Is combat still fun on the same character after pushing past level 80, and...

[solfizz.5730]

do the specializations help at all? Does the new expansion do any kind of tweaking to the combat system, and finally, would you say that the game has improved significantly in other areas since HoT 2015 shortly after launch? Thanks!

[kharmin.7683]

I'm not sure that anyone could really answer this as it is all so subjective.

[solfizz.5730]

Thanks for getting back to me first of all.

I know it's going to be different from person to person, but that's kind of the point. I want to gather what some people like about the combat system and others don't like so much about it in order for me to get as many perspectives as possible before redownloading the client.

For you personally, what would you say if you don't mind me asking?

[Josif.2015]

@solfizz.5730 said:do the specializations help at all? Does the new expansion do any kind of tweaking to the combat system, and finally, would you say that the game has improved significantly in other areas since HoT 2015 shortly after launch? Thanks!

The new specializations give players a new way to play their professions. For example, Scrapper is a tank, Holosmith is DPS and CC, Tempest is support, Weaver is evasive DPS, Dragonhunter uses longbows, Firebrand is support etc.

And yes, the game has indeed improved significantly after launch.

[Sephylon.4938]

@solfizz.5730 said:do the specializations help at all?

Yes, each espec is a new playstyle for the classDoes the new expansion do any kind of tweaking to the combat system,Not as a whole. Pof mobs spam boons and condis unlike core, and most hot mobs. All the new bosses in pof, especially bounties and meta bosses, are heavier towards mechanics and makes use of the defiance bar.and finally, would you say that the game has improved significantly in other areas since HoT 2015 shortly after launch? Thanks!Personally, I'd say yes.

[solfizz.5730]

Thanks for the additional responses! I am really considering getting back into the game.

[Alex.4982]

Hi solfizz. I'd strongly recommend you get back into GW2. The elite specs, mounts, and story developments have really improved the game. I'm someone who joined when the game went free to play, have been a huge fan ever since and played both expansions, and feel the game has only continued to get better and better. A big GW2 youtuber named WoodenPotatoes (check out his channel!), who has been around since GW1, I think rather accurately stated that GW2 is in its prime right now. To add yet another perspective to my own and WP's, check out this video uploaded only just yesterday by TheLazyPeon (a big mmo youtuber) who originally did not like GW2 a while back, but goes in-depth into why he now is really enjoying GW2 and why he would recommend it

. I hope this stuff helps you decide for yourself if you'd like it, and I hope to see you in Tyria =)

[solfizz.5730]

@"Alex.4982" said:Hi solfizz. I'd strongly recommend you get back into GW2. The elite specs, mounts, and story developments have really improved the game. I'm someone who joined when the game went free to play, have been a huge fan ever since and played both expansions, and feel the game has only continued to get better and better. A big GW2 youtuber named WoodenPotatoes (check out his channel!), who has been around since GW1, I think rather accurately stated that GW2 is in its prime right now. To add yet another perspective to my own and WP's, check out this video uploaded only just yesterday by TheLazyPeon (a big mmo youtuber) who originally did not like GW2 a while back, but goes in-depth into why he now is really enjoying GW2 and why he would recommend it

. I hope this stuff helps you decide for yourself if you'd like it, and I hope to see you in Tyria =)

Thanks for the resources. I JUST got back from watching that video, and I also used to follow WoodenPotatoes. It's cool to hear how even he thinks GW2 is in its' prime.

[Hybarf Tics.2048]

Only if you have lv 30 swim infusion and slave for it every day. :'(

[solfizz.5730]

@Hybarf Tics.2048 said:Only if you have lv 30 swim infusion and slave for it every day. :'(

What does swim unfusion do even? That's how out of the loop I am.

[Hybarf Tics.2048]

In theory it is supposed to make you swim faster, how fast is a question I cannot answer and have no interest in even if it helps with underwater combat. I love underwater combat but because Anet have lost their marble again with crafting the infusion my combat will have to do without. Every day I get my infusions then sell them. B)

[Redenaz.8631]

Ignore the suggestion about the swim infusion—That's just a gold sink they added recently and it's not important.

I'd say GW2 has gotten quite a bit better on most fronts. The HoT maps have been balanced / practiced to run like a reasonably well-oiled machine now, and they're still fun to do. Path of Fire introduces interesting new areas that aren't as heavily designed on meta events, so they're not just "HoT in the desert," and the mounts have opened up a lot of new ground for exploration, both in the new maps and in the core game areas. Path of Fire mobs generally seem more interesting, mechanically, then HoT mobs, and my casually-playing friends seem to find them less frustrating. The grind has been significantly reduced compared to HoT, especially HoT immediately after launch.

