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Guild Wars 2 - Path of Fire |OT| Mount and Shining Blade

Ashodin

Member
Viper Firebrand build: 48,000 damage per second.

4eb49cc7cb.png


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-5S14W2XyM

Neat! I'm hyped for Marshal Firebrand.
 
I think I’m doing something really wrong. I used my boost on my thief, as the new Mesmer spec looks really uninteresting. Went into the first story instance of the expansion, and got blown away repeatedly by the mobs. Think I died like 5 times before I got to the raptors.

Is the gear from the boosts that? Are thieves really weak in pve stuff? Or are the build / weapon options it supplies a bad choice? Is content tuned for already having one Elite spec?
For starters, thieves are one of the squishier classes in the game. If you're running high offensive/low defense stats on them, pve content can be pretty punishing if you make any mistakes. They aren't bad, per se, but you need to be fast to really make use of them.

It may also be the traits or playstyle you're using. Are you running with a shortbow (good defensive weapon) or making use of blinding fields and dodges?
 

Maledict

Member
For starters, thieves are one of the squishier classes in the game. If you're running high offensive/low defense stats on them, pve content can be pretty punishing if you make any mistakes. They aren't bad, per se, but you need to be fast to really make use of them.

It may also be the traits or playstyle you're using. Are you running with a shortbow (good defensive weapon) or making use of blinding fields and dodges?

You only get shortbow + dagger / dagger with the boost, so running that at the moment. The problem with shortbow is that it’s not that high damage.

I think some of it is just getting used to the class (going from 20 to 80 is a big jump) and the gear provided making things tricky, along with the lack of an elite spec.

I had a look for a good Solo pve build but couldn’t find one - if anyone has any suggestions for a thief I’d be most grateful!
 

Auraela

Banned
Loads of people moaning about no metas. Jesus christ this community is a fussy bunch of bitches. Wahhhhh pof maps are boring no meta just bounties. Wahhhh.

Funny thing is these bounties and just exploring give so much materials and loot it beats tarrir in some cases. Ive got over 400 blue unidentified items ready to be opened and 100 of the yellow ones. Just by doing events and bounties and picking up sand n bleached skulls etc and ooening the key chests
 
So story stuff but has anyone figured out how to change
Amnoon's Allegiance after you've picked? It doesn't just let you replay the story and make a different choice.
 

Indignate

Member
So story stuff but has anyone figured out how to change
Amnoon's Allegiance after you've picked? It doesn't just let you replay the story and make a different choice.

It seems similar to HoT's backpack choice, and there you had to play through the story with three different characters to complete each one. I'm assuming it's the same case here.
 

Ashodin

Member
Seems like the meta less maps are not as well liked.

I chalk it up to people enjoying structure, and when that structure is taken away, they feel aimless.
 

leng jai

Member
Seems like the meta less maps are not as well liked.

I chalk it up to people enjoying structure, and when that structure is taken away, they feel aimless.

If there's no meta then there's less reason to go back to them after you've "finished" the content.
 

Auraela

Banned
Seems like the meta less maps are not as well liked.

I chalk it up to people enjoying structure, and when that structure is taken away, they feel aimless.

They probs skipped meta because there content is more lined up. Few weeks for people to finish story etc theb halloween. Few more weeks tying loose ends then wintersday then rolls into season 4. Season 4 is free with oath of fire but we arent waiting a year like with hot. Hot needed those metas are those maps woulda been barren..im.guessing its fine here cos season 4 is round corner
 
I'm actually looking at Spellbreaker.


That said, Sword/Axe Revenant certainly seems to have the constant aggression I liked. I'm all over people.

Try Berserker- You don't have to use the Tourch. The berserker mode has synergy with regardless of build or weapons you use.
So does Spellbreaker, but Spellbreaker is slower, and it's more about waiting to use the counter.

You could also try a Staff/Shortbow Daredevil. I find the playstyle very aggressive. With a infitinite-dodge type build, you're dodging (3 dodges for daredevil) almost constantly. Because Daredevil are not high on hp, they require really marticulous aggressive and razor sharp attacks, followed by dodging out of harms way, and quickly in again.

