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the grind for mounts needs to be toned down


KAipurge.2147

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@"Ototo.3214" said:Wait what grind? I don't recall any of the mounts in PoF being that difficult to earn exp for, and PoF mastery points were stupid easy to accumulate compared to HoT at its launch. Dear Dwayna, just because they can't have it "rite nao" people flip out. The only mounts I'd even consider "kinda hard to get" are the 2 flying mounts, and technically neither of which are actually required for anything.

@KAipurge.2147On top of that while people are working to unlock mount they actually can borrow mounts that are on maps. Don't you have Skyscale yet, but are on Dragonfall map, then it is possible use Springer to get up where those Skyscale have nests and borrow one (look for mount symbol on map). The only negative is that you can not jump off Skyscale (if mount would be in danger with very low HP and if you happens to have unlocked Mastery Crystal Champion- which is Mastery for all mounts that add special features like Bond of Faith - shared Mastery like these can not be used on borrowed mounts). All in all Skyscale is the one that takes time and can be frustrating, but it also one mount that can best use those Motes in air to gain altitude in air to get higher or travel long path between two vista in Icebrood maps, so Skyscale have it uses. With added feature from shared mount mastery to go invisible it can also avoid a bit of getting targeted in air (important in Icebrood maps), the same goes for all other mount where getting in combat can be tricky to summon a mount when you are on ground.

Doing map completion is much faster after you have unlocked all mounts. Switch between Beetle for places where there are flat land or smaller water patches to cross and use Griffon to jump or fly where there is not enough elevation to get higher. Use Skyscale or Springer (use Bond of Faith to jump - glide and then change into Griffon or use Griffon direct after jump) to get up in air and change to Griffon. In short combination of different mounts offer much more mobility and each abilities (mount skills) do also add features that can be combined with other skills from your character. Skyscales fire AoE can be used to give Might with a blaster or a fire aura.

All PoF maps also have their main event chain like in Sandswept Island (LW4) where there is people doing bounties or farming nodes. Skyscale have plenty of Motes to farm in sky. Dragonfall which is the starting point for Skyscale have the big fight with Kralkatorrik and the event chain up to that event. Getting XP isn't any problem as long you rotate maps that have Mastery Insights in the same colour as the Mastery you try to get XP for. There are also some small treats that can bought that give each mount an increase in XP from mount vendor (you need to activate mount when you consume this).

As mounts are account bound you only have to do this once. As for future expansion with water theme, ANet seem to have found out that Skimmer (an existing mount) is better to use then to create a new mount as that would also increase the number of key binds you would have to have ready access if you are to switch mount while in air, water or land. Too many mounts would create problems with how key binding works as it is not unlimited space for controlling any mount on key boards or through a game pad.

We don't know if you even have basic gliding unlocked, Bouncing Mushroom etc from HoT as those Mastery do also get a new layer with mounts. With Bouncing Mushrooms you can jump up and enable gliding (to stay in air) and then flying mounts or directly summon a mount if you are fast enough. Same in DWC maps where you use special portals where you get dropped down in a parachute. Here it is worth remember that if you have Gliding with dodge skill that makes you invisible, then it can be smart to wait to summon mount (this is to avoid getting target in air) and when on mount that you can use evade (later you can use invisible on mount when you have unlocked that), so you have actually two invisible/stealth: one from Gliding and one from being on a mount (and Bond of Faith make it possible to change between being on mount and gliding or summon another mount).

(A) Mount do have a very special place in this game and changes fundamentally how things work vs only land based (w/o mount mobility from teleport skills or from boons like swiftness and superspeed (in most cases SS is often shorter then swiftness in duration). Map completion is now much faster then when I did it first time (before mounts did exist) without mounts. All your character share Mastery, so you are not bound or forced to do this more then once for each account.

(B) The way to get a mount might feel long, but the four basic mounts are rather fast: Jackal give short ranged teleports that can be used in air, above water (short distance) or land - Springer to get you up and combo with Bond of Faith and you reach most places where you would need a Skyscale, and its AoE knock down is always good way to start any attack - Raptor can cross gaps, haven't used it much while grinding mounts, but is very good to keep up with groups that still haven't Griffon or Beetle - and Skimmer is more then a water creature, it can cross sand sinks, poison water, acid etc. It is rather fast land based way to travel, if you don't want to use swiftness all the time. The only annoying feature is its movement that can make it hard to control in a straight line while driving forward. With Colobri skin it looks a bit realistic, but still annoying when one try to do adventures or need to hit exact to rez some one.

© XP is no problem to gain as long you keep to those maps that have the right colour for mastery. PoF maps are still very active (when there isn't too much lag and trouble from servers) and they have good rewards that get your Karma and Gold among other.

