As much as I love playing Norn toons, I always dread the Shiverpeak maps. Even on other toons, when I have to go into those maps in order to do level-appropriate content to level up. I was reminded about how much I dislike the snowy maps when, after finishing the fire island chapter of the Living Story, I had to go to a new map in the far north. It was underwhelming and pretty much looked the same as any other snowy map in the game. Dredgehaunt Cliffs is especially awful due to some complicated sections of the map and all of the Dredge.
Even in other video games, I have hated snowy areas, so it doesn’t have to do with how ANet designed their maps. The only ones that I am fine with are ones that have a mixture of snow and no snow, such as Lornar’s Pass and the Norn starting map.
But, now I am curious if anyone here has a map/environment type that they dislike or find boring. I don’t want to be just bashing things, but have a conversation as to why we may or may not like certain types of maps.
Server: Dragonbrand
Guild: Moonlit Renegades (Moon)
Highest-Level Toon: Markus Emmerich, 80 Human Scrapper
Personally, I find the human areas of the map the most boring. You just keep massacring centaurs over and over again. I think a lot of maps (especially early ones) suffer from a lack of enemy variety to be honest. Humans pretty much only fight centaurs, norn fight dredge, and charr fight ghosts. The asura and sylvari areas are a bit more diverse, even if they also specialize in fighting one primary enemy.
I think the reason why I dislike the human maps more than the others is also because I don’t find centaurs to be as mechanically interesting to fight. Ghosts sometimes use different aoe attacks that should be dodged (mage ghosts), and dredge often gain buffs (the drummer type) or use a heavy burst ability that can be avoided (the ground shock attack). Whereas centaurs basically just have the standard bow/arrow and sword/shield units that don’t do anything particularly interesting except knock you down occasionally.
As much as I love playing Norn toons, I always dread the Shiverpeak maps. Even on other toons, when I have to go into those maps in order to do level-appropriate content to level up. I was reminded about how much I dislike the snowy maps when, after finishing the fire island chapter of the Living Story, I had to go to a new map in the far north. It was underwhelming and pretty much looked the same as any other snowy map in the game. Dredgehaunt Cliffs is especially awful due to some complicated sections of the map and all of the Dredge.
Even in other video games, I have hated snowy areas, so it doesn’t have to do with how ANet designed their maps. The only ones that I am fine with are ones that have a mixture of snow and no snow, such as Lornar’s Pass and the Norn starting map.
But, now I am curious if anyone here has a map/environment type that they dislike or find boring. I don’t want to be just bashing things, but have a conversation as to why we may or may not like certain types of maps.
Allow me to retort!
Snowy maps are the best. Much prefer them to “hot” feeling maps.
I the the original maps in the game are a bit too mundane. Too much of the same everywhere and not fantastical enough. Thankfully, as the game grows this becomes less of a problem.
I’m also quite fond of snowy areas, with the exception of every dredge area (I loathe industrial themes and find them totally out of place).
I like snow and hills, mountains, forests. Those always feel soothing to me, with special thoughtful fondness for the forest NW of bitterfrost frontier, and the hot springs SE of bitterfrost, or W of wayfarer’s foothills. Even all the Jormag’s corruption areas are fine for me !
I don’t like industrial areas (dredge, charr), all desertic/wasteland areas (dry top, core Orr maps mostly, partly Ascalon). Those feel flat and boring to me. Nothing to see, nothing to feel. Desert…
Been thinking about this for almost a year, this seems like a fitting thread to finally say it… I would really like to see the Wintersday event in Hoelbrak this year, instead of boring DR. Bring life to the Shiverpeaks! BRING WINTERSDAY TO HOELBRAK!
Even though the snowy maps are my favorite anyway.
Been thinking about this for almost a year, this seems like a fitting thread to finally say it… I would really like to see the Wintersday event in Hoelbrak this year, instead of boring DR. Bring life to the Shiverpeaks! BRING WINTERSDAY TO HOELBRAK!
Even though the snowy maps are my favorite anyway.
That definitely would be fitting. I still can’t understand why it’s held in Divinity’s Reach, and am actually really tired of the emphasis on Humans and DR throughout the lore. Or at least have all of the celebrations in Lion’s Arch, where all races congregate!
Server: Dragonbrand
Guild: Moonlit Renegades (Moon)
Highest-Level Toon: Markus Emmerich, 80 Human Scrapper
Personally, I find the human areas of the map the most boring.
