Please sell me on HoT

[trunks.5249]

13 hours ago, Vulture.9351 said:

I want to complete the story but the idea of starting HoT content makes me want to uninstall. I read nothing but horror stories about it, even after the supposed nerfs.

Break bars, verticality, BS cc, increased aggro range, thick mob placement, pocket raptors, having to solo group content/HPs because it's old now or wait for a train, teleporting/invisible/both enemies, huge hits, etc.

I am not an elite player, I play alone, my gear is basic-kitten sub-1g Exotics off the AH like Shiro's Coat because I'm poor and everything before endiest-endgame is practically vendor trash, I'm not interesting is some optimal build or being forced to play a specific class/elite, I'm here for fun not another job, only mount is a raptor that I got because the benefit outweighed the spoilers, etc

everyone needs to try a reaper necro at least one time one of the coolest specs in the game and only get it with hot. also gold is very easy to get.you can do the dungeons' in eye of the north buy crafting boxes an make lots of gold or do ranked pvp tons of gold doing that. you can make at the very least 10-20 gold a day in a few hours i am sure other people can tell you other ways to get gold a day that i dont know of

[Gorem.8104]

12 hours ago, Vulture.9351 said:

Hearing a lot of "git gud", sucking up to anet, and ignoring my issues, but not a lot of "No, Vulture, it isn't a hellscape that we only hang around in because we kinda have to."

 

 

Hold on a minute, you ask to be sold, we sold you, and you didn't like what we were selling? I get the feeling when you made this thread it was just to hear dislike for HoT, without realising its many peoples favourite expansion and is the games most active expansion, even more active then an expansion released this year. Sounds like your thread idea backfired on you. 

Considering my utter intense hatred of IBS's story and EoD as a whole, i'd not say I'm a fanboy. I absolutely love HoT and PoF though. Coming back to the game after a break, HoT was in fact awesome content, it felt like there was finally a reason to play well and use good builds. Compared to PoF, where you mostly just ignore every mob on the map as they are few and far between at times, Djinn's are fun to fight though. 

[Oriens.5630]

6 hours ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

I guess you didn't notice that PoF has dramatically longer aggro range as well as higher mob density in most areas than HoT does.

 

Yes, but it is far more navigable with mounts. Which is why I recommend obtaining the mounts and then doing HoT. The expac is not built for mounts, but they are useful enough even in that setting.

While I'm not a fan of desert settings it does allow for picking out what lies ahead and avoiding it.

HoT is exactly as advertised in this respect: it's a jungle. That combined with those awful maps makes spotting and prep almost impossible most of the time.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Oriens.5630

[Luthan.5236]

Honestly: The moving around - in certain maps and without mounts - was the most annoying and "hardest" thing. I played all stuff in order of release. Even though I started 2019 I did HoT only slowly unlocking glider (no mounts at all) ... and  Verdant Brink and Tangled Depths for example - needed time to get used to.

Most hero challenges are champs meant to be done by groups but there are a lot of people in all of the maps. Interestin meta events (best ones in the game). And for the solo stuff ... you can get used to it. Exotics gear is just fine. Just don't try full berserker if you are not too good. And be careful to not pull too many mobs.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Luthan.5236

[Goettel.4389]

1 hour ago, Tukaram.8256 said:

I have no idea of this bloodstone fen... but it sounds possibly useful.  I will have to see if the new lounge has a gate to it (lots of gates in the new lounge area)

It doesn't, use a tp to friend / party if you have 'em. Ask me if you're on EU.

[Gibson.4036]

8 hours ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

I guess you didn't notice that PoF has dramatically longer aggro range as well as higher mob density in most areas than HoT does.

I expect its the terrain that makes people really feel HoT mob density. It’s easy to feel boxed in with the enemies.

Probably amplified by HoT mob abilities as well. Lots of Ground AoE and knockdown add up to a “no safe place to be” feeling.

Although I also remember feeling that way my first foray into PoF. I was so tormented by sand sharks at first I would beeline across the ground to get to structures where they can’t “swim”. It was like playing “the floor is lava”. 😄

And I remember way back at start, Orr felt this way. Like you couldn’t get a break from risen. I’d get through Orr as quickly as possible because it seemed like I was harassed by enemies the whole way through. If I’m back there for some reason now I marvel at how different it feels now.

