Guild Wars 2

Hello guys. I got HoT on pre release, but didn’t start playing until recently with my new Daredevil.

I decided to take the personal story into Maguuma, and I knew thanks to the forums and user comments that the area was designed for event completion and it had a higher difficulty level.

I got geared up and ready to go, only to find the same issue that goes on with map completion on the first part of Orr: at least now the whole maps seem dead and most of them are extremely dependant on one event being completed in order for you to access to certain parts.

Not only that, but now I find myself locked on a limbo. I want to progress the personal story, which has proven extreemely hard to do for a couple reasons: First one being that I need to get specific mastery levels gated behind tedious minigames, some of which (like Flying Circus) require you, the player, to get to other mastery levels in order to pull off right, and it’s quite slow now that it seems events are only organized at nightime, and the rest of the day you have to cross your fingers, as the daytime taxis mostly just slap Taxi on them and spread out to chill. Second one, and related to that, is that random group events like to pop on some places where the story should be happening, slaying the NPCs I need to talk to and at least as a Daredevil, it’s hard to take on 20+ Mordrem at once and not because of “get gud”…

After a while I managed to complete Verdant Brink, with the boss masteries left out, as everyone seems to ignore Axemaster, Patriarch and Frog events, and proceeded into Auric Basin to try and level up my Mastery Track for the personal story, only to find out this area is helluva harder to solo and not only that, but in order to make most of the Meta Events and level up, I have to grind, yet again, my already hard to acquire masteries in order to access areas.

I think Anet doesn’t looks beyond, or I would say, they don’t look back at what’s happening to the first areas of Orr, getting lonely and making harder for players who explore the map to attain 100% because of areas or points gated beehind events no one does anymore. One day when new content comes out and little reason remains to do the Maguuma events, people will move out, no more events will be done, and advancing would become possible only for the moost skilled… I wanna see a map with 10 players taking on Octovine for example.

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

cranos.5913:

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

And what will happen when it isn’t? That’s my point. HoT is already tough for new players, and it will be tougher now that the expansion’s starting area is dead. As I said, in order to propperly following a zerg or making group content on AB you need to have grinded quite a few masteries.

If you just want XP for the Mastery tracks, go to Bloodstone or Ember Bay. Ez-pz.

If you don’t want to do the first part of the Stories to get there, use a Teleport to a Friend.

Good luck.

VB isn’t dead. I spend time on that map regularly. Throw up a tag and start doing events and people show up. It’s just a large map with event cycles running simultaneously at all of the camps, so you aren’t likely to see a big zerg going from one event to the next. Fortunately, the events are designed for small groups, so you don’t need a zerg to follow.

Also, not to insult you, but give daredevil some time before you say you can’t take on 20 mordrem and it isn’t a skill issue. If it isn’t something you can get better at, then why can I take on 20 mordrem on my daredevil? Am I special? I don’t think so. You just need to practice. I got my butt handed to me in HoT initially as well.

You also don’t need to do the adventures to unlock MPs unless you’re trying to unlock ALL of the masteries. This isn’t necessary for many players. I’m nowhere near unlocking all of the masteries, mainly because I hate adventures! It’s no big deal. I won’t need to bother with that unless/until I dive into HoT legendary crafting.

Bounce mushrooms and updrafts (a whole 3 mastery points!) will take you to 90% of the places you want to be. The rest are mostly just QoL upgrades you can acquire as you go. No big deal.

If you want to complete all of the bosses, then use LFG during the night cycle to find a map that is going for the meta. It’s not as easy to score a T4 win in VB as it is in AB, but it’s not all that difficult if you have a few tags directing traffic so that people spread out and control camps on the ground all over the map instead of just trying to zerg the wyvern matriarch for 20 minutes.

I also don’t get the reference to Orr. I wasn’t around prior to HoT, but I don’t recall the Orrian maps being dead or difficult to complete, even while many of the events require a large group. These events seem pretty rewarding and players still go for them. I was in cursed shore just a day or two ago, running group events with a zerg!

Aldath.1275:

Hello guys. I got HoT on pre release, but didn’t start playing until recently with my new Daredevil.

