Guild Wars 2

theo.5214:

guardian.6489:

Alright you know what, I decided to look around dedgehaunt and see if there was an easy to miss meta that you should go back and do and I found it, it’s called “In Pursuit of knowledge”, it’s basically a war with the dredge. If you push it to it’s end point there’s a boss fight at the end.

If you need more info on it, here’s all the dynamic events connected with it:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/In_Pursuit_of_Knowledge

You just need to find one and you should be able to ride along until the event ends up with a boss fight.

The entire time I’ve been in the zone, it’s been on the phase “The dredge have been pushed back to Tribulation Rift.” I’ve done bits and pieces of the rest. I gathered blueprints. I’ve seen the Commissar die (just missed joining in, he went down fast), and I defended the granite citadel. I had zero idea any of those were connected or chained together, other than the overarching sense that the Dredge are a problem in the zone. And that the Dredge in Tribulation Rift are kind of hard to take down in groups when they are 5 levels above you

I guess I just really need to rewire my brain and drop everything to follow these events. Althoug h Iwonder if I do that if I will be able to keep up. If I got from 40-45 getting 100% completion, I don’t know if I could follow that chain and cover the 4 or 5 level span the chain covers.

If your near a group of players can you often do content +5 levels from you if you stay close to them and maybe use your ranged weapon from a safe distance, if you go down, they’ll usually revive you (at a certain point playing this game it become instinctual to res anyone who goes down).

Also Dredgehaunt cliffs is not one of the better leveling zones. I haven’t heard positive reviews from the place so leaving it for a better leveling area might be a good idea. A previous poster mentioned Hentari Hinterlands which is your level range right now, I’m going to 2nd that recommendation since the dynamic events are laided out much more clearly as to what the hell is going on.

O ya and to give you an idea on how more XP Dynamic events give, all the power leveling guides I see involving doing a certain event chain over and over again and/or chaining it with another event chain.

OP seems unhappy that the game doesn’t tell him EXACTLY what to do at every turn to get levelled. He seems to think it is the target that matters, and that there should be a finite path, and a pre-determined start, path and finish.

This game does not work like that. On my new account I just hit 55 and so far haven’t completed any other maps than Queensdale, Kessex, Gendarren, Fields of Ruin and Brisban, plus the cities. The content to level is there, in spades. You just have to have the patience to find and complete it.

Did you do Foresaken Halls/Foresaken Fortune? That’s something I enjoy doing when I’m in Dredgehaunt cliffs and will get you some experience.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Forsaken_Fortune

theo.5214:

I am up to date on my personal story and I am doing every event I come across. Also, PvP isn’t my bread and butter, so not all that interested in it. The zones just don’t offer enough by themselves in PvE content. I guess you could say I’m being a stickler, but dropping everything in a zone because you’ve run out of appropriate stuff to do and needing to go elsewhere is a design flaw in my opinion. I shouldn’t have to go gather a bunch of copper ore and forge useless weapons or PvP to make up for the lack of in-zone content, but maybe that’s just me.

Suppose I just need to switch my brain off and suck it up. Not sure if it’s other MMOs clouding my judgment or if I’m legitimately unhappy with the setup in GW2.

I also don’t like PvP etc so it’s only PvE for me

I’m not sure you’re meant to just do one zone and then move on to the next higher level area, there’s plenty of zones so just finish one and then move onto another one the same level as you are (round abouts). The enemies in that other zone shouldn’t be weak to you (well I’m not so sure now with what the new patch has done) because this game scales your level. So if you’re a level or 10 above the mobs, it shouldn’t mean that you’ll steamroll them.

Have fun, and remember, hit them with the pointy end :P

GuzziHero.2467:

OP seems unhappy that the game doesn’t tell him EXACTLY what to do at every turn to get levelled. He seems to think it is the target that matters, and that there should be a finite path, and a pre-determined start, path and finish.

