Guild Wars 2

Safer Saviour.9685:

When Arenanet announced Guild Wars 2 they really emphasised the fact they wanted to expand upon what players did at the endgame. They spoke about wanting to get more out of the combat system and challenge players in ways that, until then, only other players had been able to do. I’m honestly shocked by how many people are surprised by the upped difficulty in the jungle.

Now you have to pay attention, especially with certain mobs. You need to know what they do and how you can counter them. I personally have unlocked seven of the Elite specialisations, meaning I’ve taken seven classes into the jungle and while some have had an easier time than others, even my poorly equipped Elementalist and my Beserker Thief made it through. You absolutely can solo through the jungle, you just have to be more careful than in Core Tyria.

I’m okay with difficulty being raised in HoT; I don’t mind changing the gameplay, but I do think that most of HoT difficulty is health bars and giant AoE indicators. Sure, mushrooms (and pocket raptors) aren’t walking pillars of HP, but a lot of the mobs make using skills tiring rather than tactical. I generally just revert to spamming 1 and kiting in circles nowadays… when it’s a group of enemies (like Mordrem groups) with regular health bars I’m constantly thinking of tactics, but that doesn’t seem to occur overly much. It feels like the majority of the jungle is about wearing down HP bars and skipping out of the way of AoE.

The amount of whining ugh you remind me of the players who want the tribal set brought back.
Get over it HoT is challenging group content Anet has been saying that since the announcement.
I do agree on the amount of grind though it’s very… grindy..

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

Its really not that hard. You just have to be competent.

The base game is designed very plainly. After a couple of NPE updates, it became so easy that you win by default. No, really, try it. Go to Cursed Shore, walk up to any mob, and only use auto attacks. Don’t even move. You’ll win, no matter what gear you are wearing. Add on all the various abilities that come with the class, and the enemies aren’t even remotely close to a threat.

In HoT, that is only true sometimes. There are enemies who will beat you if they ambush you, or simply outright. Because of this, you need to take advantage of all of the little goodies that your class comes with. Things ranged weapons, CC, situational awareness, and defensive utilities/traits.

Mordrem snipers get a lot of flak for being OP, but they’re actually pretty easy.
-They’re utter glass, and die very quickly to counterburst
-You can juke their regular attacks
-Their damaging attack has a gigantic windup with a target over your head followed by a gigantic bright glowing trail on the ground. You can CC them, kill them first, juke the hit, walk sideways and wait it out.
-Reflection shreds them.

The only way to die to a sniper is if you just sit there and take it. This is an enemy you can defeat by walking.

When people say snipers are hard they don’t mean in a vacuum but rather in the specific context they find themselves in. Snipers aren’t hard, snipers in a small room with lots of punishers (where you can dodge into their big range sweep attack) and maybe some hounds are with risks of falling or other environments. Even then it’s only tough if other players seem clueless as to the mechanics and don’t seem to care about kill order priority.

This is an oversimplified list taking into account role only as health and armor contribute to the actual formula but nevertheless kill order very generally goes like this: healer-big damager-crowd control-tanks. Dogs can hit hard but have medium health and cripple is trivial to cleanse so they’re one of the lowest priority mordrem (On a scale between husks and menders they’re certainly closer to the husk end of the scale) whereas thrashers can group heal but it depends on careless players standing in their lifesteal fields, so their heal requiring bad positioning on the player’s part makes them lower priority, but still relatively high due to their cheap ability to trivially hit players even a floor above them or through line of sight all while ignoring stealth and auto hitting . However, in closed quarters the thrasher leaps dramatically forward in the kill priority list, even number one due to life steal fields (damage + healing in the same move, and it’s AoE yeah stomp those things fast in closed quarters.), but menders and trolls being dramatically squishier and having big healing and damage respectively means one may want to kill them before AoE lifesteal fields activate. Also normal mobs have priority over vets and elites.

Right so seeing as I got so many people thinking I can’t play the game and that I should have better gear for end game content I decided to go and buy some updated gear and to get my stuff really up to date for end game still did not make a bit of difference sure I can survive a bit more and kill some stuff in maguma but still I die in most places walking around and die hard.

Tried out my gear first last night in some dungeons played COF, TA, and even some WB to test the PvE aspect of the build I’m running and it worked fine no problems.

