Guild Wars 2

Just started a new job & won’t be able to purchase the expansion for a little bit. I wanna come back to the game but won’t if I’m gonna be kitten at all til I buy the expansion. I have every intention on buying the expansion once I’m able to though.

Not much to do without it.

Really?? Thats really sad. I won’t get my paycheck for another two weeks. I can’t WvW or level a normal PvE character?

My honest opinion?

Extremely yes. Take your time, then buy season 2 from the gem shop. I purchased it just for revenant class personally. The expansion still has bugs and issues. I’m waiting about another month myself before I jump into the story, and only explored the first map. With guild wars there is honestly no rush needed.

Still have full access to pvp and wvw. Just not the new class, mastery system, new maps, or raids

Delusion.9543:

Really?? Thats really sad. I won’t get my paycheck for another two weeks. I can’t WvW or level a normal PvE character?

You can wvw, but its dead.

You can level a character. I assumed by coming back you meant you were 80 already.

Sylent.3165:

My honest opinion?

Extremely yes. Take your time, then buy season 2 from the gem shop. I purchased it just for revenant class personally. The expansion still has bugs and issues. I’m waiting about another month myself before I jump into the story, and only explored the first map. With guild wars there is honestly no rush needed.

Okay, sweet. I’ll just take my time PvEing & finding a cool Guild to get along with then. Are most players too busy with the expansion to run through old content? I don’t really know what it offers or anything, so I apologize for coming off as air headed.

markot.3946:

Delusion.9543:

Really?? Thats really sad. I won’t get my paycheck for another two weeks. I can’t WvW or level a normal PvE character?

You can wvw, but its dead.

You can level a character. I assumed by coming back you meant you were 80 already.

I like to reroll to get re-accustomed to my characters. Especially considering I was never exceptionally good at my classes anyway, extra practice never hurts. But this is good to hear that I’m still able to do the base content. I apologize for the dumb questions, I didn’t know how GW2 was going to do their expansion.

markot.3946:

Not much to do without it.

OK What? So, before HoT was released, there wasn’t much to do ingame?

There is just as much to do in Core GW2 now as there was pre HoT release.

markot.3946:

Not much to do without it.

Actually this is true only for those who have sunk countless of hours into the game or those who never wander of the beaten path. There is a ton of stuff to do for those who have not done it dozens of times yet.

I would say that it is great idea to get used to the game again before delving into the expansion content meant to be challenging past lvl 80.

i was in the same boat as you op. Nerfed xp, no chat and crappy gear. Got the hot and it was business as usual which is complete BS cause the game is free to play 1 time purchase. If you dont mind the slower leveling rate or gear then take your time getting the expac. Enjoy solo player

Ape Ghosting.7396:

i was in the same boat as you op. Nerfed xp, no chat and crappy gear. Got the hot and it was business as usual which is complete BS cause the game is free to play 1 time purchase. If you dont mind the slower leveling rate or gear then take your time getting the expac. Enjoy solo player

No chat??

I started playing just over a week ago, got the expansion, but during the normal leveling to 80 part I still saw plenty of people in the normal zones. ArenaNet has done a good job of making sure that those zones are useful, most notably for map completion and because in the expansion there are mastery points that can only be earned by playing in the normal part of Tyria. So there will be people in those zones, even just to play content related to the expansion.

With that said, going from 1-80 this past week I had no problems finding people to do random events with. As much as the expansion is providing content for veterans, it has also generated a lot of hype that brings in new players such as myself.

Depending on how long you’ve been gone, getting acquainted with the new systems is not a bad idea. Granted, it might take an entire month, many people are already pushing into the new content. You might find that some of your old friends are gone or have vastly outpaced you and one month is a good alottment of time to make new ones and/or find a satisfactory guild. Either way, if you like the game, get in there! :p

I haven’t bought it. I’m waiting to see what they do with balance and how raids end up. There’s still all the same things there was to do before, albeit with nerfed rewards because kitten you for not buying HoT amirite.

Also I am pretty much an exclusive WvW player so nothing outside of that matters to me in the least. It depends on what you like to do I guess.

Delusion.9543:

Ape Ghosting.7396:

i was in the same boat as you op. Nerfed xp, no chat and crappy gear. Got the hot and it was business as usual which is complete BS cause the game is free to play 1 time purchase. If you dont mind the slower leveling rate or gear then take your time getting the expac. Enjoy solo player

No chat??

