Guild Wars 2

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.

One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations.

I still have to stand by my original thought. I don’t see HoT as successful as a matter of fact I still see it as a weakness to the overall game. And quite frankly I would like to see the stats on what the whole community likes. I mean I don’t know if you have looked around but were not exactly teaming with players lately.

In the end though its their game and we go along with whatever direction they want to go. Even though I would like to point out the community warned everyone about what was going to happen and urged players to think this through. When HoT hit the forums, reviews and others were begging people not to purchase it. However, we still have the luxury to play what we choose to play. I got through HoT in 2 weeks and really don’t expect to do anymore with that content or content similar to that. I would much prefer a turning back of time and going back to what was working and not be subjected to things I have no interest in doing like WVV, gliding, Fractals and PVP. Your taking the fun out of the game when you do that. Farming already feels like more of a job than anything fun.

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.
One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations

In response to this very true you did not have to purchase HoT. However the way things that were done in the game were change whether you liked them or not. For example no more precursors dropping, the builds still changed the way they were both unlocking skills as well as changing the way builds were altogether. Either way you were forced to get HoT or fall to the wayside with the new designs, weaponry, mobs around Tyria, etc. It was very clear that the community was not for the changes nor did they like the changes, they chose to accept it and in the end they got burned for it. To this day we are still waiting for the things promised to be delivered. Ex: 25 stacks of condition damage – the Conditionmancer is still extinct.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.

One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations.

I steered clear of HoT until it was on sale a few weeks ago. Two evenings ago I finished mapping the new zones. I’ve experienced the big events on all the HoT maps at least once. Having finally experienced HoT, I’ll say that while it’s not the content I would have preferred, it hasn’t killed my interest in GW2, nor would I ask for a refund if one was available. However, more maps like Tangled Depths will most definitely not help maintain my interest. That one, ugh.

macon.4065:

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.
One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations

In response to this very true you did not have to purchase HoT. However the way things that were done in the game were change whether you liked them or not. For example no more precursors dropping, the builds still changed the way they were both unlocking skills as well as changing the way builds were altogether. Either way you were forced to get HoT or fall to the wayside with the new designs, weaponry, mobs around Tyria, etc. It was very clear that the community was not for the changes nor did they like the changes, they chose to accept it and in the end they got burned for it. To this day we are still waiting for the things promised to be delivered. Ex: 25 stacks of condition damage – the Conditionmancer is still extinct.

Nineteen of the 23 available Precursors still drop.

Traits were changed in April of 2014, long before Heart of Thorns.

Your dissatisfaction with both may be misplaced.

^^ It sure is … but HoT is a GREAT scapegoat isn’kitten Don’t like the price of mats on the TP? Just blame HoT! Can’t compete with core specs in PVP … HoT! What else have we seen.

I think the original poster took a very extreme approach … it doesn’t even seem to me he or his son took the time to try the content … I would say that’s not a reasonable approach to judging it.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.

One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations.

I said, “buy,” the new style of maps. How does one go about getting the elite specs without paying for the HoT maps?

Ashen.2907:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.

One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations.

I said, “buy,” the new style of maps. How does one go about getting the elite specs without paying for the HoT maps?

Pretty sure I did not respond to or quote your post, whatever it entailed. Nor did I state one did not need to purchase the expansion, only that one need not set foot in the maps contained within said expansion to acquire an Elite Specialization.

First I didn’t like HoT, now I’m okay with it (after the big patch early this year). But I will never like the mastery system. Unlocking things that should be basic features (autoloot, infinite gliding, etc) is lame.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Ashen.2907:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

No one had to purchase Bloodstone Fen (a new design approach), and if one purchased Heart of Thorns and did not like those maps, one could easily get a refund.

One does not/did not even have to set foot in a Heart of Thorns map to acquire Elite Specializations.

I said, “buy,” the new style of maps. How does one go about getting the elite specs without paying for the HoT maps?

