Returning player

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about returning to play gw2. I last played a few years ago I think, before both expansions. So now my main question is: How big is the remaining player base?I'm more interested in PvE or WvW content, however because I'm pretty much on my own I need to know how many active guilds and players there are, to form new connections.. :cold_sweat:

Looking forward to any responses! :)

There are always other players in maps I enter.
I'm sure you will get responses on the forum stating the game's population is fine, as well as responses that claim the game is dead.It costs nothing, sans some bandwidth, to find out for yourself.

Welcome return, and good luck.

Welcome back!

Big enough. There are always people in the maps, there are always guilds recruiting, and the cities always have people crafting or trading or running a new character through the personal story. WvW's population will depend on what server you're on to some degree, though low-population servers are now being linked with higher population servers, so even that's pretty reasonable in most cases. Check out the Looking for Guild subsection of the forums under Community Corner to find a group or three to start with.

You likely won't get hard numbers, because that's not information Anet releases.

If you last played before either expansion and don't have them now, you'll be bound by Core Tyria. There's a Current Story set of events rotating in generally low-level zones (outside main cities) that could get you back into the group play and give you a chance to meet some people and maybe join a guild and see where you'd like to go from there. It may be tougher to enjoy group play with all of the content and options that have come with the expansions (at least in a PvE sense) if you don't own them yet. If you dive in and find that you're enjoying the game again, I would certainly recommend that you check out the expansions.

Happy Adventuring!

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies!Sounds very promising, since I had so much fun when I started. (I played to the point, where I had all fractal gear and 2 legendary weapons.. which was absolute max at that time, so I got bored.)I read about the new expansions and was wondering the same thing, if I would chose 1, which would it be? or is recommended buying both, if I decide to play more again?

Again thanks for all the replies!

I'd recommend getting back into the groove with Core Tyria events, Fractals and WvW. You may quickly find that you want a mount or a glider or a certain elite specialization that's tied to one or the other expansion. If you're keen to keep playing and have certain things you want to get first, that should guide a good portion of your decision. You may also want to consider what's available now and how it's packaged. PoF is the latest expansion, and you can bundle HoT in with it. There's more to consider beyond all of this and a lot of personal play factors that prevent me from giving an explicit answer.

Based on my personal preference, if I were returning and found it enjoyable, I'd likely buy PoF and bundle HoT in. You can unlock basic gliding and the first mount relatively easily, which opens up more options in PvE and lets you start to prioritize maps, events, specs, achievements or whatever it is that you'd like to chase down.

Welcome back! I don't think you will find a lack of players. I won't reply to which expansion is best since that is very individualized. I will drop these caveats out there:

• If you are story drive I would play them in order they were released and would recommend the living stories between them
• If you are more group orientated I would say HoT
• If you are more open world exploration, PoF
• If you are more meta event PvE then HoT
• If you are casual PvE combat, PoF
• I would say HoT is more challenging content than PoF
• HoT provides you with gliding, PoF with mounts, both are quite useful in moving around maps and can be used across both and core Tyria but are not required for core

As far as WvW, neither are needed but don't hurt with their elite specializations. Which if it has to be an either or situation then I would recommed reviewing those first to see if one expansion offer more elites of interest over the other. There is also no doubt various you-tubes that will show you game play that you can peek at before deciding as well. Personally I would buy both, but after watching some game footage.

WvW is now on a system of linked worlds meaning there is more than just your home server fighting so the population is quite good and WvW is now more self-sufficient, aka pays better than used to. So if you used to PvE just to pay for WvW you don't need to do that as much. And as always there are a lot of helpful guilds out there, so you shouldn't have an issue to find others if you are of a mind to do so, and since you can have 5, look for people that you would enjoy gaming with and see where the winds take you.

Good gaming to you!

@"Noctaer.4732" said:I read about the new expansions and was wondering the same thing, if I would chose 1, which would it be? or is recommended buying both, if I decide to play more again?

Again thanks for all the replies!

Does the story matter to you? If so, following the thread of the story works like this:

Living Story Season 2: you might have some of these unlocked depending on when you stopped. Otherwise they are available for gems. This is story leading up to Heart of Thorns.Heart of Thorns (HoT): unlocked only by buying HoT. HoT can be had for ~$30 from ANet or you can buy Path of Fire (PoF) and HoT for ~$50.Living Story Season 3: bridges HoT and PoF. Episodes are available in gem store.Path of Fire: ~$30 alone or buy the bundle with HoT. Story leads into:Living Story Season 4: Unlocks for free with two conditions. You must log in during the current episode's release period (before the next episode releases, I believe). You may be able to unlock Episode 1 still. The second condition is owning PoF.

You referenced fractals. The fractals experience is enhanced by unlocking the Mastery Tracks (must own HoT). Also, if you like using meta builds, you will likely need to unlock the Elite Specs which came with HoT and PoF. WvW meta and roaming play is also enhanced by having the Elite Specs.

https://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki

Just wondering,

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:You referenced fractals. The fractals experience is enhanced by unlocking the Mastery Tracks (must own HoT).

Are you sure about this? Fractal masteries (Fractal Attunement) are found under Central Tyria (core) group, and you use those core mastery points to unlock it?

@TamX.1870 said:Just wondering,

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:You referenced fractals. The fractals experience is enhanced by unlocking the Mastery Tracks (must own HoT).

There are, indeed, Core Mastery Tracks, but the Masteries mechanic (unlocking the use of Masteries) requires the purchase of an expansion; either Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.

GW2 is one of the most active and healthy MMOs besides WoW, FFXIV and ESO.

@Mea.5491 said:GW2 is one of the most active and healthy MMOs besides WoW, FFXIV and ESO.

and some of us play those as well lol

@Crab Fear.1624 said:

@Mea.5491 said:GW2 is one of the most active and healthy MMOs besides WoW, FFXIV and ESO.

Gimme some of your free time, please... :D

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:There are, indeed, Core Mastery Tracks, but the Masteries mechanic (unlocking the use of Masteries) requires the purchase of an expansion; either Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.

Ah, didn't know, I stand corrected, thanks :)

@Noctaer.4732 said:(I played to the point, where I had all fractal gear and 2 legendary weapons.. which was absolute max at that time, so I got bored.)

Just to add something.Legendary is still max, and will always be max.You can now get legendary armor, but the stats are the same as ascended armor. Although you can change stats, so that's useful.

Just wanted to get that out there, so you don't get immediately bored from the lack of needing to grind gear.

Oh, and you can mystic forge ascended gear to change the stats to another build.

Megaserver means there are always plenty of people to play with in PvE.

WvW on the other hand is hit and miss, mostly miss.