Guild Wars 2

hey everyone, I haven’t participated in the betas so far, so I don’t really know.
I read that HoT will feature 4 new maps? So far I’ve heard people have tested one of those, what about the other 3?
is there going to be 4 maps at launch or they plan to add them later?
I hope someone can answer this to me.

We have tested about 50% of the first map (Verdant Brink).
The rest of this map and the other 3 maps will only be reveal when HoT will be release.

As for more map add in the futur, we cannot say anything so far. I think Anet will add more later but it is only what I think. But with LS2 Anet added DT and SW wich are “part of maguuma jungle” and I think Anet will keep it that way (i.e. new LS come with 1 or 2 new map). I think that way since they said, during a live, that they have plan 3 elite spec for each class that should be release before the next x-pack (the one after HoT even if it isn’t plan yet) and considering it’ll cost a lot of hero point to unlock elite spec Anet will have to add new map.
But again, it’s just what I think, nothing sure they may come with a lote of new way to do it without new maps^^.

4 new maps with three levels each is still basically about 4 themed maps. My only problem with that is I was hoping for some new environments to explore but I suppose something akin to the crystal desert/torment/fire islands wouldn’t make sense in Maguuma.

As for new maps while it is true we’ve recieved a couple of maps since Gw2 launched only three of them remain to this day. Lab Cliffs is MIA and certain special maps like instide the toxic tower are unlikely to return as well. Southsun is rather vacant and as for Dry Top/Silverwastes the story behind them were only free temporarily. So while we may get new maps for HoT they will be living story maps most likely lacking staples which will eventually be an extra fee down the line lie the two current ones.

That said just think of it as HoT coming with 4 maps and I’m sure they will be available at launch.

Well depends on how you count maps XD
Possibly the Golden City might be in its own instance, or it could be another Ebonhawk. There’s going to be two guild hall maps, but those don’t count towards the 4.

Even if there are four maps, it doesn’t mean you’ll have access to them right away. You’ll most likely need to progress your mastery lines to get to and survive in a map further out.

Examples of probable gating mechanisms
1) Itzel Poison Lore: Tier 4 (experience: 2,413,000)
Learn about Itzel poisons, and gain the ability to pass through poisonous Mordrem vines and withstand poison hazes that exist in Maguuma.
2) Nuhoch Lore: Tier 3 (experience 1,143,000)
Master the use of Nuhoch Wallows, learning to traverse these hidden passages to gain access to locations both far and hidden.

do these maps (map… we have only seen verdant brink) feel as large as maps from gw2 core? do they feel as expansive and interesting (ymmv)?

i don’t really like verdant brink. feels cramped and i don’t like the verticality, it gives the illusion of space but the maps themselves are very tightly pathed. almost like three sw maps ‘stacked’ on top of each other except each layer feels smaller. how would you guys compare the size of verdant brink to say kessex hills or another region?

should we expect the other three maps to be like vb? will setting change? jungle is boring me already. i wish they had done this like caledon forest with more variety to the terrain…some swamps some jungle some water.

Selkirk.4218:

do these maps (map… we have only seen verdant brink) feel as large as maps from gw2 core? do they feel as expansive and interesting (ymmv)?

No, they feel (and are) vastly bigger than the core maps. Both in terms of explorable space and amount of content.

Selkirk.4218:

i don’t really like verdant brink. feels cramped and i don’t like the verticality, it gives the illusion of space

Verticality only creates an illusion of space if it isn’t used in any meaningful way. That is clearly not the case on the Verdant Brink map.

Selkirk.4218:

should we expect the other three maps to be like vb? will setting change? jungle is boring me already. i wish they had done this like caledon forest with more variety to the terrain…some swamps some jungle some water.

It’s safe to assume that the other three maps will be like Verdant Brink when it comes to verticality, amount & quality of content. The overall setting will not change since everything is going to be jungle-themed. However it’s unfair to say that there will be no variety. With three biomes (canopy, floor and roots) I’m sure expansion will have plenty of variety to offer and what I’ve seen so far on the beta-weekends confirms that. If even Caledon Forest offers enough variety regarding terrain for you I wouldn’t worry too much about lack of variety on the new maps.

oh that’s great. I was feeling that we would only get 1 new map at launch.
can’t wait to try them!

They feel very different to core maps. Whilst they are more path-like and feel more like twisty mazes, that confinement is counterbalanced by things like the open spaces for gliding, the many different nooks and crannies you can find and the fact that there are 3 “levels” to each zone, which we haven’t fully tested in beta.

This makes it more claustrophobic, but also much more explorable at the same time.

yeah it’s weird i mean the maps feel like dungeons and possibly the gliding opens up possibilities but i don’t know. i mean running down narrow paths and falling 10000 feet if you veer off feels constricting.

buy maybe it’s just the setting…i don’t like this version of the jungle (and the jumanji soundtrack isn’t helping things ). but who knows it could be better when fully implemented or maybe the other maps are better.

Straylight.7529:

Selkirk.4218:

should we expect the other three maps to be like vb? will setting change? jungle is boring me already. i wish they had done this like caledon forest with more variety to the terrain…some swamps some jungle some water.

It’s safe to assume that the other three maps will be like Verdant Brink when it comes to verticality, amount & quality of content. The overall setting will not change since everything is going to be jungle-themed. However it’s unfair to say that there will be no variety. With three biomes (canopy, floor and roots) I’m sure expansion will have plenty of variety to offer and what I’ve seen so far on the beta-weekends confirms that.

A-Net said a while ago on a live-stream, that not all new maps will have three biomes.

But I am sure in a month we now much more.

I love the feel of the new map, at least the bits of it we’ve seen so far. Once you start opening up gliding and mushroom jumping it’s a very very cool map. Great fun.

Selkirk.4218:

i mean running down narrow paths and falling 10000 feet if you veer off feels constricting.

Yea you’re running on vines/branches a lot, but once you’ve got your glider, just glide on down. I’ve liked it quite a bit. Moreso than pretty much any other map currently in the game.

i suppose the thing that has me worried is that we haven’t seen anything but verdant brink. i went back and watched the hot trailers just to see if there were glimpses of other areas-nothing…i mean we have already seen everything in the trailers-vb is tiring me out already.

could it be the reason they haven’t shown anything else (either in beta or trailers) is that this is it? 4 vb styled maps all similar in style and content? the expac is a wonderful value for new players (the core game is truly massive by itself) but 50 bucks for 4 vb maps?

of course they could alleviate some of these concerns by actually letting us see some different content. doesn’t have to be beta weekend could be videos or even screenshots…as is this thing feels small and cramped.

With only four, they better be enormous.

DresdenAllblack.1249:

With only four, they better be enormous.

Hope so. There is 2 things that are working for us.

All 4 maps are suppose to have 3 layers. I doudt each level will range on all the map, but those 4 maps could be equal to between 6 and 12 normals maps.

Secondly, that shaman datamined the new raid maps and it’s HUGE. Don’t know if all of that space will be fill with the raid, but it’s impressive with around the size of 2 open world maps.

Well, looking at that shaman’s map, verdant brink is definitely bigger than Silverwastes or Drytop, but not bigger than them BOTH.

I remain skeptical.

DresdenAllblack.1249:

Well, looking at that shaman’s map, verdant brink is definitely bigger than Silverwastes or Drytop, but not bigger than them BOTH.

I remain skeptical.

Dude read pls. When I said 2 normal map I was talking about the ’’RAID’’ map. Not verdant brink.