Do I need to upgrade my Jackal for Skyscale?

[ArchonWing.9480]

I'm considering getting the Skyscale at the moment. I've been reading that you need the Jackal's desert portal for certain jumping puzzles  but apparently you can just buy extra pungent  to bypass that part? Is it needed for any other part?

I'm asking this because I will have no more extra mastery points if I upgrade the Jackal and would have nothing to upgrade the Skyscale with.

Currently, I have a level 3 raptor and skimmer. Bunny has all the upgrades. I don't have a Griffon.

 

[DKRathalos.9625]

Have you maybe considered getting some more extra mastery points? there are some ez ach for those masteries.

[Animando.7956]

I started the collections on Dragonfall yesterday and was happy to have maxed up all the other mounts. I'd say if you don't have access to jackal portals AND you don't have a griffon it will be more tedious getting all these scales/eggs all over the map.

Btw jackal give you access to some easy-to-get mastery points in the Crystal desert.

Edited September 21, 2021 by Animando.7956

[Jukhy.2431]

For some of the jumping puzzles you might need to go thru portals but you can skip those with extra pungent treats.

[ArchonWing.9480]

19 minutes ago, DKRathalos.9625 said:

Have you maybe considered getting some more extra mastery points? there are some ez ach for those masteries.

I am doing that and will get a few more from living story, but I'd rather do as few of them as possible.

19 minutes ago, Animando.7956 said:

I started the collections on Dragonfall yesterday and was happy to have maxed up all the other mounts. I'd say if you don't have access to jackal portals AND you don't have a griffon it will be more tedious getting all these scales/eggs all over the map.

Btw jackal give you access to some easy-to-get mastery points in the Crystal desert.

That is kind of a concern; suppose bunny isn't good enough on its own?

 

19 minutes ago, Jukhy.2431 said:

For some of the jumping puzzles you might need to go thru portals but you can skip those with extra pungent treats.

Yea that's what I was thinking.

Now just to find out how many of the initial collection items require a jackal portal.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You can use the Wiki (link above) to find out just what is involved, and best practice for each step of the Skyscale collection.

 

Not sure why you would not want to acquire Mastery Points, but...

 

Good luck.

[Jukhy.2431]

12 minutes ago, ArchonWing.9480 said:

Now just to find out how many of the initial collection items require a jackal portal.

Looking at this reddit guide there's maybe three but one you can skip with springer.

[ArchonWing.9480]

1 hour ago, Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

You can use the Wiki (link above) to find out just what is involved, and best practice for each step of the Skyscale collection.

 

Not sure why you would not want to acquire Mastery Points, but...

 

Good luck.

I don't really care for PoF or leveling abilities that only work on those maps; but the skyscale could probably help for the next expansion as well as just open world in general.

And yea, I tried the wiki which is why I'm asking here. The format was a bit confusing.

Edited September 21, 2021 by ArchonWing.9480

[Tails.9372]

It depends, you don't have the griffon so that throws some options out of the window but iirc. you can still use a friend teleport or mesmer portals to reach the places in question so there's that.

[Fuchslein.8639]

3 hours ago, ArchonWing.9480 said:

I don't really care for PoF or leveling abilities that only work on those maps; but the skyscale could probably help for the next expansion as well as just open world in general.

And yea, I tried the wiki which is why I'm asking here. The format was a bit confusing.

But especially the Jackal Portal is still SO important after POF, as long as you don't have a Skyscale. How could you play all the maps without the portal? oo
You must have spent so much time with the bunny at points where you could have just used the portal, I can't explain it any other way oo.

[Gibson.4036]

I've found desert mastery points to be the easiest to get in the game. I have all mounts and had them fully upgraded not long after getting them. As others have said, you will find jackal portal to be very useful in other parts of the game.

Pardoxically, it's core Tyria masteries that I've found to be the biggest PITA. A lot of them are tied to achievements, rather than locations or collections.

Also, unlike masteries in other parts of the game, the upgrades you get are actually useful across the mounts.

[ArchonWing.9480]

4 hours ago, Tails.9372 said:

It depends, you don't have the griffon so that throws some options out of the window but iirc. you can still use a friend teleport or mesmer portals to reach the places in question so there's that.

Oohh, friendly portals. I can definitely bug some friends but want to do things myself if possible. Yea I could do that if things got too bad. I was thinking if I get the skyscale, then I won't need the Griffon, but I suppose that's sort of a backwards way of doing things. Don't mind me though.