Seems a bit unfair to blame anet for you not playing in the zones earlier.

Aldath.1275:

I decided to take the personal story into Maguuma, and I knew thanks to the forums and user comments that the area was designed for event completion and it had a higher difficulty level.

And yet now you’re complaining about finding it hard? You already knew it was going to be harder but you still went in trying to solo it. This is also not anet’s fault.

Aldath.1275:

I got geared up and ready to go, only to find the same issue that goes on with map completion on the first part of Orr: at least now the whole maps seem dead and most of them are extremely dependant on one event being completed in order for you to access to certain parts.

Also things you already knew.

Aldath.1275:

Not only that

Again this is all about you, when a map is quiet, go do something else. It’s true that for AB and DS the timers are all important. Start a group if you need an event or join the groups that do the events you need. You are not going to get AB in one go but you can easily do Eastwatch in one go, wait for the next map reset and do Northwatch this time. Don’t do it solo, run with the groups or start groups.

Aldath.1275:

Second one, and related to that, is that random group events like to pop on some places where the story should be happening, slaying the NPCs I need to talk to and at least as a Daredevil, it’s hard to take on 20+ Mordrem at once and not because of “get gud”…

What NPCs are mobs killing that you need to progress your story? My answer to this would be start a group or change instance.

Aldath.1275:

this area is helluva harder to solo and not only that, but in order to make most of the Meta Events and level up, I have to grind, yet again, my already hard to acquire masteries in order to access areas.

Ok stop soloing. You knew it was harder. And have done nothing to make your own life easier. Stop soloing. It’s also not a grind unless you make it one. If this is your only 80 then break up your playtime. If you have more than one 80 try getting the XP and stuff on a better toon. It’s account wide.

Aldath.1275:

I think Anet doesn’t looks beyond, or I would say, they don’t look back at what’s happening to the first areas of Orr, getting lonely and making harder for players who explore the map to attain 100% because of areas or points gated beehind events no one does anymore.

Bit rich.. it seems you haven’t looked back at what happened.. Ab is run as a multi-map all the time. I always see multiple instances of DS being run at the same time. TD I see many LFGs when Gerent is up. VB always seems active when I’m on but you might be in an timezone when it isn’t.

Aldath.1275:

One day when new content comes out and little reason remains to do the Maguuma events, people will move out, no more events will be done, and advancing would become possible only for the moost skilled… I wanna see a map with 10 players taking on Octovine for example.

However all this is kinda your fault for waiting until now to play it. Except I’m not seeing your problem, the zones are still active. What will actually happen is that more hero points will be added in the new zones so you don’t need to keep going back to older areas.

cranos.5913:

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

This isn’t just 1 World boss, it is getting an entire map to Tier 4. There is a huge difference.

General Health.9678:

Aldath.1275:

Hello guys. I got HoT on pre release, but didn’t start playing until recently with my new Daredevil.

Seems a bit unfair to blame anet for you not playing in the zones earlier.

This is a strawman – no new player is allowed to get these collections?

2 people are more than enough to run each camp/pylon/outpost in the three first maps, the bosses might need a few more but they are mostly designed for a party of 5, some are easier, some are harder. 15 per lane are more than enough to run Dragon’s Stand.

With less people the events are way less scaled than when a zerg is running around making mobs much easier to clear, just minimal coverage over the different areas of the map is needed to progress it instead of running around in a big zerg, it’s more efficient this way. Most are just too used to the zerg mentality by now to even try to pull something like this.

Djinn.9245:

General Health.9678:

Aldath.1275:

Hello guys. I got HoT on pre release, but didn’t start playing until recently with my new Daredevil.

Seems a bit unfair to blame anet for you not playing in the zones earlier.

This is a strawman – no new player is allowed to get these collections?

You’re the one who just made a strawman. The OP is not a new player, nor a new owner of HoT. GH’s comment incorporates that fact, and is specifically directed towards the OP. Generalizing his point to encompass all new players to argue a point clearly not made by GH = strawman.

