Guild Wars 2

Hello,

I just reached lvl 80 last night with my Charr Guardian. I looked up youtube and read some tidbits on what to do at 80, but some answers have left me with more questions.

So if you would like to respond to any or all of the questions below, it would be much appreciated. ?

First off, I read things to do at 80 and I realize I need to decide my game. I don’t like pvp at all. I am not sure about dungeons/fracturals, but I may give them a try. What I like about this game is the map exploring and I really really like the dynamic spontaneous events that happen around the map. I think the most fun I’ve had in any rpg/mmorpg are these events that start with a small escort quest (or similar) and chain into an all-out war between players and npcs. I’ve had gallons of fun levelling up this way.

So that being said, I’d like to continue with these spontaneous map adventures at level 80. I bought some exotic gear and quickly checked out Silverwaste before bed last night and I am looking forward to the other lvl 80 zones

That being said,

Question 1
Do I need more than exotic gear to go through all the level 80 zones (i.e., ascended)? Are there lots of dynamic world events in these level 80 zones and what are the rewards?

Question 2
If I decide to try dungeons or fracturals, is there some kind of LFG finder (kind of like WOW) to get started? Are they newb friendly to complete? Is exotic gear enough?

Question 3
What is Season 2? Should I buy it? I read up on it on the wiki and the descriptions are a bit vague. Is it just a single player campaign (like my own personal story I went through)? Are there maps and dynamic multi-player events (that a mentioned I like so much) in Season 2.

Question4
Should I go for map completion? What are the rewards? Can I do partial map completion without jumping puzzles (don’t much like them); I do like the heart quests though.

Question 5 – the big questions – Heart of Thorns
Now knowing what I like in a game (map exploration and big spontaneous events in the world) should I buy Heart of Thorns? Are there dynamic spontaneous multi-player events in those areas, like in the rest of the world.?
I read that the mobs are hard. Is exotic gear enough? I also read you need to group up for mobs and especially for hero points. Is this tough to group up? Do people naturally migrate to help out with the hard npc’s, as I notice they do throughout levels 1 to 80?
As a Guardian, would it be hard to get my Elite spec? Is all the fuss about this spec just about using a bow? Is it worth it? I’ve been going around the map a great deal and I am sitting at 65 extra hero points at level 80. Though I think I may still need to fill in some old skills to get full completion and thus move onto my elite?

Anyways, that’s all my questions for now. ? Thanks very much for your time.

Cheers,

Mugorn.2361:

Question 1
Do I need more than exotic gear to go through all the level 80 zones (i.e., ascended)? Are there lots of dynamic world events in these level 80 zones and what are the rewards?

Ascended is only required for Fractals above level 10, besides that it is just a bit more stats, also you can get some ascended trinkets with laurels, those are what makes the most stat difference compared to exotic.
But with full exotic you can do any level 80 contend with easy.

Mugorn.2361:

Question 2
If I decide to try dungeons or fracturals, is there some kind of LFG finder (kind of like WOW) to get started? Are they newb friendly to complete? Is exotic gear enough?

Press Y -> in the left there will be a Looking for Group tab.

Mugorn.2361:

Question 3
What is Season 2? Should I buy it? I read up on it on the wiki and the descriptions are a bit vague. Is it just a single player campaign (like my own personal story I went through)? Are there maps and dynamic multi-player events (that a mentioned I like so much) in Season 2.

Yes it is like the Personal Story, but better in every way (story/mechanics/rewards) you can solo everything in there if you want.
There are no new areas, they are just instanced events that are placed in areas you have access, mainly in Dry Top and Silverwastes.
I recommend getting it, it is not only fun but also have good rewards and several achievements tied to it.

Mugorn.2361:

Question4
Should I go for map completion? What are the rewards? Can I do partial map completion without jumping puzzles (don’t much like them); I do like the heart quests though.

Do it if you want, the main reward for 100% map is the gift of Explorer, it is used to craft legendary weapons, besides a tittle and a cool little star in front of your character name :P
All in all, map completion is just a goal if you don’t have anything else to do.