I think specializations are great if you want to make a character feel new, without having to learn a completely new character. My main is Elementalist, and while I didn't get into Tempest from HoT, I switched into Weaver when I started PoF and made myself stick with it, instead of just depending on my usual build. I found that freshened up the experience considerably, going from Staff to Sword/Dagger, but the learning curve wasn't as severe as learning completely new profession mechanics, like switching from Ele to Thief or something.

I'll never say the game is perfect, but it seems like the game is in an enjoyable place right now, and PoF's launch felt a heck of a lot smoother than HoT's.

[Ashabhi.1365]

The only additional piece of advice that I can offer is this:

Play the game. I don't mean for an hour or two. Play the game for a couple of weeks and learn what you've missed while you were gone and then give it another week to really get into the "new" stuff. Once you have you first four mounts (the fifth, a griffon, is a different type of acquisition) then you can really see how well the game is really doing.

If you add me to your friend list in-game, then give me a yell when you see me, I'll be happy to help if I am able.Cheers!

[solfizz.5730]

Thanks for the additional insight! I'm not sure if I should just ask this here, or create a new thread but I am considering downloading this onto an HDD as opposed to my SSD (because there's only 70gb remaining as is). Does anyone else here have the game installed on their HDD currently? And if so, are the load times that long? I've had it installed on my HDD on my laptop when I first got the game back in 2011, and then again on my SSD inside my new computer. If I have a pretty fast PC overall, are the load times THAT much better on the SSD?

[Ashabhi.1365]

@solfizz.5730 said:Thanks for the additional insight! I'm not sure if I should just ask this here, or create a new thread but I am considering downloading this onto an HDD as opposed to my SSD (because there's only 70gb remaining as is). Does anyone else here have the game installed on their HDD currently? And if so, are the load times that long? I've had it installed on my HDD on my laptop when I first got the game back in 2011, and then again on my SSD inside my new computer. If I have a pretty fast PC overall, are the load times THAT much better on the SSD?

My old computer is strictly HDD. I have nothing to compare it to. Just saying that HDD is perfectly viable.

[solfizz.5730]

@Ashabhi.1365 said:

@solfizz.5730 said:Thanks for the additional insight! I'm not sure if I should just ask this here, or create a new thread but I am considering downloading this onto an HDD as opposed to my SSD (because there's only 70gb remaining as is). Does anyone else here have the game installed on their HDD currently? And if so, are the load times that long? I've had it installed on my HDD on my laptop when I first got the game back in 2011, and then again on my SSD inside my new computer. If I have a pretty fast PC overall, are the load times THAT much better on the SSD?

My old computer is strictly HDD. I have nothing to compare it to. Just saying that HDD is perfectly viable.

Good to know, how long would you say the loading is for you?

[Haco.1546]

I think it's better. It became a little more difficult, I remember that at the time that launched HoT I had a huge difficulty adjusting (played as elementist in vanilla) and this made me try to play with other professions, overall became more fun with the elite spec.

[Sinful.2165]

I personally think core necro is extremely bland and not at all for me.. until I tried the reaper elite specialization that completely changes the way the class plays. I love it.

I really enjoy the variety added to the game in the form of new elite specs and the new ways to interact with the world (gliding and mounts). Totally worth it.

[solfizz.5730]

Thank you!

OK, I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask, but how long does it take to get one elite specialization for any given class on average? I remember I got like 2 or 3 "sub" abilities back when HoT first came out but it seemed like it would have taken a lot longer for me to get the rest. Has the progression rate in this area changed at all?

[Ceit.7619]

You can usually jump on a hero point train and get the specialization unlocked pretty quickly. Core HP's are only worth 1 point, but HP's in HoT and PoF are worth 10, so you only need to do 25 of them to fully unluck a specialization.

[Plautze.6290]

Hey there! Here go my two cents:Once I reached 80 on my main and had him stuffed out with matching exotics, he developed into a wrecking machine. After I had the HoT spec fully unlocked and learned, he developed into Death Incarnate, despite being quite squishy. So I would say that reaching 80 is actually the beginning of the true game, seeing that you don't unlock your third spec slot until lvl 71.

