New player not enjoying PoF zones at all

[Alchimist.4738]

I'd understand the criticism if you were exploring HoT maps without a mount, which can be brutal, but in PoF it's very easy to avoid combat with your mount, you just have to avoid the outposts on the roads, and obviously dangerous areas like the brand.

[Sartorius.3716]

PoF is kinda comfy tbh, but it's also true that is harder than tyria maps, you just need a bit of training. I really suggest you to buy an exotic armor/weapon from the trading post. Remember that having good stats will help you kill mobs faster, and killing mos faster will get you a lot more money than just saving up for something else.Killing without dying 10 times is more fun too.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Alchimist.4738 said:I'd understand the criticism if you were exploring HoT maps without a mount, which can be brutal, but in PoF it's very easy to avoid combat with your mount, you just have to avoid the outposts on the roads, and obviously dangerous areas like the brand.

Well the biggest problem was trying to go through it with half the gear missing. Even if it was ascended instead of rares that is still a lot of missing stats.

[SunTzu.4513]

Okay, you are new to the game. You haven't a full set of exo equip and not full unlocked on espec at least. Get some more exo gear and keep upgrading. Also farm HP for your full espec. Some espec aren't that powerfull but some others are a big game changer. If you want some more help in case of class building you can post your build here for some more advices.

Use this tool for it:

en.gw2skills.net/editor/

[sorudo.9054]

@Warscythes.9307 said:

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

i only had my full spec unlocked after i completed half of PoF, what you say is kinda BS.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"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. 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.

If you're wearing rare gear with missing accessories then, yes, improving your gear will make a significant difference. As will unlocking the elite spec for your class. It's also important to have a build that works and appropriate stats on your gear to support it. Even with all of these things, it's going to be a lot to take in if you're new.

I don't know what class you play, but I do have a great new player build for Mirage (mesmer PoF elite spec). If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed and you're looking for something very easy to play, inexpensive to gear, yet effective at surviving and taking down groups of enemies including veterans, you might give this a try:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQFAWnsICNohFMDWoBMMjlZjysC2tWyv+3//vMAutkB-jByCwAQUC+SHAgHAgw9HCcBAMY+zn6PNV+RKgEGtB-e

This build has very high health, armor, and condition damage. It's powered by dodging and kills, which function synergistically. Dodging increases damage, which increases kills, which increase damage further. Dodging also generates boons and other beneficial effects while avoiding significant amounts of damage.

It would cost less than 20g to buy everything you need on the Trading Post and the build is so simple you can play it with literally no knowledge of the class. Just dodging and ambushing repeatedly will clear through most of what you encounter in PoF open world.

[Daishi.6027]

Get dmg gear, exotics will do. I get bored killing trash mobs too, so make it quicker.

Use skills and tool items to help avoid or kite mobs.(mes, theif, ranger, necro do this best.) (Tools like portal gun, turrets, "Prototype Position Rewinder", etc.)^imo this is kind of a fun way to deal with mobs you can't be bothered with.

In general you have to work for convenience that is the game's natural progression. However, To achieve the minimum amount of "power" to clear mobs quickly is not a difficult task. If you don't enjoy dungeons or anything like that you may want to at least stand in the back and poke world bosses just for the reward.

Unless you are playing the trade post it's going to be a struggle to make gold without killing things or running content.

You said you spent $200, if you generally have more disposable income you could justify the payment as time you didn't spend grinding. with the gem to gold exchange you should a decent set for just $10 and have more gold to spare.

Also look around for functional builds, I get you may want to play the way you like but synergy in your skills can add to the convenience. You always have the option to tweak later to suit your playstyle.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

Scarabs, sand lions and serpents are a nightmare that won't end. Deserts just suck in any game. Here's to the next expansion not having any wastelands.

[Omega.6801]

@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.

