I keep dying, Do I suck?

[Insignia.3826]

Hello all,

I am a level 80 guardian (Just switched to willbender) and I keep dying in the HoT expansion story. I bought armor off the trade post with mostly power attribute. I usually play casters but the Elementalist looked way too complicated to start with. 

 

Do you have any suggestions or tips?

 

Thanks.

[McWelp.1723]

Welcome to the club. Absolutely everybody dies in HoT at first.

 

It gets eventually better when you familiarize yourself with your class and monsters..

 

EDIT: For Guardian. Try Dragonhunter with longbow, its generally more survivable than going melee with HoT monsters. Can always swap to greatsword if you want to go close and personal (trap bomb+spin to win is just great with DH)

Edited December 12, 2022 by McWelp.1723

[mungozen.2379]

Solo open world builds are okay to use gear with defensive stats. Look for Marauder for power builds as an example.  Going from berserkers to marauder is a minor DPS loss with a notable vitality gain. If you have unlocked EoD you can gain access to Jade Bot Enhancements such as the vitality from the core or the boons from Jade Bot Protocols. 
 

As well, spend a few minutes looking at builds on Metabattle to see what traits and utility skills are used. You may find some choices that will make open world solo play easier. 

[Infusion.7149]

If you're dying on power guardian you might want to run offhand focus , "advance" utility, and use marauder gear pieces as a last resort. Time your blocks and dodges for the well telegraphed big attacks and don't stand in AOEs.

If you were dying on ele then it would be "that's typical".

[Sylphina.7318]

Mind you that willbender is a very offensive build, Guardians also have (with theif and elementalist) the games lowest health pool of 11,645. As mentioned earlier focus is a nice block, the block heal is also nice as a defence to block big attacks if you are out of dodges. Marauder also amentioned up that low health pool a fair bit so you can take a bit more beating.

Look for good moments to CC the mobs - dragonhunter is in general better for open world play as it has a lot of AOE burst and nice CC utilities.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

40 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:

If you're dying on power guardian you might want to run offhand focus , "advance" utility, and use marauder gear pieces as a last resort. Time your blocks and dodges for the well telegraphed big attacks and don't stand in AOEs.

If you were dying on ele then it would be "that's typical".

Why Marauder pieces "as a last resort"?

 

Marauder can be more efficient than Berserker in open-world and story, as it crit-caps far easier and  is one of the few ways to realistically crit cap on solo builds. Even in group content full Berserker is almost never used and needs to be mixed with some amount of Assassin's to be effective.

 

An RNG-based DPS loss is much worse than a static one since its unpredictable. You might be an unstoppable machine one moment and the next you're hitting like a wet noodle.

Edited December 12, 2022 by Mariyuuna.6508

[McWelp.1723]

6 minutes ago, Mariyuuna.6508 said:

Why Marauder pieces "as a last resort"?

 

Marauder can be more efficient than Berserker in open-world and story, as it crit-caps far easier and  is one of the few ways to realistically crit cap on solo builds. Even in group content full Berserker is almost never used and needs to be mixed with some amount of Assassin's to be effective.

 

An RNG-based DPS loss is much worse than a static one since its unpredictable.

 

Well, problem is usually the price. Berserker is dirt cheap across the board and thats why a lot of people (especially newbies) keep using it and dying and getting frustrated. Maybe devs should look into pricing disparity of different prefixes to make less frustrated people.

 

And ofcourse sites like metabattle are full of berserker builds. So people keep grabbing them from there and dying.

EDIT: BTW, one simple way to increase survivability on basically any build is to slap vampirism runes on your armor. Gives more health and power and when you kill something, you get healed. I use those in almost all of my open world characters. And they are very cheap on TP.

Edited December 12, 2022 by McWelp.1723

[Infusion.7149]

7 minutes ago, Mariyuuna.6508 said:

Why Marauder pieces "as a last resort"?

 

Marauder can be more efficient than Berserker in open-world and story, as it crit-caps far easier and  is one of the few ways to realistically crit cap on solo builds. Even in group content full Berserker is almost never used and needs to be mixed with some amount of Assassin's to be effective.

 

An RNG-based DPS loss is much worse than a static one since its unpredictable. You might be an unstoppable machine one moment and the next you're hitting like a wet noodle.

Running eagle rune or thief rune is far more relevant if someone is using the same gear in instanced content. The last thing you want is gear you can only run in openworld (we're talking about exotics not ascended).

Edited December 12, 2022 by Infusion.7149

[Doctor Hide.6345]

11 minutes ago, McWelp.1723 said:

Well, problem is usually the price. Berserker is dirt cheap across the board and thats why a lot of people (especially newbies) keep using it and dying and getting frustrated. Maybe devs should look into pricing disparity of different prefixes to make less frustrated people.

 

And ofcourse sites like metabattle are full of berserker builds. So people keep grabbing them from there and dying.

EDIT: BTW, one simple way to increase survivability on basically any build is to slap vampirism runes on your armor. Gives more health and power and when you kill something, you get healed. I use those in almost all of my open world characters. And they are very cheap on TP.