So decided to give Maguma another try see if it really was me so was walking around last night just killing some people to get XP and I happen to stumble upon this bridge and all of a sudden a vet mushroom king came running at me blasted poison before I had time to dodge I got half my health down, at this time he was joined with his little friends who charged at me and downed me I died hard, had to go all the way back to the waypoint, on my exit again night falls start to run out try do some content again for xp all of a sudden 4-8 raptors get me down me try dodge they down me so are the mobs too Op yes they are way to OP in areas you get little to no XP for killing them mastery takes so long to train and get xp due to the lack of it you get you would want to be spending up to 7-8 hours a day grinding in my mind is HOT worth it no its not and maybe that’s for me but that’s me and my opinion.

Your all saying that HOT is easy maybe it is for you maybe you got the best gear better than anything anyone else has your part of a big guild or have many friends you run it with and to do event trains, most people don’t and I don’t so for those of us trying to solo its hard but yeah below is my gear make of it what you will I’m not throwing money into ascended or legendary as I don’t need that for main Tyria content which is where I base most of my game.

[Bladed Mask of the Ranger][Berserker’s Sneakthief Shoulderguards of the Ranger][Berserker’s Sneakthief Coat of the Ranger][Berserker’s Sneakthief Gloves of the Ranger][Berserker’s Sneakthief Leggings of the Ranger][Berserker’s Sneakthief Sandals of the Ranger] all Exotic gear with Sup runes of the ranger in each 6/6

Main Stats
Vitality 1,150
Toughness 1,352
HP 16,442
Precision 1,973
Ferocity 924
Power 2,056
Crit Chance 57.33

Weapon LB Exotic

[Assassin’s Pearl Stinger of Accuracy]
Sup sigil of Accuracy
Sup Sigil of Night

Weapon GS Exotic
[Berserker’s Iron Greatsword of Rage]
Sup rune of Strength
Sup rune of Rage

Accessory Trinkets
[Berserker’s Amulet][Berserker’s Ring][Berserker’s Ring] Exotic

With this gear and my build setup I can handle myself in open world PvE, Dungeons, against WB, play and enjoy most of the stuff including dry top too, but soon as you get to Maguma the whole game changes from fun to a horrible horrible experience either way I’m not happy that’s maybe just me so be it I’m just speaking my mind about how i feel

martin.8271:

I decided to go and buy some updated gear

What you’ve got now is almost exactly what my ranger is wearing (“almost” because I’ve got a berserker’s long bow instead of an assassin’s one, so a very minor bit of power instead of precision). He was the first character I took into the new areas, and the first to do the story.

It did take some adjusting and learning. The first time I encountered mushrooms I was dead before I knew what hit me (there were several at the time, no idea which types or sizes though ). Smokescales puzzled me because I didn’t take the time to actually read their ability description. Same with the froggies that evade all ranged attacks. Some of the mordrem guard took a while to distinguish themselves and their abilities. I tried countering things, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

It was (and in some cases still is, I haven’t explored much of the later two maps yet) a learning curve, and sometimes a pretty steep one as a bunch of new enemy types and abilities crashed on me at once, preferably in the middle of an already hectic group event. But after a (pretty short) while, things began to make sense, and my ranger began to be his old self again.

Try out different pet, different utilities, maybe even different weapon types for the threats you encounter. First time I ran into the pack of pocket raptors right down the slope from the starting waypoint they had me down in no time. By now I can safely pull two or three packs of these little beasts and get out on top (not counting a couple of downed states in the process ). It really is all a matter of practice and getting used to the abilities and weaknesses of the new mobs.

Just a couple of days ago, my 12-year-old, who hasn’t been playing for long and only got her first 80 after HoT hit, told me: “Mom, I think I have found out how and when to dodge now, thanks to those pocket raptors” . She’s playing a mesmer in mostly leveling equipment (plus a pair on ascended healing power boots she dropped somewhere in wvw ). If she can do this, I’m sure you can, too. Don’t give up, the new maps are awesome once you’ve learned how the new enemies work (and don’t mind so much that you’ll still get killed or kill yourself regularly ).