Pretty sure I did not respond to or quote your post, whatever it entailed. Nor did I state one did not need to purchase the expansion, only that one need not set foot in the maps contained within said expansion to acquire an Elite Specialization.

Perhaps it was unintentional but you did quote my exact wording for describing HoT.

My apologies.

Obtena.7952:

^^ It sure is … but HoT is a GREAT scapegoat isn’kitten Don’t like the price of mats on the TP? Just blame HoT! Can’t compete with core specs in PVP … HoT! What else have we seen.

I think the original poster took a very extreme approach … it doesn’t even seem to me he or his son took the time to try the content … I would say that’s not a reasonable approach to judging it.

If a dish turns your stomach, vomit, etc, how long do you continue eating it?

I would say that continuing to do something that you do not enjoy is the unreasonable approach.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Obtena.7952:

I think the original poster took a very extreme approach … it doesn’t even seem to me he or his son took the time to try the content … I would say that’s not a reasonable approach to judging it.

Depends. In publishing, we can tell an author’s skill from the query letter and first page of a manuscript. It isn’t necessary to read the entire book to know if it’s bad. In movies, many judge from the trailer. Jem and the Holograms is a good example of this.

As far as games and MMOs? I knew within minutes that Black Desert Online was going to be a steaming pile of yak mess. It took even less time to see that was true for Elder Scrolls Online.

Whether or not that’s reasonable for you may not also be true for him. And keep in mind, he’s asking if our experiences were the same. Let’s not go beyond that criteria please.

While it’s true that you can tell how professional a book is by the first couple of pages, there are also books which are professional which are harder to read or take more time to get into.

Faucaults Penduluum was an amazing book, but it was a hard read and took a while to get started. I’ve read a lot of books like that.

HoT isn’t amateur. There are people who didn’t like HoT and came back to find after giving it another chance, they did like it.

So knowing that a book isn’t written by a pro on the first page isn’t really the best analogy for the situation. Clearly some people really like HoT. It’s not like Anet is submitting a ms. to a publisher and it got rejected.

HoT isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but then, some people found different ways to approach it and some of those ended up liking it.

Vayne.8563:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Obtena.7952:

I think the original poster took a very extreme approach … it doesn’t even seem to me he or his son took the time to try the content … I would say that’s not a reasonable approach to judging it.

Depends. In publishing, we can tell an author’s skill from the query letter and first page of a manuscript. It isn’t necessary to read the entire book to know if it’s bad. In movies, many judge from the trailer. Jem and the Holograms is a good example of this.

As far as games and MMOs? I knew within minutes that Black Desert Online was going to be a steaming pile of yak mess. It took even less time to see that was true for Elder Scrolls Online.

Whether or not that’s reasonable for you may not also be true for him. And keep in mind, he’s asking if our experiences were the same. Let’s not go beyond that criteria please.

While it’s true that you can tell how professional a book is by the first couple of pages, there are also books which are professional which are harder to read or take more time to get into.

Faucaults Penduluum was an amazing book, but it was a hard read and took a while to get started. I’ve read a lot of books like that.

HoT isn’t amateur. There are people who didn’t like HoT and came back to find after giving it another chance, they did like it.

So knowing that a book isn’t written by a pro on the first page isn’t really the best analogy for the situation. Clearly some people really like HoT. It’s not like Anet is submitting a ms. to a publisher and it got rejected.

HoT isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but then, some people found different ways to approach it and some of those ended up liking it.

This.

There is a significant difference between something that doesn’t appeal to some, me for example, and something that is unprofessional.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Ashen.2907:

There is a significant difference between something that doesn’t appeal to some, me for example, and something that is unprofessional.

Amusing, but I’m not talking professionalism or otherwise. I’m talking entertainment. In publishing you’re also trying to appeal to those gatekeepers. Especially if you want publication. It’s not only a question of skill, but one of tastes for both literary agents and acquisition editors.

