Guild Wars 2

Rata Sum, Black Citadel and the Grove also had a more “complicated design” and I don’t remember Anet saying core gw2 was supposed to be as difficult as HoT.

That is why I am saying that this is a problem of the minimap being inadequate and not a conscious decision by developers to make navigation harder just for HoT.

So let me get this straight….. In core gw2 the only maps the developers wanted their players to truly learn were Rata Sum, Black Citadel, and the Grove.

All the other maps were accurately depicted by the revealed map and mini-map.

I’m just going by the claim made earlier that HoT was specifically designed to be navigationally vague and that developers designed it so players had to memorize and learn the maps.

I agree the mini-map SHOULD be helpful for players to know where events are but in multi-tiered maps they can give misleading information.

Not a fan of the new map.

I agree partially that HoT is designed to be more challenging but I feel that is in regards to the enemies you face and some of the semi-platforming elements. I do not believe that Anet intended navigation to be more difficult.

The great majority of maps in core gw2 have navigation that is clear cut. The only maps in gw2 that aren’t are the grove, rata sum, and the black citadel. The reason they aren’t is that they are mutli-tiered just like the HoT maps.

This IS a problem of the minimap not being compatible with multitiered maps.

Why even offer a revealed map and minimap if you intend for your players to memorize and learn the map?? I don’t think Anet intended to change the game in this kind of direction.

I am not talking about an undiscovered map. I am talking about a map that has been fully explored and revealed already.

Or perhaps a 1, 2, or 3 tier marking along with the up or down arrow would help the minimap.

I just think when you see an area marked with an up or down arrow on the minimap it would be helpful to include a tier number along side the arrows just so the arrows don’t mislead.

I would think that misleading map indicators causing more confusion than help is very different than achieving a vista that you have already located.

The problem with HoT is the minimap which I assume is to help you navigate often ends up misleading you as to the location of a particular area.

You used the example of the breached wall blitz vista. This is a platforming activity. The problem I have with HoT is one of navigation. The minimaps just don’t perform well with the multitiered maps.

I don’t enjoy my time being wasted. I wish the minimap instead of giving you up and down arrows would simply have a 1, 2 or 3 so you knew which tier of the map the area was in.

I would hope that Anet is capable of producing an expansion better than HoT. If not, that does not bode well for the future of the game.

I remember that Mike O’Brien made a point to assure the gw2 community that they had learned from the mistakes of HoT. I don’t remember the core game ever needing that kind of caveat.

lol but I am pretty sure it isn’t the same people who asked for challenging open content that are complaining.

@vesica tempestas……. A map is for directions. A revealed map means your character has already traversed all the areas. The fact is that Anet’s minimap just can’t handle multi tiered maps. There should not be map tools giving you misleading information.

I am not interested in playing navigation or maze games. I want maps that show me where to go.

I find that most people who take on a condescending tone are trying to compensate for something.

What’s the point of having the map revealed if you still have to memorize it?

On the subject of cloning games…. I would rather have mounts than raids.

In gw2, after exploring a map…. the map stays revealed and it is easy to see where you need to go….. However in HoT the minimap doesn’t support the multitiered maps… the minimap gives confusing directions on multitiered maps. Since the minimaps don’t work you have to memorize the maps.

the core game had these exact problems in the grove and the black citadel…… it is very frustrating

My request for xpac 2 is Anet, please do not start a hype train campaign on the upcoming features unless you know for certain that you can deliver them and can do it in a timely manner.

Be honest about features that don’t come immediately with the expac…… Give us a timeline of features yet to come and try to stick to it

The AI might have improved but HoT as a whole is not one step above core gw2.

Some of the technical aspects with HoT may have evolved. Unfortunately, these things don’t always increase the fun factor. Cynical game decisions hamper HoT(excessive farming, gold sinks galore, Mario style adventures, mastery points that force you to play their way instead of yours, repackaging core content and putting it behind a paywall, multi-tiered maps designed to hide how little map space the expansion provided, very small number of weapons and armor skins, and changing guilds from influence in favor of another gold sink.

Mario gameplay, maps that aren’t supported by the minimaps, and increased farming requirements doesn’t lead me to the conclusion that the game has evolved.

It has certainly changed but I wouldn’t say evolved.

If HoT wasn’t a disaster, why did the head guy at Anet go to great lengths to assure the community the company had learned from all the mistakes made in HoT…… Seems like he was trying to assure us that they wouldn’t put out another HoT like expansion.

I wasn’t making a claim about you Vayne….. I was generalizing a group of people just like you were….. you said those who didn’t like HOT think it is bleeding players and I observed that players who like HOT don’t think it is bleeding players…… I made no definitive statement…. just a lazy generalization…. I don’t think I am the only one guilty of that either : )

Do you like excessive farming requirements? if so you might like HOT

Do you like expansions that repackage core content and release them behind a paywall(guild buffs, fractal rewards) if so you might like HOT

Do you like gold sinks(guild hall, some mastery points) if so you might like HOT

Do you like Nintendo style gaming? if so you might like HOT

Do you like mazes or memorizing maps? if so you might like HOT

Do you like hyped features of this expansion being delayed while Anet works on the next expansion? if so you might like HOT

Conversely, players who do like HOT think it is not bleeding players. bias goes both ways.

I like the old system better but wish Anet would have gone with a mass effect style cinematic for these story dialogues.

A big hulking male norn with a beard and tattoos wearing female winged armor would probably be enough to make me stop playing this game.

