Guild Wars 2

Jeeebus, how can people possibly consider hot content elitist. I am not even an average player and don’t find it a deal breaker at all. Frustrating at times, sure but that is what makes it a bit of a challenge. I only have 1 ascended (zerker btw) set so I swap between my mesmer and a new necro. The necro still has green and yellow jewelry while I patiently wait for laurels and I run him solo almost exclusively and have no major issues. Sure I do my fair share of dying but come on, if I wanted easy content I would go back to Tyria and play.

Scrub of all Scrubs here. The content is fine leave it alone. Got a necro started a month ago still running green and yellow jewelry and I get by just fine. When I run into a rough area that on my mesmer I can blink and dodge my way past, I have a 50 /50 shot of getting through on my necro. If I die, I respawn, brush myself off and try another approach. I also run solo and group up when necessary. I have yet to hit a hc without plenty of folks already there, lots of help when needed.
The hp adjustment was a pleasant development as I thought 400 was a bit extreme but everything else is just fine. I finally made it to the second map and OMG it is as breathtaking visually as everyone said. For me, this was money well spent.

I hate crafting with a passion. I’ve played this game since launch and finally quit for about a year. Upon my return about a month ago, I discovered SW and realized Anet went out of their way to teach us to fish. At first I began farming gold just to build my bank back up, then I after I purchased some cool dyes I’d always wanted I was back to trying to decide what I wanted to focus my game time on. I read this post and decided what the heck, let’s craft our ascended gear since SW essentially removes the cost in crafting.
At that time I had @50 Google in the bank,so I made my very first gem purchase with a whopping $35 to cover the costs. In about 4 hours I had my mesmer from 0-500 in tailor and weaponsmith, finally upgraded my sclerite back I got in the Southsun event years ago to ascended, crafted the Anomaly (another item I have wanted for years, and built my ascended GS. I should have full ascended gear by hot. I would say that there is not a very high barrier with crafting as it was early in the game, no real excuse not to get the gear if you want it.
For me, that 4 hours was some of the most rewarding game time I have had in a very long time. I am seriously considering going for the hot legendary since an entirely new portion of the game has been opened up.

I have an 80 warrior and 80 mesmer and have leveled guardians and thieves into the 60’s before leaving the game for the last 18 months. Upon my return I decided to start a necro and am having a blast leveling. My skill set and time commitment to the game is average at best (probably more to the scrub end of the spectrum), so I rely on others to work out the math and publish their builds. I don’t have the patience or affinity for crafting so I earn gold to purchase gear and then spec accordingly. I am at level 23 and am melee’ing level 25 mobs with minimal effort or deaths. Something I never experience with my other toons. I plan on getting this guy to 80 prior to HoT and am having fun doing so, it is not a chore as the others were.
Anyway just wanted to give a shout out to the smart people who started out as necro’s and any advise for HoT would be appreciated.

I apologize upfront for the long post but here goes:

I have played GW2 since beta though took about a year and a half break and have recently returned and was pleasantly surprised by how active the game is at its relatively advanced age for this genre.
There is one disappointment in this game that is probably a reflection on me but perhaps is just the state of MMOs ATM.
I popped my MMO cherry on Warhammer. I knew zero about the MMO genre however I quickly joined a very large and active guild. Through their assistance, I got quickly up to speed on the game mechanics. I only had to sign on and there would be 20 to 40 guildies signed on and most if not all grouped together for coordinated WvW via TeamSpeak.
It was tremendous fun while it lasted but alas the feeling was fleeting as the game quickly fizzled and died.
GW2 just hasn’t provided that same experience as of yet. I currently play solo with no guild affiliation since my return to the game. I get multiple invites to join guilds and in doing so review the guild rosters. In every case either a small minority of their members are signed on (Prime Time US CDT) doing their own thing or even worse, they may have 30 or 40 members signed into the game but again a couple may be in the mists together and the rest scattered solo across the map.
Am I fighting windmills here or is there a guild out their who can address this need? Either way, I still find the game enjoyable enough running solo and will probably purchase HoT but it would be awesome if I could WvW without finding some commander mark and a map and having to zerg blindly with no real idea of objectives or strategy.
I have no allusions regarding my skill set. At best I am a scrub but enjoy being provided a role from those much better versed in the game and performing my tasks for the betterment of the group. I could blame it on time constraints but I am honest enough with myself to know my limitations and properly evaluate my skill set.
Anyway, just wanted to throw the proverbial bottle in the ocean and see what happens.

Thanks for reading