This game does not work like that. On my new account I just hit 55 and so far haven’t completed any other maps than Queensdale, Kessex, Gendarren, Fields of Ruin and Brisban, plus the cities. The content to level is there, in spades. You just have to have the patience to find and complete it.

I never implied that I wanted my hand held and I wanted to be told what to do. What I did say is that I enjoy leveling by progressing through a zone to the tune of a coherent story. Actually, “the target is all that matters” is the exact opposite of what I think. I quite enjoy the journey and immersion.

What I don’t particularly enjoy is having to jump all over the place to progress is all. And I have to learn to deal with that if I’m going to play this game.

From everything I have learned playing MMOs, there is quite the spectrum from hand holding on one end to aimless wandering on the other.

Monkey Fritz.9052:

Jeromai.8203:

Taking the time to do so will also keep you in the zone long enough to see events pop, which can be followed as a chain,

Right, forgot to point out, Guild Wars 2 is actually trying to train you to forget “questing” all together.
Event Chains are the main form of gameplay in this PVE, heartquests and map completion are there to make sure that you run across events and event chains, because by the time you get to Orr that’s all there is. Event Chains.

Once you switch mindsets to realizing Event Chains are what this game was built around, you will not only level better and faster (you can level to 80 doing nothing but event chains in the lower level areas) but you will have a bit more fun in the maps.

They are boring if you missed all the event chains which tell the actual story of what’s happening in the map.

I will just add to that though it’s not really important.

You don’t need to go to the quest giver to start the quest which feels strange to some people (and me) but if you like that old structured way then you can still play that way (as I do). All you do is, once a heart of event pops up on your screen, seek out the heart showing on your map, or if its an event then there would be an icon on your map with a bucket etc. If you talk to these people they will tell you about the quest and what needs to be done. Yeah, it takes longer to do that, but I actually prefer it instead of just traipsing from one fight to the next.

Lostyus.4250:

I actually prefer it instead of just traipsing from one fight to the next.

That pretty much sums up how GW2 has felt to me so far, so thank you for doing it much more succinctly than I did

theo.5214:

GuzziHero.2467:

OP seems unhappy that the game doesn’t tell him EXACTLY what to do at every turn to get levelled. He seems to think it is the target that matters, and that there should be a finite path, and a pre-determined start, path and finish.

This game does not work like that. On my new account I just hit 55 and so far haven’t completed any other maps than Queensdale, Kessex, Gendarren, Fields of Ruin and Brisban, plus the cities. The content to level is there, in spades. You just have to have the patience to find and complete it.

I never implied that I wanted my hand held and I wanted to be told what to do. What I did say is that I enjoy leveling by progressing through a zone to the tune of a coherent story. Actually, “the target is all that matters” is the exact opposite of what I think. I quite enjoy the journey and immersion.

What I don’t particularly enjoy is having to jump all over the place to progress is all. And I have to learn to deal with that if I’m going to play this game.

From everything I have learned playing MMOs, there is quite the spectrum from hand holding on one end to aimless wandering on the other.

The vast lore of this game spans many zones and includes a huge amount of stories. You can choose just to stay in the snowy areas if you like but the more zones you expose yourself to, the more you will see how it all ties together.

Plus, since it looks like you’re playing a Norn you should be spreading your legend to every corner of the world. All must know and hear about it ad nauseam!

After leveling 8 characters to 80, I’ve found one thing about GW2 leveling. Sometimes, it seems like I finish a zone “before level,” sometimes “after level,” and sometimes “on level.” There’s no rhyme nor reason to it, as sometimes it’s the same zones. Thinking about it, I can only conclude that gaining XP from event completion is largely a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Some characters just had good timing and some didn’t.

Karizee.8076:

The vast lore of this game spans many zones and includes a huge amount of stories. You can choose just to stay in the snowy areas if you like but the more zones you expose yourself to, the more you will see how it all ties together.

