Newish player with a few open world and WVW questions

[myrek.9436]

I played for a few months (a few 80s with 1 mount and glider - no elite specializations). Bought HoT and PoF Took a forced break when Apple support was dropped. But I have a new machine and I'm getting back into the game. I took a peek at WVW and I think I'll like it a lot but I'm getting crushed.

 

Open world questions:

1. Is there any reason to do the story other than to enjoy the story? Do the HoT or PoF storylines unlock anything I need? HoT doesn't seem to do anything except encourage you to take masteries I don't care about. Is it the same for PoF or does it unlock more mounts? (Seriously, what were they thinking with HoT? I don't care about talking to frogs. I want the specializations!)

2. Is it just me or are the 80 areas disproportionately harder than the other areas? I kind of feel like I should have an easier time in those areas. I was able to help kill a dragon after all. 

3. Is #2 the side effect of gear? Is the "next game" a matter of getting top-level gear?

 

WvW questions

1. What is a good benchmark as I develop my characters and their gear? Should I be able to kill vet mobs solo? (They're crushing me.) What's an example of a mob I should be able to solo? Yes, I've seen the builds that I should be using, but I'm not there yet.

2. I'm on a weak server - as far as WVW is concerned. And I never see any events when I'm on. What is the best way (ways?) for a new-to-WVW roamer to get XP on their own? It's idiotic that I have to unlock gliders and mounts again. It feels like I'm roleplaying the slow parts of LotR - lots of walking in the snow.

 

I have 3 level 80s: thief, rangers, and rev plus I'm leveling up an elementalist, if that matters.

 

Thanks!

[Bengal Charr.9180]

Open world:
1. HoT masteries are -largely- useless beyond the ones affecting the glider. They do occasionally pepper in old mechanics with Living World releases, but they're non-essential for progression outside of HoT itself. Path of Fire masteries are almost entirely oriented around collecting new mounts, and upgrading their movement styles. Mounts are -massively- convenient in the open world, and fun to use, to boot.

2. It somewhat depends on the area. HoT (again) is the most punishing, with enemies that swarm and can deal large amounts of damage before an unaware player realizes what actually hit them. Again, Path of Fire is a much friendlier experience, and non-expansion/non-Living World maps at level 80 are gentler yet still.

3. After hitting level 80, for -the bulk- of PvE content in this game, all you'll need is gear of exotic quality, pieces with an orange outline around them. They're easily bought from the trading post, or crafted. The stats on them -do- make very big differences in how much damage you put out, how much health you have, duration of conditions and boons, and how much damage you take. There are also runes and sigils you can slot into armor and weapons which provide equally substantial bonuses. There is only one tier of gear above it, Ascended, which generally must be crafted unless you're doing late game content, and it's only necessary for one PvE game type, Fractals.

World V. world:
1. You'll definitely want to be able to handle veteran mobs with some ease. Like mentioned above, gear makes a -massive- difference here. There's also going to be a natural learning curve with whatever classes you've taken a shine to, GW2's action combat does reward attentive and skilled play. If you want to take a peek at some of the builds the community likes, Metabattle is your friend. Those pages also include recommended gear, runes for your armor, sigils for your weapons, so on.

2. Unfortunately, that's just largely the state of WvW when you're new to the game type, and it can be difficult to make progress when you're on an inactive server and don't have any commander tags on the map to fall in with. If you can build up enough familiarity with your professions, I'd suggest taking the long loop on the Alpine borderlands maps and taking out camps.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Bengal Charr.9180
Additional clarity.

[QuirkyDM.2351]

Hey Myrek, I hope I can provide some insight.

 

Open World

1. By doing the HoT and PoF stories, you get access to more masteries. The HoT masteries, generally, are only useful for the glider and to have  better success in HoT. PoF masteries, however, will unlock more mounts. So if you're looking for upgrades and quality of life, PoF is the way to go. LW4 also has more mounts, including the ever so useful Skyscale.

 

2. Getting up to level 80 in Core Tyria and dispatching Zhaitan is very easy. Now it's time to play with the big boys and girls! There is a big jump in difficulty in HoT. Start going through Silverwastes first. It's a step up in difficulty without being overwhelming. Try to get a full set of exotic gear with matching stats that compliment your game play. Build guides out there will let you know what those are, or you can ask for help in the class sub-forums.

 

3. You should get exotic gear- which is pretty easy to get by crafting or buying off the trading post. Ascended gear is top tier and only required for Fractals after the beginning stages. (the first 20 levels of fractals are fine with exotic gear) And you can even craft Ascended gear if you want. Or slowly acquire them through fractals and PvP. Legendary is the same as Ascended gear stats-wise, so it's not necessary in any game mode.

