POLL : Do you prefer PoF Expansion (casual/explorer) or HoT expansion (group/meta)

Please state your preference with regards of Guild Wars 2 Expansion

Thanks all for participating in this poll , maybe the poll data can give a glimpse on how both expansion are perceived by forum citizens

since majority of casual players never bother to enter forum , the polling data might be skewed a bit with bias toward the vocal players / hardcore players who frequent the forums

The same way I prefer the Nightfall and Eye of the North balance over the dragging boredom of Prophecies and the pressing hectic pace of Factions, I will prefer a middle ground of good metas and good exploration in possible future expansions.

I liked how PoF had more casual map exploration content (HPs and MPs) than HoT, which oftentimes required long waiting times (sometimes 30+ minutes) for other players to show up. However, I also would have preferred at least one map-wide meta in PoF, and often go back to HoT maps just for the meta content.

HoT all the way! One of the reasons why I play MMOs is the 2nd M: multiplayer.Core GW2 offers both solo content and decent group content (SW, Cursed Shore, world bosses, etc).PoF feels like a single-player snoozefest, no rewarding and fun open world content, Bounties are underwhelming.

I like how the events in HoT chained together to a finale. The PoF events seem separate and trivial in story value by comparison. At least with chain events you can get other players to show up. When I try PoF events as a solo person I get overrun by vets in the event mobs and overrun by vets that get pulled in from the long distance agro, making it unfun to do events solo. I also find it not much fun to explore PoF as stopping to look around or harvest pulls mobs from a distance.

I never needed a "group" in HoT areas, it is more about people having a common goal and working together. I have no problem with that. It should scale better when there are less people in the map though, meaning when there are just few people it should be scaling down enough for even small numbers to reach goals.

Even more important for me are the maps though. The HoT maps seemed huge and so well designed, while the PoF maps for the most part went back to the level or core tyria maps. Few vertical layers, and a lot of flat land. I like the HoT approach much better.

HoT was better in terms of exploration, at least for me. The routes were winding, confusing, and frankly punishing if you took a wrong turn. On the other hand, PoF maps just feel like... large, empty spaces. I would jump into places like the "Tar Pit" in deso casually, and never feel a sense of danger or think, "how can I make it out of here alive?".

That isn't to say PoF didn't have its moments (I LOVED the dwarf temple in the Desert Highlands), but I do feel it cut out many things that made HoT exploration so thrilling.

HoT content with the story of PoF would be nice. A mix of both, really.

I prefer PoF style maps. It would have been nice if there were more group activities in them.

My favorite is Core, but I also love the variety brought by HoT. PoF has been disappointing. While this isn’t exclusive to PoF, I don’t like being forced to fight half a dozen enemies every time I dismount.

I don't think the majority of forum users are 'hardcore' players. At least, not if reading the responses of the last six years are any indication.Had the OP offered the poll right after PoF release, the outcome might have been different, but with time, many players have found little replay in the base PoF maps, unlike the HoT maps.

I voted core because I do not agree with the wording of the two other options: For me, it is the opposite! I find HoT a lot better for casual exploring while I have completely given up at exploring in PoF areas, bored at all the fighting it needs there. I do not find PoF good for casual at all. Personal opinion of course. :3

I prefer PoF where exploration is more sandboxy. When everything revolves around a single meta the routine of things becomes too obvious for me and where theres no other meaningful story driven events.

Dwarf place was pretty cool. Even though I hated tangled depths because it's a nightmare to get around HoT gets my vote.

I just hate deserts too much to really enjoy Elona.

@"Westenev.5289" said:HoT was better in terms of exploration, at least for me. The routes were winding, confusing, and frankly punishing if you took a wrong turn. On the other hand, PoF maps just feel like... large, empty spaces. I would jump into places like the "Tar Pit" in deso casually, and never feel a sense of danger or think, "how can I make it out of here alive?".

That isn't to say PoF didn't have its moments (I LOVED the dwarf temple in the Desert Highlands), but I do feel it cut out many things that made HoT exploration so thrilling.

