Guild Wars 2

Forum bug. 15 chars.

“There a are some things we know already from A-Net: There will be 4 new PvE maps, not all have three biomes and we have now seen 50% of the first map, verdant brink (around 25% in the BWE1 and another 25% in the BWE2). Assuming all 4 new maps will have the same size (and playtime and fun..) I have seen and played 1/8 of HoT-maps (of course, not the final versions, it is a beta overall)”-Zok.4956

I read it as only 25% of the 1st map in all would be shown during beta weekends. I do not think we have seen 50% of the first map with what the last 2 weekends have shown. I sure hope not. This new area is nice but, I was hoping for more of what the POI’s indicated in that there would be a Top, Middle, and Floor to each of the new areas and so far I have not seen that. I have seen a map that requires of lot of going up and down inclines but, there is not a subsurface level as was sort of indicated in POI’s in my opinion.

That being said. To me from all that I have played of it and read about it, yes for sure it is a great value and worth it. The Ultimate edition was what I bought in at to show my support for Arenanet. I think all the updates to the classes and the new masteries and the new Class Revenant alone was enough to call it an expansion but, there is so much more being brought to Tyria with this expansion. If you like GW2 and like the company then purchasing HoT is a no brainer. If you are a super casual player that, can take it or leave it then maybe it will not be worth it to you?

I do not want Arenanet to show us much more of the expansion before launch because, it will take away from the special feeling of launch. We want to feel like we are playing a new and improved GW2. We should not expect a whole New and totally different game.

Grimrah.9256:

“There a are some things we know already from A-Net: There will be 4 new PvE maps, not all have three biomes and we have now seen 50% of the first map, verdant brink (around 25% in the BWE1 and another 25% in the BWE2). Assuming all 4 new maps will have the same size (and playtime and fun..) I have seen and played 1/8 of HoT-maps (of course, not the final versions, it is a beta overall)”-Zok.4956

I read it as only 25% of the 1st map in all would be shown during beta weekends. I do not think we have seen 50% of the first map with what the last 2 weekends have shown. I sure hope not. This new area is nice but, I was hoping for more of what the POI’s indicated in that there would be a Top, Middle, and Floor to each of the new areas and so far I have not seen that.

BWE1: “they will land in Verdant Brink, the first map of the expansion, where about 25 percent of the total playable space of that first map will be available to play.”
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-first-beta-weekend-event-begins-august-7/

BWE2: "From there, they will land in Verdant Brink, the first map of the expansion. For our second beta weekend test, you’ll be landing in a different part of the map than the one we showed in our first beta weekend, and you’ll be able to explore a new area: the jungle-floor biome. The playable content will comprise about 25% of the expansion’s first map. "
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-second-beta-weekend-event-begins-september-4/

Sounds to me, that in each BWE the playable content was 25% of the Verdant Brink map which adds to 50% because the two BWE have different parts of the map.

I do not see a reason why NOT to buy it. Awesome pve areas and mobs, more endgame content that makes existing places worth visiting and ofc the elite specs that really make the professions more fun.

A beta is a bad promo. So as you can see here, people draw very different conclusions from it.

As you say, you liked the core game a lot and find it worth well the money spend. So that should for me be more then enough to purchase the expansion too. specially cause the core game will stop receiving improvements like living world and skills. It is now for free. for living world season 3 you’ll need HoT, for the new skills you need HoT, for the new PvP and WvW maps you’ll need HoT. So although there might be some feature updates, the core game will not be further enhanced where HoT will.

That alone is worth it for me.
Verdant Brinks is a fun map and the new mechanics are fun too. I can’t wait to see the rest of the map and the other maps.

As for the comments here. The beta is small and limited. We are all individuals and differ in how we approach things. I saw this also pre-launch. so many people where negative bout almost everything, but when it actually launched, they where very happy. It is like the glass is half full or half empty. Some people are afraid bout what happens when the glass is empty and full focus on that, while others will focus on what is still left in there.
Some will bring down their expectations (negativism) so they are not dissapointed when the expansion launches. Others will have high expectations, but are also happy if it is not fully that. We are all individuals.

No one can really tell you if it worth it on not since you need to buy game to play the beta in the first place. If you have any doubts just wait for more info. You can get digital crap from preorder if you buy it right before release.

jerkic.6319:

Hello, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is still deciding whether or not HoT is worth purchasing.
To those who played in the beta weekend, do you feel like HoT is shaping up to be a good purchase? I feel like the original game gave me such a good value for my money, does HoT compare?
Is it still fun if you are playing alone? (all of my friends decided against purchasing HoT).

I know a lot of the content still hasn’t been demoed in the beta, but I would like you to share your thoughts anyway.

