Guild Wars 2 - Heart of Thorns |OT| Welcome to the Jungle...

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Vigilant Walrus said:
HoT having been out for a while, there are some things I would love for them to address in a Feature Pack:


  • Directx12. Don't say it won't happen. They cooked up a 64bit client (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU). I think we need to work towards a Dx12 version. I know it will take a long time, but the game deserves a coat of new paint.
Click to expand...
It won't happen. Look into your heart, you know it to be true. Most GW2-running PCs have quadcore processors and it seems that the majority of MMO developers have trouble optimizing their engines for even that. I have zero expectations that Anet would put resources towards a building a feature that maybe 10% of all players can take advantage of.

I still find sub-HD ground textures in HoT maps.
 
I regret levelling jewel craft and cooking when I started out. Leveling up leatherworking and leathsmithing to get ascended gear for my Thief seems super expensive.
 
hockeypuck said:
It won't happen. Look into your heart, you know it to be true. Most GW2-running PCs have quadcore processors and it seems that the majority of MMO developers have trouble optimizing their engines for even that. I have zero expectations that Anet would put resources towards a building a feature that maybe 10% of all players can take advantage of.

I still find sub-HD ground textures in HoT maps.
Click to expand...

But they said the same thing about 64-Bit client. "It won't happen", "they need to recode the entire thing", "the game is built for 32-bit".

They can do it. And I'm not saying it has to be a living world / feature pack update. But new lights, shades, and other effects that can benefit the entire game. It would be a really nice selling point in the next expansion.



I've also about had it with Jungle, Ice and Desert themes. No Jormag. Next Expansion has to be Cantha. There is no other way. Elona with more golden fertile lands is too soon. We need some Cantha. A entire continent. Luxon and Kurzick coming back. Forever at war, but also managing to get together.

We all know it's suxons.;D
 
So I've not played this game since launch where I was a level 50 elementalist and i've just bought the expansion. I'm planning to create a new character with my brother and play through the game, is there anywhere i can find some tips and advice for newly starting out/returning?

I was also whats the best/fastest way to level up these days?
 
Spirit of Jazz said:
I regret levelling jewel craft and cooking when I started out. Leveling up leatherworking and leathsmithing to get ascended gear for my Thief seems super expensive.
Click to expand...

Very. It is not very fun.
I suggest you take it slow and save up mats. You can work on your backpiece (the thing you got from HoT story can be upgraded to ascended) and use your laurels to buy rings, amulet and accessory. Then you got that stuff covered. And I would go for Berserker Stats on all these types of trinkets.

For the weapons I would simply do dragon chests (major bosses, guild events) < They have a bigger chance of yielding a ascended weapon than it would take to craft it. Crafting the Ascended armor is a small but good step. Just take it in a slow step and let the micro-gathering do its own thing.
It would be great if there was way to set your crafting collection goals in more pedagogical terms. Like as you got new mats needed to do it, instead of depositing materials directly into your bank, it would go in this prioritized buffer that knew you wanted to prioritize collecting stuff for a specific thing, like a full ascended armor set.


You know what is fun though? Unlocking your elite spec weapon. I'm 1/3 into getting Bo, and I've begun working on my Reaper Greatsword. This method of having to do various things (silver on specific adventure, unlocking the elite spec armor piece, get specific drops from specific parts of the world, unlock specific mastery, and so on) < I love this method because you have to do 30 vastly different things.
 
Not dug too deep into the expac yet, I'm still hanging around Verdant Brink and I've not done much of the story (want to finish off Living Story Season 2 first). Enjoying Dragonhunter though. Gonna see if I can make a Staff/Longbow support build for PvE zergs :D
 
Anyone know how to keep framerate high?
I'm amazed at how effective this game is in destroying my 980, Hexa core combo.

It drops down to 30fps when big groups come together...
 
demonkaze said:
So I've not played this game since launch where I was a level 50 elementalist and i've just bought the expansion. I'm planning to create a new character with my brother and play through the game, is there anywhere i can find some tips and advice for newly starting out/returning?

