Guild Wars 2

Vayne.8563:

Moyayuki.3619:

PopeUrban.2578:

They are consistently killing off characters to make room for cheaper voice actors.

Also because the part line is that all of the cuts made to HoT were made to enforce a sense of urgency in the storyline and not, you know, because it was too kitten expensive.

Those seem like lame excuses for ANet. I just dislike character deaths that are there just for cheap drama.

How is that a lame excuse. As certain voice actors demand more and more money, they become harder and harder for money to be spent on creating content to play. I don’t know about you but I think that’s a kitten ed good reason for a company to move away from a character.

At any rate, Eir is the oldest in Destiny’s Edge. She blamed herself for Snaff’s death. She was already passing on her legacy to someone. She said at the beginning of Guild Wars 2, if you played the norn story, that her time is over and that it’s time for someone to take her place.

The question wasn’t whether or not she should die but whether or not her death should be meaningful to a norn. Her death in combat, at the hands of Faolin’s betrayal really is a tale good enough for moots in Hoelbrak.

Sadly, she did not die in combat. She was skewered like a pig while trying to escape. That’s not noble at all, and any Norn that would present it as such would be dishonoring her by presenting such a bold-faced fabrication. The only way she can be given any honor is to be remembered for what she did in life, not how she died. Because that’s very miserable, un-noble death for a Norn, IMO.

Too bad Brahm is such a lame character (IMO), he doesn’t seem worthy of being handed a legacy. Everyone in DE 2.0 is a sorry excuse for a hero.

Boogiepop Void.6473:

Moyayuki.3619:

At the very least, non-battling NPCs should revert to the cowering position, just like what we see in many of the Personal and Living story chapters.

That wouldn’t even make much sense, though. The characters in question are supposed to be Pact soldiers. The only NPCs this makes sense for are those dumb nobles in the south west of Verdant Brink. No one on any of the other maps should be non-responsive (looking at you Exalted outside the watches).

Ah, I wasn’t aware that soldiers were being referred to. Maybe at least they could go into the “battle ready” stance, with weapons drawn? Then that way they will at least look like they are aware of fighting, even if they don’t fight themselves.

I still wish that there was some sort of distinction between male and female Charr and Asura armors of all weights. As it is now, it’s really boring. In general, I prefer female variants of armor over the male, and not because of the so-called “sexy” appeal. Sometimes I wonder what the point of playing a female Asura or Charr is, if they are all going to use the same ugly armor. Variety really is dead for them.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Moyayuki.3619:

I don’t understand this “six or nothing” phrase flying around. Even in character creation, we never, not once, see teats on female Char.

It’s a quote from Kristen Perry.

Kristen Perry on Charr breasts.

…Is it bad that subconsciously I read “Katy Perry”…? XD

Ian.1349:

Moyayuki.3619:

I don’t see why people are having heart attacks over this.

I really really don’t get it either. Whenever Arenanet releases an even remotely revealing outfit, people get up in arms and scream “SEXIST” and how they’re sick of """all the bikinis""".Tell me again where all these bikinis are? Sure there are many, but at the same time there are MANY OPTIONS THAT EXIST WHICH ARE NOT BIKINIS THAT LOOK NICE AS WELL! Compare that to the Asura female options where we have almost quite literally zero “feminine” or “sexy” armors. I also fail to see the inherent negative connotation that many users associate with “sexy” armors. Who’s business is it besides my own in the way I choose to dress my characters? I’m also on the side where men should have some more revealing armors as well, but that’s for another thread.

All I care about is more variety of armor, especially for Medium armor, and especially for female Asura and Char. I’m tired of getting the boring male varieties for my toons. Not saying that need to be revealing or conforming to some human anatomy ideal, of course, but…seriously, it does get boring. Char and Asura “sexy” could be completely different from Human, Norn, and Sylvari “sexy” as well. It’s all about figuring out what that would mean. Also tired of armor for Norn, Sylvari, and Char that ends up hiding the tattoos, glow, and fur markings that I put a lot of thought into.

I don’t understand this “six or nothing” phrase flying around. Even in character creation, we never, not once, see teats on female Char.

Cirian.8917:

I wish Eir had died in-character instead of like a suburban housewife though. I was really disappointed by the choreography of that scene, not so much that she died but the poor manner of it.

She’s fully capable of shapeshifting into a werewolf to fight (which she does in the norn personal story), is a master of wilderness survival, is a norn, and has fought creatures vastly more terrifying than a veteran vinetooth. Then she gets 1-shot without putting up a fight?

It would have been better if we’d found her half-dead from the crash, and then she passed away right there without any combat. I remember she complained about “no food or water for days”… except that again, she’s a wilderness expert? What? And she’s a norn, probably capable of going for weeks in inhospitable conditions, so again… what? And she’s a legendary hero… I mean surviving the basics shouldn’t even be an issue for Eir. Not to mention she goes for a run right after being released, so she’s not crippled. None of that sequence made sense for who and what Eir Stegalkin is.

The other thing is why on earth is Faolain there? Even after all these months, none of it makes any sense. The Open World story was much much better. After the first personal story mission to free Laranthir, it went rapidly down hill. I did like the personal story in Rata Novus though, that was good.

I also have to say, Braham needs to stop behaving like a sniveling human and think more like a norn. Less small-minded personal vendatta, more world-saving legendary dragon slayer. I really wish my norn would take him aside and give him a pep-talk… he needs to think bigger than his personal problems.

Agreed with practically all of this. Eir should have gone down fighting like the warrior she is. Unless if they meant for her pathetic death to intentionally make us angry at Mordremoth, or something. This is not the death I expected Eir to have. It’s pathetic.

I’m actually fed up with the attitudes of nearly all of the DE 2.0 characters. There’s nothing to make me care for them.

At the very least, non-battling NPCs should revert to the cowering position, just like what we see in many of the Personal and Living story chapters.

I don’t see why people are having heart attacks over this.

But for my input, I really am tired of my female Asura and Char having armor that looks incredibly restrictive and “chaste”. Why can’t there be more variety for ALL armor of ALL genders? I get that Asura and Char don’t have much sexual dimorphism, but sometimes it’s really hard to tell the difference between genders when toons are just running around a map. Some male versions of armor are incredibly ugly, too. Why be so lacking in variety? And I am speaking for light, medium, and heavy armors.

xarallei.4279:

I’d like more skimpy medium armor. There are so few choices for skimpy medium it’s not even funny.

Medium armor in general needs to be given more variety. It’s the one armor type that I get really bored of, and hate how it looks on Sylvari more than any other race. It’s frustrating. Light and heavy have more variety, IMO, and more aesthetically pleasing.

I had almost completely forgot about this since the NPE was rolled out, since I have enough toons that I am not locked out of anything, even with brand-new alts. I guess if worst comes to worst, you could run to LA, or get a “WP to Friend” item, then, voila, you can return any time. I think what makes some of the NPE things less grueling is the fact that ANet made toons level up more quickly within the first 10 levels. By then, you’ve unlocked what’s relevant. At least be glad your friend is being introduced to GW2 after they fixed/nerfed some of the awful gated situations from the NPE, so it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. Still, very much miss the original experience…

Patches happen when they happen, even if it means there is one small fix in one patch. There will be more patches. Don’t understand why people think that “the next patch MUST be x or y fix, and it’s not allowed to be anything else”. Maybe it was an important fix that needed to happen at that moment…?

Rauderi.8706:

Moyayuki.3619:

Rauderi.8706:

cptaylor.2670:

Also not big on the Jormag plot. The snow zones are pretty, but not pretty enough to be trapped in for an entire expansion. The zones should be reasonably contrasting in order to hold people’s attention.

This is suddenly my biggest fear. I’m scared they may focus the next expansion on Jormag. I will have to listen to that butchered pronunciation for an entire expansion. Legions of GEORmags, everywhere.

Also, if Claw of GEORmag is any indication, the fears will be constant and applied liberally.

Haha, yeah, isn’t it technically supposed to be “Yor-mag”? Plenty of other Norn character and place names with “j” in them have it pronounced correctly. But not the big, bad dragon.

Every time I hear JOE-TON, I die a little inside.

So now my biggest fear is that GEORmag will control the JOEtuns, imbuing them with Claw’s annoying 10-second fear-roar. ;__;

Lol! That made me laugh. =)

Daniel.4763:

Rauderi.8706:

cptaylor.2670:

Also not big on the Jormag plot. The snow zones are pretty, but not pretty enough to be trapped in for an entire expansion. The zones should be reasonably contrasting in order to hold people’s attention.

This is suddenly my biggest fear. I’m scared they may focus the next expansion on Jormag. I will have to listen to that butchered pronunciation for an entire expansion. Legions of GEORmags, everywhere.

Also, if Claw of GEORmag is any indication, the fears will be constant and applied liberally.

How is Jormag supposed to be pronounced? I always assumed it was pronounced according to basic English pronunciation guidelines which would be “Geor-mag”.

I guess it could be French and pronounced with a soft “j”. “Bon Jormag”.
Or maybe it’s Spanish and the J makes an “H” sound like Jorge. “Hormag”. Sounds dirty.
Just being goofy, of course. How is it actually supposed to be pronounced?

It’s the Germanic pronunciation, with “j” as a “y” sound. Many Norn characters and place names (inspired by Nordic culture) are pronounced correctly, just not Jormag.

They recently did rename the zones so that there wouldn’t be confusion. Maguuma is the core Tyria maps, Wastes are Dry Top and SW, and then there is the HoT zone.

Rauderi.8706:

cptaylor.2670:

Also not big on the Jormag plot. The snow zones are pretty, but not pretty enough to be trapped in for an entire expansion. The zones should be reasonably contrasting in order to hold people’s attention.

This is suddenly my biggest fear. I’m scared they may focus the next expansion on Jormag. I will have to listen to that butchered pronunciation for an entire expansion. Legions of GEORmags, everywhere.

Also, if Claw of GEORmag is any indication, the fears will be constant and applied liberally.

Haha, yeah, isn’t it technically supposed to be “Yor-mag”? Plenty of other Norn character and place names with “j” in them have it pronounced correctly. But not the big, bad dragon.

Making even more complicated maps like HoT, further limiting the way we can set up our toons’ builds, and making an even more ridiculous story. Just finished the Verdant Brink portion of the HoT story and so far…not a fan.

Obtena.7952:

I think your ‘preferences’ say alot about the direction I hope this game never takes so you will excuse me if I’m challenging what your preferences are and the basis for them instead of just letting you seek validation of them. No one should have that warm fuzzy feeling that somehow, self-imposed limitations to playing any game and complaining about barriers for success is reasonable position to have.

Dear Lord, I never said the game should drastically change!

And where the hell did I say anything about “warm and fuzzy feelings”?

Ugh, forget it. >_<

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

Actually, you aren’t far off the mark with this statement because AFAIK, no MMO was ever tailored to anyone’s personal preferences and experiences. That’s not to say you aren’t important as a player, but to think how the game affects you and interacts with you personally is a valid reason for the game adjusting to you is pretty much crazy. This is not a bespoke product; very little is, so I’m astounded at the expectations people have for the game to be adjusted to suit them. It’s unrealistic.

The thing I find very odd with these ‘HoT hard’ threads is that almost everyone had problems with HoT. The only thing that really separates the main core of players is that some adapted and succeeded and others, for whatever reason (some valid, some nonsensical) did not.

Not once did I claim the game had to change for me and only me. I am not THAT kitten ed selfish, nor am I one of the silly whiners who does not even TRY before getting frustrated. I am struggling with HoT. It’s as simple as that. Everyone is right in that the core game doesn’t train players to be prepared for HoT (especially those of us who really dislike PvP and WvW – honestly, I don’t even like or enjoy or am good at playing against people in Halo or other competitive modes).

I’m starting to get sick of people claiming I’m one of the “WHAA! Game is hard, so cater to my EVERY WHIM!” players. Also tired of seeing this “Well, I had no trouble, so you shouldn’t, either, so L2P” mindset that exists in MMO forums. Like every one else here, I want to discuss a game I enjoy, and also give my opinions and personal experiences when it’s relevant. Not to be looked down upon. Sheesh.

I don’t think it’s looking down upon moreso than what group of players an individual will be identified with and how they appear to the general population. Do you have problems in HoT? How did you go about solving them? IIRC, you mentioned you didn’t want to watch videos; I can’t see why that’s a valid roadblock to playing the game. It’s no less valid than “I didn’t want to read the manual” or “I ignored the minimum computer spec to run the game” (Sorry, those are old examples some people might not understand)

Those are not good examples. A manual comes with a game itself (either physically or as a digital download), and computer specs determine if you can even play the game at all. But a video created by a third party is an optional resource, not mandatory and did not actually come packaged with the game itself.

Those are great examples because they are information that’s available to everyone and it’s irrelevant what the source is or the nature of it; it’s about how you use the available information you have to make mature and reasonable decisions. If you decide not to, that’s not a failing of the game, it’s a self-imposed limitation. Labeling videos as ‘optional’ is a little disingenuous … is the problem you have that they solve ‘optional’ as well?

I mean … you won’t watch a video, but you have no problems being here, reading, typing and discussing your HoT issues to get some information to help you out. I’m not sure how you don’t see the irony there but to me it’s obvious.

And that is your opinion. Live and let live. I don’t see why you even care about my preferences.

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

Actually, you aren’t far off the mark with this statement because AFAIK, no MMO was ever tailored to anyone’s personal preferences and experiences. That’s not to say you aren’t important as a player, but to think how the game affects you and interacts with you personally is a valid reason for the game adjusting to you is pretty much crazy. This is not a bespoke product; very little is, so I’m astounded at the expectations people have for the game to be adjusted to suit them. It’s unrealistic.

The thing I find very odd with these ‘HoT hard’ threads is that almost everyone had problems with HoT. The only thing that really separates the main core of players is that some adapted and succeeded and others, for whatever reason (some valid, some nonsensical) did not.

