Please make it so players want to be in PoF maps

[BlueJin.4127]

I think PoF maps look amazingly beautiful. Anet's artists have done a wonderful job. Every time I fly around my griffon, it just takes my breath away how beautiful PoF maps are. Gameplay wise, they're also really good. While I personally prefer HoT maps in terms of gameplay, PoF is much more solo friendly and relaxing for exploration. Between HoT maps and PoF maps, there are two very different but amazing styles of maps that players can really get hooked into. However, despite the amazing job Anet has done, there are some issues that really push players away from PoF maps, which is a real shame.

1) Ridiculous aggro range of enemies - I was just talking in map chat earlier today and this is why I decided to post here. Despite the amazing job Anet has done on PoF maps, the ridiculous aggro range of enemies single handedly turns PoF maps into complete garbage (IMO). I'd start getting immersed exploring the beautiful design of PoF maps, then all of a sudden, a whole bunch of enemies from outside my screen constantly aggro and are like, "No, you're not gonna explore, because we're going to spam you with forced fights after forced fights after forced fights! Oh, are you done dispatching the initial enemies and are waiting for the game to let you mount? Here are more aggroed enemies!" This really kills any kind of fun I was having. It is very disruptive and is the main reason I just stay away from exploring PoF maps like the plague. This really should be addressed to make exploring PoF more FUN.

2) Poor event rewards - Since I don't spend much time in PoF maps, I don't know much about this. However, I read this a lot in the forums and I'm sure other players can explain in more detail.

Anet, please do not abandon PoF maps. Go back and address these issues. Personally, I'm afraid of purchasing the missing LWS4 maps or any future expansions because I just feel like Anet just abandons things at the drop of a hat and I would simply be wasting money if there's something I really dislike.

EDIT - One thing I forgot to mention, is that the aggro range can drive new players away. One of the players in chat appeared to be a fairly new player. He wasn't good at combat and couldn't handle the swarm of enemies that aggro from such long range and sounded very frustrated.

Enemies outside PoF have aggro range of about 600. PoF enemies have aggro range of about 900. Some specific enemies appear to have different values (such as that ice elemental enemy in Bitterfrost).

[Randulf.7614]

I don't disagree with you, but these are points raised many. many,many times since pof dropped to precisely zero response to my recollection. The appetite for addressing pofs shortcomings doesnt appear to exist beyond adding bits into ls4 collections which of course showed a lack of understanding of the original feedback in my mind.

Either they feel it is populated enough or that they don't want it to be like HoT and become a "go to" area, but as we come to the end of LS4 and start to move towards LS5 and away from PoF, I din't think we will see any wholesale changes now.

[ArmoredVehicle.2849]

I think PoF maps need something in the same vein as Core Tyria world bosses, something that sticks and people will want to keep repeating, maybe add a new armor/weapon set? Despite the HoT complaints about not being very solo friendly, I still find it has more content and replayability than PoF.

[alchemist.6851]

just need a dragon stand meta boss

[Jeknar.6184]

PoF map meta events needed to be more rewarding for the ammount of effort you need to put on them (To be compared to HoT maps or even Domain of Istan). Also, Desert Highlands and Crystal Oasis need a actual meta event.

[Dante.1763]

@BlueJin.4127 said:I think PoF maps look amazingly beautiful. Anet's artists have done a wonderful job. Every time I fly around my griffon, it just takes my breath away how beautiful PoF maps are. Gameplay wise, they're also really good. While I personally prefer HoT maps in terms of gameplay, PoF is much more solo friendly and relaxing for exploration. Between HoT maps and PoF maps, there are two very different but amazing styles of maps that players can really get hooked into. However, despite the amazing job Anet has done, there are some issues that really push players away from PoF maps, which is a real shame.