To the point, we make those judgments within one to three sentences. The same applies to those who want an entertaining MMO. Like you said before, Ashen, you don’t need to eat a piece, throw up, and then keep eating to know you don’t like it or the taste.

For entertainment, in all its forms, this is true regardless.

I don’t really buy into this. I can tell whether a submission is professional or not very quickly. Once I tell that it is professional, the amount if time it takes to grab you varies greatly.

I don’t like romance particularly and will never really be interested in it, but there are professional romances that are very well written and very entertaining to some people.

The problem here is that entertaining means different things to different people, but sometimes, you need to give something a chance.

I watched the first season of Babylon 5 and didn’t particularly find it all that enthralling. But the last four seasons were some of the best TV I’ve ever watched, so I’m glad I stuck with it.

There are always people who’ll try something and give up on it right away, but there are also people that will give something a fair go.

People making snap judgements on HoT, and people who didn’t give it a fair go after the April patch particularly aren’t really in a position to comment on it.

HoT is a very different animal than it was when it launched.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I’m not sure about that since the playerbase voted to bring back the Desert Borderlands. We have them back now.

Go back an look at the polls and how they were setup; it was very unlikely that DBL would go away entirely.

Naix.8156:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I’m not sure about that since the playerbase voted to bring back the Desert Borderlands. We have them back now.

Go back an look at the polls and how they were setup; it was very unlikely that DBL would go away entirely.

Pretty sure I saw the polls when voting. Was not one of the choices: Don’t bring back the Desert Borderlands?

If you have a link, I’d be happy to take another look.

Good luck.

macon.4065:

I still have to stand by my original thought. I don’t see HoT as successful as a matter of fact I still see it as a weakness to the overall game. And quite frankly I would like to see the stats on what the whole community likes. I mean I don’t know if you have looked around but were not exactly teaming with players lately.

In the end though its their game and we go along with whatever direction they want to go. Even though I would like to point out the community warned everyone about what was going to happen and urged players to think this through. When HoT hit the forums, reviews and others were begging people not to purchase it. However, we still have the luxury to play what we choose to play. I got through HoT in 2 weeks and really don’t expect to do anymore with that content or content similar to that. I would much prefer a turning back of time and going back to what was working and not be subjected to things I have no interest in doing like WVV, gliding, Fractals and PVP. Your taking the fun out of the game when you do that. Farming already feels like more of a job than anything fun.

Who are ‘we’? Just because -you- dont team with players lately, that doesn’t mean no one does. People should seriously stop talking of themlselves as ‘we’. Its okay if you don’t see HoT, as a success, that’s your opinion and its perfectly fine to think so, but when you express your personal opinion talk for yourself, do not try to talk for everyone else. If you go ingame and click on lfg you will see that there is constantly squads and smaller parties looking for players for any content.

Also if you see playing the content, more as farming then anything else I can see how you might have burned yourself out of the game. You say you got through HoT in 2 weeks? What does that mean? Through the story or you did -everything- there was to do in 2 weeks? Map completions, mastery leveling, achievements? If you truly did -everything- in only 2 weeks, what did you expect exactly? Surely I would be burned out, as well if I blow out through it so fast. Lastly how are you subjected to things you have no interest doing? Unless you want to craft legendary, no one is forcing you to play content you don’t like, but crafting legendary has always been tied with doing wide variaty of content, so thats not nothing new that arrived with HoT.

In the end, feel free to play or not to play whatever you like, just please, stop expressing personal opinions while trying to speak for everyone!

darkwombat.3695:

I have not played Guild Wars 2 since the first week that Heart of Thorns was released.

