robintan.4068

So a bit of an update. He wound up getting both HoT and PoF first because of exploration. He plans on speedrunning the story and masteries. I did warn him that the Legendary Bounties might be a bit of a challenge if he plans to solo them for the griffon mount, but he says he's confident he can get them after looking up a guide. Meanwhile there's me just cheering him on as he struggles against the Hero Points in Verdant Brink (summons random Mordrem).

I pretty much told them about trying to get the other expansions as well if they wanted to explore more and they don't really have any of the mounts, let alone gliding. My friend just really loves games that take place in the sky. 😄

I was contacted by an old guildmate and buddy of mine who stopped playing right before the expansions came due to studying abroad. He wanted to come back and thought Secrets of the Obscure looked like a good expansion but was unsure of doing so, thinking he may need to do more of the story just to catch up to everything and needs to upgrade his gear. I just wanted to ask, if someone were to return from the core game and wanted to jump straight ahead to the latest expansion, can they still enjoy the rest of the game without HoT, PoF, and EoD? I don't even remember if Revenant becomes available for them in SotO. He's not the type to do raids or strikes though and prefers exploration more than anything too.

I felt this to my core. At my current work, it gets really hectic real quick with so many tasks that need to be done everyday. Sometimes, your teammates aren't much help though because they are also struggling with said work load. At least there is always some breathing room to de-stress. Ah yes. If we don't load the game to actually play and do activities within it, we at least stay for the fun people we stumble upon. You never know which friendly face you see in that one random raid PUG / dungeon group will become one of your new best buds. I'm not sure about Fractals, however. That is an entirely different beast of a topic lol...

Burnout. Majority of players, myself included, will have experienced this nasty feeling of being worn out from playing an enjoyable game for many weeks, months, and maybe years only to become burnt out from doing task after task. Whether they feel that it has become monotonous or unrewarding, the game simply becomes more of a chore for them and less of a stress reliever. It becomes this dull, rusty blade that dangles close to your neck, slowly inching closer to you and wanting to sever itself from your tired self. We understand that you love Guild Wars 2 and would love nothing more than to continue playing with your buddies as you cave-in the skulls of your enemies in Tyria and slash the forces of the Elder Dragons to sunder but may need to step back for awhile to recover. It becomes an even bigger need to do so if you find absolutely no enjoyment in playing the game and just find yourself feeling upset and angry. You do still love the game and want to continue playing, but you just don't have it in you to trudge forward despite your best effort to do so. There is no shame in focusing on prioritizing your mental health, my friend. As a mental health practitioner, I am compelled to aid those who struggle with issues like these. Aside from the oh so obvious advice from the internet of simply "touching grass," here are some key notes to help you deal with burnout: Mix things up - Majority of the time, we will log into the game and do the same thing we have been doing in the game without fail. Some may have gotten the habit to just do their dailies, roam around the map for a few hours and possibly do some World Bosses or Legendary Bounties, or hang out with their guild mates and IRL friends. Try to break the monotony and attempt to add new activities into the mix. If you aren't the type to do instanced content, you are encouraged to at least try and get some raid or strike mission training from willing players looking to rally people to play with. Stay humble and realize you may need room for growth - You cannot expect to always be the best player in the game. If you are having trouble beating exceedingly good teams in competitive game modes like sPvP and WvW, accept that maybe it just isn't your day or that maybe you need to learn a different tactic. We have ways of going into battle that we are comfortable in doing, whether we are excellent in providing support and backup or being a massive tank. Switch your playstyle to become more well-rounded and maybe you will find it more enjoyable than your current role. Start from the very beginning - A bit of an extreme option, sometimes you just need to play the game from the start all over a gain to have an appreciation of the game. When you have all these awesome boosts to your account that gives you more magic find and experience, it makes looting and levelling a bit of a breeze. With the game being free to play, you can even set up a new account and attempt to go back to the start. Play other games - One of the best things about Guild Wars 2 is how it is one of the most casual-friendly MMORPGs out there. You can always return to the game after playing a bunch of other games in the meantime and it will still be here waiting for you to give it a shot once more. Take a step back - There may be no other choice than to take a break from the game after all and have a bit of a breather. It may take you days, weeks, months, or even years to fully recover from it, but it is a necessary step to do so. Let the heart grow fonder. Stress management - It becomes entirely pointless for you to come back to the game if you didn't learn a thing about managing your stress. Yes, you have a renewed love and are playing the game again, but if you had the same headspace of getting stressed over the game easily, not even the strongest of magic can help you. Knowing when you start getting heated during your gaming sessions and calming yourself down goes a long way. Learning to be more patient when dealing with difficult teammates while in instanced content and competitive game modes lessens future headaches after all. There are many other ways you can relieve yourself from burnout but do remember that everyone's methods may vary. What's most important is for you to find what works for you and to take your time. Guild Wars 2 will still be here waiting for your return. The ball is in your court now fellas. For those of you who have faced burnt out but came back, how did you deal with it and how long did it take? What are some of the tips you can give others in the same situation?