I'd go for the gear first, gemshop stuff later. The first set of exotics might take you a while. If you're into crafting I'd take that route, gathering the materials you need and all that. Dungeons or WvW are usually the fastest ways to get Exotic Gear, but if that's nothing for, it's nothing for you and that's fine. ;)Having a good set of gear and a build that keeps you alive while putting some mobs down wil make everything easier for you. I'd advise to not go for defensive stats on your gear as much of the damage in this game can be prevented by experience, i.e. dodging, blocking, invul-frames, outhealing. The more experience you gain, the less you will need stats like toughnes or vitality. But that's just me, for open world PvE basically anything works. But one more advice on that: the problem you have, fighting a mob, then another, then another two, then the respawned first one and so on, comes from low dmg output, having more offensive stats will make you take less time to kill things, giving the things less time to kill you or to respawn, just have that in mind while choosing gear. (Linking MB for inspiration on open world builds).Mix offensive and defesive utility skills, bring a stunbreak and a way to cleanse conditions. That's about it.

Enoy the journey :)

[Xantaria.8726]

@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.

Do you only have PoF? Or do you also own HoT and the Living world Storys? Cause if you dont then i would recommend you to at least get the Living world Season 3 Episode 3, cause on the map of that story you can farm winterberries, which you can trade for asc accessorys. (you can get ~50-60 Berries for each Character each day there, one accessory cost ~200-500 Berries depending on if its the backpack, ring etc) This would already be a huge upgrade on gear, even more if you dont even have exotic.Otherwise you could trade in some laurels for asc accessorys as well.Also if you are in need of money i would recommend HoT. The metas on those maps gives you a jewel you need for gen2 legys, which can be sold for ~1g50s each and you can get 4 each day, besides some other loot from the event. Another good way to make gold is the istan farm in Living world Season 4 episode 1 from pof if you unlocked it.

Otherwise gear is only have the job. The other and harder part is your class and your playstyle. What class are you using? What is your playstyle? Based on that we could also give you some advise on what might be good on it/suit your style^^.

[Dami.5046]

when I started out and hit 80 on my first character, I got a karma set from orr, brought myself an exotic weapon and used my laurels to get trinkets from wvw ( which i regretted later cos i caught the crafting bug) I got a exotic backpack for karma to tide me over too.I 'm not a big fan of mobs mobs everywhere and I now have full ascended characters, but I would say in lvl80 areas you need better gear and really think about getting those trinkets, even exotic ones.

[BlueJin.4127]

Hehe, this is a lot of info to take in at once.

I'm using a Guardian. I'm using an offensive build with just a little bit of defense added in. To clarify, I'm not having trouble with the difficulty of the contents. I have no problems fighting multiple enemies (unless I accidentally pull too many enemies) nor do I feel that I'm killing too slow. Just yesterday, I had no problems fighting an Elite and 2 Veterans at the same time (though admittedly, these Veterans were less dangerous than others). I just get tired of being forced to fight every time I dismount and enemies chain aggroing while I'm fighting can make fights drag on, particularly if Veterans aggro.

It's a good point that with better gear and killing faster, I may earn gold faster. In all likelihood, it's unlikely that I'll earn significant gold before the anniversary sale starts, so I'll consider buying some gears. It's just that I'm not used to buying gears. I don't know much about GW2's gear progression, but I'm more used to earning gears through character progression. I'm on my first character, so I'd rather not just buy gears. I was going to kill Tequatl, but I got up late. Doh! I'll have to wait a few more hours.

Also, does 15% increase in gear stats make for a huge increase in damage? If 15% increase in stats leads to killing 15% faster, I'm not sure how much difference that'll make. But if I kill like 25% faster, I think that would definitely be noticeable.

I have HoT and PoF, but not LS2 or LS3. I was considering buying LS2 and LS3 since story in HoT and PoF seem much better than personal story. I'll keep the info in mind for when/if I get LS2 and LS3. Right now, I'm trying not to do too much HoT and PoF other than glider and mount. I'm kinda interested in going in order for the story.

