Massively OP’s Best of 2015 Awards: MMO Expansion of the Year

December 16, 2015 11:00 AM

Massively OP’s end-of-the-year awards continue today with our award for best MMO update or expansion of the year.

Last year was a bit heavier on MMO updates and thin on expansions since that was the trend, so the award was expanded to include both, and it was won by Guild Wars 2’s April feature pack patch. This year, we had expansions and patches aplenty!

All of our writers were invited to cast a vote, but not all of them chose to do so for this category. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end.

The Massively OP staff pick for Best MMO Update or Expansion of 2015 is…

Guild Wars 2’s Heart of Thorns

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): Guild Wars 2 Heart of Thorns. While EVE Online has had some pretty great updates throughout 2015, none of them individually was as impressive or content-packed as Guild Wars 2’s Heart of Thorns expansion. The elite specialisations with alternate weapon sets give each profession a new way to play, the Revenant has a completely new style of gameplay, the Heart of Maguuma is an amazing looking zone, and there’s finally a bit more of an actual endgame. The launch itself was very smooth, and the expansion reveals certainly got a lot of attention.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I was super torn on this one because I think Heavensward was a lovely classic MMO expansion (and in fact, before I saw the votes, I expected it to win this category). But ultimately, Guild Wars 2’s Heart of Thorns takes my vote. It isn’t exactly everything I personally wanted out of a Guild Wars 2 expansion, but I can’t deny that it’s a spectacular addition to the game for those who enjoy endgame play.

Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. Remember when I said that this expansion was nearly perfect? Yeah, I stand by that. What more can be said?

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): WildStar: Reloaded. Despite its very rough launch, the actual update was awesome, with a new (and fair) business model, wonderful quality-of-life improvements, and a ton of excitement from new and existing players. Also SWTOR: Knights of the Fallen Empire. BioWare took a gamble with a new type of expansion and it really worked. KotFE had a stellar story — to be continued! — and shook up the established world, creating something much more exciting with improved systems to boot.

Larry Everett (@Shaddoe, blog): Being as objective as I can, I believe that SWTOR: Knights of the Fallen Empire set out to reinvigorate the game’s playerbase and brought many people back to the game to see the new story. Then it delivered. It’s possible that people who were looking for new, brilliant endgame are disappointed. But we all know that endgame is bad, right? For the vast majority of MMO gamers, this expansion hit the sweetspot of what they were looking for: new epic story content and a reinvigorated small group content. There are negatives, but I believe those have been addressed in other columns already. If there is a need for a second choice, I would go with Heavensward. I am not a Final Fantasy fan at all, but I do recognize when a game does something right. And Heavensward delivered on everything it promised and more. It’s not often that I hear of an expansion over-delivering, but that is the case with this expansion.

Matt Daniel (@Matt_DanielMVOP): Gotta go with Heavensward on this one. Three new jobs, one of which is one of the most unique classes I’ve played in a recent MMO, plus new zones, dungeons, raids, etc., all wrapped in a gripping storyline? Yes please.

Tina Lauro (@purpletinabeans): HoT, HoT, HoT! I couldn’t possibly choose another expansion. It’s reinvigorated by friends and added so much more to the endgame. As with any expansion, the feedback isn’t all glowing, but most people agree that the launch was very smooth and that the team worked amazingly well on the product.

Guild Wars 2’s Heart of Thorns won our award for Best Update or Expansion of 2015. What’s your pick?

What was the best MMO patch or expansion of 2015?