 

 

4 hours ago, Fuchslein.8639 said:

But especially the Jackal Portal is still SO important after POF, as long as you don't have a Skyscale. How could you play all the maps without the portal? oo
You must have spent so much time with the bunny at points where you could have just used the portal, I can't explain it any other way oo.

Haven't had any issues really. Granted, my playing of LS4 maps tends to be pretty shallow and just following trains.  But that's not the point of this thread.

 

If for some reason the new expansion does require the portals, I'll put in more effort.  Time isn't an issue after all. But having a mount like Skyscale would be enough for me to catch up with groups so that's all I really care about. And it's not a big deal either way.

3 hours ago, Gibson.4036 said:

I've found desert mastery points to be the easiest to get in the game. I have all mounts and had them fully upgraded not long after getting them. As others have said, you will find jackal portal to be very useful in other parts of the game.

Pardoxically, it's core Tyria masteries that I've found to be the biggest PITA. A lot of them are tied to achievements, rather than locations or collections.

Also, unlike masteries in other parts of the game, the upgrades you get are actually useful across the mounts.

Well that much is true. HoT was such a pain with the points and I felt like I wasted a lot of time getting masteries that I never use anymore. I am so over the insight things (and have already done two maps worth of PoF though I do realize LS4 has some easy ones). Granted, my problem is that I probably wasted points on the last level masteries but I can't take them back so what's done is done.

Central Tyria masteries were bad until they put in insights. LS2 can also be a problem for those that did not unlock it. Though you really only needed them to craft HoT legendaries, and that was the  least of anyone's problems if they did. Joining LFG for Silverwastes groups will help get those annoying SW mastery points, and there's quite a few. (I never got all of them but at least some were fast)

If you still need help on them, then we can go over what's available.

Edited September 21, 2021 by ArchonWing.9480

[Cuks.8241]

The last tier mastery for each mount is the most useful in general because it is shared between all mounts. For example the last tier jackal mastery gives evade frames to all mounts when using endurance skills. Very useful as it prevents dismounting from dmg in areas packed with mobs. Applicable to all parts of the game where mounts can be used.

Pof masteries are also the easiest to max out so I would take the time to do it.

[ArchonWing.9480]

6 minutes ago, Cuks.8241 said:

The last tier mastery for each mount is the most useful in general because it is shared between all mounts. For example the last tier jackal mastery gives evade frames to all mounts when using endurance skills. Very useful as it prevents dismounting from dmg in areas packed with mobs. Applicable to all parts of the game where mounts can be used.

Pof masteries are also the easiest to max out so I would take the time to do it.

Well that sounds a little interesting at least.

Part of why I didn't even get the Jackal at all until yesterday was that I wasn't really aware of what it really did that other mounts can. But I do hear it can be faster than the raptor when getting around?

[Cuks.8241]

Dont know the math but based on my experience from races, in the long run, equaly fast. 

I think jackal runs 10% faster but raptor makes up with jump. Raptor can jump a bit higher but jackal is faster on inclines. At the end its personal preference. I prefer jackal. 

[Gibson.4036]

It's nice to have Adroit Evasion for getting through areas where there are a lot of ranged mobs.

[DeanBB.4268]

I've had the Gryphon for quite a while, but have put off getting the Skyscale until my brother catches up, then we'll work it together.

I consider the Gryphon a game changer. Not only is it useful as my general purpose mount, but it is just plain fun. I don't have the Skyscale yet, so maybe someone else can comment on the "fun factor" compared to Gryphon?

[Gibson.4036]

On 9/21/2021 at 2:03 PM, DeanBB.4268 said:

I've had the Gryphon for quite a while, but have put off getting the Skyscale until my brother catches up, then we'll work it together.

I consider the Gryphon a game changer. Not only is it useful as my general purpose mount, but it is just plain fun. I don't have the Skyscale yet, so maybe someone else can comment on the "fun factor" compared to Gryphon?

Completely different uses. Gryphon, you need to get up high and then you can cover distances quickly. Skyscale gets you up and over terrain, which moves you faster than if you have to go around terrain, but it doesn't cover ground quickly.

I use them together quite often. Skyscale to get altitude, leap of faith dismount into Gryphon to zoom across a map.

Skyscale is very much a game changer in just how simple it is to navigate difficult landscapes.