Not once did I claim the game had to change for me and only me. I am not THAT kitten ed selfish, nor am I one of the silly whiners who does not even TRY before getting frustrated. I am struggling with HoT. It’s as simple as that. Everyone is right in that the core game doesn’t train players to be prepared for HoT (especially those of us who really dislike PvP and WvW – honestly, I don’t even like or enjoy or am good at playing against people in Halo or other competitive modes).

I’m starting to get sick of people claiming I’m one of the “WHAA! Game is hard, so cater to my EVERY WHIM!” players. Also tired of seeing this “Well, I had no trouble, so you shouldn’t, either, so L2P” mindset that exists in MMO forums. Like every one else here, I want to discuss a game I enjoy, and also give my opinions and personal experiences when it’s relevant. Not to be looked down upon. Sheesh.

I don’t think it’s looking down upon moreso than what group of players an individual will be identified with and how they appear to the general population. Do you have problems in HoT? How did you go about solving them? IIRC, you mentioned you didn’t want to watch videos; I can’t see why that’s a valid roadblock to playing the game. It’s no less valid than “I didn’t want to read the manual” or “I ignored the minimum computer spec to run the game” (Sorry, those are old examples some people might not understand)

Those are not good examples. A manual comes with a game itself (either physically or as a digital download), and computer specs determine if you can even play the game at all. But a video created by a third party is an optional resource, not mandatory and did not actually come packaged with the game itself.

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

usnedward.9023:

I am trying to figure out what “grindy” means in GW2 because being “casual” I don’t feel I have to play for days, months or years to reach certain highlights of content like some Korean based MMOs…. now those are grindy.

There are websites out there a-plenty that will guide you, tell you when timers start that open gates, LFG tool to get you there and a decent guild can help you along the way too!

I am a casual player and still think HoT is not that big of a challenge. Maps are rarely failing now that everyone knows what to do and I have not seen a full DS or AB map fail in quite some time. Sure if I cannot get to a main map I don’t stick around for the failure and the “You are all idiots” in the map chat.

I will say that some toons are kinda soft to be roaming HoT. My ranger can down some hefty mobs but recently I had a guardian that just dirt napped all the time in HoT map areas. Then again I only leveled it to get the asc bow for my ranger so I didn’t put much gold in her as she was terminated minutes after acquiring that bow

The new player is probably the only one who may have some issues transferring to HoT because he or she is under geared. OH WAIT..If you buy HoT you get a free boost to 80 with full gear and wep set. Not ideally for the cookie cutter build but plenty enough to keep you alive and hitting HPs to get that elite skill.

Also feel free to hit other HoT maps to get HPs that are easier and wait for maps to fill with HP trains for the harder ones.

It is my humble opinion that there are many paths to getting the job done in HoT and I just cannot say it is hard in the least. Time consuming? Maybe some like DS that can go on for over an hour and a half but hey it’s the reward and loot I am after and sometimes in MMOs you have to earn that stuff!

I suspect many who are having issues are the ones using the instant 80s which happen to be new players who never learned the game or their class, yet blame the content instead of he fact they skipped learning the other content and their class on a first playthrough.

Its on you if you don’t learn the game first, maybe after a few classes you can instant 80 and learn your class easy.

Also there are plenty of people helpful in map chat, but people will say go check out vids to and its a good suggestion, people want you to find some of it on your own to you know.

I always try to help with other peoples builds then I’ll guide them to some guides. Just remember we are players like you, we don’t male money to tell you every little thing that you can find on your own when you tell you where you can go.

Your first statement is quite a generalization. I had had a few 80s (deleted a few, of course), but took my current 80 which I had taken all the way through, got world completion before WvW was taken out, and completed the LS seasons. And yet I still struggle with HoT. In fact, when I got the 80 booster from a few months ago, I used it on my 80, as it would be boring to bring a toon instantly to 80.

You are one person, it isn’t a generalization because most people who I know that are vets dont have much of an issue with hot ajd understand some of it is meant for group content, and I said I suspect which is not an assumption. And I have met allot of new players who are using instant 80s with hardly any experience what so ever.

Using “instant level cap” for any first toon should be highly discouraged in any video game, as it doesn’t teach the player how to play. Especially since it gives some people the mindset that they can skip all of the low-level content. Not all, but I’m sure there are some out there.

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

When did I say your personal experience doesnt matter? All im saying is like what you just confirmed is I suspect many are using instant 80s and expecting the content to be all soloable and easy. Hot is meant to be challenging and more group encouraged, it doesnt mean you didnt have a hard time I dont get how your saying that but this is an mmorpg, hence the mmo part where your meant to group with others to get through challenging content, if you dont like those aspects I dont know what to tell you but it doesnt mean its bad design just because you may prefer something else.

Some classes arent as solo friendly in open world in general and will have some more issues, but its nothing new, I have played tons of mmorpgs with solo classes and group classes where you needed groups to progress, this mmorpg is far more forgiving when it comes to that.

If your having such a hard time though have you asked in game about builds? The metabattle.com builds are not meant for open world but you can get ideas from them. What classes are you having allot of issues with?

Only 80s I currently have are an Engi/Scrapper and an Ele/Tempest. However, only the Engi is far enough to actually do the HoT story; my Ele still has to redo (because for some reason I was pushed back to the beginning) of the Dry Top LS. Engineer/Scrapper is a very clunky class, IMO, so that would explain some of my struggle, but he is the only 80 I have right now who is that far in the story. I have one toon of each class but it takes me a long time to level up to 80 (don’t have a lot of free time to play, you see). However, class choice has nothing to do with the struggle I have with navigating even Verdant Brink, which many people claim is easy to explore. I also have to stay in HoT maps in order to level up the HoT-specific masteries, which makes it difficult.

That’s my current situation, since you asked.

Class choice does something to do with it, some classes have better exploration/escape tools. The reason you hear its easy because some classes have an easier time but this also has something to do with builds and gear, so your having a hard time with engineer? Hmmm I cant say I have much experience with them but I do recommend grabbing some of the defensives in scrapper if you have not, have you tried going for more healing from turrets and stuff for yourself? My friend did it recently and made a good difference.

If your using bserker, try maurders gear since it trades off some very slight dps for vitality.

I am currently using Carrion stats (did use Beserkers before) on my armor. Would use Marauders, but I don’t have the gold or mats to make a full set, compounded by the fact I have low game time.

Obtena.7952:

Moyayuki.3619:

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

Actually, you aren’t far off the mark with this statement because AFAIK, no MMO was ever tailored to anyone’s personal preferences and experiences. That’s not to say you aren’t important as a player, but to think how the game affects you and interacts with you personally is a valid reason for the game adjusting to you is pretty much crazy. This is not a bespoke product; very little is, so I’m astounded at the expectations people have for the game to be adjusted to suit them. It’s unrealistic.

The thing I find very odd with these ‘HoT hard’ threads is that almost everyone had problems with HoT. The only thing that really separates the main core of players is that some adapted and succeeded and others, for whatever reason (some valid, some nonsensical) did not.