 

WvW

1. You should be able to kill vet mobs solo. Find sentry points- they are a veteran by themselves. After that, move on to camps where you can take on many more at once. Soloing a camp is in every player's ability, so you should aim for this.

 

2. Yeah, that is a pain. I mostly do the daily achievement in WvW and then if I can find a good commander, follow them for a while when I'm in the mood. Using boosters will help get your mount quicker. A solo roamer can take out sentry points and camps on their own quite easily, as mentioned above. You have to be wary of being jumped by enemy players while you do it, but it's a simple way to get events.

You are not the only roamer who will be doing that. If you're still building up your gear and such, find an enemy camp near to one of your home bases that is still on cooldown before it can be captured. There's a good chance others will come to the camp closer to the cooldown and you can capture the camp together. Then you can follow them around and make a small group that takes out camps and sentries.

Also, feel free to shout out on the map that you're a newbie and would like to roam with someone and you can get takers that way.

Finally, you could look to join an active WvW guild and move to their server. You can make one free server move per account, I believe, so if you find a good guild, you can transfer to run with them.

 

 

 

[myrek.9436]

Great info! It leads me to another question. 

 

If I'm following a build (I am) and have Exotic gear (I do), could I have crappy exotic gear? Or at least the wrong sigils and whatnot in them? Would that make the difference between killing vet mobs or not?

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

22 minutes ago, myrek.9436 said:

Great info! It leads me to another question. 

 

If I'm following a build (I am) and have Exotic gear (I do), could I have crappy exotic gear? Or at least the wrong sigils and whatnot in them? Would that make the difference between killing vet mobs or not?

Wrong stats, wrong runes, wrong sigils is a bad combination. Even if you follow a build (passives + skills), your performance will be horrible. What you get as automatic rewards for reaching level 80 is better than running around naked, but that is mostly it. 

 

Could you give us some more information? Maybe link the build you follow? So we can give you some hints about what to focus on first. There do exist cheap alternatives until you managed to get your hands on the real gear.

[QuirkyDM.2351]

All level 80 exotic gear will be as good as any other level 80 exotic gear. However, you want to make sure all your gear is giving you the "right" bonuses. It doesn't do any good to spread your stats around- you want to specialize. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but chances are, you're not one of them. So while you may have exotic gear, make sure it's all the same type or similar.

 

Runes and Sigils definitely help, but you can have a lot of variety there without drastically reducing your effectiveness. Getting your stats set up first is the way to go. It can easily double or triple your effectiveness if you don't have the right attributes now.

[myrek.9436]

I've been bouncing around trying different skill configurations w/o toning my gear. Here's the one I think I'm going to work towards (for my ranger): https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_Core_Longbow_Roamer

 

The issues I'm having with MetaBattle builds are:

1. They're all top end. They need a little of builds for when you get to 80 and start farming resources to get this super shiny gear.

2. They don't include the total stats. Makes it hard to adjust as a newbie w/o attribute goals.

 

My gear isn't horrible. All stats w/in 10% of the Ascended gear. I'm going to have to spend a lot of gold to noticeably improve this stuff. The only issue is the rune. The build says to use 1 that adds toughness and boon duration (I can't find it in TC). I'm using a set that adds power and precision (Superior Runes of Infiltration). 

 

If there's a way to share my character, let me know.

power 2261

tough 1180

vitality 1075

 

Are those decent? Am I on the right track? 

[Vaelkyr.4786]

I believe you are trying to find durability runes and if so, I think those are only available with the Heart of Thorns expansion. Metabattle should list alternatives. However, most of the really good roaming pets for ranger are expansion pets. If you're roaming with core ranger,  canines (like wolf) or birds (owl, raven) are usually  good picks. For camps you could swap to a drake since they're a bit tankier and their attacks hit multiple enemies. For gear, exotic armor is fine for wvw, but you'll eventually want to get ascended (pink) trinkets and weapons if you can. Marauder stats are your best option, but a mix of berserker/valkyrie could work also.

[QuirkyDM.2351]

With those stats, you should be fine to take on vet mobs. Now it might just be trying to perfect your rotations and getting practice in.

[Pacificterror.7805]

I only see one suggested WvW build for Rangers on GW2Mists (great resource site for WvW btw): https://gw2mists.com/builds/ranger/power-soulbeast But it's using the Soulbeast Elite specialization rather than a core one.

 

A bit of general advice, coming from someone else that's fairly new to WvW: go into the maps and familiarize yourself with the different objective points (camps, towers, keeps, etc) and how different points work. What I mean by that is what kind of NPCs you'll find at each kind of point of interest, as well as general things like defences.

