Guild Wars 2

I play on again off again, especially to explore the new zones. (I really like the new one btw). But I’m sitting on 12 Mastery Points now and don’t know where to spend them, mainly because I don’to go to the HOT zones all that often anymore. Please advise.

I have all Gliding.
I have all Nuhoch.
I have all Ancient Magic except the most recent one, since it only seems usable in Siren’s? (Then again so are a lot of them)
I have 2 of 5 in Exalted (Acceptance I think?)
I have 4 of 6 in Itzel (Poison Lore)
I have 0 in Raiding, because that’s never gonna happen.

I assume that there’s no point saving these for the expansion, because it will have its own masteries track? Anything above that you feel I’m missing out on? Thanks

I have a level 80 in all the other classes, and when I bought the expansion I used the level 80 scroll on a Revenant. Mainly I just want to get the Specializations for all classes, and this is the only one I lack now.

Now I’d like to equip him, AFFORDABLY, for PVE play. This would need to be Exotic quality items that can be bought from the Trading Post – I don’t do crafting or Ascended stuff.

When I say “affordably”, I mean with 50 gold or less. I can usually get a good armor/rune set, A Sigil of Force and something else (like Air maybe?), for around this amount. I usually go with Berzerker, but I’m open to Conditions or other strategies if Rev’s are good at that.

I mainly want something that will keep me alive while I run through HOT and get the Rev’s Specialization (I already have all the others). Unfortunately, because I used the 80 scroll, I have to get a LOT of skill points to get it.

Also, what is the best weapon set to use for PVE? Thanks so much!

That NE corner with all the Centaurs. There is no way that I see to complete it. Surely they don’t expect me to be able to beat dozens of Veteran Centaurs at once, right?

I’m just a casual player and I like the new zones for exploring. On the whole this zone seems MUCH better and more friendly than Bitterfrost was. There are actually way to AVOID the enemies – imagine that.

I kept standing on the hill opposite the centaurs watching, waiting for some “meta event” to happen there that causes a zerg of players to storm the Centaur base, or something like that. Never happened. Is there one? Did I miss it?

I never saw ONE character go more than 10 feet up that hill before getting creamed, like I was.

How/When are we to get those remaining spots on the map? It looks like there are at least 300% more enemies there than there should be

Please advise. Thanks for your help.

I don’t do raids. Is this chapter going to add a new map/zone to explore (like previous chapters), or does it all just take place in Divinity’s Reach?

Thanks

I did mention runes in my wall of text (sorry). I am using Perplexity Runes to put out more condition damage and confusion.

I’ll look into Malice and Berserker Runes. Thanks for the replies.

I posted this in the Mesmer forums. Got 100 views and not 1 reply. Anyone care to give some advice please? (BTW please don’t suggest ascended or crafted gear, as this is not an option for me. Thanks.)

I’m running Rampager’s gear for high crit rate + power + condition damage. I just got Chrono and I am doing Dueling, Illusions, Chrono with Scepter/Torch and Sword/Shield. Utilities are mainly wells, but I can mix those up as needed. I have a Runes of Perlexity set (and as an Asura, “Pain Inverter” can be fun sometimes). I am almost exclusively open world PVE. I have Sigils of Force on the Shield and Torch, for extra damage.

I’ve noticed that with Sigils of Earth my clones still put more bleeding on enemies than I do, and I don’t like the 2 second cooldown. I could spend a ton of gold on Sigils of Tormenting, but those have a FIVE second cooldown (and only 50% proc rate if I recall), so I can stack a LOT of tormenting already with Scepter and Shatter.
Should I just go with Air on the main hand weapons for some extra damage every 3 seconds? I thought of Strength also, but I don’t have boon duration increase, so I’d never get a lot of might stacks. Are Bursting, Malice, Bloodlust, Corruption better options too?

Please advise. Thanks.

I’m running Rampager’s gear for high crit rate + power + condition damage. I just got Chrono and I am doing Dueling, Illusions, Chrono with Scepter/Torch and Sword/Shield. Utilities are mainly wells, but I can mix those up as needed. I have a Runes of Perlexity set (and as an Asura, “Pain Inverter” can be fun sometimes). I am almost exclusively open world PVE. I have Sigils of Force on the Shield and Torch, for extra damage.

