Should I use level boost?

[CLayfacedMonkey.4367]

I really like narrative and stories in my games, but it is taking me a long time to level my character to max. I started a month ago and am now at level 55, but I’m tempted to use the boost to speed things up. I just wanted to know if I will be able to replay personal stories or such cause I really don’t want to skip out on any aspect of the narrative.

[Danikat.8537]

You will not miss out on anything if you use the boost. The entire game is still accessible to you at level 80, including any story you haven't done yet.

But since you're already over 1/2 way and levelling doesn't get slower or more difficult at higher levels in this game I would suggest not using it on that character. You'll almost certainly want another one sooner or later, and then you can get the best use out of the boost by using it right away.

[alchemist.6851]

Boost asap and you will only miss out on very little newbie gear

A whole new world opens up at level 80 and you can still get started on personal story... looking per hourly quality of life, level 80 is so much better than a level 10

[Cyninja.2954]

Basic rule, if it is your first character = do not boost.

This is a recurring topic lately, especially on the players looking for help part of the forum. Check out some of the threads as to why you should not boost your first character. It gets old to retype this over and over.

[Fallesafe.5932]

@"CLayfacedMonkey.4367" said:I really like narrative and stories in my games, but it is taking me a long time to level my character to max. I started a month ago and am now at level 55, but I’m tempted to use the boost to speed things up. I just wanted to know if I will be able to replay personal stories or such cause I really don’t want to skip out on any aspect of the narrative.

Yes, you should boost. You're not actually gaining any meaningful skills by leveling the slow way... for three reasons:

1) At level 80, you'll be using a whole new set of skills (and probably an entirely new specialization) from the ones you are now.

2) The trash mobs that you're killing to level, die so quickly that they're not giving you a chance to use more than 30% of your current abilities on a regular basis.

3) Almost all your your time leveling is spent in solo play. While almost all of your time after 80 is spent in group play.

Everything you do, below level 80, is just a boring, lonely, unsupported version of the game that teaches you nothing new after a couple of weeks. All the content in this game is tuned for level 80 players (even the "level 35" dungeons). A small contingent of people say that you should "never boost your first character." But I've never heard a single one of them give a good reason why. You're not learning anything killing trash mobs over and over, by yourself, with core skills you'll discard as soon as you hit 80.

[Cyninja.2954]

@Fallesafe.5932 said:

@CLayfacedMonkey.4367 said:I really like narrative and stories in my games, but it is taking me a long time to level my character to max. I started a month ago and am now at level 55, but I’m tempted to use the boost to speed things up. I just wanted to know if I will be able to replay personal stories or such cause I really don’t want to skip out on any aspect of the narrative.

Yes, you should boost. You're not actually gaining any meaningful skills by leveling the slow way... for three reasons:

1) At level 80, you'll be using a whole new set of skills (and probably an entirely new specialization) from the ones you are now.

Which he will have all gained at once instead of growing in naturally. Maybe less so at 55 but then again, from there it's maybe 5 hours to 80.

@Fallesafe.5932 said:2) The trash mobs that you're killing to level, die so quickly that they're not giving you a chance to use any more than 30% of your current abilities on a regular basis.

and this is different to level 80 how?

@Fallesafe.5932 said:3) Almost all your your time leveling is spent in solo play. While almost all of your time after 80 is spent in group play.

Not unless he finds a guild and/or starts running dungeons or fractals. something most new players do not dive in to directly with 80. Especially when inexperienced.

@Fallesafe.5932 said:Everything you do, below level 80, is just a boring, lonely, unsupported version of the game that teaches you nothing new after a couple of weeks. Everything in this game is tuned for level 80 players (even the "level 35" dungeons).

You are conveniently leaving out the story, the progression through areas based on level, the gradual acquisition of trait lines and skills (not all at once), etc.

You are taking an experienced players approach to leveling (knowing the endgame) and putting this knowledge onto a completely new player. Worst advice ever. We already have enough "what should I do" topics come up regularly. No reason to get 1 more person to join that club (or strait quit the game).

[Kanok.3027]

Don't boost. I made that mistake with my Mesmer and went Chrono. I had no freakin clue how to use her properly and completely gave up on her until I better learned how to use Mesmer...a year later. My first toon to legitimately get to 80 was my first Revenant and I did that the slow way. It was long, but it was worth it. I learned more about Revenant than I learned about Mesmer. Mind you, I was a slow learner with Guild Wars 2 because I was playing Aion for 5 years prior, so this was taking some getting used to, but once I understood it, it was so much better. After that, I leveled toons normally. Eventually, after I became better with all classes, I started boosting new ones to try new builds, work on fashion (because I love Fashion Wars) and to get a feel for an alternate play style. Still, though, if I had boosted everything to 80, I would have overwhelmed myself and quit early.

I know the journey to 80 may seem long, but it's really not. Other games make it more difficult to get to max level. I still remember the days of classic Korean MMO's that took MONTHS or even YEARS to get to max level if you were anything but hardcore. Give it a chance. You're at 55, so you're almost there! Do hearts, story, events, etc. Also do dungeons and if you have Laurels, get the XP boosts from the vendor in major cities so you can make it go by a bit faster.