Guild Wars 2

I picked the game up on the weekend, and got my highest level character up to level 15, where I had a fair few trait points. After the patch, I realised that I had forgotten to spend points from my last level up, and proceed to find out that I would have to double my level to get back to the same amount of skill points. So, anyone know how to get to level 30 and trait points really quickly?

Don’t rush. The first leveling experience is one of the best parts about this game. Take your time, enjoy the world, and let the levels come as they will. This game isn’t about reaching “end game” as fast as possible.

They rescaled trait points to a max of 14. Each trait point is now equivalent to 5 of the old trait points.
So if you were worried that you permanently lost some trait points because you didn’t use them, forget about it.

Welcome to the horrible grind of a new player made worse.

The traits added negligible differences to stats 1-30. Just make sure you have the best gear for your level and every bit of content is a breeze. Heck even without the best gear for your level it is a breeze. You should see little to no change other than not actually being able to select traits. But nothing at your level really requires it anyway.

They adjusted the health of mobs 1-30 to account for no traits. So, it shouldn’t be any more difficult than before.

Yeah, my concern was not in difficulty but more that because of the removal of trait points I only get to spend points every three levels on skills instead of also getting to spend points every level on traits.

Why would u ever buy this game at this time? RIP my friend… This game is so broken down and sad its pathetic what anet has not done…. It has not changed in 2 years just got more boring

Legend of Rogue.5394:

Why would u ever buy this game at this time? RIP my friend… This game is so broken down and sad its pathetic what anet has not done…. It has not changed in 2 years just got more boring

aha, now people have to tell new players how they are not to enjoy the game they just bought. Guess that usual forum sulking isn´t enough for avenging some perceived wrong you have suffered at the hands of GW2 anymore.

Legend of Rogue.5394:

Why would u ever buy this game at this time? RIP my friend… This game is so broken down and sad its pathetic what anet has not done…. It has not changed in 2 years just got more boring

Because my friend recommended it

As I said elsewhere it FEELS slower. I level up and get no reward. No points to spend and useful things like movement increase are distant goals. I mean who actually needs to run from place to place faster? The players with every waypoint unlocked or the new players who have to hoof it.

I’m only level 35 so far and I feel nerfed!

I suspect Anet will start selling Experience scrolls (instant to level 20) in the gemstore soon. If they do, then we know the real reason behind the trait point slowdown.

Dphorak.7496:

I picked the game up on the weekend, and got my highest level character up to level 15, where I had a fair few trait points. After the patch, I realised that I had forgotten to spend points from my last level up, and proceed to find out that I would have to double my level to get back to the same amount of skill points. So, anyone know how to get to level 30 and trait points really quickly?

I have 11 characters and I can tell you that Traits doesn’t really mean a lot until you hit level 30. What’s important while leveling up is your weapon skills, your other skills, and your gears.

Traits only start having meaning around level 60-ish, which used to be the time you get to unlock your Grand Master traits. But now, it seems that it won’t mean anything until you reach level 80, or maybe around level 70-ish, when you can start wearing Exotic pieces.

In the old system after 11 every single time I leveled it gave me a small reward of a point to spend, an increase in stats and a sense of my character growing.

Now I need to level FIVE TIMES for basically the same thing. kitten just got boring and dull!

Why is this a good thing?

I don’t get pushing off trait points until 30 either. If anything, they should have started players on traits earlier than before. With trait respecs free and easy, I would think they would want players experimenting with them as early as possible.

Makes zero sense.

WaveyDL.6945:

In the old system after 11 every single time I leveled it gave me a small reward of a point to spend, an increase in stats and a sense of my character growing.

Now I need to level FIVE TIMES for basically the same thing. kitten just got boring and dull!

Why is this a good thing?

this is simply nonsense however often you repeat it. Single trait points were not noticeable at all unless you sat down with a calculator. I am not a big fan of the new character progression system below 80, but you are completely off the mark. And how do you even know how it feels just now? At one point you suggest you are a very slow leveler and get hit hard by the change, then half a day after the change you proclaim how it feels after gaining 5 levels?

Um okay. You’re having trouble with this. Let’s try again.

IT —>FEELS<-- SLOWER AND IS MORE BORING TO LEVEL!!!!

Do you get what I’m saying now? I know the end reward is in essence the same but it’s all spread out and I don’t get useful solo traits like run speed buff until ~lvl 50

Please tell me, as I seem to be talking nonsense, how is this a better experience for new players? Content and advancement is now a more distant and obscure goal.

mythil.9416:

Welcome to the horrible grind of a new player made worse.

Oh god, that was actually hilarious…

WaveyDL.6945:

Um okay. You’re having trouble with this. Let’s try again.

IT —>FEELS<-- SLOWER AND IS MORE BORING TO LEVEL!!!!

Do you get what I’m saying now? I know the end reward is in essence the same but it’s all spread out and I don’t get useful solo traits like run speed buff until ~lvl 50

Please tell me, as I seem to be talking nonsense, how is this a better experience for new players? Content and advancement is now a more distant and obscure goal.

and I asked you how you know how it feels half a day after the update as you proclaim to level very slowly and hence could not have experienced it yet. CAPS DON´T MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT MORE SOUND AND YOU TELLING ME I AM HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING YOU DOES NOT REALLY INSULT ME. I understand fine what you try to argue for, it simply is unsound in the pattern of the information you give.

you could just power level to 80 in wvw if you don’t care about the story, exploring and such. Honestly it only takes a month if you want to savor it. i have 8 Eighities and after my second alt I Power leveled all of them by wvw trains course i sharved some work by maxing crafting.