 

Well, berskerker is cheaper for sure to make than marauders and easier since berserker's is a core recipe, but you are right main meta setups do use all berserker most of the time in their builds which is why a lot of people use them. It is why I use them. I don't see a point to make a marauder gear set for PvE when all I can do is learn to get better in the open world in HoT as a training a ground for actual harder content(which I did do btw). 

Now if I ever did want to WvW, then sure I would make a marauder set and the viper set equivalent, but for open world I think berserker is fine. It is just one of those "get good scrub" type of gear sets which takes some time and dying to learn well. (Not going after you McWelp. Just found yours a good place to start mine.)

[Khisanth.2948]

2 hours ago, Insignia.3826 said:

Hello all,

I am a level 80 guardian (Just switched to willbender) and I keep dying in the HoT expansion story. I bought armor off the trade post with mostly power attribute. I usually play casters but the Elementalist looked way too complicated to start with. 

 

Do you have any suggestions or tips?

 

Thanks.

What build are you using? Using stats and traits that synergize goes a long way. That is stats AND traits. People tend obsesses too much over gear.

You can use http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/ to recreate what you are using

[ugrakarma.9416]

The loss of DPS with marauder gear is negligible, i use it full time.

GS Dragon Hunter/Willbender are the most fluid builds, the strongness of Guardian is the multiple hits skills.

With marauder gear u will become very versatile, u play even WvW without worring about swaping gear or build.

Edited December 12, 2022 by ugrakarma.9416

[bluehead.9842]

just keep playing until you get used to your build, 
try different build, (btw build on internet usually a build that you play with your party which give you boons and heal, so do not depend on that build for now)

sometimes, its not about your gear, its about how to properly play char,
this is based on my experience playing this game from 2/3 months ago, back then I also keep dying in HoT and PoF map (i almost want to give up this game cause I always dying 😁), 

[Westenev.5289]

If you're dying a lot, first thing I would recommend is looking at how you apply damage (best defense against pocket raptors is to kill em all) and how you recover from damage. Some weapons/utility/traits are flat trash tier dumpsterfires, and simply swapping these out can make a world of difference.

 

It might be a good idea to look up a fractal/raid build to learn how a class applies dps. You can supplement this knowledge by looking up open world builds, which tend to be more selfish.

[Obfuscate.6430]

2 hours ago, bluehead.9842 said:

just keep playing until you get used to your build, 
try different build, (btw build on internet usually a build that you play with your party which give you boons and heal, so do not depend on that build for now)

sometimes, its not about your gear, its about how to properly play char,
this is based on my experience playing this game from 2/3 months ago, back then I also keep dying in HoT and PoF map (i almost want to give up this game cause I always dying 😁), 

This is the best advice in the whole thread so far. 
Heart of Thorns is one of the most difficult expansions. Even seasoned veterans needed help with certain story chapters. 
There's a chance you just need to ask for help here and there - try using LFG or map chat. 

I also feel that it can be good to stick with Berserker gear. Being glassy can teach you when to dodge, when to use ranged. It can be tricky but the pay off is often worth it.

[The Boz.2038]

HoT is nightmare hell mod 😛

Also, Willbender in full zerk is very glassy, and requires active defenses to not die. The active defenses in the form of aegis, a damage-to-healing heal, and the F2/3 are a required mastery in order to play the class. Stay away from Reversal; it is **bad**.

[Chyanne Waters.8719]

HoT is one of the hardest expansions to do, but you have an advantage you can play through PoF get mounts then go back to HoT with a bit more ability your choice though

[Wolfshade.9251]

Short answer: yes, but now that you know this you can improve!

For open world, I recommend putting on some extra vitality or toughness (you can replace it with higher damage gear later on once you're comfortable): for condition damage try either celestial or trailblaizer, for power damage try marauder. Visiting an armour repair station will give you a 12 hour buff to your survivability, Jade Bot Cores give a bit of vitality too. Don't face-tank everything - learn to use your dodges, sidestep out of aoes and use blocks/aegis. Know your limits - don't run into a pack of enemies expecting to survive, plan ahead, try to not get surrounded.

Oh and keep in mind that HoT is brutal, we all had our kitten kicked by pocket raptors when we were starting out - it's a rite of passage.

[Sarius.9285]

14 hours ago, Mariyuuna.6508 said:

Even in group content full Berserker is almost never used and needs to be mixed with some amount of Assassin's to be effective.

most power builds use full Berserker, only very few have assassins pieces mixed in

[Cyninja.2954]

15 hours ago, Insignia.3826 said:

Do you have any suggestions or tips?

 

Good news, you've already taken the first step to succeeding. You actually decided to ask for help noticing that you are having issues with some of the content.

 

Going from here as many have said, yes HoT can be a real kick up in difficulty from core Tyria. Good news again, it is easily conquered.

