New player not enjoying PoF zones at all

[BlueJin.4127]

I’m not really a dungeon player or a raider. I don’t like fighting constantly. I prefer games where I have a lot of freedom to explore the world and relax instead of being forced to fight constantly. When I first tried this game, the one thing that instantly caught my attention was how friendly this game was to explore, instead of constantly forcing enemies down my throat to disrupt my every activity. Sometimes, I would just run all over the map, gathering, viewing vistas, sight seeing, etc. without doing much combat outside of special enemies. I enjoyed the game so much I already spent nearly $200 in less than a month. Something I have never done in any game. Unfortunately, PoF zones are nothing like what I experienced in Central Tyria.

I can’t do a thing without being forced to fight half a dozen enemies every time I get off my mount. Want to gather something? Fight half a dozen enemies. Want to view a vista? Fight half a dozen enemies. Want to switch mounts? Fight half a dozen enemies. Want to check out the map? Fight half a dozen enemies. Almost done killing these enemies? Here are some more enemies that aggroed somehow. Almost done killing those? There are more enemies respawning right here. Tired of fighting and want to run away? Here are some new enemies to aggro. Oh, and here are some Veteran enemies tossed in every few fights just to make the long fights last even longer.

It is just so repetitive and disruptive to exploring and enjoying the world. There are already plenty of combat oriented activities in the game. Sometimes, I just want to explore the world without constant disruptions. So far, I’m really disliking exploring PoF zones.

Maybe players with uber gears can burn these enemies down so fast that this is less of a chore. But for a new player, I’m really discouraged from stepping foot outside of Lily of the Elon. :/

I’m not really sure what to do... Will getting some better gears make a lot of difference? I’m mostly using rare gears, with almost nothing for accessories. My elite specialization is half full, so despite what I’m hearing about elite specs, it doesn’t feel so elite. Since this is my first character, I really wanted to stay away from HP trains so I can experience the world properly. Unfortunately, as is... I’m this close to just rushing through PoF zones only for the mounts.

[Warscythes.9307]

How did you get to lvl 80 and only have rare gear and nothing for accessories? You are missing probably around half your character's stats. Get a set of exotic from TP as soon as you can.

Also don't use your elite spec if is half full, stick to core and just use your elite when is fully unlocked.

[zenleto.6179]

I don't have PoF yet so I can't really comment on that particularly but I'd say that an investment in gear would be the way to go for that stage of the game. Also, the more you give it a go then the better you'll get, even without realising it probably. Keep plugging away and see how you go.

[Evueimeimei.5918]

Upgrading to exotic gear will definitely help with the speed that you're able to clear out enemies in the HoT and/or PoF zones. The newer areas are more dense with enemies than the old areas, generally speaking, and they also tend to hit a bit harder. While it doesn't bother me too much, I do agree with you that sometimes it's nice just to be able to do something without fighting 5+ creatures to do it, and that's something that's rare once you leave the 1-78 zones. I doubt you'll ever get quite the same experience as the core zones, but I can say from experience that upgrading gear, unlocking hero points, and a little bit of practice will make the new zones a lot faster and smoother to get around in.

[SmirkDog.3160]

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) that's not exclusive to being a new player. I've played since beta and have full ascended gear and have a lot of experience playing the game, and still certain areas of the PoF map frustrate me. There are so few pockets that are out of aggro range that are safe to stop in for longer than 2 seconds. And most of the time you get away from one group of enemies just to start getting chased by more.

People say it's supposed to be difficult, but it shouldn't be that annoying for everyone regardless of their experience.

[Rasta.2371]

Some of the areas were pretty annoying. I wish mounts were more durable until I kind of got the hang of it, especially the desolation where the mines demount you. A big issue is just trying to leave combat and mobs chase

[Dante.1763]

@Rasta.2371 said:Some of the areas were pretty annoying. I wish mounts were more durable until I kind of got the hang of it, especially the desolation where the mines demount you. A big issue is just trying to leave combat and mobs chase

Killing the mobs is often times faster than trying to run, in my opinion.

[Rasta.2371]

@Dante.1763 said:

@Rasta.2371 said:Some of the areas were pretty annoying. I wish mounts were more durable until I kind of got the hang of it, especially the desolation where the mines demount you. A big issue is just trying to leave combat and mobs chase

Killing the mobs is often times faster than trying to run, in my opinion.