Mugorn.2361:

Question 5 – the big questions – Heart of Thorns
Now knowing what I like in a game (map exploration and big spontaneous events in the world) should I buy Heart of Thorns? Are there dynamic spontaneous multi-player events in those areas, like in the rest of the world.?
I read that the mobs are hard. Is exotic gear enough? I also read you need to group up for mobs and especially for hero points. Is this tough to group up? Do people naturally migrate to help out with the hard npc’s, as I notice they do throughout levels 1 to 80?
As a Guardian, would it be hard to get my Elite spec? Is all the fuss about this spec just about using a bow? Is it worth it? I’ve been going around the map a great deal and I am sitting at 65 extra hero points at level 80. Though I think I may still need to fill in some old skills to get full completion and thus move onto my elite?

So many questions
HoT maps are all like Silverwastes but feels so much more diverse, if you like map exploration and dynamic events you’ll LOVE HoT.
As I said in the 1st question, exotic gear will serve you well even in HoT maps, but you’ll end getting ascended stuff naturally with the time, don’t worry too much about it.
Guardian is a great class and its elite spec (Dragonhunter) is really good, also you don’t need to get DH fully unlocked to use it, with 65 points to start with you can already enjoy it as soon as you enter the HoT maps, also the Hero Points there all give 10 points so you’ll fully unlock them in no time.

Belzebu already answered most of your question. I’ll just add some additional info.

#1
You are more than fine with exotic. But ascended trinket are easy to get. Weapons is a bit harder but worth it if you value stats. Armor not so much, they add little for their price. Most people work slowly toward their trinket, then maybe weapons, but leave armor alone or take that as a long term goal. But as long as you don’t do Fractal 20+ or Raids, you will need zero ascended to enjoy the game.

#2
The LFG is home of a lot of people. Some will be elitist that won’t be kind to you if you join their meta full dps experimented run without knowing what you are doing. But there is plenty of group that don’t mind and are even happy to help you. The best if you don’t find any group that fit you is to create you own LFG.

#3
If you value Lore, Story, Achievement or you are a completionist then yes it’s worth buying. If you prefer gameplay/content and skip through all cutscene, then no you better spend you money elsewhere. And like Belzebu said, it’s a lot better than your personal story.

#4
No need to complete all jumping puzzle, but some vista and hero point will need you to do some jumping to reach them.

#5
You said you like big map events? That’s the biggest success of HoT in my opinion. Each map have a big meta events and they are super awesome, some if not the best of all GW2. Just to give you some idea. VB the first map have a day/night cycle. During the day there is 5 chain of events that need to be complete to prepare for the night. Then the map need to pull together to defend as much rally point as possible in 20min, then helicopter come down to bring you on the top of the canopy where the map need to fight 5 differents boss. If the map finished all 5 chain events, defended enough rally point and killed all 5 bosses, you get a bigger reward at the end. The second map have 3 pillars to defend, then a series of challenge to secure, then a bigg boss with 4 different areas using different strategy. And the other 2 maps are also like that with big map wide meta event involving most people.

Dragonhunter is awesome, you should slowly work toward unlocking it. It’s not only about bow, it’s good with other weapon too. It’s just that Bow is a great weapon too.

In order:
1. Exotic gear will serve you just fine for everything. If you care about getting ascended gear (and fractals will give you some) then the priority is rings/amulet/accessories>Weapon(s)>backpiece>armor because armor only gives about a 2-5% bonus whereas weapons and the others give ~10% bonus to stats. There are tons of dynamic events in the level 80 zones (ESPECIALLY true in HoT maps, there is ALWAYS something going on)

2. Dungeons and fractals are tons of fun even though the dungeon community has shrunk because they nerfed the gold reward (though if the only reason you do something in a game is for monetary rewards then I think you are really missing out. Fractals are best in a guild group because you can chat and enjoy yourself, so I’d highly recommend them. There is an lfg finder, if you press Y in game you will find it and can choose the content that you look for a group in.

That said, please be kind to everyone else and if you join a group to do something you don’t know anything about, please ask for an explanation rather than just running around and potentially messing up the group (it happens alot and most people are happy to explain)

3. Season 2 is an expansion of your personal story following Season 1 (which is currently unavailable for any player). I do recommend getting it as it will help you understand everything leading into HoT, but I recommend looking up information about what occurred in Season 1 so you aren’t completely lost by Season 2. It is basically a single-player campaign with some good loot rewards. Season two will not give you access to maps that you did not already have access to, and the same is true for events.

