Guild Wars 2

I’m new to guild wars 2 but I have been playing World of Warcraft for a while.

In WoW, 3rd party voice softwares are mostly used in Normal/Heroic raids, rarely used in Heroic dgs and never used in Looking for raids.

How are EXPLORABLE MODE dgs mostly done in G2? Are exlp. dgs really challenging that a voice software such as vent/mumble is required or are they like heroic dgs in WoW where a voice software is not required.

I understand that having a voice software will make runs smoother but I’m curious to know how the majority of exp. mode dgs are done in GW2.

They are very challenging, but once you get them down you can do them ungeared. That’s the biggest difference with other MMOs. Also they’re only 5 man so the voice chat is not so much about commanding but more about helping.

Basically, you’re required to learn the tactics one way or another. If you do that with voice and a guild group, you’ll learn them fast. If you do it over chat with pugs, it’ll be slow. If you keep your eyes open and prepare to learn, you’ll learn faster either way.

Whether or not voice chat is required is up to your group to decide, and up to you to join such groups. Not required, strongly recommended at first though although I’ve learned plenty of explorables without a single voice word.

I’ve done dungeons both with and without voice software and I can say there’s no real discernible difference given that the path chosen is always the same in terms of monsters. A dungeon veteran or someone who has a lot of experience on that path could do it silently without a problem, only occasionally typing guidance if there was a new guy.

However, I can say voice chat makes the game far more interesting, especially when all the people are doing the same thing.

It’s not required but you need to know your way around the dungeon so you don’t get caught with your pants down.

Having voice-com for your first few runs is nice as it allows you to quickly grasp the puzzles and mechanics spread throughout the dungeons.

Difficulty wise Dungeons may seem very harsh at first. I remember the QQ when people stepped into Ascalonian Catacombs for the first time. It wasn’t pretty.

But once you grasp the game-mechanics and know your way around dungeons they become drastically easier. More so than even a WoW dungeon.

Dungeons are not raid difficulty so no.

Nope not needed. But it cant be fun for kittens and giggles when your friends screw up… or you.

All you need is knowledge about your profession and knowledge about the instance.

No, you don’t really need it. Dungeons are just not that difficult, provided you can bring a fully geared 80 character and your group does the same.
The only are in which you could benefit from more coordination would be high level fractals, and of course pvp.

I’ve only ever been asked once to get on a voice program with a PuG. It was to run fractals and it actually ended up being a recruiting attempt. Made it kind okittenward.

I’m usually on vent with my guild while I play anyway, but since no one in my guild seems to enjoy dungeons, I pretty much PuG exclusively and I’ve NEVER needed voice chat to get it done.

Personally, I find voice a bit more confusing esp when alot of people are talking at the same time. I find the emergency of chatting makes it such that you type fast and you only type in what is needed, and cut back on the other stuff that don’t help.

What’s more important is that you know the dungeon well, or if a first timer, you know what to expect and to trait/change weaps for the challenge. For cof 3, even with voice, its gonna be difficult to coordinate if not everyone is familiar or knows what to do.

I always use voice-chat with my guild when in dungeons. Things just run smoother altogether. I never use voice-chat in pick up groups because:

1. If they have it I’m not invited to theirs, probably for the same reason as 2…
2. We don’t invite pugs in to our voice chat just to avoid trolls and kittenholes.

That said, it’s only really in pugs you see failed dungeon DEs, people running the wrong direction, over-aggroing mobs, discovering mid-boss fight a person has no idea what they are doing, rage quitters, boot griefers and the like. All of which can make a dungeon a pretty miserable experience. Even if you have convinced yourself they are just NPCs with bad AI and dialog.

The game-play related issues could all be totally resolved by having a full party in voip with a group leader that has the patience to explain things to someone unfamiliar.

So no, not necessary. But, understandably, quick efficient communication with your team, in a team-based activity, makes it much more enjoyable and a lot less frustrating.