Guild Wars 2

Hey guys,
i’m a keen fractal runner who enjoys challenging obstacles and tasks. But i also love to pass tactics and ticks to newcomers (teaching fractals in general), after i let them try to figure it out by themselfes of course. Next to jumping puzzles this is my favourite pastime by far, hence i spend a lot of time in fractals, if not whole days.

This was before HoT.

Now i’m a little confused.
You surely can image how amazed i was when i heard that fractals will expanded to level 100! Since i own the original Guild Wars 2 during wich time fractals where introduced i somehow thought i can fight my way up to level 100 without buying HoT.

When i learned that i NEED HoT to proceed after a certain level my initial hype shifts to pure disappointment and frustration. The fact that i’m forced to pay yet another 50€ to enjoy content i’m already payed 60€ for makes me feel kind of betrayed, since there is nothing really new to it – however i’m kept from reaching the final stage.

Despite my mixed feelings, i wonder how far i can get without HoT. Since the (ralistic) maximum AR you can get without the second infusion slot and +7 versatile infusions is 100, i guess something around level 70?!

Anyways – i think i will run a few more levels, but if this HoT barrier stays i guess i will quit GW2 eventually due to the omnipresent “you can never reach the final level” feeling.

Sincerely,
an unhappy fractal player

As a player who only runs fractals and who still doesn’t have the expansion – come, let me hug you.

It sucks, but look at it this way. The original game cost $60 and has been out for 3+ years with regular content updates, new features and a large playerbase, on top of this there has never been a sub for it or anything you needed to purchase.
I consider that once off purchase to be great value for money considering when i buy a game nowdays i’m usually finished with it within a few weeks.
HoT will continue to receive the same attention and updates that the original did, just because fractals havent gotten much love now doesnt mean there wont be big positive changes down the line, sure fractals werent even something that was included or promised when the game originally released, they were added in later at no extra cost.
If i get anywhere near the same thing from HoT i think its worth every cent.

Thank you for the post OP. I feel the same way and it’s not just the level scaling that is cut off for core players who own the base game. It’s rewards too. The encryption boxes become more rewarding after Fractal Mastery 3.

Fractals aren’t a HoT feature. They are a part of the core game. Partially hiding what was supposed to be a feature of the “Fractured” update that happened 2 years ago behind a second paywall(HoT) is a terrible decision.

This never should have happened. Subtly hiding rewards behind a paywall is gross too.

It’s also gross for players that own HoT. How? From doing Fractals with players in my guild that own HoT, they have been saying how bad the XP gain is for Fractal Masteries when they do Fractals. That’s awful. They would have to play other content to earn XP at a better rate so that they can level their Fractal Masteries faster. Shouldn’t the best way to earn Fractal Masteries be by doing Fractals?

So now, not only have you put core game features behind a paywall, but my guildies who own HoT don’t want to do Fractals because it’s a terrible way to level their masteries for Fractals. The Encryption boxes aren’t worth the inventory slots they are taking up because they aren’t rewarding enough until mastery level 3.

Please reconsider how this works. Core players should have 100% access to Fractals. *It’s not expansion content.

As someone who just bought HoT just to play fractals I feel your pain. ANET should fix this! Fractals for everyone! More people more fun.

Thank you guys
Nice to hear that i’m not alone with this!

An expansion should in no way have a negative effect on old content, but Anet is basically just forcing everyone to buy the expansion by locking old content behind mastery gates and completely nerfing the rewards of old content into oblivion.
I bought the expansion, but I really wish I didn’t after seeing how Anet treats their customers.

Iason Evan.3806:

Shouldn’t the best way to earn Fractal Masteries be by doing Fractals?

“Shouldn’t the best way to be able to progress through fractals be doing fractals”

Yes it should, but Anet doesn’t think so. That’s why we can’t get ascended amulets and accessories in there and it’s why ascended weapon/armor boxes are incredibly rare, even though the main reason to go full ascended for most players is to progress through fractals. The 10%~ bonus damage from full ascended don’t even matter to most or they don’t even know it’s that much of a damage bonus, with trinkets making up the bigger part of it iirc.