[Gibson.4036]

Forum lag double post

Edited May 28, 2022 by Gibson.4036

[Gibson.4036]

Forum lag triple post

Edited May 28, 2022 by Gibson.4036

[Thon.3780]

Blood stone fen can access via story mode. Then you buy permanent scroll from NPC Natto
So you go anytime and save money 

 

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bloodstone_Fen

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Scholar_Rakka

NPC that sell the best Trinkets and backpack. Selling point of HoT

 

 

[trunks.5249]

6 hours ago, Gorem.8104 said:

Hold on a minute, you ask to be sold, we sold you, and you didn't like what we were selling? I get the feeling when you made this thread it was just to hear dislike for HoT, without realising its many peoples favourite expansion and is the games most active expansion, even more active then an expansion released this year. Sounds like your thread idea backfired on you. 

Considering my utter intense hatred of IBS's story and EoD as a whole, i'd not say I'm a fanboy. I absolutely love HoT and PoF though. Coming back to the game after a break, HoT was in fact awesome content, it felt like there was finally a reason to play well and use good builds. Compared to PoF, where you mostly just ignore every mob on the map as they are few and far between at times, Djinn's are fun to fight though. 

i hate Hot with a passion not the story just the maps  i get lost all the time. hate it so much so on my other toons . i will do pvp to get the points from the hot maps lol

[ASP.8093]

21 hours ago, Vulture.9351 said:

Break bars, verticality, BS cc, increased aggro range, thick mob placement, pocket raptors, having to solo group content/HPs because it's old now or wait for a train, teleporting/invisible/both enemies, huge hits, etc.

Some of this stuff is a source of additional challenge, but it also makes mastering the maps more fun and more rewarding. For example, people have horror stories about pocket raptors but they also die like flies to AOE burst or CC+cleave. A credible threat but also a satisfying kill!

The best way to get into HOT is not to sweat map completion immediately — just follow the story and maybe do some events if they look appetizing (Auric Basin meta in particular is very manageable and ends with quite the loot-fiesta at the end). Then you can just do a bit of map completion whenever you feel like it, or progress to Season 3 / Path of Fire. (Coming back to the old maps with some of the tools you've unlocked from Path of Fire is actually a pretty good feeling, just do that if you're in a hurry or hate "verticality.")

[GilbeyDeryni.5263]

On 5/27/2022 at 9:11 PM, Vulture.9351 said:

Hearing a lot of "git gud", sucking up to anet, and ignoring my issues, but not a lot of "No, Vulture, it isn't a hellscape that we only hang around in because we kinda have to."

 

 

:chuckles: My sympathies - I came across your thread because I have been trying to do some exploration in the Tangled parts of  HoT and cannot believe how massively un-fun it is.  It is bad even compared against other parts of the Maguuma region. 

 

It is almost at the I-want-my-money-back levels of rage-quit-inducing frustration ... mostly down to moving through the landscape, trying desperately to perceive where you are supposed to go against the smeared backcloth of undefined, jungle tangle ... seeing a mushroom move towards you ... and five seconds later you are dead having gotten maybe one skill off before your morale is gone as a trillion of his mates gank your feeble Elementalist a$$.

 

These heroes here who heap praise on the expansion and tell you *you* are the problem are another breed of professional gamer compared to old, dim-eyed, slow-mo me it would seem ROFL. 

 

I shall read through the whole thing to see if anyone has anything useful or helpful to say (especially regarding dealing with the mushrooms) but I shall likely need a cup of tea and some blood-pressure meds to make it through alive if the timbre of some of the posts continues to be so l33t 🙂.

[Andy.5981]

Ok my take on Heart of Thorns for the OP.

Firstly is it a step up in difficulty from the core tyria zones - yes.

Will you die? yes.

A lot? yes.

Does it matter? No.

Will it get easier? Yes if you learn from your mistakes.

You don't lose levels in this game so other than a bit of time lost there is no downside to death. Pick yourself up, work out why you were dying to the enemy and then kill it. Thousands of people have done the same, so can you.

I've soloed every class through Heart of Thorns. Apart from a few HP such as Balthazar in Auric Basin, Vampire HP and the Frog HPs in Verdant Brink and the Mushroom Queen in Tangled Depths, none of them will cause you major problems. The expansion is still popular so even if you cannot solo something, if you wait a short while someone will come along and it will be come a lot easier for you.

