10. Get to level 80
If you haven't gotten any of your characters to level 80 yet, now is the time! If you want to enjoy all of the content that Heart of Thorns has to offer, you'll need a character at max level. The good news is that its easier than ever to level in Guild Wars 2. No matter what you like to do -- sPvP, WvW, craft, explore -- it will help you get closer to level 80. If you're in a hurry, fighting for dominance in the Edge of the Mists is fast, fun, and gives lots of Badges of Honor and Champion Bags.
And even if you already have a character at 80, it might be worthwhile to get some of your others caught up.
9. Finish Up Those Achievements
When Heart of Thorns launches, you aren't going to want to be trekking back through old territory to try to wrap up all the achievements and challenges you might have missed. While there are always going to people in every zone, the population is probably going to be centered in the new Maguuma Waste zones for a while. So now is a good time to find those Skritt Burglars, run Tequatl or Triple Trouble a few times, kill all of the bosses in the Silverwastes, and find a group for some of the harder Living Story achievements.
8. Visit the Silverwastes
If you haven't gone to the new zone that was introduced in the Point of No Return update, now is the time. Not only will the Silverwastes get you prepared for the upcoming expansion (ArenaNet has said that the new zones will be similar to it), but right now its a great place to get gold, achievement points, materials, and other goodies. Make sure to do the Vinewrath event for a chance at the rare Carapace Set, and join a chest train for loot and high-end crafting materials.
7. Read Up on Class Specializations
Your ranger might be your favorite class right now, but the changes coming in Heart of Thorns are going to mix things up a bit. Classes are going to get specializations -- like prestige classes -- that allow them to do new, cool things. The Ranger's specialization, druid, will grant them access to a staff, and it has been confirmed that the Necromancer will be able to use a greatsword. That's just the start, so you may find that a class you weren't interested in or hadn't bothered to level yet suddenly has a lot more appeal.
6. Get Equipped
Now is also a good time to get your hands on all of the equipment you need to meet Mordremoth head on. If your main character isn't in exotics already, they should be. And if they are, it might be a good time to try to finish your ascended trinkets or even craft a piece of ascended armor or two. If you're planning on trying out the Revenant, you might want to pick up a set of level 80 heavy armor and store it in your bank -- prices are likely to skyrocket the first few days of the expansion.
5. Stockpile Tomes and Scrolls of Knowledge
If you're planning on making a Revenant and you want to meet the new expansion head on, then you probably want to head to the Heart of the Mists and earn yourself some tomes of knowledge through PvP. Even if you don't want to farm up 78 entire tomes to skip leveling entirely, a handful of tomes, a scroll of experience from your birthday rewards, and a little crafting can massively cut down the time it takes to level a new 80. Plus, while we're not sure exactly how masteries will work, it seems like they are tied to leveling up at max level, making tomes of knowledge even more essential.
4. Stockpile Crafting Materials
We know that there are going to be paths for precursor crafting, as well as new recipes introduced in the expansion, and we may even be gaining access to Jewelcrafting and Cooking 400-500, so if you're not hurting for time or cash, it's a good idea to start storing up crafting materials, especially time-gated ones like Charged Quartz Crystals, Deldrimor Ingots, and Bolts of Damask. Even if you don't end up needing them, these items are always in high demand, and prices are no doubt going to be a bit inflated at the start of Heart of Thorns as players equip their new characters.
3. Finish Up Living Story Items and Achievements
If you've unlocked the Living Story, you can always go back and work on it, but there are a lot people running achievements and crafting items from it right now. If you want to make Mawdrey, or finish that set of Bioluminescent Armor, you are going to have an easier time of it before the expansion launches. If your goal is to finish up something that was introduced in season 2 of the living story, work on it now rather than later.
2. Finish All the Pieces of Your Legendary
One thing we know for sure will be introduced in Heart of Thorns is precursor crafting, which means you no longer have to gamble on the Mystic Forge or shell out an exorbitant sum on the Trading Post to get the key item you need for your legendary. You will still need all of the other parts though, which means finishing world exploration, stockpiling mystic clovers and obsidian shards, getting the required number of dungeon tokens, etc. Get this done now so you can focus on the fun part of precusor hunting when it's introduced.
1. Get Excited!
Heart of Thorns is going to add tons of new features, a new class, specializations, new crafting recipes, challenging boss fights, group content, and tons of other cool stuff. Since Guild Wars 2 is all about playing how you want, the best thing to do is read up on the new additions and decide what you're going to focus on in the new expansion -- maybe you want to make a sylvari to blend in to the jungle, or get better at PvP for the new Stronghold map, or get your look just right so that you can fight Mordremoth in style!
