On the latest episode of Guild Chat, Composer Maclaine Diemer and Composer and Game Designer Lena Chappelle joined host Rubi Bayer to talk about composing the soundtrack for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™. Game Director Colin Johanson also stopped by to give players a quick update; you can read his full State of the Game blog here.

Maclaine described how the main theme of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns evolved through several different versions. When Maclaine began composing the theme, he didn’t have a full picture of the story. An early idea became the theme for the rebuilt Lion’s Arch, but as Maclaine learned more about the expansion, he began introducing elements to evoke the feeling of the jungle. He iterated on the music, introducing Mordremoth’s theme as part of the overall composition and adding tension and menace. Maclaine played several different versions of the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns theme to show how it evolved.

Lena said that whenever a piece of music starts to work, it lessens the frustration of not being able to get it right previously. When working on the Tarir theme, she began by composing around the image of Rytlock Brimstone opening the door to Tarir in the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns announcement trailer. However, she came to feel as though she was composing someone else’s soundtrack and realized that she needed to go back and begin by introducing the area and the city. By doing that, she was able to create a greater sense of motion through the zone.

You can purchase the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns soundtrack on vinyl through iam8bit! If you missed this episode, you can check out a recording below.