Using Sigils that recover endurance, or weapon swap, helps with the shortbow which is excellent at manipulating distance. The Staff has a good AOE spread, no GDC.

Thief, like Assassin in GW1, rewards high level play but punishes mistakes. You die more, but if you're really fast, they are super rewarding.

Ele Dagger/Dagger also is very aggressive and highly mobile. They are not easy to play well, as they are short-medium ranged psuedo melee type affair. Your success is highly determined on being able to swap the four actionbars in junction and use the movement skills to get you in and out of trouble.

Reaper, is not "berserker fast" but it hits like a truck, has a lot of high level of self heals, and survivability. It's Reaper Shroud mode is very aggressive with a spin-to-win, and helicopter dick charge skill. You have a warrior-adrenaline type thing mechanic, where being in the thick of things allow you to charge the shroud effectively and get back into reaper mode and go bananas.

For the players who want the apeshit insane experience, Reaper is really hard to beat. Its downed skills are also powerful. It always feels like that being a Reaper is rewarding even when you buy more than you can chew. So you can play ballsy and still get away with it a lot of the time. If you try that shit on a greatsword ranger or thief, you're fucked.




I hope there will be meta maps in Season 4. Thankfully Season 4 is relatively soon. After Season 3, I am very excited.

I am okay with PoF not having meta maps though. It offers something different from HoT without invalidating it. I don't want HoT to be abandoned, and I still wanna run the HoT metas.

If they just made carbon copy maps with a different theme, it would impact HoT negatively. It shouldn't be that way. Both expansions should exist together, each giving a unique flair. Sort of like how Factions and Nightfall also had very different focuses and gave a unique spin on the core experience.
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Do people not realize no meta means no schedule/time table? Meaning people can literally pick up and play. And you can get meta-like rewards for doing events anyway.
 
Try Berserker- You don't have to use the Tourch. The berserker mode has synergy with regardless of build or weapons you use.
So does Spellbreaker, but Spellbreaker is slower, and it's more about waiting to use the counter.

You could also try a Staff/Shortbow Daredevil. I find the playstyle very aggressive. With a infitinite-dodge type build, you're dodging (3 dodges for daredevil) almost constantly. Because Daredevil are not high on hp, they require really marticulous aggressive and razor sharp attacks, followed by dodging out of harms way, and quickly in again.

Using Sigils that recover endurance, or weapon swap, helps with the shortbow which is excellent at manipulating distance. The Staff has a good AOE spread, no GDC.

Thief, like Assassin in GW1, rewards high level play but punishes mistakes. You die more, but if you're really fast, they are super rewarding.

Ele Dagger/Dagger also is very aggressive and highly mobile. They are not easy to play well, as they are short-medium ranged psuedo melee type affair. Your success is highly determined on being able to swap the four actionbars in junction and use the movement skills to get you in and out of trouble.

Reaper, is not "berserker fast" but it hits like a truck, has a lot of high level of self heals, and survivability. It's Reaper Shroud mode is very aggressive with a spin-to-win, and helicopter dick charge skill. You have a warrior-adrenaline type thing mechanic, where being in the thick of things allow you to charge the shroud effectively and get back into reaper mode and go bananas.

For the players who want the apeshit insane experience, Reaper is really hard to beat. Its downed skills are also powerful. It always feels like that being a Reaper is rewarding even when you buy more than you can chew. So you can play ballsy and still get away with it a lot of the time. If you try that shit on a greatsword ranger or thief, you're fucked.





I hope there will be meta maps in Season 4. Thankfully Season 4 is relatively soon. After Season 3, I am very excited.

I am okay with PoF not having meta maps though. It offers something different from HoT without invalidating it. I don't want HoT to be abandoned, and I still wanna run the HoT metas.

If they just made carbon copy maps with a different theme, it would impact HoT negatively. It shouldn't be that way. Both expansions should exist together, each giving a unique flair. Sort of like how Factions and Nightfall also had very different focuses and gave a unique spin on the core experience.


