Should I use a boost?

[Shrike Arghast.3856]

Honest question. I have 2 boosts (I guess from expansions? No idea) and am tempted to use one on the 25 Guardian I have been leveling over the past 2 days. I've previously played the game legitimately to 80 twice, but never really got into the endgame (I didn't PvP, and only ran Ascalon Catacombs a few times to get some glowy weapons before quitting), which makes me a little more timid about boosting than I would be in, say, WoW.

As a result, I'm deeply concerned that I will a) suck at 80, and be a detriment to groups (since it's been a good 18 months since I last seriously played), and b) have absolutely no freaking idea how various game systems work (what items to collect, where to go, what the heck to do, and so on). However, I recall distinctly running into the latter problem even when I leveled to 80 legitimately - like, I think GW2 does a lot of things wicked well, but holding your hand as it escorts you gently into the endgame isn't really one of them (and, thus, I may be left confused regardless if I level legit or not). And, finally, I'm not exactly certain that I'm getting all that much by playing through the story and world zones for what amounts to the third time.

So... should I boost?

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

Yeah. You’ve gotten to 80 twice. You don’t have to use the newly boosted char in group content until you’re ready to. You can use your other level 80s for that and play other content on your guardian until you’re comfortable with it.

[Cyninja.2954]

My usual recommendation for new player is: do not boost. This obviously does not apply to you since as mentioned you've already leveled to 80 twice.

Let me give some other advice then:The best time to boost is if you have a certain goal in mind.

Let me explain:When many players boost, especially new players, their initial goal for using the boost is getting to level 80. The issue here, once you boost you immediately achieve that goal. The end result then having to suddenly find new goals on the spot and often lacking the appropriate knowledge/understanding of the game to do so eventually losing interest in the character.

We often try to mend this problem by recommending that players:

• play the story
• explore the world
• map complete
• get hero points and unlock the elite specializations
• do content XYZ, etc.

yet all of those suggestions only aim at 1 thing: let the player find something they enjoy and can work towards in the hopes that while doing so they find more things they can set as goals.

If you do decide to boost, think of what you want to do with that character after boosting. Use some of the mentioned tasks if you want to get accustomed to the character. Read up on your abilities and skills. Go hit the benchmark golem if you want to see how you can perform. Basically set yourself goals to do with that character after hitting 80.

If you can't think of things to do after hitting 80, you might as well save the boost and level regularly.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Are you reading (and understanding) the tutorial information given at each Level-up?
If you are just skipping reading, and clicking through them, you might consider leveling naturally and taking advantage of the information.

Sounds like, even though you leveled characters to 80 previously, you have forgotten or aren't aware of some/many aspects of the game. The tutorial may be helpful.

Whatever you decide, welcome return and good luck.

[lare.5129]

away levelng is not main content here . So in practice most ppl leveling one character here only, others up per minute by using books.So I don't see big impact if use boost or not.I am tied from leveling on others mmo already, no, I prefer play but not leveling.

[Danikat.8537]

@"Shrike Arghast.3856" said:I think GW2 does a lot of things wicked well, but holding your hand as it escorts you gently into the endgame isn't really one of them (and, thus, I may be left confused regardless if I level legit or not).

Everyone else has covered the pros and cons of using the boost, but I wanted to address this point specifically. In short you're absolutely right, but the piece of the puzzle you may be missing is that there's no such thing as "the end game" in GW2. This game gets increasingly open-ended as you level up, so at level 80 you've got a big selection of things you could be doing and almost nothing you have to do. The game won't point you in the right direction because there is no right direction, but importantly no wrong direction either.

Some people get to level 80 and continue with the story and open-world map completion. Some skip straight to the expansions and complete those stories. Some stop doing the story immediately and focus on Fractals and/or dungeons. Some focus on raids. Or WvW, or achievement hunting or unlocking skins in the wardrobe. And some bounce around between everything. All of those are the right choice as long as the person doing it enjoys it.

So the game can't realistically escort you into the activity you should be doing now you're level 80, because there isn't just one. At best it could present you with a list of options to choose from, which is sort-of what it does in a more subtle form by having all the content available to you and nothing saying "now you must go here and complete this".

If you're not yet sure what you would want to do at level 80 my advice is to try anything you think might be interesting. If you like the idea of doing Fractals or dungeons then try them out (you can actually do dungeons below level 80). If you think WvW would be fun then hop into a map during a busy time and see how it goes. If you're enjoying the story and want to complete it then do that. And of course you can change your focus at any time.

[The Subterfuge Of Dwayna.8]

I'm actually surprised to see the same 10 people posting on the forums but here is my guess : You get a lvl 80 Boost for Purchasing HoT.You get a lvl 80 Boost for Purchasing PoF.1+1 = 2In theory if you own HoT+PoF you legitimately should have 2 boosts to lvl 80 so you can play 2 classes you like at the same time and work on progression on each class.As it was mentioned by someone above, lvling one char to 80 then the others... If it was truly the case, sPvP should be limited to one class until you reach Rank 20.Neither option make sense.Just my two cents.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

One would have 2 L80 Boosts if one purchased Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire separately before the two were a bundle.If the bundle was purchased, one would receive only 1 L80 Boost.

There are certainly more than 10 people who post on the forums.

Not sure what PvP has to do with L80 Boosts, or even leveling characters naturally. One can participate in PvP at any level.

[Zereqiel.8249]

eh use them. you will need every class anyway sooner or later. i recommend the guardian. i main ranger and also have every class at max. i can say that guardian is the most versatile class in the game. can go condi, power, support, or healer. you will not regret boosting him/her to 80.

[Danikat.8537]

@Zereqiel.8249 said:eh use them. you will need every class anyway sooner or later. i recommend the guardian. i main ranger and also have every class at max. i can say that guardian is the most versatile class in the game. can go condi, power, support, or healer. you will not regret boosting him/her to 80.

If you're aiming to have one of every profession anyway my advice is to use the boost on the one you find least interesting to play, because they'll probably be the 'hardest' or most tedious to level normally.

For me that was warrior. I like the 'overly complicated' professions like ele, engi and a ranger build which is very dependant on positioning, so I always find warrior a bit...dull. I'd tried it a few times and always lost interest quickly, but I know they're often useful for groups, plus I was making one of each profession, so I boosted my warrior and now I can play him whenever I need to without having to spend ages levelling him. :)