The reason I spent $200 isn't because I have disposable income. It's just that new players start with so little I had to spend money. I also need to look good so I bought some outfits. I think that's where majority of my gems went. :tongue: Other things were mainly storage related items. And since my friend helped me so much, I gifted him a mini. I still need to buy more convenience stuff but I really don't want to spend more money. That's why I'm trying to turn gold into gems so that I won't have to spend as much money by the time Anniversary sale starts. ^^

Thank you for the info everybody. I'll come back to these tips when I get to these areas in the game.

[Trise.2865]

Seriously though, how did you get to Elona without exotic gear? you get a full set playing your Personal Story and another just levelling to 80... and more max level Exotic gear playing through Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire stories.

[Ashen.2907]

Have to admit that seeing a sand eel agro and leap from the better part of a mile away is a bit off IMO.

[Evueimeimei.5918]

@BlueJin.4127 said:

It's a good point that with better gear and killing faster, I may earn gold faster. In all likelihood, it's unlikely that I'll earn significant gold before the anniversary sale starts, so I'll consider buying some gears. It's just that I'm not used to buying gears. I don't know much about GW2's gear progression, but I'm more used to earning gears through character progression.

I'm not sure which games you might be comparing to, but GW2 gear acquisition isn't quite the same as in most of the games I've played in the past. While you can definitely get gear from loot drops or events, that tends not to be the primary source of gearing up in my experience. Most people I know get their gear primarily from crafting or from the various currencies (karma, laurels, LW S3 zone currency, etc). I'd say, personally, I've probably bought 2-3 pieces of gear total from the trading post. What I usually do when I get a new character leveled is craft weapons, then go to Orr to buy armor and rings with karma, and leave the accessories/amulet as whatever masterwork or rare I have until I can get one from loot/story/currency. I'm still very slowly progressing my armor from exotic to ascended doing it through a combination of crafting, item collections, fractals, and LW currency vendors.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You can get an Exotic Back item from the Festival right now, pretty darn easily. It even comes with selectable stats.You can, also, choose Exotic Weapons with selectable stats from the Daily mini-Meta.
These items are very easily acquired.

Good luck.

[joneirikb.7506]

Well if you don't have any trouble with the difficulty then just enjoy as you have.

I'd still grab exotic weapon, because it both increases the stats AND the basic weapon damage number, so will give the largest damage boost.

Cheap options for the rest:

If you're saving up laurels you can buy ascended quality amulet + rings for those, which won't cost you a dime. If you have some extra Badges of Honor (WvW currency, also comes from some achievement chests, so check the wallet before you say no) you can get them a bit cheaper at the WvW laurel vendor.

If you're in a guild and do weekly guild missions, you can get guild commendations, that you can trade in for Ascended accessories, and an exotic backpack.

And as said, Orr lets you trade karma for full exotic armor, and also various trinkets.

---

General about GW2 and loot drops/gearing.

GW2 works a bit different than most other MMO's in that it isn't supposed to be a hurdle to gear up. Exo80 is the "standard" that everything in the game is tuned/balanced for, and 10g will get you a set of Exo80 on the TP (even if not the most popular stats). Now the game also has a very random drop system, so if you're going to play and ONLY equip what you drop, you could play for years without getting a full set of exotics in the stat set you want. This is done intentional by ANet, because they WANT players to look to other options to fill out. This is done to encourage options like just using the TP! or to craft, or doing specific content like Dungeons or the Orr temples.

I've played this game since launch, and I can count on 1 hand how many times I've gotten an Exo80 drop with berserker stats, for example. In addition trinkets (amulet, rings, accessories) drops fairly rarely at all, so can be hard to fill out unless you grab some for Karma in Orr etc.

If you're ok with "earning" things, then look to either dungeons (trade tokens for specific stat set exo80), or the Orr Temples (for bunch of karma).

