The episode’s called The Head of the Snake and will see “the advancement of the story as Queen Jennah summons players to her side, where they’ll act as her personal witness in uncovering the nest of corruption in Divinity’s Reach,” the studio says. “Along with The Head of the Snake will come the brand-new raid wing Bastion of the Penitent. The destruction of the Maguuma Bloodstone has opened a mysterious portal in Bloodstone Fen, and beyond it lies a sinister and ancient place with little chance of escape. This raid will provide players with four bosses to overcome as they discover what mysteries are still chained behind its walls.”
As always, players can simply log in to the base game, even if they don’t own Heart of Thorns, to “bank” the episode for the future, though you’ll need to own the expansion and be level 80 to actually play it. That goes for the current episode as well.
Don’t own the expansion? Maybe take advantage of this week’s sale; ANet’s marked the game down to 50% until February 8th. In the meantime, the trailer is below!