So why have you come back to post now?
There have been improvements to HoT to make the experience more fun for more people but if you’re put off by flying and vertical zones then those things haven’t changed and aren’t showing any signs of changing. I will say that you can get better at things whilst not necessarily starting to love them. Things that are chores become simpler as you progress masteries and learn the maps. You could also make a conscious decision to only play when the maps are full / the meta is on to improve your experience if you’re finding it sucks to solo/duo. And nobody is stopping you playing Core Tyria of course, stopping playing GW2 because of HoT doesn’t make a lot of sense when there’s all those other maps that are still pretty active during the times I play at least.

The only thing i really wish was gone from HoT are the Elite specs.

The new maps are great, no it didn’t turn me off. Only the content is super little, but it seems they learned and now release more maps (ring of fire yayyy :-))

I haven’t played much since the HOT expansion. I wished I would’ve researched it before I bought it. I blindly trusted Arena Net. That’s what fanboyism gets me, a game I don’t care for. I never liked Mario Bros and I don’t care much for the jumping puzzles in this game. Maybe I’ll play again if they add flying mounts. There are too may other good games to waste my time doing something I hate.

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

tallcoolfool.7153:

I haven’t played much since the HOT expansion. I wished I would’ve researched it before I bought it. I blindly trusted Arena Net. That’s what fanboyism gets me, a game I don’t care for. I never liked Mario Bros and I don’t care much for the jumping puzzles in this game. Maybe I’ll play again if they add flying mounts. There are too may other good games to waste my time doing something I hate.

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

Full to medium has zero to do with the PvE population. And by zero, I do mean zero. The listed population is the active WvW population of any server.

For everything else there’s the megaserver and servers don’t matter at all.

In other words, I’m on Tarnished Coast, but there is no physical Tarnished Coast server. It doesn’t exist. Therefore, no one actually PvE’s on Tarnished Coast at all ever.

All that number means is the number of people actively engaged in WvW has grown less.

tallcoolfool.7153:

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

PvE maps are merged with players from all servers in the same region (NA or EU). They made that change a long time ago.

JustTrogdor.7892:

tallcoolfool.7153:

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

PvE maps are merged with players from all servers in the same region (NA or EU). They made that change a long time ago.

^yup and Server Population if i recall well is for WvW measuring only.

Terrahero.9358:

The only thing i really wish was gone from HoT are the Elite specs.

They are one of my favorite parts of HoT…

You can also like some aspects of HoT and dislike others. As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of HoT map layouts, gliding, and combat. But there are things I don’t like.

I’m not sure I like the event timers, although it may be that it wouldn’t work out any better if it worked more like BF. I’m just not sure.

I don’t like adventures either.

I also think a lot of the issues with the mastery system could have been avoided if the must-have skills were included as baseline via the storyline and more mastery points were available to allow players more freedom in how they go about unlocking masteries.

Even so, that in no way indicates that I would play this game if it were all like core Tyria. It didn’t interest me then and it doesn’t interest me now. I spend nearly all of my time in the HoT content. It’s just better for me.

1. its obvious mmo isnt for u
2. go play some asian mmo u will see gw2 is easy mode

darkwombat.3695:

I have not played Guild Wars 2 since the first week that Heart of Thorns was released. This is the first time that I can remember, than an expansion turned me off so badly, that it made me lose all interest in the game itself.

Oh dear OP: The usual 10-15 “Defenders” will go to extremes to slag off your posted opinion.
Suffice to say, you’re not alone. I played/tried to enjoy HoT for a couple of weeks.
Now? I log in once or twice a month. The 2 guilds I were in, had 0-2 members online the last week and HoT maps should just be renamed: Desolation 1-4.

Some people still believe this was the best move ever – I haven’t got a clue. Maybe it was – I hated it, haven’t spent cash @gw2 since HoT and will probably skip the next expansion/whatever if they try to sell another overpriced DLC.