I actually mained Ele Dagger for a pretty long time! Thanks for the feedback/
 

Auraela

Banned
Do people not realize no meta means no schedule/time table? Meaning people can literally pick up and play. And you can get meta-like rewards for doing events anyway.

Yup and ur not blocked out from parts of maps etc or skill points because a meta is happening
Or u wernt in map early enough so u miss out.

Really dont understand this rage over no meta.
 
The problem with meta maps is that the more that are added, the less chance of one in particular being done. All HOT maps, dry top and silverwastes, vanilla world bosses and Orr to some extent add to a lot of timers. That being said, I wish there were at least one new one. And hopefully we hear about raids and fractals for season 4 soon.
 
Yeah- If you think about it, Dragons Stand, as good as it is, is like wasted when the event is not going on. You have this entire zone, with a 2 hour down timer.



Something I'd like to see is an Event Combo Counter- Something like, the more events you complete on a map (gold rating) in a row, the higher the multiplier goes, and so does your reward.


So if a guild could go in and just say- they'll do rotations on the entire map and try to do as many events on the map as possible, that would reward knowing when, where and which events are going on. So if you could get 150-events done in 2 hours with effective coordination, you might get some extra spicy rewards.
 

Auraela

Banned
Dragons stand is a perfect example of what should have been a bonus hot map and the only meta event map would have made it even better and feel more special
 
Dragon Stand didn't need two spit fire encounters and HoT just didn't' have the level of content to justify one entire map being a a massive event. If there was a Dragon Stand style map on top of what we already have for PoF I'd love it.
 

Zushin

Member
I got GW2 at launch but never really got into much. Still a fairly good community in it (aussie if that matters)? Feel like getting back into an MMO.
 

leng jai

Member
That mastery point where you have to get ingredients for the chef is literally the worst thing I've ever seen. Who comes up with this shit?
 

Auraela

Banned
That mastery point where you have to get ingredients for the chef is literally the worst thing I've ever seen. Who comes up with this shit?

Why is it ? Its actually fun n different from oh noes a boss or commune.

Most people seem to be forgetting turning interactables in aswell.
 

Aim_Ed

Member
How is everyone like PoF so far? I've been tempted to pick it and HoT up, but still on the fence.

I'd argue PoF is the only campaign that caters to fans of the original Guild Wars. Also, bonus points for each mount feeling very different, never had this much fun exploring maps since launch in 2012. Absolutely beautiful, lots of npc voice lines, and there's a ton of history and lore everywhere you look. ArenaNet has outdone themselves IMHO, my main concern is the endgame currently, what will I do after I complete the story and explore the maps..?
 

Violet_0

Banned
wow, support just contacted me and let me reset my password - on a Sunday. The last time, it took 9 days. What is going oonnnn
 

VandalD

Member
How is everyone like PoF so far? I've been tempted to pick it and HoT up, but still on the fence.
I bought both. Have barely checked out HoT. PoF has been pretty great. It's also kicked my ass several times as there's a big jump in difficulty between vanilla zones and PoF or HoT zones. I haven't even completed the personal story, so I'm completely lost on the story in PoF, but it's still somewhat interesting. I expect I'll be able to fill in the story holes by going back after I'm done with PoF, if I can remember all these names being thrown at me. I'm really liking the mounts and their added mobility. The new specialization (really enjoying Holosmith for Engineer) has been good too. You'll have to do the story to progress to new zones, but if you really enjoy exploring stuff, you may like PoF. Just be prepared for that difficulty spike.
 

Sniper (not mine) is a lot of fun. I didn't think I would like it, but I really do. Skill 5 makes you stationary and gives you a bunch of new specific skills. The damage is really good, but you cannot move while in this mode. When you're just running around shooting it feels more like a single-target warrior Rifle user.
They did a good job with it as its very different from anything else. I like how dodges turn into roll/evades when your stationary.