After being in the new areas going back to Central Tyria is like playing with Playmobile. It’ a joke compared to the new challenges. I like it. You will adapt eventually. Also, masteries are account bound and once unlocked for your account you can use it on any other character. This is a good idea, also it doesn’t take that long, give it some time. The expansion isn’t even out for a month…

TexZero.7910:

Kraggy.4169:

TexZero.7910:

It’s not hard….

Also, who would have thought an MMORPG would have co-operative elements in its open world ? It’s almost like they want you to play with other people in their themepark MMO.

Since GW2 wasn’t like that before HOT (world bosses excepted) why are you here if you like 1990s group-or-die MMOs?

Maybe since you’ve been around.

You’re right, I’m not a vet, I only started playing three months after launch, my first 80 arrived just before Christmas 2012 and won’t get her third birthday present until next week.

I guess I missed GW2’s heyday, though I did level through Orr before the nerfbat hit.

martin.8271:

snip

Martin.
Seems like you are trying to use pure glass cannon gear/build but you don’t have the skill to do it.
You are wearing full zerker/assassin gear and doesn’t have the skill to use GS block and leap on time, also no cond cleanse/stun breaker in the right moment. If you want to go full glass you need to be perfect on your reaction times.

Pretty much what the OP said. I hate the place, because you can’t solo or duo it. It relies on having 6-7 players running around together, in order to get things done. On top of this, I rarely see tags, so i have no clue where to go. I hate to go to Pact Encampment all the time, but thats the only place i ever find a sizeable amount of people.

As with all the new maps, the issues are that the mob density, coupled with the size of the maps, and how difficult they are to kill solo, makes for a terrible experience. Again, they NEED to add more people to the zones.

Another thing that makes it bad, is that the LFG tool is a mess, since there is so much to look for now. It needs to be limited down to a ‘per zone’ basis.

I guess ill just have to complete my Tyrian Mastery track until they getting around fixing the situation with the Magumma zones.

kuritsutian.2987:

Doam.8305:

People wanted more difficult content though they wanted it in a form akin to the Underworld, Deep, FoW, Sorrow, or that place in Torments whose name i forget.

However it’s Anet and instead of making a side map and introducing truly difficult content they decided to go with ruining the game for casuals by forcing the entire GW2 community to to march through what was supposed to be the games equivalent of the underworld.

I think these side maps with enhanced difficulty are what we know as “dungeons”.

Personally like the difficulty progression as it makes us think outside the box or at least look for ways to improve as players…. I understand it’s difficult AT FIRST for newer players or casual ones, but an easy end game would be boring to those that reached their caps…. hardship isn’t bad, what’s the point of having something that everybody else has?

The Underworld wasn’t exactly like a dungeon by GW1 standards and it isn’t quite the same by GW2 standards either. Underworld in Gw1 was a map much like the other places I listed however if you’ve never played GW1 then you wouldn’t know all the maps in that game were instanced. We were only connected through towns and cities with other players. You can only have a full party in any GW1 Map do to the nature of them being instanced.

Underworld and the other places were more akin to an event map by GW2 standards sort of like a precursor to what we see in Orr and HoT maps today. The player limit is no longer there and neither are the trinity elements of GW1 but a map of that difficulty would have still been possible but like in GW1 the entrance should have requirements and of course be off the beaten trail of the main campaign.

Doam.8305:

kuritsutian.2987:

Doam.8305:

People wanted more difficult content though they wanted it in a form akin to the Underworld, Deep, FoW, Sorrow, or that place in Torments whose name i forget.

However it’s Anet and instead of making a side map and introducing truly difficult content they decided to go with ruining the game for casuals by forcing the entire GW2 community to to march through what was supposed to be the games equivalent of the underworld.

I think these side maps with enhanced difficulty are what we know as “dungeons”.

Personally like the difficulty progression as it makes us think outside the box or at least look for ways to improve as players…. I understand it’s difficult AT FIRST for newer players or casual ones, but an easy end game would be boring to those that reached their caps…. hardship isn’t bad, what’s the point of having something that everybody else has?

The Underworld wasn’t exactly like a dungeon by GW1 standards and it isn’t quite the same by GW2 standards either. Underworld in Gw1 was a map much like the other places I listed however if you’ve never played GW1 then you wouldn’t know all the maps in that game were instanced. We were only connected through towns and cities with other players. You can only have a full party in any GW1 Map do to the nature of them being instanced.