They should add the fractal mastery and pact mastery to core game owners and leave the rest to HoT. Autoloot has been long overdue and the fractals revamp is just lol.

siljo.3168:

They should add the fractal mastery and pact mastery to core game owners and leave the rest to HoT.

I would REALLY appreciate that! Maybe it gets me to the point where i can recommend this game to others again and invite them to having fun together

I think I am also stuck because I didn’t buy HoT.

Can anyone tell me how I can complete the “Follows Advice” quest required for fractals? See screenshot below:

You need to unlock Fractal MR1, which you can’t do without HoT.

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

You need to unlock Fractal MR1, which you can’t do without HoT.

Thanks for the reply!

I don’t understand why Anet would do this to the core users. Nowhere does this explicitly state that HoT is required for completion. However, the word ‘mastery’ does appear in the quest description…what a bummer.

People getting kitten about fractals progression past 50 when they don’t even have elite specs unlocked yet really makes my day.

Going into a 50+ fractal and partying with people with mastery level 30+ (hi CoF farmers) who aren’t even elite specced yet always makes me laugh. Bit premature there.

I dunno how you guys plan to do high fracs with just the base classes to begin with, unless your plan is just to be carried by HoT players.

Are you saying Elite Specs are outright better than the base Speccs? Because if you are, you are contradicting Anet who claimed they are just “different” that “they shouldnt be better or worse”.

Which would make nowadays PvP look like Pay2Advantage.

have you seen the chronomancer lol

Quickfoot Katana.8642:

[…]you are contradicting Anet who claimed they are just “different” that “they shouldnt be better or worse”.[…]

I agree with that and i’d like to add that group compilation is up to the creator. So if you don’t want to go with Core Gamers, just don’t go with them. In contrast i can imagine a setting where “to be carried by HoT players” is desired (assuming that’s the case): Namely if you want to have fun with your friends in fractals and one of them doesn’t have purchased HoT.

But besides, thats not my point. I’m just sad that i’m locked out from reaching the final Level, while my friends struggle to proceed without me. I really hope they change that.

Iason Evan.3806:

Thank you for the post OP. I feel the same way and it’s not just the level scaling that is cut off for core players who own the base game. It’s rewards too. The encryption boxes become more rewarding after Fractal Mastery 3.

Fractals aren’t a HoT feature. They are a part of the core game. Partially hiding what was supposed to be a feature of the “Fractured” update that happened 2 years ago behind a second paywall(HoT) is a terrible decision.

This never should have happened. Subtly hiding rewards behind a paywall is gross too.

It’s also gross for players that own HoT. How? From doing Fractals with players in my guild that own HoT, they have been saying how bad the XP gain is for Fractal Masteries when they do Fractals. That’s awful. They would have to play other content to earn XP at a better rate so that they can level their Fractal Masteries faster. Shouldn’t the best way to earn Fractal Masteries be by doing Fractals?

So now, not only have you put core game features behind a paywall, but my guildies who own HoT don’t want to do Fractals because it’s a terrible way to level their masteries for Fractals. The Encryption boxes aren’t worth the inventory slots they are taking up because they aren’t rewarding enough until mastery level 3.

Please reconsider how this works. Core players should have 100% access to Fractals. *It’s not expansion content.

There is nothing else that I can contribute to this topic since this post pretty much sums it all up in its entirety. Anet if you’re reading this, I’m saying this as a person who already owns the current expansion, reevaluate your fractal systems.

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

People getting kitten about fractals progression past 50 when they don’t even have elite specs unlocked yet really makes my day.

Going into a 50+ fractal and partying with people with mastery level 30+ (hi CoF farmers) who aren’t even elite specced yet always makes me laugh. Bit premature there.