Back on topic: While HoT has its flaws, it also does things different than the rest of GW2… change from the status quo is good. Those flaws that do exist, while not likely to completely be addressed, are also not likely to be repeated. The successful changes are going to be built on in future content. The change also means that there are going to be things that don’t mesh well with players who are otherwise satisfied with the core game. These concerns have been addressed in many other threads/posts… and it’s always important to keep in mind that just because you don’t like something, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing… it just means it’s a bad thing for you.

If you are like me, a solely solo player (which is what it sounds like), then there are going to be many things you will not be able to do on your own timetable… it becomes a matter of keeping an eye out for those sporadic times when what you need to do (like a mastery/heropoint train) are being actively pursued by the map , and hop into them the moment you see them. Likewise, when you find yourself solo in events that obviously require a group your choice becomes to challenge yourself and see what you can make of it, or go somewhere else… That is part of the expectation one should have when going solo, especially in HoT.

HoT maps want players to come together and work together on something larger than most can do purely solo…. this is obviously more easily organized and accomplished with guilds (especially larger guilds). All the events are still done…. but just not all the time because of the organization/participation required. Prime-time playing (when possible) and regularly looking for squads that are doing what you can’t solo are how you efficiently check such things off your to-do list.

HoT expects players to organize meta-event completion by at least partially using the squads and taxi tools. While I can see how this rankles some players, and can be an inconvenience, it think it also has its virtues.

edit: HoT at the very least it changes what it means to be a solo player. But, not much more than what we got used to with World Bosses and other such events in the game… it’s just on a larger scale.

/mytwocents

~EW

I feel like if megaservers worked properly and they gathered players into populated instances instead of spreading people from a semi-populated instances into empty ones then a lot of this wouldn’t be an issue.

There’s a good portion you can do solo, and by now, plenty of online tools to aid your experience. I recommend bookmarking the event timer (on the wiki) and some productive YouTube videos if you’re having trouble getting mastery points. If YouTube guides aren’t your thing, take a breath and enjoy the exploration experience (then go YouTube :P).

The experience gets much better once you have some basic mobility tools under your belt. Trust me on this. Updraft mastery, bouncy mushrooms, and Nuhoch wallows all help with navigating the new maps. There’s also a secret path or two up to the canopy you can access after you have updraft mastery.

What it won’t do, unfortunately, is help you kill Axemaster or any of the not-Matriarch bosses in Verdant Brink. Best you can hope for is to scan the LFG for an organized group and try to group/taxi into it. I know, I know, I hate begging in LFG too, but it does get results. You’ll have to do it for Dragon Stand, too.

A good portion of the hero challenges can be done easily enough with one extra person, so drag a friend/guildmate along. It makes the slough through some of the zones easier to handle as well.

The above is probably all stuff you knew, but it serves to stress the point that HoT is more group-focused than vanilla Tyria, for good or ill. I do worry that the maps will be pretty vacant when a new expansion releases, especially after ANet finds a way to nerf the Octovine multiloot exploit.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Djinn.9245:

General Health.9678:

Aldath.1275:

Hello guys. I got HoT on pre release, but didn’t start playing until recently with my new Daredevil.

Seems a bit unfair to blame anet for you not playing in the zones earlier.

This is a strawman – no new player is allowed to get these collections?

You’re the one who just made a strawman. The OP is not a new player, nor a new owner of HoT. GH’s comment incorporates that fact, and is specifically directed towards the OP. Generalizing his point to encompass all new players to argue a point clearly not made by GH = strawman.

You can say that my statement doesn’t apply but that doesn’t mean it is a strawman argument (which it isn’t). Whether or not the OP decided to wait makes no difference to whether or not HoT is more difficult with less people playing. This is because HoT also has to be accessible to new people. And not just new people who start right now but new people who start a year from now when HoT might as well be Brisbane Wildlands for all the people who will regularly be there.

James Quall.6029:

I feel like if megaservers worked properly and they gathered players into populated instances instead of spreading people from a semi-populated instances into empty ones then a lot of this wouldn’t be an issue.

This. Especially Dragon Stand. While 150 people have a party in one map, 8 people sit and do nothing on another. Either map caps need to be much smaller overall, Or we need better options to choose instances.