If there is vast lore, why do I still have no idea what is going on with this game over half way through my leveling experience and after completing a bunch of zones? That’s not to say it doesn’t exist (I’m sure I could read volumes of it online), but why haven’t I gotten any semblance of it in game so far?

What are the factions? Do I represent a faction? Are there factions? Is each race a faction? Is every player a lone adventurer? Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Who am I fighting? WHY am I fighting? What is my goal? I could go on and on.

But that is a completely separate issue other than the in-zone content. I guess I bunny trailed a bit when I kind of figured out the lack of story cohesion was a large factor for me. I guess it’s kind of going in circles at this point if we venture into personal taste territory…

theo.5214:

The entire time I’ve been in the zone, it’s been on the phase “The dredge have been pushed back to Tribulation Rift.” I’ve done bits and pieces of the rest….

I think because of the new ‘mega’ server you’re getting the ‘bad’ end of the stick.

Because there’s too many people on the maps, the events aren’t being allowed to happen which would lead to the enemy taking key places that you then have to push back. The same is happening in Kessex Hills (and probably many other places). Not only that but also because of the not-so-mega servers you’ll now be missing out on a lot of the final (and other earlier) parts to some of these events and missing out on the boss fights they may have. That will lead to a lot less EXP per map.

Map completion is supposed to be one of the ways you level up in this game, not the only way. Double check to make sure there is no other map you can complete at your level. Your original post makes no mention of the events, which should be your bread and butter while leveling. One of those can give you 7% of your current level and are quite fun in my opinion. You mention grinding mobs though, which is a horrible, horrible, horrible idea. You mentioned not wanting to craft in your posts, which is a big mistake, not just for levelling but for end game gear. To get back on topic, just explore everything. 100% every zone you can, not just the ones you like. Once that stops working, you’ll have to try some of the other stuff like dungeons. You also mentioned having done all your personal story, and dungeons tie directly into it. After level 30ish Destiny’s Edge is still a major part of the story, it’s just told in dungeons. Most story dungeons aren’t to hard and give 2/3 of a levels worth of XP at the end so there is that. You will have to retrain your brain a bit from other MMOs idea of “Quest, quest quest level level level” to the idea that everywhere is open to you and you will want/need to see all of it. And on the topic of WvW, it’s not really PvP, but if it’s not your thing you won’t need to do it.

Lostyus.4250:

theo.5214:

The entire time I’ve been in the zone, it’s been on the phase “The dredge have been pushed back to Tribulation Rift.” I’ve done bits and pieces of the rest….

I think because of the new ‘mega’ server you’re getting the ‘bad’ end of the stick.

Because there’s too many people on the maps, the events aren’t being allowed to happen which would lead to the enemy taking key places that you then have to push back. The same is happening in Kessex Hills (and probably many other places). Not only that but also because of the not-so-mega servers you’ll now be missing out on a lot of the final (and other earlier) parts to some of these events and missing out on the boss fights they may have. That will lead to a lot less EXP per map.

It’s much more likely that he ran only 5 of the 16 maps available at his level.

Teofa Tsavo.9863:

I still think zone overpopulation is a factor.
Escort the brewers Yak in Wayfarer. When I did that first leveling I would get the exp for the Escort, and for killing 8-10 svanir on the trip. Yesterday my little asura got credit for 2 kills total, as the herd ran ahead clearing the event path and camping the spawns with AOEs.

The lionguard fort siege there used to be a ton of kill exp. Yesterday it was a joke, stuff was obliterated by downlevels as it spawned. Exp for event, very little kill exp. Worms at the lodge, same same. Unless you have a char capable of maintaining AOE on a spawn point you are SOL for kill exp.

Did maw. Silver on Grawl. 0 on escort 0 kills. Bronze on Totem. 0 on Shamans 0 kill exp. 0 on portals 0 kill exp. Bronze on Champ Shaman. My exp for that event was gutted by the 50 some mostly uplevels there. I assume most new players get less.

