So what do you guys think is the average mastery level for gw2 player base?
I’m curious… What is a common Mastery level you guys see when running around the game?
Average is a misleading metric for masteries. The player base is probably divided into several main groups:
Veterans who have raided at least once: they will be largely in the 150-186 range
Veterans who haven’t raided even once: probably 125-178
Veterans who could care less about a lot of things that seem important to us forum regulars: 65-130
New players (within the last year): 0-50, with many above 100.
PvP only: similar probably
That’s in addition to the point that mtpelion makes, that GW2/E includes (some) inactive players.
All in all, I wouldn’t trust any single number to give us a good sense of the distribution of mastery points (even if it were tied to number of hours — I spend a lot my time chatting or AFK-while-in-town).
John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”
That’s a lot lower than I thought it would be. I feel like the most common one I see is 181 (well soon it will be 186)
In addition, gw2efficiency numbers are probably higher than the true game average since those numbers are from people who are invested enough in the game to both know about that site and care enough to sign up for it.
Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.
I suspect that database is probably skewed towards players who think of the game as a hobby. Hobbyists will tend to spend more time in a game than those who view the game as merely a pastime. I suspect that pastime players cba to register on such sites. Whether pastime players would have a lower MP average than hobbyists seems likely, but who knows?
To add to all of this some people simply don’t like HoT and I mean they’ve never set foot back into the HoT maps after beating the story.
I know people who have core Tyria Mastery and the ancient magics mastery but regarding HoT they only have the basic points needed to complete the campaign. I have 181 but 181 isn’t something I usually see outside of HoT maps.
In fact I agree with the 99 average as that would indeed be the number you’d be seeing with someone who beat HoT then never returned. Typically vets who already have enough core Tyria points unlocked through achievements gotten prior to launch and only need the exp.
In addition a person who quit because of HoT but returned for Season 3 wouldn’t necessarily go back into HoT and grind it out but rather grind out the new maps and the old ones they enjoyed before. So midway will probably remain the average even going into the next expac as I know there are some HoT masteries namely the adventure gold ones that I’m never going to actual bother to get around too.
Average is a misleading metric for masteries. The player base is probably divided into several main groups:
Veterans who have raided at least once: they will be largely in the 150-186 range
Veterans who haven’t raided even once: probably 125-178
Veterans who could care less about a lot of things that seem important to us forum regulars: 65-130
New players (within the last year): 0-50, with many above 100.
PvP only: similar probably
That’s in addition to the point that mtpelion makes, that GW2/E includes (some) inactive players.
All in all, I wouldn’t trust any single number to give us a good sense of the distribution of mastery points (even if it were tied to number of hours — I spend a lot my time chatting or AFK-while-in-town).
I think this is a good summary but I’d add a group for free/core-only players who have a level 80 character but no mastery points.
I was going to suggest another one: veteran forum regulars with weird priorities, then I remembered that you said main groups and I’m probably a weird outlier rather than a main group. I have 112 mastery points and haven’t even trained up all the HoT masteries yet. (3,792 hours over 1,713 days, just not a lot of it spent doing achievements.)
As you said I don’t think an average number would mean anything. If you could do a graph of something like mastery points against time played that might be more meaningful, but I suspect there would be a lot of variation. Grouping players by activity might be more meaningful but it would be hard to come up with relevant groups.
Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).
I’d add a group for free/core-only players who have a level 80 character but no mastery points.
I left them off the list deliberately because the OP asked about what we had noticed roaming around and… well, F2P/core-only won’t display mastery levels (since they have none). Although, I should have considered whether GW2/E includes them in their ‘average mastery’ calculation.
John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”
“Veterans who could care less about a lot of things that seem important to us forum regulars: 65-130”
I’m in that lazy/distracted/disinterested category, but I think I’m more like 40 points. Eh, I’ll get to it… someday.
I think this matches where I am. I killed Mordy, but haven’t returned to HoT as I don’t enjoy it. I’m sitting at 70 now, but since I don’t look at other players toons, I’m not sure if that is low or high. The only thing I look for is if it has a health bar, if it does then I can kill it.