This. In Hot maps, exploration was an adventure. The challenges came from both the map and the mobs. I still remember the first time I was in Verdant Brink, trying to fight new mobs while not falling off the cliffs, looking at the map and wondering how do I get to certain places, spending hours and still haven't explored the upper level. Jumping off the cliffs to reach a hero point was such a "Leap of faith" moment! :D That was very exciting and memorable for me.In Pof maps, it's more like a lovely tour than exploration. You can run past everything and you will because you want to avoid getting kick off from you mount. I completed Crystal Oasis for the first time and I was like "em, that's it?" Personally, I found the appeal of Pof was the lore. Visiting famous landmarks and finding out what happened over the past 250 years were enjoyable in it's own way. Like I said, a lovely tour.

I'm not sure about your poll choices here. Heart of Thorns is about exploration, Path of Fire is about roaming around, there is very little to explore. Heart of Thorns rewards explorers as they find creative ways to get to spots that might be hard without specific masteries. It rewards actual exploration. Meanwhile, only the Desolation has enough passages, multiple ways to reach a destination and a design that favors exploration and experimentation. Oh and the "snowy" part of Desert Highlands, especially the dwarven ruin, that was fun to EXPLORE. The rest of Path of Fire is barren desert, where is the exploration in that?

Heart of Thorns is an explorer's "dream", it challenges you to find new places and new ways to reach certain places. Path of Fire for the most part does not reward exploration at all. Combined with the limited number of events at weird places and the lack of incentive to even do that, there is very little exploration involved in the second expansion.

HoT. I don’t understand the “need a group to do things in HoT”. I never actually group in HoT but just hang around random events and quite often there are other players or even a small squad that I can run with. I still do the metas in HoT daily and pick some pieces for map completion for several alts.

PoF maps I unlocked mounts and masteries but none of my characters have even removed fog from all areas. While PoF is not bad it is unfortunately a bit uninteresting and definitely missing any sense of danger.

PoF all the way , why ? mounts

HoT & group/map metas (like Silverwastes) are my favourite, I quite enjoy it where everyone's actions progress the map to an overall goal, or where a few groups / squads are needed to succeed. And while it's technically a group event, you can still join or roam solo, sometimes I join a squad, occasionally I lead one, but sometimes I just fight alongside solo/not in a squad.

That said, I still also enjoy just casual exploring, sightseeing & adventuring in the core maps, be it just roaming and seeing who I meet, or rediscovering areas I'd forgotten about by getting maps done again on an alt. Recently I've been spending more time on my mesmer doing this, it's amazing how many bits of maps I'd forgot even existed! (also I'm now really enjoying mesmer/chrono!)

My issue with the PoF maps is that they don't fit into either of these for me. There's not really any meaningful group events, the couple of metas are small and not map wide, and not exactly outstanding in anyway. Serpents Ire to me isn't very fun, is a performance killer, and actually kinda dull imo. So that leaves casual exploration, but to me they don't work here either due to the enemy density and aggro ranges/aggro areas, you keep moving or you're in combat, there's no real option of slow pace relax and explore or take in the scenery like you can in core maps. Though not that it overly matters as I don't find the PoF maps particularly interesting, mostly just open space with the occasional area of interest.

Both are at the extremes. HoT is all about mapwide metas on looong timers, while PoF doesn't really have any staying power. I'd rather prefer something in between - a mix of PoF, core and HoT style maps. Perhaps the third time they will get it right.

While both expansions have their merits, I prefer PoF, as I'm a filthy casual who loves to explore.

you're a missing a "both".

Depends on mood or playtime.

None of the above, I like both. But tbf, I still do HoT metas every now and then and I think last time I was in a PoF map was weeks ago when farmin the last APs in the Desolation.

PoF style map by far, but with some HoT style metas thrown in maybe. Something to keep people returning. My only objection to the PoF environment is the number and density of mobs. That discourages map exploration which I would otherwise enjoy and do a lot more of (esp Desert Highlands).