Not sure what the poster is referring to…perhaps, the Play4Free players having restrictions on Map Chat, etc. Which, if I understand your OP, would not apply to you.

Welcome return.

It was worth playing for the 3 years it was out before the expansion.

idk but im still playing without Xpac and it’s the same as before. nothing to do? well u do the same stuff u did before Xpac. idk but so far im not convinced i need that xpac. WvW is quite dead anyway. they made BL’s bigger so roaming is now dead even more. unless u Xpac owners have like personal WvW maps? i doubt. anyway when it comes to PvP and WvW it’s still the same. and tbh with my Guard i can eat all those elite specs anyday anytime. not seeing any OP’ness in them. so i guess only change is in PvE. if u r tired of Silverwastes go on and pay 45eu to get into an extra area where u’ll be farming for next 2-3 years. so ye – WvW / PvP players arent rly into this xpac.

If you haven’t been playing this game for a significant time already, there is a lot to do in some respects. You can level characters in the core world, and there is a lot of great things to do in the maps. If you like map completion and exploration, there’s a lot of that outside of HoT and it’s all soloable, except for a few things in the Orr maps.

You can do achievements and there’s crafting. You can do dungeons, but I hear that you might have a hard time finding other people to play with since they seem to have been deserted.

You can do fractals, but I heard the rewards are very low without HoT, but at least people are doing them. You can do all the holidays that come up like Halloween, etc. You can do jumping puzzles on the regular non-HoT maps. You can pvp in structured. I don’t know why WvW is dead, honestly, otherwise, you could do that, too.

For a new player, there’s a lot to do. For a vet player without HoT, yeah, there’s not a lot.

I would like to point out that asking the forums if it’s still fun to play is wortless.

There are players here who totally hate what GW2 has become or was and they will still post here becouse they can, they themselfs logs in to the forums to agree with complaints, to bash on compliment or give new or returning bad information.

And then there are those like me who just can’t stop playing the and really like every part of it and almost doesn’t have any negative to say.

And ofcourse we have everyone in between… Now where do you stand? None of us can tell you that as you allready own the game do install it and try it out, it won’t cost anything.

Everything that was in the game before HoT was released is still there and still playable by anyone, regardless of whether they’ve got the expansion or not.

For people who played for thousands of hours and completed everything (or everything they wanted to do) there won’t be much to do in the base game, because they’ve done it all already. But if you haven’t finished it all, or you feel like doing it again, then you can.

Is GW2 worth playing without expansion?

The only way to know for sure is to try it yourself, which thankfully costs nothing if you already have the game. Give it a fair go, play Guild Wars 2 the way you want to play it, and see if it keeps you interested.

If it does, then it’s great to have you back, and there’s a pretty good chance (though by no means a guarantee) you’ll enjoy the expansion. At the very least, you’ll know the core game is a good fit, and HoT does bring quite a bit of improvement to the game even without the new maps.

If not, then you aren’t alone. I have played a lot of GW2 over the years and was somewhat burned out before HoT arrived. If you feel the same way, HoT may or may not be the cure for that.

In my case it is — at least for now, and for probably quite a while to come — and that may be true for you. Or not, and before plunking down that much cash, it’s best to be sure.

The forums tend to magnify player emotions, which tends to give a distorted view of the game, so I recommend taking everything said here with a grain of salt. As with most things, however, if you throw out the extremes, what’s left tends to give a decent idea of what’s actually going on.

The fact that there’s so much buzz indicates that there’s a lot going on with Heart of Thorns, so if nothing else, you won’t have to make your decision in a vacuum.

And for what it’s worth, whichever way your path may lead, I wish you the best of luck and good hunting.

With core GW2 you had to be logged in when new story chapters were published. If you missed and didn’t log in in a certain time period after new chapter has been published, you had to buy this chapter.
Is this also valid for HOT? If so, how long is this time period when story is free?

if you a pvp fan you got stronghold the new mode, that is hella fun
think the new wvw maps are for everyone too

its definitely much much more worth playing with the xpac than without it though so i hope you can join us on there soon

Delusion.9543:

Okay, sweet. I’ll just take my time PvEing & finding a cool Guild to get along with then. Are most players too busy with the expansion to run through old content? I don’t really know what it offers or anything, so I apologize for coming off as air headed.