^ This. Snowy maps are my favorites in every game and they are awesome in GW2 (I love cold and snow in real life). The jungle is nice and colorful. The Charr maps’ autumny style is refreshing. But the human maps? Meh.
I’m also quite fond of snowy areas, with the exception of every dredge area (I loathe industrial themes and find them totally out of place).
I like snow and hills, mountains, forests. Those always feel soothing to me, with special thoughtful fondness for the forest NW of bitterfrost frontier, and the hot springs SE of bitterfrost, or W of wayfarer’s foothills. Even all the Jormag’s corruption areas are fine for me !
I don’t like industrial areas (dredge, charr), all desertic/wasteland areas (dry top, core Orr maps mostly, partly Ascalon). Those feel flat and boring to me. Nothing to see, nothing to feel. Desert…
Exactly this for me as well. I really hate desert maps.
Another derailing post. ^^ North Keep: One of the village residents will now flee if their home is destroyed.
“I knew it, I’m surrounded by…” – Dark Helmet
For me it’s always the death/goth/emo/metal places that usually constitute end game zones, as is the case with Orr.
Terrible lighting.
I actually really enjoy snowy place, especially the way they did it with GW2, where when you travel south through Lornar’s Pass and into Timberline Falls, it feels like a contiguous land (even though they are instanced).
I mostly enjoy sunny places, like Queensdale (lighting), and glad to see they will throw us some of that with the LW content for end game.
Excited to be going to a desert. Other than getting a taste of it with Dry Top and Silverwastes, it’ll be fun to see what they do with it in big, sprawling areas with the occasional oasis or what not.
I quite enjoy snowy maps (in GW2 & other games in general), in GW2 there are a couple of snowy maps I don’t like, such as Frostgorge, but overall I enjoy the Shiverpeaks maps.
The sets of maps I like least in terms of environment are Orr, and the Ascalon maps, as I don’t enjoy wasteland / barren maps. (probably a large reason why I’ve never been able to get into Fallout, yet love Skyrim).
But the Kryta and Maguma Jungle maps are my favourite as I prefer colourful, lush green, vibrant maps that feel alive. Caledon Forest & Metrica Province in particular have areas in them that feel quite magical and fantasy world like.
I do also enjoy the HoT maps, as they do a great job of portraying the story situation of an inhospitable jungle that’s full of corrupted evil and things trying to kill you.
I like the map design, but not the colour scheme. Whenever I’m doing map completion I have to do those maps in bits because I get tired of seeing the same stuff over and over, so I go somewhere else (or play a different game) for some variety and come back.
Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).
The focus on beige in new maps is really a drag. Snow used to be my least favorite, but it seems everything has been more beige lately, even the jungle maps in HoT.
To me, the worst maps are Kessex Hills, and parts of Harathi/Gendarran. It’s just dirt, centaurs and human architecture. No interesting stories or spectacular views.
My favorite maps are volcanic / rocky ones and they are a few: Mount Maelstrom and the ring of Fire Islands… I like snowy maps, but they make me feel snowy (understand here sleepy) always seeing white everywhere make me tired…
I detest jungle areas so every HoT maps, but when the jungle is full of monuments like Metrica Province it’s okay.
Join Inquest or Aetherblades that’s a terrible choice!
Please Anet, more underground, more asuran cities!
[TP] Bring back Moto’s boom box!
Idk why but I like snow maps as well so long as they have some warmer areas with green too. My favorite location to park my characters is Twinspur Haven in Wayfarer Foothills. In GW1 my favorite map to vanq is Tasca’s Demise.
the snow maps with skyrim ambiance music is just perfect, it’s my favorite part of GW2 and i really don’t have many favorite places. (HoT maps are just horrible, all the jungle themed places are not even worth being called a jungle)
I’ll take snowy over desert, but perhaps that’s due to me living in a desert?
Really, I just like them to vary up the look within a zone. Dry Top and Silverwastes are too much of the same throughout. And vary up the critters encountered. Sure, have a main enemy(s), but have a spider area, or grawl area, or whatever. And usually they do a good job with that.
Nobody here seems to like human areas, so I’ll just jump here and say that I really like them. I kind of feel the empathy towards other humans there and it feels like kingdom. I like defending Nebo terrace, the castles, the trade routes, farms, wineries, etc.
Welp, i agree with OP. they always feel like they make me go blind from all that white and gray, and the dredge are one of the most annoying mobs to me. the ice bears with their pseudo harmonic culture sounding utterly dumb and forced.
I love the maguuma maps, especially the asura ones. it’s like you can always expect another weird asuran genius with a crazy lab around the next corner.
