[VOTE] What is the best Expansion overall? HoT, PoF or EoD?

[Zok.4956]

It's been some time since the release of EoD and the other expansions. By now everyone should have played the content that is most important to them.

According to your own criteria, what is the best of the three expansions overall?

[Sylvari.2953]

HoT by far! Best story (Sylvari lore for the win), best elite specs, best massively multiplayer experience (meta events that are still relevant, challenging hero points, etc).

[jokke.6239]

Well I'm a bit unfair with my vote since I just started EoD (been away from the game)

But I voted POF as best

I don't grind META's.

POF was more focused towards my prefered kind of gameplay.

And mounts is the biggest feature added to the game I can think of 

[Fueki.4753]

Story-wise (and ignoring the follow up living world out of fairness due to EoD having none), they are equally pretty bad and feel too quick.

Outside of story, PoF is my favourite. It's maps look better than EoD's or HoT's and it has no maps that was created with the purpose of getting people lost.

PoF's mount masteries also are far superior to what HoT and EoD have.

In terms of elite specializations, PoF also is slightly above HoT for me. Currently, I don't enjoy any of the EoD specializations.

[Farohna.6247]

I love revisiting HoTs metas now...with mounts and all my masteries.   And I enjoyed the story, but.....I gave it to PoF for mounts, big open maps, and Joko.  I like the bounties, achievements, and metas and think it had a good balance.  

[Jin.8501]

HoT because it's unique experience 

[Westenev.5289]

I think in terms of the state of balance on release and replayable group content, HoT was the best. Sure, you had broken buggy BS like Revenants always phasing into walls/floors every time you hit sword 3, and pocket raptors/mordrem sniper firing squads/frogs need no explaining. The jungle legitimately felt threatening, oppressive and surprisingly vast with gliders, and exploring felt rewarding with collections hidden in nooks and cranies. Meta's like Chak Gerant, Auric Basin and Dragons Stand have also remained relevant to this day. I also preferred the state of balance of E-specs, which offered powerful options that was subsequently nerfed into uselessness (RIP herald shield).

 

If Anet has gotten better at anything, it's that PoF and EoD most certainly have better stories (imo), but from a gameplay perspective they don't hold a candle to HoT.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Westenev.5289

[DarcShriek.5829]

I voted for HoT.  Let it be known though that it's only because of the extensive update that was done 9 months after HoT's release.

[Sobx.1758]

Hot, maybe even with a special mention of the initial "no mounts HoT". To be clear, mounts are great and I like using them, but exploration of HoT maps felt better without them imo.

[Harfang.1507]

I went for HoT, because it still has the most replayable content once you remove all the achivements, collections and various sundries that require you to grind a particular map.

PoF deserves an honourable mention: easy to navigate maps, toned down HP challenges, best feature in game with mounts. And let's not forgot the old GW ambience music; I cannot get enough of it. Oh, and yes, the best villain: Joko (thought that's really more S4 than PoF proper).

EoD . . . bof. Some really good elite specializations, but it just does not do it for me.

[Gorani.7205]

Exploration was a unique thing in HoT, which people on mounts really can't experience any more. Doing the maps without on demand gliding and being able to run by those knock down mushrooms and murder raptors in VB made PvE and exploration challenging.
Compare that to PoF maps, which are bigger, but either feel more empty or enemies follow you forever / aggro from everywhere. Or compared to EoD, where Skiffs are either more clumsy Skimmers or platforms to fishing (which is more overcomplicated work that in between fun). And Defensive/Offensive jade stations are giving players easy mode boons, when ANet's design team for EoD mobs was kind of too lazy to put in the work to make unique encounters (very subjective IMO, but that's who I feel, when I enter combat and get every boon for 30 seconds).

[Gazrul.3086]

I enjoyed all three expansions, but I have to vote HoT as the best one for me, as the map design and meta events are incredibly fun, well-done and unique. 

[Ashen.2907]

I really disliked the writing and jade tech aesthetics of EoD so it takes my worst spot but HoT gave it a run for its money. An expansion where A friend asks for help with a bit of content in one of the new (HoT) maps but I cannot get to them in time due to the design of the map ruins the game for me. I ended up taking an extended break from the game. When I came back my entire view and approach to the game had changed. I left my guild, no longer played much with others, tended to ignore map chat, tuned out requests for aid, and generally became a solo loner in a game where much of my enjoyment previously had centered around engaging with the content with others, helping friends and strangers alike, making new friends, and so on....

I still think that EoD is by far the worst in terms of writing, story, characterization, dialogue, and aesthetic design....but HoT changed me as a gamer. Ive since gone back and played through HoT a couple of times, and visit the maps occasionally....I always liked the higher degree of challenge, but always solo now.

 

PoF was fun.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Ashen.2907

[Randulf.7614]

2 hours ago, Sobx.1758 said:

Hot, maybe even with a special mention of the initial "no mounts HoT". To be clear, mounts are great and I like using them, but exploration of HoT maps felt better without them imo.

As much as I love mounts, I agree HoT pre-mount was the better experience

[kharmin.7683]

23 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

As much as I love mounts, I agree HoT pre-mount was the better experience

I never understood this.  What prevents players from choosing to play HoT maps without mounts?

