Best way to get dungeon armor skins as a pug?

[Labjax.2465]

Eventually, I'd like to unlock all the dungeon armor skins.

For various reasons, I don't want to do this through joining a guild or committing to a regular group, so that option is out (you can think this is silly for an MMO if you want, but that's where I'm at right now).

What I'm left with, as far as I can tell is:

- look for listings in LFG and join in on paths now and then (the thing holding me back here is: listings for these don't seem to be very common and I also don't want to be the one who has no idea where to go in a group that's trying to do weird skips, but I'm thinking I may just have to deal with that and try it anyway when I can find groups)

- do a bunch of WvW reward tracks (would take a very long time tho)

- find paths that are feasibly soloable without being a top 0.01% speedclear player and do those when I feel like it (seems a lot more doable than before since I can do overall easiest path rather than needing path for each, but slow since I can only get the daily bonus once)

Any recommendations on how to approach this?

One specific thing I'm wondering is if anyone knows what the easiest path(s) to solo is across all the dungeons.

[Khisanth.2948]

I would just start the group and mention being new in the ad

Speedclear and solo have opposing needs ...

You could get a bit more by making sure it is always 8 unique paths(including story mode) so you also get the 150 from Dungeon Frequenter

[Danikat.8537]

I strongly recommend starting your own groups in LFG and putting a message in like "P1, my first time, everyone welcome but no skipping" or "slow, casual group, no skipping, no expectations" or something like that.

That's what I usually do and I've had good results with it. Sometimes someone will offer to teach the group how to do it, and then I'll specify I don't want to skip everything (and sometimes tell them I do know how, and that's how I know I don't enjoy it).

But most likely you'll get other people in the same situation, they're either new or haven't done that dungeon before or just want a relaxed run with no expectations and are happy to figure things out as they're going along.

[Farohna.6247]

Definitely hit up the dungeons when they are the dailies and you will find a lot of people who are very willing to help you out.  

I am not part of a guild that does them, I don't do them with friends, just as a random pug.  LFG is your best tool, post your own group as Danikat recommend.  You don't have to know where you're going or the fights, people will help.  

And no, you're style of play and comfort level are not silly.  I think that's pretty common actually, but never worry about asking for help ❤️

[SkinnyT.5382]

7 hours ago, Danikat.8537 said:

I strongly recommend starting your own groups in LFG and putting a message in like "P1, my first time, everyone welcome but no skipping" or "slow, casual group, no skipping, no expectations" or something like that...

I want to second this. Definitely start your own groups, and make sure to ask exactly for what you want. So if you are watching  all cut-scenes because you never done it. Just say so. Dungeons are not considered end game anymore so people are way more flexible about grouping for it.

I've found that getting pugs is very much time based. And by that I mean that depending on the time you log in you will have an easier or more difficult time. I find that weekends have the most variety of people and you may find people then.

Edited September 11, 2022 by SkinnyT.5382

[Ashantara.8731]

12 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

- do a bunch of WvW reward tracks (would take a very long time tho)

This is how I unlocked most of them, and it didn't take "a very long time", to be honest. 🙂

[Batel.9206]

You mentioned WvW reward tracks, but PvP reward tracks also have dungeon armor and currency tokens. That's how I've gotten most of mine. Get experience boosters and you can knock them out in a fairly short amount of time - less time, certainly, than WvW reward tracks.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Batel.9206

[CrashTestAuto.9108]

Just now, Batel.9206 said:

You mentioned WvW reward tracks, but PvP reward tracks also have dungeon armor and currency tokens. That's how I've gotten most of mine. Get experience boosters and you can knock them out in a fairly short amount of time - less time, certainly, than WvW reward tracks.

Also, PvP dailies can be pretty quick so you can get potions to unlock the track faster.

 

Out of curiosity, why do you want to do this?  Obviously you can enjoy whatever goals you want, but this is going to be a pretty significant time investment, and the rewards are pretty moderate.  If it isn't content you actively enjoy, there are much more profitable ways to spend your time in game - probably doing something you actually like.

[Khisanth.2948]

For the reward track approach it will be in the 256-512 hour range if you rely solely on them

[Sobx.1758]

Just join groups in lfg or make one for whatever path you personally prefer.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

Enter the dungeon, start soloing it and put up an LFG saying you're new, all welcome and let people join as you slowly work you way through it alone. Sometimes you'll only get one other player, though.

 

I quickly join these groups when I see them and have carried many inexperienced players.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Mariyuuna.6508

[GreyFox.8046]

Don't worry, the community does not expect you to have the infinite wisdom of the hidden depth within dungeons. Simply go to the LFG system in-game and advertise your own group, while stating that you are new to said dungeon. Most if not all players that join will help you, or even be new themselves and want to join the ride!

