HoT maps vs PoF maps

Hey guys, im currently exploring HoT maps and im having a really hard time doing it. Its like a nightmare. Multiple layers filled with millions of enemies? How can my ele stand a chance?Dragon stand and tangled depths will give me an aneurism.Are PoF maps any bit less complex/hard?

PoF is much less complex and more open. HoT isnt that bad once you've done all the maps a couple of times but yeah... I can still not find my way around tangled depths. Whoever over at Anet that designed that thing is either a genius or sadist. Or both.

PoF maps are far less vertically layered and complex than the Hot maps. On the other hand, probably to compensate for players riding their mounts, many mobs have large aggro ranges and ranged attacks, some of them hitting quite hard. I personally find the PoF maps overall easier than the HoT maps.

Thank God for that!!

@Dawdler.8521 said:PoF is much less complex and more open. HoT isnt that bad once you've done all the maps a couple of times but yeah... I can still not find my way around tangled depths. Whoever over at Anet that designed that thing is either a genius or sadist. Or both.

To be clear, I love the maps. I wouldnt want them changed. The complexity adds to the immersion. But I need a break from it. Thank God PoF is that break.

I love the PoF maps WAAAY more than HoT maps. I was so frustrated in HoT I almost demanded my money back from Anet. There's still a legendary that I want but I'm willing to live without as long as I never have to go back to HoT unless absolutely necessary. It seemed like a cool idea when HoT first came out have multi-layered maps and to be honest I still think it's a great idea but they need to do it way differently or give us some better navigational tools to get through the maps.

@KronosBaelfire.6289 said:I love the PoF maps WAAAY more than HoT maps. I was so frustrated in HoT I almost demanded my money back from Anet. There's still a legendary that I want but I'm willing to live without as long as I never have to go back to HoT unless absolutely necessary. It seemed like a cool idea when HoT first came out have multi-layered maps and to be honest I still think it's a great idea but they need to do it way differently or give us some better navigational tools to get through the maps.

Legendary? What legendary?

That awesome short bow with the ridiculously long name, chipawhatsit...

I'm perfectly fine with the HoT-maps. Finally some change from all these boring "flat" maps of Core Tyria and other games. I know some people hate those maps, but I'd like to have more complex maps in which you can get lost.

@"Raizel.8175" said:I'm perfectly fine with the HoT-maps. Finally some change from all these boring "flat" maps of Core Tyria and other games. I know some people hate those maps, but I'd like to have more complex maps in which you can get lost.

I agree. The problem I have with them mostly, is that I cant explore them alone, due to enemy packs of millions.

@Autolukos.1359 said:

@"Raizel.8175" said:I'm perfectly fine with the HoT-maps. Finally some change from all these boring "flat" maps of Core Tyria and other games. I know some people hate those maps, but I'd like to have more complex maps in which you can get lost.

Despite hating Chak with a passion, I actually have no problems at all exploring those maps, at least not with characters/professions I play often. Those maps aren't as monster-infested as many people claim tbh, especially not if you use shortcuts provided by HoT-masteries. You'll get a feeling for the monsters aggro-radius anyway if you play on those maps often, so yeah. I do understand why people are at first overwhelmed, but those maps aren't as horrible as some people claim.

@Autolukos.1359 said:Hey guys, im currently exploring HoT maps and im having a really hard time doing it. Its like a nightmare. Multiple layers filled with millions of enemies? How can my ele stand a chance?Dragon stand and tangled depths will give me an aneurism.Are PoF maps any bit less complex/hard?

The PoF maps are really broad and open for the most part. Once you get used to the HoT maps and masteries to navigate them they can be quite fun. Tangled Depths is the only HoT map I have trouble navigating. I really enjoy Verdant Brink and Auric Basin. The meta staging in Dragon Stand gets in the way of exploring that map. You can't do map complete unless you do the meta because of blocked off areas.

I love the HoT maps, but I can completely understand why they're frustrating for other people. It's not a problem for me because even when I'm doing map completion I rarely end up going where I planned (even in core maps) and just wandering around seeing where you can get to and what's there seems to be what works best for HoT maps. Especially Tangled Depths. Plus I love the feeling that you're totally out in the wilderness - there's no towns and very few safe spaces, almost no roads and the ones that are there were created by the hylek or exalted (or mordrem) so they don't follow conventional human logic and some aren't recognisable as roads until you're familiar with the jungle, and getting anywhere involves going around, over, under and through obstacles instead of just passing them by.