I’ve noticed that with Sigils of Earth my clones still put more bleeding on enemies than I do, and I don’t like the 2 second cooldown. I could spend a ton of gold on Sigils of Tormenting, but those have a FIVE second cooldown (and only 50% proc rate if I recall), so I can stack a LOT of tormenting already with Scepter and Shatter.

Should I just go with Air on the main hand weapons for some extra damage every 3 seconds? I thought of Strength also, but I don’t have boon duration increase, so I’d never get a lot of might stacks. Are Bursting, Malice, Bloodlust, Corruption better options too?

Please advise. Thanks.

Is this the standard reply to all technical support questions?

In my case I have only ONE character who I suddenly cannot play, because the game messes up only for this one character (out of about 10). The first reply I got is the same one I got about a year ago when I couldn’t play the game AT ALL (and I then completely upgraded our PC).

Right now the game plays just fine with all the other characters, so its clearly not a “my PC” issue. It’s a GW2 issue and they need to fix/restore this one character.

I’ll go ahead and do what was requested, but I was wondering how seeing my PC’s game data when playing my already playable characters will help them fix this particular issue. Thanks.

Does the clones’ crit rate equal our own, so with more Precision on our equipment they will crit more?

I’m asking because of that skill that lets our clones cause bleeding on crit, and am curious if having precision on my gear affects their crit rate.

Thanks

OriOri.8724:

Mesmer condition builds aren’t that great in PvE. You can keep a set of condi geared weapons on you if you feel like soloing champions, since it makes it almost trivial, but most of the time it would be faster to kill stuff with a power build.

Because you don’t have chrono yet, I’ll give you a core mesmer build. It focuses on interrupts and buffing your shatters. Your shatter skills deal more damage, inflict vuln, confusion, torment and blind if you take Blinding Dissipation. Interrupting foes (using F3, Signet of Humility, GS5, into the void [focus 4]) causes vuln, confusion, and gives you quickness. Evading/blocking an attack (dodging or Sword 2) causes blind and confusion. You can also take Fencer’s Finesse over Blinding Dissipation if you don’t need to blind mobs as often, gives you more ferocity. Just note that there is very little condition clear in this build, but you really don’t need it in core tyria maps. If you need to cleanse, remember that Temporal Curtain is a light field.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAsdRlknhy0YnawVNwsGLwGEZASQuLjgfjGlbuEA

Thanks. I don’t see any gear recommendations in that build. Is that a glitch? For example, what runes/sigils with this build?

Also, what should I swap out once I get Chronomancer, for PVE purposes? (Shouldn’t take me long to get Chrono.)

Or should I even bother. I’m trying to get all classes to 80, and Mesmer is my last one. He’ll be there in a couple days. I DO have HOT also, so I suppose I’ll get Chrono too.

For leveling I’ve been using Sword/Sword and GS, focusing on Phantasms. I haven’t tried Shatter yet, as a strategy.

Please don’t link me to builds that require crafting or ascended gear, as I won’t have those. I CAN buy exotic gear from the AH.

I assume if I want to try conditions that I should be using Scepter/Pistol, but what about the other weapon set? It seems that Mesmers can put out confusion and torment, but how exactly do they do this reliably/consistently? I assume that bleeding and burning builds are not very effective on Mesmers?

If I don’t go with conditions, are Berzerker gear and Shatter builds the way to go? Keep in mind this will be for PVE exploration only. I never PVP, rarely WVW, and rarely do Dungeons/Fractals with guild-mates.

Thanks for your help.

My Ranger/Druid, the character I have the most time/money invested in, is now “glitched”. I was in Divinity’s Reach, went to Auric Basin to buy something from a vendor, and suddenly my game client crashed. I sent a ticket to ANET support, but that was 3 days ago and all I have received thus far is the auto-reply. My other characters are fine, but as soon as I try to play my Ranger the game crashes. It says she is still in Divinity’s Reach and her map completion is now 0%. (It should say 100%).

Questions:
1) Has this ever happened to you other players before? How was it resolved?
2) Does ANET save records of character items, gear, world completion, etc, so that they can restore what has been lost?
3) Is it normal for it to take this long to get a human response to a support ticket?

Thanks for your help.