I was also whats the best/fastest way to level up these days?
Click to expand...


New/Returning Player
  1. WoodenPotatoes, Everything about the Expansion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWFUffcijOI
  2. Reddit New Player Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/wiki/newplayers
  3. GW2 Wiki: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page


Fastest Way to Level Up:

  1. The fastest way to level up is using Tomes of Knowledge. Every tome yields a level. If you have a character that is 1 year old, it will receive a lvl 20-scroll for its birthday which instantly makes you lvl 20. You can get Tomes in the open world (Story Rewards), WvW(Rank Rewards) and in sPvP Rank rewards.
  2. In regular world gameplay the fastest way is to explore the game. Doesn't matter which zones. I like to do all the starting zones. Press the PvP icon, go into Heart of the Mists, go through the portal, emerge in Lions Arch, unlock the waypoints, then take portals to all the starter cities. Then run around and do stuff in Norn, Asura, Sylvari, Human, Charr starting zones.
  3. Buy a bunch of cheap foods and Sharpening Stones. They each yield a 10% increased levelling experience. If you also join a guild that has unlocked the feature you will also get 10% levelling xp for being part of that guild, and representing it (press G, and tick the marker). Then you're also yielding "xp" for your guild. A good bonus.
  4. Besides that it's a good idea to do the story quests. They appear every 10 levels. (first chapter is lvl 10, then lvl 20, then lvl 30, and so on). When you need a break from the open world, jump into EOTM (press B, and join EOTM on the right side of the pane). In there you will be buffed up to lvl 80. Even though you are still relatively weak you can sort of hang with a zerg. Follow a commander and all the people as they run around and do events and ocassionally engage enemy zerg groups. These yield really nice xp, some good rewards and is a good break of pace.
    You can also do normal WvW, but I find that Edge of the Mist (EOTM) which is a sort of lobby-WvW map yields better experience.
  5. Another good thing you can do is harvesting wood (cut down trees), mining (mine ore) and cutting plants (harvesting wheat). These give significant xp. And I do mean significant. You get as much xp from cutting down a tree as you do killing a basic monster. Go to a merchant and make sure you always have sicke, mining pick and wood axe. Buy a few extras. Cut down everything you see.
  6. When you Have your materials in your inventory(key shortcut is "i") you can click the right knob in the top right corner and say "deposit materials". that will instantly transfer your materials into your bank which frees up space in your inventory.
    In GW2 you want to salvage most things. It is rare that you want to sell blue/green items that you are not using. So you run around with salvage kits in your inventory all the time.
  7. Crafting is a big source of xp. And its easy. if you go to a mob and say you want to be weaponsmith, you can take all your ore and wood and instantly refine it without doing anything. you dont even have to take it out of your bank. What is more, all your characters share your bank and bank storage materials. In fact, everything is shared. Karma, gold, achievementpoints. This makes it easy to work on one character, make another character and then level that one up.
  8. For example I explored to lvl 80 on one character and saved all my materials. Then I made a new character and as a lvl 1 I went into Lions Arch and took all of the materials, ore, wood and other stuff that my lvl 80 character had collected, and then I just started crafting with all that stuff, and next thing I knew, I was lvl 30, in like 10 minutes.
  9. Another thing that can yield a nice XP bonus is banners. Guilds and players can place banners in the worlds that give bonus xp, bonus karma, bonus gold find, bonus magic find. So be sure to click on them when you see it.
  10. While you do anything in guild wars 2- you get achievements (Press H, and see achievement pane). Achievements give rewards when you get enough points. Nice rewards, weapons, armor pieces and so on. They will also increase % of gold find, magic find and xp for all your characters. I have 20% increased xp on my account for example. so all my characters have a 20% xp bonus on killing mobs.
    You can get achievements for almost anything. Jumping puzzles, killing with specific weapons, doing your story, unlocking race armor, getting a lot of gold, doing dungeons, fractals, pvp, crafting, you name it.
  11. Finally, the best way to level in Guild Wars 2 is to explore. Randomly. Don't make the mistake of doing the "heart quests". That is the wrong way to play the game. The dumb way. What you should do is to explore the world, find events and kill enemies. Unlock the waypoints so you can effortless teleport around the map. Asking if any events is going on somewhere.
    Look for the "Doritos" signs on the map. Commander players who usually need assistance.
    The game is absolutely amazing if you make sure not to play it as a regular MMO. It really is a game meant to be explored in the blind. So let your curiousity guide you. Don't be afraid to fight hard events even if you are outnumbered. As you get better at dodging you will be surprised.
    Also remember that failing events still yield xp, karma, gold, and that often failing events will unlock other events. So never give up! Yours is the drill that will pierce the heavens!
 