(D) After having posted this I read @"Klypto.1703" post and want to add that you can use Lounge for sPvP (panel) and get back where you where or WvW panel where you use Leave wvw (small arrow in right lower corner), combine this with Portal Scrolls you buy from vendors (you can use it directly from Inventory in WvW and I would expect the same in sPvP lounge) and you will have the same effect as leaving a character on maps. Main difference with "go back" is that you will be at the place you left, while Portal Scroll will teleport you to WP for that map. If you bought "Lily of the Elone pass" (can be bought in game as an upgrade for Gems with Deluxe package, if you haven't bought the Deluxe version) then you have also the opportunity to get to centre of PoF maps (portal scrolls are most focused on South parts of PoF maps). Get a Tome to collect all PoF scrolls to save some inventory space.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Invitation_to_%22Lily_of_the_Elon%22 (Places you in the centre of PoF maps with access to all service incl bank and vendors - upgrades in gems store are sometimes on sale, so it can be smart to keep an eye for this close to Christmas where next major sale should happen)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Portal_Scroll

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@Noa.7490 said:Some people here seem to forget that not everyone can sink hours upon hours each day. For those people, grinding to get 250 resources can get really tedious, not to mention boring.Boring is a matter of perspective. Time? Yeah, I don't spend hours each day in game. I have too many RL commitments. I was, though, able to chip away at this little by little. I think that the objective is to set mini-goals. Sure, it took me several months but I did unlock my skyscale.

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except for the skyscale they did it right to a point, they needs to ether change or remove the facet from the griffon but other then that it's fine.the skyscale simply needs to change completely, for what we need to do just to get trough the first part i expect it to actually fly without restrictions.

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The XP grind on the underwater skimmer (latest example) was a mere 500,000 ish.If that's a grind, you're doing it wrong. Took me less than an hour gameplay.

What is really out of wack is WHERE you get the most XP from.You're doing events to get XP with boosters and whatnot? I'll pass you quickly.Adventures!Supply runs for example. Get gold (takes what, 2 to 5 minutes depending) gives you close to 100k xp.Do 5, maybe 6, be done in under an hour.

It simply shows that events are not rewarded properly.

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@"KAipurge.2147" said:I guarantee the next expansion will have a new mount that makes all those other listed ones that you spent all your time grinding for obsolete.

Just noticed this part. I'm not entirely certain that the next expansion will have new mounts since we already have most of the different "types" of mounts such as flying, land and underwater now. If there is a new collection I'm not thinking that it will necessarily be a boring grind full of fetch quests. The collections like the griffon and skyscale might have been made by different teams. I think the underwater skimmer collection got the balance more right between story, fetch quests and event participation. For that reason, I won't say that future collections will necessarily be a fetch quest grind since if this team is different they seem to have found the balance better.

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I find both grinding for skimmer's ability and gold for griffon disrespectful for the time I put into this game. but like you guys mention, doable. skyscale on the other hand not just grindy but also tied to a very nice story. only problem is time gated materials and insane amount of map currency grinding. some stuff like jumping puzzles is also exaggerated and unnecessary. It's so gosh darn repetitive I failed following the story.

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@artharon.9276 said:I find both grinding for skimmer's ability and gold for griffon disrespectful for the time I put into this game. but like you guys mention, doable. skyscale on the other hand not just grindy but also tied to a very nice story. only problem is time gated materials and insane amount of map currency grinding. some stuff like jumping puzzles is also exaggerated and unnecessary. It's so gosh darn repetitive I failed following the story.

You could buy skips for the JPs, which I did. Making the special food to end the task instantly. And we have ways of buying the older currencies now. In particular with eternal ice. Its far easier than you folks are making it out to be. And you can buy x5 of each in dragonfall. And if you have all the nodes, its also a lot free currency daily for looting your own home. So no, absolutely nearly no grind is needed if you have patience.. And eternal ice is super easy to get in huge amounts. And you dont need the skyscale, like the griffon, its a luxury/dedication mount. Not something you need right here.

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@"KAipurge.2147" said:The world trek-ing the figure out where the clues lead was enough but tacking the extra XP requirement after all of that is just too much.

My first impulse was also, "Oh no, that sounds like a lot of grinding." But it quickly changed to, "Hey, it's actually fun to visit those old places, do some content I hadn't touched in years and just enjoy the scenery."

The XP were quickly acquired, too. I redid Hero Challenges and small events at the Crystal Desert, then hopped to Thunderhead Keep and collected Volatile Magic across the map. Took me merely an evening to finish the new Skimmer mastery.