Not everyone avoids the HoT maps because of difficulty of combat….. Some players(including me) avoid HoT because of the vertical maps… As soon as I got enough HoT experience and my elite specs I haven’t come back…… except for Auric Basin… I do like that map.

Bitterfrost is my favorite of the new maps. Lake Doric is 2nd. I really don’t care for Ember Bay or Bloodstone Fen.

I can’t get into a story if I don’t like the characters. Taimi is the only character in Dragonwatch that I actually like. There are some parts of the story that are interesting in spite of the whole Dragonwatch thing.

To be fair there were no excessive farming warnings or horrible minimap interaction warnings when I bought HoT……

Difficulty level of enemies is fine

Choice isn’t good when minimap doesn’t do its job. I don’t want Anet putting more maps in the game that the minimap doesn’t support.

While I don’t agree with the op on HoT being too hard, I do agree with the layout and design of the HoT maps being terrible. The 3 tiered maps are not supported by the minimap system. I also find this happening in the Grove and Black Citadel. It can be quite frustrating.

Thank you Anet for Bitterfrost Frontier and the new map.

Why was it just human female idle animations that were removed….. Doesn’t Norns pounding fists, Asuras twirling a staff break cutscene immersion?

It this the real reason that they were removed? or is it something else that they won’t admit?

I believe that the change from passive influence was a cynical move from Anet. They have turned what was a player friendly system into a massive gold sink. Many guilds had already amassed a large amount of influence but that was marginalized by the new system.

The new system makes it so that you either have to part with the meager loot you receive or be lucky enough to be on when your guild does missions to help out the guild.

HoT = farming You can’t just play the way you want to help the guild. Well, you can but it probably won’t be nearly as helpful as direct farming. HoT guild system turns fun into work…. That is if you are interested in progressing your guild hall level.

The multi-tiered maps suck. The minimap system is no help. Single tier maps are the way to go. Please no more Nintendo in the next expansion.

HoT maps are annoying and the minimap system is very poor for navigating them.

I much prefer Bitterfrost to any of the HoT maps. Auric Basin was the only HoT map I even liked.

Anet pretty much did away with the importance of repping when they got rid of passive influence.

My hope and dream for Xpac 2 is that Anet will be able to deliver on what they advertise. Please no more grandiose announcements on what the next xpac can deliver only to be told they are “stretched too thin”.

It would be nice if at least 95 percent of the content is available on delivery day and not have advertised xpac content released at some enigmatic time after launch.

Anet could have left passive influence for guild halls. They instead made into a gold sink. Yes, many guilds view it as a long term goal but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were guilds that “rushed” their guild halls by pouring gold into them(buying the mats etc.) I think this was part of Anet’s thinking.

I don’t like the current supporting cast of characters so it is hard to like the story.

Anet hoping that impulsive players will buy gems and convert to gold to get the achievments out of the way faster. HoT ushered in a cynical emphasis on gold sinks with the guild hall probably being the most gross example.

Thank goodness I am not ocd about achievments.

Heart of Thorns was very successful????

Yeah, go spend your money on another game. If enough people do that, perhaps Anet will get the message. I don’t like the strategy of preying on people’s impulses either.

If Anet doesn’t provide what you want and another game does than Anet deserves to lose a sale.

Oh, here we go with the entitlement accusation again…..

If anyone is to be accused of entitlement, it should be those who complained to developers that there wasn’t enough hard content in gw2. These entitled gamers felt that the expansion(HoT) should cater to them. They are the ones who called for changes to the game to fit their gaming experience.

It was pretty transparent that hard content was not what they were really after. They wanted exclusivity. How dare a scrub have the same skin as me!!! So the entitlement argument is laughable……

Legendary armor just for raiders…..

I guess they wanted to give the armor that WoW factor

There really is no prestige to legendary armor….. After all you can pay gold for raid paths…. How is that different from paying gold for a legendary weapon?

I was going to be angry about legendary armor being locked behind raids until I saw the legendary heavy armor….

I was expecting something awe inspiring but it turns out to look kind of strange. Kind of has a cheap gem outfit flavor to it.

so no hard feelings after all

Personally, when it comes to maps I prefer they not be mazes or obstacle courses….. I don’t like Nintendo injected into the maps either….

Anet has your money for HoT. There is no incentive for them to finish what they promised. They are already onto the next moneymaker. They have a massive staff working on the next expansion.

Be extremely wary when Anet starts advertising the next expansion. I would take any features advertised to be added after launch with a grain of salt. In fact, you might want to take any advertised features with a grain of salt since any one of them might end up being “too much work that will be a strain on the staff”.

I think I will indefinitely suspend my 50 dollars from the next expansion.

It’s easy for Anet to indefinitely suspend an advertised feature once they have your money…… Instead of delivering on advertised features they would rather work on the next moneymaking scheme which is the next expansion…… They reassigned the team of 6 that were working on the legendary journies while they have an immense staff already working on the next expansion

I know this is a game about make believe but the make believe shouldn’t start with advertised features

I hope that flat maps will make a comeback. I am not a fan of the vertical maps.

When HoT first launched I thought the mastery system was a clever idea. After playing the expansion for a while, I was less than impressed with the system. It seems to me to be a cynical time waster and is really an illusion. It’s just a number by your name.

Vanilla gw2 you had access to maps as you explored. There was no mechanism to restrict you from exploration. Why did Anet waste all the time and effort on this system and not focus on more maps and encounters?

Oh no!!!! With all these mastery points I no longer can feel superior to others….. what will I do???? They will have the same number by their name as I have!!!!! I am melting…. melting…