Guess it is a fair trade. Events are far easier. Total exp is less. Shrug. go go MegaMerge.

This

+10.5

I’ve mentioned something like this on another thread (and also above). Having this amount of people does not = better. It’s too many, there’s events that aren’t even happening, and with the events that do, the new players won’t know little tricks about the game, they’ll not be getting as much EXP as they could have with the old (better) system, and wont even get event gold etc as you have mentioned.

I don’t know if A-net considered this, but surely now they can see it’s changed how their game is, also with bosses spawning on a timetable, there’ll be so much content new players and alts will be missing out on.

theo.5214:

What are the factions? Do I represent a faction? Are there factions? Is each race a faction? Is every player a lone adventurer? Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Who am I fighting? WHY am I fighting? What is my goal?

There are no factions, except in WvW, where the opposing factions are different servers. In PvE, there’s only players on one hand and mob armies on the other. Players are always allies in PvE. Who you’re fighting depends on what zone you’re in. In the Norn zones you’ve visited, you’re fighting mostly against predators, renegade Norn (Icebrood and Sons of Svanir), Grawl, Dredge (and centaurs, but only in Snowden Drifts).

Some zones have zone wide events that are lore related (Harathi Hinterlands is a good example). Other zones have a variety of larger and smaller conflicts going on (i.e., Dredgehaunt Cliffs has the larger Dredge versus Priory issue, plus smallerr Grawl versus Icebrood, Norn v. Icebrood, and singular stuff like the Jotun and the Skritt v. Imp or Dredge v. Skritt event chains. To find all of this out mostly requires you to wander around and either stumble into events or talk to NPC’s to try to proc an event.

Only in Orr (levels 70+) do you find a singular focus to the conflicts occurring, with mostly the Risen as the enemy (plus a few elemental types in certain areas, and their “story” is tied to whether the Risen control the gods’ temples or the Pact does). Even mid level zones like Harathi Hinterlands have other problems than the zone’s main story (which is human versus centaurs).

I will say that the megaservers are a double-edged sword. On 1 side they’re wonderful for more interactive play and bigger scaling events. On the other hand, such high pops (along with Anet’s poor choice to make everything easier) have led to events being blown through. They’re not scaling well and with so many people, are never failing. Downleveled 80s are absolutely trashing things, especially now that crit is scaling “properly.” Makes it harder to earn the all XP an event is supposed to offer.

theo.5214:

Karizee.8076:

The vast lore of this game spans many zones and includes a huge amount of stories. You can choose just to stay in the snowy areas if you like but the more zones you expose yourself to, the more you will see how it all ties together.

If there is vast lore, why do I still have no idea what is going on with this game over half way through my leveling experience and after completing a bunch of zones? That’s not to say it doesn’t exist (I’m sure I could read volumes of it online), but why haven’t I gotten any semblance of it in game so far?

What are the factions? Do I represent a faction? Are there factions? Is each race a faction? Is every player a lone adventurer? Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Who am I fighting? WHY am I fighting? What is my goal? I could go on and on.

But that is a completely separate issue other than the in-zone content. I guess I bunny trailed a bit when I kind of figured out the lack of story cohesion was a large factor for me. I guess it’s kind of going in circles at this point if we venture into personal taste territory…

As Karizee said, the lore spans many zones. It feels like you’re not willing to venture out of the comfort zone of where the game expressly points you. It’s not traipsing all over the place, bouncing back and forth. It’s moving to a different quadrant of Tyria and beginning a new adventure there. Head to the west, into the Maguuma Jungle and behold, a new bunch of stories, new lore, new characters, new goals.

If you watched your opening cinematic after character creation, you’d know exactly what your goal is. You’re a norn adventurer, setting out to make your legacy and combat the dragons. But like our real world, there are smaller problems within the larger overarcing issues. Helping a farmer or fending off bandits or even slaying dragon minions are all a part of becoming a hero. Be bold, be brave, explore.

