Guild Wars 2

I have nothing against the living story content and have done some of it, but as I am leveling my ranger I’d prefer to just skip doing the content and just leveling other ways. SO what I am asking here is… Am i missing out on anything good or useful and will me skipping the living story harmful to me long-term?
Thanks in Advance

Short answer: No

I find it refreshing that you’ve set in game priorities and have chosen to work on what you need to in game first and foremost. IMO that’s what people should be doing and how the Living Story content should be treated.

Since things with LS have gotten rolling people feel compelled to complete every achievement and gain every reward with each two week release. This has caused undue duress due to deadlines and a feeling that they aren’t achieving what they should to keep up with the Joneses. They lose focus in the meta and in the overall game getting caught up in the hype.

A lot of people in my guild (myself included) now have banks full of more back pieces than characters on our accounts, Flame and Frost gauntlets we’ve never cashed tickets in for, three dragon helms that don’t quite look right on any one, and cinematic memorabilia. For all the fretting and frustration we don’t have tangible rewards that suit us as much as a few extra achievement points and titles and less room in the bank. For some that’s enough; for others there could be something more substantial.

My feelings are that if the content appeals to you and you like the rewards offered then shift your focus and spend two weeks working to that goal. If you don’t like it, don’t. I didn’t do South Sun cause that place is a hell hole and it wasn’t worth the furstration. I did the AE dungeon enough to complete it once and then I was finished. In the mean time you can continue to level your characters, work toward legendarys, get map completion, play PvP, and not feel like you’re getting left out because you are not. Even if you’re not 100% sold on the current living story content then there are aspects of them you’ll stumble across that you can still earn some achievements for so that, if anything, you can get a few more achievement points. Great examples of this are the holos and these current kite baskets. Without trying and just working through personal stories and map completion I’d found enough of each to get those without even trying or caring.

Peoples personal perspectives of getting left out, falling behind, and being lesser are ruining their experiences of the game and their views and expressions are marring what has turned out to be great content if you experience it in the same casual state of mind. The gear is for looks not stats. Nobody’s going to overpower you. In the times there are new stats to be given they’re available after the fact too and for not much more than their counterparts. Sentinel insignia’s and gear aren’t that costly compared to other stat distribution types, celestial isn’t for everyone, and Berserker gear will always be the most expensive.

Stop. Take the time to do the things you set out to do in game. Don’t force yourself into the LS if it doesn’t suit you and don’t make yourself stop playing the game just to finish the LS to feel like you’re keeping up. You’re not keeping up cause there’s not that much to gain unless it matters to you.

Uvatha has a very positive attitude to the situation, which I commend him/her on. All the same, there IS the risk that down the track you’ll see someone with an awesome armor/weapon/backpack skin that you desperately want, only to find out that it’s no longer available because you missed your opportunity to get it. You may also miss out on certain dungeons or mini-games that won’t come back either due to story reasons, or because they just weren’t very popular.

I always check in with dulfy’s guide to any patch updates for the LS to see what type of content is available and what rewards are on offer. A lot of the time the actual content doesn’t take very long to play around with, and it’s the achievements that require some focus and time. So if I’m not bothered about the reward, I just take a peek at the basic content and move on.

Story content (instances etc.) I usually complete because I like story, although nothing in the LS has really grabbed me yet. I wasn’t too bothered about the mini reward of the sky pirates patch either, so I didn’t set out to finish this one (although I did in the end kind of by accident due to going along with my guild on a dungeon run).

So overall I think Uvatha has pretty much nailed it. Don’t feel compelled to complete the LS just because. Preview the content and rewards if you like, and if it doesn’t take your fancy, don’t worry about it. The only possible exception I can think of is to at least keep a general awareness of the story elements because so far, they do lead into one another sequentially. If you do want to do any LS content down the road, the context will help you know wtf is going on.

Okay first of all, thank you. I wish more people had this attitude.

Um mostly so far, living story content seems to just be pretty isolated from other gw2 storyline and content..I mean as of right now you’re not missing any really important stuff concerning the general game. There are some fun limited-time activities like mini games and achievements, though. Some skins and other items and achievements that are only available during each living story. But if you don’t care about missing those things, you should be fine.

I’m really happy to see this though. A lot of people are going OCD about needing to complete each and every little achievement, and with 2-week long timelines…and activities that require certain skills or good connection…Well some people are getting pretty stressed about getting their achievements. And when they get stressed, they tend to blame Anet. Or whine. Or probably both. And then stress other people out. I’m glad that you realize that missing living story content is NOT the end of the world.

I think the main reason people get so antsy about the LS skins/rewards in particular is not because they’re particularly awesome, although some have been nice, but because they are (at least so far) time-limited and potentially one-time-only in terms of availability. That makes them more coveted, no matter how they look. It’s more the ‘limited edition’ tag that draws people than the reward itself, so for people who don’t care about the former, there’s definitely no reason to panic if you don’t follow the LS.

I doubt there is anything but some of the skins, that you won’t be able to get at another time. You can still buy most stuff from the Halloween event from last year, get to level 80 first, do what you find fun!

Pretty much what everyone above has said – do what you find most fun and/or what you feel is the best use of your game time.

That said, as far as this chapter of the LS goes, I would urge you – and anyone who hasn’t really – to take the time to check out Labyrinthine Cliffs and the Zephyr Sanctum, because they’re awesome and a real highlight of this update.