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Need tips and advice for HearT of Thorns Expansion


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I did Path of Fire first for the mount. Now I want to start doing the main Hot quest next. I want to know which 3 class struggle the worst there?. I have a lvl 8(80) Guardian, a level 80 Mesmer(no elite yet), then a level 57 Ranger. I thought I felt slightly stronger with Core Meditation Guard. That's because I'm new with Firebrand, and need to learn the common rotation. Ranger was a breeze in open world compare to my Mesmer that I suck with.

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I've only played Ranger, Necro and Elementalist. My ele would either insta kill something or die and I've heard that mesmer is about the same survivability. My ranger felt more balanced and could take some hits, but on the whole I really wasn't impressed by its survivability. The necro is an unstoppable beast that can solo stuff she has no right to solo.

Based on what I've heard the guardian with it's innate tankiness, heavy armor and plethora of defensive abilities would be the most survivable no matter what. And even if it takes you longer to kill something, you will spend less time down or running back from a waypoint and that makes it feel like you kill things faster.

Does "lvl 8(80)" mean your guardian is level 8 with 80 skill points? Or currently level 8 but trying out a level 80 boost? That makes your mesmer your only option unless you plan on benching it and leveling up another.

And honestly there's no point in waiting to level another character. Even if you start with your mesmer and find that it really isn't clicking for you in HoT or PoF, you will almost certainly get a few usable Masteries that are now available to all your characters, like gliding . You can glide while in combat, very useful to get away from stuff in open world. Definitely get gliding ASAP.

HoT open world is slightly harder than core Tyria open world content, even level 80 stuff, and PoF open world by comparison is much harder than HoT. But the hero challenges in HoT are way tougher than PoF. On the bright side, pug's "HP trains" roll though HoT at least 1 or 2 times per day and make getting hero points very doable if you catch one. PoF boss fights at the end of each chapter could be really challenging and I don't think HoT had anything that difficult.

For me, HoT was excruciatingly difficult because of the terrain. The maps are many levels deep and just getting where I wanted to go was frustrating. This is definitely a "me problem" and other people I've talked to loved it. I did enough of HoT to get skill points and gliding and then I ignored it until I got my skyscale.

You can always do this: run through PoF zones (ignore the story) and hit all the hero point challenges. This will max out one elite spec and give you a good start on the other. Then tackle the HoT content.

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How far did you get into PoF?I ask because PoF has some hard hitting mobs later in the story similar to those in HoT and they hit like a freight train (debatable but I found HoT mobs slightly more challenging)

I suggest to just play through with the class you like, give it a go and see how it turns out because there really is no answer. HoT demands a lot more skill from players compared to the core game so it will require you to play your class effectively and move around alot more to avoid being rekt

I first played through the whole expansion in a warrior (after leaving the game for 6 years) and it was very forgiving but I still downed a died alot. I imagine if I had played it in a light armor class I would have doubled or tripled those death counts..

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the really strong class in HOT is Reaper. i start with Mesmer on core game. now i used Reaper (PTV) minion build mostly.

if out of your 3 class i suggest you use chronomancer. it really make your mesmer stronger if your was dps built.

however Guardian is more safe for beginner. but it need to keep swapping class between dragonhunter and firebrand, which it can cover all situation support and lone wolf.

Ranger i am not a big fans for it.

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@DoRi Silvia.4159 said:How far did you get into PoF?I ask because PoF has some hard hitting mobs later in the story similar to those in HoT and they hit like a freight train (debatable but I found HoT mobs slightly more challenging)

I suggest to just play through with the class you like, give it a go and see how it turns out because there really is no answer. HoT demands a lot more skill from players compared to the core game so it will require you to play your class effectively and move around alot more to avoid being rekt

I first played through the whole expansion in a warrior (after leaving the game for 6 years) and it was very forgiving but I still downed a died alot. I imagine if I had played it in a light armor class I would have doubled or tripled those death counts..

no reply options, that's odd. I got to the first Volcano/desolation and got 3 mounts. I will probably create a necro and boost it to level 80, but I don't know where to go from there.