Not once did I claim the game had to change for me and only me. I am not THAT kitten ed selfish, nor am I one of the silly whiners who does not even TRY before getting frustrated. I am struggling with HoT. It’s as simple as that. Everyone is right in that the core game doesn’t train players to be prepared for HoT (especially those of us who really dislike PvP and WvW – honestly, I don’t even like or enjoy or am good at playing against people in Halo or other competitive modes).

I’m starting to get sick of people claiming I’m one of the “WHAA! Game is hard, so cater to my EVERY WHIM!” players. Also tired of seeing this “Well, I had no trouble, so you shouldn’t, either, so L2P” mindset that exists in MMO forums. Like every one else here, I want to discuss a game I enjoy, and also give my opinions and personal experiences when it’s relevant. Not to be looked down upon. Sheesh.

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

usnedward.9023:

I am trying to figure out what “grindy” means in GW2 because being “casual” I don’t feel I have to play for days, months or years to reach certain highlights of content like some Korean based MMOs…. now those are grindy.

There are websites out there a-plenty that will guide you, tell you when timers start that open gates, LFG tool to get you there and a decent guild can help you along the way too!

I am a casual player and still think HoT is not that big of a challenge. Maps are rarely failing now that everyone knows what to do and I have not seen a full DS or AB map fail in quite some time. Sure if I cannot get to a main map I don’t stick around for the failure and the “You are all idiots” in the map chat.

I will say that some toons are kinda soft to be roaming HoT. My ranger can down some hefty mobs but recently I had a guardian that just dirt napped all the time in HoT map areas. Then again I only leveled it to get the asc bow for my ranger so I didn’t put much gold in her as she was terminated minutes after acquiring that bow

The new player is probably the only one who may have some issues transferring to HoT because he or she is under geared. OH WAIT..If you buy HoT you get a free boost to 80 with full gear and wep set. Not ideally for the cookie cutter build but plenty enough to keep you alive and hitting HPs to get that elite skill.

Also feel free to hit other HoT maps to get HPs that are easier and wait for maps to fill with HP trains for the harder ones.

It is my humble opinion that there are many paths to getting the job done in HoT and I just cannot say it is hard in the least. Time consuming? Maybe some like DS that can go on for over an hour and a half but hey it’s the reward and loot I am after and sometimes in MMOs you have to earn that stuff!

I suspect many who are having issues are the ones using the instant 80s which happen to be new players who never learned the game or their class, yet blame the content instead of he fact they skipped learning the other content and their class on a first playthrough.

Its on you if you don’t learn the game first, maybe after a few classes you can instant 80 and learn your class easy.

Also there are plenty of people helpful in map chat, but people will say go check out vids to and its a good suggestion, people want you to find some of it on your own to you know.

I always try to help with other peoples builds then I’ll guide them to some guides. Just remember we are players like you, we don’t male money to tell you every little thing that you can find on your own when you tell you where you can go.

Your first statement is quite a generalization. I had had a few 80s (deleted a few, of course), but took my current 80 which I had taken all the way through, got world completion before WvW was taken out, and completed the LS seasons. And yet I still struggle with HoT. In fact, when I got the 80 booster from a few months ago, I used it on my 80, as it would be boring to bring a toon instantly to 80.

You are one person, it isn’t a generalization because most people who I know that are vets dont have much of an issue with hot ajd understand some of it is meant for group content, and I said I suspect which is not an assumption. And I have met allot of new players who are using instant 80s with hardly any experience what so ever.

Using “instant level cap” for any first toon should be highly discouraged in any video game, as it doesn’t teach the player how to play. Especially since it gives some people the mindset that they can skip all of the low-level content. Not all, but I’m sure there are some out there.

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

When did I say your personal experience doesnt matter? All im saying is like what you just confirmed is I suspect many are using instant 80s and expecting the content to be all soloable and easy. Hot is meant to be challenging and more group encouraged, it doesnt mean you didnt have a hard time I dont get how your saying that but this is an mmorpg, hence the mmo part where your meant to group with others to get through challenging content, if you dont like those aspects I dont know what to tell you but it doesnt mean its bad design just because you may prefer something else.

Some classes arent as solo friendly in open world in general and will have some more issues, but its nothing new, I have played tons of mmorpgs with solo classes and group classes where you needed groups to progress, this mmorpg is far more forgiving when it comes to that.

If your having such a hard time though have you asked in game about builds? The metabattle.com builds are not meant for open world but you can get ideas from them. What classes are you having allot of issues with?

Only 80s I currently have are an Engi/Scrapper and an Ele/Tempest. However, only the Engi is far enough to actually do the HoT story; my Ele still has to redo (because for some reason I was pushed back to the beginning) of the Dry Top LS. Engineer/Scrapper is a very clunky class, IMO, so that would explain some of my struggle, but he is the only 80 I have right now who is that far in the story. I have one toon of each class but it takes me a long time to level up to 80 (don’t have a lot of free time to play, you see). However, class choice has nothing to do with the struggle I have with navigating even Verdant Brink, which many people claim is easy to explore. I also have to stay in HoT maps in order to level up the HoT-specific masteries, which makes it difficult.

That’s my current situation, since you asked.

PopeUrban.2578:

They are consistently killing off characters to make room for cheaper voice actors.

Also because the part line is that all of the cuts made to HoT were made to enforce a sense of urgency in the storyline and not, you know, because it was too kitten expensive.

Those seem like lame excuses for ANet. I just dislike character deaths that are there just for cheap drama.

Ryou.2398:

Moyayuki.3619:

Ryou.2398:

usnedward.9023:

I am trying to figure out what “grindy” means in GW2 because being “casual” I don’t feel I have to play for days, months or years to reach certain highlights of content like some Korean based MMOs…. now those are grindy.

There are websites out there a-plenty that will guide you, tell you when timers start that open gates, LFG tool to get you there and a decent guild can help you along the way too!

I am a casual player and still think HoT is not that big of a challenge. Maps are rarely failing now that everyone knows what to do and I have not seen a full DS or AB map fail in quite some time. Sure if I cannot get to a main map I don’t stick around for the failure and the “You are all idiots” in the map chat.

I will say that some toons are kinda soft to be roaming HoT. My ranger can down some hefty mobs but recently I had a guardian that just dirt napped all the time in HoT map areas. Then again I only leveled it to get the asc bow for my ranger so I didn’t put much gold in her as she was terminated minutes after acquiring that bow

The new player is probably the only one who may have some issues transferring to HoT because he or she is under geared. OH WAIT..If you buy HoT you get a free boost to 80 with full gear and wep set. Not ideally for the cookie cutter build but plenty enough to keep you alive and hitting HPs to get that elite skill.

Also feel free to hit other HoT maps to get HPs that are easier and wait for maps to fill with HP trains for the harder ones.

It is my humble opinion that there are many paths to getting the job done in HoT and I just cannot say it is hard in the least. Time consuming? Maybe some like DS that can go on for over an hour and a half but hey it’s the reward and loot I am after and sometimes in MMOs you have to earn that stuff!

I suspect many who are having issues are the ones using the instant 80s which happen to be new players who never learned the game or their class, yet blame the content instead of he fact they skipped learning the other content and their class on a first playthrough.

