I am seeing _ a lot _ of people saying how they are having a very hard time with surviving in Heart of Thorns.
I want to make to try to help you.
- Insight & Strategy I: *
Get Out of Verdant Brink
If you are just starting Heart of Thorns, Verdant Brink is a misery best to be avoided. Head south from Shipwreck Peak Waypoint to Dry Step Mesas. From there go to Snarled Frontier, immediately south along the wall. This will land you your first Adventure. It’s pretty easy, will net you some good experience, and set you up for heading to your next Destination: Shrouded Ruins.
Shrouded Ruins is location due West of Snarled Frontier. Just continue to follow south most wall of the zone heading West to reach it. The big ruins pit you find there has another adventure. If there are none of those grey plant men near by, Mordrem, you should be able to do the Adventure. It’s super easy and should land you another good chunk of experience.
Now that you’ve done these continue West along the South wall.
Continue Southwest until you reach the Noble Ledges. To do this pass through the Shrouded Ruins to the Thistlevine Ravine (just passing through the ruins will put you there). Continue Southwest again. Now you will reach an island-bridge way that will head south. Take that and you are at the Hidden Copse. Head West from there and then North at the first island-bridge way. You’re now at the Coztic Grounds. Go West one bridge, tehn south and tag the Noble Ledges’ waypoint. From there make your way to the very Southwest corner of the map.
Once you’ve reached the very Southwest Corner of the map you’ll have reached Treacherous Path Waypoint.
Congratulations. You’re free of Verdant Brink.
- Insight & Strategy II: *
The key to Heart of Thorns is Mobility, Stability, and breaking Break-Bars.
The most expedient path to success in Heart of Thorns is mobility; that is, having unlocked the option to pick your fights your way.
Masteries Required
1~ Gliders Basics
2~ Bouncing Mushrooms
3~ Gliders Updraft
4~ Exalted Markings
~ Get these in this order.
If you do get these in this order you’re going to have _ a lot _ more fun with Heart of Thorns than you were having without them.
These are the essential mobility skills. If you have these you’re going to be able to move around so much easier than before. It also means you get to opt out of fights or go around areas that before were just impossible.
5~ Nuhoch Wallows
As soon as you’ve gotten the other Masteries above done Nuhoch Wallows is very important. It’s really just Bouncing Mushrooms again, but for higher level areas.
Not having these makes Heart of Thorns vastly more miserable / challenging.
- Insight & Strategy III: *
Mastery Points grow on trees.
…Or near enough. If you’re not doing it already, start seeking out as many Mastery Points as you can. They’re super easy to get. There are lots of them, about the time you have just 5 you’ll be finding them fast enough that getting the experience you need for them will be your main chore.
- Insight & Strategy IV: *
Heart of Thorns ability gain is a momentum.
Heart of Thorns is literally the experience of riding a wave. At first it is a chore to get into the wave. Then you are cresting it. About the time you are to reach the top you’re hitting Mastery II or III of some Mastery Track; Gliding, etc.
Once you’ve gotten the 2nd of the abilities listed above, you’re well on your way to the peak of grind. It’s over. You’re entering the fun period.
Hero Points are Experience.
You may think that what really masters is getting enough Hero Points to unlock all of your awesome that is your Elite Specialization, but it’s not. The real chore for you is going to be earning Experience.
Get experience anyway you can as much of it as you can. You can’t get enough of it and there aren’t that many ways to get it.
- Insight & Strategy V: *
Keep heading South!!!
Auric Basic’s exit portal is all the way south on the bottom right of the map, South East.
Get there.
Why? The more places you have to play the more you won’t hate yourself and Heart of Thorns because where you are at right now is utterly lethal and not fun.
- Insight & Strategy VI: *
Join someone at Tangled Depths. Get all of the Waypoints you can. You are going to be spending a lot of time here.
Use the Nuhoch Wallows frequently!
Nuhoch Wallows change Tangled Depths from being utter torment to that picking your fight I talked about before.
- Insight & Strategy VII: *
Use your Elite Specializations!!!
Heart of Thorns is about mobility. If you’re standing still you’re going to die.
- After you accept this you can stand still… but only just so long.
Heart of Thorns is about strategy. If you are an ele, especially a staff ele, disregard people telling you it can’t be solo’d. They are lying, but it isn’t going to be about maximizing on your aoe fields. Draw creatures to where you want them to die then light the area up as fast as you can! Don’t get hit! …You’re going to get hit. Learn how much you can take. Zerker gear is perfectly survivable.
Warriors, Mace/Torch and Sword/Shield devastate break bars. Alternate with these, keep using that F2 charge, and you’ll be just grand.
Guardians… If you’re dying I’m not sure why. Always focus on mobility and… healing or dps. Either or…
Mesmer… just equip the shield and clone like crazy. You’re still gods among mortals.
Ranger… you’re Lightening Wyvern and Tiger are all the way down south in Dragon’s Stand. You’ll need advanced Gliding to get the Lightening Wyvern. It’s after the last boss fight down there, by the hero point in that basic.
Thiefs… it’s super rough till you get all of your traits unlocked.
Necros & Revenants… I don’t know how to play you. I can’t help here. I don’t seem to see revenants struggling, but necros do until they unlock their elite specializations all the way.
- Insights and Strategies VIII: A few words on mobs *
If you’re struggling ask yourself if:
~ you are mobile enough?
~ if you are mobile enough ask yourself if you are aggressive enough.
~ creatures move to where they aggroed you, not where you are, they will not move to where you are until they have completed moving to where you were… kill them with this.
~ if you are aggressive enough do you have any stuns or knock downs?
Can you use them?
if you can, try them
~ slow and steady (at blazing speeds) is better than blazing speeds into a wall of death…
You don’t have to instantly kill something…
You just have to survive it’s instant attack.
~ All attacks have delays.
You don’t.
Find the gaps and feed them damage through it.
- in the rare exception to this rule, if you have a long delay somewhere it usually means you have something absolutely devastating you can do you aren’t just then…
- this can be as simply as walking way so they have to chase you, then leaping into their face with a mace and torch.
- Insights and Strategies IX *
If you haven’t screamed “Kamakazi!!!” you aren’t aggressive enough yet.
Deliberate Suicidal Actions are good learning strategies and tend to turn out well.
The Pact Fleet just got annihilated and you’re on your own? Caution worked good till it didn’t. Now you’re angry. There are two solutions to this… get angry at the devs… who probably have too much going on right now to care or get incredibly sadistic on some mushrooms. If you can survive mushrooms on your character you can survive anything Heart of Thorns throws at you…
but you keep saying things are a chore….. untill you reach a certain “thing”.