Guild Wars 2

I just came back after taking a break for about a year. I noticed I can buy the stories I missed for access to the new maps like Frostbite frontier, lake doric, ect.

I was wondering if these zones were well populated with players or if they had dynamic evens like CS or HoT, which i enjoy. If these maps are heavily populated, why do people go there? Is there any reason to go there regularly other than farm stuff for the new items?

Honestly, the main reason you may want to go there are the story and farming stuff.

Each of these maps has its own currency (rubies, jade shards etc.) with which you can buy ascended trinkets with selectable stats, at the expense of a little farming.

There aren’t any dynamic events like SW or HoT’s map, even if there’re some champions. Yet they’re not that much interesting for loot. Maybe Doric Lake is the most interesting events-wise (in terms of frequency).

I’m not sure those maps are now heavily populated, and you’ll see that Frostbite frontier is mostly full of AFK farmers…

Good luck !

I think the new zones are DEFINITELY worth it.

LW3 maps are some of the most beautiful and well-designed areas Arenanet has ever made, and every single one is full of events and bosses. There is usually at least one well-populated copy of every map, since I participate in the events daily and there are always tons of people, especially in the evenings.

Asidw from ascendes trinkets, the map vendors also sell nice ascended backpacks and some cool weapon skins. The story is also interesting, so I can definitely recommend buying the season.

There are dynamic events. Head of the Snake in particular has a new system that states certain places are under attack, and you can either repel the enemy invasion or let the area be invaded. If it’s invaded you must eliminate enemies until the morale falls, which then reinforcements will arrive with a legendary. If you defeat the reinforcements the area is saved temporarily.

There are a few small events scattered here and there in Head of the Snake as well that help with the hearts, for achievements, or for farming/loot/etc. There is also a leather farm.

The latest map, Flashpoint, has a bunch of champion events. There is also a meta-event that ends in requiring two legendary enemies to be defeated so that’s pretty cool. You get a bunch of the map currency from these events.

The maps themselves are visually impressive at least to me. By farming you can obtain the map’s currency which can be used for ascended equipment, items, and Unbound Magic.

There is one more map coming up (I think) and then the xpac.

I’m also a recent returnee and I found the new story maps interesting and fun. Yeah, I’m going back mainly for the trinkets right now but I’m also enjoying the play there, as much as anywhere else in the game.

So far, I’m finding the population hit or miss. I was in Lake Doric a few days ago and it seemed like there was no one else except the engineers in the leather farm. None of the events were getting addressed at all. At other times, the place is packed. It’s the same for the other maps, too.

If you haven’t tried these zones, yet, I suggest you give each a try for yourself at least once. It’s worth doing the little bit of story you have to in order to get there. And, if you get into an empty map, just reload and see what you get.

It’s worth pointing out that the zones are made for people that have mastered Gliding. You might be able to do without Ley Line Gliding, but if you don’t have updrafts I’d say only Lake Doric is going to be kind to you.

Also, there is a new mastery line that’s unlocked as you go through the story. I’m not sure how well that works if you don’t take the story parts in order.

The maps are quite nice but they are very much designed for ‘daily’ players. There are no big metas on these maps comparable to the ones in HoT/SW/Dry Top. I personally hope that the expac will be more like HoT/LS2 maps, not LS3 maps. They aren’t bad but they feel very much like you go there for a while, get your rewards and then never come back.

There is no answer other than yes.

They give you ludicrous, ridiculous rewards. Play them.

I think the new maps are worth it. If you’re feeling cautious, convert some gold and buy the first one to try it. If you feel it’s worthwhile, try another.

The big draw for most of these maps is to get ascended trinkets/backpiece and several offer a home-node for easy gathers. All the maps have masteries, including a new line called Ancient Magics. Bloodstone Fen (the first one), is a really fun flying map. It’s very easy to collect unbound magic there— which is a currency on all the new maps. I usually find all these maps populated and people doing events and I don’t tend to play during prime-time, either.

Team One’s Bloodstone Fen’s story is good and the map offers a device to change stats on the ascended trinkets you acquire there. You can also buy some nifty shoot-from-the-air skills, which are fun. They’re only useful in one other map (Lake Doric— Team One’s other map), but still fun.

Next, Team Two’s Ember Bay also has a good story, IMO. Several of my guildies love the zone and say it’s very $ rewarding to do events. It’s very volcanic and has several achievements, if you’re into that. This Team was also responsible for Draconis Mons.

Team Three did Bitterfrost, which is a beautiful map… but really only good for berry farming, IMO. The winterberries are easy to grab currency for the map but can also be converted into unbound magic. A first-time draw for the map is a potion that turns you into a Kodan and works in combat too! We’re waiting for the final ep. to see Team Three’s second map.

So, if any of that entices you, give them a try.

I like the new maps (except that last one, which is harder to navigate). They’re a breath of fresh air after the disastrous maps in the main HoT expansion.

And, I may be missing some candidates, but Bitterfrost Frontier is probably the best farming location in Tyria. (So much so that I suspect they’re going to have to nerf it.)

New maps-best place to farm Asc rings-acc-amulet-back with all stats.

Bloodstone Fen (the first one) was fun, but they get progressively worse.