[Randulf.7614]

1 minute ago, kharmin.7683 said:

I never understood this.  What prevents players from choosing to play HoT maps without mounts?

Willpower 😛

[Fueki.4753]

27 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

I never understood this.  What prevents players from choosing to play HoT maps without mounts?

Back then, it was that everyone explored on foot together (kind of). But, now that the majority of people uses mounts, that kind of exploration is gone. This probably also ties into HP trains using mounts these days, instead of the originally intended ways to reach the Hero Challenges.

There probably also are some players feel the need to use mounts to keep up with other people during metas.

So, while people can technically choose to play without mounts, the experience of certain activities objectively has changed with the introduction of mounts to the game.

24 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

Willpower

I don't think this has much to do with mounts.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Fueki.4753

[Val.7826]

While I really liked the last mission against Balthazar in PoF (the chasing of the war machine and the boss fight) more then probably every story boss fight in the game, I have to say that HoT is the best expansion without any doubts:

• Best ambientation
• Best maps
• Best metas
• Best feeling about the danger of an Elder Dragon, felt again only with Kralkatorrik in LW4
• Best context in general

The only thing is that the avatar of Mordremoth inside his mind is very disappointing

PoF is also good and have a linear but well written story imho, but it's far from be the best expansion due to its inconsistent metas that make the maps not really memorable. Still, it opened the path for LW4 which is really well connected with in many points, so that's a pro

Most of people would say that mounts are so good and they rise the quality of the expansion by themselves, but while the mounts in this game are probably some of the best mounts in MMOs, exploring HoT without them was one of the best experiences I had in this game, and I regret the fact that all the maps and expansions camed after PoF are designed for mounts and not for exploring by walking or gliding

EoD is... meh... and they killed Mai Trin too soon, the only interesting NPC with a real potential in that expansion, I hope she's still alive somehow. I like when they have the courage of killing a main NPC's, they can really make you feel the pressure of the situation, like with Eir or Blish, they should have killed Braham or Rytlock at the end of IS, there was a perfect moment for both that could improve the quality of the saga, but Mai Trin was really a waste of potential, the Revenant of Scarlet thing could became a freaking interesting thing.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Val.7826
New considerations + grammar

[idpersona.3810]

Personally, I'm not surprised that HoT is winning the poll. Lots of players on the forums seem to have a real soft spot for it. I like PoF in general better than HoT. I think if PoF had better metas it would be much better comparatively. As is, for me, PoF wins by a tiny amount. Mounts are just too good of masteries. Gliding is great. Mounts are just more versatile.
And I know opinions vary, but Tangled Depths is one of my least favorite maps in the game. HoT does have the best metas though.

EoD is....fine. It has some real enjoyable aspects to it, but far too many stumbles to really be good.

Edited June 27, 2023 by idpersona.3810

[kharmin.7683]

51 minutes ago, Fueki.4753 said:

So, while people can technically choose to play without mounts, the experience of certain activities objectively has changed with the introduction of mounts to the game.

 

I don't disagree with this point.  I was questioning why players can't simply explore the zone without mounts should they choose to do so. 

To the thread's point, I hate HoT but can very much appreciate it for the effort and novelty that was put into it.  It is an amazing expansion in that regard.  I just don't enjoy it.  I'd choose PoF if it weren't for the ridiculously large aggro ranges of the AI.  EoD was sub-par IMO.  Having said all of that, I tend to spend a lot more of my time in central Tyria or in the LS maps.

[Artemis.8034]

My vote is HoT, even though I didnt start till after pof released I did hot on the ground without a mount and I think its the best story driven crazy zones and unique experience out of them all. 

[Farohna.6247]

2 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

I never understood this.  What prevents players from choosing to play HoT maps without mounts?

My first play thru I did exactly this.  Played the game as it was originally designed, and it was a lot of fun and effort.  People have a massive fear of missing out or not being able to catch up, and jump straight to mounts, and the other expansions.  To each their own, but I agree it's a choice.

[Stralgarr.7561]

All 3 are equally meh imo, I still prefer vanilla GW2.

HoT is more nostalgic, though.

[Val.7826]

56 minutes ago, Stralgarr.7561 said:

All 3 are equally meh imo, I still prefer vanilla GW2.

HoT is more nostalgic, though.

Vanilla could be really great, but it's old and full of glitches, it deserve a remaster but sadly it's not possible

[Killthehealersffs.8940]

Too bad there was too much focus in the Soo-Won OW event and Strikes ... and we could use this expansion as the starting point of new accounts  ...  where people had a shorter version of Core without the slog , bypassing the need to redisn the Core .

Lets stabilize for 1-2 expanions , and retry with "Eltrich Gods " stories

 

Edit:Or use the same pattern for PoF , in the 5th expanion , and scrap alltogether the "we need hardmode OW Clearing Ire" (they dont have the numbeers to  fill a taxi) and crate something new event , while the 85% of the maps remain the same . In the 8th expanion we could do something for EoD

 

Edit2:Or take the chance in each expanion to create and expand a "new Char Civil War" sidestory...which will be used as Starting Core point for new accounts  in the 8th expanion .  Technicly it will be "new content" for every1 😛  ...

Edited June 27, 2023 by Killthehealersffs.8940