Its on you if you don’t learn the game first, maybe after a few classes you can instant 80 and learn your class easy.

Also there are plenty of people helpful in map chat, but people will say go check out vids to and its a good suggestion, people want you to find some of it on your own to you know.

I always try to help with other peoples builds then I’ll guide them to some guides. Just remember we are players like you, we don’t male money to tell you every little thing that you can find on your own when you tell you where you can go.

Your first statement is quite a generalization. I had had a few 80s (deleted a few, of course), but took my current 80 which I had taken all the way through, got world completion before WvW was taken out, and completed the LS seasons. And yet I still struggle with HoT. In fact, when I got the 80 booster from a few months ago, I used it on my 80, as it would be boring to bring a toon instantly to 80.

You are one person, it isn’t a generalization because most people who I know that are vets dont have much of an issue with hot ajd understand some of it is meant for group content, and I said I suspect which is not an assumption. And I have met allot of new players who are using instant 80s with hardly any experience what so ever.

Using “instant level cap” for any first toon should be highly discouraged in any video game, as it doesn’t teach the player how to play. Especially since it gives some people the mindset that they can skip all of the low-level content. Not all, but I’m sure there are some out there.

Guess that my personal experiences can just be pushed aside just because I don’t fit the two big groups of people. Whatever.

LouWolfskin.3492:

Moyayuki.3619:

I understand your point, which many other people have made, that core GW2 should prepare all types of players for HoT content. However, I do see an issue: Why change the core game so drastically after the fact, when other players may not even have the intention of buying HoT? Of course, I’m not saying that HoT should be nerfed. There really does need to be something that prepares the player for the rise in difficulty. Heck, even Dry Top and Silverwastes don’t feel like a decent transition. For me, Maguuma Wastes felt like a huge jump in difficulty from Orr, given the confusing terrain, and then Heart of Maguuma was an even bigger jump in confusion from Wastes. But there wasn’t anything in between Core and Wastes and Wastes and Heart. If that makes sense… Even dungeons don’t act as the right type of preparation/training.

Thing is… Orr isn’t hard. It never was.
And that people act as if it is, that people even say (and i’ve seen this a lot, especially after HoT got released) that the game, even the core game, instead should get easier because it’s not casual friendly enough, just saddens me.

I’m in the minority here though, i realize that.
I’m in that weird spot where i actually like balanced build, to support others, to choose a dedicated role (as far as it is possible in GW) and so on.
I don’t mind giving up some damage to be more useful to others around me, because i still can manage to get around, yes, even in HoT.

All in all a better curved difficulty, actually teaching people in the coregame what to expect later (through dungeons, through open world and so on) would not only foster the community into a way better place but also help their sales and help keep players around.

And here’s the kicker: Sure, people may not be interested in HoT… but what about the next expansion? Or the one after… hell, what if they have to make a Guild Wars 3?

That’s my point, Orr isn’t hard after they nerfed it (getting some WPs or HPs or Vistas can be annoying, though), and then you have the LS and HoT maps which don’t reflect a balanced jump in difficulty between maps. I think everyone here can agree that core Tyria, even Orr, does not train players to succeed (or at least survive) in HoT. But how can ANet fix that without upping the difficulty of the entire game? Many different players enjoy GW2, both the casuals and the hard-cores.

What about individuals who enjoy GW2, but because of school or work can’t play for hours a day? In that sense, the Daily giving 10AP is something. It’s not a whole lot, really. But not everyone has the time or interest in WvW or PvP. And no, this is not an argument for “everyone must be a w1nnerrrrrr!!!!”. It’s just 10 bloody AP. That’s it. If someone only has time for Dailies, then why should any hard-core players be worried? It’ll still take a long time for those individuals to unlock the next reward chest, so why hurt players with little game time?

Diovid.9506:

As I understand it, various characters in the original story were voiced by voice actors that are too high profile i.e. that hardly have time to appear in living world / expansion story. This is one reason why they moved away from DE 1.0 to DE 2.0.

That combined with wanting the story to have real impact and wanting to give you a sense of urgency in HoT leads to deaths.

As for why Eir specifically? Well.. She was DE’s leader, something you as a player took over. And as you said, Braham’s story arc probably had a lot to do with it.

The thing that bothers me about Faolain is that the expansion had a lot of potential to learn more about the Nigthmare Court, where the nightmare comes from, what their ideals are, how the NC and Modremoth impacted each other etc. But Anet delivered on none of that.

I have to agree, it feels like we got nowhere closer to learning more about the Nightmare and where it came from. Somehow, I doubt that Mordremoth is related to it, since Faolain is heard saying how Mordremoth’s rule is even worse (“onerous”, in her words) than being ruled by the Dream/Pale Tree – so that just leaves further mystery about it.

I’m still trying to process this story-telling decision (though I realize I am pretty late to finding it out), and their deaths are giving me the same dissatisfied, bad-taste-in-mouth, sensation that I got from Halo 5’s campaign…

…Eir and Faolain? I finally continued the HoT story and finished that chapter yesterday. And I was heavily disappointed. It felt pointless, cheap, only for ridiculous drama that was not needed. (This is just my personal opinion, however.) It just brings up some questions.

1.) Will we even see Caithe’s response to learning Faolain’s death? She had been such a central figure to Caithe’s story, and there was a love-hate dichotomy going on (Caithe still had feelings for Faolain, but hated the fact that she had turned evil, and therefore took many things she did personally. One needs only look at the whole flashback scenes from last LS season). So surely Caithe will feel something? And what other implications does that create?

2.) Why Eir, specifically? Out of all of Destiny’s Edge, why Eir? Yeah, I know her son is in DE 2.0, but that’s not a good enough excuse. It just seems to put focus on just the Norn member of DE, and so anyone who knows of this future event who creates a Norn will have the knowledge that their mentor will die in the future. But, why? It just feels so unnecessary. I really do not want this new group to be the “new” Destiny’s Edge since they really don’t interest me like the original members did. I also just feel nothing for this cheap move of ANet’s. No shock, no sadness, just…confusion.

3.) Why? That’s all I want to know. Why kill those two at all? Cheap drama, that’s all it is. I’ve had a day to think it over, and I still don’t get it. Living Story has really soured my outlook of the GW2 world and characters, especially with Dry Top, Silverwastes, and HoT maps being a chore to play in.

Ryou.2398:

usnedward.9023:

I am trying to figure out what “grindy” means in GW2 because being “casual” I don’t feel I have to play for days, months or years to reach certain highlights of content like some Korean based MMOs…. now those are grindy.

There are websites out there a-plenty that will guide you, tell you when timers start that open gates, LFG tool to get you there and a decent guild can help you along the way too!

I am a casual player and still think HoT is not that big of a challenge. Maps are rarely failing now that everyone knows what to do and I have not seen a full DS or AB map fail in quite some time. Sure if I cannot get to a main map I don’t stick around for the failure and the “You are all idiots” in the map chat.

