So I’ve noticed the game tends to vary grealty between different zones/maps. There is a large amount of diversity in Tyria, not just in scenery but also in lore, exploration, stories, challenges and gameplay. Some maps I played through were really dense with dynamic event chains (such as Harathi Hinterlands – there always seems to be something the Company and the Seraph are up to), other times you are finding hidden little caves or ships or villages or farms or just that one tiny part of the world that felt like you discovered something neat that day (like the village in Kessex Hills which overlooks the wizard’s tower and all the creepy lore you can get from the villagers there). Some areas are lore rich or really help you to realise a certain part of the story, they are really good at communicating the lore and story of the world to the player, make you feel like the fights you are fighting are for a reason and not because the mobs have red circles when you click on them, some maps are just good for loot or event bosses. Maybe there’s a jumping puzzle you really enjoyed or found very challenging.
Which map was your favourite map while exploring Tyria and why?
Currently my favourite map is Harathi Hinterlands. I really enjoyed helping out the company, it wasn’t just some nameless faction with a struggle. Talking to the NPCs I got to know a bit of their story and why they fight. I was also very please to notice the centaur event chains were very active – there always seemed to be something to do, somewhere to be, someone to help. I was constantly needed. I was trying to get from one part of the map to another to help someone out and I kept getting distracted by events – for about 30 minutes. There is a chest event with a big boss (who is appropriately challenging – even at 80 I can be downed quite easily) which I believe involves taking down a big giant to push the chain along, which was always cool to see people work together for – and the map still has room to fit in some really cool gems for people who are willing to hang around the less event dense areas (like the Dolyak graveyard, the family watching over it and the cave full of bandit ghosts, or Bandito and Seraphette). I still feel like I haven’t figured out some of the mysteries or triggers to some of these areas, but I like that it feels like there’s more to it than just scenery. It was also nice to have a big map full of challenges and constant back and forth to cap off the human-centaur struggle – I guess it helps that this is a very human focused map, focusing on a core struggle instead of dealing with multiple factions and battles. I felt this map was very fun to explore and had some of the most enjoyable gameplay while still managing to be a rewarding place to play in.
Another map I really liked was Mount Maelstrom. I was very interested in the volcano, and all the events going on around them. From the first glance it’s kind of just a volcano but once you start going into the tunnels and the labs around it, you can get lost for quite a while. The big event chain that ends inside the volcano was also a lot of fun and I was always excited to do it over and over again, calling everyone on the map to help out. Despite disliking the water areas of most maps, I kind of enjoyed the island hopping I did on this map. The secret entrance to one of the pact camps was kinda cool to discover and poking around with the Largos also helped touch upon one of the more mysterious races of Tyria. There were a couple issues with event density in some areas, but the other strengths of the map made up for it.
On top of all that, neither map seemed to have noticeable problems with event bugs, for the most part things ran smoothly and didn’t break.
Which map was your favourite map while exploring Tyria and why? Which map do you think was designed and executed the best based on your playing experience?