When i move around in core Tyria, i see a lot of people with visible levels instead of mastery points. It’s somewhere between one-third and one-fifth, if i had to estimate. And perhaps around half of those with masteries are below max (and raiderless max, at that). I almost never see players with no mastery in fractals, however (though stil see a lot with nonmaxed ones).
This is however completely subjective, and i have no way of knowing how it compares with the actual mastery levels breakdown within the community.
Actions, not words.
Remember, remember, 15th of November
@Astralporing – If you are leveling a new character it will show your characters level until you hit 80, then it will show mastery level. I don’t know why, but this is what they decided to do.
I think the average level is way lower than you might think, maybe 40’s or thereabouts.
For every player that works hard to max it there are dozens of others who just play the story and not much else. The average will gradually rise as the LS3 episodes progress ( and maybe the next expansion.
That’s a lot lower than I thought it would be. I feel like the most common one I see is 181 (well soon it will be 186)
Well, according to the gw2efficiency link the median for 2000-4000h is 157 and 4000+ is 178.
That doesn’t sound too off and some may not just do that much pve. But then again, I would also assume that people that would spend the time to bother registering on the site have invested a bit more effort into the game.
I have 163 with about 6k hours. Also only have 31 Tyria points, lol. (Bottom 10% considering time played). Though I guess I have 5 more maguuma mastery levels once this level bar fills.
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards,
for there you have been and there you will long to return.
An average of 99 sounds high. Is that only the people who have used gw2efficiency? Which will be a population slanted more towards people that are highly active. I have been playing since HOT came out and my mastery rank is 67. The MPs gated me and I just did not see more than bragging rights and niche uses for most of the higher-level ones.
An average of 99 sounds high. Is that only the people who have used gw2efficiency? Which will be a population slanted more towards people that are highly active. I have been playing since HOT came out and my mastery rank is 67. The MPs gated me and I just did not see more than bragging rights and niche uses for most of the higher-level ones.
Yes, if they don’t sign up for it, there’s no way for us to know.
So in practice it is going to be lower, but this is also weighted by where you go. The latest living world zones or Dragon Stand are going to have people with higher levels simply because you need them just to get there.
And of course, one may also not see a need to max out masteries either. Given how LS is going, I would actually tell people to select a few choice Magumma masteries to exclude if one can’t rally enough points. Namely, the last 2 nuhoc, and maybe some exalted unless one wants the collections. I’d also cut Adrenal mushrooms, but those hold more priority over the rest.
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards,
for there you have been and there you will long to return.
I suspect that database is probably skewed towards players who think of the game as a hobby. Hobbyists will tend to spend more time in a game than those who view the game as merely a pastime. I suspect that pastime players cba to register on such sites. Whether pastime players would have a lower MP average than hobbyists seems likely, but who knows?
I agree but those player accounts are the ones you are most likely to see running around in game as well.
Tin Foil [HATS]-Hardcore BLTC-PvP Guild
Bloin – Running around, tagging Keeps, getting whack on Scoobie Snacks.
To add to all of this some people simply don’t like HoT and I mean they’ve never set foot back into the HoT maps after beating the story.
I know people who have core Tyria Mastery and the ancient magics mastery but regarding HoT they only have the basic points needed to complete the campaign. I have 181 but 181 isn’t something I usually see outside of HoT maps.
In fact I agree with the 99 average as that would indeed be the number you’d be seeing with someone who beat HoT then never returned. Typically vets who already have enough core Tyria points unlocked through achievements gotten prior to launch and only need the exp.
In addition a person who quit because of HoT but returned for Season 3 wouldn’t necessarily go back into HoT and grind it out but rather grind out the new maps and the old ones they enjoyed before. So midway will probably remain the average even going into the next expac as I know there are some HoT masteries namely the adventure gold ones that I’m never going to actual bother to get around too.
I’d go as far to say that there are nearly as many people who only play HoT stuff and maybe Fractals, but aren’t interested in a Legendary Weapon and those people don’t necessary bother with Legendary Mastery.
In fact, I recurrent theme I’m hearing in my guild is that returning players have no trouble leveling their HoT masteries, but tend to find it hard to get enough core tyria mastery points to finish leveling core Tyria mastery.
Anyone who doesn’t do fractals, has no reason to level Fractal mastery.
The only thing everyone seems to want from core Tyria masteries is true autolooting.