(My only complaint is actually not about GW2 at all - HoT ruined Valenwood in Elder Scrolls Online for me, because based on the lore it should be like the Maguuma, but it's not - it's all wide open spaces under the trees, paved roads and clear paths from A to B across solid ground...and after seeing what could be done in a game that in many ways is very similar I just can't enjoy it any more.)

Overall I think HoT is better once you get used to how the maps work - like a lot of GW2 it's as much about player skill (in this case understanding the maps and how to use the masteries to get around) as 'levelling' your character - in this case training those masteries - and also if you're willing and able to take your time to explore and figure out the way through instead of trying to get there as fast as possible.

But I am glad they didn't do PoF the same way. It wouldn't make sense since it's supposed to be arid grassland and desert, and it makes for nice variety. Plus it works better with mounts. (Although the mounts are a huge help in HoT too.)

@Danikat.8537 said:I love the HoT maps, but I can completely understand why they're frustrating for other people. It's not a problem for me because even when I'm doing map completion I rarely end up going where I planned (even in core maps) and just wandering around seeing where you can get to and what's there seems to be what works best for HoT maps. Especially Tangled Depths. Plus I love the feeling that you're totally out in the wilderness - there's no towns and very few safe spaces, almost no roads and the ones that are there were created by the hylek or exalted (or mordrem) so they don't follow conventional human logic and some aren't recognisable as roads until you're familiar with the jungle, and getting anywhere involves going around, over, under and through obstacles instead of just passing them by.

(My only complaint is actually not about GW2 at all - HoT ruined Valenwood in Elder Scrolls Online for me, because based on the lore it should be like the Maguuma, but it's not - it's all wide open spaces under the trees, paved roads and clear paths from A to B across solid ground...and after seeing what could be done in a game that in many ways is very similar I just can't enjoy it any more.)

Overall I think HoT is better once you get used to how the maps work - like a lot of GW2 it's as much about player skill (in this case understanding the maps and how to use the masteries to get around) as 'levelling' your character - in this case training those masteries - and also if you're willing and able to take your time to explore and figure out the way through instead of trying to get there as fast as possible.

But I am glad they didn't do PoF the same way. It wouldn't make sense since it's supposed to be arid grassland and desert, and it makes for nice variety. Plus it works better with mounts. (Although the mounts are a huge help in HoT too.)

Couldnt agree more :)Nothing is more satisfying than getting that vista and strongbox, climbing the Great Tree, avoiding millions of hylek mordren shooting at you, climbing in mushrooms and running with your heart pumping blood like hell.

I didnt want to leave there, because of the sentimental energy I wasted climbing!!

PoF maps aren't as simple as Central Tyria maps, but not as twisted as HoT. However some areas in PoF maps have tough and tons of enemies too who are probably not much easier for you to fight than the Mordrem.

If you ask me there is nothing necessarily wrong with complexity. The Central Tyria maps can seem so boring these days. But at the very least Central Tyria, HoT and PoF don't share that certain kind of "blandness" that some of the Living World maps have. Going from HoT to Living World Season 3 is a downfall, and then you get back up with the love of detail that was put into the PoF maps that the LS3 ones didn't get.

PoF maps are Easy as core.HoT are twisted at the beginning ( remember that only 2 out of 4 are twisted ).

If you have issues and want to avoid frustration you could try to exploit it by doing first pof and then hot with mounts.

All the HoT maps are twisted, some more than others. There is never a straight route to the places you wanna get to. Not even in Auric Basin, unless it's Tarir you wanna get to. And in Dragon's Stand you're often blocked off when not doing the map meta. Or at least you are without mounts, not sure how far you'll get there with springer heigh vault or griffon.

And doing PoF before LS3 is not advised, because PoF will spoil both HoT and LS3.

@Shirlias.8104 said:PoF maps are Easy as core.HoT are twisted at the beginning ( remember that only 2 out of 4 are twisted ).

If you have issues and want to avoid frustration you could try to exploit it by doing first pof and then hot with mounts.

Im a masochist. So, i wont move to PoF without first clearing every HoT map 100%:)

HoT is nice challenge, felt more like a action game instead of MMORPG. PoF is like Queensdale, boring running and doing fetch quests. My opinion.