 

Some of this info will only be useful in a group (you're probably not going to run around capturing towers etc by yourself), but you'll be ready with the knowledge already rather than playing catch up the whole time/wondering what you should be doing to help the group with an objective. If you end up wanting to join a group, be sure to check your map for any open Commander tags. If there are none, even talking about looking for a group if one starts up can sometimes prompt people to tag up and start a fresh group ("Any open groups roaming?" is my usual line).

 

Whether you're solo or in a group, always make sure you have supplies with you. You never know when you'll want to repair a gate, help build some defences for your side or help build some siege to attack an enemy capture point. Doing these things also give you WXP, which is always good.

 

Try to not get bummed out about having to "redo" masteries - WvW just works on its own system (and at least it's account wide rather than character by character!). I'd start by putting your initial point into the Warclaw, so you can start working toward unlocking it. After that I'd suggest unlocking Gliding and then working your way up to level 4 of Provisions Master to unlock Auto Loot.

 

Lastly, and this is probably obvious but I'll say it anyway, try to enjoy the game mode without thinking about goals or rewards. You'll rack up ability points without realizing it (I was able to unlock Gliding, as an example, as soon as I found out it had to be unlocked separately in WvW) and you're going to progress through reward tracks pretty regularly even just from messing around on the maps.

Edited June 9, 2021 by Pacificterror.7805
missed a word

[myrek.9436]

Thanks again for all the info and direction. A few more questions crept up over night.

 

1. For now, I'd love to play a roaming, harassing role on WvW. 

Take ruins. Check.

Take banners. Check.

Take camps. I'm getting crushed (after a long long long walk). Is killing 4 vet mobs easy or hard? Part of my issue is managing expectations. (Expectations and a player roadmap would be an interesting and helpful article or series.)

 

2. If taking camps (4 vet mobs from my limited experience) is solo-able, what are good classes to use or should they all be able to do it (in average exotic gear)?

 

3. Looking at your answer to #2 (best classes for taking out 4 vet mobs), which are the fastest? By "fastest", I literally mean which move across the world the quickest.

 

4. Should I even worry about it right now? My three main to-do items are A) unlock more mounts/mount skills, B) pick a class and get an elite specialization, and C) do WvW. Am I shooting myself in the foot by playing WvW before the other items?

 

Thanks again!

[Danger Ferret.6342]

19 hours ago, myrek.9436 said:

Great info! It leads me to another question. 

 

If I'm following a build (I am) and have Exotic gear (I do), could I have crappy exotic gear? Or at least the wrong sigils and whatnot in them? Would that make the difference between killing vet mobs or not?

oh yeah. It's all about the right gear. Definitely pick the right stats for your gear and your sigils. Even the difference between Berserker and Assassin (which boost the same stats, but slightly differently) can be very noticeable when you multiply that by 6, or possibly 18. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to match the build you're drawing from, but builds (at least on Metabattle) often offer alternate weapons and runes for suggested changes. So if one isn't working for you, give one of those a shot.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Danger Ferret.6342

[QuirkyDM.2351]

I play Reaper and they excel at mowing through mobs, so taking a camp is pretty straight forward. But I believe it's definitely doable by anyone. I say this because taking a camp is easier compared to most content in HoT or PoF.

 

If you find it difficult to wade into the middle of the camp, here's a few tips (hmmm, or more than a few) that might make it easier:

1) Make sure the Veteran Supervisor can be hurt. After a camp is taken, there's a 4-5 minute cooldown before the Veteran Supervisor can be hurt or CC'd. Don't attack the supervisor until they're vulnerable. (you can see this on their status bar or by hovering over the camp marker on the map)

2) Don't take on the whole camp at once. If you start from range, you can aggro some of the scouts or guards on the edge of camp and lead them away, which makes them easier to handle in small groups. Once you get more comfortable, you can rush in a little more recklessly.

3) Fight around a corner of a house or structure. Scouts like to fire at you from a distance while you're dealing with guards. If you lead the mobs around a corner, the group will bunch up and bring the ranged mobs into melee. This sets them up perfectly for AoE. If you are a ranged fighter, it is still worth it to kite around the buildings to reduce the mobs that can attack you at once. (and bunch them up for AoE)

4) Have some minor CC or quick bursts for the end. At around 25%, veteran guards and scouts will try and heal themselves. (they can only do this once) It is a long, obvious animation. If you interrupt this heal or burst them down before the heal is done, it will shorten the fight.

5) Blind or dodge early against guard and supervisor. Guards open up with a stunning attack and the Veteran Supervisor has a stunning attack that they wind up with a big hammer swing. Make sure to avoid these.

 

For harassing, fast moving classes, mesmers and thieves are always the most annoying to me. 🙂 Rangers also fill this role quite often. They all have fast movement skills, leaps, ports and can engage and disengage easily.

