Experience and Spirit Shards

I wanted to ask for a clarification on the Mastery Point/Spirit Shard mechanic. I understand that if all Mastery Tracks are completed then any experience gained afterward is shunted to a hidden, invisible track that awards spirit shards for each level. (There is any way to see/monitor this amount?)

What happens if you do not have enough Hero Points to complete a Mastery Track but the Experience Bar for it is full? Is any extra experience you gain being wasted or does it shunt to the hidden Spirit Shard track?

Also out of curiosity, what happens if you just finished a Master Track but you do not click 'Train' on the next one (say because you have no interest in pursuing it)? Is any experience you gain next then wasted or does it go to the mysterious, invisible Spirit Shard track?

And this mechanic is the same for each expansions since the game treats PoF and HoT experience as separate from Central Tyria experience?

If you have masteries to complete the experience will go towards masteries. If you haven't started a mastery track or you have it full and you don't have mastery points to finish it, the experience is wasted.Once you complete all the masteries in a certain area (core, Hot, Pof or IS) your exp gain will go towards spirit shards. Nothing hidden about it. The bar on the bottom of the screen will fill with exp gains and once full, you see a lvl up animation and you gain a spirit shard. The same bar you see during lvl up or during mastery completion.The mechanic is the same for all the areas (core, Hot, Pof or IS) but they are separate. For example, if you finish all the masteries for Pof area you will start gaining spirit shards in Pof area, but not other areas where you haven't finished masteries.

@"Cuks.8241" said:If you have masteries to complete the experience will go towards masteries. If you haven't started a mastery track or you have it full and you don't have mastery points to finish it, the experience is wasted.Once you complete all the masteries in a certain area (core, Hot, Pof or IS) your exp gain will go towards spirit shards. Nothing hidden about it. The bar on the bottom of the screen will fill with exp gains and once full, you see a lvl up animation and you gain a spirit shard. The same bar you see during lvl up or during mastery completion.The mechanic is the same for all the areas (core, Hot, Pof or IS) but they are separate. For example, if you finish all the masteries for Pof area you will start gaining spirit shards in Pof area, but not other areas where you haven't finished masteries.

That's not the case anymore, the issue with wasted XP was fixed about a year ago. As soon as XP can't go into a mastry track, they go into the normal XP-bar. This bar is just hidden in the background, till all unhidden maystery-tracks of the region are finished.

Patchnotes: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Game_updates/2020-01-14#General_2

@Schimmi.6872 said:

@"Cuks.8241" said:If you have masteries to complete the experience will go towards masteries. If you haven't started a mastery track or you have it full and you don't have mastery points to finish it, the experience is wasted.Once you complete all the masteries in a certain area (core, Hot, Pof or IS) your exp gain will go towards spirit shards. Nothing hidden about it. The bar on the bottom of the screen will fill with exp gains and once full, you see a lvl up animation and you gain a spirit shard. The same bar you see during lvl up or during mastery completion.The mechanic is the same for all the areas (core, Hot, Pof or IS) but they are separate. For example, if you finish all the masteries for Pof area you will start gaining spirit shards in Pof area, but not other areas where you haven't finished masteries.

Wait so, if i don't have enough Mastery points to unlock a master and the XP bar is full, any additional experience is going to be converted into spirit shards (once enough XP accumulates)?

@Veprovina.4876 said:

@Schimmi.6872 said:

@"Cuks.8241" said:If you have masteries to complete the experience will go towards masteries. If you haven't started a mastery track or you have it full and you don't have mastery points to finish it, the experience is wasted.Once you complete all the masteries in a certain area (core, Hot, Pof or IS) your exp gain will go towards spirit shards. Nothing hidden about it. The bar on the bottom of the screen will fill with exp gains and once full, you see a lvl up animation and you gain a spirit shard. The same bar you see during lvl up or during mastery completion.The mechanic is the same for all the areas (core, Hot, Pof or IS) but they are separate. For example, if you finish all the masteries for Pof area you will start gaining spirit shards in Pof area, but not other areas where you haven't finished masteries.

Yes, after all unlocked mastery-bars of the region are filled (doesn't matter if selected or not), the XP goes into the normal 254k XP-bar. It's just hidden as long as there are missing visible masteries (doesn't matter, if it's because of missing mastery-points or other locks like the current LS have).

@Schimmi.6872 said:

@Veprovina.4876 said:

@Schimmi.6872 said:

@"Cuks.8241" said:If you have masteries to complete the experience will go towards masteries. If you haven't started a mastery track or you have it full and you don't have mastery points to finish it, the experience is wasted.Once you complete all the masteries in a certain area (core, Hot, Pof or IS) your exp gain will go towards spirit shards. Nothing hidden about it. The bar on the bottom of the screen will fill with exp gains and once full, you see a lvl up animation and you gain a spirit shard. The same bar you see during lvl up or during mastery completion.The mechanic is the same for all the areas (core, Hot, Pof or IS) but they are separate. For example, if you finish all the masteries for Pof area you will start gaining spirit shards in Pof area, but not other areas where you haven't finished masteries.

Nice! Then my XP isn't wasted til i get more mastery points.

Thank you very much for the replies! It's a little confusing not being able to see where the XP is going.

Do you get a level-up animation or a UI pop-up that another spirit shard has been gained? Maybe that's happened and I haven't noticed.

@"DoctorOverlord.8620" said:Thank you very much for the replies! It's a little confusing not being able to see where the XP is going.

Do you get a level-up animation or a UI pop-up that another spirit shard has been gained? Maybe that's happened and I haven't noticed.

I just see my "experience" bar at the bottom of my screen go just past zero again, with yet another spirit shard showing as the reward to the right of the "experience" bar.

@Hesione.9412 said:

@"DoctorOverlord.8620" said:Thank you very much for the replies! It's a little confusing not being able to see where the XP is going.

Do you get a level-up animation or a UI pop-up that another spirit shard has been gained? Maybe that's happened and I haven't noticed.

That's only the case, when there is no mastery-bar at the front. With a full mastery-bar at the front, you will only see the level-up animation and a spirit shard at the right side of the screen where the loot is shown.

@Schimmi.6872 said:

@Hesione.9412 said:

@"DoctorOverlord.8620" said:Thank you very much for the replies! It's a little confusing not being able to see where the XP is going.

Do you get a level-up animation or a UI pop-up that another spirit shard has been gained? Maybe that's happened and I haven't noticed.

And a BOOM level up knock back.