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As an avid BDO player, I very loudly stress that there is absolutely nothing in GW2 that amounts to that game's level of grindiness. The BDO devs literally release new "grind spots" as "content", and BDO players are happy to have it. Even for something as basic as improving your gear to maybe the equivalent of Rares in this game, BDO forces you to grind for resources and then has the balls to make the upgrade RNG and even bunp your gear down a level. For trinkets in BDO, failed upgrades actually destroy the item... necessitating another grind just to buy the item again (trinkets are among the most massively expensive items in that game)... all for just another chance to roll the dice again and have it blow up in your face.

If you personally know any BDO player who considers GW2 grindy, then either (1) they don't know how to play BDO, (2) they don't know how to play GW2, or most likely (3) both.

2 million xp for the skimmer mastery bar to fill was a big step up from what I felt accustomed to, but it could be filled in a couple hours of relatively laid-back play. I think it was fine.

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@LucianDK.8615 said:

@artharon.9276 said:I find both grinding for skimmer's ability and gold for griffon disrespectful for the time I put into this game. but like you guys mention, doable. skyscale on the other hand not just grindy but also tied to a very nice story. only problem is time gated materials and insane amount of map currency grinding. some stuff like jumping puzzles is also exaggerated and unnecessary. It's so gosh darn repetitive I failed following the story.

You could buy skips for the JPs, which I did. Making the special food to end the task instantly. And we have ways of buying the older currencies now. In particular with eternal ice. Its far easier than you folks are making it out to be. And you can buy x5 of each in dragonfall. And if you have all the nodes, its also a lot free currency daily for looting your own home. So no, absolutely nearly no grind is needed if you have patience.. And eternal ice is super easy to get in huge amounts. And you dont need the skyscale, like the griffon, its a luxury/dedication mount. Not something you need right here.

thanks for the tips, I actually learned the eternal ice and dragonfall vendor tricks halfway through my grind and it was ok. good scientific approach to ease the pain yet I still believe repetitive elements shouldn't be overshadowing the digital bond we make with our growing skyscale. they made something similar when aurene was a baby and you were her caretaker. I see this situation a missed opportunity but I appreciate anet's effort to make skyscales not just mounts but partially our digital children like tamogatchis.

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i personally think the work you need to do for the mounts is reasonable.sure, there is little grindiness, but it never really goes overboard (except maybe for the money you need for griffon), and is really well within what falls under "just putting effort into getting it". it definitely makes you work for them, but isnt that the point of earning nicer things in game?

none of the mounts you have to work for are required to play the game. they all are basically nice extra reward for those who do put extra time and effort into the game. they are nice to have, and definitely makes moving around less tedious, but you do not need them. i really cannot think of many ways to reduce the grinding without either basically handing them out for everyone who bothers to click few buttons, or just switching one type of grinding into another type of grinding.

only part of the collections i find unnecessary is the amount of money you need to pour into griffon. the only reason why i got past that part within reasonable time, is that i happened to get lucky with black lion chest. basically i got some valuable dye i didnt really want, so just i sold it to cover the griffon costs.

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I don't agree that the griffon or the skyscale is grindy. I am a casual player (1-2 hours a day) and have both the griffon and the skyscale. Playing the game gets you what you need. Granted, starting from scratch would take you longer, but it's not bad. The most annoying parts are the time gate and the 250 map currency requirements. The time gates are basically just annoying and serve no purpose. The currency is to get people playing those maps...good design? No. Hard to do? Also no.

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Only complaint I have is that the skyscale makes the springer completely obsolete. I really like the mount, but let's be honest here. The skyscale is infinitely better at climbing heights than the springer could ever be. cannonball attack is still good for breakbar damage though.

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@jiggle puff.9347 said:Only complaint I have is that the skyscale makes the springer completely obsolete. I really like the mount, but let's be honest here. The skyscale is infinitely better at climbing heights than the springer could ever be. cannonball attack is still good for breakbar damage though.

I hear you, the Springer is completely overshadowed now. Only use ive had for it is in those few hearts needing a stomp. Like the garden in sandswept isles.And I rarely use raptor or jackal, just too satisfying to use the beetle. And far faster.

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@KAipurge.2147 said:I have been an avid Guild wars player since guild wars 1. Over time the mount unlocking in this game has become worse and worse to the point where even just unlocking the new mastery for one of the oldest mounts in the game has become a grind with the XP requirement. The world trek-ing the figure out where the clues lead was enough but tacking the extra XP requirement after all of that is just too much. I could understand if all the mounts were always of use but so many replace others making them useless that making such a grind for a mount that would be useless after another one releases that does its job better makes no sense to me. There are MMO players from Super grindy MMO's like WoW and BDO even saying that they would rather do crazy grindy things in those games than deal with the way guild wars 2 handles mount grinding.