I dunno how you guys plan to do high fracs with just the base classes to begin with, unless your plan is just to be carried by HoT players.

Missing the entire point of this thread which is to criticize anet requiring HoT to progress in fractals.

Also people have already reached level 100 without any elite specs whatsoever.

It’s nice to see you back to trolling the forums after all this time though.

You never paid for fractals, they added it as free content. Just want to mention that.

Why are you surprised that they gated some new stuff to HoT? It’s a paid expansion, you get more content when you buy it. That’s how it works. Masteries is the GW2 way of end game leveling, just like other MMOs raise the level caps 5-10 levels.
Soon people are going to complain that they paid 60$ for the current professions and they should get elite specs for free because professions are a part of the core game..

ArenaNet even said – masteries are a part of the expansion and they are adding Fractal Masteries. So everyone knew all along that you probably had to get the expansion to keep going with fractals 50-100.

And those who are saying that people already reached level 100 without elite specs:
Elite specs aren’t really OP or a new class, it’s a new way of playing the current classes.

TL;DR:
It’s not wierd that you have to get the new expansion to progress, especially when fractals 50-100 were added with HoT.

The game has been out for 3 yrs with tons of free content and probl the most user friendly cash shop in the industry (little to no p2w walls) and yet some find the need to comment and want more free stuff. And as above poster said, fractals was added after the core release.

ANet is really walking a fine line here. In their fractal redesign they restructured the fractal progression, and now are claiming that fractals over level 50 are the ‘new’ content (as higher levels weren’t there before) and therefore can be locked by HoT purchase. Of course most people are well aware that it’s the same old content with higher number tucked on to it, but technically, ANet’s claim is valid.

IMO they should have not locked 50+ fractals behind the expansion. Backpiece, sure. New vendor, fine. Even better rewards from masteries I am kinda ok with (not really, but it’s acceptable). But hard locking basic progression (already hindered by the lack of the merchant/masteries) is a step too far.

Zania.8461:

ANet is really walking a fine line here. In their fractal redesign they restructured the fractal progression, and now are claiming that fractals over level 50 are the ‘new’ content (as higher levels weren’t there before) and therefore can be locked by HoT purchase. Of course most people are well aware that it’s the same old content with higher number tucked on to it, but technically, ANet’s claim is valid.

IMO they should have not locked 50+ fractals behind the expansion. Backpiece, sure. New vendor, fine. Even better rewards from masteries I am kinda ok with (not really, but it’s acceptable). But hard locking basic progression (already hindered by the lack of the merchant/masteries) is a step too far.

Oh, you can technically get to scale 90, if not even further, without expansion. It would, however, require a cubic ton of gold. Just with +5 Infusions you can hit 70AR, and then you can buy agony infusions for the infused back and rings. Assuming +21 is the highest you can get, you could get another 63 AR, totaling at 133 AR which is enough to survive agony in scale 90 without any penalty and the next boss being at 98, which would allow you to run any scale up to 97 without issues if you can dodge a bit. Of course, getting three of those +21 infusions is completely unreasonable for pretty much everyone, but ANet can point at it, say it’s there and that you’re technically able to complete the content without buying the expansion, especially considering you could run 98-100 if someone picks you up after dying at the boss room.

Thank you for the correction. As I do have HoT, I misunderstood what exactly was locked behind the expansion.

EDIT: I am really not horribly surprised by this. There were plenty of speculations as to how the 50+ content will be gated past HoT with most people agreeing it would be through masteries. Which is kinda is.

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

have you seen the chronomancer lol

Yeah, I’d also say Druid is better, in a different way than core Ranger.

Reaper as well, although that’s besides the point.

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

Exactly this. If you really want it, buy. If you don’t, don’t buy it. But do not whine about what you don’t get because it’s your choices only. None of us actually own the game, we just own an access to it.

