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Guild Wars 2 - Heart of Thorns |OT| Welcome to the Jungle...
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Vigilant Walrus
Member
How will the bounty system work? People say it will be like D3/POE - What does this mean? We're talking about randomly spawned bosses with random parameters, or what?
Trust me when I say this: This is the hardest and most brutal MMO when it comes to punishing mechanics. Some of the achievements for each episode are fucking nuts.
I find them frustrating, but not unfair or redundant. Some are better than others, but I can see why a lot of people are drawn to the difficulty of it. I'm not motivated by doing the same mission 30-40 times to finally nail it. But a lot of people find MMORPGs to be brain numbingly easy.
I am just way to casual for it, and that's okay. I respect the achievement design related to avoiding certain attacks on bosses. Some of them get really insane. Reminds me of the gameplay in a treasure game.
There are also times where people say things are frustrating or bad game design, jbut actually they find it enjoyable once they conquor it. One such example is the clock tower jumping puzzle, which literally broke players into total rage.
And from a design perspective it was really interesting seeing the clocktower evolve. They changed the parameters to make it less frustrating in the following year, but players argued that it lost some of its magic making it more user friendly.
We're accostumed to challenges that cannot be painful. GW2 has some really good encounters design, but it struggles with trial and error because it doesn't explain. It doesn't explain to the player how you need to do it.
And the problem is familiar with lots of games. And games that bog you down with tutorials or bullshit tend to be off putting as well. So, there is literally no winning here. Very rarely do you hit a stride in difficulty that feels good to a lot of people.
Trust me when I say this: This is the hardest and most brutal MMO when it comes to punishing mechanics. Some of the achievements for each episode are fucking nuts.
I find them frustrating, but not unfair or redundant. Some are better than others, but I can see why a lot of people are drawn to the difficulty of it. I'm not motivated by doing the same mission 30-40 times to finally nail it. But a lot of people find MMORPGs to be brain numbingly easy.
I am just way to casual for it, and that's okay. I respect the achievement design related to avoiding certain attacks on bosses. Some of them get really insane. Reminds me of the gameplay in a treasure game.
There are also times where people say things are frustrating or bad game design, jbut actually they find it enjoyable once they conquor it. One such example is the clock tower jumping puzzle, which literally broke players into total rage.
And from a design perspective it was really interesting seeing the clocktower evolve. They changed the parameters to make it less frustrating in the following year, but players argued that it lost some of its magic making it more user friendly.
We're accostumed to challenges that cannot be painful. GW2 has some really good encounters design, but it struggles with trial and error because it doesn't explain. It doesn't explain to the player how you need to do it.
And the problem is familiar with lots of games. And games that bog you down with tutorials or bullshit tend to be off putting as well. So, there is literally no winning here. Very rarely do you hit a stride in difficulty that feels good to a lot of people.
now that i've finished the hot story i have a couple goals which i'll do slowly
one is to get enough hero points to finish the herald elite spec. i think i have all 11 hero points in verdant brink, but it was kind of a pain because a few of them you have to fight champions which is pretty hard if you're by yourself. i'm going to try to get enough hero points before pof because it's going to be hard to do it when everyone is in elona
two is to get an ascended set of gear, which is something i never did before hot came out, all i have are trinkets (from doing fractals and guild missions) from years ago. so i need weapons, armor, and a backpiece. i know ascended gear is accountbound, i think i'll go for berserker heavy armor to use on my warrior and guardian too but i'm not sure yet.
from what i can tell what would be best for me is to do fractals to get ascended gear, unless i want to craft it, which is unlikely given that i'm poor. so that means 1) i have to get enough AR to get up higher and higher fractal levels and 2) i better start getting xp for those central tyria fractal masteries...
one is to get enough hero points to finish the herald elite spec. i think i have all 11 hero points in verdant brink, but it was kind of a pain because a few of them you have to fight champions which is pretty hard if you're by yourself. i'm going to try to get enough hero points before pof because it's going to be hard to do it when everyone is in elona
two is to get an ascended set of gear, which is something i never did before hot came out, all i have are trinkets (from doing fractals and guild missions) from years ago. so i need weapons, armor, and a backpiece. i know ascended gear is accountbound, i think i'll go for berserker heavy armor to use on my warrior and guardian too but i'm not sure yet.
from what i can tell what would be best for me is to do fractals to get ascended gear, unless i want to craft it, which is unlikely given that i'm poor. so that means 1) i have to get enough AR to get up higher and higher fractal levels and 2) i better start getting xp for those central tyria fractal masteries...
I'd work towards getting your Ascended gear but I would hold off on picking which stats until PoF is released and we know what the new stat combinations are going to be. At least I would anyway.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Do you actively use the LFG tool? You'll find trains in many maps of players who will 100% complete entire maps. It makes it very fun and adventureous to run with a squad of people trying to complete bosses, get achievements, hero points, vistas, pois and so on. The HoT maps are a pain if you're solo. It's best played with others. The regular maps were more forgiving.