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You don't go from 80 back down to 8 by buying the expansion but I've got an idea on what happened from what I read about the level 80 boost on the wikihttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Level-80_BoostIt sounds like you boosted a level 8 guardian. Boosting doesn't immediately consume the boost token but allows you to do a trial in The Silverwastes. And instead of using the boost again on the character to confirm a permanent boost to 80, you did something to cancel or maybe the trial period ran out or maybe the account change automatically cancels boost trial periods. Anyways the guardian wasn't officially level 80.

If you enjoy playing a mesmer, don't switch to another character. It should be good enough for HoT content and finishing the HoT story unlocks a not-too-difficult collection achievement that rewards an ascended weapon Caladbolg, which can be a greatsword, regular sword, shield, sceptor, or daggerhttp://dulfy.net/2017/02/22/gw2-feb-22-current-events-guide/https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Knight_of_the_Thorn

Ideas for Mesmer builds in case things aren't clicking.https://metabattle.com/wiki/Mesmer look at the open world, but also look at all other builds to get ideas.https://snowcrows.com/raids/ raid oriented, assumes you are in a group of 10 people and have all the pieces for support in place, still good info all around.https://discretize.eu/ - fractal guides (again assumes you are in a group)

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From what I understood, you like the guardian, but you find easier the ranger, while you (don't like and you) find difficult the mesmer.The ranger would be easier indeed, but if you don't want to wait until it's lv80, I'd suggest the mesmer. The guardian is not bad, but if you go often solo, it might be a problem to survive against some tough mob, or some hero point (although there should be still groups for those). Against normal mobs, on the other hand, it would be stronger.

The mesmer has more survivability, even if you said that you suck and it doesn't have an elite spec yet. You can use the staff to solo HPs and tough champions (like Mayatl the Fierce, in Verdant Brink, which I think it's impossible to solo with a guardian and very challenging with a ranger, while it just takes time with a staff mesmer).But imo the most important thing is to have fun, especially if you're exploring the maps for the first time, so if you like more the guardian, go for it. (just don't go yolo on champions...)

Now I expect videos of someone who soloed Mayatl with a guardian. Gratz to anyone who made it :)

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@Potato PC William.2583 said:I meant my guardian went back to level 8 after level 80 max (after I bought the expansion).

The number shown instead of level for your level 80 characters is your Mastery Rank - that goes up as you spend Mastery Points, but it really doesn't mean anything at all - no gains from it (beyond the masteries themselves).

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Open World is easier with Range weapons, the more Range the easier (you pull less, can snipe the sniper, ...).

Lvling your ranger to 80, give it 1500 range and make it soul beast in PoF (avoid pulling mobs with your Pet, but you can reach this with aggressive/passive switch as well), will most likely be the easiest way to do HoT Maps & Story.

My Ranger is my only char that has all map-completions and all story (all expansions and all living stories). Other classes have only (different) parts of maps and story, Warrior has most maps and story followed by Rev.

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Since you have PoF, you should unlock their elite specs because they are all great classes.

Never use PVT/Soldier because they're useless and gives the wrong impression that you can tank from that alone. In reality you still die just as often because you don't eliminate threats in a timely manner. Hence you don't learn the right approach.

What really matters is studying the enemies' attack pattern and behavior, and find ways to counteract that. For instance, raptors always attack in packs. Thus you want AOE and cleave. Some mobs can disable you frequently; thus you bring lots of dodges, evades, stability, stunbreak, etc. Against ranged attacks, bring skills that reflects or block projectiles.

I find Mirage one of the best survivors. Honestly I never felt more daring, invincible, confident with another class. I would jump headfirst into any encounter--packs, bosses, whatever. And know that they can't touch me.

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I tend to use Marauder gear if I feel too squishy. It gives you a bigger health pool without sacrificing too much damage. Either/ or use the Signet of Vampirism. Especially with guardian, since it has such a low health pool naturally. This gives a little help for any "oopses". Still, for any class, you need to learn to dodge well, because AOE damage is nuts once you leave core Tyria. If you see orange areas or red circles on the ground, GET OUT. Toughness on your armor will do you no good there. If you need more dodge, Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew is a good food to keep on hand.

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I would go Mesmer or Ranger, both are good for HoT. The mesmer build I used was Open world domination build, you can find it on the mesmer forum.And Ranger is just your standard boonbeast GS/Longbow, or sword/warhorn sometimes you just want to play ranged and sometimes closecombat is better.

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