I will say that some toons are kinda soft to be roaming HoT. My ranger can down some hefty mobs but recently I had a guardian that just dirt napped all the time in HoT map areas. Then again I only leveled it to get the asc bow for my ranger so I didn’t put much gold in her as she was terminated minutes after acquiring that bow

The new player is probably the only one who may have some issues transferring to HoT because he or she is under geared. OH WAIT..If you buy HoT you get a free boost to 80 with full gear and wep set. Not ideally for the cookie cutter build but plenty enough to keep you alive and hitting HPs to get that elite skill.

Also feel free to hit other HoT maps to get HPs that are easier and wait for maps to fill with HP trains for the harder ones.

It is my humble opinion that there are many paths to getting the job done in HoT and I just cannot say it is hard in the least. Time consuming? Maybe some like DS that can go on for over an hour and a half but hey it’s the reward and loot I am after and sometimes in MMOs you have to earn that stuff!

I suspect many who are having issues are the ones using the instant 80s which happen to be new players who never learned the game or their class, yet blame the content instead of he fact they skipped learning the other content and their class on a first playthrough.

Its on you if you don’t learn the game first, maybe after a few classes you can instant 80 and learn your class easy.

Also there are plenty of people helpful in map chat, but people will say go check out vids to and its a good suggestion, people want you to find some of it on your own to you know.

I always try to help with other peoples builds then I’ll guide them to some guides. Just remember we are players like you, we don’t male money to tell you every little thing that you can find on your own when you tell you where you can go.

Your first statement is quite a generalization. I had had a few 80s (deleted a few, of course), but took my current 80 which I had taken all the way through, got world completion before WvW was taken out, and completed the LS seasons. And yet I still struggle with HoT. In fact, when I got the 80 booster from a few months ago, I used it on my 80, as it would be boring to bring a toon instantly to 80.

What about Amazon? I hear that they sell HoT for a good deal.

LouWolfskin.3492:

So, i had a little time to think on this in the last hours…

I want to make a point here:

Roughly a year ago a good friend of mine bought GW2 and started playing, while i adviced her to start with something easier, she started as a thief.
It went… okay. We mostly played together, i helped out in any way i could.
But she’s just not as adapt to playing this type of game as someone else might be, going as far as to actually have to teach her how WASD controls work and why they are something good in most cases.

Now, core game, as you would expect, was no problem at all, we explored some maps, did some dungeons, guild took her into some fractals. The usual stuff.

Then HoT got released, she wasn’t very interested in it at first but as she heard friends and me talk about it she decided to buy it.

The first few weeks after buying it she felt real frustration because all of a sudden the game was hard as hell (and this was after the HoT nerf).
She didn’t know how to actually play the game as a matter of fact and said herself that the core game hadn’t teached her anything despite my best efforts to try and make up for the flaws.

While she has adapted a little, even started playing alone in the last two weeks, and is more interested in mastering controls as well as her class…the point still stands, and she aknowledges it a lot herself: the core game is way too easy.

There is no real reason to have lots of heal, most enemies die in seconds.
There is no real reason to have teamplay for the same point.
Events seem completely removed from the idea of playing together as AoE’s just fly around while people, worst case, die all the time and just get back to the nearest waypoint.
CC is a concept you rarely have to use in the core game yet in HoT she saw how useful she can be as an aura thief with the elite venom, basically getting champs down to half the breakbar with no effort.

But the core game doesn’t teach you this stuff.

And now i know what will happen, people will come and tell me: But this is a casual game, it shouldn’t be hard.

No.

Casual means it shouldn’t be hard to learn.
And there in lies the problem we have at the moment: You learn nothing from playing core.

I will say that the “Current Events” that happen right now give me some hope that with the new living story there will be some, maybe minor, rework of a few enemies to make teamplay more interesting.

But we need a little higher difficulty. And i’m not saying that this game should kick you between the legs from the starter areas on.

Have it in different forms and ways… add a few more conditions from 20 on, a few more buffs with 30 or actual counter skills on some enemies.
Veterans and Elite should spawn a little earlier in some events (5+ players should be able to do quite a lot) and give them builds that make them feel like they are something special.
AoE-Buff auras, heal, counters, actual blocks and so on.

The difficulty in HoT is not as steep as a lot of you make it out to be.
In my honest opinion HoT is how the game should be at least after Lvl 60.

Players should feel challenged when something big happens and enemies should feel like a threat if Arena Net really wants to push the feeling of being in a group as soon as you join a map.

When i see an ele my first thought shouldn’t be: He’s gonna stay in fire attunement for hours, isn’t he?
My thought should be: Holy kitten yes an elementalist, he’s gonna make this easier with ALL his available skills.

I understand your point, which many other people have made, that core GW2 should prepare all types of players for HoT content. However, I do see an issue: Why change the core game so drastically after the fact, when other players may not even have the intention of buying HoT? Of course, I’m not saying that HoT should be nerfed. There really does need to be something that prepares the player for the rise in difficulty. Heck, even Dry Top and Silverwastes don’t feel like a decent transition. For me, Maguuma Wastes felt like a huge jump in difficulty from Orr, given the confusing terrain, and then Heart of Maguuma was an even bigger jump in confusion from Wastes. But there wasn’t anything in between Core and Wastes and Wastes and Heart. If that makes sense… Even dungeons don’t act as the right type of preparation/training.

I’m now sort of wondering where the “guild” and “wars” comes from in “Guild Wars”… After all, it feels like the game, while being an MMO with plenty of gaming options, is more focused around the personal and living story, with WvW (the only real time you can have guilds fighting against each other) being an option for competitive players. But even then, doesn’t feel like a “war”. And there are no guilds in the story at war with each other. I only see factions, not guilds, and they are at war with the dragons and their minions. So…yeah, confused.

Never played the original Guild Wars, so how accurate to the title was that game?

Razor.9872:

General Health.9678:

Razor.9872:

What if I told you that the only videos I have watched were for raids?

I’d say you were defeating your own argument.
My “watch a video if you are stuck” suggestions applies to people who are a) stuck and b) in-game or on the forums complaining they can’t do something, can’t get somewhere, that the maps need fixing / nerfing. All those things.

I don’t understand; how does my quote defeat my own argument? My quote emphasized that one can quite realistically get un-stuck, do stuff, and go places without the need for watching a video.

The only reason I did so with raids was so I didn’t slow others down. But with the HoT maps, videos are rarely ever necessary.

Here you say that with HoT, “videos are rarely ever necessary”, yet it’s the #1 thing you propose me and other people who struggle with HoT do. So that’s kind of hypocritical…

General Health.9678:

Moyayuki.3619:

But watching a video or reading a guide won’t stop HoT from being what it is.

Obviously. It will help you get where you need to go however. Seeing a puny Asura mesmer bobbing round the whole map getting map complete should put things into perspective.

Moyayuki.3619:

For some people, it will still be obnoxious and difficult.

Who are these people? Did they look at the guides I keep banging on about? Why are you talking for other people you don’t know? You can say “it is too hard” about anything, I can’t cook French food, it’s obnoxious and difficult.

Moyayuki.3619:

Those of us who may not be super-skilled or have the best toons still want to experience the expansion material and actually play through the story.