If you want to play the drops only, enjoy! just trying to inform what you're likely going to face.

[Lanhelin.3480]

To avoid fights jump on something that requires a jump to get there, either jump on your own or use the rabbit. Most mobs cannot jump and when there is no path to get there by walking, aggro will instantly drop to zero. This is also valid for mobs who pretend to fly, technically they don't.

[VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.]

I spent a lot of time in low levels maps. I like the relaxed atmosphere. Nothing is hard, and some are just gorgeous. I also like to mentor new players. So yay.

I liked the HoT maps and sometimes return to them despite the fact that there isn't much to be done there left. They are so.. beautiful. So nicely themed. Each one telling a chapter of the story.

And then there is PoF. I did the story, did the griffon, did 100% map completion and I am only ever returning for dailies. I just can not enjoy them. Sure, some spots are awesome. Sadly you can hardly enjoy them. Usually I love npc chatter. But on PoF maps it is just annoying me. Those whiney, arrogant, Kormir loving elonians.. I hate them all. Some of the skins to earn there are sweet. But I would have to spend time on those maps. And I really don't want to. I am not afraid of 'hard' mobs. But the fact that even next to a waypoint you can not relax in some places is so so not cool.

I am also sick of desert landscapes.

And then there was the worst map in the game.. Kourna. I did what I had to do for the mastery, the beetle, the ugly banner - and fled, never to return to that crapfest of soul destroying boring repetition. Istan was bad enough, the mechanics behind those falling stones and branded tool bad enough to contemplating skipping that content entirely, but at least it had some beauty spots. Sandswept Isles had some nice npc chatter - and also beauty spots and some variation in the stuff going on

Kourna has crappy dialogue, the same 5 events over and over and over and over (might be six or seven, I do not care. The next time I hear 'nooo Thekla I was going to save you' I will destroy my keyboard. Wah... makes me long of the days of Lake Doric, Bitterfrost Frontier or Siren's Landing. Maps I spent loooong time on, because they were fun.

Kourna has all the bad things of Bloodstone Fen, without its good sides: the mind boggling landscape, the good rewards and fun gliding mechanics.

[Ithilwen.1529]

It sounds like you used a level 80 boost?

You can still explore the low level areas and especially play the main storyline. ( You can find the story missions by pressing h then choosing the star symbol on the left of that screen ) Your level will be scaled automatically for these. I also like the story and exploring.

[phs.6089]

Gear up, Join a HP train to unlock your elits, firebrand and dragonhunter. That will help alot. Learn you class builds and traits.

And do get to https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sandswept_Isles. Half of the map is a picnic zone. Love it

[TheOuroborus.6387]

I frickin' HATE PoF. TOO MANY ENEMIES! There isn't a single place you can just stand and enjoy the world without constant and relentless aggro. Not fun or pleasurable at all.

[Klowdy.3126]

2 minutes ago, TheOuroborus.6387 said:

I frickin' HATE PoF. TOO MANY ENEMIES! There isn't a single place you can just stand and enjoy the world without constant and relentless aggro. Not fun or pleasurable at all.

There most definitely are. Get up high. You can't just hang out on the ground all day, but you can go AFK on a pillar or cliff. Also, this was quite a necro right before a ton of new content which will take people away from PoF zones.

[Fuchslein.8639]

There should be a gathering thread "I hate Hot/Pof/soon to be EOD!" where everyone can let off steam

[Obfuscate.6430]

On 8/3/2018 at 7:06 PM, 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. 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.

I agree with you in that I strongly feel they should not have enemies close to vistas. Vistas were put there for us to appreciate a view of the world we are exploring but when you're having to run for your life that isn't happening.

Exotic gear and a strong understanding of how to use your class will absolutely make a huge difference. I agree with you when you talk about how difficult it is to explore. Many new maps share the issue you talk about. Your absolute best bet which will help you in all stages of your skill development is to find a friend to play with you and watch your back.  Please don't lose hope!