There are a couple cosmetic items I would like to get, but I’m frankly not all that excited about the X-Mas content. What have you folks found to be the most efficient path to getting the items you want very quickly?

Thanks for your help.

As a casual player myself I can totally sympathize. The monsters in the new zones are too hard to avoid and deal too much damage for casual players/explorers to deal with, IMO.

But what is interesting is that my Warrior, Necro and Ranger can survive these areas just fine (meaning explore without dying), with zerker gear, while my Thief, Guardian and Elementalist, if similarly geared, will struggle – apparently because of their low health pool. What I’m saying is that I don’t feel lower health professions should feel that they need to change their stats (adding more toughness and vitality), when the other classes don’t have to. And Yes, know you don’t HAVE to change your stats, and many of you good players can solo most of this stuff with any profession in any gear. But us casual players can’t. It shouldn’t be that you miss one dodge and you die, IMHO.

But I also know this is the constant struggle of any MMO. Straddling that line between those veteran players who want a good challenge (which they find fun), and those casual players who just want to explore, admire the scenery, and have a good time.

Thanks Kevin for a much more feasible option, since I don’t do crafting. Is the sigil of accuracy in your build better than bloodlust or force?

I’m afraid that I’ll go to a wintry Lion’s Arch but then die instantly because I didn’t brew Santa’s special hot chocolate recipe (which will take up more inventory spaces of course), or its timer expired, so I freeze to death.

Edit: Guess I meant Divinity’s Reach Stock up on Hot Chocloate!

I know a lot of you solo champions. (I don’t.) But there are some annoying Veterans that I take on with various builds to see how quickly I can dispatch them (The big veteran giants in Orr, for example.) What are some of your favorite “test creatures” that can reliably be there when you want them, and are good for testing your damage and survivability?

Thanks.

On second thought, is this build even worth pursuing without the “Commander” stuff? It looks like around 35% of the boon duration increase is coming from Commander stats. I have zero interest in crafting armor, nor do I have the funds for that.

Would this work a LOT worse for open world PVE with something like Zerker, Knight, Soldier, Assassin and other stuff you can buy off the AH? (Exotic level gear)

I have an 80 Revenant who I used the 80 scroll on. What specialization would you suggest instead of Herald while I work on getting the Specialization?

and pls make Bitterfrost Frontier has meta boss[/quote]

Not every map should have a meta.[/quote]

Why not, exactly? Verdant, Auric, Tangled, DS, Bloodstone did, and they gave it a sense of purpose. Ember Bay, I don’t think there’s a meta, but there’s various different/unique champs that pop up, get called out, and people go to them.

Bitterfrost – Does anyone even really care about the events at all? I sure don’t. I don’t even understand them. I just see Orange circles on the map. I don’t see any call outs saying “So and so big monster is up – please help.” I’ve seen Champions, like the Svanir camp one, just sit there forever because no one is interested. Everyone’s just berry picking.

In other words, there’s really no “story” or drama here (despite the difficulty), AND its not like players can get around the map quickly to help out even if they wanted to. I just feel they really dropped the ball on this one.

loseridoit.2756:

traversing these new maps is really dependent on build and class.

You kinda have to post your build OP

Fair enough. My meat shields like Warrior and Necro don’t have as hard a time as the ones with so little health, like the Thief and Elementalist whom I just got to 80.

Its just that in the Tyria maps, even Orr, you could almost always find a path that would not aggro any mobs. But in HOT and especially these last areas that is just not the case, and when they inflict movement impairing conditions on you as you try to run past, or worse something like immobilize, it just feels like a programmer somewhere being a real jerk.

Not low. Lower. Yes, where there are enemies in Ember Bay they are dense, but I’ve also found many places in EB where there are zero enemies. Maybe I’ve just missed those placed in VB (but then again I don’t count sitting on a giant root somewhere far from land). It seems the area immediately around a WP are the only safe areas usually, plus at night those camps are getting attacked.

I also concede that it might be that the difficulty of the enemies is affecting my judgment. It does seem easier to survive in EB, even in an “infested” area.

By “density” I mean how many enemies are crammed into a small amount of space. Frankly, I’m weary of enemies being practically EVERYWHERE in these newest zones.