This is a game that rewards exploration. By exploration, I do not just mean “get 100% map completion”. If that is all you do, then you will have the experience you’ve had of completing the map while still in the level range of the map.

If you approach a zone with curiosity, I think you’ll find it contains more than enough content for its level range. Unlike most games, GW2 rewards you for looking behind that waterfall and talking to this NPC. That’s the best way to uncover dynamic events, jumping puzzles, and other content gems.

It is definitely a different gameplay experience than is provided by many classic theme park MMO’s, especially given how excruciatingly linear many of them have become the past few years. It’s not for everyone. If you’re super goal-directed, I think it can be frustrating, but if you open your heart to the randomness, it can be both fun and liberating.

Personally, I level like a Skritt. “Oooo, shiney!” I’m always veering off randomly for a heart, waypoint, PoI, vista, gathering node, dynamic event, jumping puzzle, or intriguing looking cave/ruin/hole in the ground. I usually out level a map long before I “complete” it.

OP, you need to try view GW2 as an open sandbox exploratory game for the PvE content. Even if you’re under levelled, doesn’t mean you can’t go explore more difficult areas. I think a forum goer last year posted 100% map completion at around level 60.

Pure map exploration in terms of POIs, Vistas and Hearts net you very little exp. it’s what those things lead you to find. You need to do everything else on offer to you as well. Craft level specific gear. Running a level appropriate dungeon. Rerunning lower level maps for content you may have missed.

I personally level all my characters in PvP and WvW though. Map completion bored my mind out xD

theo.5214:

I’m pretty new to GW2 after playing WoW for years. Been playing for a couple of weeks now. And I have to ask if I’m doing something wrong in zones.

I am consistently lagging far behind in level by the time I 100% complete a zone. For instance, I just completed Dredgehaunt Cliffs last night, a 40-50 zone. I’ve done everything, gathering along the way and doing events, and I’m barely over 45 now. If there is a large level range in a zone, I often times run into areas of multiple enemies that are hard to get through becuase they outlevel me by a large margin. Got through some of it with a few friends, though.

So, if I’m on by myself, is the only solution to pack up and go to another zone to make up the difference rather than stay put and try to 100% complete in while I’m leveling? That kind of doesn’t make sense to me, but I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing but grinding mobs for levels either.

I honestly doubt you have experienced the zone to it’s fullest. You can easily walk into a new zone, and “complete” the map but be NO WHERE near actually completing the map. There are so many events and mini quests that occur that you may not even see at first glance.

Trust me, the idea of the game is to just let it flow. Try not to worry so much about completing hearts and all that jazz, the game really isn’t that linear.

Rigultru.3597:

theo.5214:

I’m pretty new to GW2 after playing WoW for years. Been playing for a couple of weeks now. And I have to ask if I’m doing something wrong in zones.

I am consistently lagging far behind in level by the time I 100% complete a zone. For instance, I just completed Dredgehaunt Cliffs last night, a 40-50 zone. I’ve done everything, gathering along the way and doing events, and I’m barely over 45 now. If there is a large level range in a zone, I often times run into areas of multiple enemies that are hard to get through becuase they outlevel me by a large margin. Got through some of it with a few friends, though.

So, if I’m on by myself, is the only solution to pack up and go to another zone to make up the difference rather than stay put and try to 100% complete in while I’m leveling? That kind of doesn’t make sense to me, but I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing but grinding mobs for levels either.

I honestly doubt you have experienced the zone to it’s fullest. You can easily walk into a new zone, and “complete” the map but be NO WHERE near actually completing the map. There are so many events and mini quests that occur that you may not even see at first glance.

Trust me, the idea of the game is to just let it flow. Try not to worry so much about completing hearts and all that jazz, the game really isn’t that linear.