TL;DR:Combat gets even better after 71+ and as you unlock and learn to understand the elite spec.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

The game improved significantly. It is a lot better than vanilla: more specs to choose, better and more complex mechanics of bosses and overall improvement of graphics (new areas), mounts etc.

[Stalkingwolf.6035]

@OP Yes :-)

[Emprer.7256]

@Hybarf Tics.2048 said:In theory it is supposed to make you swim faster, how fast is a question I cannot answer and have no interest in even if it helps with underwater combat. I love underwater combat but because Anet have lost their marble again with crafting the infusion my combat will have to do without. Every day I get my infusions then sell them. B)

You are not answering the question at all. What is this even? there's already another thread for swim infusion, I don't see why you are dicussing it here where combat system is asked.

To the op, elite specs do change how a class plays quite significantly. That is just play style though. As to how fast to complete an elite spec, it depends on how you get them. You can join on HP trains which I believe people still run from VB to TD in HoT maps. That should take about 2 hours from my experience and that'd get you more than 250 HP points you need to finish one spec. You can also see if people are doing HP run in PoF maps, which you can also do solo. You can also play WvW and get the currency in exchange for HPs. But I suggest HP runs bc it's less time consuming if you don't already have the currency.

Edit: just wanted to add you will have to look through LFG for HP runs. It usually starts from VB. You'd have a hard time following the group if you don't have gliders and masteries (or mounts but that depends on the commander) so get them if you can just in case. follow closely and speak up early if you need help.

[starlinvf.1358]

For the box price, the game and expansions are well worth it. Just don't make the mistake of trying to make it your "only" game.... its built in a way that makes grinds a lot more obvious, and so far every attempt to add that doesn't completely capture the skinner box effect most games abuse the crap out of. This is actually a good thing; but a lot of people mistake this for the game not being designed well for "long term rewards"- Which is objectively wrong. The game has a fairly large amount of long term rewards added since launch. Many of the early attempts are extremely interesting, and the rewards range from quality of life improvements to desirable skins.

But what it lacks is enough mid-term rewards to break up the length, since the game itself is designed to get you to an End-Game status as fast as possible. As a side effect of this, a lot of the QOL rewards are at the end of the chain, leaving no reason to continue short of farming for gold/mats. And once you have them, theres often no reason to go back unless you really like the mode. But probably their biggest mistake was making the QOL desirable to other game modes, since they were using it to boost player population in said game modes. Like legendary armor being useful for build craft and casuals [who don't generate enough gold to keep up with meta changes, perpetuating a barrier into harder game modes]. But the Legendary armor itself being a massive investment in both time, effort and gold, that forces players to establish efficient farming techniques.... and by the time you have whats needed to build it, you're either sick of the mode, have multiple gear sets, or no longer find justification for having it.

I've been working on WvW Legendary armor for roughly 6 months now, and now that all my WvW characters have dedicated WvW gear for their builds, I can't figure out which one Weight Class I could justify making a set for. This is further compounded by the fact that Trinkets are now the bigger concern for fleshing out builds (Trinkets make up 50% of your stats, Armor 35%, and Weapon 15%); but armor remains the most expensive of the 3 to manufacture under most circumstances. But since PoF blew the lid off of choosey armor stats, and you can get them all over the place if you know where to look, its getting harder to justify the cost associated with Asc armor if you're not looking to min/max that last 6% for upwards of 10 times the cost. And with WvW, 2 weeks of reward tracks while doing weekly skirmish tickets nets you 6 boxes of exotic armor that you can choose any weight class and any stat currently in the game.... wvw basically covers itself. But trinkets remain time consuming to get by comparison, involving hours upon days of farming LS3/LS4 maps for daily token caps; plus are much harder to repurpose later on.

Since only the end point matters, all the inbetween rewards they give barely see any use. And when a lot of these high end collections are almost purely gold/karma sinks, and often time gated somehow, they land up being frustrating for no productive reason. That disparity is pretty significant- and I think important to be aware of, due to a lot people having a habit of binge gaming one title at a time until they get sick of it and move on. And frankly there isn't enough titles anymore to support that kind of player cycle.

But if you can get around the two extreme ends of the spectrum, the game has a hugely enjoyable middle band that most of the casual players have settled into. In the rush for "end game" people don't take time to enjoy the game's much stronger exploration aspect. To this day, I'm still stumbling across things in the map..... ones I've done map complete for months, if not years ago. Not many games are capable of doing that.... and that needs to be appreciated, so we can carry awareness moving forward.