Essences are another Economy failure.

[frazazel.7501]

Is SotO really worse than IBS?

• Putting aside Champions, the IBS story was pretty good, but SotO's story is pretty good, too, and it's not over yet. Too early to say.
• SotO provides many new weapon options for every build. IBS has nothing like this.
• SotO provides slightly more armour and weapon skins.
• SotO provides access to crafting legendary armour and a legendary relic. IBS provides access to cheap ascended trinkets and crafting cheaper bags. Slight advantage to IBS for new players.
• SotO provides new, faster access to skyscale. But you want to do LWS4 unlock anyway, so this is mostly only a benefit for helping new players get up and running faster. IBS provides nothing like this.
• SotO provides more impactful masteries for open world traversal, but IBS's EMP station is decidedly more impactful for hard open world bosses. It's hard to say which one wins.
• Both provide 3 new maps plus a hub with a teleport scroll. They each provide some different, minor benefits. No obvious winner here.
• SotO provides maps that really only provide access to materials for the legendary armour and for some weapon skins via their meta events. IBS provides 2 different good farming maps, and provides access to LWS3+4 currencies. IBS seems to be the winner here, but SotO could possibly make a comeback.
• SotO provides 2 strikes with challenge modes and convergences. IBS provides 7 strikes with no challenge modes and Dragonstorm. Advantage to IBS.

I agree that it's tighter than it probably should be, but it still looks to me like SotO brings a little bit more value to the table. And there are still unknowns that SotO will be adding.

[Astralporing.1957]

1 hour ago, frazazel.7501 said:

• Putting aside Champions, the IBS story was pretty good, but SotO's story is pretty good, too, and it's not over yet. Too early to say.

First part of SotO is really good, but the one from the patch is Gyala level... if that's an indication of what we'll get in the next two patches, IBS will win easily. Although, sure, Anet can still surprise us.

1 hour ago, frazazel.7501 said:

• SotO provides slightly more armour and weapon skins.

I don't think that's true. Armor skins seem to be equal (IBS has also 3 sets: Rune, Bear and Shaman. Although legendary armor will change that in SotO's favour. Weaponwise however IBS has more. It has several tiers and/or variants of 4 sets (Boreal, Charged, Tengu and Dragonslayer) which add up to more sets than present in SotO. Unless i missed something.

1 hour ago, frazazel.7501 said:

• SotO provides more impactful masteries for open world traversal, but IBS's EMP station is decidedly more impactful for hard open world bosses. It's hard to say which one wins.

IBS also has the mount stealth mastery, which i personally find to be very useful. Although this might be just my personal opinion.

1 hour ago, frazazel.7501 said:

• Both provide 3 new maps plus a hub with a teleport scroll. They each provide some different, minor benefits. No obvious winner here.

Numberwise, yes (but see below)

1 hour ago, frazazel.7501 said:

• SotO provides maps that really only provide access to materials for the legendary armour and for some weapon skins via their meta events. IBS provides 2 different good farming maps, and provides access to LWS3+4 currencies. IBS seems to be the winner here, but SotO could possibly make a comeback.

This is where IBS wins hard. SotO maps are pretty much useless outside of legendary armor farming (and even here, rifts are better farmed in core maps due to downscaling and map bonuses). And the patches are unlikely to change it (we've already seen large part of last map, and the overall design for the whole SotO seems already set in stone and is unlikely to significantly change in the last moment. In IBS however Drizzlewood alone has more worth than all what we've seen of all 3 SotO maps together.

As i see it, the primary value of SotO is the open world legendary armor. If you want it, SotO wins by default. If you are not interested (i.e. because you already have a different legendary armor set), SotO worth suddenly drops to near zero however.

And, of course, last but not least, SotO is supposed to be an expansion, while IBS is a cut and unfinished LS season... that comparison really does not seem good for the newest content at all.

Edited January 26 by Astralporing.1957

[Pinkeh.4207]

the amalgamated kryptis essence that neds 50 ectos is the killer. Nobody wants to waste 50 ectos on that kitten. If you have no interest in armor or relic just throw the essence out. 

[Shiyo.3578]

Gyala Delve is the best meta in the game.(part1)

Healers matter. DPS matters. Buffers matter.

It's the best gold/hr in the game.

This hatred over Gyala is so weird.

You prefer metas that give less gold than Queensdale and pose zero challenge where nothing matters? Cause thats every SotO meta.

[Linken.6345]

2 hours ago, Shiyo.3578 said:

Gyala Delve is the best meta in the game.(part1)

Healers matter. DPS matters. Buffers matter.

It's the best gold/hr in the game.

This hatred over Gyala is so weird.

You prefer metas that give less gold than Queensdale and pose zero challenge where nothing matters? Cause thats every SotO meta.

Are you sure you have played drizzlewood and dragonfall?