You asked about fun though. Skyscale, to me, is a ton of fun. Feels epic to just mount up into the sky and then settle down somewhere else. I was finding the chests in Thunderhead Peak last night, and one was up in a little alcove on a cliff side. Totally great to be able to look up, see it, and spring in to the air to get it.

The fire breathing isn't terribly useful, but it does feel pretty cool when you dismount. Also, being able to soar up into the air and just hang there with Skyscale's hover is great. You know how in tough zones you end up looking around for a rock  or something to get up onto so mobs don't attack you while you clean out your inventory or reply to something in chat? Way more fun to soar up out of reach and do it on the back of your dragon.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Gibson.4036

[ArchonWing.9480]

Hmm, out of the 6 LS4 map currencies, which one would you consider most difficult to farm?

[Linken.6345]

2 hours ago, ArchonWing.9480 said:

Hmm, out of the 6 LS4 map currencies, which one would you consider most difficult to farm?

I vote Diflourite Crystal

[Gibson.4036]

7 hours ago, Linken.6345 said:

I vote Diflourite Crystal

That surprises me because you can get a bunch of the nodes zipping around on skimmer. Difluorite and M Motes we’re the only two I actually did gathering runs for. Difluoritebecause of ease, Motes because much more challenging to do them other ways and get a significant amount.

They’re all easy now, though, with Return to Living World. Get tier three in that zone’s achievement and you get the 250 you need. Takes maybe a couple hours each currency, doing hearts, events, gathering. Faster if you catch metas and bosses up with a group around.

Not sure how long it takes if you rerun the story instances. Haven’t got to those yet. But since you only have to hit tier three, you have some ability to choose.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Gibson.4036

[ArchonWing.9480]

Well fortunately I have way too many difflourite crystals. In the past before ascended food I needed to them to make a certain food.  I still run Sandswept's reward track because fast-farming says it's profitable and it's good for ascended earrings. It was also a decent source for rings but I have legendary rings now.

Also the nodes are like close to spawn but I suppose they don't always give much currency.

 

Also aiming to run Dragonfall for amulets/other earring as it's also high value and also Mistborn shouldn't be a problem since Skyscale requires me to visit the map a lot. This is the reason why I'm aiming for Skyscale in the first place.  I was just unlocking the vendors and realized this is the Skyscale map.

But let's pretend I don't care for running "return" for the other 4 though I did unlock Thunderhead Peak yesterday and am not really feeling that map. I have enough WvW potions to power through at least one currency and call of the mists would help a lot atm.

As for the mastery points situation I have 6 mastery points and have Shifting Sands Mastery on standby. (it's leveled but i didn't put points in it).

So I want Skyscale (12), Shifting Sands (4), and maybe the rest of Crystal Champion (9). What does "launch off your mount" actually mean for Bond of Faith?

 

so ideally I would grab about 19 more points. And then there's the Roller Beetle in the future possibly.

 

A snapshot of the Insights I haven't done (a lot):

https://i.imgur.com/JgDLvWV.png

https://i.imgur.com/M5XkPGv.png

https://i.imgur.com/Z7nS0vw.png

https://i.imgur.com/YOIE0iD.png

https://i.imgur.com/GMuoIkw.png

Edited September 23, 2021 by ArchonWing.9480

[DeanBB.4268]

Launching off your mount is great for when your springer or gryphon doesn't quite get you to that ledge. Just launch and you'll make it. The skill does have a cooldown, though.

I rarely spend time on those maps, so just from daily gathering my home instance I have 1700+ of all those map material/currencies. All those nodes really do pay off.

[Gibson.4036]

Bond of faith is also useful for cheesing mount limits, if that’s your thing. You launch off your mount and glide down to the ground on crystal wings.

It also helps in places your skyscale won’t fit. Narrow places high up that you can’t fly into.

It also serves as a bridge between skyscale and gryphon. You can fly upwards to skyscale’s upper limit, hit the endurance skill that gives it a boost to climb a little higher, then bond of faith to leap up into crystal wing glide, and mount up onto gryphon mid air to shoot off across the map. Good if you are in an area where it’s hard to get the height you need for a good gryphon dive/zoom.

[Gibson.4036]

If you have a good amount of alts and karma, one low-effort way to get the map currencies is to park them at the easier hearts and run them on each alt once per day, buying the currency bundle from the heart vendor on each one. Takes a little time because of the daily cooldown, but very little actual play time if you don’t want to feel like your farming (as opposed to node runs, say). 
There are guides out there on which hearts are done really fast.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Gibson.4036