1) Ridiculous aggro range of enemies - I was just talking in map chat earlier today and this is why I decided to post here. Despite the amazing job Anet has done on PoF maps, the ridiculous aggro range of enemies single handedly turns PoF maps into complete garbage (IMO). I'd start getting immersed by the beautiful design of PoF maps, then all of a sudden, a whole bunch of enemies from outside my screen constantly aggro, and really kills any kind of fun I was having. It is very disruptive and is the main reason I just stay from PoF maps like the plague. This really should be addressed to make exploring PoF more FUN.

2) Poor event rewards - Since I don't spend much time in PoF maps, I don't know much about this. However, I read this a lot in the forums and I'm sure other players can explain in more detail.

Anet, please do not abandon PoF maps. Go back and address these issues. Personally, I have no interest in purchasing the missing LWS4 maps or any future expansions because I just feel like Anet just abandons things at the drop of a hat and I would simply be wasting money if there's something I really dislike.

I completely agree with point number 1, ive given up trying to screenshots almost entirely in POF because the only way to do it unless you are in a place enemies dont spawn is to hope that a nearby mob doesnt aggro, pull you, push you, or swarm you under. The range that they aggro is absurd and so to is their leash ranges, i get they upped both because of mounts but its absurd to the point of being unenjoyable if you happen to get demounted.

As to revent rewards; most events reward UNID gear, which depending on what you consider a reward can be decent, or terrible, personally since its items i like it. Now, i do full heartedly believe that the meta events reward far to little.

@ArmoredVehicle.2849 said:I think PoF maps need something in the same vein as Core Tyria world bosses, something that sticks and people will want to keep repeating, maybe add a new armor/weapon set? Despite the HoT complaints about not being very solo friendly, I still find it has more content and replayability than PoF.

Well, the maps do have metas the rewards are just terrible for the amount of effort, coordination, and time required. The weapons and armor sets are only enough to get people to play on a map for a short time unless the collection is absurdly hard to obtain, which..again still for a short time.

@alchemist.6851 said:just need a dragon stand meta boss

Its far to late for that, the Dragon Stand Meta boss is the entire map and as such would require an entire map redo which is for sure not going to happen in the POF zones. maybe in a new map, but the LW maps dont really have the same problem that PoF maps do.

[Shivvies.3921]

Let's be honest, once you've done all bounties (terrible content imo btw) you only come back for collections and it takes 10 minutes to get what you want in PoF.

So I agree, they think requiring PoF map activities to get collection items would keep the maps alive. Or requiring a ridiculous amount of trade contracts for trinkets... I dunno, they might be missing some points, it doesn't feel like their normal way of making a zone fun but requiring it as a chore.

I LOVE PoF but there is nothing to do there. I wish they overhauled rewards and badly scaled events.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Jeknar.6184 said:PoF map meta events needed to be more rewarding for the ammount of effort you need to put on them (To be compared to HoT maps or even Domain of Istan). Also, Desert Highlands and Crystal Oasis need a actual meta event.

Crystal Oasis? That is the only PoF map with a meta that attracts many people.

[Jeknar.6184]

@Khisanth.2948 said:

@Jeknar.6184 said:PoF map meta events needed to be more rewarding for the ammount of effort you need to put on them (To be compared to HoT maps or even Domain of Istan). Also, Desert Highlands and Crystal Oasis need a actual meta event.

Crystal Oasis? That is the only PoF map with a meta that attracts many people.

I forgot Cassino Blitz actually exist... But I often find it failing due the lack of people doing it.

[DaFishBob.6518]

I think PoF maps do actually have some worthy rewards but it's not readily apparent that they are valuable. Unidentified gear may have been looked at funny in the beginning for example but finding that they're affected by Magic find made it apparent how valuable they really are. Trade contracts seem useless unless you use them to open up material shipments which more often then not turn out to be a terrific investment for material gathering.