Fortunately you can as HoT isn’t that hard AND got a nerf in April. I’m not super-skilled. I run one of each profession, all elite, in full berserker gear. I’ve got all HoT maps complete on four of them and am working the rest through, a map at a time. I have a habit of standing still and pressing 1 to kill things. I often mis-time my rooted attack so I’m stood in the big orange circle when it hits. I often hit dodge AFTER I’ve been run over by something. I seem to be doing ok.

Moyayuki.3619:

But it’s hard when some of us hit very debilitating road blocks in overly convoluted maps with ridiculous enemies (mushrooms, anyone? WTH is wrong with those?!). I don’t like feeling that I must “learn to play” or else just drop the expansion entirely.

If you’ve already decided it’s too hard and you can’t play it then you have already made up your mind. I don’t know what you think is being expected of you when you are told to learn to play but I’ll make the same suggestion I keep making.. watch a video of the maps being completed and stop thinking they’re too hard for you. There are a few people on the forums (and more in-game) who will help you get round a map or to somewhere in a map. Can’t make you enjoy the game but the offer of help is there if you want it. And I’m just saying.. when I play in HoT maps I have the interactive mmorpg-life map open on my second screen with dulfy.net in a second tab on that screen. I always know where I’m going and how to get there.

I don’t know why you are continuously being harsh with me when it is obvious that you and I both have different play styles and view different things as “easy” or “hard”. Great, HoT is easy for you. Want a medal? Also, not everyone has two screens to conveniently play the game while also referring to Dulfy or YouTube or whatever else people use. So it’s therefore more inconvenient for me.

Also please notice that when I talked about "other people’, I said “SOME”, since I DO see comments and threads in these forums claiming that HoT is hard for them, so…therefore…logically…that means that there IS a population that DOES find HoT hard. I’m just not making a GENERALIZATION claiming that ALL people find it hard. I said SOME. I know not to make sweeping generalizations about an entire gaming community.

In VB, I managed to get through to the other end and entered Tangled Depths so that I had the WP for there. However, even getting that far was incredibly difficult for me. I struggle with even VB, so therefore it’s going to take a very long time for me to get the mushroom jumping mastery, which is needed to get to the MPs and HPs and so forth that are out of reach. So it’s a vicious cycle. Therefore, it’s more of the struggle of getting enough XP for the masteries that is making traversing the maps hard and frustrating, more than simply being lost.

Also, I apologize for snapping at you. I just get frustrated when people give off an attitude that because they had no issues with HoT, then it’s unacceptable for anyone else to have issues. This does not have to be personal, you know. You can have fun playing HoT as much as you want.

General Health.9678:

Raine.1394:

Some people, however, just like to play their game rather than work it through researching how to get to every location (e.g., hero points). Watching videos to play a video game?

Some people like to complain they can’t play the game because they can’t get round. To them I’d suggest watch a video.

Watching videos to play a video game? Well yeah.. I don’t know why you question that. When people get in the car they put on their sat nav or get out a map. When learning a language you get a dictionary and thesaurus. When a new game comes out you watch the trailer. When you want to know what reviewers think you watch the video they made. When you want to know what a game plays like you watch.. well the video. I guess I’m saying people make videos of videos games that people watch.

I loved exploring TD, it was fun to fall down a massive hole into a new place the turned out to be the main lane down to the confluence waypoint. It was a bit annoying to go round in the same circle ten times trying to get to a hero point. Jump over to dulfy and watch the video. Is that not what people do? I find it weird that rather than doing that someone would come on the forums and demand anet make the map easier. But maybe I’ve got it wrong.

But watching a video or reading a guide won’t stop HoT from being what it is. For some people, it will still be obnoxious and difficult. I really don’t like this mentality of some people that “Oh, HoT was easy for me, so what’s your problem? If it’s hard for you, don’t bother talking about it. Your opinion doesn’t matter.” At least, that’s the impression I get from many comments in these forums. Which is quite unfair. Those of us who may not be super-skilled or have the best toons still want to experience the expansion material and actually play through the story. But it’s hard when some of us hit very debilitating road blocks in overly convoluted maps with ridiculous enemies (mushrooms, anyone? WTH is wrong with those?!). I don’t like feeling that I must “learn to play” or else just drop the expansion entirely.

FrostSpectre.4198:

Essentially: Everything that you learned and could do in Vanilla (“full berserker DPS spam 1111 auto assault” tactic), throw them away and it’s time to learn the gameplay mechanics that ANet didn’t teach you properly and didn’t include in the mob designs in the first place.

The content was abit nerfed during last quarterly update, so they’re not as punishing like they used to.

It’s just time to learn proper dodging, aggro management, skill usage during combat, creating builds with more functionality, DPS, Control and Support build trinity.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t find myself mindlessly hitting “11111111” in core Tyria all the time. Don’t know where this mindset has come from.

General Health.9678:

Watch the videos, look at the maps at dulfy.net.
Getting around in the new maps with minimal masteries and no xp is how we all started out. Once you can see where you’re meant to be going in VB, it makes it a lot easier to get there. Once there you start getting the XP you need for the mastery. You may never love any given map but there is player provided help if you need it.

I think that’s bad design that you must look at guides to know where you’re supposed to go. Hell, most games I play, I beat on my own but then use guides to get all the extra, fun things once I’ve exhausted my attempts to find/collect/do them on my own. The HoT maps are just an awful clusterfrak…

Ardid.7203:

I think the OP belong to a group of people that haven’t voiced so much their opinion in the forums yet, who actually don’t have fear to die, learn and try again, and who can enjoy more dangerous environments in the game.

I think right now the jungle is a little bit more easy that it should be, but I wouldn’t reccomend making the jungle so much harder, because there is another group of people who really seem unable to overcome it. I also hope they don’t make it easier either.

Right now, Maguuma’s Heart seems to be in a good spot, not so hard, not so easy.

I do like the idea of the tiger ambushers, though. It would be wonderful.

For you and others, of course. For me and others, no, it is not easy one bit. Classes, builds, and general play styles really factor into how “easy” or “hard” the HoT maps are for people. I still haven’t had time to get any “good” classes to level 80, so I’m kind of cursed with a terrible struggle in HoT.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Moyayuki.3619:

I’ve noticed that over the last few weeks, the term “face roll” has increased in usage. I wonder why? And what does it even mean? You aren’t rolling your face on enemies due to them being so easy. No idea where it came from (sorry for deviating from the discussion; I just don’t see a good enough reason to make a separate thread just for that question…)

It means there is no challenge or strategy required to play. You can “roll your face” over the keyboard, and any of the keys you randomly trigger will work just fine for accomplishing your goal in the game.

~EW

Okay, thanks for the explanation. Guess I am one of the few people who don’t complain about core zones being relatively “easy”. After all, you can essentially think of them as training/practicing grounds. The real challenges lie in things like dungeons, raids, WvW, PvP, later Living Story seasons, etc.

It’s just a shame that HoT’s maps’ designs make it really hard for someone like me to do anything. Always getting lost or dying, but don’t like the idea of watching videos about everything. The jump between even SW and HoT is insane, IMO. No real middle ground.

