Guild Wars 2 explains the philosophy of Masteries

Players are not getting a level cap bump with Heart of Thorns; the apex of power in Guild Wars 2 will remain Level 80. But there will be new progression in the form of Masteries, which a new article explores in some depth. The difference is that rather than represent universal power growth, Masteries are entirely contextual character improvements that allow characters to better navigate, explore, and handle content that the player is doing anyway. So all of the movement tricks like gliders aren’t just fun ways to explore the jungle; they’re ways for players to access parts of the jungle that would otherwise be cut off.

Players, meanwhile, are a little miffed that all the mastery in the world won’t allow them to access the Super Adventure Box again. A parody video by Eexa expresses annoyance in the only possible way: in the form of a song! It’s probably not going to fully send the message either, but when you’ve already got a history of making musical parodies about building golems and being a genius in Lion’s Arch, it’s at least consistent.