Returning after 5+ years

[Vhallaian.4037]

Ok, here is my question: My wife and I are returning after more than 5 years, and so much has changed. We both had level 80's(Elementalist and Necro), but are kinda lost on what to do to enjoy the newer content. Masteries, specializations, and such. Where do we start and where do we go? Is there a fresh 80 guide somewhere, since that would probably more like our current situation?

[mercury ranique.2170]

the game doesnt really change at level 80, it just gives more stuff to do.I would recommend levelling a new character first. Once you are up to speed on the basic techniques, it isn't hard to learn your main class again. Once you've done that, you can go back to your main character.Further, it depends on what you purchased or plan on purchasing.If you left for 5 years, you likely didn't unlock any living world stories and you will not have any x-pac.I would recommend getting it all and first get your mounts in Path of fire (xpac 2) and gliding in Heart of throns (xpac 1). the purchase also gives you an instant level 80 boost, wich you can try without consuming in a level 80 map (silverwastes). Use it to decide on the elite specialisation you like. You migth even want to switch class. (I know I did!). By this time you should be up to speed to do as you want in any order you want.

[Randulf.7614]

Although if you want to do story stuff, prob unwise to do out of order if you prefer a non spoiler narrative

To do story after Personal Story is finished, you need to purchase

• Season 2
• Heart of Thorns
• Season 3
• Path of Fire
• Season 4

Personally I'd do things in the order given, but that's more of a me thing

[Tinker.6924]

I was in a similar boat a few months ago. I played in 2013 and had a level 80 Elementalist from then. I chose to start a new character but that because I realized I didn't like the Elementalist.

After getting to 80 on a new character (Ranger) I did very quickly buy both xpacs and all 3 LW's and decided that I was going to do PoF first because mounts. Then I finished my original Personal Story (where I go fight Zhaitan in Orr), did LW4, farmed the skyscale mount, and finally went back to HoT, LW3 and lastly LW2. Although at some point during PoF I went back to HoT and did enough to get basic gliding because that was useful in getting

I've spent a lot of time checking the wiki sitehttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Pageand dulfy's sitehttp://dulfy.net/category/gw2/and youtube on how to do some thingsNote: dulfy's search is as useless as his/her info is amazing. Use Google like this: gw2 "achievement I'm searching for" dulfy

I would say that PoF is more solo friendly than HoT. Hero challenges are easier and PoF has repeatable hearts that make it easier to get mastery xp. You almost get enough mastery points just from the PoF+LW4 basic story and insight locations to satisfy the mastery tracks. And you get enough hero points from PoF to max out 1 elite spec and make very significant progress on the other.

FYI: after finishing both xpacs and completing the world 100%, and completely filling in all traits, I have 390 spare hero points. Don't worry about getting enough of those.

HoT has a better story and the meta events just seem to have more staying power. Although the story throughout the game is simple enough that jumping around never hurt my understanding of what was going on.

[Ojimaru.8970]

Reddit user u/Lishtenbird created a comprehensive summary of the content and features that have been released over the years.

As far as where to start, if you were playing through a particular part of the story, simply pick up from there. If you haven't unlocked some of the more recent Living World episodes, the complete packs are scheduled to be discounted significantly this week for even bigger savings (i.e. their base price already discounts episodes by 20%, and this week's discount reduces the price-per-episode further).

[Bellefon.1259]

@"Vhallaian.4037" said:Is there a fresh 80 guide somewhere, since that would probably more like our current situation?

I’ll try. Yes, so much has changed. I have to leave so much out, but I’m going to try to hone in on the aspects possibly most helpful to fresh 80s.

Purchase considerations:As far as purchases, buying Path of Fire now includes Heart of Thorns free (as of 5 days ago).

As mentioned, the Living Stories are currently on sale in the gem store at a discount (one week only? not sure). You have free unlocks to episodes of living stories if you logged in while they were current, even if you aren’t eligible to play them yet. The gem store automatically pro-rates the gem price based on what you already have unlocked.

So, you own the basic game, making you eligible for season 2 after unlock/purchase. Buying PoF makes you eligible for seasons 3 and 4 after unlock/purchase.

You don’t have to buy everything at once, but all the pricing is at its best right now due to GW2’s 7th anniversary. And if you find you value features more than sequential story telling, owning it all will allow you to change course fluidly.

Very high-level story overview (but not actual storytelling content):

• Season 2:8 episodes, 2 maps, leads into events of HoT

• Heart of Thorns:16 chapters in 4 acts, 4 major maps, gliding, elite specializations, masteries, meta-events

• Season 3:6 episodes, 6 maps, access to recipes & equipment, leads into events of PoF

• Path of Fire:15 chapters in 3 acts, 5 major maps, 5 mounts, more elite specializations, masteries, meta-events

• Season 4:6 episodes, 6 maps, 2 mounts, access to recipes & equipment

Recommendations for starting over at 80:I suggest playing the story, in order, to give your re-introduction 5+ years later some direction. The living stories and expansion stories are pretty good at leading you in logical progression through the maps.

Starting with season 2 will allow you to re-familiarize yourselves with your core level 80s, as well as all the ways the game has changed. There have been many tweaks and re-works to traits and skills since you’ve played.

Next logical step is into the Heart of Maguuma maps (HoT expansion) to begin earning hero points and leveling masteries (xp + mastery points), and onward from there. You will really want to be proficient on your characters by the time you play the expansions, since many mobs are tuned to be countered with the elites you have yet to earn. And just to tease (no spoilers), the final HoT map has arguably the best meta event in the game.

Having said that, I wouldn’t be a slave to the story. Keep hopping out. If something interests you on the map, go for it. The non-instanced parts of the story will let you see what others are saying in chat. You might hear announcements for: events, metas, bosses, bounties, or commanders leading hp/mastery/wp runs. If it’s in chat, it’s likely not solo-able (or duo-able?), and you might as well be open to randomness if helping others helps you guys out, too. You can always return to the story.

Also, some mastery points are on the maps (like vistas), but others are achievements or story rewards. The Hero Panel is your friend, since mastery icons indicate which activities in the Achievements panel or Story Journal award them.

Finding other players:Maps aren’t dead, but they will almost be, or seem so, at certain times. Just be aware of various factors that increase or decrease population if you need help:

• prime time for your region/time zone
• dailies (Caledon Forest is a starting zone, yet it was busy recently for an events daily)
• boss and meta-events (get help well before or just after an event, just not during)
• Anet’s special events make some maps very active (boss rush, meta rush)
• festivals (Dragon Bash made Shiverpeaks more lively recently, Four Winds occurs in two instances, so might have sucked some people out of world maps, can’t confirm)
• LFG tool lets you right-click players to join their instance if you end up in a different instance from your party/squad

In addition to the wiki in general, the Event timers page is extremely useful. Any event that is on a predictable schedule is listed, as opposed to Orr-style stand-around-waiting-and-maybe-events. This improves your chances of finding other players, even if you’re not there for the event itself.

Welcome back.