 

Here are some general guidelines:

- if you are noticing that enemies are hitting you to hard, try to adapt your build. First via utility skill and traits (costs you nothing) then eventually with changing you elite specialization, weapons and/or gear (open world builds can be really helpful here)

 

- check metabattle or youtube for current "open world" builds for your class of choice. Make sure to also pay attention to gear variations which often incorporate similar but cheaper gear options (Dire gear is a favorite for beginner condition builds which have very limited gold or access to specialized stats)

 

- try to read enemies and memorize attack patterns (a lot easier on tankier setups for inexperienced players) and then adapt your play-style accordingly

 

Good Luck!

[Luthan.5236]

I think you just need to get used to it. Have only played through everything with my main (engineer) and my mesmer - so far. Surprisingly the mesmer had one recommended good build where for me it felt even easier than with my main in the HoT maps. (With chronomancer. Bunker-rish build.)

For guardian you need to remember: While it has the heavy armor ... it still is one of the chars with the lowest HP pool (lower than some with mediuim armor ... necro has weak armor + one of the highest HPs + shroud form). Since you are supposed to use aegis and stuff - and the passive heals - to stay alive.

To me (I only played guardian in core maps so far - and core guardian) ... it felt less hard to play than elementalist (keyboard acrobatics with having to switch between 4 attunements while low health pool and weak armor) and the thief (boring style of play ... always having to jump around and stealth/restealth). Avoiding the big damage spikes (since the HP is low) - and getting big stacks of conditions cleaned fast ... (+ having skills ready to do so when passives are not enough - not spamming all your skills putting them on CD but using them carefully instead) ... might be a thing that can be traind. Where you should get better by trying/training more in HoT maps.

But that only from me - my first impression after reading the post. As mentioned: I do not have that much experience with guardian myself though.

Edited December 12, 2022 by Luthan.5236

[Mell.4873]

Every expansion has some difficult elements. I imagine you are struggling with Hero Points and maybe the Meta Event.

For PoF it has to be the Map Events some can be brutal and unnecessarily complex. Like the Choya Pinata when you have low player numbers. 

EoD has probably the easiest maps but the Meta events in particular can have a much worse fail state. Unlike HoT where its pretty clear if you cant complete it, EoD can have the failure become apparent at the last 10%. Like not enough DPS in End of Dragon's meta

[Buran.3796]

  For Open World PvE Guardian builds I would always chose to run either full Trailblazer or full Celestial stats, except if running a Dragun Hunter, in which case I would chose any combo between Marauder and Dragon stats. Still, condi or hybrid choices as core, Firebrand and Willbender variants are better choices than power Dragonhunter,¡ specially at Heart of Thorns, since most of mobs in HoT have large HP with very high armor values, and condition damage ignores armor entirely.

 

   Since you swapped to Willbender I'll show you the build I use with that spec:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWABw+t7lVwUZdMM2IW2WbxUA-zRZYchRGMbMlRpVQHpgDHgw1DvlH90AA-e

   That build has ~20k HP and over 3k armor and over 2k condition damage and is based on burn damage. The highest burst I've achieved was stacking ~39 burns, and while don't last, that makes ~20k burn damage x second. Normally you stack 15-25 burns constantly, but may vary according to what the foe does (foes with dangerous attacks which must be avoided forces you to break your multi hit chains and that lowers the burns you can stack). It kills a Desert Giant in ~8 seconds and a WvW Bristleback in ~11 seconds, and the Champion Mordremoth Vinetooth in ~53 seconds.

   Condi Firebrand is easier to play (less active, lower inputs x minute) and has more "tools", but is significatively lower in dps and time to kill. In exchange, has good cc.

   Then, if you want to try something else, Trailblazer (or celestial) double staff Mirage, power (Marauder) rifle Mechanist or condi Renegade/Herald can trample thrugh HoT effortless. A couple of days ago I did a  HoT HP solo run with condi Mirage and I didn't use the heal a single time (and I don't known how to use Mesmer).

 

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

Welcome to the jungle, where everything you do can get you killed, including just standing still.

The number one thing that you can do to improve surviving in HoT is learn your CC's and how to break defiance bars.  Breaking defiance bars gives you an opportunity to do increased damaged to a disabled foe, while not having to worry about taking damage. 

The second thing is play more aggressively.  You see a pack of pocket raptors, don't try to run past them.  Jump right in the middle of them like a nuke going off - hammer them to death before they can get you. 

Lastly, learn which opponents to attack first.  When clearing out the Jaka Itzel village in the NE corner of Verdant Brink, you run in and drop a bomb on the Mordrem Troll, once it is dead, then you deal with all the adds.

 

Good luck.

[Solstice.5790]

HoT was the first expansion the developers released, after quite a long period of players gearing up and getting proficient with their classes in the core game. The difficulty of that expansion was set accordingly.

 

You don't suck, that zone is deliberately hard.

 

There is a lot of good advice in the other posts as far as builds and personal adjustments are concerned, so all I will say is "hang in there, many of us had those bumps in the road" 🦎

[ugrakarma.9416]

HoT become easier and easier when u get used to mobs atacks, and which scenarios should avoid solo, like packs of 3+ veterans that apply poison, when u reach that "point" u dont even will bother with builds.

The hardest mob's pack to me is still that Awakened groups in POF, because its a spam fest of conditions and CC.

Edited December 14, 2022 by ugrakarma.9416