Please stop thinking I’m just beelining to hearts and then shrugging my shoulders. I never said that.

I am exploring these maps. I’m doing every event I come across. I was just confused as to why, even after covering the whole map AND doing everything I’ve come across, I’m still lagging behind.

I now understand that these zones are NOT meant to get you through those levels. They just house events appropriate for those levels. That’s great. I just don’t like that structure, and I don’t like just running around until I stumble across something that’s happening.

Just difference in opinion at this point. Dynamic events are the way to go, along with zone jumping, I understand that now. Dynamic events would just feel more dynamic if they occurred on your way from Point A to Point B, with A and B having some kind of meaning. I guess I was a little disappointed in dynamic events being nothing but quests you had no control over and could easily miss.

I mean, how do I KNOW I have fully experienced a zone? By simply wandering around until I stop seeing events I haven’t already done at least once?

theo.5214:

I mean, how do I KNOW I have fully experienced a zone? By simply wandering around until I stop seeing events I haven’t already done at least once?

You’re going to need to leave that checkbox thinking behind

What I suggest is after a Heart leads you into an area, look for indicators of events. Talk to named NPCs, respond to the ones calling to you. After completing an event stick around a moment and see if it chains into another. The event chains start off fairly simply at low levels and start to chain and web as you get to higher levels. Some will open hidden areas and dungeons like the Flame Temple Tombs.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Flame_Legion_Battles

Here’s a video that illustrates how it works in a low level zone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CyqGJHTjes

Also, it’s more about seeing the open world in different states when you pass through an area again. For instance there’s a tree in Caledon Forest that can climb for a jumping puzzle. But depending on when you go there, the tree can be thriving and growing, or completely destroyed so that you cannot access the puzzle. You then “fight” for the tree by completing events to restore it to it’s “success state”.

theo.5214:

If there is vast lore, why do I still have no idea what is going on with this game over half way through my leveling experience and after completing a bunch of zones? That’s not to say it doesn’t exist (I’m sure I could read volumes of it online), but why haven’t I gotten any semblance of it in game so far?

What are the factions? Do I represent a faction? Are there factions? Is each race a faction? Is every player a lone adventurer? Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Who am I fighting? WHY am I fighting? What is my goal? I could go on and on.

But that is a completely separate issue other than the in-zone content. I guess I bunny trailed a bit when I kind of figured out the lack of story cohesion was a large factor for me. I guess it’s kind of going in circles at this point if we venture into personal taste territory…

• Scouts, as well as other random NPC’s, tend to give you the general story of the area of a map.
• Hearts and some events also do this, but are a bit more personalised.
• The Personal Story is the main storyline of the game, so to speak.
• Some skill points give you a little glimpse into past events.

For example, just from text in the game, this is pretty much the story of Godslost Swamp and the Temple of Ages:

Legend has it that time itself originated from the Temple of Ages. It predates the oldest memories of Tyria. However, the Temple was destroyed during the rising of Orr. The Temple is the oldest remaining monument to the Six that scholars know of.

As the place was the place that the Six God’s answered their last prayer, people are studying it in the hopes of discovering why the Six left Tyria and have been silent.

In the past, the Temple served as a way for heroes to travel to the Underworld. However, this travel weakened the barrier, and so the denizens of Underworld now push through portals that form, making it difficult to research.

The story is there. It’s just not spoon-fed; you need to look for it.

theo.5214:

Dynamic events would just feel more dynamic if they occurred on your way from Point A to Point B, with A and B having some kind of meaning. I guess I was a little disappointed in dynamic events being nothing but quests you had no control over and could easily miss.

I’m confused how events would feel more dynamic if you knew you were going to run across them?

theo.5214:

I mean, how do I KNOW I have fully experienced a zone? By simply wandering around until I stop seeing events I haven’t already done at least once?

Something I wish they’d implement is something like an Event Log for each area, where it records what events you’ve done and haven’t done.