4. Each map gives its own rewards, and map completion gives a bunch of rewards, some of which are necessary for legendary weapons. Additionally, map completion is very useful for when you are trying to get certain items, achievements, or do guild missions. Jumping puzzles are not necessary to complete the maps unless you have to do one in order to get to a Point of Interest, Vista, or Hero Point.

5. HoT is like the original maps on crack. There are always events going on in different places across the maps, the events lead up to bigger events, and the exploration is a bit difficult but very interesting and engaging with a lot more variety and stuff to do. The dynamic events are, in my opinion, the best designed ones yet in the game and are a lot of fun (as well as repeatable without getting boring).
The mobs are more difficult that Central Tyria mobs, but that means you get a better challenge. I recommend gear with the Soldier prefix (power, vitality, and toughness) or anything else that helps you survive rather than just do damage like gear with the Berserker prefix. There tend to be a fair number of people around so you can group up but you won’t find much that you can’t do alone as well.
The Elite Specializations have been a ton of fun for me, very unique in playstyle and I am super pleased with them. For the guardian, using the Elite Specialization does not require you to use a bow (though I like the way the bow works for it) and you can use the abilities you get from Dragonhunter while still using other weapons. The journey required to get the skills will take you all over the HoT maps in terms of exploration but is not too hard to get (you may fail to get to a certain one once or twice but that’s okay), and it is very worthwhile. For reference, you will need a total of 250 Hero Points to completely unlock the Elite Specialization, but each Hero Point in HoT maps is woth 10.

My personal recommendations: getting the masteries required to fully explore the jungle takes time. It may seem like a long and daunting task but it’s really not that bad if you just throw on some exp boosters and do the events and you’ll get a fair amount of EXP. As always, if you need help with something ask in map chat or join a guild that has helpful people in it.

Wow. Such great and thorough answers. Thanks so much UnbentMars, Thaddues and Belzebu.

You three really spell out HOT as exactly what I was hoping it would be. I’m going to be downloading it right after I finish typing this. And it’s great to know my exotic armor is good to go and I’ll slowly work toward Ascended. I have a lot of Laurels so I may go buy a ring or amulet right away.

Two more small questions
Do I need exotic water weapons? Meaning those stats only matter in water, right? I don’t carry my water weapon stats on land do I?

Final Question
Do you guys, being level 80, still do your dailes? I did them for the writs of experience for levelling, but are they worth it.

Many thanks for you answers. See you in game

Mugorn.2361:

Wow. Such great and thorough answers. Thanks so much UnbentMars, Thaddues and Belzebu.

You three really spell out HOT as exactly what I was hoping it would be. I’m going to be downloading it right after I finish typing this. And it’s great to know my exotic armor is good to go and I’ll slowly work toward Ascended. I have a lot of Laurels so I may go buy a ring or amulet right away.

Two more small questions
Do I need exotic water weapons? Meaning those stats only matter in water, right? I don’t carry my water weapon stats on land do I?

Final Question
Do you guys, being level 80, still do your dailes? I did them for the writs of experience for levelling, but are they worth it.

Many thanks for you answers. See you in game

Happy to help! Feel free to friend me in-game and if you have any questions just whisper me.

Something to note about ascended: it is unnecessary. If you do want it but don’t want to spend gold on it, the upcoming raids will have a good chance to drop armor boxes with ascended gear, and the devs (today) announced changes that will be made to fractals in December to make it so that they actually have a chance to drop ascended boxes again.

Ascended weapons are great to have but not necessary, though I do think that every level 80 should have exotic weapons at minimum (considering how cheap they are at least), but underwater content is pretty limited (i.e. nearly nonexistent) in HoT so that does not need to be your first priority. You do not carry your water weapon stats on land.

I do still do dailies, though since I only have 2 alts that are not yet at max level I don’t spend as much time on them as consistently. I do fractal dailies every day but not the regular group of dailies. They are worthwhile to do if you are leveling an alt or planning on it, and they can be quick sources of karma and some materials. Though honestly, you are going to want to spend a lot of time in HoT maps getting exp for HoT masteries (remember that you cannot farm exp for HoT masteries in Central Tyria and vice versa) so that will take precedence.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this all helps!