Spirit of Jazz said:
Thanks for all the tips. Had no idea that Dragon Chests could drop ascended weapons.
Click to expand...

Oh for sure. Tequatl dropped a Ascended weapon for me, and I also got one from a GAF Guild where we did a Jumping Puzzle.

The chances are not very high. Sometimes it might take 3 months, but it is good. The Rares/exotics are also a nice.

If you want to maximize your chances, use this website: http://gw2timer.com/

If you do each of these bosses once a day (destroyer, Modniir, Frozen Maw, Claw of Jormag, Karma, you increase your chances of getting it sooner.


Use your best magic find food. Check the TP for the best prices, but I recommend buying a stack, (say 250) of Glazed Peach Tart (26% magic find, 70 power, 15% xp, pretty nice food and pretty cheap. You can buy expensive omnoberries, but whats the point? 30% vs 26% is so little!
 
Vigilant Walrus said:
New/Returning Player
  1. WoodenPotatoes, Everything about the Expansion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWFUffcijOI
  2. Reddit New Player Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/wiki/newplayers
  3. GW2 Wiki: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page


Fastest Way to Level Up:

  1. The fastest way to level up is using Tomes of Knowledge. Every tome yields a level. If you have a character that is 1 year old, it will receive a lvl 20-scroll for its birthday which instantly makes you lvl 20. You can get Tomes in the open world (Story Rewards), WvW(Rank Rewards) and in sPvP Rank rewards.
  2. In regular world gameplay the fastest way is to explore the game. Doesn't matter which zones. I like to do all the starting zones. Press the PvP icon, go into Heart of the Mists, go through the portal, emerge in Lions Arch, unlock the waypoints, then take portals to all the starter cities. Then run around and do stuff in Norn, Asura, Sylvari, Human, Charr starting zones.
  3. Buy a bunch of cheap foods and Sharpening Stones. They each yield a 10% increased levelling experience. If you also join a guild that has unlocked the feature you will also get 10% levelling xp for being part of that guild, and representing it (press G, and tick the marker). Then you're also yielding "xp" for your guild. A good bonus.
  4. Besides that it's a good idea to do the story quests. They appear every 10 levels. (first chapter is lvl 10, then lvl 20, then lvl 30, and so on). When you need a break from the open world, jump into EOTM (press B, and join EOTM on the right side of the pane). In there you will be buffed up to lvl 80. Even though you are still relatively weak you can sort of hang with a zerg. Follow a commander and all the people as they run around and do events and ocassionally engage enemy zerg groups. These yield really nice xp, some good rewards and is a good break of pace.
    You can also do normal WvW, but I find that Edge of the Mist (EOTM) which is a sort of lobby-WvW map yields better experience.
  5. Another good thing you can do is harvesting wood (cut down trees), mining (mine ore) and cutting plants (harvesting wheat). These give significant xp. And I do mean significant. You get as much xp from cutting down a tree as you do killing a basic monster. Go to a merchant and make sure you always have sicke, mining pick and wood axe. Buy a few extras. Cut down everything you see.
  6. When you Have your materials in your inventory(key shortcut is "i") you can click the right knob in the top right corner and say "deposit materials". that will instantly transfer your materials into your bank which frees up space in your inventory.
    In GW2 you want to salvage most things. It is rare that you want to sell blue/green items that you are not using. So you run around with salvage kits in your inventory all the time.
  7. Crafting is a big source of xp. And its easy. if you go to a mob and say you want to be weaponsmith, you can take all your ore and wood and instantly refine it without doing anything. you dont even have to take it out of your bank. What is more, all your characters share your bank and bank storage materials. In fact, everything is shared. Karma, gold, achievementpoints. This makes it easy to work on one character, make another character and then level that one up.