Underworld and the other places were more akin to an event map by GW2 standards sort of like a precursor to what we see in Orr and HoT maps today. The player limit is no longer there and neither are the trinity elements of GW1 but a map of that difficulty would have still been possible but like in GW1 the entrance should have requirements and of course be off the beaten trail of the main campaign.

I agree, but the author of the thread is complaining how “hard” is the current accessible by towns map… I don’t really see much of a difference as it currently is… only thing is that the story develops in this maps, unlike UW, Forge, etc that was rather optional. I think that’s kinda the point of what he was talking about, author suggested a side map… I suggested a dungeon cause elite area would require organized play to succeed… you don’t go the UW to wander around and run towards waypoints.

Is it harder than the base game? Yes. Is it too hard? Not at all. This is max level content. There shouldn’t be any sort of cushioning for players that don’t know how to properly utilize their class and builds to their full potential. The problem is not that this content is too difficult. The issue is with the core game content being too easy and forgiving.

There’s far too little difficulty progression between the starter zones and Orr/Frostgorge Sound. As long as you’re properly leveled, mobs are not really any more challenging than they were when you first started learning the game. We used to have this to some degree with the original Orr, but people whined and complained because they were unwilling to learn how to effectively play the game. Now because of this, there’s nothing in the open world game that properly prepares you for more difficult content. Because of this, there is a jarring spike in difficulty between the core game and HoT.

HoT content does not need a nerf. If it does get nerfed, I will likely stop playing it because I’ll be bored of it just like how I am with faceroll core content. This game needs to be less casual friendly in endgame zones, and HoT is doing a good job of that. It’s not too difficult to play through if you play well, but it is difficult enough that you can’t play through it while paying more attention to your TV than to the game.

Black Box.9312:

This game needs to be less casual friendly in endgame zones

It’s different to be a casual player and a bad player.. HoT is casual friendly …I enjoy it a lot in my short sessions ….and don’t find it difficult….. don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad player… just unexperienced… but that can be fixed… just got to try!

kuritsutian.2987:

Black Box.9312:

This game needs to be less casual friendly in endgame zones

It’s different to be a casual player and a bad player.. HoT is casual friendly …I enjoy it a lot in my short sessions ….and don’t find it difficult….. don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad player… just unexperienced… but that can be fixed… just got to try!

Fair enough. I suppose “casual” may not have been a completely appropriate term for this, as even casual players can learn a game well enough if they put ample effort into it.

My point is that endgame zones should be less forgiving to players because the idea should be to build up your skills and familiarize yourself with your build and the game’s mechanics. A big reason why this game has previously been famously derided for a lack of endgame was because supposed high level content could mostly be breezed through with nothing more than the 1 key with some occasional movement.

Kraggy.4169:

TexZero.7910:

It’s not hard….

Also, who would have thought an MMORPG would have co-operative elements in its open world ? It’s almost like they want you to play with other people in their themepark MMO.

Since GW2 wasn’t like that before HOT (world bosses excepted) why are you here if you like 1990s group-or-die MMOs?

Nah. GW2 was totally like that before (from world bosses to Temple events) and one could see how the ideas for map-wide meta evolved over time. Remember the raid on Lion’s Arch that required map-wide coordination? Remember the changes to Tequatl (and how it was the WvW guilds with the coordinated organization who were first to crack Teq?) I actually like the way that system has developed because it reminds me quite a bit of the kind of organization that WvW requires.

Black Box.9312:

HoT content does not need a nerf. If it does get nerfed, I will likely stop playing it because I’ll be bored of it just like how I am with faceroll core content. This game needs to be less casual friendly in endgame zones, and HoT is doing a good job of that. It’s not too difficult to play through if you play well, but it is difficult enough that you can’t play through it while paying more attention to your TV than to the game.

If HOT were a free content update you may have a point, but it was paid for by players who were expecting it to be a continuation of the game as it was because Anet never said anything about going back to 1990s group-or-die playstyle!

Chaba.5410:

Kraggy.4169:

TexZero.7910:

It’s not hard….

Also, who would have thought an MMORPG would have co-operative elements in its open world ? It’s almost like they want you to play with other people in their themepark MMO.

Since GW2 wasn’t like that before HOT (world bosses excepted) why are you here if you like 1990s group-or-die MMOs?