Agreed. Cleaving them down with 10k hits gets you out of there in no time.

[Game of Bones.8975]

Consumables will help fill gaps or boost stats.Work on exotic or ascended gear ASAP. Skimp now pay for it later.

[Ashantara.8731]

@BlueJin.4127 said:I’m not really a dungeon player or a raider. I don’t like fighting constantly. I prefer games where I have a lot of freedom to explore the world and relax instead of being forced to fight constantly.

You're not alone in this. The ridiculously short respawn times and frequent (wide range!) aggro were probably the most criticized things about PoF.

At least, the expansion's content (at least IMO) makes more than up for this inconvenience. And they seem have taken it to heart by refraining from repeating the same mistake in the current Living World Season.

[Kaiser.9873]

No offense, but hitting level 80 and going to PoF land with no gears is not exactly the best idea. The auto-80s get full exotic gear and even the tome 80s should have some kind of usable gear.

[Perses.9683]

Gearing your character up properly will make a massive difference. You will still have to kill stuff but you’ll do it much faster than with the gear you have on now.

[Vayne.8563]

Most people don't have this problem in my opinion. That is to say, most people have played the game quite a lot and the jump from 80 end of story to the beginning of either of the expansions is a big jump in difficulty. It is hard for certain players both old and new, but I run a very very casual guild and very few people found PoF to be that daunting or annoying.

But most of us have been playing for years. It's meant to be end game content.

I do believe that Anet needs to focus on creating some safe space along the way, that's relatively obvious safe space. It's annoying when you can't even stop to look at map for example. But then, I can usually look at a map, come back and kill anything that starts attacking me. But I play a lot and I've been playing a long time.

However, you should gear up before you attempt the new zones. And you should check and make sure your build is viable as well. The core game doesn't really require you to play very well.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

I suggest that you put a little thought into learning mob movement and spawn patterns. I can move through most of the PoF zones by moving around obvious mobs and using the Raptor's Leap or Jackal's Port to get past others. Sure, I have to fight sometimes. However, once I put some skull time into seeing mob patterns, I fight a lot less than you are describing.

Otherwise, the gearing up suggestions are solid. I hope this helps, and good luck.

[Blude.6812]

Mobs in this game have always been poorly developed. Too many, too much range, too much HP, often a bug is harder to kill than a vet. They are only there to grieve you and add to the grind.

[Patchwreck.2357]

That > @BlueJin.4127 said:

stuff she said

That was my impression at first but when you get gear and learn which way to go to avoid the large groups it gets a lot easier until you get to the desolation...... don't go to the desolation.

[Bish.8627]

I do agree with OP. One of my early complaints was that it felt like they copy pasted too many mobs in zones. Some placements feel cheap, like always near nodes, bottle necks with hard hitting mobs and snipers who see you, I would say, 3 times further than they actually should. I'm glad OP didn't do the HoT maps with no mount!

I do wish at some point they would do a pass over the maps and make them more explorer friendly, less constant combat. The original maps felt like mobs were where they made sense. Now it feels like they are there to challenge and time gate a player.

[BlueJin.4127]

Thank you for the info. :smile:

I took a look at exotic gears and they're above what I'm willing to spend. Right now, my priority is saving up as much gold as possible so that I can buy utilities like infinite volatile gathering tools, shared storage, character slots, etc. during the anniversary sale without spending too much more money. I did buy some lvl 80 green accessories, so I at least have full lvl 80 gears in every slot. I also took off my elite spec and put in something else fully trained. I guess I'll experiment to see which 3rd spec gives me the most damage. I'll also keep an eye out for patrol patterns and stuff.

I don't seem to be killing things any faster yet, but I'm not too far from getting the Jackal, I think. I'll probably do PoF zones sparingly after getting the Jackal. Also, I guess the perfect time to return to PoF is when I want to try new combat stuff. That always helped me get through tedious sections in GW1.

On the bright side, so far, none of the other Veterans last as long as the Veteran Forged enemy I fought last night, thank goodness. I was trying to get to a rich orich vein. Killed like 4 Forged enemies, then spent several minutes on the Veteran Forged enemy, had to kill the respawned Forged, another Veteran Forged aggroed, more respawns... after like 10 minutes unable to get any closer to the node, I just said (something mean with the f word this and s word that) and left.

Also, I am very curious about the desolation, now.