I just rerolled and have a level 18 guardian.
I have noticed absolutely no difference in gameplay after that patch.
I don’t down/die more frequently.
I don’t take any longer to kill mobs.
I still take on giant groups of mobs at a time just fine.
I don’t suffer in any way.
It may seem bad at first, but there really isn’t a drawback that I’ve found.
1 point now is the equivelant of 5 in the past.
Just enjoy the scenery, check out the maps for exploration XP, and have fun!
As for it being slower to level: Not true. I have noticed absolutely 0% change in the time it takes me to level. I’m still sitting at my average of 1.5 hours per level. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Depends on what I’m doing at the time.

Okay I’ll try this again.
I’ve played and leveled a couple of times since the patch. My character seems to be exactly as he was before (not playing my 35 as I wasn’t enjoying the class so much).

I don’t get to do anything except see another blue chevron added to the pile. If I level a few more times WOOT something happens and I get to chose a trait. Then I go back and level a few more times for another. I know it makes no practical difference to the gameplay but it’s just more boring!

So I know how it feels as I’ve played and leveled my character a few times. Before I was rewarded with something every level and now it’s gaining 5 levels for no reason.

viralthefrog.6130:

I just rerolled and have a level 18 guardian.
I have noticed absolutely no difference in gameplay after that patch.
I don’t down/die more frequently.
I don’t take any longer to kill mobs.
I still take on giant groups of mobs at a time just fine.
I don’t suffer in any way.
It may seem bad at first, but there really isn’t a drawback that I’ve found.
1 point now is the equivelant of 5 in the past.
Just enjoy the scenery, check out the maps for exploration XP, and have fun!
As for it being slower to level: Not true. I have noticed absolutely 0% change in the time it takes me to level. I’m still sitting at my average of 1.5 hours per level. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Depends on what I’m doing at the time.

Yes I know it’s not actually slower/harder/different it’s just less involved. Why am I gaining levels when nothing happens to my character? What are these 5 levels for? Why do I have to wait until 30 to start to build my character and get a feel for it? Why is that dam run buff so far off!? :p

Oh and I’m enjoying the game apart from that personal quest with the fight in the bar. That kitten (after a quick google it was Doc Howler) was tough! I’ve no problem with that it just seems to be leveling for no reward :/

traits don’t get too useful until around 30 and even then aren’t overly helpful until you can get some of the later tar perks.

Yes I understand. I’ve been told that a few times now.

Yeah, as both of us have been saying it’s more of a psychological thing of not getting stuff as fast.

Give yourselves a month and you probably wont even remember what the old system was like.

Okay, now I’m seeing the side of your arguments more clearly. It makes perfect sense to me.
I have a different playstyle myself. I’m the kind of person who never looks at my XP bar, and only ever notice what level I am when I log in the next day.
In fact, I used to forget to apply traits, and would usually have 3-5 points available to use when I finally realized it.
:P
So a difference of playstyles, completely understandable.
I prefer to take it easy and enjoy the scenery, kill everything I see, and harvest everything I find. I find that if I worry about xp/level/traits, I get burnt out easily.

it is a bad timing you pick this game at this time. new player had been nerf.

but some how as your first character you should enjoy your time in game world.
trait its not that helpful before lvl40, better way its updated your gear every 5lvl.
dont hoping will drop good stuff by killing the mods just buy the gear on TP, (buy the Blue item will do)

if you really want to rush there have a few ways to do:
1. join the low lvl zerg group to kill the champ in Queensdale (run around to get the waypoint first, then ask where the zerg train at on Map channel then follow the train)
2. do event run at Kessex Hills (better be lvl20 above)
3. until you get to lvl35 run AC dungeon.
4. join the zerg group at WvW
5. Crafting.

but i still recommend you to run around the world for lvling.

JUN YANG.4328:

it is a bad timing you pick this game at this time. new player had been nerf.

but some how as your first character you should enjoy your time in game world.
trait its not that helpful before lvl40, better way its updated your gear every 5lvl.
dont hoping will drop good stuff by killing the mods just buy the gear on TP, (buy the Blue item will do)

if you really want to rush there have a few ways to do:
1. join the low lvl zerg group to kill the champ in Queensdale (run around to get the waypoint first, then ask where the zerg train at on Map channel then follow the train)
2. do event run at Kessex Hills (better be lvl20 above)
3. until you get to lvl35 run AC dungeon.
4. join the zerg group at WvW
5. Crafting.

but i still recommend you to run around the world for lvling.

You’re not wrong. If they’d started this weekend then the new system would have been all they knew. I disagree its a nerf but whatever.

New guys! Please listen to the experienced players and don’t give up (yet). Its really not that bad, give it time.

I must agree with the OP on this issue.. I got the game about a month ago and have been leveling various chars (I play many hours each day) to get a feel for the game and the different play-styles.
The ‘feel’ of leveling has changed. There may very well be no difference in the balance of power or any such issues, but that isn’t the point.

To me, leveling feels slower and far, far more boring.. And I wasn’t a zerger..
The build-diversity feels vastly dumbed-down, overly simplified and well… boring.
The incremental changes may not have had a vast impact on the actual power of your char, but it FELT differently. It felt more satisfying and psychologically, that one trait point per level made a huuge difference. As did the satisfaction of seeing the XP bar creep ever closer to the end of the screen. That’s simply not true anymore. At least not for me.

Honestly, I really liked this game, regardless of what others may think.
Now.. Let’s just say that trying out ESO is a lot more tempting, than it was a few days ago..

And while I might not have felt any different, if I’d started out after the patch, I didn’t. And the difference feels immense and overwhelmingly negative, though I actually do like some of the non-trait changes..

Ah well. At least my next paycheck isn’t so far off and I can squeeze in a new game then.