I’ve noticed that over the last few weeks, the term “face roll” has increased in usage. I wonder why? And what does it even mean? You aren’t rolling your face on enemies due to them being so easy. No idea where it came from (sorry for deviating from the discussion; I just don’t see a good enough reason to make a separate thread just for that question…)

Daddicus.6128:

Moyayuki.3619:

I feel this same way, though I was able to unlock Gliding (just the first point) without taking too long. However, now that I have explored Verdant Brink a little bit more, and now learn just how ridiculously frustrating this first map is for me, I am stuck halfway to getting the first mushroom jumping Mastery. I already have a huge distaste for the HoT maps, so how can I possibly make myself do enough events to fill up the XP bar? On top of that, even though I changed my stats and build on this one toon, I still feel like I die too easily, so that further dissuades me from engaging in the map events. I like to think I have good situational awareness in games….but the vertical labyrinth of even VB is beyond me. I can never seem to get to anywhere I want to go. It’s really making me want to give up on HoT and it’s Living Story…

Try taking another character in. Now that you’ve learned the ropes on one, that should make a second one easier (to a point).

By doing so, you may earn enough XP to cross a line into another mastery.

Sadly, I have only one other 80 at the moment, and she hasn’t finished the pre-HoT Living Story, I don’t believe. And I always keep flip-flopping between lower-level alts, so getting to 80 on any toon takes forever. :P I find that once I hit level 40, I start to lose interest, probably because the map choices for level 40+ are not my favorites.

I sell any surplus mats and any gear that goes for 20 silver and up, and salvage the rest. Getting all this “useless” gear is one of the main ways to get mats, especially since leather and cloth are very difficult to obtain via drops from enemies.

For clarification, may I ask what class you are playing? From lurking around the forums, I’ve learned that the class you bring into HoT really can mean the difference between a struggle and a walk in the park.

Your idea definitely sounds like it could make GW2 feel more like a living world, just like how dynamic events will sometimes occur and advance without player input.

Donari.5237:

Moyayuki.3619:

I know we are derailing the original conversation by now, but…what is up with Rox’s face, anyway? Doesn’t match with the rest of the GW2 art style at all…

As I recall from when she debuted, the comments from ANet were along the lines of “she’s young and big eyes denote youth so we did that to emphasize that she’s young.”

Regarding LA, I do feel it’s a soulless theme park. I also feel that this is intentional and done for plot reasons involving the Consortium. It is exactly the city the Consortium would build.

I’m not sure I hope for another LA destruction. There comes a time when that story’s been told enough a’ready. Yet with the surging ley lines rising in the city’s heart, it does seem possible the devs have pulled an enormous fast one and have another design ready to go when this one crumbles.

If so, I cross my fingers most fervently that the Commodore’s Quarter remains. I find that a charming residential and business area. It’s where the soul went to hide.

First time I’ve ever heard that “large eyes denote youth”. Plenty of Char in the game that don’t have big eyes but you can tell that they are young. Also, wouldn’t this mindset mean that all Asura are…young…? Lol

Somehow, I doubt that Anet will redesign LA again. It took them a really long time just to design and “build” the current version.

Rauderi.8706:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

I think it’s a lot more likely they’ll pull a Gnashblade and flee through the nearest portal with all our money and goods, slamming the portal closed in the face of panicked civilians as they try to escape too.

Wow, if they did that then that’d make Eternity’s Guard / Dragon’s Watch / The Unbroken look a little silly standing there in their brand new single-colored spandex onesies.

(good luck getting that image out of your mind)

~EW

New in the Gem Store: Braham’s Yellow Sentai Onesie Outfit!
And the big seller: Kasmeer’s Pink Sentai Onesie Outfit! (previously worn~)

So I guess Marjory gets black, Rytlock gets red, Taimi gets blue, and ..oh, right, Rox. Her and her gigantic anime eyes gets the green.

I know we are derailing the original conversation by now, but…what is up with Rox’s face, anyway? Doesn’t match with the rest of the GW2 art style at all…

Not even I find good enough reasons to care about any of the new characters, especially any in Destiny’s Edge 2.0. They just are all so boring, or Mary-Sue/Gary-Stue-ish. * shrug *

Gardavil.1762:

I have an opinion on this I imagine many people will disagree with, but since Lion’s Arch and what it’s gone through matters to me as a player I will share my thoughts. I also realize this is meaningless since the Devs do as they please with no regard for the Players and their thoughts (It has always been this way in MMOs)… but hey why not share.

When GW2 launched and I first saw Lion’s Arch and learned how it was rebuilt from the age of GW Prophecies by Pirates and Sailors I feel in love with the place again (first time was in GW). I loved the nautical AND Caribbean atmosphere and made it my character’s home base.

Then real life stepped in and I had to take a break from GW2, and when I got back it was just after Scarlett had taken a blowtorch to the LA… and my most favorite of MMO virtual cities was ash and bones. I was as a player so upset at what the Devs did I quit the game completely.

Now I’m back and I see what they did to the place, not bad, but nothing to write home about in my opinion… tons of concrete and steel and fancy glass… Yuck. It doesn’t feel like a Guild Wars town, to me it doesn’t fit in the game, it kind of feels like some United Nations Staff members and their Pages walked into Anet and told them how to make a MMO city, it feels political and dirty even though it clean and bland… And all the while underneath all that concrete and steel is the ashes of the old LA, and the bones of those who died defending her.

In my opinion it would have been more honorable and more fitting to let the Jungle take back the land then to have the city rebuilt looking like a modern sterilized bland city. Lion’s Arch always had a wild spirit in it’s previous versions but now it’s been tamed and in the process it’s lost that something that made it special…. in my opinion.

Even though I never played GW1, and therefore don’t know much about the backstory of LA, I agree with many of your points here. When the city was left in shambles for months and months and months, and we slowly heard news about ANet deciding on what the new city would look like, I really deep down hoped that it would be an improved version of how it was before Scarlett. Instead…it was done completely from scratch and doesn’t resemble the city at all. As others have said, it feels more like a themepark than a real city.

Payne.3184:

The Mastery Points are horrible for someone who can’t spend all day everyday playing the game, and/or abhors jumping puzzles… I haven’t been able to get even 1 of them in the last week… and advancing to a level of say… gliding… is impossible without them. The ones I can get i already have for the most part… My level of frustration is reaching quitting levels…

I feel this same way, though I was able to unlock Gliding (just the first point) without taking too long. However, now that I have explored Verdant Brink a little bit more, and now learn just how ridiculously frustrating this first map is for me, I am stuck halfway to getting the first mushroom jumping Mastery. I already have a huge distaste for the HoT maps, so how can I possibly make myself do enough events to fill up the XP bar? On top of that, even though I changed my stats and build on this one toon, I still feel like I die too easily, so that further dissuades me from engaging in the map events. I like to think I have good situational awareness in games….but the vertical labyrinth of even VB is beyond me. I can never seem to get to anywhere I want to go. It’s really making me want to give up on HoT and it’s Living Story…