Don't go full Berserker, a glassy build isn't the way to go in this expansion, build in a little survivability and you will be fine.

The maps look daunting. However what a lot of people don't realise is that Anet have built in guides to traversing them. Its called the Personal story.

If you follow that through, you will learn how the maps are constructed. Once you've done the personal story in a map go back to the main Waypoints and do the event chains that start from them. Those will fill in most of the gaps and again give you more information as to how to move around.

Don't be in a rush. If you play in a map and gain the masteries you will find it will make life a lot easier. As an example one mastery will give you the ability to walk through poison without taking any damage.

Heart of Thorns is without doubt the best expansion they have released. It is quite telling that the META events are still extremely popular after all these years.

Give it a go, on any class.

Edited May 29, 2022 by Andy.5981

[AliamRationem.5172]

45 minutes ago, GilbeyDeryni.5263 said:

:chuckles: My sympathies - I came across your thread because I have been trying to do some exploration in the Tangled parts of  HoT and cannot believe how massively un-fun it is.  It is bad even compared against other parts of the Maguuma region. 

 

It is almost at the I-want-my-money-back levels of rage-quit-inducing frustration ... mostly down to moving through the landscape, trying desperately to perceive where you are supposed to go against the smeared backcloth of undefined, jungle tangle ... seeing a mushroom move towards you ... and five seconds later you are dead having gotten maybe one skill off before your morale is gone as a trillion of his mates gank your feeble Elementalist a$$.

 

These heroes here who heap praise on the expansion and tell you *you* are the problem are another breed of professional gamer compared to old, dim-eyed, slow-mo me it would seem ROFL. 

 

I shall read through the whole thing to see if anyone has anything useful or helpful to say (especially regarding dealing with the mushrooms) but I shall likely need a cup of tea and some blood-pressure meds to make it through alive if the timbre of some of the posts continues to be so l33t 🙂.

Since you asked, here's how to handle the mushrooms:

Prioritize bombers.  The spores they toss track and apply cripple, which makes them harder to avoid and makes other mushroom attacks harder to avoid.

Second priority should be the chargers.  They hit hard and knockdown with their charge attack, but any lateral movement will cause them to miss their charge because they move in a straight line.  This is also true of the spikethrowers, which use a slow arcing projectile that can't hit a moving target.

Mushrooms have very low health (7.5k-20k range normally) and should be easy to kill, but also be aware that many of them explode upon death.  This is another attack that staying in motion can help you to avoid.

[GilbeyDeryni.5263]

3 minutes ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

Since you asked, here's how to handle the mushrooms:

 

Deep thanks for taking the time to offer some good advice, Aliam.  I should note that for other parts of the Verdant area I am mostly okay - it is largely in the Tangles that my real woes came to the fore.

 

I had got so far as figuring out it was the Bombers that were the biggest threat but, so far, what I do to try to take them out doesn't work so well.   I try to slam the one I see out of existence with a barrage ... and quite often I *do* get that first one ... but it is the wave attack that follows that I can't handle. 

 

It feels like an Alien swarm - :Hudson voice:  "Movement!  Movement all over the place!  They're coming out of the kitten walls!" 😄 

 

My problem seems to stem from the fact that my Ele is not tough enough to stand still but, if I move, I just end up aggroing more and that way lies the Rez Circle (I'm a LOTRO boy, as you can tell by that term :)).  Even if I do move it doesn't stop them getting me with one of the Cripples and, as the environs are too confined, with only two dodges available it is over soon after that.  I suspect the real problem is I am just too old and slow 😮

[Vulture.9351]

Something just occurred to me. The trains I'm supposed to follow for the non-soloable HPs, won't they be riding skyscales?

[AliamRationem.5172]

2 hours ago, GilbeyDeryni.5263 said:

Deep thanks for taking the time to offer some good advice, Aliam.  I should note that for other parts of the Verdant area I am mostly okay - it is largely in the Tangles that my real woes came to the fore.

 

I had got so far as figuring out it was the Bombers that were the biggest threat but, so far, what I do to try to take them out doesn't work so well.   I try to slam the one I see out of existence with a barrage ... and quite often I *do* get that first one ... but it is the wave attack that follows that I can't handle. 