Lostyus.4250:

If you talk to these people they will tell you about the quest and what needs to be done. Yeah, it takes longer to do that, but I actually prefer it instead of just traipsing from one fight to the next.

Do you all seriously -not- do this on a regular basis? Not trying to be sarcastic here, but more of struggling to understand the issue that some players are facing.

(Sometimes, I kinda want to be a fly on the wall and follow some of you having this “underleveled” problem to see what exactly you’re doing or not doing…)

When I first leveled and went through zones, I talked to every NPC that gives me an F option, for example. Every heart NPC I chatted with, to get a sense of what they wanted me to do. Every NPC that flagged me down with a hail or an emote, I talked to, and they pointed me right to the nearby ongoing dynamic event. (Which, by the way, is how you can find them fairly easily if they didn’t show up on your minimap by proximity.)

Only on alts, since I’ve read the text before, do I just ignore them.

mosselyn.5081:

Personally, I level like a Skritt. “Oooo, shiney!” I’m always veering off randomly for a heart, waypoint, PoI, vista, gathering node, dynamic event, jumping puzzle, or intriguing looking cave/ruin/hole in the ground. I usually out level a map long before I “complete” it.

Pretty much this, has been my own experience.

For example, OP, have you done the Shaman’s Rookery puzzle in Wayfarer Foothills? Gone to the Forsaken Halls in Dredgehaunt Cliffs? Followed the Night Warband event chain to overcome Incendio Templum, and then from there, head into the Font of Rhand and defeat Rhendak the Crazed? (This is my absolute favorite adventure to have.)

I suppose part of the problem might be the whole Norn and snowy zones thing. Norn stories are very individualistic, all about being hunter-y and drinking beer and mead, so in their zones, it’s mostly small groups of them versus wildlife and neutral races of all kinds. It’s no wonder they seek fame and fortune by heading all over Tyria if their home is so boring. :P

whenever I read those posts, I just cannot understand. Unless they changed the leveling xp dramatically since start. GW2 rewards everything with xp, possibly sneezing. Unless you forcefully seek out zones over level, there should be no problem at all with keeping up.

If you do everything within a zone including the dymanic events youll outlevel the zone, instead of slacking behind in levels. Keep in mind that the majority of content you come across in a zone are dynamic events. So it isnt wierd if you do 90% hearts vistas and the storyline AND a handfull of dynamic events that youll be behind.

To give you an impression. The human starting area has like 80-90 dynamic events and 17 hearts. So if you do only the stuff that shows on the map it isnt weird that youre behind.

Smartest thing to do is grab a map like on mmorpg life and do whatever is on the map. Bosses jumping puzzles and dynamic events. If you gather some random trees, mining nodes on the way youll be way ahead AND youll get some good cash from it aswell.

theo.5214:

Stooperdale.3560:

“I’m asking why there isn’t enough in a zone to get you through the appropriate range in the zone. "

Most people here on the forum are not giving you a satisfactory answer since they haven’t come across the problem. Generally by doing the personal story and completing the zones the story goes through, you would finish above zone level. So they are not advising you to do anything different from what they have done themselves. You are in fact claiming that there is big problem of experience within the game, except that it isn’t a problem for anyone else.

To get more xp you can:

- Do dungeons
- Do low level fractals
- Do personal story
- Do living story (when it returns)
- Adventure in more zones, there are about 3 zones at every level range
- Use xp boosters and xp food
- Collect resources
- Craft
- Explore cities
- Explore WvW, and PvP maps
- Do dailies
- Do events
- Do activities
- Complete jumping puzzles
- Follow the living story
- Do guild missions
- Play WvW

That’s not by any means an exhaustive list since achievements and other stuff probably give xp too. There’s no point claiming there is nothing to do in game to get xp.

