Guild Wars 2

I am a long-time Guild Wars player; been around since Factions was released. I’ve never had huge amounts of time to put into the game, and I’ve never been one to focus solely on maxing out every stat and rushing to the end of any given piece of content, so keep that in mind.

I am approximately three and a half hours into the new content introduced by Heart of Thorns. That’s actually quite a lot for me, considering it’s only been out for three days now. I still haven’t left Verdant Brink. In fact, I haven’t made it past “The Jungle Provides” in the Personal Story. I’ve been far too busy exploring and familiarizing myself with new mechanics and systems now in place. So far, though, I’m thoroughly enjoying my experience.

First off, I am LOVING the look of everything. The cinematics are great, but especially the new areas… simply gorgeous. Even without any actual goals, I could spend literally hours just gliding around and gawking. It’s beautiful. When I first encountered the writhing roots/vines on the jungle floor, I felt genuine trepidation approaching them. I knew they would kill me, and I was scared. And then they did. It was awesome.

Second, I am happy to admit that I quickly became very frustrated at not having a glider. I knew it would have to be unlocked, and I don’t mind doing events. In fact I quite enjoy events, especially map-wide meta-events. However, it became apparent that I was going to be very limited in my exploration until I had a glider, and I was going to have a rough time finding events or groups of players without a glider to reach them. Catch-22. I found myself saying, out loud, multiple times, “How do I get around this kitten jungle? I don’t know where I’m going!” The thing is, for a player like myself who really enjoys a good story and tends to view everything that happens from a narrative perspective, this frustration was perversely enjoyable. The Commander is in the middle of a war. Not only that, but a war in wildly unfamiliar territory where an entirely different set of rules apply. That mixed sense of confusion and desperation is appropriate to the situation, and honestly deepened my immersion. I was in a new place and frantically trying to learn how to get around and survive so I could get back to battling the greatest and most imminent threat to my world, and the feeling of accomplishment and relief when I finally unlocked that glider, combined with the new-found freedom of movement, was most gratifying.

Third, THE GLIDER! It feels so good and so right to me. It seems natural, and adds such an incredible dimension to exploration that I find myself gliding at every possible opportunity, even when it’s not helpful. Hell, even when it’s undeniably UNhelpful. And that’s just with the base mastery unlocked! I cannot wait to take advantage of updrafts and dodging and all the other mechanics in store. Learning the lay of the land, mastering local techniques and knowledge, conquering the worst the jungle has to offer and eventually making it serve me… it has almost an Avatar/Dances With Wolves feel to it, don’t you think? I really enjoy it.

As for things I don’t like, most of them were solved with the unlocking of the Glider. Some things are still confusing, but I expect them to clear up as I progress, as is natural. The economy is naturally a bit wonky now, but that just means opportunities for a savvy investor. There may be awful disappointment in the future for me, and I fully expect the expansion to have some issues that need addressed for quite a while, but I haven’t found anything thus far. Really the worst thing about the content right now in my opinion is the in-game grouchiness. I know for a fact that this community is a great one, and such an unbelievably vast majority of the players I’ve encountered in the past have been perfectly friendly and helpful people that it’s truly disheartening to hear such unhelpful attitudes in-game. The forum is a fantastic place for airing those concerns, or even just venting frustrations, but I think it’s important to remember that there are hundreds of other players in-game with you, and any non-productive tearing down of the game isn’t going to help any of them enjoy their experience. Why not offer some advice instead? Or even caution against a portion that wasn’t enjoyed/was too difficult/is currently broken?

Before I wrap up, just a reminder to those who are unhappy with the expansion: all of the above is the opinion of one person, and as such is neither a command that all of you feel the same way nor susceptible to factual disproving. Please feel free to express how you feel differently, but please do not try to tell me that my enjoyment of this content is wrong. Or at least make it funny if you do.

TL;DR
I enjoy the sensation of learning about a new environment and the glider is great. Thank you Anet for making at least this player happy.

Getting the updrafts makes gliders really really fun. But on a serious note, it’s fun that some 10 point hero challenges are a champ fight, in which you need people, the people who are running around doing events trying to unlock masteries and you in the map chat are begging for help. I wish their was a LFG tab for each of the new maps so you could group up with people from that map and do stuff.

Harprabh.6907:

Getting the updrafts makes gliders really really fun. But on a serious note, it’s fun that some 10 point hero challenges are a champ fight, in which you need people, the people who are running around doing events trying to unlock masteries and you in the map chat are begging for help. I wish their was a LFG tab for each of the new maps so you could group up with people from that map and do stuff.

That’s a good point! You remind me that I thought of the same thing, though I was hoping for a category for HoT maps in general rather than one for each zone. Still, a little more separation in the LFG window could be very helpful.

Your post pretty much sums it up for me. Similar experience, though I had no real expectations when I first approached the writhing vines and part of me expected to be able to slide underneath, to some hidden cavern.