I also just started playing HOT and can say I disagree on every point. I just finished map completion on verdant brink last night working for astralaria and not once did I have troubles gathering people to do certain events with me. A simple /m hey can you help me with “x”? Or /m anyone want to get an HC train going? Is all you need. The maps of hot seem extremely active and nine times out of ten the map im in usually goes for a tier four and I can hop right along with them, and if I can’t because my map is dead I can always look at the lfg for open world and get into a more populated map. All of that on top of playing with good friends makes hot an fun, rewarding, and challenging clear and I can say coming back from a year break to play it was well worth the time and I’m completely in love with this game again

Djinn.9245:

cranos.5913:

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

This isn’t just 1 World boss, it is getting an entire map to Tier 4. There is a huge difference.

Oh I’m sorry it’s an entire map. My bad, let’s change the teq example to SW then yeah? lmao.

cranos.5913:

Djinn.9245:

cranos.5913:

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

This isn’t just 1 World boss, it is getting an entire map to Tier 4. There is a huge difference.

Oh I’m sorry it’s an entire map. My bad, let’s change the teq example to SW then yeah? lmao.

VB doesn’t have the same incentives as in SW and its more difficult to get around.

Djinn.9245:

cranos.5913:

Djinn.9245:

cranos.5913:

Right because you only see 10 ppl at teq right? Or any other world boss? I think you’re being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. VB is a bit dead, but the the other maps are very much alive. Especially AB because of the whole multiloot thing.

This isn’t just 1 World boss, it is getting an entire map to Tier 4. There is a huge difference.

Oh I’m sorry it’s an entire map. My bad, let’s change the teq example to SW then yeah? lmao.

VB doesn’t have the same incentives as in SW and its more difficult to get around.

It’s amazing how I already admitted that VB is a bit dead in my original post but you like to keep arguing about it. Quite obviously I’m talking in regards to the other metas, most notably responding to the octovine comment.

Single out the one map that isn’t as straightforward if you like, but it doesn’t make your point any more true.

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

If you are having trouble fighting mordremoth minions than gear a bit tankier instead of just zerk build

Thats so simple
You will be able to survive more than 20 mordremoth minions by being tanky and progress with the right buils
These maps designed on purpose for you to consider trying new build ,

I alwaya said if it ia hard go tanky than after you got used to the mechanics strip down tanky build bit by bit to zerk ….

Also you can always join a decent guild and ask friends to help you out

Hope it helps
I see people in this post hatin
I just think with the right attitude and a bit of good spirit we can help each other to create a solution <3

I think its important to keep in mind that not caring for how something is designed does not mean that it is designed poorly. I am not fond of much of HoT’s design, but the most I can is that it is designed poorly to appeal to me, and others with taste similar to mine.

Well, just remember that you have to rely on the activities of a server in order to unlock ONE pet (Smokescale)…

And about the argument of “being behind for playing later”, well, I don’t remember any MMO as of now that punished me for getting into the game later than other players, as usually the world content is instanced, and not based on a whole map that is also sharing story progression…

I started playing HoT about a week ago and I haven’t encountered any problems with having a low amount of people. Most players work on weekdays so it’s natural that during work hours it’s slower.
Whenever I get home from work and log on, there are always a lot of people to run the meta events with..

Aldath.1275:

Well, just remember that you have to rely on the activities of a server in order to unlock ONE pet (Smokescale)…

And about the argument of “being behind for playing later”, well, I don’t remember any MMO as of now that punished me for getting into the game later than other players, as usually the world content is instanced, and not based on a whole map that is also sharing story progression…

But again you already knew this was how GW2 was, it is open world maps and events not instances outside of personal stories, fractals, raids and dungeons.

Aldath.1275:

Well, just remember that you have to rely on the activities of a server in order to unlock ONE pet (Smokescale)…

Those events are easy to solo tho, at least the SCAR ones are.

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

Gryphon.2875:

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

My most recent story starts with a need to get a Plated Staff for Bo, which needed Reclaimed Plates. Best way to get them is the VB meta. I kinda mis-timed it, showed up at 10:20 instead of 10:10, but I figured I could at least hit up Matriarch, since the megazerg always takes 12+ minutes, meaning I should have gotten there right in the last 25%.