Treasure hunting kits are another thing because of the chance to find material shipments, unidentified gear, freshwater pearls. Now I put this into another section because I will acknowledge that using treasure hunting kits is an absolute pain with the maps as they are. The kits are clearly designed with mount usage in mind based on where the treasures tend to be buried and the special action being usable while mounted, problem is the whole can't mount in battle and being constantly harassed by angry desert critters. That reminds me, I want a change or a mastery that let's us mount during combat and puts a cool down on mounting instead like when a ranger changes pets during combat. Would make the desert less annoying.

[BlueJin.4127]

@DaFishBob.6518 said:Treasure hunting kits are another thing because of the chance to find material shipments, unidentified gear, freshwater pearls. Now I put this into another section because I will acknowledge that using treasure hunting kits is an absolute pain with the maps as they are. The kits are clearly designed with mount usage in mind based on where the treasures tend to be buried and the special action being usable while mounted, problem is the whole can't mount in battle and being constantly harassed by angry desert critters. That reminds me, I want a change or a mastery that let's us mount during combat and puts a cool down on mounting instead like when a ranger changes pets during combat. Would make the desert less annoying.

OMG, I remember this. I once decided to try the treasure hunting kit, then after killing a dozen or so enemies in the treasure area, I never bothered with the treasure hunting kit ever again.

Stuff like this really hammers the point. What's the point of having stuff to do, when the aggro range just drives players away.

[Shivvies.3921]

Never had aggro range issues re treasure hunting kits and I'm routinely doing them to get a full set of harriers. They are just not that good per time especially if you are the least bit unlucky that day. Fresh Water Pearl from them is not a good enough reason to do them. Mussels are plenty.

[Etria.3642]

Tried them a couple times. They are terrible. I just delete them now.

I would love to explore the pof maps but as soon as you dismount to go prodding and looking into things it's just combat endlessly. Like good grief. Leave me ALONE for at LEAST long enough to waypoint away.

[Zaklex.6308]

@Shivvies.3921 said:Never had aggro range issues re treasure hunting kits and I'm routinely doing them to get a full set of harriers. They are just not that good per time especially if you are the least bit unlucky that day. Fresh Water Pearl from them is not a good enough reason to do them. Mussels are plenty.

I will echo the comment about aggro range, and add just not during the Treasure Map meta event(which happens every 2 hours and is the only time you want to use those maps). Only do the Treasure hunting during the Meta, I can get 12 of the Superior Treasures in a 20 minute time span and I rarely, very rarely have to battle any enemies to collect it; I think of the 80 or so I've gathered I may have been in combat 5 times, max. I think people have just brainwashed themselves into thinking the aggro range is different in PoF than it is in Core and HoT maps, it's not really, and all it takes is to be aware of your surroundings if you want to explore or take a screen shot, there are tons of places you can just stand around in PoF and nothing happens...maybe slow down and smell the roses?

[Shivvies.3921]

Honestly, there are patrols and there are a lot of mobs from your pov but that's because in pof maps we usually can see more of the zone wherever we stand :P

Also each "pull" is longer because they do a lot of soft cc and have some hp.

I believe these contributed to the perception that PoF aggro range is different.

[BlueJin.4127]

It is not a perception; it’s a fact. Outside PoF, enemies have aggro range of about 600. In PoF, enemies have aggro range of about 900.

If you don’t believe me, you can measure the aggro range yourself using skills with above ranges. Enemies in Tyria, for example, you can get close enough to use 600 range skills at center before they aggro. The same skill, you cannot use against PoF enemies before you aggro them because they have 900 aggro range.

[Shivvies.3921]

Are you sure you are testing from the same side? I'm pretty sure mobs have higher aggro ranges from the front as opposed to their flanks/backs.

I'm not saying you are wrong. Just never felt like that to me so I was inclined to assume that was what it was.

In any case, aggro means nothing until you take damage in this game and some mobility utilities are always helpful in areas with a dense mob population just as a suggestion. Not that it makes the arguments invalid or anything.