Anyway: Try to disregard the all the personal opinions here. (Yeah – mine included) Anet should have enough data to decide how to move forward. (Who knows – HoT may have been a crazy success :-S)

The complete lack of dungeon love is what turned me off

Chaos.5072:

The complete lack of dungeon love is what turned me off

This killed large swaths of the community. Too much verticality did a good chunk. The maze-like design hit a huge chunk too.
Then there is the extremely simple and OBVIOUS problem the devs failed at. People want to play THE ENTIRE EXPANSION with the elite spec. Not earn it as they go. They failed hugely on that part. Earning your elite near the end of the story is rather, blah. We had our normal specs long before the end of the first story…we know them…our elite specs should have come around pretty much at the point Rytlock returns. Any later and you failed a huge point of the expansion.

darkwombat.3695:

I have not played Guild Wars 2 since the first week that Heart of Thorns was released. This is the first time that I can remember, than an expansion turned me off so badly, that it made me lose all interest in the game itself.

I do not know if it was the flying, or the vertical zones, or whatever but boy it was a nightmare.

Did anyone else have this experience, and if so, are you looking forward to the volcanic patch coming up? Maybe they will get back to what made GW2 great.

Clearly there are some gamers that enjoy “platforming” and so love HoT and some players that don’t enjoy that type of gameplay. I also did not enjoy HoT very much. However I stayed with GW2 because they were only a part of the game. Hearing about the Ember Bay map does not make me hopeful for the future of GW2 for players like me.

OP, I’m a weird one for you. I like some of HOT, but I truly loathe the maps and story.

Elite specs are awesome, gliding is epic. The autoloot and other perks are just nice. The map design and story gobble diseased moose wang.

I’ve not touched the living world season three, since I can’t finish the story in HoT. (For whatever reason, it’s impossible to glide during the Mordremoth fight. Was on release, and still is, as of 20 minutes ago when I tried again.)

Aeolus.3615:

JustTrogdor.7892:

tallcoolfool.7153:

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

PvE maps are merged with players from all servers in the same region (NA or EU). They made that change a long time ago.

^yup and Server Population if i recall well is for WvW measuring only.

That’s good news. I looked it up, it’s been more than 2 years since I played regularly. Lion’s Arch hadn’t been destroyed when I stopped playing. I had no idea that it had been that long ago. How many players do they allow on a map? There was nobody running events in the Hot area a couple of months ago. Is Hot a jumping puzzle/platformer, or am I wrong about that too?

tallcoolfool.7153:

Aeolus.3615:

JustTrogdor.7892:

tallcoolfool.7153:

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

PvE maps are merged with players from all servers in the same region (NA or EU). They made that change a long time ago.

^yup and Server Population if i recall well is for WvW measuring only.

That’s good news. I looked it up, it’s been more than 2 years since I played regularly. Lion’s Arch hadn’t been destroyed when I stopped playing. I had no idea that it had been that long ago. How many players do they allow on a map? There was nobody running events in the Hot area a couple of months ago. Is Hot a jumping puzzle/platformer, or am I wrong about that too?

I don’t remember when they changed Lion’s Arch – did you play Dry Top? All the bouncing and flinging around? HoT is worse. In addition, it is a jungle environment so it’s very difficult to see where you’re going. At least in a desert that isn’t an issue. And the mobs are much worse – density of mobs like Orr and I think every one has some form of crowd control.

darkwombat.3695:

I have not played Guild Wars 2 since the first week that Heart of Thorns was released. This is the first time that I can remember, than an expansion turned me off so badly, that it made me lose all interest in the game itself.

I do not know if it was the flying, or the vertical zones, or whatever but boy it was a nightmare.

Did anyone else have this experience, and if so, are you looking forward to the volcanic patch coming up? Maybe they will get back to what made GW2 great.