It’s really subjective.

I’m waiting on my copy to arrive some time soon and I’ve been fine without it. Just doing dailies, Halloween and slowly working on alts has been more than enough to keep me busy, although I only play a few hours a day. Core seems just as active as before HoT dropped, sure f2p and Revs/Alts mapping has a lot to do with it but personally I’ve noticed very little difference when just exploring core at random. After checking out HoT on my gf’s account I’d say core feels more lively than the new maps but I’m assuming they are still having mega-server issues.

Really depends on your situation and whether or not the people you intend to play with are focused on the expac.

I honestly think you’ll get a better product in a few weeks anyway, HoT has had teething issues like any MMO release, all your doing is avoiding these and the content rushers while receiving a more polished expac in a few weeks time.

Win/Win.

On a slightly different note, but along the same lines. If I intend purchasing HoT in the near future is it actually worth doing anything before I can access masteries, or would I just be wasting XP.

It is totally worth playing without the expansion. I just played it for 3 years without HoT and while the expansion does add a lot of fun stuff and new areas, the rest of the game is still really fun and worth playing. There is plenty to do without HoT.

symke.3105:

With core GW2 you had to be logged in when new story chapters were published. If you missed and didn’t log in in a certain time period after new chapter has been published, you had to buy this chapter.
Is this also valid for HOT? If so, how long is this time period when story is free?

According to the HoT website, yes. HoT will be required to unlock it for free. Things are of course subject to change due to the expansion, but for simplicity, you should assume that it’ll be the same as season 2 (200 gems per missed episode on a 2 week schedule, 20% discount at the end).

symke.3105:

With core GW2 you had to be logged in when new story chapters were published. If you missed and didn’t log in in a certain time period after new chapter has been published, you had to buy this chapter.
Is this also valid for HOT? If so, how long is this time period when story is free?

Where do people get those kind of ideas? HoT is not free and it won’t be free. If you want to play it you need to buy it. The story related to the expansion has been out since the day of launch – 23th October. HoT is not an LW season, its an expansion. But the future LW season will be related to HoT, so HoT will be required for you to able to access the LW for free. Otherwise it’s very possible you will have to pay for the new LW season, just like LW2 required payment for those you missed it.

As for the question of the OP: Only you can decide if it’s worth it playing without the expansion or not. Different people will give your different advice based on there own preferances. I would say, yes. Its worth it. You can do exactly what you could before the expansion was released. But don’t let any opinions here swell your own. Go ahead and try for yourself.

symke.3105:

With core GW2 you had to be logged in when new story chapters were published. If you missed and didn’t log in in a certain time period after new chapter has been published, you had to buy this chapter.
Is this also valid for HOT? If so, how long is this time period when story is free?

As far as I know the HoT story is specific to HoT and is fully unlocked once you purchase the expansion. There is no window to get it done. You either have the expansion, and thus access to the next bit of story, or you don’t.

GW2 core is still the same as it ever was. If you already own the paid version then the chat, trade, guild, and party restrictions do not apply. That stuff is for F2P accounts that are under a certain level.

If you are limited in your play time because of work (like I am), 5-10hrs/week will keep you busy for months and months and months.

You can do quite a bit without the expansion. In fact, it’s easy to get lost in the possibilities. So far I haven’t really touched the new expansion content even though I bought it. Take your time, complete all the maps, and if you still like the game get the expo. You’ll be nicely set up for it since you’ll have lots of hero points.

There is A LOT to do without the expansion. Unfortunately, you’ve mostly missed the Halloween event as that ends Tomorrow… but:

One thing I would strongly recommend to OP if he does have an 80 and wants to work on something progression-ish is to give the fractal rework a try. I know a lot of people who are vets dislike it, but I believe they made it more accessible to new players. If you complete scale 1-20, you WILL get a fractal weapon skin of your choosing (shiny w/ weapon trails on most of them).

Another option since you intend to get the expansion is to start working on central tyrea map completion. This should give both mastery points (to be used later to flesh out your various masteries) and Hero points (albeit at a slower rate than one would earn in meguma).

If you are not yet 80 on any characters, you need to be 80 to explore the expansion content for the most part anyhow. I’d go level in pve, though pvping in order to gain tomes is also viable. Additionally, if you have 1 80 character, you will also get tomes from fractal dailies.

