Guild Wars 2

Inspite of a few core problems that I have *cough*precursors*cough*, I think I should state for the record, and much to the shock of a few people here, that I do not think I wasted my money on the expansion.

I also think that I’m not the only person in this situation.

So, that being said, I pose the question: While you may be unhappy with some aspects of this expansion, what makes the expansion worth it for you?

For me, I can think of several things that make me feel I got my $50 worth.

1. In spite of my misgivings about only getting 4 new PvE zones, Anet did make them really large on the XY, and actually found a way to deliver quite well on the Z axis. Gliding makes a huge difference, as I expected to be stuck using only specific paths through the trees.

2. Personal story dialog. It’s not just that we have these conversations with NPC’s in world now (no more face to face cut scene), but have you noticed that if you’re a human and you talk to a norn, your character actually leans back slightly to look up at the Norn, while the Norn looks slightly down to look at you? It’s a little detail, but one that stood out to me.

3. While I feel like some of the progression is slower, I haven’t yet run into “grind” when it comes to doing what I need to do in Verdant Brink (I’ve only gone into Auric Basin so far for a quick look around, but haven’t been anywhere else). I am a little frustrated by how you have to balance getting XP with getting Mastery Points, but I’m learning the process, and it doesn’t feel “grindy” (yet). From my level 3 perspective, I actually think the gating is ok, and is, to me, acceptable in the realm of “content stretchin” (I might change my mind in the future, but for now, I’m happy with it.)

4. New models. I appreciate the fact that Anet didn’t just go through and reskin current mob models, but went and created a whole group of new ones, with their own mechanics and so on. I’ve played games where new zones had re-skinned old content, and it just takes something major away from it all. The new models are great, and in some instance, in my opinion, humorous and whimsical (mushroom soldiers, etc.)

5. Specializations aren’t forced. I don’t have to turn my ranger into a Druid in order to do things (as far as I know). I may need to do it in order to use a ranger in a raid, but that is content that hasn’t been delivered yet.

6. It’s somewhat self conflicting, but I do like the precursor crafting process and how there is no progression towards legendary weapons. My main complaint is the gold cost, and even that might change, depending on the economy.

Anyway, that’s why I’m not on the “refund” wagon. Yes, I’m a bit burned by the precursor crafting costs, but it’s not a game wrecker for me.

So, to all you who have complaints about HoT, but aren’t quitting.. What DO you like?

gliding is amazing. also i really like the new maps except for tangled depth. guild halls are something i have been yearning for for quite a time and now anet has blown all my expectations with them. i wouldn’t have expected that we could design and build stuff in them as we please.
overall i really love the new content i just wish i could play it without the necessity of unlocking things through exp. that grind you haven’t encountered in did in only one hour of playing and it threw me off a bit (a lot) to be honest. i think my main source of disappointment is that the content is really amazing and i would love to jump into it instead of having to gather exp first.

I bought the Ultimate, no regrets at all. I have not found a bad thing in the expansion or Halloween. I have been switching off on both

zaced.7948:

…guild halls are something i have been yearning for for quite a time and now anet has blown all my expectations with them….

That would be another one for my list. The guild halls are pretty outstanding, and in my casual opinion the fight to claim them was great.

The new maps are really fun. Although like OP ive only played on Verdant Brink, I love both the meta events during the day, and bosses at night.

Personal story is enjoyable, and this is coming from someone who doesnt usually give a kitten about stories in MMO’s.

I like the revenant profession skillsets and am looking forward to trying the elite specs of normal classes, as well as the new wvw map.

Im glad precursors are no longer limited to a gold grind and have a wider variety of activities to progress.

Things I dont like:
- Fractal reward nerf
- Guild upgrades HOT gating
- Needing a guild hall with scribe for precursor crafting
- HOT mastery exp can only be gained in new maps, not in fractals and wvw
-Only 3 new legendaries currently

Neural.1824:

6. It’s somewhat self conflicting, but I do like the precursor crafting process and how there is no progression towards legendary weapons. My main complaint is the gold cost, and even that might change, depending on the economy.

Anyway, that’s why I’m not on the “refund” wagon. Yes, I’m a bit burned by the precursor crafting costs, but it’s not a game wrecker for me.

So, to all you who have complaints about HoT, but aren’t quitting.. What DO you like?

I just wanna point out that the ONLY gold cost aside from a few Vendor things you have to buy is self-inflicted. You can (just like with any other ascended crafting) just wait and do it one at a time until you have what you need, and farm the materials you need.

They get it right everytime they release a new hairstyle & face option. But alas, we have yet to get new ones — call me weird but it’s the one thing I ultimately enjoy ingame.

Paradox.1380:

I just wanna point out that the ONLY gold cost aside from a few Vendor things you have to buy is self-inflicted. You can (just like with any other ascended crafting) just wait and do it one at a time until you have what you need, and farm the materials you need.

I understand what you’re getting at, but I disagree. That’s a matter for a different thread though.

Love the new maps. Theyre hard but fun. Really feels like a jungle where you have to be careful if you dont want to end up dead…or worse, expelled.
I like the gliding the jumping mushroom and all the ways we learn that make travelling around the maps easier.
I have had a lot of fun so far with it all. My only complaint is that masteries and elite spec take longer than i would wish for. But at leasy theyre changing tje elite soec requirements. Anyone has any ideas on when will they do it?

the story is amazing,
i love the new lack of “wall of text” dialogue boxes to randomly next-next-next-ok through, instead our character speaks and is spoken to in voice.

the mobs are amazing,
tough, all with their own strengths and things to watch out for.

the art is amazing,
the jungle looks incredible, the mobs look incredible, the new weapons too look awesome.

one downside is the lack of new armour skins,
its an expansion, and a pricey one at that,
i’d expect atleast 10 new armour sets per weight class, not 6 total (2 per weight class)

it was masteries that have killed everything.
masteries halted the story.
masteries halted the hero points.

tl;dr
Pros:
Story+Voicing, no walls of text to read!
Mobs and bosses new mechanics
Combat difficulty
Visuals

Cons
lack of armour skins
mandatory XP grinds

I haven’t made much progress in HoT itself – because of all the out-of-memory crashes – but at first glance they seem to have done gliding right. I’ve always been a critic of “flying mounts” in MMOs, but this is the least broken implementation I have seen so far.

Of course that came at the price of turning the maps into annoying labyrinths but I guess you can’t have everything.

zaced.7948:

gliding is amazing.

coso.9173:

I like the gliding

Same ! I hope gliding will not disappear after Heart of Thorns !

coso.9173:

theyre changing tje elite soec requirements. Anyone has any ideas on when will they do it?

Already done.