Is POF like heart of thorns? not sure GW2 is for me...

Hey all

Been playing 5 weeks now, and slogging my way through the heart of thorns main story (i think i have one chapter left)- although i have had to resort to youtube once or twice.After finishing the latest chapter, i was hit with another timegate (gain a mastery to continue) and suddenly realised- i am not actually having fun, and had no real desire to grind out another mastery in HOT (and for some reason you have to be in HOT to get exp for it). Add to that - i put my points in the wrong spec, and have no way to respec...

I am trying to think why i dont like it - i find the navigation a pain in the ^^^^ to be honest (especially tangled depths)...and while i can survive most encounters it feels like i cant even hit up the map without yet another pack of pocket raptors appearing from nowhere...

When i come to do the events, probably 2/3 of the time i end up soloing them (which i can do but takes forever) and i get the impression they were designed for when more people played the maps...

Overall, while i dont mind tough fights etc, much of the core hot content has just been downright frustrating (such as 'prized possessions')

Now obviously people love HOT, but perhaps GW2 is just not for me?Ive come from wow... were i would do casual dungeons, maybe some LFR and lots of battlegrounds, or when i wanted to relax i would do quests....

Here- pvp seems unwelcoming of newbies, dungeons arent really used anymore? and HOT - well ive described hot

TL/DR - Is POF more of the same? if so thats cool! and i wish everyone well, but i think ill go back to wow (or spent more time in the gym etc)

Thanks

PoF is a lot easier to traverse. You don't have the multi-layer aspect that HoT maps have. Enemies are far easier to spot. The downside is that the enemies also spot you over a bigger distance, which can be really annoying.

All in all PoF is more solo-friendly than HoT. There are no champion hero points and no long event chains. Many see the lack of map-wide meta events as PoF's biggest weakness. The maps lack replayability and feel empty and deserted (pun intended).

@BunjiKugashira.9754 said:PoF is a lot easier to traverse. You don't have the multi-layer aspect that HoT maps have. Enemies are far easier to spot. The downside is that the enemies also spot you over a bigger distance, which can be really annoying.

All in all PoF is more solo-friendly than HoT. There are no champion hero points and no long event chains. Many see the lack of map-wide meta events as PoF's biggest weakness. The maps lack replayability and feel empty and deserted (pun intended).

Thanks, i dont mind chain events at all if im not trying to solo them!- i wonder if maybe i am doing something wrong since so often i end up the only person doing part of an event in HOT, especially the 'protect xxx' parts (not all the time)

I could skip LW3 and HOT and go to POF i suppose, of course that makes the story out of order.

Thanks again, i appreciate the response.

HoT is what community wanted, harder content, with map big meta events.PoF is what community wanted no map wide metas and nicer maps with viraety :)

On a serious note HoT after core maps is tough, LW2 is kinda warning for it. If you need HoT mastery exp join meta events that are being done regularly, several time per day. There is a timer for metas on wiki, cehck LFG join zerg on map. Hardly anyone does those events on HoT anymore, juts sometimes you can see people farming currency or whatnot. Things are bit better on LW3 maps, thanks to Aurora and useful map currency.

I agree that doing the HOT story is moderately unpleasant at times, and hellish for the last part if you solo. POF is MUCH better all around. Also, LWS3 is in every way an improvement over the HOT story. ANet learned from mistakes, and made improvements going forward.

The best way to get HOT mastery XP is to get LWS3 ep2, getting access to Ember Bay. While any kind of xp grinding is a pain, Ember Bay is the friendliest and most fun map of the whole HOT/LWS3 cycle. Plenty of events that can be soloed, repeatable hearts that aren't terribly boring, good loot and the map is still fairly active a few years after release.

Unfortunately, this doesn't help much with HOT mastery points. For that, I recommend finding mastery/hp trains in LFG. For the remaining missing points, LWS3 has a few extra points in each chapter, plus there are plenty of non-story achievements to do in HOT.

Finally, I understand wanting to do the whole story in order. But if you aren't having much fun in HOT, skip it. Come back to finish it in bits between other, more fun content. Or don't, if you really don't want to. GW2 will not punish you for skipping part of the story. Play to have fun. Skip what you don't enjoy.

Use LFG to find meta groups and hero point runs. And use any XP boosters you have while doing them. Masteries are supposed to take awhile; I still have one track I need to finish off. Also, the SAB festival just started, so alot of players are in Rata Sum right now.

And HoT is much, much harder than core. You probably need to look at your build and change it up. I became a much better player by learning how to survive HoT.

As to PvP, as a mediocre to average player, I haven't found unranked matches to be unfriendly; I just find myself ignored most of the time. I read up on strategies and builds, and I've improved over time. I don't play ranked, so I can't speak to that.