That depends entirely on what you plan on doing with said willbender and firebrand. Will you be doing more PvE stuff and just roam around? Are you specifically going to do instanced content like Raids and Strike Missions? Will you be trying to compete against others in PvP? Do you have buddies to go with in World versus World? We could give you a whole list of websites and content creators known for making cool builds, but it depends on what content you will be doing in-game. There's GuildJen and Hardstuck. Unless something happened recently where they aren't viable anymore, I've visited those four websites a lot when looking for fun builds.

To be honest, I've gotten a bit lazy in terms of doing the story in order, especially for the Living Stories and the Icebrood Saga stories. I only ever did them to unlock the maps, maybe play the intro and a bit of the story, then proceeded to just have fun roaming the maps. Of course it happened again when End of Dragons came, and to this day, I have yet to even get my beefy siege turtle mount because I kind of got lost in the dark and focused more on exploration. The latest example is with What Lies Beneath, Deep Research, and What Lies Within. It is not that I dislike the story or anything mind you. It is just that I want to see new places and beat new enemies for their shiny loot and maybe find some weird hidden achievement. It's also probably because I don't have enough time to play like I normally did before and have slowed down a bit. If you want to play the story from start to finish and actually enjoy it, take the time to go start from the beginning and do all of the stories in order. If you are a more casual player who doesn't really mind doing it in order, that is completely fine too. That's what's fun about this game.

It's never stupid to ask for help for anything, especially in finding friends to play the game with. I'm sure there are lots of guilds recruiting currently in-game as they prep for the next expansion dropping soon. I guess my only advice is to just basically put yourself out there and engage with players while being friendly of course. If you are like me, who's a massive introvert, it may take some getting used to, but from my experience with the game, the community is just as pleasant as it once was so try not to worry about it. Welcome back to the game by the way.

Nothing wrong with being immersed in the game. Some just like exploring and completing the map for the heck of it. What maps do you feel were the hardest to complete pre-expansions?

After reading both of Endaris' and Inculpatus cedo's replies about the display names, I guess for those who are willing to undergo that change (me included) need to be wary of those things then. Luckily when I changed my name it got through and had no issues in-game, although I guess in forums its still displaying the old one lol... I'll just call it a feature, not a bug. 😆

Speaking of art style, have you seen those parts in the GW2 livestreams where they do really cool artworks? I just love seeing how the artist makes the backgrounds. As someone who dabbles in graphic arts (but sucks at it), I love watching to see their process. The voice acting in the older parts of the game still hold up and sound alive, although the less said about outrunning centaurs the better. 😋 Oh lord Tangled Depths. I remember hating that map with a passion when it first came out because it was so easy to get lost if you were new. Nowadays though, I have a much better appreciation of the map and realized it is easy to navigate if you explore little by little and get the waypoint where all the paths converge with the wall that needs to be destroyed in the meta.

Wayfarer Foothills, a..k.a. Snowball fight everyone with kids taller than you... My asuran thief is traumatized from getting wrecked by them. 🤣 It is wonderful that you finally got a gaming rig that lets you enjoy the game even more. Now I'm wondering what was the first place you revisited with high graphics that blew your mind...

Awwww. Wishing for more memories in-game for you and your wife together. There are surely lots of activities that you two can enjoy in game. Might I suggest a romantic skiff ride? 😊

Oh lol. At least now I and those who may hop in here know of it. Thank you so much! 😄

OMG when was this a thing? Now I know I'm getting old and forgetting details lol. Thank you for this! 😄

I loved the Scrapper when it first came out and thought the idea of tiny gyros following you around like necromancer minions would be something it would do. While what we got was something different, I guess it was a bit too early for what would be the Mechanist. Wholeheartedly agree with the gyros being stationary though lol. We are on the same boat my friend. For the disappointments though, I guess it would be World versus World and how it sometimes feels like the abandoned step child. PvE and PvP get better things than WvW. I just want it to get some love from the devs and really focus on the problems many players have mentioned in the past. That, and where is my playable quaggan race, ArenaNet??? 🤣

On September 7, 2012, famous YouTube personality and game reviewer Joe Vargas, a.k.a. Angry Joe, released a video that would unknowingly become the deciding factor for me to dip my toes into the vast world of Guild Wars 2. It has been a very long time since I even played an MMORPG, and the last one I played looked nothing like it. I was so used to the cartoony and anime aesthetics of ye olde Ragnarok and RAN Online that going to this game was a massive deal for me. I had stopped playing MMOs to focus on my studies and once college was done, I could finally go back to playing that genre. At that time, my girlfriend was trying to get me to play the game with her, but I was very reluctant. I felt I was too far gone to understand MMOs, and to think that it was a sequel to another famous MMO? I didn't have the guts to take the leap and play. Not yet at least. Not until I saw his review of Guild Wars 2... The tl;dr version of the review was that he absolutely adored the game and his enthusiasm for it made me want to play the game daily. I could have gone off to World of Warcraft, but as someone who struggled to pay the bills (and still sort of does to this day because work is slow), I couldn't afford to tack onto my funds a subscription-based game. I also couldn't play like hardcore players who would be able to grab essential gear they needed for events, World versus World, dungeons, fractals, etc., because I was too busy (still am, but finding time for it nowadays). It also didn't help that my computer at that time had difficulty playing graphics-heavy games (two laptops, a desktop, and a work laptop later, it finally runs on Medium lol). All my questions were answered in his review and upon checking the system requirements, my old potato laptop could handle the game. A week after I saw the review, I met with my girlfriend to buy the physical copy of Guild Wars 2 at one of our local stores and she rushed home so she could show me the ropes. I remember making a Sylvari Warrior who became my main after many pain-staking and grueling adventures and powerleveling to 80 (he would then be deleted and become his second and final iteration, a Sylvari Revenant once Heart of Thorns arrived, and made his warrior part of his lore). She enthusiastically taught me everything she knew, from how to get around from town to town, to using the various repair anvils and NPCs to repair all your broken gear, which at that time cost money. She would take me with her Shortbow Thief to her favorite spot, the jumping puzzle Craze's Folly in Blazeridge Steppes with the ruins near the cave at the end. We often logged in and just listened to the music whenever we didn't feel like playing but wanted to hear the beautiful compositions. Nowadays, we tend to meetup at the baby quaggan jumping puzzle instead because, we just love quaggans. ❤️ After many months of playing and getting the hang of the game, the guild we were in dabbled in WvW and we soon got a taste of the competitive scene. We were true casuals who didn't really know what to do and just stuck near the commander and did whatever was being told on chat and hoped to our makers that they knew what to do. It was an exhilarating time back then