As a returning player is it worth to get the new expac?

[leunamsil.6742]

Hi, i'm thinking of buying the new expac and returning to the game, but 1º i want to hear people opinions. Is it worth the money the new expac? I'm a casual player that probably would only do single player content and explore. My main is a ranger but was thinking of leveling a thief because the new tree looks amazing in theory. So in your opinion whats the state of the game to a retuning casual/sp gamer and how's both the ranger and the sniper thief?

Tyvm in advance

[Witch of Doom.5739]

My tuppence worth is that yes, it's worth it. I'm exclusively a PvEer and explorer and had drifted away from the game, as HoT was not my cup of tea although I love the gliding. I found the HoT maps claustrophobic and too much "I can't get there from here" but I love the Crystal Desert maps in PoF, so open and beautiful. Still challenging mobs etc. for a solo player. The mounts are a great addition and make exploration in ALL zones easier and less grindy.

My main is a Necro that I run with minions so it's like she has her own private squad, but my second favorite character is a Ranger and it's good. I can't speak to your Thief question because I only started a Thief char with the PoF release and don't have her up to elite specs yet. Have fun with whatever you decide!

[InsaneQR.7412]

Hell yes.Its a blast to play.Casually unlocking mounts and achievements are sweet and doing bounties too. Looking for collections and complete them is easy but still needs time to do so and unlicking new elite specs broadens the experience.The maps are well designed with a lot of secrets and lore. And last but nit least tgere is the final "challenge" to get the griffon. Its a cool quest with good lore and interactions, even if it is gold consuming its totally worth it.

[Druitt.7629]

I think PoF is worth it. I like the zones a lot more than HoT, which was maze-like, and I like several of the Elites. The mounts are also interesting and fun overall.

I mainly do single-player stuff, and I mainly play Necro with Ranger and Thief as my most common alts. Favorite build for Necro is Scourge -- though I liked the Reaper before that. I enjoy both the Soulbeast (Ranger) and Deadeye (Thief) as well. Nicely different play styles. Not optimal for non-single-player content or PvP, I hear, but I enjoy them. And I really like a couple of the new Ranger pets: Jacaranda (floating plant with lightning strikes) and Iboga (snake/plant that spits conditions).

[Nero.7369]

Mounts and Story are really cool, so are the new elite specs. I can just recommend it.

Unfortunately we still have to wait for other content updates like wvw, PvP and raid :/ probably the PvP and wvw content will be accessible without that add-on ;P

[Teofa Tsavo.9863]

Yes. And I'm pretty critical about GW2.

[leunamsil.6742]

And in your guys opinion what are the down side of the expac? I have to admit i really din't like HoT maps so its good to hear that they got a lot better this expac but what about the bad things? If possible without any spoilers :b

[killermanjaro.5670]

Although I haven't been back to the PoF maps since the start of October, I would definitely say it's still well worth the money, a bargain in fact. I found the story enjoyable, and map completion and the griffon quest did give me a decent amount of hours of entertainment, probably more than some single player games which would have cost more. Story and map completion in PoF are very solo/single player friendly.

Also I have to admit the mounts do actually freshen up the exploration of the core Tyria maps again.

I've only experienced playing Weaver out of the new elites, I've actually found it disappointing so I stuck with tempest. But maybe the other elites are better.

[Dreamy Lu.3865]

It is very difficult to answer your question, because opinions about the new expansion pack are very different and depends a lot on own experience at it.

For me, it is worth it, alone for the mounts. At the top of it, it has added several big areas to the existing world, what is a real good point to me. There are new foes, new animals, new plants and loads of achievements. If you are a casual player like me, with a real life preventing you from spending hours on a daily basis in the game, and taking it easy at new stuff, you will be busy for a long while. I still have a lot of things to do and I am glad about. I have not even finished the storyline yet.

I did read several threads in this forum from players complaining that the content was not enough. I do not understand how it is possible. I suppose that they did hurry at doing everything within the first days, doing that only and combining several things at same time (like for example several scavenger hunts simultaneously or/and doing achievements of storyline already during first go at it). Then of course, in that case, I suppose that the content gets done quite fast. I don't know for sure. As said, I still have loads of things to do what keeps me very much interested. I find the content more than enough for a player like me .

Due to this, all I can say is: Go for it! :)

[leunamsil.6742]

@Dreamy Lu.3865 said:If you are a casual player like me, with a real life preventing you from spending hours on a daily basis in the game, and taking it easy at new stuff, you will be busy for a long while. I still have a lot of things to do and I am glad about.

Since I work and I'm taking classes for my masters degree I only have like 1 maybe 2 hours of gaming per day so ya i would probably take things slow.

Btw the elite specs were the thing i liked the most in HoT. How are they this expac? Are the new ones fresh or a bit forced? And do the old one still remain relevant or were they forgotten with the new expac?

[Witch of Doom.5739]

I am by no means an elite specs expert but I think the new ones give players a good choice -- some prefer the ones that came with HoT and others prefer the ones that came with PoF, so the old ones are still relevant.

As for "bad" stuff I've read some people think the PoF maps are boring and empty. I think it depends on the player because I haven't found that at all and always find stuff to do and explore.

