Which order?

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

Hi,

In which order is advised to play the dlcs and season?

Are the storyline between them important?

I wish to play the last dlc first because of the weaponmastery.

Thanks.

[Stitch.1794]

The chronological order is:

1. Personal story
2. Living story season 1
3. Living story season 2
4. Heart of Thorns
5. Living story season 3
6. Path of Fire
7. Living story season 4
8. Icebrood Saga
9. End of Dragons
10. Secrets of the Obscure

The weaponmaster training unlocks fairly early in SotO (I think during chapter 3 of that story), so you could play through that far, then go back to the start.

As for the advised order, it depends what you want.  Playing out of order, you'll get some spoilers for other stories, but playing out of order would let you unlock some things early - HoT for gliding, PoF for most mounts, season 4 for beetle and skyscale mounts, EoD for the jade bot, and SotO for weaponmaster and alternate way to get skyscale.  If you don't mind story  spoilers and are more interested in features, it's up to you if you want to play out of order.

[Danikat.8537]

You can play them in any order you like, the only restriction is that within a release you can't skip ahead - so for example you can't start from the final boss fight of Heart of Thorns, you have to do the whole expansion story in order, but you can play individual Living World episodes out of order, because those were seperate releases.

The story itself is linear and there is a lot of continuity, if you skip ahead you'll encounter characters who won't get any introduction (because you're supposed to already know who they are) and they'll talk as if they know your character, they might also reference past events. But that's the only downside, if you don't mind the spoilers and not understanding everything that's being discussed you can do things in any order you like.

Also everything except the Personal Story is repeatable, so you can go back and play it in order later on if you want to.

[Donari.5237]

Even the Personal Story is repeatable, just need a different alt (and if that alt's a different race,  your first few instances will be different).  In fact you'd want three alts of each race for the first sets of episodes because each race gets three different starter plots.

If you do just enough SotO for weaponmaster you shouldn't get very many spoilers at all from earlier story.  There will be references to some npcs and to a couple of major events, and your character's role and voice delivery will reflect the cumulative toll of all the previous adventures, but the writers designed it as a fresh start with only one roll-over npc, who happens to be one that's been missing since 2014.  If you want zero spoilers you'll need to go in order, but if you are ok with a few minimal ones and can just sort of ignore the references you don't understand, you're safe enough.

[ShadowCatz.8437]

3 hours ago, Stitch.1794 said:

The chronological order is:

1. Personal story
2. Living story season 1
3. Living story season 2
4. Heart of Thorns
5. Living story season 3
6. Path of Fire
7. Living story season 4
8. Icebrood Saga
9. End of Dragons
10. Secrets of the Obscure

The weaponmaster training unlocks fairly early in SotO (I think during chapter 3 of that story), so you could play through that far, then go back to the start.

As for the advised order, it depends what you want.  Playing out of order, you'll get some spoilers for other stories, but playing out of order would let you unlock some things early - HoT for gliding, PoF for most mounts, season 4 for beetle and skyscale mounts, EoD for the jade bot, and SotO for weaponmaster and alternate way to get skyscale.  If you don't mind story  spoilers and are more interested in features, it's up to you if you want to play out of order.

@DoNotAimAtMe.3510

SoTO on this list isn't story wise that important as that is starting another main story line. Yes, you will have trouble to know names that are mentioned or why Zojja is talking about her life in Tyria.

The main story line from Living World Season 1 and forward will end with  End of Dragon. It is a very long road ahead if you are going to focus on main story line here, so don't get overwhelmed. You will unlock at least one Mastery Point from just doing story once, and then you can repeat it for more reward and also unlock more Mastery Points.

I would recommend to look up on wiki before you start a story what achievement you can finish just from your first play through as that will save you some time and sometimes make it easier. It will spoil a bit of surprise maybe, but will save you from having to restart story from scratch which can be annoying if there is no check point or very long time before check point so you don't have to run through the same story with cut scenes again.