I zone in. There’s no Matriarch. o_O
And Axemaster was dead. o_O!! (no rly, who does that anymore?)
Sadly, my last reasonable option, Patriarch, didn’t go so well. :\
So, I’m a little torqued that I would’ve had to wait another two hours, so I just ditched the game after that. Thanks a lot, uber-long meta-event timers.

just buy as many rare reclaimed weapons as you need reclaimed metal plates off the tradepost for 77-80s per weapon, salvage them for 1 plate per weapon and you are done.

Rauderi.8706:

Gryphon.2875:

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

My most recent story starts with a need to get a Plated Staff for Bo, which needed Reclaimed Plates. Best way to get them is the VB meta. I kinda mis-timed it, showed up at 10:20 instead of 10:10, but I figured I could at least hit up Matriarch, since the megazerg always takes 12+ minutes, meaning I should have gotten there right in the last 25%.

I zone in. There’s no Matriarch. o_O
And Axemaster was dead. o_O!! (no rly, who does that anymore?)
Sadly, my last reasonable option, Patriarch, didn’t go so well. :\
So, I’m a little torqued that I would’ve had to wait another two hours, so I just ditched the game after that. Thanks a lot, uber-long meta-event timers.

Because this is easier than buying cheap rare reclaimed weapons from the trading post, which are so cheap now it’s ridiculous.

You’ve shelved the game because you think you’re doing something efficiently that you didn’t have to do at all.

I’m not really sure what to make of this complaint.

Vayne.8563:

Rauderi.8706:

Gryphon.2875:

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

My most recent story starts with a need to get a Plated Staff for Bo, which needed Reclaimed Plates. Best way to get them is the VB meta. I kinda mis-timed it, showed up at 10:20 instead of 10:10, but I figured I could at least hit up Matriarch, since the megazerg always takes 12+ minutes, meaning I should have gotten there right in the last 25%.

I zone in. There’s no Matriarch. o_O
And Axemaster was dead. o_O!! (no rly, who does that anymore?)
Sadly, my last reasonable option, Patriarch, didn’t go so well. :\
So, I’m a little torqued that I would’ve had to wait another two hours, so I just ditched the game after that. Thanks a lot, uber-long meta-event timers.

Because this is easier than buying cheap rare reclaimed weapons from the trading post, which are so cheap now it’s ridiculous.

You’ve shelved the game because you think you’re doing something efficiently that you didn’t have to do at all.

I’m not really sure what to make of this complaint.

I stopped playing for the night. Not forever. Yeesh. If all it took was a lousy loot fragment to quit this game, I would’ve been gone years ago.
Granted, it doesn’t help that earlier that night I was in Tangled Depth, twice, once trying to catch the Gerent event that I wasn’t on the One True Map for, just like Dragon Stand. Frustration was running high by that point.
But yeah, trying to actually get things done in HoT is a mess, and that complaint’s been steady for over a year. And that gets compounded by the way certain grinds become necessary due to “assumed value” of things rather than adjusting to the practicalities of how players actually do things.

Rauderi.8706:

Vayne.8563:

Rauderi.8706:

Gryphon.2875:

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

My most recent story starts with a need to get a Plated Staff for Bo, which needed Reclaimed Plates. Best way to get them is the VB meta. I kinda mis-timed it, showed up at 10:20 instead of 10:10, but I figured I could at least hit up Matriarch, since the megazerg always takes 12+ minutes, meaning I should have gotten there right in the last 25%.

I zone in. There’s no Matriarch. o_O
And Axemaster was dead. o_O!! (no rly, who does that anymore?)
Sadly, my last reasonable option, Patriarch, didn’t go so well. :\
So, I’m a little torqued that I would’ve had to wait another two hours, so I just ditched the game after that. Thanks a lot, uber-long meta-event timers.

Because this is easier than buying cheap rare reclaimed weapons from the trading post, which are so cheap now it’s ridiculous.

You’ve shelved the game because you think you’re doing something efficiently that you didn’t have to do at all.

I’m not really sure what to make of this complaint.