The only thing I hate about HoT is that if you play a ranged character.. it’s simple
but if you play a melee character.. oh boy are all those CC spamming enemies going to royally **** you off lol

While I like the maps and general content of HoT some of the new enemies seem to be designed around annoying the holy hell out of traditional meta builds in the Vanilla game like your common zerker boy warriors etc

although I personally favor tanky melee characters I still find myself struggling with certain enemies because of their insufferable need to spam charge or spam AoE and stand in it so I can’t deal any damage to them.. it’s very irritating lol

Djinn.9245:

tallcoolfool.7153:

Aeolus.3615:

JustTrogdor.7892:

tallcoolfool.7153:

Another thing that makes the game hard to get back into is the empty maps. My server population has fallen from full to medium since the last time I played. The most fun I ever had in this game was when the game first released. Every area was full of people running events. It was a blast. I wished they could combine players from all server, like in Aion, so that no map is ever empty.

PvE maps are merged with players from all servers in the same region (NA or EU). They made that change a long time ago.

^yup and Server Population if i recall well is for WvW measuring only.

That’s good news. I looked it up, it’s been more than 2 years since I played regularly. Lion’s Arch hadn’t been destroyed when I stopped playing. I had no idea that it had been that long ago. How many players do they allow on a map? There was nobody running events in the Hot area a couple of months ago. Is Hot a jumping puzzle/platformer, or am I wrong about that too?

I don’t remember when they changed Lion’s Arch – did you play Dry Top? All the bouncing and flinging around? HoT is worse. In addition, it is a jungle environment so it’s very difficult to see where you’re going. At least in a desert that isn’t an issue. And the mobs are much worse – density of mobs like Orr and I think every one has some form of crowd control.

I did try Dry Top, I think. I remember taking forever to get almost to the top of one jumping puzzle and making a mistake on the trick jump and falling. I tried it again and lag caused my space not to register. I waypointed out and closed the game.

I try to remember to login daily and sometimes I’ll play for an hour or so. I bought the Hot thinking I would get back into it, but that didn’t work out for me. It’s still a good game and I would recommend it to others, but I just have no interest in it at this point.

Thanks for the help, Djinn.

HoT was very polarizing, and there are obvious reasons why. A lot of MMO players are casual, and they don’t want to experience a high degree of tedium just doing standard “end-game” content. Others enjoy the challenge.

I think there are a lot of things about HoT that were well-crafted, and I waffled a lot over how much I enjoyed them. There were often times where it felt like the maps were over-engineered and oppressive to be in, and other times where they were highly immersive and a lot of fun.

I think one continual issue I have with GW2 is how egregiously bursty combat always is, and, how, playing primarily a Thief, I constantly get downed by things I don’t even see without having a chance to react. They really need to find a way to polish the combat in PvE so that this isn’t such an issue. In general, difficulty in GW2 is about frantic reaction rather than actual strategy, which just leads to more annoyance than it does enjoyment for a lot of people.

Einlanzer.1627:

HoT was very polarizing, and there are obvious reasons why. A lot of MMO players are casual, and they don’t want to experience a high degree of tedium just doing standard “end-game” content. Others enjoy the challenge.

I think there are a lot of things about HoT that were well-crafted, and I waffled a lot over how much I enjoyed them. There were often times where it felt like the maps were over-engineered and oppressive to be in, and other times where they were highly immersive and a lot of fun.

I think one continual issue I have with GW2 is how egregiously bursty combat always is, and, how, playing primarily a Thief, I constantly get downed by things I don’t even see without having a chance to react. They really need to find a way to polish the combat in PvE so that this isn’t such an issue. In general, difficulty in GW2 is about frantic reaction rather than actual strategy, which just leads to more annoyance than it does enjoyment for a lot of people.

Plenty of strategy to be found in HoT though. Not everyone uses the terrain, not everyone knows the boss attacks, or uses interupts or even breaks bars. That’s all strategy.

Everyone can get through stuff if they work hard enough, but there are plenty of encounters where you don’t have to work that hard. The bat guano hero point is a perfect example. Knowing the fight nad using strategy is a big help in that fight.

Although I have found HoT maps to be very tedious to re-do, I’ve mostly made peace with the vertical design.