My best advice would be to look for a guild. That gives a group to do events with and ask for help when you need it. Sorry for the ramble, but I remember my frustration when first entering the jungle.

I'd spend some time outside of HoT for a bit before you make any rash decisions. I personally don't go to the HoT maps very often. When I do it can be a lot of fun, but I can imagine it being a grind if you limit yourself to that content. Mix it up more, and you may find it's got more to offer than you realise.

@Biff.5312 said:I'd spend some time outside of HoT for a bit before you make any rash decisions. I personally don't go to the HoT maps very often. When I do it can be a lot of fun, but I can imagine it being a grind if you limit yourself to that content. Mix it up more, and you may find it's got more to offer than you realise.

I actually did the last story section without dying...but you have a point. I dont know why i am so ...story driven but i am :)

The most important, HOT (and most other things in the game honestly) becomes much better with at least 1 other person/friend/guildie in party to play with. I find that most of HoT is much better/more fun/better scaled for 2-3 players, sometimes 5 for events. Take breaks, play something else, some other story or some other game, return when you feel like it. Find a guild or befriend someone to play with you etc. (Personally when I get tired of looking at players looking like walking xmas trees with disco lights, i go play Shadows of Mordor to get some proper real fashion wars!)

People are different and prefer/likes different things, personally I noticed a couple of months back that I hadn't progressed the HOT story at all -_- I've played in VB for years (favorite map in the game) and never actually done the story past getting into the map. Yeah, I'm not a story person!

That said most of the people that say they love HoT really loves the big map/meta events, and will basically jump in on a timer, do that and drop out again. Or sometimes farm specific spots etc, so the rest of the maps can often feel a bit deserted. Ask in mapchat/guild/friends if someone else wants to just explore with you or do story.

And yeah, the back story for HoT as someone mentioned above, after Open World Tyria was just so easy, people asked for something harder/more challenging, and we got HoT, which made a bunch of other people quit because it went too much the other direction. So people tend to love or hate HoT, seldom a middle ground. Same for the very different map design, personally I think Verdant Brink is the best map in the game, where you really can find a bunch of new ways to get anywhere with the different masteries. (Understand the frustration about Tangled Depths though).

Regardging the Masteries, there isn't all that many you actually need. Most of the important ones are usually early on in each line, and only the glider is really useful to get far on (and I don't think you even need the last one). So it's hard to really get it wrong, and there are a good amount of Mastery Points to get, more than is needed, so the odds are really low that you've actually crippled yourself.

PoF= middle ground between Tyria and HoT basically.

PvP= Pretty much all over the place. Bunch of casual, bunch of hardcore, then there is WvW with the same variety. They're generally pretty accessible, so just try them. For WvW I really recommend finding a guild to run with, and chances are good you can recruit someone from that to team up with you in PvP as well.

TLDR: If you're not having fun, try something else (other parts of game, or other game. Then come back when you feel like it!).

Best way to get mastery experience (imo) is to do the events in Auric Basin. Usually you can find a commander leading a group to get ready for the meta. Then do the meta and it will award a big percentage of your experience (and a ton of loot if successful). AB is my favorite HoT map. TD, I hate. Dragon's Stand can be fun if you run events with a large group or guild.

As many have already mentioned, the balance of masteries between HoT and PoF is really different.

In practice, the idea is the same, unlock masteries to advance the story.PoF does it in way more casual and direct way, since you only unlock masteries by unlocking the mounts you don't need to worry about "where to spent the points", you just upgrade what you have.

This is a bigger problem on HoT, since the game doesn't actually tell you that you need a skill until you actually need it. People end up using points on stuff they find "cool" and have a harder time advancing the story.

All that said, once you unlock the majority of the masteries, you will ended up agreeing with the veterans that HoT maps are way better.With mounts and masteries, traveling on HoT maps is really, really practical and instinctive.

Thanks guys for all the comments, without a single person saying 'git good nub'... there really is a better community here.

I decided to take peoples advice and take a break from tangled depths storyline, and it was good advice :)

Thanks again

HoT has a lot of frustrating parts: hard to figure out how to get to the level on which your objective stands, events that end with areas being overrun by overwhelming numbers of mobs, lots of gated things, getting focused down by multiple snipers that appear at multiple angles simultaneously, etc. PoF is a great improvement in most every way. Mounts -- introduced in PoF -- are also well thought out, and thus waypoints are more reasonably spaced out. However, LS3 zones are more repeatable and rewarding than LS4 zones, and on the whole, the larger and more wide-open PoF zones can feel emptier.