I stopped playing for the night. Not forever. Yeesh. If all it took was a lousy loot fragment to quit this game, I would’ve been gone years ago.
Granted, it doesn’t help that earlier that night I was in Tangled Depth, twice, once trying to catch the Gerent event that I wasn’t on the One True Map for, just like Dragon Stand. Frustration was running high by that point.
But yeah, trying to actually get things done in HoT is a mess, and that complaint’s been steady for over a year. And that gets compounded by the way certain grinds become necessary due to “assumed value” of things rather than adjusting to the practicalities of how players actually do things.

And yet I get stuff done in HoT all the time. And other people in my guild seem to. Not every time I want to, but then that’s also happened to me with temples in Orr which you can’t predict at all, they’re not on a reliable timer and I like that a lot less.

Vayne.8563:

And yet I get stuff done in HoT all the time. And other people in my guild seem to. Not every time I want to, but then that’s also happened to me with temples in Orr which you can’t predict at all, they’re not on a reliable timer and I like that a lot less.

I don’t mind the rigid timers at all! The boss rotation was one of the good things to come of it. Kind of. Megaservers and open/closing maps has a habit of making Orr temples a baffling thing to participate in, with much lower stakes, since the towers are split up. Bit of a shame, that.

I do mind the space of time in between event/boss cycles. 3 hours to wait for a specific world boss in vanilla Tyria? 2 hours for pretty much everything in HoT (not counting the new zones)? I almost reach out for the Bad Design button, but I’ll just go so far as to say it’s not player-friendly, specific to entry/exit points.

I kind of agree with the OP. Had a stack of Tomes Of Knowledge (from WvW reward tracks – it’s crazy. Something like 500). Anyways, decided to delete my thief (never played her anyways) and created and leveled a new thief, sold/salvaged what I could, then did it all over again. Tedious clicking, but besides the point.

Finally came to the last one I could level to 80 with the Tomes I had. Decided to do the personal story (got me some Lion Chest keys). Thought, for fun, I would level up and get the Elite traits.

Now am in VB looking for anyone else doing ANY of the Champ HPs. Relative to a few months ago, VB is dead. Oh, you might get a few people doing the meta, but not many doing the HPs. A couple of shout outs allowed me to get a couple, but the response was not as before. I can’t go 10 minutes without the “This map has few players on it…blah blah” message popping up.

All of this was to be expected, with Bloodfen and Ember Bay, but it’s only going to get worse. When you wrap HP acquisition around Champs you are going to have issues.

Gryphon.2875:

VB is fine. We just made T4 this morning

One cannot conclude – and be correct – that VB is fine based on a single T4 experience. One also cannot conclude it’s not fine because of a single failed instance. What would be needed in either case would be a comparison of how often maps succeed versus fail.

Even that does not tell the tale because of the taxi phenomenon. If people from multiple maps stack one map, the stacked map succeeds and the relatively deserted maps all fail, then there will be more failures than successes. The only true indicator would be a comparison between numbers of players who have good experiences v. numbers who have bad ones. I’d guess most of the good experiences go unreported. I’d also guess that most of the bad ones go unreported.

IndigoSundown.5419:

One cannot conclude – and be correct – that VB is fine based on a single T4 experience. One also cannot conclude it’s not fine because of a single failed instance.

Only Anet has the metrics. the problem is that the metrics don’t show how many players are TRYING to get something accomplished and failing vs players who are just running around getting currency, crafting mats, or whatever.

Rauderi.8706:

Vayne.8563:

And yet I get stuff done in HoT all the time. And other people in my guild seem to. Not every time I want to, but then that’s also happened to me with temples in Orr which you can’t predict at all, they’re not on a reliable timer and I like that a lot less.

I don’t mind the rigid timers at all! The boss rotation was one of the good things to come of it. Kind of. Megaservers and open/closing maps has a habit of making Orr temples a baffling thing to participate in, with much lower stakes, since the towers are split up. Bit of a shame, that.

I do mind the space of time in between event/boss cycles. 3 hours to wait for a specific world boss in vanilla Tyria? 2 hours for pretty much everything in HoT (not counting the new zones)? I almost reach out for the Bad Design button, but I’ll just go so far as to say it’s not player-friendly, specific to entry/exit points.