I cannot stress enough how essential it is to use the LFG tool. Otherwise you'll end up roaming maps alone and only ocassionally meeting players.
One of the best examples of how fun it can be, is the Silver guild, that has 500 members, and they just do Silverwaste meta daily. Spend more than a 100 hours in that map!
this sounds like hell
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/coming-up-elite-specializations-week/
Kinda a bummer we can't take them around in PVE. I remember doing dungeons with Beta HoT characters/specializations and it was a good time.
Kinda a bummer we can't take them around in PVE. I remember doing dungeons with Beta HoT characters/specializations and it was a good time.
Nemesis121
Member
I feel like if you already purchase the game, we should be getting mounts to use now lol..
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Wait, there's a new CE?
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
What's the easiest/fastest way to get exotic Berserker weapons and accessories?
Dungeons?
And I thought you got mastery for doing stuff in HoT areas.
I've been doing events for the last hour or so and I am s till at 1% experience.
Dungeons?
And I thought you got mastery for doing stuff in HoT areas.
I've been doing events for the last hour or so and I am s till at 1% experience.
Did you click a Heart of Maguuma mastery in the panel to start training it?
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
No but it looks like I was in the wrong zone anyway.
I guess you don't get the exp from Silverwastes because I moved to the zone to the left of it and started getting EXP for doing events.
Then I got killed by a Smokescale that evaded everything outside of smoke.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
That's good.
So someone comes by and rezzes me. Then I try to get down to this huge open pit area and as I'm making my way down someone on the bottom starts running through all the jungle tendrils on the floor.
After getting to the last ledge before hitting the floor the tendrils start shooting poison AOEs at me but I somehow get stuck in the geometry so I don't have any choice but to die because I can't jump out.
Off to a good start.
EDIT: I realized that the hero point was above the pit not in it so I got that then died to the screamer boss because the random screamer brought parts of the ceiling down on me which put me into downed state in two hits. After that I went back and stealthed past the boss to kill the add then summoned thieves and took out the boss.
You pretty much have to plan things out with Berserker gear because you are really squishy.
So someone comes by and rezzes me. Then I try to get down to this huge open pit area and as I'm making my way down someone on the bottom starts running through all the jungle tendrils on the floor.
After getting to the last ledge before hitting the floor the tendrils start shooting poison AOEs at me but I somehow get stuck in the geometry so I don't have any choice but to die because I can't jump out.
Off to a good start.
EDIT: I realized that the hero point was above the pit not in it so I got that then died to the screamer boss because the random screamer brought parts of the ceiling down on me which put me into downed state in two hits. After that I went back and stealthed past the boss to kill the add then summoned thieves and took out the boss.
You pretty much have to plan things out with Berserker gear because you are really squishy.
Noisy Ninj4
Member
Playing berserker thief means you gotta get your MGS game on.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
I've been abusing the hell out of Black Powder. That constant blind is too good.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
I think I'm done for the night. After I get the updraft mastery I think I'll go for the mushroom bounce one since I've seen so many of them around but I can't use any without the mastery.
I've noticed that the enemy behaviour in HoT so far is more tricky. More enemy types like those snipers that keep rolling around and stealthing then laying down those fire AOEs that bring me down in a couple hits. And those frog guys are kind of creepy. It's something about their eyes. They're also tough to fight if they get any hits on me.
I'm assuming there's more new enemy types in later zones.
It's funny how we just happened to run into each other by chance.
Almost died typing out the whisper.
I've noticed that the enemy behaviour in HoT so far is more tricky. More enemy types like those snipers that keep rolling around and stealthing then laying down those fire AOEs that bring me down in a couple hits. And those frog guys are kind of creepy. It's something about their eyes. They're also tough to fight if they get any hits on me.
I'm assuming there's more new enemy types in later zones.
It's funny how we just happened to run into each other by chance.
Almost died typing out the whisper.
Noisy Ninj4
Member
Correct. The AI in HOT got turned up a notch, which helps keep you on your toes but can be annoying if you just want to get somewhere. A bit like old Orr but with quality over quantity.
Most of the things you see early on will show up in later levels. There are some bug things in Tangled depths, though. I hope you like twisty hard to navigate mazes since TD is one of those. I found it quite fun to roam about it myself.
Bouncy mushrooms are sorta required for some of the missions early on, so I recommend getting it ASAP. Story missions give a decent amount of xp and help introduce you to the maps.
Kos Luftar
Member
Sent
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
God I have so many ascended weapon chests in my bank
MHWilliams
Member
Because I love you, here's an early shot the Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Elite Specializations developer diary. They'll have it later today, but it's up now on USgamer and our YouTube channel.
You got soft banned. I basically told the devs I don't want to see Arah again.
NormalFish
Banned
Spellbreaker elite animation looks so amazing
appletoasty
Member
ARAH
for the spirit, please no more.
Also maded this a few day ago. Anyone want some cake or curtains for your window?