before the mass exodus that took place in our server and before the time where WvW politics wasn't too prominent. No one really cared about Guild and WvW Politics too much and just played the game mode with friends and guildmates as they obliterated other blobs. Some of us tried PvP as well and had tons of fun, although we didn't really focus too much stock on it as we were mainly focused on PvE and exploration. All was good until we started feeling a bit hungry for more content but couldn't find more and the Living World wasn't really cutting it... Years later, it was announced that Guild Wars 2 would see its first expansion, Heart of Thorns, and it rejuvenated our love and interest for the game. While many others have moved on from the game and went to similar MMORPGs, a large portion would often come back. Elite specializations that granted the base professions with new access to weapons like the staff, longbow, and daggers, and a boat load of gameplay mechanics. New maps based on the new regions were added with a huge chunk of challenges that kept the game fresh, gave players more meta events to play around in, and a story that can be engaging for those interested in it. While players would return and interest would spark up, after awhile, it would settle down again until another expansion is introduced, and then another. It is not just the dragon cycle that was thought to be never ending... They would add raids, strike missions, even more fractals to the number of content and even mounts to the list, but somewhere along the way, I felt like I had to take a step back. Truth be told, I got burnt out from playing. I felt that I didn't feel any challenge anymore but was too much of a wuss to try raiding or go competitive and be serious in PvP. I know from a previous post I mentioned that I just recently came back from a long hiatus from the game. The funny thing about it is, when I recently got back and logged in, everything felt like it was that fateful day nearly 12 years ago where everything felt brand new again. I was older, wiser, still broke on gold and mats (lol) but I missed playing the game. My girlfriend hasn't been playing as much nowadays sadly due to work commitments and my old guild has long since disbanded. Apparently they weren't playing as much anymore and couldn't compete with others with fancier Guild Houses. Just as I thought that I would have no one to play with, a thought entered my mind upon the realization that there have been an influx of new players lately. As my beloved Sylvari Revenant and alt characters roam the starting areas of Queensdale, Metrica Province, Caledon Forest, Wayfarer Foothills, and Plains of Ashford, I take great enjoyment in helping new players experience the game with their fresh eyes and even mentor some of them the same exact way my gf taught me. The amount of times I see newbies shoot themselves in the foot by rushing content while being so unprepared for the next map is astounding sometimes. You also have to hammer in the thought into them that they need to take their time to get to know their chosen profession in and out, what their perks and traits do, how to use their skills and whatnot. They also need to learn about core mechanics like when to use their CC skills and how to dodge so when they want to learn how to raid, they don't learn those foundational skills while in the middle of the fight against Slothasor... If you stuck with me long enough in this huge ramble, thank you for listening to my TED talk. The short version is plain and simple: Veteran muses about how Guild Wars 2 is just as beautiful since the day he lost her, stopped playing, and wants to share all that he knows with new players. He may not be some content creator or a famous Twitch streamer, but as long as he has time and gets to log into the game, he will gladly mentor the younglings. The game is much too beautiful to put down and the community has always remained wholesome. I'm just one among many veteran players.... The question shall now be passed onto you guys... What are some of your fondest memories from pre-Living World and pre-expansion days? How did you guys start out? Did you also make the unfortunate mistake of thinking you could change your display name? I'd love to hear your stories of the past. 😄