 

Seriously, I know there's this impression that people expect you to know all the tactics, but its YOUR group, you started it, you make the rules. Go out there, set up a group, make some friends while your at it, and happy dungeoning.

 

Good luck!

[Silent.6137]

With just one dungeon currency now, it is relatively easy to farm them. Used to have to do all the different dungeons for all the armors/weapons. No need to do any specific dungeon anymore.

Just join any of the LFG groups. Even if you're new, all of them are relatively easy and no one would expect you to be an expert. Just choose the easier ones. Ask if anyone in the group is very familiar with the dungeons and follow that person. There are a few dungeon paths that require some coordinations, especially the Aetherpath in Twilight Arbor and Arah dungeons but most of the rest are pretty straightforward.

I would not recommend soloing if new to any of the paths as some of the bosses can be very difficult to deal with by yourself.

[Labjax.2465]

Thank you for all the advice and kind words on this! I appreciate it. 😄

5 hours ago, CrashTestAuto.9108 said:

Out of curiosity, why do you want to do this?  Obviously you can enjoy whatever goals you want, but this is going to be a pretty significant time investment, and the rewards are pretty moderate.  If it isn't content you actively enjoy, there are much more profitable ways to spend your time in game - probably doing something you actually like.

Fashion wars, pretty much. 😛One of my long-term goals playing this game is to unlock as much armor pieces as I possibly can for mixing and matching. As well as getting full legendaries eventually so I can transmute freely. I expect I may never get there because I'm doubtful GW2 would hold my interest for that long (cool game, but hard for anything to hold me that long) so I'm kinda just making progress on what I can and then if I do leave again at some point and come back, I'll have all the more to play with when I return. I try to mix things up tho and mix short-term payoff goals in there with long-term ones to make sure I'm still enjoying myself and feel motivated. Like the other night I stumbled onto a meta train while doing DBS and stuck with it until the end. It gets dull if I let a game like this become too routine, stuff like that is fun. And in this case, doing some dungeons may actually help with variety, as long as I don't grind them too hard all at once.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Labjax.2465

[CrashTestAuto.9108]

6 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

Thank you for all the advice and kind words on this! I appreciate it. 😄

Fashion wars, pretty much. 😛One of my long-term goals playing this game is to unlock as much armor pieces as I possibly can for mixing and matching. As well as getting full legendaries eventually so I can transmute freely. I expect I may never get there because I'm doubtful GW2 would hold my interest for that long (cool game, but hard for anything to hold me that long) so I'm kinda just making progress on what I can and then if I do leave again at some point and come back, I'll have all the more to play with when I return. I try to mix things up tho and mix short-term payoff goals in there with long-term ones to make sure I'm still enjoying myself and feel motivated. Like the other night I stumbled onto a meta train while doing DBS and stuck with it until the end. It gets dull if I let a game like this become too routine, stuff like that is fun. And in this case, doing some dungeons may actually help with variety, as long as I don't grind them too hard all at once.

Fair enough 🙂  Well if burn out is a risk and fashion wars is the goal, then I might suggest picking and choosing the armours you want, rather than trying to get them all!  There is a lot of variety in the game, as well as skins through achievements, the living world, strikes, WvW, PvP...  The dungeon sets have some nice pieces in them, and if you do get hooked then it's definitely an achievable goal, but if you're looking at grinding for it (in dungeons or reward tracks), it might be a bit much.

[Labjax.2465]

1 hour ago, CrashTestAuto.9108 said:

Fair enough 🙂  Well if burn out is a risk and fashion wars is the goal, then I might suggest picking and choosing the armours you want, rather than trying to get them all!  There is a lot of variety in the game, as well as skins through achievements, the living world, strikes, WvW, PvP...  The dungeon sets have some nice pieces in them, and if you do get hooked then it's definitely an achievable goal, but if you're looking at grinding for it (in dungeons or reward tracks), it might be a bit much.

Yeah, that is healthy advice. I was thinking along those lines tonight, in general. There is an upside to just collecting because I won't always know how I might want to use something until the inspiration strikes, but at the same time, it's far more enjoyable to go after stuff that interests me now than doing it in case I might want to use the piece later lol. There is also something enjoyable about collecting as much as possible for the completionist sake of it, but that's not really the same goal as playing dress up.

[Urud.4925]

When we had different tokens for each dungeons, I completed the easy ones by running them (for me: Ascalonian catacombs, Caudecus' manor, Honor of the waves. Twilight arbor would be also easy, but all the group must agree whether they want to skip or not, or it would be a mess with pugs), while for the others I farmed PvP reward tracks.

My suggestion would be to specialize in few dungeons and run these, so you won't be scared to post your own LFG after few runs.