Hey! This was the year I dipped my toes in MMO genre using FFXIV. I have been playing non stop since 1st Jan, 2017. One thing which I do not like about FFXIV is lack of exploration once I am done with Main Story Quests. I hate how the main area maps are basically just flat maps with nothing to do in them. Plus I hate that there are no caves or castles to explore at leisure. The only ones are dungeons but they are too short and people usually rush through them.
How is this game in terms of exploration? How is the combat in this one? I am pretty comfortable with FFXIV combat and can clear Extreme content.
How is this game in terms of exploration? How is the combat in this one? I am pretty comfortable with FFXIV combat and can clear Extreme content.
Freeman76
Member
The base game is F2P, you just need to make an account and download the client. It's a very generous F2P model as well.
Register an account here then download the client from the account management page.
And to reiterate what was said above, exploration is almost certainly the best part of the game. Combat is fun and varied as well though quite different from FFXIV as it's action based with mostly short cooldown abilities and no GCD.
Only MMO that exploring the world isn't a chore.
Also the questing is amazing, the Hearts aren't really quests, they serve as sign post for 'hey, stick around if there's nothing going on here because something cool is about to happen' the bread and butter of the questing are the dynamics events. These happen throughout the world in real time and depending on player performance they lead to other events sometimes these escalate more and more ending in a World Boss fight where tons of players join, anyone can drop in or drop out of these events seamlessly.
After GW2 quest hubs just feel outdated and archaic. I don't know if you've played FFXIV but FATES are similar albeit not as well implemented as GW2 Dynamic Events.
Exploration also include discovering Points of Interest, viewing Vistas, collecting Hero Points and doing Jumping Puzzles.
All I got from this vid is that Holosmith>everything else.
Also maded this a few day ago. Anyone want some cake or curtains for your window?
But holding it like that is really bad for the wax and you'll make a mess of my carpet as well.
i got the herald spec fully unlocked finally
i also had an exotic fractal backpack that i upgraded to ascended with some 500 relics i had left from before. dunno if that was a mistake to use 500 fractal relics like that, but whatever it's done.
so i have ascended trinkets and back. next steps are to get a weapon (i'm looking at doing the restoration of caladbolg quest to get a sword) and to get enough hero points on my other characters before POF comes out so they at least have the elite specs
i also had an exotic fractal backpack that i upgraded to ascended with some 500 relics i had left from before. dunno if that was a mistake to use 500 fractal relics like that, but whatever it's done.
so i have ascended trinkets and back. next steps are to get a weapon (i'm looking at doing the restoration of caladbolg quest to get a sword) and to get enough hero points on my other characters before POF comes out so they at least have the elite specs
So completed "A Crack in Ice" and got most of the achievements. I aimed to get anything that needed the cold resistance buff out of the way before the daily reset. got 17/21 achievements for the area and I got all the things in the bitter cold area of the map.
In terms of story achievements, just got the beasts slain in under 5 minutes one left and for some god damned reason, the blazier which is supposed to shortcut you to the boss isn't intractable. Shut down the game, did it alone and in a party, etc and nothing. I hear others had this issue and it may as well just suddenly work next time I try it like others have reported... we'll see.
btw
Also, just started the next story chapter before I shut down the game for now. I just want to say... I love Taimi <3.
In terms of story achievements, just got the beasts slain in under 5 minutes one left and for some god damned reason, the blazier which is supposed to shortcut you to the boss isn't intractable. Shut down the game, did it alone and in a party, etc and nothing. I hear others had this issue and it may as well just suddenly work next time I try it like others have reported... we'll see.
btw
Braham is an idiot. If I was Rox, I'd have knocked some sense into him by now 'or die trying' >_> (I like Braham but man, he was being a dick. hope he snaps out of it soon enough)
Also, just started the next story chapter before I shut down the game for now. I just want to say... I love Taimi <3.
20% off storage expander is weird since it's been 35% off in the past - http://dulfy.net/2015/01/02/gw2-24-hr-gemstore-sale-on-char-slots-storage-expander/
Nemesis121
Member
I grabbed a Molten Jetpack for 500g ! Now the wait begins
I wanted the Molten BP so badly back then, most of the BP's were ugly, we have come a long F N way, now i think that shit is ugly
I still use the desert rose and fervid censer on a handful of my characters.
I saw someone running around with that Scerlite backpiece the other day. I was hoping to never see it again.
I know those aren't all backpieces from the new container/currency but just thinking of old year 1 backpieces.
I saw someone running around with that Scerlite backpiece the other day. I was hoping to never see it again.
I know those aren't all backpieces from the new container/currency but just thinking of old year 1 backpieces.
Nemesis121
Member
Abaddon's Mask looks good on a Charr, i had to have it, 500ectos sold to get it..
Freeman76
Member
I made a few hundred flipping the semi naked Kasmeer mini before the margin closed. People were going crazy for those, and one point it was around 12g per flip!
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