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Returning after several years


kmark.8519

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Hi hi!

Did not play this game for several years, last time I played was right before the 2nd expansion came out, stopped there. My main used to be a warrior, did not play any other class. I have decided to give the a game go again, this time I'm gonna play a guardian from lvl 1. I don't intend to use insta 80 boost, but some levelling scrolls here and there yes, althou I barely remember the game.

I have two questions:

  • I have a brand new superhigh end 16" Macbook and the 64bit client runs really shit on it... I remember the game used to run flawlessly on my 2014 crappy macbook... whats up with this, any way to fix it?
  • I really hated the HoT expansion, I was so glad when I finished it on warrior... just thinking about running it again on a new character makes me not want to play... is there any way to skip HoT on a new character if you already done it on a previous one?

cheers!

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I'm afraid I can't help with your computer issues, but I can answer the second question.

All of the expansions and living world episodes (and the base game) play as stand-alone content, you don't have to complete them in order and don't need to have completed any previous parts to access newer ones. If you really wanted to you could boost a character to 80 and then play every release in reverse order. I wouldn't recommend it of course, but it would work.

They do all share a continous narrative, but that's handled by the story assuming you've played everything in order. Characters will reference past events and your part in them even if you haven't actually played it.

Within an expansion (or the personal story in the base game) you do have to play the story in order however. So while you can start PoF without playing HoT you can't skip straight to Act 3 of the PoF story, you have to play Act 1 and 2 first. But that only applies to the story, if you know how to get there you can head to any map you like to do open-world content in any order, and of course raids and things can be done whenever you like.

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@kmark.8519 said:Thank you for your reply!

My question was more like about if am I going to miss any skills/gear/etc.. if I skip HoT and just play the original + PoF?

Naturally, HoT has content/rewards specific to it. But can you play the game without any of that? Yes. Although, it's worth noting that the mounts you earn in PoF can make HoT much easier to navigate and, with the right build, the combat shouldn't be much of a struggle either. You might consider giving it another go at some point.

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@"kmark.8519" said:

  • I have a brand new superhigh end 16" Macbook and the 64bit client runs really kitten on it... I remember the game used to run flawlessly on my 2014 crappy macbook... whats up with this, any way to fix it?

I can't say anything specific, as I have never played games on a Mac; but these two things seem to be a universal rule:

  1. The game has evolved, the requirements have grown. Not sure a Mac can be recommended for playing a game that is native on Windows.
  2. Notebooks, regardless of their "high end" status, cannot compete with desktop PCs. Overheating, for instance, is a serious issue when running 3D applications on them; and the more technically evolved a game becomes, the more pressure it puts on the hardware, hence proper cooling is indispensable.
  • I really hated the HoT expansion, I was so glad when I finished it on warrior... just thinking about running it again on a new character makes me not want to play... is there any way to skip HoT on a new character if you already done it on a previous one?

I used to be in the same boat when HoT came out. I took a break from it for 6+ months, then gave it another try. Until I hadn't leveled many of its Masteries, it felt quite painful to play through it.

However, the difficulty level was lowered some time ago, so it should be easier to endure. Once you have your Masteries leveled and got a feel for each of the HoT maps, it will be much more enjoyable. :) Besides, you will want to get the Dragonhunter elite specialization - it's a must have in my book. :+1:

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@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@"kmark.8519" said:Thank you for your reply!

My question was more like about if am I going to miss any skills/gear/etc.. if I skip HoT and just play the original + PoF?

Naturally, HoT has content/rewards specific to it. But can you play the game without any of that? Yes. Although, it's worth noting that the mounts you earn in PoF can make HoT much easier to navigate and, with the right build, the combat shouldn't be much of a struggle either. You might consider giving it another go at some point.

This pretty much sums it up.

Masteries are account-wide so any you've already unlocked on your warrior will already be available, but you won't be able to train them up further without playing in HoT maps. But then aside from gliding they're very rarely used outside of HoT maps, so if you're not playing there you won't need to train the masteries up.

You'll also miss out on the hero points (used to train elite specs) but you don't strictly need them. Since levelling to 80 gives you enough points to fully unlock all the core game skills and traits the points from hero challenges are only for elite specs, each of which costs 250 points. You can get 503 from the core game maps, WvW and PoF combined so you can train both elites without entering PoF. You can also play WvW and use the Heroics Notary to complete HoT hero challenges without actually going there.

There are many different items, achievements, skins etc. which are only available from HoT but you don't need any of them to play other parts of the game. I think some stat combinations on equipment are harder to come by outside of HoT maps, but you might not need those.

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Your masteries are account bound. So whatever masteries you've earned in HoT on your warrior, your guardian will have those same masteries.

I have a Path of Fire mastery that lets me jump higher with my Springer rabbit. Even though I leveled up that mastery on one character, all of my characters can jump higher with Springer rabbit.

You finished HoT which means you've either spent mastery points on your HoT skills, or you just need to get XP to train those masteries by participating in group events. LFG > Heart of Thorns > Join group and right click person and press join in. - so you can be on the same map as the squad.

Any HoT masteries your warrior already has, your guardian will have too. It's just you won't be able to see those masteries until your guardian is level 80.

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@"kmark.8519" said:Thank you for the replies, you are all wonderful to help! Appreciate it!

Did you finish all HoT Mastery or just some? Mastery that are useful outside of HoT: Gliding and all Mastery up to Ancient Magic (this to be able to get Counter Magic for Special Action key - which is now used a lot in all other content), Mushroom

Total list over all Mastery Tracks:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mastery#Mastery_track

Itzel Lore unlocks https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bouncing_Mushrooms which is useful also in Dragonfall (PoF map and some other have those) and Icebrood Sage (Drizzlewood coast, Bjoramarches and some other map) as you can get stuck on ground when your mount will not summon. Bouncing Mushroom can be used to higher up in air and then use Gliding/or Mount or to follow a chain of Bouncing Mushroom to top of something like mountains.

Nuhoch Stealth Detection is a useful Mastery as there Treasure Mushrooms that you otherwise wouldn't be able to see (while other hunts it down in maps like Bloodstone Fen) and there are enemies that use stealth outside of HoT like Icebroods maps (not sure if they wouldn't be visible as I already have that unlocked).

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stealth_(detectable) - for NPCs that use this

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Counter_Magic

To sum it up:You don't need or use all HoT mastery outside of HoT, but there are still some that are useful as your progress into other content and might even be expected. Check out on wiki what each do and if that is useful for your plans.

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