[BlueJin.4127]

Excellent question. I just checked and direction does not seem to matter. I was in LWS3 against undead and White Mantle with enemies facing me. They aggroed at around 600 range. In PoF, I was at 900 range and behind them when the enemies turned around and shot at me.

[Shivvies.3921]

I don't know. Maybe this is related to the fact that I LIKE dispatching enemies.

Had similar discussions in Bitterfrost. You know how people just drop enemies on you and then limp away with "chilled" on their bar? I can understand not wanting to deal with mobs in PoF as they are rarely "lucrative" to kill but in Bitterfrost they are also heart completion so shrug

I wonder what the Anet reason for making them aggro from farther in PoF maps.

[phs.6089]

@"Shivvies.3921" said:I don't know. Maybe this is related to the fact that I LIKE dispatching enemies.

Had similar discussions in Bitterfrost. You know how people just drop enemies on you and then limp away with "chilled" on their bar? I can understand not wanting to deal with mobs in PoF as they are rarely "lucrative" to kill but in Bitterfrost they are also heart completion so shrug

I wonder what the Anet reason for making them aggro from farther in PoF maps.

Something made them believe that community likes dealing White Mantle from Bloodstone Fen and Lake Doric, I assume.

[Vayne.8563]

@BlueJin.4127 said:

@DaFishBob.6518 said:Treasure hunting kits are another thing because of the chance to find material shipments, unidentified gear, freshwater pearls. Now I put this into another section because I will acknowledge that using treasure hunting kits is an absolute pain with the maps as they are. The kits are clearly designed with mount usage in mind based on where the treasures tend to be buried and the special action being usable while mounted, problem is the whole can't mount in battle and being constantly harassed by angry desert critters. That reminds me, I want a change or a mastery that let's us mount during combat and puts a cool down on mounting instead like when a ranger changes pets during combat. Would make the desert less annoying.

OMG, I remember this. I once decided to try the treasure hunting kit, then after killing a dozen or so enemies in the treasure area, I never bothered with the treasure hunting kit ever again.

Stuff like this really hammers the point. What's the point of having stuff to do, when the aggro range just drives players away.

I treasure hunt all the time. I never fight enemies. I get in, get the treasure and run until I'm out of aggro...even if I have to jump off a cliff and glide till I'm out of aggro, then mount, and use the next treasure map. I usually get 12 or 13 chests during an average run. Just put on some run skills, maybe condition removal and get out of there. Why even bother fighting. The goal of the treasure hunt is to hit and run.

[Yargesh.4965]

Remember when the forums where full of OMG meta events are killing this game. Ohh I hate Heart of Thorns maps because I am forced to do a 15 minute event to get the big loots?I do.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

The key difference between PoF maps and earlier maps is that PoF provides better tools(1) to "run between the raindrops" more effectively, and so it has bigger raindrops that counteract those tools somewhat, but the advantage given by the tools (mounts) remains.

(1) Griffy, Petey, Mr Buns, Carlos, Raptor and Skimmer.(2)

(2) I'm open to suggestions for good nicknames for the Raptor and the Skimmer.

[Shivvies.3921]

@Yargesh.4965 said:Remember when the forums where full of OMG meta events are killing this game. Ohh I hate Heart of Thorns maps because I am forced to do a 15 minute event to get the big loots?I do.

Weird.

I think the whole pushback on HoT made PoF the mess it is...

[phs.6089]

@"Steve The Cynic.3217" said:The key difference between PoF maps and earlier maps is that PoF provides better tools(1) to "run between the raindrops" more effectively, and so it has bigger raindrops that counteract those tools somewhat, but the advantage given by the tools (mounts) remains.

(1) Griffy, Petey, Mr Buns, Carlos, Raptor and Skimmer.(2)

(2) I'm open to suggestions for good nicknames for the Raptor and the Skimmer.

I call Raptor-Rex, Skimmer-Skat :)