Trying to survive in the MMO space these days is hard. With The Elder Scrolls Online not managing to make it to its first birthday with its subscription fee intact and WildStar seeming to be suffering similar issues, the fact that Guild Wars 2

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Before we dive into the intricacies of the Mastery System, you need to understand the setting where all of this is going to take place. To that end, we’ve got an exclusive first look for you at the varied biomes of the Maguuma Jungle right here:

“We really broke it down into three areas, where in different areas of the game will weave in and out of these different biomes,” explains lead designer Isaiah Cartwright. “One is the canopy, the top level of the jungle, which is littered with all of the pieces of the destroyed Pact Fleet and so you see lots of vines and newly destroyed airships and things like that.

“ What we've really done is try to make a system that works a little bit more like what we've seen in console games like Metroid or Zelda.

“Then it comes down to the jungle floor and this is where you might think of a typical jungle of getting through really dense plant life and dealing with all the things that live there. Then going down into the roots of the jungle, underneath the jungle, and being able to see what lies beneath.”

For those who’ve been playing lately, you’ll already know why we’re heading to Maguuma. Sure, some would prefer to revisit the old locations of Cantha or Elona, but given how the story was left at the end of Living World Season 2, it’s clear why we’re headed to the jungle. That’s not the only reason we’re on our way to this particular setting, however. The other big benefit of the new zone is how well its vertical design lends itself to creating variety in the Mastery System. Back at the announcement of HoT, we were told about hang-gliding as one of the examples of how the new feature will open up new methods of traversal, though there’ll also be mushrooms you’ll be able to interact with that’ll offer you access to new areas or better vantage points. Speaking to IGN, system designer David Webb went into detail about how both lore junkies and those who get a kick out of combat will find things to enhance gameplay too.

“We have some new NPC races in the world,” he says. “One of them is the Itzel and when you meet them or start earning points in the Mastery System you can start learning some of their language. By doing that, that might unlock things that you weren't able to access before, like possibly vendors or things like that.

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“As you keep progressing in the lore with the Itzel they'll start giving you access to special combat abilities that will help you overcome obstacles that you absolutely could not defeat before. As you continue on you learn more about their culture and the ways that they hunt and gather trophies which will unlock collections and things that'll give you even more access to the world.”

“ If I could get any one of these things perfect it would be making sure that our progression system feels very new and innovative compared to the way you've ever progressed in an MMO before.

Unlike other MMOs, the aim here isn’t to race through the expansion, hit the new level cap, and start the endgame; instead you’re progressing in a very real way right from the minute you begin. Though you’ll find lots of the Mastery content in Maguuma, it’ll expand outwards so you’ll be seeing it in existing portions of the world, too. You’ll even be able to use some of them in the Fractals dungeons. Mastery points will be earned through story missions, completing challenges and obtaining achievements – so if you want to gain more options with your glider, you’ll do so by using it. Best of all, once you’ve earned an ability it’s available to all of your characters; you won’t have to re-earn or grind it up again.

“What we've really done is try to make a system that works a little bit more like what we've seen in console games like Metroid or Zelda where the progression systems feel a little more natural, feel a little more integrated with the environment and content and allow you to interact with the world around you,” explains Cartwright of the feature’s inspirations. “We feel like there's a little bit more satisfaction to that style of progression rather than a nice curve that's slowly going up as you're levelling and creatures are getting more difficult.”

“With combat, it’ll be more like a reveal like you might see in a game like Zelda where there’s a feeling like wow, I got this tool and now I remember when I was trying to fight this creature before I couldn't get past this one ability; this tool clearly tells me this is the key to that lock and now I'm going to open it,” adds Mastery design lead Crystin Cox. “That feeling is one of the things we're really going: now I have more power, not because a number went up but because I can actually do this thing.”

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There’s still no confirmed release date for Heart of Thorns, but the aim here is to create a game that can continue to grow for years to come in a meaningful and satisfying way, and this new system is the cornerstone upon which the new vision is built. It’s been three years since launch so, as our time together comes to a close, I ask what the team have learnt and what the driving force is for them going into this expansion.

“I think we sought out with Guild Wars 2 to solve a lot of big problems that we've seen with the MMO genre and I think some of those we successfully tackled,” says Cartwright. “But we want to seek out and solve some other problems and I think the way progression is handled is one that we've seen that creates both problems for the developer and for the player.

“So, really, if I could get any one of these things perfect it would be making sure that our progression system feels very new and innovative compared to the way you've ever progressed in an MMO before. I think that has such far-reaching implications, because it affects every player no matter how they play and what they do and how they interact with the world. Making that a stronger experience; making it feel more natural when interacting with the world to grow your character. We know your time matters and we’re not taking that for granted.”

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter