[The One Open World Build to Rule Them All]

@Ashen.2907 said:I would say that its not> @Dante.1508 said:

I love how people call open world pve trivial.. yes Tyria was but season 2 onwards was far from trivial.. Go up against 5-10 mordrem or worse forged veterans and see how trivial it is being dead on the ground 24/7.. imo its harder than pvp or wvw because you are 99% on your own..

7 years i've been playing GW2 on and off and its still not easy..

Depends on build I guess, Pretty faceroll IMO.

That is the point of this thread. Even Open World here, unlike most other MMO's, is a real threat and that appears to be by design. Clearly, the way to play this game is not to take damage or rely on another mitigating strategy such as the Scourge barrier build outlined above.

In a game with quite varied build options, such as GW2, typically a handful of builds outperform even if the lesser builds are played well. Players then typically try to find them. The OP is designed to help discover such builds. Perhaps some find it fun, but I dislike getting beaten by trash mobs, especially in the Open World.

[The One Open World Build to Rule Them All]

Thanks for all the build suggestions so far. I am reviewing the suggestions and hopefully others get some ideas as well.

[The One Open World Build to Rule Them All]

@ArchonWing.9480 said:? Open World and such as trivial by default, especially after the introduction of mounts.

I disagree with your premise that OW in GW2 is trivial. The Devs obviously wanted a game that is not face-roll. And more than a few players prefer that as well.

If you compare this game to its 3 siblings - WOW, FFXIV and ESO - you find that the landscape here is much, much more challenging - at least generally speaking. To me the World events in gw2 are a blast so my goal is to find a very strong open world build. Thanks for your response.

[The One Open World Build to Rule Them All]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Aren't you the new player that wanted quick ways to L80 and Elite Specializations to play in Core Tyria?

I'd suggest the best Open World build would be the 'take-your-time-and-learn-the-game-don't-rush-everything' build. It's worked wonders for most of us. (I use a mostly whatever has dropped for me equipment-build Ranger with axe/torch, and I don't have issue with Stories or Open World; with very few exceptions [Heart and Minds]).

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

Yes, that was me.

You might note that with all but one exception (possibly Warrior) that all the answers to my query are elite specs. No surprise there as the elite specs are generally stronger than core. What is surprising is why anyone would question that a player might want to play the stronger specs ASAP instead of having to learn them at or much closer to end game.

That the elite specs are normally only available late is the result of a business decision by the Devs. My goal is to obtain those specs and then play the game through normally.

Thanks for the welcome.

[The One Open World Build to Rule Them All]

Which, in your view, is the best build to trivialize Open World and Story content?

GW2 is a fun game but I find the difficulty generally overturned in Open World. Hard, in my view, should be found in high level instances (e.g. Fractals and Raids). In the story my character is supposed to be a commander / hero type so getting downed by a handful of trash mobs (or downed at all) detracts from that. I realize many here disagree and some would even prefer the game tuned harder, kindly save such disagreements for your own or another thread.

As a result, I am looking for a build that can trivialize Open World and story content. The build does not necessarily need to excel in Fractals/Raids since in a game in which most items earned are account wide I am fine with a handful of specialists as opposed to only one generalist.

A number of sources have strong looking builds. For example, Metabattle currently lists 13 Open World builds as Meta. That is a big help in narrowing it down but I only need one and am unsure which is "best".

"Best" is a build that can handle anything Open World/Story/Events throws at me with relative ease. Simple is better than complex but only as a secondary consideration. I would prefer to play as the unstoppable hero.

One final consideration - Necro minion builds are of no interest to me. Pet builds in general are fine/fun but I have no interest in looking at the Necro's objectively ugly minions in my free time (apologies to those who like them).

So which build or builds have you played which trivialize the content discussed here? Including links, if at all possible, would be much appreciated

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Hero Points]

What is the best - most expedient way to obtain the needed hero points to unlock the elite specs?

Currently my first level 80 just finished the intro to the POF story and obtained the Raptor - have never been in HoT. Unsure if I should attempt the soloable POF hero challenges or WvW (never played it) or some other unknown to me approach.

Is there an updated guide for your suggested approach including which mounts, if any, are needed should tackle the soloable Pof challenges be the suggestion.

Thanks in advance.

[Crafting to level to 80]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:You might consider consulting the Wiki (link above), or other sources, for information about the game.

You can't just go get the Raptor, and immediately unlock a new Elite Specialization; Elite Specializations require Hero Points, either from Core Tyria (1 HP per Hero Challenge), or either of the expansions (10 HP per Hero Challenge).