As background, I remember when I got closer and closer to Orr in the core game, and I noticed that not only were the enemies harder, but there were more of them. There were still SOME open spaces where it was safe to stop and admire the scenery, but definitely fewer.

I think Cursed Shore had it about just right when it came to enemy density. But then I got into Verdant Brink, Auric Basin, Tangled Depths, and it just seems ridiculous. I’m the type that likes to stop and admire the beauty of the game, and yet this seems too hard in the new zones because of how many enemies got crammed in. Even the Vista points are often surrounded by enemies, and you can’t view the vista because the game feels you are “in combat”

Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, LS3 has added Bloodstone Fen, Ember Bay and Bitterfrost. Actually I feel Ember Bay is the least populated of these 3, but Bloodstone and Bitterfrost just seem almost unbearable. I have no desire to go there anymore for “fun exploring”. I’m not looking for zones where I’m constantly attacked, even if I just want to stand somewhere and admire the scenery. How many of us wanted to explore the giant trees in Bitterfrost and don’t want to now because of all the annoying enemies? Even “thematically” its all wrong. Run around Frostgorge for a while and then walk into Bitterfrost. Why the sudden change in enemy counts?

I say all of this because I am worried at what the future zones will look like. If ANET feels that enemy density is needed, who told them this? Were players calling for more enemies to fight? What about the next expansion? My fear is that it will be drop dead gorgeous, as usual, but with thousands of monsters unexplainably spaced 2 feet apart, which will suck all the fun out of it. It’s sad that for the fun of exploring I go back to Tyria these days

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant a little bit.

IMHO the next expansion needs to NOT be only level 80 stuff, but add a bunch of new lower level Tyria zones where we can also level. I don’t see how Heart of Thorns was a good expansion to get new players to try the game out – it was clearly for us die hard GW2 players who already had high level characters. I think the next expansion needs to entice new players to try the game.

If I’m working on my 6th or 7th level 1-80, I’m going to “speed level” as fast as possible.

But I agree that it is a BAD BAD BAD idea for a new player to either want to do this them self, or or be encouraged to do it by other players. Core Tyria is a beautiful, amazing world, and I still like to take a break from HOT content and go back there from time to time. I still find things there I’ve never seen before, and this after 2+ years of playing!

OK, I just got Tempest, finally. I have the gear and even the food.

Can someone please explain the “rotation”, or what exactly I should be doing as I run around HOT content now? I can also go Dagger/Focus if that works better.

I just need to know how to keep all these buffs up at the same time, if possible. I also don’t really understand the “overload” stuff yet

Thanks again.

One last question. I’m still in level 39 rare berzerker gear right now. Will I run into trouble in the higher level zones using just level 39 gear? I assume I will want to upgrade at some point. I’m not keen on buying an exotic set pre-80, and funds are tight right now

OP here. Yes the Lab in Halloween would have been perfect

As a follow up I did some Tyria Map Completion and wildlife killing last night. 17 levels in 5 hours! This was with food + utility, + birthday boost, + exp boost, + guild boost. No kill streak booster. The amazing thing is that this was just completing THREE 1-15 starter zones! Went from 35-52.

The key here are the “docile” wildlife that doesn’t attack you. Dolyaks, Deer, Rams, Sheep, Fireflies, Moas, Moose, Boars, etc. Just the level 13 enemies, if they’ve been sitting there a long time, would give 200 xp +900 bonus xp! And this is for an auto-attack kill that takes less than 3 seconds each. And they’re usually clumped in groups too. This gives MUCH faster XP than hearts do.

I like the idea above of going through and just getting waypoints and skill challenges, to make the specialization faster to get in HOT. Anyway, should be level 80 within 24-48 hours with this method. Thanks again for the suggestions.

I have a 35 Elementalist that I want to get to 80 asap. Last night I loaded up on foods, xp boosters, birthday boosters, etc, and tried both EOTM and zone exploration. In EOTM I ran with the zerg, and because I don’t WVW I gained 7 levels last night, meaning 7 tomes of knowledge. Then I took my 30 Elementalist through one zone, killing all the “non-aggressive” animals I could find, and getting waypoints and a couple hearts, and went up 5 levels in a couple hours.