Hmmmm.... Not sure if it helps, but the closest thing to it would probably be Plaguedoctor's gear. It may have vit, condi, and concentration, but replaces expertise with healing power which you may not want, but is the closest to it.

You don't really need to use up the Revive Orbs while in the overworld when simply returning to a waypoint is a lot better. Those things usually just get sent to a bank slot or my storage alt. Definitely Vengeful Return. Its definitely wiser to think about avoiding getting into those types of situations that get you downed easily. Berserkers may be powerful, but they are glass cannons.

OMG I was wondering why this wasn't a part of the list in the actual wiki and couldn't remember the name of this. Finished editing it and it should appear now. Thanks for reminding me! 😄

I usually just copy and paste from Google Docs since that's where I do most of my work and spreadsheets. I guess I could redo the entire thing. BRB while on break.

wait, is it? 😧 Okay, I'll have to change the entire thing. Thank you for letting me know. 😄

I've seen that other one. The only reason I didn't put it in the list over this one was because it had a time-limit whereas Jezza's could be used indefinitely. I could do some more testing with it now that I have more time on my hands. 😄

So true. It has saved me tons of times trying to get the achievement for Chalice of Tears and that Aetherblade one in Gendarran.

Guild Wars 2 has been with us for over a decade and t this very day, players log-in to meet with friends online to do various activities. Guild Wars 2 has been with us for over a decade and to this very day, players log-in to meet with friends online to do various activities. Some of them want to do endgame content like raids, strike missions, high level fractals. Others want to get into the more competitive game modes like structured PvP and World versus World. Let us say, however, that you, like me, are one of the casuals who don't really want to do any of those things and find more enjoyment by exploring the wide world of Tyria? What if you don't really want to do anything too serious and just want to shut your brain off for some mindless fun? Fret not my friends, for I have the solution foryou. Introducing, BUNDLES! Yes, those weird items you often get in-game that switches your weapon skills for one-offs that don't really do a lot of damage or do other kinds of weird effects. These nifty aubles can often be seen scattered throughout Tyria, but for the purpose of this post, we shall focus on the purchasable bundles from NPCs. This is intended to be a fun romp for newbies looking to get some weird items that are easy enough to get just be playing the game normally. But why though? Story time! Back in ye olde times when we didn't have raids, strike missions, or expansions to enrich our gaming experience, me and my old guildmates had to make our own kind of fun. We tried to find new ways to play the game like who could escort a level 2 character to the furthest point in Cursed Shore without them getting killed (while they absolutely tried to sabotage the runs without resorting to falling off cliffs intentionally), to good old-fashioned asura ball. One time, me and a guildmate were doing a bit of map completion for their first legendary weapon when we stopped by the small lake on the southwest area of Queensdale with the fishing hut vista and did the "Protect the old lady's beehives" random event. When it was finished, the NPC started selling Jar of Bees, a bundle that stacks to 250 in your inventory and can be used on your enemies or dropped on the floor. This item gave us a wild idea in our heads. "Can we slo champions using only bundles?" This was only one among many of the outlandish ideas we started thinking of, and we started to look towards the GW2 wiki and find all sorts of purchasable bundles. From then on, we had way more fun prior to the announcement of the first expansions, but before all of that could occur, Lion's Arch would be bathed in Harpy Pheromones. With story time out of the way, let us get to the meat of this post... Honorary Mention - Frost Gun The Frost gun is an interesting case. There used to be a time when this bundle was surprisingly strong until it was nerfed. It may not be as strong as it was years ago, but hey. It still lows some cool wind in your friend's face. 10. Portable Position Rewinder This is one very valuable item to have if you are keen on doing jumping puzzles or guiding others as a Mesmer. Upon using the bundle, you can mark your current position, and when used again, you will teleport back to the same location. It is a great tool to have in case you fall a long distance down and need to get back up but for some reason don't have access to mounts. How to get the item: You can purchase the item at Eastern Complex in Sandswept Isles from NPC Hafren for 75 Difluorite Crystals and 175,000 Karma. 9. Jezza's Flamethrower After you drop the axe to the nearby undead ship and clear the coast,you gain access to this nifty flamethrower. It may not be powerful, shoot similar flames like its engineer counterpart, and has a better alternative bundle that can be found elsewhere, unlike the other bundle, Jezza's does not have an internal cooldown and can be used indefinitely. It is also great for tagging enemies whenever you are farming. How to get the item: Finish the event at Fort Cadence in Sparkfly Fen involving sinking the Ash Horizon. You can purchase them from Cogl for 96 copper but only if they are at the beach. 8. Snowball During Wintersday and in certain Norn areas, there are places that you can use snowballs to knockdown enemies, NPCs, and other players for fun. With thisbundle, you can make everyday Wintersdade and engage in some impromptu snowball fights. How to get the item: Finish the event at Duskstruck Moors in Brisban Wildlands involving smiting creatures coming from an asura gate. You can purchase them from the nearby Gatekeeper for 40 copper. 