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

It’s not the price of the expansion or that they’re locking new content behind it, that’s fine.
It’s that people are upset existing content (which originally went to 80 and even past that if you didn’t leave) is now technically requiring HoT on higher scales except you manage to turn in massive amounts of infusions/gold (and even then you won’t exactly hit the required 150 AR for scale 100)

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

It’s not the price of the expansion or that they’re locking new content behind it, that’s fine.
It’s that people are upset existing content (which originally went to 80 and even past that if you didn’t leave) is now technically requiring HoT on higher scales except you manage to turn in massive amounts of infusions/gold (and even then you won’t exactly hit the required 150 AR for scale 100)

As far as i remember, core game include 50 fractals levels. 51 to 100 are added with HoT, that’s normal for it to be locked for core player imo. You can still play 1 to 50 with the core game.

The real problem is only about the reward gating, coupled with dungeon nerf. That’s all.

Kordash.2197:

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

It’s not the price of the expansion or that they’re locking new content behind it, that’s fine.
It’s that people are upset existing content (which originally went to 80 and even past that if you didn’t leave) is now technically requiring HoT on higher scales except you manage to turn in massive amounts of infusions/gold (and even then you won’t exactly hit the required 150 AR for scale 100)

As far as i remember, core game include 50 fractals levels. 51 to 100 are added with HoT, that’s normal for it to be locked for core player imo. You can still play 1 to 50 with the core game.

The real problem is only about the reward gating, coupled with dungeon nerf. That’s all.

Oh, you are simply unable to access difficulties higher than 50 if you don’t have HoT? I can’t try it out of course, but I was under the assumption you can run any difficulty.

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Kordash.2197:

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

It’s not the price of the expansion or that they’re locking new content behind it, that’s fine.
It’s that people are upset existing content (which originally went to 80 and even past that if you didn’t leave) is now technically requiring HoT on higher scales except you manage to turn in massive amounts of infusions/gold (and even then you won’t exactly hit the required 150 AR for scale 100)

As far as i remember, core game include 50 fractals levels. 51 to 100 are added with HoT, that’s normal for it to be locked for core player imo. You can still play 1 to 50 with the core game.

The real problem is only about the reward gating, coupled with dungeon nerf. That’s all.

Oh, you are simply unable to access difficulties higher than 50 if you don’t have HoT? I can’t try it out of course, but I was under the assumption you can run any difficulty.

Well you can. But you are just getting rekt by agony, that’s the same as saying you can’t.

Kordash.2197:

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Kordash.2197:

NovaanVerdiano.6174:

Archon.6480:

So, $60.00 for 3 years makes $20.00 per year. That’s about $1.66 per month. They also gave us 3 new maps for free, fractals for free, and the living world seasons 1 and 2 for free. It seems a bit unreasonable to be upset over $50.00 for the expansion…

It’s not the price of the expansion or that they’re locking new content behind it, that’s fine.
It’s that people are upset existing content (which originally went to 80 and even past that if you didn’t leave) is now technically requiring HoT on higher scales except you manage to turn in massive amounts of infusions/gold (and even then you won’t exactly hit the required 150 AR for scale 100)

As far as i remember, core game include 50 fractals levels. 51 to 100 are added with HoT, that’s normal for it to be locked for core player imo. You can still play 1 to 50 with the core game.

The real problem is only about the reward gating, coupled with dungeon nerf. That’s all.

Oh, you are simply unable to access difficulties higher than 50 if you don’t have HoT? I can’t try it out of course, but I was under the assumption you can run any difficulty.

Well you can. But you are just getting rekt by agony, that’s the same as saying you can’t.

You should easily be able to get at least to 60 by just having a full ascended set, a bit further if you add higher infusions to rings and back (+10 Infusions are rather reasonable now, looking at about 40g per +10 and at least the frequent fractal runners should have enough of those) should get you to around 70. Afterwards it really gets brutal, yes; but at least for some more scales you can deal with the agony by dodging the attacks and if you get hit, it shouldn’t outright kill you – just requires more skill to stay alive.