votes
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/64524/things-i-would-love-have-if-there-is-another-expansion-elite-specs
• https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/64436/idea-for-the-next-gw2-expansion

More can be found via search

@Mewcifer.5198 said:All of the above. It's not about just having a bunch of stuff being released at once. It's the type of stuff.New maps, new lore, new stories to explore. More elite specializations for me to love or hate and maybe even love to hate. Some new twist I didn't expect previously like gliding and mounts. A whole zone just filled with things for me to collect.

I love LS but it's just not the same as an expansion. It might have a lot of the same components but LS is like eating every day while an expansion is more along the lines of thanksgiving dinner.

This.

Also as IWN pointed out, this thread has come up far to often the last few weeks...

As much as I do love new zones and maps, maybe not every living season chapter has to include oma new one, and we can get longer story content by using instances, dungeons or just more story content in already existing maps.

I voted for new storyline as what I like the most from the list. However, I like everything on the list with the exception of adventures.

New game mechanics is always nice! As mastery system and gliding at HoT and mounts in PoF. Continuation of story, obviously, too. But new game mechanics is what makes my mind go "Weeeeeeeee!"

replayability, thats why i love HoT so much

My vote reflects partly why i prefer expacs over episodic content which are significantly different due to the confines of set frameworks and inconsistent quality between releases that plague the living world for me. But big chunks played at my leisure with varied contents spread out mean im not playing to their schedule as well and i end up feeling more immersed.

@"Erasculio.2914" said:ArenaNet's original plan was to release an "expansion-like" season 5. Granted, that was before the layoffs, so maybe the plan has changed.The voice acting and features and writing for LS5 are already baked in; there's almost no chance they can change anything substantial.

So it makes more sense to think of this as potentially influencing what happens after LS5 (which is only "mostly" decided), perhaps even long after.

what defines an expansion? Why do we like it more than living world chapters?Do "we"? Expansions are what long-term gamers are used to. It's something people can point to as when "big things changed" or were added to a game. ANet's had trouble, since launch, convincing people that it might be more fun to just release stuff as its ready, rather than bundling it all together at discrete points in time.

It reminds me of the 'argument' people make about the game's original dungeons versus fractal dungeons. That also comes down to some people preferring the traditional with others who have trouble seeing any difference (that can't be remedied via modest changes in presentation).

I'm not against expansions. On the other hand, it's hard to be against getting the same features and stories without paying for an expac.

A combination.

A new area is almost required. New specializations aren't, but It would be disappointing if they weren't included. A major feature is also pretty much needed as a reason-to-buy.

These 3 things are what a GW2 expansion needs at a minimum.

Other, because the more boxes it ticks, the better it is for the entire community, provided it's done reasonably well.

That and hopefully a return to Cantha but I doubt that will ever happen from what I've heard :(

New content is worth little to nothing without a well written, well executed story. Good writing with innovative ideas, excellent dialogue, and an exciting pace is everything.

Music, pof was a dissapointment in this. HoT has a great soundtrack

In my opinion, expansions mark an important shift in the storyline, as well as a completely new and different environement to explore, with it's specific lore, and it's set of mechanics. As opposed to LS episodes which are more of a thread to follow, piece by piece, expansion are a large nugget that you have to check every side of, to get a good understanding of how it's meant to go.

That said, for me, the immediate interest of expansions lies within the Elite Specializations. I like to play tactically, and to experiment with new possibilities, so any new set of skills and mechanics will determine how interested I am with the expansion. Elite specs can radically alter how a class is played, to the point of making it feel like a completely different class, as well as open a new window into party compositions for some classes. And classes can be experimented with in any content anywhere, which makes it far more important in my eyes compared to other things.

I was thinking about how the "Mist distortion" idea ArenaNet used in Jahai Bluffs was very clever (in what is a very clever map, by the way). It's the perfect excuse to allow us to see anything in Tyria - they could even take our characters all the way back to Pre Searing Ascalon and mine more of that sweet, sweet nostalgia...

...But this is the kind of thing they are not going to do in a Living World map. This kind of completely new area with a brand new titleset, terrain, enemies and etc is not the kind of thing ArenaNet does outside of an expansion. Even the temporal distortions in Jahai Bluffs were there to show us areas we had already seen - the same ruins of Orr, the deep jungle and what was basically a cave. Nothing really new.

For now, this kind of completely new asset - a new area, with a new kind of terrain, new enemies, new soundtrack, and etc - has always required an expansion. IMO, this is one of the most important things a new expansion could bring.

And in second place, new specializations! I really miss having all the options we had in the original Guild Wars. Releasing a few skills at a time (such as the "new" healing skills ArenaNet released before HoT) doesn't have nearly the same impact.

New open world PvE group content (meta events, mostly). I remember how excited I was about Bounties but they are really underwhelming deisgn and reward-wise. HoT metas are the best.

I'm having a hard time limiting it to only one aspect. Specializations are a huge part of what I anticipated for Heart of Thorns and later for Path of Fire. But I also anticipate Story progression, a new musical score, new regions and maps, new metas (which Path of Fire didn't really do as well as Heart of Thorns did), skins, and in general having a lot of new things to do when I don't want to play my instruments and/or partake in World vs. World for that particular moment of the day. I almost wish there were an All of the Above (and possibly more) instead of the Other option, as I'd vote that.

Definitely the story structure. I hate waiting 3 months for the next step and map. An expansion gives me lots of things to do for months and the fact that the entire thing can be built around having the same skill set makes it even better. I HATE that we can't have features from Ep. 1 be present in the latest ones etc.

An expansion not always tied to the LS. Blood Legion Homelands has been part of the map I've always wished would be explore-able. I know it's never going to happen but Cantha when plz...Tengu playable race yeah? Other things would be build templates, 500 chef jeweller, scribe.... fishing, new guild missions idk that sorta stuff.

Also to include meaningful WvW content, not just new elite specs "now go whack each other with your new shiny sticks" and then leave the mode for lord knows how many months on end.