You will also need Mastery Points to unlock the Mastery Tiers to take advantage of experience gained after the first track. Also, XP gained in Core Tyria won't be used in HoT Mastery Tracks (Gliding, etc.) or PoF Mastery Tracks (Mounts). You will have to acquire XP in those expansion (and related Living World Season/Saga) maps.

Good luck.

Thank you for that. I have been reviewing the Wiki for such info. My plan is to get the Hero pts for the elite specs (working out how) and then go back to the start of the Core maps.

[Crafting to level to 80]

@MikeG.6389 said:

@"DoRi Silvia.4159" said:And also on the main topic I have leveled several characters to 80 purely from crafting using that exact method

Off-topic, but why? What was the motivation to level the same crafting discipline on several characters, let alone ALL disciplines on a single character?I'd assume that in order to get to level 80, there are much easier/faster methods...

MikeG, please share the easier/faster methods to get to level 80. Seriously, I am all ears as I am just learning the game.

After review, crafting for about $5 gets the character to max in a reported roughly 2 hours. Bear in my mind, the $5 is based off gw2crafts.net. The 2 hours is from player reports.

Most how to level fast videos suggest about 25 hours or so. The difference between 2 hours and 25 hours is worth $5. I could find no better way. Plus the crafting is done as a bonus (legendaries, ascended gear).

Why the desire to reach level 80 quickly? A number of reasons. Mounts, gliding etc. The fact that for most classes I will play an elite spec which are not available until level 80. Plus XP gained while not working on Masteries (level 80 required) is lost from that perspective.

My plan is to level to 80, get the raptor and then go back to the starter zones - "level" following the hearts and do the personal story normally but with my preferred elite spec which gives me a chance to learn it in easier spots.

[Mad Lab experience]

@"Skotlex.7580" said:Most players don't really care about getting experience once they are at their max level. What drives players to the labyrinth is the loot.

I am pretty sure acquired experience counts as central Tyria, as players don't need any expansions to participate.

To unlock masteries, one must complete the first step of the story from the corresponding expansion. For hot that means the verdant brink mission which allows one to work towards the glider, for pof that means the Amoon starting mission, which unlocks the raptor.

When you say "first step of the story", does that refer to the Personal Story?

[Mad Lab experience]

@MikeG.6389 said:No, they are not there for the XP gain, although it can be substantial if that is what you need. And I think it should count toward Core Masteries.But no, the overwhelming majority of the players in Lab are there to farm the Trick-or-Treat Bags.

Edit: Besides, max level is relatively easy to achieve, anyway, and since Lab is a max level map, players will bring their level 80s to party.

That makes sense.

I brought a lowbie into the Lab as a number of videos suggest it is a quick way to level. Thus my thinking that max level players were also after XP.

[Mad Lab experience]

In the current Halloween event I have been running the Mad Lab and noticed most players are max level.

Am I correct that they are there to gain XP for Masteries? What area (Core, Hot or Pof) does the XP in Mad Lab count towards? Lastly, when the wiki says the first chapter of the story must be completed to work on Masteries does it refer to Personal story in the respective area or Living World Story?

[Crafting to level to 80]

Thank you for that. By "active" does that mean that I can only craft something within one of my active disciplines which I can later switch if I then need to craft something within a different crafting discipline?

[Crafting to level to 80]

Can crafting be used to level to 80?

A number of forum discussions suggest the answer is yes. Here is one such example with a specific guide suggesting a sequence of crafting disciplines -https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/56613/does-leveling-through-crafting-still-work

However, it is my understanding that a character may level only 2 crafting disciplines. Is that true?The wiki suggests additional crafting license which "Increase the number of active crafting disciplines all characters on your account can have at one time" for 800 gems.

First of all, I have seen no one mention the 2 discipline limit nor the 800 gems in calculating the costs / how much gold it takes to level crafting (usually using the gw2crafts.net site). And then there is this line in the wiki "This license allows players to have an extra active crafting profession on all characters on their account up to a maximum of four in total."

If one character is limited to 4 crafting disciplines (after spending 1,600 gems = $20) then how can one level that character to 80 via crafting? 4 disciplines would grant 40 levels at 10 levels per discipline.

Without a crafting discipline limitation and using gems to gold the cost would be roughly $5 to level a character to 80. So is the crafting discipline limitation real as I understand or are the other threads correct and my understanding incorrect?

I am new to actively playing the game so my understanding may be off base and thus would appreciate input.