When i move around in core Tyria, i see a lot of people with visible levels instead of mastery points.
Wouldn’t that be the case if you’re choosing to level an alt the old-fashioned way? I don’t really know, I’ve tomed all my alts. But I know for sure there are players who enjoy levelling.
To add to all of this some people simply don’t like HoT and I mean they’ve never set foot back into the HoT maps after beating the story.
I know people who have core Tyria Mastery and the ancient magics mastery but regarding HoT they only have the basic points needed to complete the campaign. I have 181 but 181 isn’t something I usually see outside of HoT maps.
In fact I agree with the 99 average as that would indeed be the number you’d be seeing with someone who beat HoT then never returned. Typically vets who already have enough core Tyria points unlocked through achievements gotten prior to launch and only need the exp.
In addition a person who quit because of HoT but returned for Season 3 wouldn’t necessarily go back into HoT and grind it out but rather grind out the new maps and the old ones they enjoyed before. So midway will probably remain the average even going into the next expac as I know there are some HoT masteries namely the adventure gold ones that I’m never going to actual bother to get around too.
I’d go as far to say that there are nearly as many people who only play HoT stuff and maybe Fractals, but aren’t interested in a Legendary Weapon and those people don’t necessary bother with Legendary Mastery.
In fact, I recurrent theme I’m hearing in my guild is that returning players have no trouble leveling their HoT masteries, but tend to find it hard to get enough core tyria mastery points to finish leveling core Tyria mastery.
Anyone who doesn’t do fractals, has no reason to level Fractal mastery.
The only thing everyone seems to want from core Tyria masteries is true autolooting.
Yes, I have only done fractals once or twice over the years and it was not my idea. I also have no plans to craft a legendary any time soon. Autoloot was nice though. I am not sure we will get more lines in core, if not it is perplexing 2 of the 3 probably hold no interest for most casuals.
I was getting HOT points all over the place. I still had to pick and choose but most of the ones I did without I did not have much use for.
@Astralporing – If you are leveling a new character it will show your characters level until you hit 80, then it will show mastery level. I don’t know why, but this is what they decided to do.
Because you don’t start mastery point gathering until you are level 80. So therefore showing the current level until you hit 80 and then showing your mastery points makes sense
All I can say is the average in my houshold is around 80, consisting of my main account at 186, my secondary account around 125, daughter #1 who only plays wvw at 3 mastery points, and daughter #2 (who only does jps on leveling toons and is too chicken to go anywhere there’s a chance of fighting) at 2 mastery points . Both kids play regularly, just not in content/with levels that gain mastery experience, and thus neatly average out my own (pve-heavy) accounts.
I suspect that database is probably skewed towards players who think of the game as a hobby. Hobbyists will tend to spend more time in a game than those who view the game as merely a pastime. I suspect that pastime players cba to register on such sites. Whether pastime players would have a lower MP average than hobbyists seems likely, but who knows?
I agree but those player accounts are the ones you are most likely to see running around in game as well.
I think it’s true that people who use GW2 Efficiency are more likely to be regular, committed players who will be online a lot, but even so it’s only going to be a sub-set of them. There’s likely to be just as many, if not more, who are online just as much but have never registered with the site, and may not even have heard of it.
Just like it’s a reasonable assumption that if someone is on the forum a lot they’re also playing the game a lot (although there are definitely exceptions) but it’s still only a minority of ‘committed players’ who post here.
Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).
All I can say is the average in my houshold is around 80, consisting of my main account at 186, my secondary account around 125, daughter #1 who only plays wvw at 3 mastery points, and daughter #2 (who only does jps on leveling toons and is too chicken to go anywhere there’s a chance of fighting) at 2 mastery points . Both kids play regularly, just not in content/with levels that gain mastery experience, and thus neatly average out my own (pve-heavy) accounts.
Notice you are the only one pulling up the 2.5 point average. I am guessing your daughters are closer to typical of average casual players (although on the low side).
I am also heavily into PVE. My bare minimum for just daily maintenance/gathering stuff is 30 minutes but my average is more like 2-3+ hours a day. I just never felt the need to max out mastery skills I would probably use once to justify having them to myself.