I wish there were more quest chains, so far there aren't many of them in the PoF maps I've been to. I liked to build up camps in Verdant Brink piece by piece, and I liked the chains in all the other HoT maps too. Makes you feel more invested in progression of things, even it is irrelevant for the map metas (except for Dragon's Stand). I like that the hearts have been made repeatable from LS3 and onward, but I'm not seeing myself repeating them too much unless I need stuff from the vendors. If the hearts were brought in to replace event chains than I'd rather see event chains coming back. But instead there are these meaningless cardboard quests in the PoF maps like those Priory explorers you're digging artifacts up for or those water diviners or treasure hunters digging up the ground as well. Way less recognizeable than anything you're dealing with in HoT.

@Autolukos.1359 said:

@Shirlias.8104 said:PoF maps are Easy as core.HoT are twisted at the beginning ( remember that only 2 out of 4 are twisted ).

If you have issues and want to avoid frustration you could try to exploit it by doing first pof and then hot with mounts.

You have my respect then, brother.

@Autolukos.1359 said:Nothing is more satisfying than getting that vista and strongbox, climbing the Great Tree, avoiding millions of hylek mordren shooting at you, climbing in mushrooms and running with your heart pumping blood like hell.

Totally misread that as 'hylek shooting mordrem at you'! As if HoT enemies weren't scary enough already!

If you're a good player, you'll prefer HoT maps. They're really amazing designs, I still gush over them. I love the gliding implementation too.

But honestly? This expansion is a massive dumbing down of things. The maps are bland open areas, not exciting at all, no sense of exploration, mounts are a poor addition to the game...Etc

I hate HoT and I'm not too fond of PoF. They are both a complete departure from the original game concept, level designs obviously created by 12-year old kiddies who think impossible combat is fun; you can't do much without a zerg in HoT and multiple other players in PoF.Individual PoF mobs are overpowered and you'll usually find multiple veterans overlapping agro-ranges, and they'll chase you halfway across the map. There aren't very many waypoints, but you'll quickly notice that there are armor repair anvils next to them; there's a reason for that: You're going to die a lot in PoF.You'll die a lot in HoT, too, but more often from going over a cliff as you search for hero points or mastery points without a landing spot in sight, hoping you can glide somewhere safe. Jumping and gliding to your death passes for exploration in HoT. The zones are a vertical maze with almost no useful hints from the two-dimensional mini-map. The hero points and mastery points where you don't have to do the glide-to-death routine pretty much require a zerg to get them. There aren't a lot of waypoints in the HoT maps, either.I highly recommend going into both the first time (presuming you're going to run alts through those ones, too) via the story; that will get you some waypoints and mastery points with a reasonable level of mob opposition.

I actually like that there aren't too many waypoints. And harder mobs aren't necessarily a bad thing either. I can handle a couple veterans, maybe even a few elites, in PoF. These enemies encourage you to rethink your build; I don't think I ever used any of the more defensive traits or any of the spare gear with defensive stats I'm carrying around with me before HoT. I think I like that. Central Tyria can be boring as hell, you can do everything solo there and not even get close to sweating. There needs to be more challenging content, and it can't just be raids or the likes.

The only thing that annoys me are the griffons in PoF that are flying and evading like 2/3 of the time you fight them. Haven't really figured out how to burst them to death quickly yet. And I hate that some quests require you to keep NPCs alive. Like Explorer Jeppa. I haven't been able to finish that quest with her and the giant you fight with her. It's not very hard, she just dies too quickly and thus fails the event. And it's not easy to get other people to do that quest. There are others like with such fail conditions either, like that Sunspear woman you gotta defend from the Mordrem Crescent, but usually there are people around to help with that one.

@ProverbsofHell.2307 said:If you're a good player, you'll prefer HoT maps. They're really amazing designs, I still gush over them. I love the gliding implementation too.

But honestly? This expansion is a massive dumbing down of things. The maps are bland open areas, not exciting at all, no sense of exploration, mounts are a poor addition to the game...EtcI think I'm actually exploring a bit more in PoF than I did in HoT. This is because there are sand piles, bleached bones, dwarf chests, lost chests, and trade caches all over. And there are NPCs in some hard-to-reach spots that you can actually talk with. In HoT you will pass by most NPCs because you cannot talk to them, most of them don't even have ambient dialogues. All that you would find in HoT by exploring were map-specific containers that aren't really scarce to begin with.