My main frustration is not being able to get the maps done now because so few people are playing the content.

I can get a lot done in Bloodstone Fen, but not so much anywhere else out there.

HoT > Vanilla Gw2

Im sorry but a game that makes me groom cows my entire leveling experience does not do it for me. The vanilla game was boring, played for two years and quit the third because of the lacking content. Living story 1? Trash. Then We got scarlet and things started looking up, then out comes the HoT trailer and the hype was real. I dont play as much as I did when the vanilla game came out, mainly because of life and other interests. But If not for HoT I know I would NEVER of looked back, I like how hard it is and how rewarding it feels to manage to do something or put together a group for events. This new content will only continue on that path, So either get over it or simply dont play? Why should everyone suffer because a select few dont enjoy it? It got more players to come in. It brought back a ton of veteran players, and now without Collin Joehanson around to make us a glitter field of bullkitten plot holes we finally get progression. Albit it late, but better than never… and uhhh… A-net? DO NOT SQUEEZE BOTH PRIMORDIUS AND JORMAG INTO ONE EXPANSION. That would probably murder the game… considering how they are big players in the main overall plot.

stale.9785:

(For whatever reason, it’s impossible to glide during the Mordremoth fight. Was on release, and still is, as of 20 minutes ago when I tried again.)

You’re doing it wrong if you are trying to glide like you do normally.
For the Mordy fight you just walk into an updraft, it flings you up and you press glide.
Everywhere else you would run/jump and hit jump again.
Not here.
No idea why but that might be your issue, you’re doing it wrong because the mechanic is different for this fight.

I felt overwhelmed by the first HoT map too: the verticalness and overall convoluted map design, paired with monsters that were even more annoying then all the undead stuff in the top 3 Tyria maps made me think that I would never have fun exploring this.

So I quit for a while, and then for some reason returned, joined a zerg that was doing an event chain and slowly grew into the whole HoT and flying thing.

And now I can not even imagine how dull exploring/running aorund would be without the flying. Not only does it fit perfectly in the HoT maps (obviously) but it has spiced up (and sortoff opened up) the old world too.

Gliding imo is the best addition to the game in years. You really need to master all the gliding stuff though, that make it so much more fun.
I am also enjoying the meta-events in the HoT maps, but I have always liked the “join a zerg” part of this game so your mileage may vary on those. It’s the perfect group-play for me at least.

It definitely upped the ante compared to old zones. However, I think they’ve done a lot in recent months to correct for a lot of that. Personally, I don’t want new zones to all be cruisers like the starting levels, but they don’t have to be batkitten crazy, either. At some point, if you’re just trying to stay alive in a zone, you don’t really get to ‘explore’ as much.

General Health.9678:

stale.9785:

(For whatever reason, it’s impossible to glide during the Mordremoth fight. Was on release, and still is, as of 20 minutes ago when I tried again.)

You’re doing it wrong if you are trying to glide like you do normally.
For the Mordy fight you just walk into an updraft, it flings you up and you press glide.
Everywhere else you would run/jump and hit jump again.
Not here.
No idea why but that might be your issue, you’re doing it wrong because the mechanic is different for this fight.

What I had is different. On my Guardian, I’d go to the updraft, and nothing would happen. Neither jumping in (like one would expect) or merely walking to it did anything. I did the same mission with a guildy and my wife, on a different character, it worked fine. Go back with my Guardian, and the updraft/gliding didn’t work.

Got through by taking a friend with me, and spending the entire fight in the holding area for recently dead.

This is semi-related. I got the expansion last night and was impressed at first, and then realized how HARD so much of the new zone is for a single player in rare/exotic gear like myself. There were not a bunch of players in that starting area to help me out.