If everything was up all the time, there wouldn’t be enough people to do them in my opinion. I won’t do T4 VBs every hour of every day. Sometimes you fill a map and sometimes you don’t. So if you make them every hour you halve the number of people at each time.

People already complain it’s not being done enough.

The issue here is that you have to balance how often something happens with how often people are going to do it, with how many people are needed to do it.

There really is no easy answer.

There’s a magic tool called LFG that seems to connect players from around the server. Idk, maybe give that a try.

On that note there isn’t any big incentive to complete the VB meta. In AB, TD, and DS metas, however, players do them because of their grand rewards. Auric Basin? Multiloot. Tangled Depths? Chak weapons AND Chak Egg Sac. Chak weapons take way longer to obtain than bladed armor, which is why there are more players at TD. Dragon’s Stand in general just delivers a lot of treasure and XP for masteries. Not only that, but the Noxious Pods hold lots of really expensive weapon skins one can sell on the TP.

But players DO verdant brink still. Just not as often.

I have only one problem – Mastery Points…
I want to do legendary weapon, so I need to lots of them. And to be honest – I just fail at that minor games. I made lots of them to a silver grade, but some I can’t do even bronze. And I don’t like them…
May be I will be forced to go for Raids, but the same story – that’s not my part of the game.
Don’t know what to do to be honest.

People already complain it’s not being done enough.

On that note there isn’t any big incentive to complete the VB meta.

I can remember a time when Tarir failed regularly, and I thought I’d never see a successful defense. Because of multi-loot, I see it get done all the time, even when South is phoning it in.
It’s not the frequency of Verdant Brink meta that keeps population low. It’s just not worth doing for anything there besides filling checklists. I’m not even that down on the zone, I like it well enough, it’s just not worth hanging around there unless I need something from it.

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

Aenaos.8160:

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

You’d be right if this were true, but mostly it’s a matter of getting to a populated map. I’m in HoT all the time and simply using LFG to get to active maps prevents you from not having enough people to do things, even if you don’t stay in a group.

Aenaos.8160:

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

Gee … Content you group for .. IN AN MMO of all games??!?! … how unreasonable!!! :/

This thread just answered my question about if HoT ever got any easier, guess not.. No need to reinstall ever it seems, thanks.

Vayne.8563:

Aenaos.8160:

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

You’d be right if this were true, but mostly it’s a matter of getting to a populated map. I’m in HoT all the time and simply using LFG to get to active maps prevents you from not having enough people to do things, even if you don’t stay in a group.

Would that that were true for all players, and not just those who get lucky to be able to “join in” during their play window. The problem with mega server is that it creates a climate in which the lucky have fun and the unlucky do not. If you’re consistently lucky, good for you. However, your experience is clearly not shared by everyone.

Here is some reality … it’s more about making something happen for yourself than luck. I have yet to find a time where I couldn’t go into HoT, find some people doing activities I needed to do and join them … or someone asking for help and I do that for them. If I put just a bit more effort, it wasn’t hard to co-operate with them to get specific things I wanted to get done as well.

Perhaps that was a bit harsh. I think the difference is; the people that know how to navigate an MMO … then everyone else that thinks it’s a Single Player RPG with other people around.

Here is a different reality. GW2 was marketed by ANet as an MMO that would be friendly to drop-in play by people who don’t have the kind of time Vayne throws at the game. Core lives up to that intent. HoT does not, at least with the same regularity. Having to spam Join In for 15 minutes with no success can eat up a significant percentage of a play session for such people. At the end of the spamming, they may or may not get into a shard where things are happening.

Also, if you want to talk MMO gameplay, core is a lot more like most modern MMO open worlds than HoT is.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vayne.8563:

Aenaos.8160:

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

You’d be right if this were true, but mostly it’s a matter of getting to a populated map. I’m in HoT all the time and simply using LFG to get to active maps prevents you from not having enough people to do things, even if you don’t stay in a group.