Nah. GW2 was totally like that before (from world bosses to Temple events) and one could see how the ideas for map-wide meta evolved over time. Remember the raid on Lion’s Arch that required map-wide coordination? Remember the changes to Tequatl (and how it was the WvW guilds with the coordinated organization who were first to crack Teq?) I actually like the way that system has developed because it reminds me quite a bit of the kind of organization that WvW requires.

None of that content gated character progression/leveling/playing the Story, it was NOT like HOT at all.

Pre-HOT group-or-die content was optional, none of it was needed except for the final Story instance, in HOT you can’t play the Story without requiring groups because everything is gated by Masteries you need groups to earn.

OPTIONAL group content is fine, gating core Story and other content by it is not when the base game didn’t do it.

Kraggy.4169:

Pre-HOT group-or-die content was optional, none of it was needed except for the final Story instance, in HOT you can’t play the Story without requiring groups because everything is gated by Masteries you need groups to earn.

OPTIONAL group content is fine, gating core Story and other content by it is not when the base game didn’t do it.

The masteries gating the storyline is especially difficult for people attempting to go through it with friends/guildies. We have to keep stopping, find time to grind out the mastery needed, and then coordinate getting back together again once everyone has gotten the mastery.

Very annoying and cumbersome.

Kraggy.4169:

Chaba.5410:

Kraggy.4169:

TexZero.7910:

It’s not hard….

Also, who would have thought an MMORPG would have co-operative elements in its open world ? It’s almost like they want you to play with other people in their themepark MMO.

Since GW2 wasn’t like that before HOT (world bosses excepted) why are you here if you like 1990s group-or-die MMOs?

Nah. GW2 was totally like that before (from world bosses to Temple events) and one could see how the ideas for map-wide meta evolved over time. Remember the raid on Lion’s Arch that required map-wide coordination? Remember the changes to Tequatl (and how it was the WvW guilds with the coordinated organization who were first to crack Teq?) I actually like the way that system has developed because it reminds me quite a bit of the kind of organization that WvW requires.

None of that content gated character progression/leveling/playing the Story, it was NOT like HOT at all.

Pre-HOT group-or-die content was optional, none of it was needed except for the final Story instance, in HOT you can’t play the Story without requiring groups because everything is gated by Masteries you need groups to earn.

OPTIONAL group content is fine, gating core Story and other content by it is not when the base game didn’t do it.

Uh, not really.

I had the story done prior to them hot fixing poison lore. It’s entirely possible to solo the story and masteries are entirely possible to acquire solo.

It’s a matter of dedication. If you just want old tyria levels of not caring, then you’re going to have a rougher time of it than someone who can and will dedicate themselves to getting the content done.

HoT is basically “get good or die”, and I absolutely love that.

Pre HoT GW2 was pretty lame, you barely got punished for playing bad, now you need to play good to succeed, which makes the game pretty fun to play.

/edit: btw I played the content with serveral classes I havent really played before and I survived most of the time. Stating that a whole team got wiped by a Mordrem Sniper is pretty sad tbh since their dmg is easy to avoid.

Well I had a better explanation on how to make zerk LB/GS ranger work in HoT but the simplyfied version is use the SPvP power survival ranger meta build in meta battle your gear you can keep the way it is pets either brown bear or drakes are great. (Smokescale and Bristleback too.)
The reason this build works is that it was made in a environment where others can and will kill you with a varied amount of methods.

Also the greatest weapons a ranger has is his mobility and pets use them. Avoid fighting on bridges and corridors since you’ll have less space to move around.

I ONLY play solo. No issues here. A little challenging, but so what?

martin.8271:

So got HOT the other day and I’m sick with the game play i really hate it its the worst, and i find myself going to other games now and just not playing

Maguma is all team based nothing solo all team based join a team maybe survive don’t join a team and you die.

Maguma is so OP you have mordrem snipers who can take out a whole team with one shot you might as well be canon fodder, then you have mushroom kings and vets they explode poison and again can take out a whole team in one go, giant beetles small beetles, pocket raptors huge monsters way to many Op bosses and monsters and stuff for anyone to solo.

Bosses respawn too fast you manage to kill some monsters and you turn around and there back again and before you know it you are swarmed and mobbed yet again the.

