Guild Wars 2

I’ve leveled to 1-45 without too much trouble, having played some MMOs before; no probs. At 45 my Hatchery quest bugged, so I lost my nice experience/reward boost every 2 levels, but I worked around it. By the time I’m writing this I’m 74, and leveled trough most of the Charr zones without any trouble. Well, okay, level 66 versus 69 mobs was challenging and getting maps completed was a nightmare (especially with high respawn rates and well, high-level mobs eating my face).

Now, anyway, I’ve made my way to Orr as that seems to be the place to be at 70+, and I… well. The events are impossible to solo; most require you to be at 2, 3 places at a time and I’ve yet to find out how to do that; Veterans hit like trucks, and the lack of Tasks more or less forces you to run Events… Events that are impossible to complete on your own (example; the gate ones, southern attack). I hardly ever get a response if I ask for help and the map just seems to be deserted most of the time.

I’m alone, and I get killed if I pull three mobs; my gear isn’t that horrible (mostly crafted stuff of my own level, Mithril-based stuff) and I’m not a complete idiot when it comes to Warrior-ing, but… Well, I’m getting a little discouraged here. I die so often and easily, everything seems to be several times more scary than they were in earlier zones, save perhaps for the turret-riddled corner in Fireheart Rise.

Now, I’ve died more often than I’ve died in several zones combined, even near a supposedly safe Priory camp; an ooze spawned and killed me as I was writing this.

Anyway, since events are impossible for me to solo, the area is deserted, and there are no Tasks (and yes, my Personal Story is bugged) to complete; how the hell am I going to level here? I tried finishing the map but Challenges are out of the question most of the time, Waypoints and PoI’s are guarded by legions of undead, and I’m at the end of my rope here.

Any advice, tips, help, anything? For the record, I’m a level 74 Charr Warrior, 30/30/4/0/0.

It would seem that you are not alone: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Extremely-frustrated

Some updates; level 74 Charr Warrior, 30/30/4/0/0 Greatsword build, blue gear, green trinkets (chest/legs are Exotic though), green rep greatsword, and horn/sword offset (both green). Using mainly racial and CC utilities (Battle Roar, Bull’s Charge, Stomp, Rampage). Tempted to drop Stomp for something else, preferably something doesn’t knock ’em back, and Rampage for a Warband as soon as I unlock those (1 more Challenge level to go). Hope this helps.

I don’t have a warrior class character, and I’m not sure what stat bonuses you have on your armor, but it seems like you might have rather low defense, and that can be a serious problem for a melee range character like a warrior in orr where stuff tends to gang up on you.

EDIT: I should specify I suppose that of course warriors have the ability to use range, but you did say you were a greatsword build.

Well the good thing about builds is that they’re easily changed, of course. I suppose I could try a bow build. And yeah I used to go for mainly Vit and Health, but the gear I’ve been crafting lacks those stats… might be a good idea to go back and buy some reagents for a set of a little more defensive items (and if possible, green quality).

Run this build – http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mcRM0o9cmanRmmanRmaG0GaVVaoRV

Continue your last traits in the top tier.

Focus mainly on the GS and use the rifle if you need a quick burst (kill shot)

Make sure you’re wearing approtiate-level armor, jewelry, and weapons. Yellow preferably, but green if you can’t afford it. Make sure they have runes/sigils and not empty slots.

You should slice through things.

Hey Arkvan,

I’m a thief and leveling through Straits was difficult at first. Suddenly mobs hit really hard, kiting is difficult, etc. I’m not sure what server you’re on, but the only thing that got me through it was finding a dynamic event zerg and staying with them. You’ll level really fast, though getting to them in the first place can be difficult. I can’t provide any tips for warriors, hope this helps

My experience with the Straits of Devastation suggested that it wasn’t intended for solos or for levelling, but rather for level 80 or near-80 characters working in group of three or more.

If you absolutely must solo it, focus on AoE and survivability, and maybe bring some potions of undead- and krait- slaying – they’re ridiculously cheap on the trading post.

Straits and the rest of Orr are really designed to be run as a group. Even 3 or 4 together really makes a huge difference in getting those completions done. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible for people to effectively find and remain in a group for long outside of guild runs.

…Group area?

I mean… uh. Alright. Group it is, I’ll see if I can get some sacrifices to run along with me. So where else should someone of level 75 go?

Straights is a bit challenging if you are new to the map, but there are a few events you can run without having to stick with large groups of people. THere are a few escort events that start out at fort trinity and can be soloed even with blue/green gear. I Took a full glass cannon approach with my warrior running a 30/30/0/0/10 build with berserker gear and gs/bow/sometimes rifle as my weapons. When you get into the heart of the area where the temples are, you will almost always need a group of people running with you…. but most of the time they shouldnt be too hard to find. On maguuma there is usually at least on group doing a rotation of events, and id imagine its the same fr whichever server you come from, tho i could be wrong.

Compared to some other zones, the Orr maps are a bit more challenging, but if you start off trying to take mobs one at a time you can learn how to get around rather quickly.
Also, i wouldnt mind helping you get used to straights and the other orr maps, im usually on around 3 pm pst if ur up for some fun

Try going 0/20/14/30/0 and take shouts heal/shouts recharge 20% faster as vitality trait points. Take it to 0/25/15/30/0 at 80. You will be a lot tougher. Equip Healing Signet as your heal, the passive regen is very helpful. I run around Orr solo with this build, and very little fazes me. At 80 in exotics the shouts are healing me for 1300, I have 254K health and rarely go below 18K unless I am fighting 4+ mobs.

If Orr is not your cup of tea, there is always the 7-80 zone Frostgorge Sound. You can get into it from Wayfarer Hills (the Norn Starter Zone), the portal is in the northeast corner (above the one to Diessa Plateau). I believe there is also a portal from Fireheart Rise (on the west side). There are no undead there but there are hearts.