@Druitt.7629 said:HoT has a lot of frustrating parts: hard to figure out how to get to the level on which your objective stands, events that end with areas being overrun by overwhelming numbers of mobs, lots of gated things, getting focused down by multiple snipers that appear at multiple angles simultaneously, etc. PoF is a great improvement in most every way. Mounts -- introduced in PoF -- are also well thought out, and thus waypoints are more reasonably spaced out. However, LS3 zones are more repeatable and rewarding than LS4 zones, and on the whole, the larger and more wide-open PoF zones can feel emptier.

To be honest mate it is mostly tangled depths, every step of the story has been a tortuous affair since i hit there... i am well aware i am not the most skilled player out there, but im not surprised GW2 lost players if they were trying to follow this

Ahh well finished that part now...

@trev.1045 said:

@BunjiKugashira.9754 said:PoF is a lot easier to traverse. You don't have the multi-layer aspect that HoT maps have. Enemies are far easier to spot. The downside is that the enemies also spot you over a bigger distance, which can be really annoying.

All in all PoF is more solo-friendly than HoT. There are no champion hero points and no long event chains. Many see the lack of map-wide meta events as PoF's biggest weakness. The maps lack replayability and feel empty and deserted (pun intended).

POF i would say is better in terms of the overall design than HoT was, i really enjoyed Hots , but PoF is definitely the superior expansion. It was the first expansion to the game and set the systems up for going forward. If you're liking the overall gameplay of Guild Wars 2 than i would definitely reccomend PoF if you're not having any fun at all durring playing the game then maybe the game isn't for you. Tangled Depths sucks pretty bad to be honest, i get what they were going for with the zone and it's kind of cool the first time you go in there, but after that for usability sake it's a nightmare to navigate. There is no map in PoF that comes close to this kind of frustration in it's design not even close.

@Mass Pandemic.3517 said:

@trev.1045 said:

@BunjiKugashira.9754 said:PoF is a lot easier to traverse. You don't have the multi-layer aspect that HoT maps have. Enemies are far easier to spot. The downside is that the enemies also spot you over a bigger distance, which can be really annoying.

All in all PoF is more solo-friendly than HoT. There are no champion hero points and no long event chains. Many see the lack of map-wide meta events as PoF's biggest weakness. The maps lack replayability and feel empty and deserted (pun intended).

I actually enjoy verdant and auric, but i have been stuck doing quests in tangled depths for....well it feels forever :)

EDIT i have finished Heart personal story now, thanks to my awesome guild (nice is the new nasty) carrying me through killing Mordremoth

I am a bit puzzled as to why personal story is like this, since id have thought story would be for the scrubs to complete- with challenging content elsewhere...but hey ho.

The Mordremoth fight is brutal. I had to get my guild to carry me through it too.

trev, you might find an old post I wrote about completing Heart of Thorns maps useful. Basically, aside from completing the personal story and unlocking the waypoints that come with that - you use the group finder to do map completion here. Heart of Thorns has my favorite group content in the game and I like coming to all three maps all the time. Here's the cut-and-paste of the old post:

Here's my quick guide to succeeding at Heart of Thorns.

Step 1: Play through the personal story - it helps you unlock areas of the map and gets you to remote locations without the bother of having to fight your way there. You should be able to unlock most of the waypoints this way. Once you have key waypoints, getting to the daily map events is a LOT easier.

Step 2: Make sure you have basic gliding, then advanced gliding skills later - required for parts of the personal story. Unlocking the skills for bouncing mushrooms, Nuhoc wallows, and Izel poison are also needed for some map completion, and you'll want to get those too at some point.

Step 3: Finish the personal story. You may need help to down Mordremoth. I sure did on my Elementalist main. Being part of a guild who will come to your rescue when asked is helpful here.

Step 4: Whenever you have an hour to kill, log in to GW2 and check the group finder first thing. Go to "Open World" and then select Verdant Brink, Auric Basin, Tangled Depths, or Dragon's Stand. Search through the HoT maps until you find one that has a group up of at least a dozen people or so. Join that group, teleport to the map where the blue dots indicating your new squadmates are. Once in the map, right click on one of the squadmate icons in the upper left corner of your screen - take the "join in [map name] option. You'll be teleported to the instance of the map where your squad is. Link up with them and follow them. Be sure to follow the guy with the commander tag on the map closely.

You'll get tons of map completion done this way without having to worry about being swarmed by pocket-raptors or perma-stunned and melted by snipers and who knows what else.

"HP train" on the group description means they're running Hero Points. The HPs in HoT actually give good rewards, so groups run them in trains all the time. If you join one of these trains of people, you'll down the Hero Points much more easily - they're really tough to solo. All maps except Dragon's Stand will have active HP trains running if you log in at the right time to catch one.