The mastery system is awesome the way it is designed to work is awesome but the xp is way too much first mastery is pretty easy next mastery is 1 mill+ xp you get very little xp for any events you do i mean 11k xp when your training mastery that needs 1mill + xp is nothing and bearly adds anything to the xp bar its more of a grind you have to grind grind grind there for its no fun.

You have to learn mastery to continue with your story again the rewards and too little for the grinding you have to do, am i the only one who genuinely feels that HOT content is really annoying and bad and over powered in maguma I for one don’t have time to spend 10-15 hours a day grinding for xp.

Every character I have I have done the hard way to get to 80 done the story lines so I’m not new to having to work for what you want but I thought it might be a bit easier and better and a better experience, for me I just think the way the xp is laid out for the amount of grinding you have to do is not worth it.

I thought the first expansion would be a bit better and more aimed towards the community and not such a bore to play needless to say I’m very disappointed.

I agree with you 100%

ANET has lost their focus as to who their target audience is.

I am also tired of seeing replies that say: “you have no skills”, “need to spend more time developing your skills”, “wrong build”, " the content is not intended for you"

These statement are all wrong, because this expansion was suppose to big fro EVERYONE ! REGRADLESS OF SKILL LEVEL !!!

Did the expansion say “ONLY FOR HARDCORE GAMERS” or " CASUAL PLAYER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY ALL ASPECTS OF THIS GAME ?"

ANET should not have made it so hard that casual players cannot enjoy or play all aspects.

This is indirectly the fault of Silverwastes. Since it was such a success, ANet figured they’d continue that trend. Unfortunately, the didn’t realize that it was such a success because there was nothing else to do given it was the only new content at the time.

Every map in HoT is a form of Silverwastes now, but harder and with the community spread out.

The confusing, three levels or more per map is just gravy via Silverwastes too.

I think the game is big fro everyone! IMHO regardless of the game (even mario Bros) the end zones are supposed to be harder than the starting zones.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

This is indirectly the fault of Silverwastes. Since it was such a success, ANet figured they’d continue that trend. Unfortunately, the didn’t realize that it was such a success because there was nothing else to do given it was the only new content at the time.

Every map in HoT is a form of Silverwastes now, but harder and with the community spread out.

The confusing, three levels or more per map is just gravy via Silverwastes too.

One issue with basing decisions on metrics is that sometimes other factors are not considered. SW was/is popular, but not only was it the new thing, as you say, it was arguably the most lucrative content in PvE.

martin.8271:

So got HOT the other day and I’m sick with the game play i really hate it its the worst, and i find myself going to other games now and just not playing

Maguma is all team based nothing solo all team based join a team maybe survive don’t join a team and you die.

Maguma is so OP you have mordrem snipers who can take out a whole team with one shot you might as well be canon fodder, then you have mushroom kings and vets they explode poison and again can take out a whole team in one go, giant beetles small beetles, pocket raptors huge monsters way to many Op bosses and monsters and stuff for anyone to solo.

Bosses respawn too fast you manage to kill some monsters and you turn around and there back again and before you know it you are swarmed and mobbed yet again the.

The mastery system is awesome the way it is designed to work is awesome but the xp is way too much first mastery is pretty easy next mastery is 1 mill+ xp you get very little xp for any events you do i mean 11k xp when your training mastery that needs 1mill + xp is nothing and bearly adds anything to the xp bar its more of a grind you have to grind grind grind there for its no fun.

You have to learn mastery to continue with your story again the rewards and too little for the grinding you have to do, am i the only one who genuinely feels that HOT content is really annoying and bad and over powered in maguma I for one don’t have time to spend 10-15 hours a day grinding for xp.

Every character I have I have done the hard way to get to 80 done the story lines so I’m not new to having to work for what you want but I thought it might be a bit easier and better and a better experience, for me I just think the way the xp is laid out for the amount of grinding you have to do is not worth it.

I thought the first expansion would be a bit better and more aimed towards the community and not such a bore to play needless to say I’m very disappointed.

Except for meta events and some hero points I’ve solo’ed everything. Teams aren’t really required.