As a ’sperg button-masher thief, I managed to complete Straits and Cursed Shore relatively easily.

Levelled to 80 first by exploring all the rest of the map. Signet of Shadows for +25 speed. Ambush and Thieves Guild.

If I see a gap between enemies to small to sneak through, I pick one off with shortbow so he approaches me and I can break down the obstacle more easily. If I run and get chased, Ambush to slow them down. I get hooked and dragged into battle, Thieves Guild and/or Hide In Shadows to get away. Quite handily, sometimes if I lay down TG, one of the thieves even pulls enemies away from me.

Same in even combat, TG and then turn to the side and lay down Ambush, not just to do damage but to take aggro away from me.

Admittedly though, having relied on this tactic for so long, I am bricking it at the though of doing those areas with my new warrior!

As IndigoSundown said there is Frostgorge Sound. It is a nice map and it has good rewards and Claw of Jormag and Kodan
It is not as overwhelming as Straits of Devastation- my husband and I call it Dire Straits as joke.
But we have actually been wandering all over the world with our 80’s, it is fun and we like seeing new things.
At the moment we are in Malchor’s Leap- looking back with a fond eye at Dire Straits.

Yup, leveling is a lot smoother. Sure, it’s tricky at times, but I’m managing better than in Straits. ;3

Please don’t suggest it shouldn’t be soloed. This area is required for the story line quests, which are designed for soloing. Besides, ANet never said individuals shouldn’t buy the game.

Of course, their ability to balance is atrocious, so actually getting through there alone is impossible. There are areas you must pass through that have a minimum of an 8-1 ratio of monsters to you. There might be ways around those areas, but I haven’t found any.

I was only able to get through by following a team of 8. I had previously tried following a team of 3, but they broke up (mostly by dying), leaving me alone in an area with 25-50 enemies that could neither be escaped nor pulled individually. I was dead in seconds when I tried to run the gauntlet. Lesson? Find a group and stick with them.

Now, part of those 50 opponents was a champion and his minions. I suspect if that event hadn’t been active, I might have been able to squeeze through alone. However, in all the times I’ve been there, I’ve have yet to see that champion not present. Also, I’ve seen a couple groups try to tackle him, but I have yet to see anybody succeed.

But, if you think that’s bad, wait until you get to “Estate of Decay”. As BTO once said, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

There’s nothing wrong with suggesting he bring a friend. These zones are different from the rest of the game and have much tougher enemies and events. It’s fine that it’s like that. As your gear progresses and you start getting into rares and exotics, the creatures in these zones become easy to deal with. There’s no need to nerf the tiny section of the game that isn’t insanely easy to deal with.

Personally I got smashed there on my Engineer. My gear was sub-par, but my skills are at least slightly above average. I started in the zone at 68 and did well enough in the north-east corner. Once I made it to the fort, things changed. There’s a particular skill point on a ship guarded by a veteran that killed me on 6 attempts before I asked for help from a guild mate. Threw everything I had, but it wasn’t enough.

Incidentally two of my guild mates played their elementalists there when leveling and came to the conclusion that the zone is not viable for soloing. Please nobody l2p me…we’re not elite.

I agree with the Frostgorge Sound suggestions.

Impossible? Holy hell what are you people even doing?

I’ve taken my thief, engineer, and warrior throughout straights alone, with no issues. And i took them there at 68.

If you think straights is hard wait until you get to Malchor. Now THAT zone is hard.

I didn’t find much of orr hard at all, mostly annoying that I had to stop every 2 feet to kill spawns, then backtrack 4 more to get the ones that just respawned behind me lol. If you just devote some time to it, its not all that hard. I did have a little harder time on my ranger than I did on my main (necro) but I put a lot more time and money into her gear too, so that is prob why. Yes there will be some events you can’t complete on your own, but there’s just as many that you can do. But considering this is nearing max level zones, I’d be kinda disappointed if they left it so easy you could solo the whole place while sipping a coke and reading the newspaper like the other ones lol. If you really want a good tip: get a friend to craft you an extra set of gear (honestly everyone should have backup sets for dungeons or when you’re having a bad day) but have them put more survivability on it. Might take you a few seconds longer to kill the mobs, but you’ll survive a lot longer too. Idk what server you’re in, but I can usually find a small group to run with and if people are out running alone we still tend to group together near the bigger events, so just keep your head up and be aware of whats going on, go seek people out. I have yet to have someone tell me to get lost when I was tagging along with them, they usually enjoy my help.

I dunno, I died 6 times trying to get to a Point of Interest on my own in Straits, fighting my way trough several Veterans before the last Veteran right before the PoI’s entrance pulled another mob along with him and they killed me. I lost interest there and then when I realized finishing the zones was going to take a lot of dying, with challenges most likely being impossible alone. Since I’m currently on Piken Square, we had like 5, 6 active players… and well, that was it. I moved to Frostforge Sound and did the last 3 levels in a single night. I died a few times, thanks to lag and getting over-confident, but at least it was more doable than dying every X meters in Straits.

Fine; it might be soloable, but I’d still suggest you get to 80 first and slap on some Exotic+ gear before going there to try.

Well glad to hear you got it sorted out and finished your levels. I will admit 80 will help, but you don’t need exotic, my first time I went through with masterwork gear but I did have runes on it. Exotic doesn’t make the massive difference everyone thinks it does, it’s mostly for show. Hopefully they will open more high level zones so people running into the same problems as you have more options and can tackle orr at a later time. Too bad you’re not in SoR server or I’d gladly run you through orr from one end to the other and back anytime you needed it. I will not be making detours to visit the champion giants though, you’re on your own for those lol, I take the long way around.