HoT: I am shocked ...

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

Hello,

I have now arrived at HoT and am simply shocked at how complicated the level design is here 😕

I assume gliding and airflow while gliding is a must?
I've only unlocked gliding for now.

Will definitely be harder to finish the maps now 🙂

[Mouse.7382]

Yes. HOT and all expansions afterwards are much complex than core Tyria--requiring you progress with materies and skills.

You'll adjust just fine in time!

[AliamRationem.5172]

9 minutes ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Hello,

I have now arrived at HoT and am simply shocked at how complicated the level design is here 😕

I assume gliding and airflow while gliding is a must?
I've only unlocked gliding for now.

Will definitely be harder to finish the maps now 🙂

Welcome to the jungle!

You'll want to unlock basic gliding, updrafts, and bounce mushrooms first.  These 3 skills will allow you to reach most locations and generally make navigation easier.

Pay attention to the layer transition icons such as ramps, cave exits, etc.  They have arrows indicating which layer to switch to.  They can also give you an idea of how to reach another layer if you're struggling.

Having said that, don't get too caught up reading the map.  A lot of the objectives are not accessed directly, so keeping your eyes open is more useful than using the map.  Can I get on top of that vine? Where does that bounce mushroom or updraft take me? Can I glide to that ledge over there? 

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

I need to lvl these masteries first and maybe come back to that map later, all at some time 🙂

Thanks.

[Danikat.8537]

I think the HoT maps are much easier to deal with if you don't try to rush, at least until you get to know your way around (and get some masteries levelled up). If you take your time to explore rather than trying to go straight to your destination you'll often find a path that gets you there, and find a bunch of stuff you didn't even know to look for along the way.

A good starting point for levelling masteries is to turn left as soon as you get into Verdant Brink and follow the path down the hill then south-west across Dry Step Mesas towards Shrouded Ruins. There's several events in that area including a long event chain which repeats frequently so there's a lot of opportunities to get XP.

[AliamRationem.5172]

35 minutes ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I need to lvl these masteries first and maybe come back to that map later, all at some time 🙂

Thanks.

You need to gain experience in HoT maps to progress HoT masteries.  It may help you to know that the night meta occurs on the ground layer and when the canopy bosses spawn choppers descend to lift players up at all controlled camps (marked by gold icons on the map).  This is a good source of XP.

[Luthan.5236]

HoT has the most confusing map layout. Auric Basin will be easier to navigate than Verdant Brink but Tangled Depths will be annoying again. If you later play it again with other chars and with mounts it will be easier when you know your way around a bit.

All maps that got released later are easier to navigate. Vertical layout in the maps mentiond above makes the mini map less helpful. That is why it is harder.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

Thanks, I will take my time or I come back later if it's leveld.

[Buran.3796]

1 hour ago, Luthan.5236 said:

HoT has the most confusing map layout. Auric Basin will be easier to navigate than Verdant Brink but Tangled Depths will be annoying again. If you later play it again with other chars and with mounts it will be easier when you know your way around a bit.

  Once you have the masteries and experience from another character Tangled Depths for alts is not that hard: you use the mud teleports and in 4 minutes you'll unlock most of the waypoints and from there you can easily navigate to any zone, specially if you have mounts of any kind.

[Vayne.8563]

8 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Thanks, I will take my time or I come back later if it's leveld.

You won't level any hot masteries outside of hot, because you need hot experience and hot mastery points to level masteries in HOT. Spending time in core zones won't help you. Hot and Season 3 are the only ways to do it.

If you're on a US server I can help you. I know the zones really well and it's not quite as hard as it immediately seems.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

Im now in tangled depths. the first updrawd i can reach after the second is over, I send off too quickly 😕:

 

 

[Padrion.7382]

21 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I have now arrived at HoT and am simply shocked at how complicated the level design is here 😕

It is not as complicated as it first might seem. You need gliding to get to certain areas (which is ok as gliding is the main selling point of this expansion), but most of the maps can be reached by just following the clearly visible pathways. Much easier to get around than let's say Dry Top which was clearly designed to make players quit the game in frustration 😉.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

I need to mastery to speed up while flying, then i think it works.

[AliamRationem.5172]

9 minutes ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I need to mastery to speed up while flying, then i think it works.

You don't need advanced gliding there.  Jump through the hole in the tree to access an updraft, glide to the center updraft, then glide over toward the updraft to the right then toward the hero point on the cliff.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

I think a lot of poi and so on after the core maps are only accessible with some masteries or mounts or at least makes it more easier.

But is it really worth it to complete it, not really.