Honestly the EP is just kind of meh and can be rather frustrating at times in comparison to the base game. The problem is that free players are incredibly restricted on what they can do making HoT a must . The base game is vastly superior though all things considered

There are still things to do, world boss events, dungeons, pvp- the regular gw2 content HoT is an expansion but more of a farm fest for events youll get more personal story, new armors, explorable map and new weapons if you dont care for that stuff then don’t purchase it.

markot.3946:

Not much to do without it.

If you’ve been playing for 3 years now, then yes. Otherwise their’s plenty to do.

SnowHawk.3615:

There are still things to do, world boss events, dungeons, pvp- the regular gw2 content HoT is an expansion but more of a farm fest for events youll get more personal story, new armors, explorable map and new weapons if you dont care for that stuff then don’t purchase it.

More of a farm fest? I thought we were getting some kind of new raiding thing or something?? I’m confused.

Allelya.6830:

SnowHawk.3615:

There are still things to do, world boss events, dungeons, pvp- the regular gw2 content HoT is an expansion but more of a farm fest for events youll get more personal story, new armors, explorable map and new weapons if you dont care for that stuff then don’t purchase it.

More of a farm fest? I thought we were getting some kind of new raiding thing or something?? I’m confused.

People just zerg the events and therefore it feels more like a farmfest. Each new map has its’ own story and great design if you pay attention to it and then events are intersting and different compared to the base game. HoT zone-design is centered around being part of a big-scale war in which you are supposed to beat Mordy. There is alot of events, monsters and fighting. There is exploration and the new zones are beatuiful. However, you don’t play the new maps like the old ‘’lets just run around and explore’’.

Regarding the raids, it is true. We don’t know how hard they are going to be via release, but according to the beta, the first part of the first wing was so hard that people spent +10 hours on it and couldn’t finish it.

MirrorOfNature.4279:

symke.3105:

With core GW2 you had to be logged in when new story chapters were published. If you missed and didn’t log in in a certain time period after new chapter has been published, you had to buy this chapter.
Is this also valid for HOT? If so, how long is this time period when story is free?

Where do people get those kind of ideas? HoT is not free and it won’t be free. If you want to play it you need to buy it. The story related to the expansion has been out since the day of launch – 23th October. HoT is not an LW season, its an expansion. But the future LW season will be related to HoT, so HoT will be required for you to able to access the LW for free. Otherwise it’s very possible you will have to pay for the new LW season, just like LW2 required payment for those you missed it.

As for the question of the OP: Only you can decide if it’s worth it playing without the expansion or not. Different people will give your different advice based on there own preferances. I would say, yes. Its worth it. You can do exactly what you could before the expansion was released. But don’t let any opinions here swell your own. Go ahead and try for yourself.

I read my post 5 times and still don’t understand where you and two others found any mention of HOT being free.
So, I will try to explain it better.

Before HOT: If you own GW2 but do not log in when certain story chapter is released, you can be required to purchase that part of story if you fail to log in during first few weeks (months). Meaning that story chapter is FREE for those that do log in during that time period.

If you OWN HOT but fail to log in during first few weeks or months (those that already bought it but didn’t log in yet and will not log in for some time or those that will buy it in the near future), will you be required to buy it like it was before HOT, or has that changed?
If I buy HOT 6 months from now, will I be required to make a separate purchase of those story chapters that are new (and FREE) for HOT owners at this time?

I wouldn’t recommend paying $50 for it, the story is way too short, you can finish it in a couple of hours. Outside of that, its just a grueling boring grindfest.

Yup

Verdent Brink
Auric Basin
Tangled Depths
Dragons Basin

None of those maps have any staying power or make any sense for that matter. Zhatian corrupts that land for miles in all directions you felt like you actually had to fight to reach him. Mord has like a sprinkling of light minions and sits right next to Rata Sum and one map over from the main deal not a trace of influence at all.

At any rate once people get there masteries they’ll bail on these new maps and probably return to either sitting in LA, WB train, DT, WvW, Fractals, Raids, or SW. I just don’t see people flooding these maps months from now or dungeons either as they currently stand.

markot.3946:

Not much to do without it.

Plenty to do for anyone new or with 80s, HoT itself has little longevity it seems anyway unless you enjoy mindless grinding.