Would that that were true for all players, and not just those who get lucky to be able to “join in” during their play window. The problem with mega server is that it creates a climate in which the lucky have fun and the unlucky do not. If you’re consistently lucky, good for you. However, your experience is clearly not shared by everyone.

I don’t agree. I play HOT at almost every hour of the day. I’m in Australia, not the US. I’m up with my guild sometimes in the US mornings. I’ve played in the US afternoons. I’ve played in the US evenings. I’ve played in the US early morning hours. I spent a lot of time in game and a good portion of that time in HoT.

This isn’t just some lucky verses unlucky thing. It’s really not. Now some people get on a server, have one bad experience and they give up on it forever. That’s like going into a fractal, getting one bad pug and giving up on it forever. It’s just giving up.

If you were to go on the day of new content, say the first day Ember Bay came out, of course there will be less people in HOT on that day. We’re all checking out the new zone, including me. But that has nothing at all to do with luck. That’s a simple basic thought pattern.

However, I’ve been in HoT every day for the last week, and I’ve been in each zone. I’ve not gotten a T4 map in VB, but I haven’t tried. I’ve beaten metas in AB, TD and DS though, and I’ve run into enough people in VB to do a meta if that was what I was interested in participating in.

I’ve done these metas all hours of the day and night. Remember, my evening is very very early morning US. There are always people around if you care enough to try to find those people.

I find it interesting that the people who stay away from the zone insist it’s one way when people who play the zone all the time say otherwise.

Abelisk.4527:

There’s a magic tool called LFG that seems to connect players from around the server. Idk, maybe give that a try.

I would really like a NMELFG tool (No Meta Event looking for group) that would enable me to get onto a map that isn’t doing the meta at all on the HoT maps. Right now, just want to get on one that has people getting the HPs. That’s it.

I would hate to take up a slot on a map trying to do the meta when I am just flying around trying to get a specific HP.

misterman.1530:

Abelisk.4527:

There’s a magic tool called LFG that seems to connect players from around the server. Idk, maybe give that a try.

I would really like a NMELFG tool (No Meta Event looking for group) that would enable me to get onto a map that isn’t doing the meta at all on the HoT maps. Right now, just want to get on one that has people getting the HPs. That’s it.

I would hate to take up a slot on a map trying to do the meta when I am just flying around trying to get a specific HP.

That’s why people often list HP trains in LFG.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vayne.8563:

Aenaos.8160:

Obtena.7952:

Strawman or not … that’s tough news. Anyone that doesn’t actually anticipate that old maps and content become old news in an MMO is fooling themselves … and to complain about it? I mean, why don’t I join an MMO after 4 years and QQ i’m behind everyone … oh that’s right … because that would be nonsense. OFC you’re behind and having a hard time completing things. That’s no surprise to anyone who has played MMO’s.

Let’s review this again … WHAT are you paying for in an MMO … access to a service. There is no guarantee you ‘win’ or can ‘catch up’. OP is over a year behind on an expansion … does any reasonable player here actually think there is something weird about his situation? I don’t. That doesn’t make HoT terribly designed at all. IMO, that’s what makes GW2 an MMO. I guess people forgot what that means, for better or worse.

My recommendation, better make some friend that want to help you … or you to help them.

The problem is not that the maps are getting old and less played,it’s that they shove grouping down your throat everywhere,and they don’t downscale enough to compensate for lower population.
It’s failed design from top to bottom.

You’d be right if this were true, but mostly it’s a matter of getting to a populated map. I’m in HoT all the time and simply using LFG to get to active maps prevents you from not having enough people to do things, even if you don’t stay in a group.

Would that that were true for all players, and not just those who get lucky to be able to “join in” during their play window. The problem with mega server is that it creates a climate in which the lucky have fun and the unlucky do not. If you’re consistently lucky, good for you. However, your experience is clearly not shared by everyone.

I believe it was last week that one of the Dailies was Event Completion in Dragon’s Stand. At the time I was playing, there seemed to be 2 maps: 1 that was full and 1 that had a few people that seemed to be mainly trying to get into the full map. Not enough people to do the events. After a while of trying to get into the full map, I gave up on that Daily.

This has happened to me several times lately when I have tried to do things in HoT maps.