  8. For example I explored to lvl 80 on one character and saved all my materials. Then I made a new character and as a lvl 1 I went into Lions Arch and took all of the materials, ore, wood and other stuff that my lvl 80 character had collected, and then I just started crafting with all that stuff, and next thing I knew, I was lvl 30, in like 10 minutes.
  9. Another thing that can yield a nice XP bonus is banners. Guilds and players can place banners in the worlds that give bonus xp, bonus karma, bonus gold find, bonus magic find. So be sure to click on them when you see it.
  10. While you do anything in guild wars 2- you get achievements (Press H, and see achievement pane). Achievements give rewards when you get enough points. Nice rewards, weapons, armor pieces and so on. They will also increase % of gold find, magic find and xp for all your characters. I have 20% increased xp on my account for example. so all my characters have a 20% xp bonus on killing mobs.
    You can get achievements for almost anything. Jumping puzzles, killing with specific weapons, doing your story, unlocking race armor, getting a lot of gold, doing dungeons, fractals, pvp, crafting, you name it.
  11. Finally, the best way to level in Guild Wars 2 is to explore. Randomly. Don't make the mistake of doing the "heart quests". That is the wrong way to play the game. The dumb way. What you should do is to explore the world, find events and kill enemies. Unlock the waypoints so you can effortless teleport around the map. Asking if any events is going on somewhere.
    Look for the "Doritos" signs on the map. Commander players who usually need assistance.
    The game is absolutely amazing if you make sure not to play it as a regular MMO. It really is a game meant to be explored in the blind. So let your curiousity guide you. Don't be afraid to fight hard events even if you are outnumbered. As you get better at dodging you will be surprised.
    Also remember that failing events still yield xp, karma, gold, and that often failing events will unlock other events. So never give up! Yours is the drill that will pierce the heavens!
Click to expand...

This is just what i was looking for, thanks!
 
DeaviL said:
Anyone know how to keep framerate high?
I'm amazed at how effective this game is in destroying my 980, Hexa core combo.

It drops down to 30fps when big groups come together...
Click to expand...

The CPU can't effectively use all your cores. It's simply bound to it. I applore you to go download the 64-bit client. It will use a lot more of your ram, and is more stable than the 32-bit client you are most likely running with. It's an easy process. you simply download a little client, and put it in your GW2 folder.


Secondly, what causes the drop is that GW2 allows there to be a staggering amount of players on screen. I advise you to lower "character model limit" and "character model quality" < this lowers the quality of all other characters besides your own. if you take the settings far down it will make some "basic character overlays" for other characters. It can boost your frames from 20-ish fps to 60-ish in hard fights.

Thirdly, and this is like in other games, shadows are extremely taxing and not worth it. crank them down.

Fourth, when you get above 60 fps, set your framelimiter to 60 fps. your computer is using exessive resources when it runs at like 200 fps when there is few players on screem. that is dumb. so set the limit there.

fifth, enable Limit Particle Effects check box. You should do this not really because of framerates (only) but also because when 50 players are going berserk on one mob you cant see whatis going on. this reduces the particles effects when there is a lot of players throwing spells and attacks.
Anet have said they are working on improving this aspect however. So lets hope it will improve!
 
demonkaze said:
This is just what i was looking for, thanks!
Click to expand...