 

It feels like an Alien swarm - :Hudson voice:  "Movement!  Movement all over the place!  They're coming out of the kitten walls!" 😄 

 

My problem seems to stem from the fact that my Ele is not tough enough to stand still but, if I move, I just end up aggroing more and that way lies the Rez Circle (I'm a LOTRO boy, as you can tell by that term :)).  Even if I do move it doesn't stop them getting me with one of the Cripples and, as the environs are too confined, with only two dodges available it is over soon after that.  I suspect the real problem is I am just too old and slow 😮

Love the Aliens reference.  Great movie!  

Awareness and timing dodges comes with practice.  In the mean time, you might look into builds that are more resilient.  All of the elementalist elite specs have solid solo play builds utilizing stats like celestial, trailblazer, or dire.

[AliamRationem.5172]

6 minutes ago, Vulture.9351 said:

Something just occurred to me. The trains I'm supposed to follow for the non-soloable HPs, won't they be riding skyscales?

The HP trains I've seen usually only ask that you have bounce mushrooms and updrafts unlocked and maybe a raptor and they rely on mesmer portals to get everyone past the tricky parts.

[Andy.5981]

29 minutes ago, Vulture.9351 said:

Something just occurred to me. The trains I'm supposed to follow for the non-soloable HPs, won't they be riding skyscales?

When Heart of Thorns came out no-one had mounts. Everything can be reached and done without them. Sure they make life easier, but they are definately not a reason for not doing the maps. 

There are genuinely only four HP that will cause some people issues trying to solo them. Balthazar HP in Auric Basin, Vampire HP and Frog HP in Verdant Brink and the Mushroom Queen in Tangled Depths.

Balthazar, Frog and Mushroom Queen are either on ground level or in a cavern. You don't need mounts to reach them.

Vampire is high up in the Canopy in Verdant Brink. You can use a combination of Mushroom bounce, gliding and Pact Helicopters when available to get high up into the Canopy and reach it.

In any event you can if you wish obtain all Hero points in any expansion without even going to them. How?

Do some WvW and obtain Notarized Scrolls of Heroics (there are versions for Core Tyria, Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire and Cantha).

You click on them and they award a random HP on one of the maps. If you do all the easy HP on all of the HoT maps and leave out the difficult ones, you would only need a few Notarized Scrolls to complete the remaining HP.

You can find out a bit more about the above at 

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Hero_challenge
 

[Batel.9206]

40 minutes ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

The HP trains I've seen usually only ask that you have bounce mushrooms and updrafts unlocked and maybe a raptor and they rely on mesmer portals to get everyone past the tricky parts.

And the ones I've seen just ask that you have basic raptor unlocked (to keep up) and basic gliding (and again, mesmer portals get people past obstacles). So it seems to vary from train to train, but I've never seen one where skyscales are a requirement. Sure, some people do ride skyscales...others have griffons...some have basic gliding...and everyone manages to keep up just fine.

[ASP.8093]

2 minutes ago, Andy.5981 said:

There are genuinely only four HP that will cause some people issues trying to solo them. Balthazar HP in Auric Basin, Vampire HP and Frog HP in Verdant Brink and the Mushroom Queen in Tangled Depths.

For what it's worth, in my experience, a lot of builds can solo Vampire HP out-of-the-box, or they can solo it if you spend ~1 silver on 5 Termite Shovels.

[Gibson.4036]

I’ve seen HP trains actually ask people not to use their skyscales, because if you get enough flappy wings going it can make it difficult for newcomers to see what the train is doing.

[Andy.5981]

1 hour ago, ASP.8093 said:

For what it's worth, in my experience, a lot of builds can solo Vampire HP out-of-the-box, or they can solo it if you spend ~1 silver on 5 Termite Shovels.

Absolutely, I've done it with some classes but have struggled with others until other players have shown up. The biggest problem with that HP is where it is situated if it all goes wrong! It's just a case of having an open mind and having a go.

Edited May 29, 2022 by Andy.5981

[captrowdy.9561]

Wait till he finds out about the season 3 maps. Fun content,gold,and easy  ascended trinkits. Never mind it’s too hard. 

[captrowdy.9561]

10 hours ago, Vulture.9351 said:

Something just occurred to me. The trains I'm supposed to follow for the non-soloable HPs, won't they be riding skyscales?

Yes but the group leader usually drops waypoints and portals for those who don’t. A tip for the leader is common. They will usually put in the group name all you need is a raptor. Very easy. WvW is also a easy way to unlock specs.