[Ashantara.8731]

On 1/28/2024 at 4:45 PM, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Will definitely be harder to finish the maps now 🙂

While all expansions are harder than the core campaign, HoT is special in that regard. I remember how painful it was to explore the first time around, and how much fun I had in later playthroughs when I already had all the Masteries unlocked. Rest assured that none of the other expansions take it that far.

[Randulf.7614]

1 hour ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I think a lot of poi and so on after the core maps are only accessible with some masteries or mounts or at least makes it more easier.

But is it really worth it to complete it, not really.

Mounts have no bearing on HoT. Itw as designed many years before they entered the game. You do need masteries. As we've said before... slow down and level things naturally and you will have less problems. There's no time limit here. 

[Tiamat.8254]

My first time in the jungle, I think pocket raptors took me out in seconds. But I think HoT might be the best mmo expac I have ever played. Dragonstand is still my favourite meta in the game. Enjoy. And like others say, take your time, you won't get an experience like this in any other mmo.

Edited January 29 by Tiamat.8254
Typo

[Danikat.8537]

14 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I think a lot of poi and so on after the core maps are only accessible with some masteries or mounts or at least makes it more easier.

But is it really worth it to complete it, not really.

If you're trying to get through the main parts of the expansion as quickly as possible as you seem to be doing then no, it's not worth doing map completion on every map as you go. It's required for some achievements and for making some legendary weapons but otherwise optional, so you could skip the parts which aren't quick and easy enough for you.

It's still worth unlocking at least the first 2-3 tiers of each mastery though, because you will need those.

You don't need mounts for any HoT map completion or achievements, mounts didn't exist when that expansion came out so it was designed to work without them just like the core maps. There are things which are easier to do with mounts, but then you also risk running into problems where you never learn the correct way to do it and so can't do the bits where mounts won't help you. There's also at least some parts where mounts won't help. (Like the dark tunnels under Tangled Depths, you can ride the skimmer there if you've got the underwater training mastery, but it won't make you fast enough to get through and prevents you carrying the lights which will keep you safe.)

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

I'm trying to finish every map, but I'm getting stuck at various points because masteries are missing, so I'll come back to those maps later.

[Vayne.8563]

17 minutes ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I'm trying to finish every map, but I'm getting stuck at various points because masteries are missing, so I'll come back to those maps later.

But if you don't play this maps, you won't get those masteries and when you come back, you might be in the same position.

[DoNotAimAtMe.3510]

I never said I don't play this maps, I just don't complete it in full because some points are not accessible at this point.

But I look for alternative ways 👍

[Randulf.7614]

2 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

I never said I don't play this maps, I just don't complete it in full because some points are not accessible at this point.

But I look for alternative ways 👍

What Vayne means is that, to get those masteries you need to be playing extensively in all the maps to get those masteries. Each mastery takes longer to get than the previous - in both xp and mastery points - so it's going to take time. We can see you are rushing through at breakneck speed which is fine if that's how you want to play, but to get the masteries it is more beneficial to just play, explore, find all the hidden things and achievemenets, discover the events and adventures. That way it will feel less of a monotonous grind when you want a specific mastery later on - a complaint many players have when they've rushed through and suddenly realise they need a mastery

[Tinker.6924]

Personally I recommend doing the HoT xpac last because the environment is so difficult to traverse without a fully upgraded skyscale.  Gliding is extremely useful and it’s almost mandatory for wvw and open world pve but you can get it from EoD “almost free”. You can now get the skyscale from soto content too. There are many guides on how to get the mount “fast” from soto (not really but faster than pof+lw4). 
 

The HoT story is very good and I got emotional over how it ended but  feel free to jump around from any content to any  other because none of the xpacs and LW’s are mandatory for doing later content.  It’s masteries for gliding and mushroom bouncing are useful in later content. The metas are still popular. 
 

if you need the hero points from any hot zone check group finder for  hero point trains and join one, most will only require that you need gliding and the raptor. You might need to use a teleport to friend to get to the group if you don’t have the waypoints in the zone. 

[Zok.4956]

30 minutes ago, Tinker.6924 said:

Personally I recommend doing the HoT xpac last because the environment is so difficult to traverse without a fully upgraded skyscale.

Personally, I recommend that players interested in story continuity do HoT before doing PoF and the other expansions.

HoT has taken the (metroidvania-like) principle of map exploration and map travel to a new level. There are so many interesting and fun ways to wander through the maps in HoT. And later also in Season 3, which is based on the HoT principles. If you want to enjoy and have fun the original way of exploring maps, you should try to play as the maps were intended.

Sure, mounts and the Skyscale make some things on the maps easier, but you take shortcuts and won't be able to experience certain things/content on the map and you won't have the opportunity to have fun with those things.

So, it always depends on what a player would like to do and what they enjoy more.