The class reminds me so much of SWTORs sniper:)



I bought both. Have barely checked out HoT. PoF has been pretty great. It's also kicked my ass several times as there's a big jump in difficulty between vanilla zones and PoF or HoT zones. I haven't even completed the personal story, so I'm completely lost on the story in PoF, but it's still somewhat interesting. I expect I'll be able to fill in the story holes by going back after I'm done with PoF, if I can remember all these names being thrown at me. I'm really liking the mounts and their added mobility. The new specialization (really enjoying Holosmith for Engineer) has been good too. You'll have to do the story to progress to new zones, but if you really enjoy exploring stuff, you may like PoF. Just be prepared for that difficulty spike.


It's the most difficult MMO bar none. Most PvE content in the base game is super easy like in other MMOs, but the story missions- particularly getting all the bonus objectives and achievements is craazzzy difficult.

When GW2 came out, the dungeons were really bad because it was just a bunch of sponges. It's not fun to just wack on hp sponge mobs. So they've intensified how hard the mobs hit, making it really really hard. It shocks a lot of people once they get into HoT. You really have to fight for your life.

I remember going into Verdant Brink for the first time and getting ganged up by this pack of tiny "pocket" raptors in a few seconds.
 

B00TE

Member
Having a ton of fun with Holosmith, it's a lot more of what I wanted from a melee engineer than Scrapper was. Getting around the maps with the new mounts is a lot of fun. Really pleased with the expansion overall atm, still going through the story with my brother though.

 

Violet_0

Banned
is there any "returning player" guide out there? Just wondering what I should work towards to for equipment now. I'll still continue with HoT for now before I get PoF
 

Kade

Member
Really loving how this expansion looks but I was a bit burned by Guild Wars 2 as a diehard Guild Wars 1 fan. Didn't finish the main story, didn't touch any of the Living World stuff and didn't even bother with Heart of Thorns. Is this just going to be more Guild Wars 2 or has the game experienced any major overhauls or retooling since 2013/2014? If I do end up getting it, can I just start the Path of Fire campaign if I already have level 80 characters?
 

Freeman76

Member
They just cant make good story content in this game, the missions usually end up being straight up annoying at one point or another.

Luckily the rest of the game remains completely awesome :)
 

SourBear

Banned
Do people not realize no meta means no schedule/time table? Meaning people can literally pick up and play. And you can get meta-like rewards for doing events anyway.

Here is the thing. Most people like having structure. It's in our nature really. Meta events offered structure. It was a big fat green arrow saying 'hey you, do this thing here'.

From my early impressions of doing bounties and events in the new maps so far, I think they will end up being more lucrative and rewarding to do than the HoT meta events, outside of doing the HoT metas for legendary mats. However, it requires the players coming up with their own goals and their own structure.
 

Massicot

Member
Really loving how this expansion looks but I was a bit burned by Guild Wars 2 as a diehard Guild Wars 1 fan. Didn't finish the main story, didn't touch any of the Living World stuff and didn't even bother with Heart of Thorns. Is this just going to be more Guild Wars 2 or has the game experienced any major overhauls or retooling since 2013/2014? If I do end up getting it, can I just start the Path of Fire campaign if I already have level 80 characters?

That's a lot to summarize in one post. But I'll give you the incredibly short version.

The game still largely feels the same. I'm not going to tell you it feels or plays like GW1 because it doesnt.

Traits are the largest "overhaul". There have also been major QoL changes wrt inventory and wallet and such, but it's still 5 weapon skills 5 selectable skills tab targeting etc. .

There is now a lot more build variety and trinity-like play in instanced content.


Yes you can start Path of Fire if you're level 80.
 
Really loving how this expansion looks but I was a bit burned by Guild Wars 2 as a diehard Guild Wars 1 fan. Didn't finish the main story, didn't touch any of the Living World stuff and didn't even bother with Heart of Thorns. Is this just going to be more Guild Wars 2 or has the game experienced any major overhauls or retooling since 2013/2014? If I do end up getting it, can I just start the Path of Fire campaign if I already have level 80 characters?