Overall I think so. Fun events, good populations, and it’s relatively easy to gain acended jewelry, back items and aquabreathers. I really appreciate the back items and aquabreathers.

They’re worth it. Brand new events and hearts with the heart merchants selling ascended trinkets & backpacks as well as minipets, among other items.

The new maps are good maps for farming, not for playing. The rewards are great, its a best place to get ascended rings, trinkets and amulets. The ring, amulet and backpack from LS1 are the best in game so far, because you can reset their stats. Bitterfrost can give you a lot of loot by just running with a torch and opening chests.
The thing is, the farm is good, the gameplay not so much. Once in a while I have an urge to play some of HoT meta maps or Silverwastes just for fun. But not even once I had an idea: “wow, I just really want to go and farm some petrified wood!” I go there when I need ascended stuff, but the process is unenjoyable, events are boring and the hearts… I hated them even in central Tiria. And the maps on their own are tiny and with little to do besides farm.
But returning to the question of “is it worth it?” If you are a person who likes story – yes, get all of the LS3. The story is mostly ok. But if you are not, not all of LS3 are worth the real money. Get LS1 for best ring, backpiece and amulet. Get LS3 for second ring, accessory and great loot farming. Get LS2 only if you need a second ascended accessory with HoT stats. Ignore the others.

Can confirm I run farming rounds when I need ascended trinkets of Bitterfrost Frontier (easiest/fasted unbound magic farm + ascended accessory acquisition), Bloodstone Fen (stat swappable asc items), Lake Doric. Not so much Ember Bay but it’s still there if I want to grind alts on heart quests for that one petrified wood accessory.

The maps are often populated with players doing events and you are bound to run into someone calling in map chat for certain events popping up. Mostly though, I see players farming stuff.

EDIT: 100% worth it! Easiest way to obtain asc trinkets/Unbound magic by far! Decent karma farm if you unlocked the vendor item buff via killing mobs.

Ascended trinkets and breathers with HoT stats, if you’re intrested.

They’re also more solo friendly compared to the HoT maps; that seems intentional.

The new maps are fun and seem well populated to me. I rarely find myself on an unpopulated map and I’ve played on them quite a bit to get full ascended trinkets for all my level 80s.

The hearts on the latest map kinda drag on too much but the earlier maps are quick to do and the events are as fun as any other zone, IMO, and people still do them.

ThomasC.1056:

I’m not sure those maps are now heavily populated

I would note that this isn’t a bad thing. There is a sweet spot between too many players and not enough players. Too many players makes events too easy on the whole. The new maps, much like all core maps these days, seem to have enough players to be able to group up for champions, but not so many that events are over-scaled and it’s just a tag-fest.

The biggest exception to the above is the ley line events in Snowden and Blazeridge. They don’t scale well regardless of how many people play them.

So I would say: Don’t fear maps being under-populated and yes, the maps are “worth it”. The story is good, there is easy access to ascended gear, some nice skins here and there.

I would also say: If you’re not playing for a period of time just keep an eye on the game. Logging in when there’s a new release to unlock the content will save you this dilemma.

They’re actually fairly rushed in design, you can notice.

Going there once for the story and staying a bit because you want to farm a specific item is ok. Beyond that, they only serve to show how much better properly designed maps are. In most games these would be temporal/seasonal maps, given the development quality. They feel temporary for sure, despite being permanent additions.

Best ones so far IMO are Bloodstone Fen (tiny as it is it has the atmosphere nailed) and Draconis Mons, but even those are rather meh comparing say, the full HoT maps or even Silverwastes/Dry Top. Worst one by far is IMO Ember Bay.

In terms of farming stuff, the new maps certainly achieve that purpose.

In terms of story, well…I can only speak for myself but I find the story to be all over the place, lacking, and pretty neglectful. I still hold the belief that Anet should have had an epilogue for HoT’s unanswered/hanging stories before jumping into LWS3 but they didn’t do that so for those of us still waiting on everything being answered from HoT are likely to be disappointed. Of the episodes released, only two of them managed to catch my interest at all but that was because they actually resolved some things left over from HoT.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Carighan.6758:

They’re actually fairly rushed in design, you can notice.

Going there once for the story and staying a bit because you want to farm a specific item is ok. Beyond that, they only serve to show how much better properly designed maps are. In most games these would be temporal/seasonal maps, given the development quality. They feel temporary for sure, despite being permanent additions.

Best ones so far IMO are Bloodstone Fen (tiny as it is it has the atmosphere nailed) and Draconis Mons, but even those are rather meh comparing say, the full HoT maps or even Silverwastes/Dry Top. Worst one by far is IMO Ember Bay.

That, being “temporary,” might be an actual thing.

One thing, that a long, long ago post by a dev said, was that they didn’t want to add new maps because of the resulting dilution of players. More substantive maps results in fewer people on each map until all the maps are too sparsely populated to be viable. Making “temporary” maps to give new story, new Masteries and farms that are something that people go to when new, farm for a while then leave might be their answer to the dilution of population problem. It might only be the expansion maps that have the big events and rewards to keep people coming back for longer periods.

TLDR; Yes.

/15char