Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, so this is my first post and I am brand new to the game. I know that this is sort of learning about flying before I start to crawl, but I bought this game knowing that the 1-80 experience would be really fun (I’ve tried the game on a friend’s account before), but I’ve heard a lot of rumors about end game.

I’m pretty used to the WoW system, where it’s a loot grind, for gear that gives +30 more of a stat, so you can have a maxed out character, and oddly, I really like that system. I also like PvP, and one of the best things about it is you get gear that makes you more and more powerful, able to take down players more easily, or stand toe-to-toe with the best geared opponents in the game. In short, I’m a loot who… not a very nice word for someone who is easily pleased.

I’ve heard that Guild Wars 2 doesn’t ascribe to this, and I still wanted to give it a shot. I mean, I know it has great end game PvP, and some cool world bosses that are fun to fight, not to mention legendary weapons if I really want to go all out trying to grind for the best items (though I have heard it’s very little about stats, and more about the aesthetics of the weapon?), but I want to know, what do you guys do with your end game? As far as I know, Guild Wars 2 has had an active population since it began, and by now most of you much have reached 80 with your characters, and other than just getting alts up, what else are you doing? Is it entirely PvP, and the occasional world boss fight?

In short, how do you guys occupy yourselves at max level? I look forward to seeing some of you guys around the world!

That rumor is correct, this game is not based on gear grind.

It’s fairly easy to get max gear with the best stats.

In terms of WvW, there will be a big patch next Tuesday which will introduce some mechanics that will make you more of an efficient/better rounded player the more successful/dedicated you are in WvW, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be stronger than others.

I got about 1600 hours in game and I use my time to amass wealth. It’s my goal, and not many people share it. Other’s like to level up and gear their alts. Other’s like to get full achievements. Other’s like to contribute in WvW and train to become well-respected players/groups/guilds.

Vol.5241:

That rumor is correct, this game is not based on gear grind.

It’s fairly easy to get max gear with the best stats.

In terms of WvW, there will be a big patch next Tuesday which will introduce some mechanics that will make you more of an efficient/better rounded player the more successful/dedicated you are in WvW, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be stronger than others.

I got about 1600 hours in game and I use my time to amass wealth. It’s my goal, and not many people share it. Other’s like to level up and gear their alts. Other’s like to get full achievements. Other’s like to contribute in WvW and train to become well-respected players/groups/guilds.

is there any point to taking down the big “world bosses”? They seem like awesome fights, but I am wondering if there is a reward for doing so (other than money)

Alvas Visceron.8637:

Vol.5241:

That rumor is correct, this game is not based on gear grind.

It’s fairly easy to get max gear with the best stats.

In terms of WvW, there will be a big patch next Tuesday which will introduce some mechanics that will make you more of an efficient/better rounded player the more successful/dedicated you are in WvW, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be stronger than others.

I got about 1600 hours in game and I use my time to amass wealth. It’s my goal, and not many people share it. Other’s like to level up and gear their alts. Other’s like to get full achievements. Other’s like to contribute in WvW and train to become well-respected players/groups/guilds.

is there any point to taking down the big “world bosses”? They seem like awesome fights, but I am wondering if there is a reward for doing so (other than money)

Big world bosses reward items that can be sold for gold. So it’s purely financial reasons.

The five temples in game also reward items, but they also make karma merchants available where you can buy specific karma gear which would be your end-game gear.

One of those actually opens up one of the dungeons in game.

It’s fairly easy to get exotic gear at max level, getting ascended gear takes much more time.

With 33 dungeon paths, Fractals which level to infinity in difficulty, 43 jump puzzles, Guild Missions, WvW, and 6 PvP maps I daresay GW2 has more endgame than WoW.

Not to mention you are downscaled for all areas, the entire game remains current content.

PvP (as in structured PvP) has absolutely nothing to do with gear/stat progression. You start maxed, you are on an equal playing field with all other competitors and you can do this from the first moment you create your character. You’ll definitely find it lacking if you’re seeking that kind of thing.

That said, if the PvE and WvW do appeal to you, Ascended gear is a tier of items with a slight amount of stat progression that takes concerted effort to get, and could be right up your alley.

The world bosses do give good rewards. You’re guaranteed at least one rare item, which can be salvaged into globs of ectoplasm, which are very useful items required for many tasks. Of course they can also be sold.

Alvas Visceron.8637:

In short, how do you guys occupy yourselves at max level?

Mostly by doing all the same stuff that we were doing before max level.

To me, it seems like the biggest problem for wow vets isn’t that there’s no “end game” as they know it, it’s that they’ve been trained to rush through “leveling” to reach “end game” and when they reach max level, they realize that it’s still the same game they were playing 1-79.

ie: no magic switch will be flipped at 80 that changes the game you were previously playing into a whole new experience.

if you enjoyed the stuff you did while leveling for it’s own sake, you’ll enjoy the game at 80… if the stuff you did on your way to 80 was just “something I need to rush through so I can be 80”.. you’ll hit max level and immediately feel bored and directionless.

While there is gear that you can “grind,” (assuming you don’t enjoy the activity to get it, it doesn’t really give you a gear advantage. In fact, depending on the skill levels, it is possible that a level 20 character with blue gear will be able to beat a level 80 with full exotics. So, if you’re counting on a gearing advantage in PvP based on grind, I think you’ll be dissappointed.

I’m doing dungeons, WvW, sPvP, farming Cursed Shore for gold/materials for my legendary item, farming world bosses for more rares, exotics for more gold or precursor for my legendary, guild missions. Haven’t even touched fractals yet and I’m having a blast.

Alvas Visceron.8637:

Vol.5241:

That rumor is correct, this game is not based on gear grind.

It’s fairly easy to get max gear with the best stats.

In terms of WvW, there will be a big patch next Tuesday which will introduce some mechanics that will make you more of an efficient/better rounded player the more successful/dedicated you are in WvW, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be stronger than others.

I got about 1600 hours in game and I use my time to amass wealth. It’s my goal, and not many people share it. Other’s like to level up and gear their alts. Other’s like to get full achievements. Other’s like to contribute in WvW and train to become well-respected players/groups/guilds.

is there any point to taking down the big “world bosses”? They seem like awesome fights, but I am wondering if there is a reward for doing so (other than money)

Fun?

If you’re married to a gear grind like WoW, you’re probably going to be disappointed, unless you can get past it.

I have 7 characters, everything but a necro and I play all of them. I find the game tremendously alt-friendly.

You can grind for “end game” gear, but it does not have better stats then regular exotics you can buy. BUT, they got unique skins, often particle effects and just look great! There are mystic forge weapons and legendary weapons, take a look at this list:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mystic_Forge/Other_Items

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Legendary_weapon

Personally i have been going for the legendary dagger, and i have been trying to get it since 1st january… So soon 4 months. I am getting closer and closer every day, but the precursor will be my problem

and Join a guild for guild missions, so you can get accended gear even faster.

As someone else said what you do at 80 is pretty much what you were doing before.

I’m just about to hit 80 and my plans, in no particular order are: finish map exploration (I only have about 25% so far), get a full set of exotic gear with skins and stats I like (which might mean getting 2 sets and transmuting them), do all the paths on all the dungeons (I haven’t done any so far), finish my personal story, try WvW, find all the jump puzzles, find all the other exploration achievements, get a legendary weapon.

There’s other stuff I might try too, like PvP, during and after doing that. But I suspect that given how slowly I’ve been going through the game, and the 4 alts I’m also levelling, by the time I’m even half done with that list there will be expansions to contend with.

Don’t forget the fact that all zones reward level appropriate gears. So there isn’t a lost if you go back to the beginning levels.