Guild Wars 2

So i havent played the game in quite a long time, basically since HoT release, mainly because i didnt buy it because some other games got my attention ( Witcher 3 mostly ).
But now im thinking of returning and buying HoT.

Hence this post.

How is GW2 now compared to almost back a year ago. I was enjoying the game back then, probably one of the best MMOS considering the mechanics and overall feeling of game.
These are my main questions if someone can take some time to answer.
1) Has it changed in a way drastically ( ive seen flying in new expansion but only in new areas?)
2) Are professions different now?
3) My fav profession was guardian with a greatsword and staff, is that still viable or good?
4) How is lategame now( back then fractals grind was my choce of lategame )
5) How is farming gold now? ( a main lategame problem i had, is it still farming bosses in a zone with a farm train or something? )

Edit: Also any other additions that changed the game are welcome.

Thanks in advance for answers or any help offered.

1. Very different. Flying everywhere.

2. Very.

3. Even better.

4. Excellent.

5. Terrible. But unnecessary.

1) Gliding is almost everywhere in PvE, but not in WvW or PvP (except the lobby). The new zones dont feel like the old zones to me. They feel like the meta event was designed and the rest tacked on over it. So it feels less like a crpg to me.
2) The specializations are a big change.
3) Better IMO.
4) Depending on where you were in fractals, it can be good or bad – the loot feels clustered in 76-100 now. You can also raid.
5) Farming events, currently The Auric Basin meta, which if you haven’t done will be more interesting than boss events, at least for a while.

1 — gliding — you can do that pretty much anywhere in the PvE world except in some JP’s.
2 — Professions — the elites changes them up quite a bit while still keeping the weapon/utilities structure
3 — I don’t know, I don’t follow public opinion, I play what’s fun (though my gs/staff guard is now a gs/bow dragonhunter).
4 — fractals have been revamped (again) to have 100 levels, there is a new fractal, some old ones have been reworked. Dungeons are the same. The new HoT maps offer loot pinatas if you do the meta events.
5 — I don’t know, I don’t farm gold.

Other — too much to sum up, I believe if you search other posts in Players Helping Players there will be a lot of info along with links to videos. I will say that the story is now advancing again and there are a number of events out in the world related to it. And one new one involving cats that we have no idea if it is important or not.

I just came back (two weeks ago) after quitting about two years ago, and I’ve been thrilled with what I’ve found. It seems that the entire game is in a noticeably better place than it was before, and I’m having a blast.

1) The gliding is obviously a big thing. It changes a lot of getting around the world and makes you feel a lot more mobile. The new zones are absolutely fantastic. They are artful, complex, each has a distinct personality, very specific meta events and chains. There is pretty much constantly stuff going on and it’s very hard to be bored.

One big thing is that just about any class is viable for just about any use now. Some have more utility than others, but “pretty much” anything is going to be fine for use just about anywhere and a lot of the class elitism that used to exist is gone now.

There are other changes but I’ll address them in your other questions.

2) Elite specializations make the old classes feel totally new. For example: I toyed with Ranger back in the day, but now it’s finally a legitimately good class with some fun healing abilities (I went full zerker and still throw out substantial heals when needed. A healing-power stacked ranger could probably do a nutty amount of healing). I’m currently addicted to Revenant/Herald.

All the classes are much deeper now and each has a much more complex meta than the “one or two viable builds” that used to be the case.

3) I’m sure it’ll be fine, and you also now have a longbow with the elite specialization as well as traps and some other cool new guardian abilities.

4) Fractals are completely fleshed out now compared to where they were before. You can pick specific fractals and each day there are loads of various levels and fractals that you get daily rewards for. The max level is currently 100. Overall level 40 is gonna be easier than old level 40 since the ramp has been smoothed out a bit. It also recommends which you can/should do based on your current AR.

Most fractals have been reworked in some way to be less annoying, etc. The simple fact that you get to choose the fractal, and then only do ONE instead of 3-4 makes this LOTS more accessible. They also give lots more loot now, especially if you do the dailies.

5) Meta events are pretty much all squad/commander driven now, they’re insanely popular, and everyone is very organized. I’ve been making about 50-100 gold a day depending on how much I do. Gold (and loot in general) flows a lot more now and you’ll be thankful for being able to right click salvage tools and salvage everything of a certain quality in one click. You’re going to want at least 80, probably 100, free inventory spots available before you start a meta chain in a given zone. It’s hard to express just how much loot the game throws at you now, but let’s just say “it’s substantial.”

They really took a lesson from Diablo 3 or something and figured out how to make the game feel rewarding to play. I’ve almost saved enough to craft an Infinite Light in about a week…. The biggest change is that it doesn’t feel like “grinding” anymore.

The last time I logged on to the servers was about two years ago. I’m frantically trying to read up on everything that changed. I’m not sure why I’m itching to play this game again but I’m not sure if my engineer is even viable anymore :/. Is two years too long of a gap with only 1 character to adapt to all of the changes guys?

Ardenwolfe.8590:

The answer depends on who you ask. Since it’s free-to-play now, it might be best to see for yourself. Otherwise, opinions will vary.

Since the OP owns the game, and Heart of Thorns is not Play4Free, I’m not sure how relevant this is.

I would recommend loading up the game and trying it out, again. Then, make any decisions as to whether to continue. Living Story Season 3 Episode 1 was a lot of fun…to me. I really like the new map.

Good luck.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

It’s my understanding he asked about how the game was. Specifically—the Core game—and I never once mentioned Heart of Thorns. And then you made the same recommendation I did. . . .

Hello?

Free-to-play is in reference to the current state of the game. Going from what it was to what it is. Please don’t read more into it than that.

Which is what exactly? The core game going F2P didn’t change the core game in anyway I can think of. What HoT did is a different matter.

“and other decisions”, see now you are modifying your statement. For players who own the game, NOTHING changed, in terms of game mechanics, in the game when ANet activated P4F.

I think the hate that is attributed to P4F is solely due to ANet’s decision to offer only one SKU for HoT that included the core game rather than also offering a lower price expansion only SKU. Many saw the introduction of P4F a month or so after the pre-purchase price announcement as ANet creating an excuse for a single price for the expansion and that just expanded the salt mine that the lack of a cheaper expansion only created.

I don’t disagree that the content drought caused by the push to get out an expansion, the changes the expansion introduced that was soundly rejected by a non-trivial percentage of the player base that then forced Anet into another content drought as resources were devoted to rejigger the expansion has damaged the health and attitude of the player base.

Those who enjoyed dungeon running and WvW were both disenfranchised by HoT. But now WvW is coming along nicely and some of the lost rewards from dungeons were restored. The only group I see still shortchanged due to HoT in the core game are the small guilds who lost most of their benefits when ANet moved those benefits into HoT with Guild Halls, which aren’t easy or quick to build up enough to restore those benefits lost even with a large active guild.

Like I don’t own the game … @Ardenwolfe. I’m not the one who brought up F2P as a negative without elaborating.