 

As far as prioritizing your goals, they are all equally viable. Elite specs can be more powerful than core, but it's not always the case. It may help in your WvW efforts. Another thing you can do is use Testimony of Heroics in WvW to gain more hero points which will help to open up your elites without needing to actually do PoF or HoT.

 

Which server are you on? You might get lucky and one of us might be on the some one. 🙂 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

 

[myrek.9436]

RE: QuirkyDM

Server: Isle of Janthir 

I have a thief. It's almost always the best class. But it was so squishy that I made a ranger. Maybe I know enough now to keep him alive.

 

If anyone is curious, I decided to focus on PoF to unlock the mounts (they're account bound so this is my highest reward activity) and start playing with elite specializations (took Soul Beast - still squishy). That should combine to make gold gathering easier which unlocks better gear which removed 1 variable from WvW.

[Zdac.3947]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:41 AM, myrek.9436 said:

Thanks again for all the info and direction. A few more questions crept up over night.

 

1. For now, I'd love to play a roaming, harassing role on WvW. 

Take ruins. Check.

Take banners. Check.

Take camps. I'm getting crushed (after a long long long walk). Is killing 4 vet mobs easy or hard? Part of my issue is managing expectations. (Expectations and a player roadmap would be an interesting and helpful article or series.)

 

2. If taking camps (4 vet mobs from my limited experience) is solo-able, what are good classes to use or should they all be able to do it (in average exotic gear)?

 

3. Looking at your answer to #2 (best classes for taking out 4 vet mobs), which are the fastest? By "fastest", I literally mean which move across the world the quickest.

 

4. Should I even worry about it right now? My three main to-do items are A) unlock more mounts/mount skills, B) pick a class and get an elite specialization, and C) do WvW. Am I shooting myself in the foot by playing WvW before the other items?

 

Thanks again!

This post is a little old, so you might not see this response.  

 

1.  Depends.  If the camp is paper (not leveled at all) it should be pretty easy.  A level 3 camp can be a bit more difficult but most players can handle it.  You might have to kite away to get your cooldowns back and return to finish the NPCs off.  Check the level of the camp before charging in.  

2.  I do not consider myself a good player.  I'm a "filthy casual."  I play three different classes in WvW and have no issues taking a camp solo.  You mentioned Ranger and Thief.  They both are classes that should be able to handle a camp.  

3.  Thief.  They have several ports and speed boosts.  Some of them attack large groups and then just run away unscathed.  

4.  I wouldn't.  It's entertainment.  Play what you want, do what you enjoy.  Play WvW if that is fun and what you like doing.  

 

There is a lot of good advice above and I'll try not to repeat it.  There are some very good videos on YT that provide builds with discussion on how traits synergize.  Check out Vallun's channel.  My best advice is to just play and learn.  Read forums and guides and watch videos.  With a little experience you will be soloing camps in no time.    

[Danikat.8537]

On 6/8/2021 at 9:56 PM, myrek.9436 said:

I've been bouncing around trying different skill configurations w/o toning my gear. Here's the one I think I'm going to work towards (for my ranger): https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_Core_Longbow_Roamer

 

The issues I'm having with MetaBattle builds are:

1. They're all top end. They need a little of builds for when you get to 80 and start farming resources to get this super shiny gear.

2. They don't include the total stats. Makes it hard to adjust as a newbie w/o attribute goals.

 

My gear isn't horrible. All stats w/in 10% of the Ascended gear. I'm going to have to spend a lot of gold to noticeably improve this stuff. The only issue is the rune. The build says to use 1 that adds toughness and boon duration (I can't find it in TC). I'm using a set that adds power and precision (Superior Runes of Infiltration). 

 

If there's a way to share my character, let me know.

power 2261

tough 1180

vitality 1075

 

Are those decent? Am I on the right track? 

Gear in GW2 is relatively simple. The only things which determine how good it is are the level and the tier; all level 80 exotics have equal stats. If you get a level 80 exotic helm from the first thing you kill after reaching that level, craft one, buy one with dungeon tokens and get one from winning a raid they'll all have equal stats, the only difference will be which stat combination they have. It's basically the same for runes and sigils, there's more varieties but there aren't stronger or weaker superior runes/sigils, only ones that are better or worse for your build.

 

Level 80 gear is the maximum and since exotics are relatively cheap and easy to get (compared to  there's no reason to worry about collecting anything below that and only 1 tier (ascended) above.

 

As a result there's no need to include the total stats because it's redudant info, the only way it would be lower is if you're using a lower tier or level of equipment and there's no reason to do that. Likewise there's no need for builds for new level 80s to use while farming exotics because exotics are widely available and can be relatively cheap. It would be a waste of time to farm something else first and then use that to farm exotics.