[Ashen.2907]

I main a ranger, and love the expansion. I cant promise that you will enjoy it but exploring a starkly beautiful landscape, fighting interesting foes at my own pace has been a blast for me.

[snh.7091]

I would say wait a little bit for the balance patch scheduled for Nov. 7 and check back to the forums after.

[Shirlias.8104]

@leunamsil.6742 said:Hi, i'm thinking of buying the new expac and returning to the game, but 1º i want to hear people opinions. Is it worth the money the new expac? I'm a casual player that probably would only do single player content and explore. My main is a ranger but was thinking of leveling a thief because the new tree looks amazing in theory. So in your opinion whats the state of the game to a retuning casual/sp gamer and how's both the ranger and the sniper thief?

Tyvm in advance

A game should be worth 1€/1$ for every hour of play.30$ for PoF ( 50 for the bundle if you don't own HoT ) are really ok ( i played it around 100 hours ).

Mounts are cool, zones are really charming, exploration is fun and story is let's say good enough ( i would have said sufficient, but though the story in terms of lore, i appreciated the zones, encounters and much more ).

[Verthurnax.2784]

not worth at all to pay for pof since it's basically a longer living world story with more maps wich are allready desertedpvp and wvw don't get nothing other than some unbalanced new elitesand lastly mounts wich is the only thing that you will pay for, or the nostalgic feelbuy hot or wait a year or 2 to improve pof

[TheGreenGuy.7134]

@leunamsil.6742 said:And in your guys opinion what are the down side of the expac? I have to admit i really din't like HoT maps so its good to hear that they got a lot better this expac but what about the bad things? If possible without any spoilers :b

The Maps are massive, but not vertical like HoT. With mounts it means that if you want don't want to deal with mobs constantly you can just skip through them without slowing you down. The maps are more like core Tyria, more like the original experience of the game that I loved so much and the masteries are not a pain like HoT release. With PoF I actually wanted all the masteries and most of them felt useful unlike half of the HoT masteries. There are bounties which are have timed bosses with unique mechanics (you need a group but people are in lfg) and the maps feel quite rewarding for exploration and mount unlocking / masteries. Now for the negatives, If you're into META events there isn't much and people have been debating the lack of serious META events, there are METAs just not as massive in feel as HoT and you will need groups of people to do these. After you have unlocked everything that you want in PoF (for me it didnt take long, like less than a month?) you might not go back to the maps unless you need something achievements wise or want to do the casino blitz event.

All in all 10 times better than HoT release and imo more enjoyable than HoT content atm, hopefully they buff the rewards a bit but otherwise its very good and I recommend.

[LightningWolfTigerBear.672]

@leunamsil.6742 said:I'm a casual player that probably would only do single player content and explore.Just going by this sentence, I'd say yes. Exploring these new maps, and even re-exploring older maps, from the back of your mounts is PoF's biggest selling point in my opinion.

[Ohoni.6057]

Yes. It is.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

• Yes, PoF is fantastic and the best value since Copper-Fed Salvage-o-Matics
• No, HoT was a better expac, despite its flaws, because of its replayability, collections, and awesome LS3 rewards.
• No, ANet can't make a real expansion. Where are the new races? New profs? Where's the content?
• Yes, mounts are so much fun and have transformed how I play the game everywhere.
• Yes, I love the new rewards and the lack of metas that depend on knowing the time of day.
• Eh, I just buy them to support ANet. I'm not fussed one way or another.
• Why not? For US$30, it's an amazing entertainment deal.
• No, ANet needs to fix WvW and PvP balance and playability first.

(Real sentiments expressed by real players about real pros & cons in these very forums, Reddit, and /map.)

PS Your mileage will vary, so it's a nightmare to answer whether it's worth it for you.

PPS I'd rephrase the question to, "do I like the game and trust ANet to keep entertaining me?" If yes, get it. If not, don't. If you're on the fence, don't get the expac, but do start playing again to see if you can remind yourself what you liked/hated about the game before leaving, and then re-ask the question.

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

I say yes. Even if you don’t much care for the rest of the expansion the mounts are worth getting. In addition, if you don’t buy the expansion you won’t be able to access the maps for the next set of Living Story episodes even if you login during the access periods to get the LS free or buy the LS with gems.

[Ellisande.5218]

No it is not worth it. There is zero new gameplay or things to do.

[inriver.9813]

No, i have been a long supporter of this game but it has really deteriorated. Find a better game. Dont be tempted to start.

[Vyrulisse.1246]

No. Looks pretty but it's shallow, mostly one-time experience. Very little incentive to return to Path of Fire areas after you play through the story. Rewards are of the same crap we've had since original GW2. Two blues and a green with the same tired skins we've seen for years. Until they add actual replayability to Path of Fire then I can say it's not really worth it and that makes me sad.

[Johnny.1634]

No, it only released afew weeks ago and alot of players are already bored of it. Of coarse it doesn't help that the majority of the new specializations are bugged and underdeveloped even after our "big" patch today, and we wont get another one of those disappointments for another few months.Highly suggest sticking to another game.

[Lpfan.3578]

Mounts are nice and can be used in a lot of areas outside of PoF maps! PoF story is interesting, not amazing but I liked it at least... of course it all looked pretty good too :)

$30 isn't bad for what you get in PoF