[Eddbopkins.2630]

Get proper gear and accessory befor stepping in to lvl 80 areas...with out it, youll be killing mobs forever because of your crappy damage....if ud like when i log on i can send you some coin to gear up properly its not that expensive 10g at most for a set of beserker gear i believe.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

That is one of the issues I had with PoF as well. It's also the reason why it is I think PoF is harder than HoT. The enemies in PoF are designed to pose a threat to players who are zooming around on their mounts. To do this, they gave all of the enemies extremely long range attacks, long aggro range, long leash distance, and made them travel in packs. In the worst cases this can result in protracted fights that take 10 minutes or so, just because everything within eyesight decided it hates you.

Upgrading gear will definitely help. As always, I recommend glass cannon gear, because killing enemies fast can save you a lot of time. Another thing that helps is if there is an enemy group that you'll know you have to fight, take the initiative and engage them first. Taking the first strike helps a lot in fighting enemies.

[Oglaf.1074]

The immense aggro range in PoF in contrast to the rest of the game (as well as all the mobs having a hidden damage multiplier towards mounts so they snipe you real quick) is definitely the thing I absolutely hate the most with those areas.

I was very vocal about it immediately following the launch of the exp pack.

Thankfully the Griffin makes it almost tolerable because mobs don’t seem as good at shooting things outta the sky - but they still aggro from a ridiculous range and two/three shots the poor thing if they do manage to hit.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

As a new player, I would not recommend the expansion maps right away. If all you are concerned with is exploring and acquiring Gold, you might consider completing the Core Tyria World map(s). Especially, if 10G for armor seems too costly. You can also acquire Exotic gear from vendors in Orr for Karma.

After Core World completion, you might ease into Dry Top and The Silverwastes, to get more acclimated to end-game content.

Good luck.

[BlueJin.4127]

@Eddbopkins.2630 said:Get proper gear and accessory befor stepping in to lvl 80 areas...with out it, youll be killing mobs forever because of your crappy damage....if ud like when i log on i can send you some coin to gear up properly its not that expensive 10g at most for a set of beserker gear i believe.

Thank you for the offer. :smile: While I appreciate the offer, I would like to try gearing up on my own. I want to experience the game as naturally as possible, if that makes any sense.

I think I might be killing things a little faster. Though I’m not sure if I am, or if the fight seemed faster because I was pulling things of my own will to test things. For certain, though, I am taking less damage, so getting accessories did make some impact.

[joneirikb.7506]

Just to point out something, the entire game at level 80 (as in every map with 80 level recommended, from last map Orr and thus all expansions and living stories etc), are balanced around players having level 80 exotic gear.

So I'd recommend you to take a few golds and upgrade the gear to exotics before saving up everything to convert to gems etc, since you're literally playing the game on hard mode/self handicap mode.

That said, I can respect that, I enjoy playing self handicap mode myself. And if you like the challenge, keep at it!

---

Some numbers from the wiki: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item#Rarity

Going from "Rare" to "Exotic" for all gear pieces is actually a +14% increase all over. Which is the second largest jump in effective stats, after White->Blue.

If you're using Rare armor+weapons, and masterwork (green) trinkets, you're probably closer to around 17% under a full Exotic.

Remember that you can buy exotic level 80 armor with the basic stats from the Orr Temples (Berserker stats at the temple of Grenth) for approx 500 000 karma. Though you'll probably have to get the weapons/trinkets at the TP.

[Krew.3081]

@BlueJin.4127 said:

@Eddbopkins.2630 said:Get proper gear and accessory befor stepping in to lvl 80 areas...with out it, youll be killing mobs forever because of your crappy damage....if ud like when i log on i can send you some coin to gear up properly its not that expensive 10g at most for a set of beserker gear i believe.

Thank you for the offer. :smile: While I appreciate the offer, I would like to try gearing up on my own. I want to experience the game as naturally as possible, if that makes any sense.

I think I might be killing things a little faster. Though I’m not sure if I am, or if the fight seemed faster because I was pulling things of my own will to test things. For certain, though, I am taking less damage, so getting accessories did make some impact.

Keep on upgrading. As others have posted, most zones are made for players that are running Exotic gear. Accessories are a great way to start. I have a small group of friends that play. Most are new to the game. If you ever want to bounce ideas or have some friends to play with and or help, send/add me in game. Keep on doing what you're doing. You'll get there!