And I know what people will say to this already. They will make the same tired excuses for why Anet decided to handle mount unlocks such as Griffon, Rollerbeetle, SKyscale, and even the new MASTERY(which isn't even a new mount)for the skimmer. I guarantee the next expansion will have a new mount that makes all those other listed ones that you spent all your time grinding for obsolete.

and then there are those that have them saying that you don't need them whilst they fly away leaving you behind in map runs because the Original 4 mounts cant keep up with the newer ones thus the game tries to force you into participating in the long boring several day time gated rng based grind for the newer mounts.

I respectfully disagree.

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Just going to pitch in here. As some said, revisiting some of the pof maps is actually pretty fun. I did some hearts which I never bothered with, not only did I get xp but some new mini's as well and getting some pof masteries and achievements. The key for the skimmer new ability is whacking out some buffs, like guild hall exp buff, food, utilities, banners. Heck, even use that 20% exp enrichment, to really maximize it. Then pick whichever map you want to spend time one, to really speed up on getting exp, dragon fall map is a very good one, constant events going.

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@"KAipurge.2147" said:I have been an avid Guild wars player since guild wars 1. Over time the mount unlocking in this game has become worse and worse to the point where even just unlocking the new mastery for one of the oldest mounts in the game has become a grind with the XP requirement. The world trek-ing the figure out where the clues lead was enough but tacking the extra XP requirement after all of that is just too much. I could understand if all the mounts were always of use but so many replace others making them useless that making such a grind for a mount that would be useless after another one releases that does its job better makes no sense to me. There are MMO players from Super grindy MMO's like WoW and BDO even saying that they would rather do crazy grindy things in those games than deal with the way guild wars 2 handles mount grinding.

And I know what people will say to this already. They will make the same tired excuses for why Anet decided to handle mount unlocks such as Griffon, Rollerbeetle, SKyscale, and even the new MASTERY(which isn't even a new mount)for the skimmer. I guarantee the next expansion will have a new mount that makes all those other listed ones that you spent all your time grinding for obsolete.

and then there are those that have them saying that you don't need them whilst they fly away leaving you behind in map runs because the Original 4 mounts cant keep up with the newer ones thus the game tries to force you into participating in the long boring several day time gated rng based grind for the newer mounts.

first off: do daily adventures in their respective region if you are in trouble of exp. i "grinded" the 2 million exp needed for the new skimmer mastery in less then 30 mins by doing the first 7 or 8 adventures in path of fire. bonus points if you got some free exp booster flying arround...100k+ exp per gold reward in adventures.

second: you don't know what grind is. here, i tell you about the BDO mount grind.

first off, you need search for t5 horses in the openworld which will take a while. you need 2 females and 1 male, as females can breed only once and males can breed twice.before breeding, you need to get it to level 30, else the chances to get higher tier horse are like in the 1% region...and arround 27% on level 30. straight leveling to 30 can take 47 hours plus of AFK riding in a town for a single horse.now you can breed your horse, if you are lucky, you get 2 t6...if not, do the whole thing again. don't forget you need males and females. now do the whole thing again like a pyramid all the way up to t8. you are looking at arround 750 hours of gameplay already for a single t8 if you aren't lucky and win one in a event or straight up pay to win hundreds of euros so you get one from a box.

...now that you have a t8, that doesn't mean it has all the skills. it took me arround 8 horses to get one with sprint, drift, instant accel and s instant accel without any pay to win involved (basically the fastest way to travel for horses, everything else is borderline trash) and that being said, i was extremly lucky with it. learning s instant accel is in the 0,1% chance somewhere as on level up its not guaranteed at all that your horse even learns a skill. i got a horse with 8 skills or so out of 20.

now if you want to have a dream horse, you need certain skills, so if you don't pay to win this, you are looking at even more hours spend and getting a courser without paytowin is nearly impossible. upgrading that courser then to t9 literally takes millions of silver. i think a single try with a 1% chance at the start is somewhere in the 500.000.000 silver. depending on your gear you are either farming 30.000.000 to 80.000.000 silver per hour.

usually people try for a awakend courser for 20 tp 40 trys till it pops.

sure, you can buy one at the marked for 12.000.000.000. have fun straigh up farming at the grindspot of your choice for 150-250 hours straight. thats without being contestet and killed by other players which also want to farm there.btw, the quality in horses are insane. you ride with a bad t5 from on side of the map to the other in like 1 hour or so. with a t8 with the mentioned skills it takes like 15 to 20 mins. with a really fast awakend you are even faster.

so don't even remotly take the word grind again in your mouth in the gw2 context. you get 2 millions exp in less then 30 mins. deal with it.

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