Tangled Depths has a big meta event called the "Chak Gerent." It involves going to the central waypoint on the bottom level of Tangled Depths in the lower right corner of the map near Rata Novus. The event relies on three separate squads of players defending three separate lanes that a Chak boss is advancing down. If any one of the three bosses reaches the center, the event fails. But if you have a dozen or so players in each lane, you can usually prevent that from happening. The lanes have different names - "Ogre", "Scar", "Rata Novus" and "Nuhoc". Pick a group defending one of those lanes and do what they tell you to do. Stick around with everyone for the end where they blast open a big treasure chamber. The rewards are pretty good. Having a stack of Chak Acid handy will let you open all the tasty treasure chests.

Verdant Brink will have groups running the meta events on a daily basis. If you join one, you'll be running all over the map defending and reinforcing Pact camps. Crowbars are handy for opening the Airship Cargo Crates - the treasure chests on this map. Once all the locations have been reinforced enough, helicopters will arrive at various camps to transport you to different locations high above in the "canopy." Your group will usually pick one and go up there to group-fight a powerful boss creature. Rewards are pretty good and you can grind currency to unlock the Bladed Armor set.

Auric Basin's big met event involves everyone trying to destroy vinewalls in the central city of Tarir while fighting and dodging massive enemies. There are four different gates called "north" "south" "east" and "west". Just pick a group and do what they seem to be doing, you'll figure it out. Once successful, the basement of Tarir opens up and everyone jumps down a hole to an area filled with Exalted treasure chests. You'll want a lot of keys to open all these and it's a ton of loot.

Dragon's Stand map is divided into three lanes called "North", "Center" and "South." Simple. Join a squad on one of the lanes and follow them down the lane. You'll pick up viewpoints, and points of interest along the way. The central Pact camps you manage to establish are where most of the treasure chest pods are located. You'll need machetes to cut them open. You can grab some as you go, but if you miss them and have to follow the group, don't worry. Once the map event is cleared, you'll have a chance to visit all the central camps you want in peace and open chests. The Hero points on this map are actually mini bosses, and to do them, you'll want to join the "boss" sub-squad as soon as your squad leader announces it in chat. The bosses scale in difficulty for the number of players attempting them - so it's polite to join the boss squad so the leader knows how many are doing it. Follow the rush to the end where you'll get a really cool fight against a massive floating dragon gliding between floating platforms. Usually it's best to stick with a platform rather than chasing around to other platforms where the action will probably be done by the time you get there. Once this is done, grab the final boss chest, visit the vendor who appears, and go back to all those central camp waypoints to snag pod chests. When you come back to Dragon's Stand another day - join a different lane than before and pick up different HP and PoI for map completion. The Leystone Armor Set can be acquired by grinding this map.

You'll want full stacks of basic salvaging kits for blue and green loot and a single stack of good salvage kits for the gold loot. Bag clearing becomes a bit of a logistical thing on any of these map meta events.

I was annoyed at HoT at first. Getting through Verdant Brink was torture my first time. But follow these rules and it'll be a piece of cake. I actually like HoT maps a lot now - ever since I discovered that it's just easier to complete if you make regular use of the group finder.

I hear ya. I hatehatehate Tangled Depths with a passion. If you want to complete its map, join a train some weekend that's running all the POIs, HPs, etc. Otherwise it's such a giant pain. I do love HoT's gliding and the metas in Tarir and Dragon's Stand.

I love PoF and its maps way more that HoT, so I'd say try them and don't give up! Happy gaming.

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:I hear ya. I hatehatehate Tangled Depths with a passion. If you want to complete its map, join a train some weekend that's running all the POIs, HPs, etc. Otherwise it's such a giant pain. I do love HoT's gliding and the metas in Tarir and Dragon's Stand.

I love PoF and its maps way more that HoT, so I'd say try them and don't give up! Happy gaming.

To be honest, i have jumped straight into Living world season 3, and i am loving it- i dont know if the difficulty has been ratcheted down or if i am getting more competent but i haven't had any problems with finishing the first chapter solo- either way the first chapter was fab albeit a little short so all good :)

Id be more than happy to run some PvP with you, also WvW can be loads of fun.

HOT maps become amazing once you have the mounts.

I kind of regret this post!

I still hate tangled depths to be honest, but the living world season 3 maps and story are absolutely perfect- and just the right level of challenge for me and im enjoying them a lot.

@Etria.3642 said:HOT maps become amazing once you have the mounts.This.I did not enjoy HoT until after PoF came out. The maps were giant and deep and it was always was a pain to look at where you wanted to be and think to yourself if I could only jump a little higher or farther and dang it takes a while to get around. PoF mounts solved all these problems for me. Its worth noting that I've seen a lot of post of people who either love HoT and hate PoF or love PoF and hate HoT. Seeing how you are not enjoying HoT you most likely will love PoF. Give it a go it was a game changer for me.