Have you “vets” determined which way is faster? My concern with EOTM, besides getting VERY boring after a while, is that the level ups will take longer and longer. Is this correct? But in Tyria exploration I can hope to zone for zone for variety, and also harder enemies as I complete zones means the zones are leveling up with me, if that makes sense.

What are your thoughts on the fastest way to 80?

Hey there, I’m working on leveling my Elementalist right now. What trait line would you take instead of Tempest while on your way there? I’d like to use this same gear along the way, if possible, since I’m low on funds.

Will I get killed a lot in HOT using a trait other than Tempest? Thanks.

Having played HOT content on 6 80s now, I’m amazed how easy even Orr seems in comparison. (Keep in mind I only PVE, and don’t do Dungeons/Fractals either.)

The last character I got to 80 was Thief a couple days ago, and WOW are they fragile in HOT. One big hit and they’re dead I’d like to avoid this with Mesmer, if possible, but I also want to deal good damage. Right now my Mesmer is 53, but I have 17 Tomes of Knowledge left in the bank, which will take him to 70. The next 10 levels will be easy after that.

My 53 Mesmer enjoys GS + Sw/Sw, mainly using Phantasms. I haven’t really experimented with Shatter yet, nor a condition build. (I run conditions on my Engi and Ranger.) For PVE, and considering HOT + content, will I kill things faster with a Condi Mesmer or Power/Crit build? Will I want the Specialization (Chrono)?

Thanks for the advice.

Have any DEVs responded to our feedback about Bitterfrost yet? I’d just like to hear what they think about what they are hearing from us – what we like and what they could improve.

Are they usually this silent about player feedback?

The point is a nuisance which does nothing to advance the story in any way – just a repetitive step, even if it just takes 15-30 minutes – is BAD for a game like this.

Some people tolerate it better than others, but I’ve yet to hear one person say that they LIKE having to make the elixir again and again.

For me, one time was enough, and I don’t anticipate ever going into Bitter Cold again now. I’m just not going to play that “game”, in the hopes that they will never do it again in another new zone, and MAYBE even fix it in this zone.

I have about 70 tomes of knowledge lying around. So far my 80s are Warrior, Guardian, Necro, Ranger, Engineer. I technically have an 80 Revenant, but I “cheated” with him by using the free level 80 boost on him. My favorites so far are Necro, Ranger, and Engineer. I play almost exclusively PVE, and only rarely try a Dungeon. I like the above characters because they can all survive OK, even in the newest/hardest zones.

These are the ones I stopped playing when I got HOT: 50+ Mesmer, 30+ Elementalist, 30+ Thief. Technically the Thief is my son’s character, but he said I can take it to 80 if I’d like to.

Here are my concerns:

Mesmer – I’ve heard in their forums that their end of game damage is not so great. I’m not that impressed with their elite specialization, on paper at least, but I might be missing something. I know that anything can handle core Tyria stuff, but I’m concerned that the new areas like Bitterfrost may be too deadly.

Elementalist – OK, I love the diversity of skills that these guys have, but WOW are they fragile! I hear that they can do really good damage at end game, but will they also be dying a lot in the new zones where there are so many enemies packed so closely together? One thing that I’m NOT keen on is setting up some complicated “rotation” through the various elements for each fight. I prefer “easy mode”. (I do this for fun, not to challenge myself.) How is “Tempest”, anyway?

Thief – I gave up on this class around level 6! I was ALREADY dying constantly. My son on the other hand has quick reflexes and has brought him into his 30s now. I like the concept of using a staff with a thief, but, again, I’m worried that I’ll find the Thief too fragile in these new zones.

Revenant – Yes, he’s already level 80, but I haven’t played him since popping the scroll. I like the heavy armor option, for survivability. But he seems better designed for group play than solo. Is that correct? Would it be worth it to get his specialization?

Which of these, in your opinion, would I have the easiest time with in the latest zones?Thanks for your advice on your “post 80” experience with these classes.

The updrafts leading to the ley line above need to be easier to jump into…

and I wish there were more ley lines, like in BF and EB.

From the new zone, baby quaggan talking to bears around the fires “like QUAGGAN!”

gag

I did not know until last night, when I unlocked “Scrapper”, that I had to use the new trait in order for me to use the new Utility and Elite skills I mainly only wanted it for the Elite skill, but I like the rest of my PVE build “as is”.