Cut scenes can be jumped to end (look at right lower corner if that option is there, move your mouse while cut scene is playing). Not all cut scenes can be jumped forward or jump to end, to start fight or action that is needed.

 

Like @Stitch.1794 mention if your goal are more to get stuff and unlock maps, then I would recommend to look up on wiki what is needed to unlock map and that way progress to get mounts (depending if want to do it the old why through PoF or SoTO), Jade Bot (which give you more HP, if craft or purchase from TP Jade Core) and Gliding (which you can upgrade either from Bloodstone Fen Unbound Magic vendor or from SoTO - it is helpful during Convergence as an example when you are in combat mode (and can not summon a mount) to use a dash like skill or heal, do damage with skills while Gliding [this is depending on map; you wont have access to these skills in every map]).

All in all it depends on how you want to progress story to understanding what is going on in each map (as maps after all are built around what mechanic there is and what is going on during meta etc.).

I would recommend first to invest time to unlock core Tyria Mastery as you will then get access to autoloot (very helpful when you kill a lot of mobs, so don't have to interact on every corpse to loot or interact with chest from WB as you will instead get it directly in your characters inventory). You will also have access to purchase in LA collection that you can start to collect while doing map unlocks or map completion for Legendary weapons.

Living World Season 3 maps is also good to early unlock as there you can farm Ascended Trinkets and Backpack. Get at least one set as Ascended items can be moved to other character. If you get all Ascended trinkets and backpack (all six slots), then you can manage with only Exotic gear and weapon, until you want to buy or craft those (just wait until you can unlock/craft Legendary weapon and armour).

Ascended and Legendary have the same attributes, so the main difference her is that with Legendary you can change attributes when out of combat, while with Ascended you have to purchase an item and craft or use an Insignia or Inscription with that attribute you want to change your Ascended into in Mystic Fontaine.

Her is a link to GW2 wiki about Bloodstone Fen: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bloodstone_Fen

As you can see wiki explains how to get there and what is needed to unlock that map. What you can find there as for resources and what kind of vendors that map.

Don't get stressed out to do too much at the same, remember that for Bloodstone Fen you will need to have unlocked Gliding (and with that also Updraft and Ley-Line Gliding) to get around that map, so will have to work on HoT first and its Mastery track.

If you need to do Heart of Maguuma (look at linked page on right side) task for Wizard's Vault, then Bloodstone Fen counts as part of HoT maps. You can purchase a Map Navigation scroll (Portal Scroll and Tome; Tome will add that Portal Scroll, so you only need to have one slot for that Tome for all LW season 3).

[Lucy.3728]

13 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

In which order is advised to play the dlcs and season?

The game will do that for you.

You start with the core story, then the game will automatically continue and start season 1 etc.

[Stitch.1794]

4 hours ago, Lucy.3728 said:

The game will do that for you.

You start with the core story, then the game will automatically continue and start season 1 etc.

Not necessarily - automatically starting the next story has some bugs and has been known to sometimes start the latest story instead of the next.  It's always worth checking in the story journal that it's on the right one.  For example, last time I completed chapter 15 of EoD, it skipped chapters 16-18 and went straight to SotO.

[Teknomancer.4895]

Start at the beginning, proceed to the end, then stop. The sequence of release is plainly shown in the hero panel.

But of course you wouldn't even be asking if you were willing to do that. Pick & choose whatever you want. 🤷‍♂️

 

PS You already created a thread just like this. Why make another when the answers have already been provided? 🤨

Edited January 21 by Teknomancer.4895
PS

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

1 hour ago, Teknomancer.4895 said:

PS You already created a thread just like this. Why make another when the answers have already been provided? 🤨

Because the other one was a question about new chars and this one was about quests so completely different topic. You don't throw that together in one thread 🙂

PS. thanks to all.

[ShadowCatz.8437]

10 hours ago, Lucy.3728 said:

The game will do that for you.

You start with the core story, then the game will automatically continue and start season 1 etc.