The Rev is fun, VB is generally fun, things are more challenging and there are many base game improvements, it feels more natural. Quality is high.

My main concern is the small number of maps, yes each map is quite large and complex but not so large that it equates to 3-4 old Tyrian maps. There will be a lot to do in each map once all the adventures and other activities go in, but I still worry about the fundamental size and longevity.

I look forward to being proved wrong but I would feel more confident if they said 8-ish maps. That’s the main sticker to considering if it is “worth” the price.

If you play Guild Wars at least weekly there’s no reason why I would recommend not buying HoT.

Having participated in anet’s previous expansion betas for GW1 I was pretty much prepared for how content light the beta weekends would be. Going from proph beta to proph release was a big wow moment. Anet has always been very anti-spoiler in their public betas, and I’m not at all dismayed by the 4 maps announcement as verdant brink is already easily as content rich as any of the existing zones without any of the personal story and we’ve only seen less than 25% of the map. They ripped the canopy off the top, they haven’t let us in to the roots yet, and they’ve only given us one choice path of one mission.

The new specs are hit and miss and clearly have a lot of beta in them, and the sheer volume of work that has gone in to the new guild and PvP systems is staggering. Masteries are cool and all, but I hope the masteries list at launch is bigger than the list we have now.

The main story is a large unknown in terms of content as well, but this being arenanet I’m expecting a pretty hefty chunk of content right there. I mean it’s supposed to be the complete story from the end of LS2 to the defeat of mordremoth.

Also, raids and fractal updates. We have no idea how much content is being added there.

If you were to attempt to judge GW1 or any of its expansions by hteir betas you’d hear similar “Is that it?” complaints, until they released and you were fairly well blows away by the amount of content delivered for the price.

If you’re still on the fence, wait for the release and then ask for a review. You might find some people have changed their tune.

What is worth? We pay what 13$ for a 2-hour movie, so how many hours will you put in this game? 40? Which is a low number, but isn’t 40 hours of enjoyment worth it then?

I have 2100 hours on this game, at this point I am stealing money from Anet.

From what I’ve seen, I can definitely recommend it. The jungle looks like a sprawling maze, the sense of scale with the airship wrecks up in the skies and all that, made me feel like a tiny ant. :p The enemies are challenging and the elite specs are fun to play. I suspected the gliding to be a bit tacky, but instead I found it works really well. The scenery is beautiful as always, and I really like the new area music. Also, the little personal story preview mission had good voice acting and dialogue, which for me as an appreciator of lore. atmosphere and setting, is a large selling point. It was spot on.

Obviously not everything is correctly tuned and events get stuck and such, but overall it feels like it’s gonna be an enjoyable expansion!

DresdenAllblack.1249:

What is worth? We pay what 13$ for a 2-hour movie, so how many hours will you put in this game? 40? Which is a low number, but isn’t 40 hours of enjoyment worth it then?

I have 2100 hours on this game, at this point I am stealing money from Anet.

I figure, if I even spend 300 hours on the new specs and bumbling through maps I hate, it’ll be money more or less well spent. :P

I’ve been playing it and having a lot of fun! So far, it feels like lots of new stuff to see and do.

i will say that some of the specializations are in need of balancing, but i doubt it will happen. With not all specializations revealed and testable yet, I’m pretty accepting of what we’ve seen. If you are a fan of Guild Wars, then I don’t think you will regret getting the expansion. Keep in mind that the pvp and wvw aspects that are being added will be part of the expansion as well, though it hasn’t been stated to what extent will be expansion limited. With anet staying quiet on how the specializations will actually be unlocked to the player on the actual release, you may find yourself on a journey to get that greatsword necro (or maybe just be using those map completion hero points.) Anet did say that all the mastery stuff will be part of the expansion, so if you’re wanting to do all the legendary crafting stuff, you will need the expansion.

Now, onto the gameplay updates. There is new mechanics on the AI’s where you can stun them after hitting them with control effects. This is shown under the hp bar when targeting the mob. From what i’ve encountered, using this bar can be a lifesaver when fighting mobs of mordrem snipers. Line of sight has been updated, and aoes from mobs have become more distinct in some cases, but such attacks also are more powerful or disruptive. Position of hits has become more important, if you remember the beetles from drytop, you’ll see similar mobs, as well as new mobs that have invulnerability from certain directions. While the AI will still be AI, it will take more response and interaction in most cases to come out on top. Also, in some cases, your average zerk stats may not always be the best choice when fighting.