No worries mate. One more thing- If you simply log into the game every day. You get a login reward. For every 30-day you login, your account also gets a 1+ % increase in xp/gold find/magic find. And of course you get log-in rewards every day which is nice. It really adds up over time. I make sure to log-in, even if I can't play. It's a nice incentive:)
 
Not sure if anyone has documented this change but making a new hero it unlocks a waypoint in every starter main town
 
DeaviL said:
Sweet jesus, a 64bit client...
How didn't i know of this?

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

It just came out 2 days ago! It's completely new! In the expansion zones memory lockups have gone so bad that people would crash after working towards the massive 1-2 hour event chains. I crashed because of it.. right at the end of acing it. Still hurts:'( Missed out on a great armor piece!
 
Well you lot broke me.

I bought it, now I'm playing on my tod.
facepalm.gif
 
DeaviL said:
Anyone know how to keep framerate high?
I'm amazed at how effective this game is in destroying my 980, Hexa core combo.

It drops down to 30fps when big groups come together...
Click to expand...
AMD or Intel CPU? Intel's IPC is much better than AMD's current offerings, so overclocking an Intel CPU is the best way to improve framerate in big group battles, keeping the same graphics settings. I wish AMD offered a more competitive CPU, because Intel has pretty much done jack squat from a gaming standpoint since Sandy Bridge.

Having said that, 30 fps for big groups is actually pretty good. I don't think I can consistently hit 30 fps in any well-populated meta event.
 
hockeypuck said:
AMD or Intel CPU? Intel's IPC is much better than AMD's current offerings, so overclocking an Intel CPU is the best way to improve framerate in big group battles, keeping the same graphics settings. I wish AMD offered a more competitive CPU, because Intel has pretty much done jack squat from a gaming standpoint since Sandy Bridge.

Having said that, 30 fps for big groups is actually pretty good. I don't think I can consistently hit 30 fps in any well-populated meta event.
Click to expand...

Intel

It usually goes to 30 when large groups gather, casting spells/ battle doesn't lower it further.
I think the new client is gonna be quite helpful indeed.

I've started playing this game again after years, had 3 birthday gifts on my character :p
Deleted all of my characters, including leveling scrolls and started from practically scratch.
 
Levyne said:
Also, tonight 9:30-11:30pm eastern.



The commanders will be Levyne, Appletoasty, Zeroth, Retro, Techwolf, and Hawkian (..I think).
Click to expand...
*rushes two papers so I can join you guys again*

edit: *teacher asks if i want to see spectre*
THE THINGS I REJECT FOR GAF :<
(moreso because after this I don't know how much I'll be playing...)
 
I just got a BL key for doing claw island on my Engineer. Opened one of the 179 chests I have in the bank.

Boom. Full BL claim ticket. Now what should I spend my good fortune on?

*Edit*

My Ranger deserved a nice present

wTarvvK.jpg
 
I'm so thankful for the 64bit client; no more crashes.

I think one of the developers stated in Reddit that 94% of GW2 players have a 64bit OS. I wonder how many players have DirectX 12 since getting Windows 10 was a free upgrade for 7, 8, 8.1, and Insiders.
 
Finished the story, now I see what people mean by possible living story. With that said that final fight is annoying and buggy.

With that in mind I'll take a break in Magus Falls and focus on building my Revenant.
 
So quick question, what is a recommended armor set up for Ele? I see people talk about full Berserker for high dmg but Eles are squishy enough as it is. So yeah, I'm not sure what set to go for.
 
Stuart444 said:
So quick question, what is a recommended armor set up for Ele? I see people talk about full Berserker for high dmg but Eles are squishy enough as it is. So yeah, I'm not sure what set to go for.
Click to expand...

Unless something has radically changed, I believe the go-to set for Ele is still Celestial Gear. They have such a diversity of roles they can fill just by swapping attunements that Celestial gives you an advantage no matter what you're doing.