But my example is concerning Silverwastes, actually. It had been a year since I played, because of PC problems. I noticed last night that I never completed SilverWastes, because I still need that Vinewrath section. Of course, I couldn’t get in there, so I researched it online. Apparently its at the tail end of the storyline events for that area? The problem is that no one is in Silverwastes anymore. This is the first time that I’ve ever not been able to complete a map (and likely never will) because the content cannot be soloed. From what I hear, this is what I have to look forward to in HOT as well, more grouping or following the “zerg”.

I sure wish they had advertised this “feature” better before I made my purchase

fourhim.3584:

This is semi-related. I got the expansion last night and was impressed at first, and then realized how HARD so much of the new zone is for a single player in rare/exotic gear like myself. There were not a bunch of players in that starting area to help me out.

But my example is concerning Silverwastes, actually. It had been a year since I played, because of PC problems. I noticed last night that I never completed SilverWastes, because I still need that Vinewrath section. Of course, I couldn’t get in there, so I researched it online. Apparently its at the tail end of the storyline events for that area? The problem is that no one is in Silverwastes anymore. This is the first time that I’ve ever not been able to complete a map (and likely never will) because the content cannot be soloed. From what I hear, this is what I have to look forward to in HOT as well, more grouping or following the “zerg”.

I sure wish they had advertised this “feature” better before I made my purchase

People do the Silverwastes every day. People farm the Silverwastes. You need to learn to use the LFG tool to get to active servers. That’s your only real issue.

I rarely use the LFG, and I’ve never found The Silverwastes empty.

I suppose it’s always the opposite of what you are looking for…or so it seems. Lol.

Regardless, the LFG almost always has groups for the more popular maps, such as The Silverwastes.

darkwombat.3695:

Did anyone else have this experience, and if so, are you looking forward to the volcanic patch coming up? Maybe they will get back to what made GW2 great.

I took a break after HoT came out — I was in a bad place with GW2 prior to the expansion and wasn’t prepared to throw $50 at it (not after the Manifesto fiasco).

Anyway I came back with the $25 sale and I’m very impressed with HoT. It’s very good imho with lots to do and many new features. You could argue that vanilla GW should have been as good as HoT, but all large games start out as vanilla with a desperate need for chocolate syrup.

At this point I would throw $50 at a second expansion if/when it comes out.

I also recommend a break if you’re burned out — it does help. In my case, it was a full calendar year which is is bit extreme, but it worked.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I rarely use the LFG, and I’ve never found The Silverwastes empty.

Personally, I only go there when the daily wants it and have seen the Vinewrath pop 3 times in the last few months. Each time I came in half way to fail, where lane 1 was stacked with ~5, lane 2 was half that and lane 3 has always been empty. I just end up soloing it, which feels rather nerfed compared to doing the same back in the day.

It’s too bad that events don’t show you how many are nearby. I can manage two bosses in the limit, so it’s sad to see a 4/5 breach fail.

Healix.5819:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I rarely use the LFG, and I’ve never found The Silverwastes empty.

Personally, I only go there when the daily wants it and have seen the Vinewrath pop 3 times in the last few months. Each time I came in half way to fail, where lane 1 was stacked with ~5, lane 2 was half that and lane 3 has always been empty. I just end up soloing it, which feels rather nerfed compared to doing the same back in the day.

It’s too bad that events don’t show you how many are nearby. I can manage two bosses in the limit, so it’s sad to see a 4/5 breach fail.

Well of course there are less players doing it than there were before HoT. That’s a given with almost all older content. It’s over a year old, people move on.

That said, think about what you’re saying. On a day that it’s a daily, it spawns numerous maps for people who just come in to get the daily. If that’s the day you go in then the amount of people going in to get four events and leave is huge. It creates a lot of extra maps.

There are still maps on those days doing the Vinewrath that advertise in LFG but most people aren’t interested in waiting around for the Vinewrath…at least very few people in my guild are.

We just in, get our events, or mine or farm and we’re gone. History.

Doesn’t mean the Vinewrath doesn’t get done. It means it doesn’t get done on every server during a daily day.