I can see how it makes sense “thematically”, and I concede that using that weapon should require the trait. But why should we need the trait to use the other skills?

What is the “Meta Event” in this zone anyway, or is there one at all? I don’t see any progress leading up to to some big boss battle somewhere. Have I just missed it?

I’m a little amazed how some people just don’t “get” what the problem is here. IF Anet sells a ton of Black Lion Keys because of people trying to get to this area, and they can track this of course, then what will happen in the NEXT area, and the one after that? This is how big problems get started. Right now its an empty terrace. What if in the next area its a terrace with a banker, a merchant, and a trading post vendor? Then they sell twice as many keys! Cool! So the next area has all of the above + some neat ruins to explore. More keys. Next area adds a Mastery Point. Next area adds a unique champion fight, etc. THIS is how all of that starts. And the number of people who can’t see this right now is disheartening.

Personally I hope that they see ZERO increase in key purchases, despite how much I like these new zones and the game in general. I WANT them to make more money, but not like this.

Regarding the Bitter Cold section, WHY would I even want/need to go there again? Do any events spawn in there?

One other thing. WHAT IN THE WORLD is the purpose of the water in this zone? OK, I had to go down there to talk to the Quaggan lady. OK, it’s pretty. But really, that’s it? No events? No hidden mastery commune points? No big roaming champions to beat? No hidden tunnels or ruins? Not even a point of interest?

Its almost like the water was included just to have a 3rd “lower level” on the map, and to include it in the trailer. And the enemies down there are THICK, with lots of Veterans too. I appreciate at least having the unbound magic bubbles, but it seems you could have done so much more with the water here. As it stands right now it annoys me when I fall into it accidentally and my Flesh Golem goes on cooldown

I DO see this as advantageous to those players, personally, because of the difficulty getting around this zone. Its basically an additional waypoint, but beyond this its so high that you can glide to most of the zone enemy-free.

This is much more than just a cosmetic change, and I agree with others that it is the beginning of a very slippery slope.

Zaxares.5419:

It would be really cool if the Marionette got brought back as a World Boss, and as part of the fight, you got to fight the Watchwork minions again.

THAT is a fantastic idea. Just add a Clockwork World Boss into the mix! It’s just sad that they made those intricate minions that most casual players now will never see.

In a Dungeon, yes. I’m a casual PVE player who does not do Dungeons (and there are many of us). But you make a good point. Thanks for that reminder.

I just wish we could see/fight them in a PVE zone somewhere.

These were some of the coolest looking enemies in the game, in my opinion. But now, apparently, they are all gone and never going to return? So a new player to the game will never even get to see them

The closest thing is probably the steamwork minions, and even they are rare, just showing up in Lornar’s Pass.

If you can’t create a zone that has Watchwork stuff at all times, maybe a seasonal event (like the Halloween or X-Mas minions) where we get to see them every now and then?

Anyway, my son and I really liked them, but I’m saddened that I can’t show them to new friends who are playing the game

I also wish that I could just use the Elite slot for a regular old Utility skill that I’ll actually USE. Wish we had that option, for PVE at least.

Oh, P.S.

Getting bounced around like a pinball is no fun either. Tone it down a little please.

You DEFINITELY need more waypoints in this new area! It looks at least twice the size of bloodstone fen (so far), but has TWO waypoints? I got all the way to the hot springs, died in the icebrood event, and had zero desire to WP and then run all the way back. This is because of all the enemies on the way that chill you. Add more waypoints PLEASE!

Are there any plans to reduce some of these in the future? 3 minutes seems like an awfully long time to get to use a skill again (I don’t know if other MMOs have these long cooldowns too though.)

I’m still relatively amateur in skill, and play almost exclusively PVE, but it seems a shame that there are all these neat skills out there that I deliberately DON’T use just because of the long cooldown. I find myself choosing the 60 seconds or less skills just because I can use them more often Seems to be 90 seconds should be considered a good maximum cooldown. Reduce the damage/power accordingly if you need to, but at last then we get to actually see the skill occasionally.

Has there any discussion about reducing these?

Will there be another teleport stone? (for Cracks in the Ice)

Basically, I only want to do the story on one character, and then take my other level 80 characters there without doing the story for all of them. Will this be possible?

Thanks.