Again, I am NOT asking about what other ways I can gain experience. I’m well aware I can do a bunch of stuff I don’t want to particularly do (like my complete lack of interest in WvW) to gain experience. Telling me to go do something I don’t have interest in is not exactly an answer. My question isn’t “What else can I do in general?” It’s “Why did I just 100% map complete a 40-50 zone and only end up at level 45?”

You said that “Generally by doing the personal story and completing the zones the story goes through, you would finish above zone level.” I have found the exact opposite. I have 100% completed every map I’ve done on the way to where I am, and I have consistently found I am very underleveled for the zone I just finished by the time I’m done with it.

I already found my answer. The answer lies in the fact that zones are completely and utterly different in this game. Sure, I can kill mobs all day to level from 40-50 in the zone, but that isn’t “content.” The zones are just poorly gated and the answer lies in having to do a smattering of a whole bunch of different places and going all over creation to progress if you like progressing through zones. I just have to retrain my brain and get used to the lack of cohesive, progressive gameplay.

You’ve got it there. The only other thing to mention (sorry if someone said I stopped reading replies), the living story content also typically provides things to do when it is around. But yes, the only content to follow in a progression of levels is the personal story.

Jumping puzzles and mini-dungeons are very rarely shown on the map, to answer your question. Some of them don’t even have achievements to clue you in. I’ve been playing since launch and still manage to find new (to me) conversations, puzzles and events all over the place. Have you solved the pipe organ mini-puzzle in Caledon Forest, for example? Or visited the Forsaken Halls mini-dungeon in the Dredgehaunt Cliffs? There also are two easy to miss jumping puzzles right AFTER the vista in the south-western corner of the map. – Oh, and some mobs in that area drop dwarven keys that you can use to open sealed chambers, triggering imp events. It’s one of my favourite zones as some of GW’s most memorable characters are buried there. –
(http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Kilroy_Stonekin_Memorial_Headstone)

theo.5214:

I’m pretty new to GW2 after playing WoW for years. Been playing for a couple of weeks now. And I have to ask if I’m doing something wrong in zones.

I am consistently lagging far behind in level by the time I 100% complete a zone. For instance, I just completed Dredgehaunt Cliffs last night, a 40-50 zone. I’ve done everything, gathering along the way and doing events, and I’m barely over 45 now. If there is a large level range in a zone, I often times run into areas of multiple enemies that are hard to get through becuase they outlevel me by a large margin. Got through some of it with a few friends, though.

So, if I’m on by myself, is the only solution to pack up and go to another zone to make up the difference rather than stay put and try to 100% complete in while I’m leveling? That kind of doesn’t make sense to me, but I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing but grinding mobs for levels either.

another factor i havent seen people mentioning, is bonus exp. essentially the longer enemies have been alive the more exp they give. With bonus exp from kills, given by food and oils, (20%) it can be really large.
The best and fast combinations come when i dynamic event takes you to places where people havent killed in awhile. It can be a rather drastic gain in exp.

I will say i think that the snow areas, are bit more barren, with worse plotlines than other places imo. There were a couple memorable chains, but mostly they felt pretty ehhhh.

Everyone I know thinks of hearts as quests. It’s just the way gamers think.

phys.7689:

another factor i havent seen people mentioning, is bonus exp. essentially the longer enemies have been alive the more exp they give. With bonus exp from kills, given by food and oils, (20%) it can be really large.

This. I keep trying to tell people that killing mobs, especially the yellow ones that everyone never seem to see, is absolutely worth their while.

One mob alone may not seem to make a dent in the bar, but it adds up, especially if you can kill fast or AoE them down. It’s like not noticing how much fast attacking sustained damage can add up versus one big channeled attack giving huge damage numbers, in terms of xp/hour.

And to make it not feel like grinding, just do it while going to your intended destination, which cycles you around to different areas to encounter more bonus xp on the mobs.

But no, folks are convinced that killing mobs gives you measly xp and a big waste of time. Welp, that’s why we have such delicious bonuses on them when those not following the herd come by.