There is an exception for this when you don't finish your Personal Story as every time you finish any other story it will go back in Journal to Personal story that haven't been finished until all PS have been done.

[ShadowCatz.8437]

  

4 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Because the other one was a question about new chars and this one was about quests so completely different topic. You don't throw that together in one thread 🙂

PS. thanks to all.

It is up to GW2 moderator how they will look at what content should be merged into one thread, but it is best to ask question that are closely related in one thread instead of having multiple threads open at once.

It is to avoid this forum to be full of threads from the same poster of threads when same poster could just as well used one thread and don't have different people to repeat what they answered and to avoid confusion.

You as poster might know what other have responded in your first thread, but someone that respond in your second thread might not know that you had more then one thread going on with related questions, that is why cross posting in general is something that most forum don't encourage their members from doing.

 

[evilcat.6817]

You can always start storyline, unlock the area and then jump to another. So for example you can unlock expansions just to jump into new zones, run 1st mission for that, and then progress in chronological order, if you complete whole chapter you dont even loose progress that way.

I have several characters with just open PoF 1 for hero points. Sometimes you can jump with teleport scroll or teleport to friend, but sometimes there are no scrolls on that zone.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

Why is season 1 a low level zone ? 😕 feels bad

[DeanBB.4268]

World bosses are in starter zones. Awakened invasions are in starter zones. Etc.

Don't think of GW2 like WoW or some other game. All zones remain relevant, you get somewhat downscaled when you play in sub-80 zones, but are still rewarded. I've gotten a precursor from a JP chest in Caledon Forest. Plus, if some event in a starter zone moves you to an instance, it doesn't matter.

[Linken.6345]

3 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Why is season 1 a low level zone ? 😕 feels bad

When season 1 was active they only added to the maps that was already there in a 2 week cycle so thats why they are in lower level zones.

Same with season 2 but there they added 2 zones drytop and silverwaste that are free for core accounts.

[synk.6907]

4 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Why is season 1 a low level zone ? 😕 feels bad

Why does it feel "bad"? Just because it's not a new, max-level zone?

Briefly, it was terrific when it happened. Season 1 was a truly "living world", with map zones physically changing as content was happening. For example, we got to see the refugee camps arise where they didn't exist before. Kessex was forever altered as trees were chopped down and the Tower was constructed in secret, later revealed and destroyed to leave Kessex as it is seen today.

In any case, the instanced portions are max level. Do you dislike going back to existing areas and getting additional story? Like DeanBB.4268 stated, map zones in core Tyria do have suggested levels to them, but with scaling mechanics they don't really stop being relevant. Other expansions and things like collections and events associated with various releases bring players to them, not just Season 1.

 

Edit: This post is NOT me saying you're wrong. My intent is to give a little context on why it is like that and how I don't see re-visiting older zones as an issue. Perhaps it will change your mind, perhaps not!

Edited January 23 by synk.6907

[Padrion.7382]

On 1/20/2024 at 9:21 PM, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Are the storyline between them important?

That is very subjective. I'm personally playing it mostly in order but the story in GW2 isn't so great that you will regret it for the rest of your life if you get a spoiler or two, if you know what I mean. If you really want weapon mastery for whatever reason just go for it.

[Buran.3796]

On 1/20/2024 at 9:21 PM, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I wish to play the last dlc first because of the weaponmastery.

  You can unlock weapon mastery in the second mission of the SotO story; it will take you 60-90 minutes since you enter in the expansion (probable can be rushed, I'm talking about normal pace).

  I would do:

1) Rise character to 80.

2) Start HoT to unlock gliding.

3) Start PoF to unlock the basic mounts, then...

4) Start SotO to unlock Weapon Mastery then go back to 3 then to 2 then finish things in order. You can also re-start (and repeat) the story mode as many times as you want so you can first unlock what you want then do the staory mode from the basic game to today with no hurry.

Edited January 24 by Buran.3796