Snipers aren’t hard, they just punish you for bad play. See that line on the ground after they shot, don’t stand on it, its that line that hurts so bad. roll roll roll. lol.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

This is indirectly the fault of Silverwastes. Since it was such a success, ANet figured they’d continue that trend. Unfortunately, the didn’t realize that it was such a success because there was nothing else to do given it was the only new content at the time.

Every map in HoT is a form of Silverwastes now, but harder and with the community spread out.

The confusing, three levels or more per map is just gravy via Silverwastes too.

One issue with basing decisions on metrics is that sometimes other factors are not considered. SW was/is popular, but not only was it the new thing, as you say, it was arguably the most lucrative content in PvE.

Absolutely agree. Hence it’s popularity. But, sadly, I think they missed that part with these new maps. And if I had to guess? Most maps will be Tumble Weed City in a month or so . . . especially Tangled Depths.

Kraggy.4169:

Black Box.9312:

HoT content does not need a nerf. If it does get nerfed, I will likely stop playing it because I’ll be bored of it just like how I am with faceroll core content. This game needs to be less casual friendly in endgame zones, and HoT is doing a good job of that. It’s not too difficult to play through if you play well, but it is difficult enough that you can’t play through it while paying more attention to your TV than to the game.

If HOT were a free content update you may have a point, but it was paid for by players who were expecting it to be a continuation of the game as it was because Anet never said anything about going back to 1990s group-or-die playstyle!

I can assure you that they said numerous times that there would be more difficulty. Also, it’s an MMO. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of working with other players, then, to put it quite simply, I don’t think this is the game for you. I’m sure Skyrim is probably on sale on Steam right now if you don’t have it already.

Kraggy.4169:

Chaba.5410:

Kraggy.4169:

TexZero.7910:

It’s not hard….

Also, who would have thought an MMORPG would have co-operative elements in its open world ? It’s almost like they want you to play with other people in their themepark MMO.

Since GW2 wasn’t like that before HOT (world bosses excepted) why are you here if you like 1990s group-or-die MMOs?

Nah. GW2 was totally like that before (from world bosses to Temple events) and one could see how the ideas for map-wide meta evolved over time. Remember the raid on Lion’s Arch that required map-wide coordination? Remember the changes to Tequatl (and how it was the WvW guilds with the coordinated organization who were first to crack Teq?) I actually like the way that system has developed because it reminds me quite a bit of the kind of organization that WvW requires.

None of that content gated character progression/leveling/playing the Story, it was NOT like HOT at all.

Pre-HOT group-or-die content was optional, none of it was needed except for the final Story instance, in HOT you can’t play the Story without requiring groups because everything is gated by Masteries you need groups to earn.

OPTIONAL group content is fine, gating core Story and other content by it is not when the base game didn’t do it.

HoT map meta events are optional too. As others have pointed out, there’s plenty that can be done solo. I solo’d the entire story in the first few days. I solo’d the Creeping Crevasse hero challenge on my level 80 Rev with only level 60 gear. My mastery level is only 23 so far. I still don’t have poison lore or pact auto-loot.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

This is indirectly the fault of Silverwastes. Since it was such a success, ANet figured they’d continue that trend. Unfortunately, the didn’t realize that it was such a success because there was nothing else to do given it was the only new content at the time.

Every map in HoT is a form of Silverwastes now, but harder and with the community spread out.

The confusing, three levels or more per map is just gravy via Silverwastes too.

It depends on which map are you talking about. I think TD is the worst one, AB is mostly ok and DS is not really a map.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

IndigoSundown.5419:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

This is indirectly the fault of Silverwastes. Since it was such a success, ANet figured they’d continue that trend. Unfortunately, the didn’t realize that it was such a success because there was nothing else to do given it was the only new content at the time.

Every map in HoT is a form of Silverwastes now, but harder and with the community spread out.

The confusing, three levels or more per map is just gravy via Silverwastes too.

One issue with basing decisions on metrics is that sometimes other factors are not considered. SW was/is popular, but not only was it the new thing, as you say, it was arguably the most lucrative content in PvE.

Absolutely agree. Hence it’s popularity. But, sadly, I think they missed that part with these new maps. And if I had to guess? Most maps will be Tumble Weed City in a month or so . . . especially Tangled Depths.

My guess is that — at least for the less popular ones — these metas will be like Triple Trouble. They’ll be done once in a while by a dedicated guild, but most of the time the maps will fail.