8. Summoned Allies Do you want to have minions following you around but are not a Necromancer, Ranger, Mechanist, Thief, Elementalist, or Charr? Want others to do the dirty work for you? Do you have no friends? With this item, who needs them when you have your personal NPC army? There are six summonable allies in-game, so start collecting! How to get the item: Ember - Flame Elemental Powder - NPC Jhalles Coalgrip at Fuller Cistern in Fireheart Rise after finishing a random event nearby. Random Ogre Pet - Ogre Pet Whistle - NPC Gortho, Son of Malik at Gladefall Run in Iron Marches only after completing the escort and defense events. Jade Armor - Pocket Jade Armor - NPC Explorer Rakk at Caliph's Steps in Ember Bay Sunspear Paragon - Sunspear Paragon Support - NPC Quartermaster Zineb in The Astralarium at Domain of Istan Portable Cannon - Cannon In A Box - NPC Quartermaster Akina in Corsair Landing at Domain of Kourna Raven Spirit Shadow - same name - either NPC Anette Eymundrodottir in Jora's Keep at Bjora Marches or NPC Kjep Corrson in Hall of Monuments at Eye of the North -EDIT (thank you commenter for reminding me of this!) - Shadow Mender - same name - NPC Olmakhan Quartermaster in Pact Command at Dragonfall 6. Bandit's Improvised Bomb Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb. Drop these bad boys from your bag of tricks all around cities and give your villain's speech. This bundle dealsdamage to enemies and can be dropped for others to pick up. In fact, drop more of them into pretty patterns. Become the agent of chaos you were born to be. How to get the item: Finish the event at Bandithaunt Caverns in Queensdale involving defeating the veteran bandit lieutenant. You can purchase them from the Bandit Turncoat for 16 copper. 5. Harpy Feathers and Gunk Want to randomly disappear in a puff of smoke as if you were Batman without being a Thief or Mesmer? Looking to show your displeasure at the terrible dancing and lack of musical prowess of your friends and peers? These two items are tied simply because they can be bought at the same location. Harpy feathers and gunk are identical to their non-purchasable versions in the overworld: one grants you temporary invisibility and the other can be thrown at enemies, causing decent amount of condition damage and sludge to form on the ground. Gunk is used more for its comedic value though. How to get the items: Finish the event at Arca Lake in Harathi Hinterlands involving protecting skritt stealing harpy eggs. You can purchase both items from Forager Hitkiti for 40 copper. 4. Mortar Seed Turret It looks like Sylvary aren't the only ones who can create these environmentally friendly turrets now. This bundle allows players to plant said turrets on the ground to aid them in battle. How to get the item: You can either get this bundle from Captain Bren at Wychmire Swamp or Saraid at Sandycove Beach, both in Caledon Forest for only 16 copper. 3. Molachev Cocktail Some players just want to watch the world burn. With this bundle, you can take your first step in doing so. By equipping it, it functions similarly to items you pick up randomly in the world. Hurl it to the ground to cast an AoE of fire that damages any enemy that walks through it. You can drop the item and it will leave a smoking bottle on the floor. Use this information however you'd like. 😉 How to get the item: Finish the event at Molensk in Wayfarer Foothills involving killing dredge. You can purchase them from Leidulv Groat for only 16 copper. 2. Experimental Rifle If you are an Engineer, Mesmer, a Daredevil, or have item no. 10, you may not need this item. Do jumping puzzles make you cry? Tired of sucking at platforming? Do you have access to Stability? If so, this handy-dandy bundle is right for you. Equip the Experimental Rifle and launch yourself to other platforms with ease and make jumping puzzles like Not So Secret and Branded Mine a piece of cake. Warning: This bundle cannot be used in ceratin instances like dungeons, raids, strike missions, WvW, and PvP. Do not use it with stacks of Stability because it may misfire and explode, launching you off a platform. The author is not liable to any unnecessary emotional damage sustained from any premature explosions sustained from failing at jump puzzles. How to get the item: Finish the event at Karst Plain in Malchor's Leap involving undead chickens. You can purchase them from Agent Livilla for 1 silver and 28 copper. 1. Jar of Harpy Pheromones If it wasn't obvious from story time, this bundle is clearly the best bundle in my humble opinion. It has been a classic tool for mischief in major cities and some events. When you use the bundle, you are granted an item to throw at enemies or on the floor which gives everyone the splash zone heart effects above their heads. It is best used during Valentines Day and spreading love all around the server, killing them with kindness whether they like it or not. It is the bow to the gift that keeps on giving as you share the love with your in-game friends. How to get the item: Finish the event at Terra Combusta in Blazeridge Steppes involving harpy glands for Wark. You can purchase them for 88 copper. Closing Thoughts There are many more bundles out there that you can use to spice things up. While others see them as useless items that waste your inventory space, to those who are willing to step out of the box and get creative, they make your in-game more fun and immersive. Whether you cause a tempest of comedy with them or challenge yourself and using only said items to fave PvE foes, however you choose to use these items are up to your imagination.