If they were just straight mastery levels, I imagine more players would complete them, but since they are gated behind point collecting, that explains such the low point values in masteries
To add to all of this some people simply don’t like HoT and I mean they’ve never set foot back into the HoT maps after beating the story.
I know people who have core Tyria Mastery and the ancient magics mastery but regarding HoT they only have the basic points needed to complete the campaign. I have 181 but 181 isn’t something I usually see outside of HoT maps.
In fact I agree with the 99 average as that would indeed be the number you’d be seeing with someone who beat HoT then never returned. Typically vets who already have enough core Tyria points unlocked through achievements gotten prior to launch and only need the exp.
In addition a person who quit because of HoT but returned for Season 3 wouldn’t necessarily go back into HoT and grind it out but rather grind out the new maps and the old ones they enjoyed before. So midway will probably remain the average even going into the next expac as I know there are some HoT masteries namely the adventure gold ones that I’m never going to actual bother to get around too.
I’d go as far to say that there are nearly as many people who only play HoT stuff and maybe Fractals, but aren’t interested in a Legendary Weapon and those people don’t necessary bother with Legendary Mastery.
In fact, I recurrent theme I’m hearing in my guild is that returning players have no trouble leveling their HoT masteries, but tend to find it hard to get enough core tyria mastery points to finish leveling core Tyria mastery.
Anyone who doesn’t do fractals, has no reason to level Fractal mastery.
The only thing everyone seems to want from core Tyria masteries is true autolooting.
I base it off of vets because when HoT launched Vets were retroactively rewarded their points earned through achievements in core. So most vets would have core Tyria maxed over time only needing exp. If a vet spent all their time in HoT then they’d no doubt be well above the 99 point mark well over the average. As for Fractals though I’m not 100% sure if like raids a person needs to have done a fractal to unlock the mastery. However once it’s unlocked the person would need standard exp they could get through crafting.
In addition HoT masteries get nerfed a bit every time a S3 map is released because they provide more mastery points than the masteries they add actually need. So I agree HoT masteries are easier to level compared to Core especially with the extra S3 points it’s just that most people over the course of three years unlocked many of their core Tyria points. I was one of the people that got all the points I needed retroactively for core once I updated to HoT.
I suspect that database is probably skewed towards players who think of the game as a hobby. Hobbyists will tend to spend more time in a game than those who view the game as merely a pastime. I suspect that pastime players cba to register on such sites. Whether pastime players would have a lower MP average than hobbyists seems likely, but who knows?
I agree but those player accounts are the ones you are most likely to see running around in game as well.
I think it’s true that people who use GW2 Efficiency are more likely to be regular, committed players who will be online a lot, but even so it’s only going to be a sub-set of them. There’s likely to be just as many, if not more, who are online just as much but have never registered with the site, and may not even have heard of it.
Just like it’s a reasonable assumption that if someone is on the forum a lot they’re also playing the game a lot (although there are definitely exceptions) but it’s still only a minority of ‘committed players’ who post here.
There was a time — mostly during last year’s content drought — during which I was (it seemed) always the one with the lowest Mastery total. Now, though, I see a lot more players with lower totals than mine. And I’m still lower than the GW2E average of 99 shared by Wanze.
I really don’t think it takes more than 30 or 40 achievement points for very many players to find that they don’t enjoy Hot.
It doesn’t take more than 5 seconds for some people to make up their mind all sorts of things. Not sure why that matters.
Some people hated HoT initially and never get it another chance, despite all the changes made. Some people never got that into it. Some people just couldn’t get behind how few things they expected were in the expansion, so it didn’t matter if they liked them or not.
Of course lots of people like or loved it and still play.
John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”
Let’s not forget alt accounts used solely for farming laurels/M.Coins.
If I had any interest at all in contributing APIs, my “average” would only be 90, but my alt account would still count as “active.”
Many alts; handle it!
“I’m finding companies should sell access to forums,
it seems many like them better than the games they comment on.” -Horrorscope.7632
I only do what I want to, and my main which completed all Tyrian masteries is at 70, my farming alts are sitting at 1. I could have spent a few more mastery points from the xp I get from guild hall node farming, but when I get close to completing a track, I just change to other tracks.
. Both kids play regularly, just not in content/with levels that gain mastery experience, and thus neatly average out my own (pve-heavy) accounts.