That may be outdated, and someone can feel free to correct me, but that's what I've always heard.
 
can we just agree that linking weapons that are related to HoT's story in guild chat is a really stupid idea and nobody should ever do it

that'd be peachy
 
Retro said:
Unless something has radically changed, I believe the go-to set for Ele is still Celestial Gear. They have such a diversity of roles they can fill just by swapping attunements that Celestial gives you an advantage no matter what you're doing.

That may be outdated, and someone can feel free to correct me, but that's what I've always heard.
Click to expand...
Been running celestial on lanius for a while. Now that I have him as a tempest 24/7, I haven't changed anything and things work better than ever. So yeah, celestial is still rockin for ele.

I would recommend berserker weapons maybe a trinket or 2 to bump damage a bit.
 
Levyne said:
There's 5 campsites but could also use one in charge of the rally points / ground during the boss phase. A floating tag maybe.
Click to expand...
Floating tag sounds perfect as I can move pretty quickly and help out wherever, but I don't know the full ins and outs of every event point. So if you want to direct me around with a small help squad that would be totally cool with me.
Noisy Ninj4 said:
Been running celestial on lanius for a while. Now that I have him as a tempest 24/7, I haven't changed anything and things work better than ever. So yeah, celestial is still rockin for ele.

I would recommend berserker weapons maybe a trinket or 2 to bump damage a bit.
Click to expand...
Celestial or even Walmart Celestial (mix sets to balance stat spread) is great on Ele still for sure. I used celestial trinkets but do have berserker/valk weapons (I have a build that does no crit chance % but stacks ferocity for arcane) to balance it.
 
docbon said:
hey, i offered people spots for the next run, jerk.
Click to expand...

You said just kidding hard capped afterwards. Classic Bon.

St3v3 said:
7.6 seems pretty fair to me.
Click to expand...

More than fair. HoT isn't even close to being a well rounded expansion. It does a few things very well, and utterly fails with a lot of other aspects. I'd say anything from a 5 - 8 is fair depending on what content you usually play.
 
Kos Luftar said:
Techwolf and I took down the Wyver Patriarch today! Cool fight.
http://plays.tv/video/563e25a90b429c15bb
Click to expand...

Good use of the rocket boots. Didn't realize he was that easy to melee. Don't know why your reaction time just faltered at 6:19; first I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt and thought you were typing a message but you just stood there and died. Then in your indecisiveness of where to WP back you caused the death of an innocent PUG who was trying to rez you in the AoE.

Monday-morning quarterback time:
Root cause analysis reveals that you wasted a dodge by performing two dodge rolls in a row to get behind him, when you previously had done just one roll. Your rocket boots were on CD. You tried to dodge roll forward but didn't have any stocked up. This is the classic Engineer fail; forgetting to use your main weapon. Your Hammer #3 skill has a 1 sec evade. I had to close the video at that point.
etfzQDfD0nSLu.gif
 
leng jai said:
More than fair. HoT isn't even close to being a well rounded expansion. It does a few things very well, and utterly fails with a lot of other aspects. I'd say anything from a 5 - 8 is fair depending on what content you usually play.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. That said, some of the stuff in that review I disagreed with (like not being clear with Masteries). But then he didnt include some of the other pressing problems like fractal rewards being shitter than before and the varying problems surrounding WvW.
 
Ashodin said:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/07/guild-wars-2-heart-of-thorns-review

IGN review 7.6

Oof. Probably because of masteries and megaservers not being filled up as needed.
Click to expand...

Isn't the megaservers a bit bugged or something? Looks like he felt that both of those combined into a issue cause there not much solo stuff you can do to get the xp for masteries (which I can kind of see that). Through they do indicate what mysteries are needed for story i think (they have the story star or whatever on the menu).

I kind of worry about the new borderlands too in terms of being so quiet at the moment, least it so in tier 2, not to mention I still a bit bleh at how large and dense it is. Guess shall see as the weeks go on, but maybe it time for a new WvW season too.
 
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