I’m not here preaching that the expansion is the endall for players, but it does add some new interaction to the mob fights that have become so lather/rinse/repeat over the last few years. As we, the player base, have only been allowed to view about 50% of what is in store for us, most of what we say here could change on a dime, so it falls to you to make the final decision if the xpac is worth the cost. However, i can say that I’ve payed more than i did for the xpack for full games, and found myself disappointed in said games. With what i’ve seen, there are things i don’t like, but I have found nothing that makes me regret my purchase

When the launch of the dlc is so near, and they only beta-test parts of the first mini-map, you can smell the scam. Even with all that is annouced, my perceveid value is 10E, not the 45 they try to take from my pocket each loading screen.

I would say that if you really liked GW2 as it was at launch and went on enjoying it until around the end of Living Story One, then gradually found less and less to like as the game moved through LS2 to where it is now, then purchasing HoT is probably a bad idea.

If, on the other hand, you feel that the game only really began to find its way in the last year and you believe Dry Top and Silverwastes were a significant improvement over previous Level 80 maps then HoT should be worth buying.

Obviously we can only comment on what we have seen, which is only a portion of one map, but the intent is clearly to move away from a very casual, light-hearted, solo-friendly MMO to a more gamer-oriented, skill-based, guild-friendly one. To get the most out of HoT you are going to need faster reactions, more practice, more friends and more patience than was ever required for the base game.

The Mastery system is ok. It’s very similar to systems I’ve used in other MMOs, where it has been implemented more interestingly, but it’s a decent platform to expand upon, provided they don’t just forget about it as has happened with a lot of innovations already.

The Elite specs I haven’t tried because rolling new characters in the beta is a pain. They seem to be fairly well received on the whole though.

Gliding I do like. I wish it would be implemented in all the earlier maps as well.

As far as I understand you’ll get the new WvW and sPvP maps even if you don’t buy HoT. Everyone does.

Personally, I have bought HoT for one of my three accounts (it’s cheaper to buy a new account than add character slots and storage) so that I can follow the storyline, explore the maps and have access to any of the Elite specs that might become required for other content I enjoy, particularly WvW. I think the jungle theme will quickly wear out it’s welcome, though. I’d expect to spend maybe a couple of months at most in HoT maps before going back to the Old World for most of my play.

On balance I’d say if you intend to go on playing GW2 regularly you might as well buy the Standard version of HoT or you’ll be locked out of pretty much all new content between now and the next expansion (assuming there is one). It’s probably got just about enough content to justify the base price but what you’re really buying is the key to the next year/two years of Live content.

Can’t really tell you if its worth it for you or not. For me the Rev is well worth it, the raids sound great, and the people I play with plan on raiding frequently. Ive never been a pve player but I do enjoy playing with my guild mates so that makes it worth it.

jerkic.6319:

…To those who played in the beta weekend, do you feel like HoT is shaping up to be a good purchase? I feel like the original game gave me such a good value for my money, does HoT compare?
Is it still fun if you are playing alone? (all of my friends decided against purchasing HoT)….

IMO, HoT is a good purchase. Since you feel the original game was a good value for your entertainment dollars, I’m sure HoT will be more of the same.

I personally like participating in beta and contributing my feedback for how the classes and game structure work well and how they could be improved. I feel like Anet is listening to the player base and responding well to keep everything fun and balanced.

I’m enjoying the structural complexity of the absolutely huge new maps. I like the masteries so far; flying and mushroom jumping are fun alternative ways to get around the map. Yes, the HoT expansion doesn’t have as many maps as the base game, but I expect we’ll see a few more from LS updates with HoT and the new maps are quite a different experience.

I’m enjoying the elite classes as an extension of playstyles to existing ones. Chronomancer is awesome. Revenant has come a long way and it’s very fun now. I adore my Reaper chill build. Daredevil needs some work, but this has been the first test and I trust they’ll fix the dodge animations and make this class great, too. Tempest has given rise to a more supportive, less glass-cannon approach to ele play. I haven’t tried Berserker Warrior, but guildies tell me it’s good. So far, the only one I don’t like is Guardian elite— and not just because of the stupid name. However, some of my guildies have decided to level guardians just because of the elite, so I guess it’s just not to my taste. That’s still 6/7 with two more reveals to look forward to!

So far, I have only explored masteries involved in map mobility, as I feel those were most important. As we get more of the story, I may see the value in frog lore and other things the masteries can offer. The mobility masteries are fun, though, and I feel very motivated to expand them and earn more.

Playing alone might be tough for some players as mobs in HoT lands are more difficult than average. At first, of course, there will be lots of people in the area for help. Beta players were generally helpful with tactics advice and rezing downed players, too. I imagine this will extend to the overall player base upon release. Right now, no one can say for sure how feasible it will be to PUG a raid. I still feel there’s plenty of exploration for a soloist and events can grant you psuedo-group access to areas with truly difficult mobs.

TL;DR — Subjective as it is, I totally think HoT is worth the purchase.