You can re-download the base game and see if it catches you. All the QoL and system changes will be present in that, just minus the new profession and specializations.

I'm in the same boat as you and played through HoT, but I still have the same issues with it I had at launch, it's not the sequel to Guild Wars 1 I wanted. I've just had to accept GW2 isn't a game that i'll ever like.
 

Stuart444

Member
Really loving how this expansion looks but I was a bit burned by Guild Wars 2 as a diehard Guild Wars 1 fan. Didn't finish the main story, didn't touch any of the Living World stuff and didn't even bother with Heart of Thorns. Is this just going to be more Guild Wars 2 or has the game experienced any major overhauls or retooling since 2013/2014? If I do end up getting it, can I just start the Path of Fire campaign if I already have level 80 characters?

What Massicot said but if you're a fan of the GW1 lore/story, then PoF has plenty of that nostalgia for you. As a huge GW1 fan, I've had a smile on my face throughout it.

Of course if you haven't done the previous story content, you might be a bit lost but if you're okay with that (or with reading a story summary on youtube) then you can easily pick it up, and bring a level 80 into PoF.
 
Finished Holosmith. Finished Firebrand but I got all the HP with Dragonhunter. Will test later.

Working on Deadeye but I'm heading to work now so it will come later.

I must say, the Crystal Desert is WAY harder than my initial impressions of it. My Spellbreaker mostly steamrolled everything I came across. Even though none of the Hero Points summon Champions, most of them are as hard or harder than most Champion HoT hero points to me.

Back in the Demo I blew up everything I came across with 0 effort so it's nice to see enemies present a challenge. On par with HoT enemies, maybe harder. The Forged dogs that will stun you at range and blink to you are monsters.
 

Massicot

Member
What Massicot said but if you're a fan of the GW1 lore/story, then PoF has plenty of that nostalgia for you. As a huge GW1 fan, I've had a smile on my face throughout it.

Of course if you haven't done the previous story content, you might be a bit lost but if you're okay with that (or with reading a story summary on youtube) then you can easily pick it up, and bring a level 80 into PoF.

That is true, Path of Fire is like a GW1 (especially Nightfall) love letter when it comes to familiar names and places.
 

Stuart444

Member
Even though none of the Hero Points summon Champions, most of them are as hard or harder than most Champion HoT hero points to me.

On this point, I did fight one HP in Crystal Oasis (the one to the north in the cave area) with my Mesmer and my partners thief and I was quite surprised at how tough it was since it wasn't listed as a group event. Easier than most of the group event HPs in HoT (since I didn't need to wait on anyone to do it with just us two) but it was tougher than expected.

Was about to leave then I saw someone go past us to do it so I went "Might as well help him out" so we 3-man'd it as well XD.
 
Slow going for me, trying not to rush the expansion, still haven't done the second story mission, no map completion, just doing Events and exploring got to Highlands got Springer mount, need more mastery points..
 

jmartoine

Member
That mastery point where you have to get ingredients for the chef is literally the worst thing I've ever seen. Who comes up with this shit?

I only completed it after I had 3 different ingredients repeated 3 times in a row.

Just got my spinger mount, fluffy bunny so cute!
 
I just bought Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire. I haven't played since the vanilla version since before it went F2P. So I'm really lost with the revamped traits and specializations system and generally where and how to get the latest greatest armor and weapons. I have a level 80 Mesmer and Engineer. My mesmer build was illusion shatter based if and my engi was flamethrower based. Now I'm completely lost as to how to play them because it's been so long and so much seems to have changed. The deadeye specialization for thief looks really cool and I'm thinking of using one of my level boosters to max out Thief.

tl;dr I'm returning to GW2 after a huge hiatus and am lost as to how to proceed/gear up/build my stats and I need help being pointed in the right direction. Is Lion's Arch still the place to be to get the latest gear?
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
That mastery point where you have to get ingredients for the chef is literally the worst thing I've ever seen. Who comes up with this shit?

I actually got it in my second try lol

the secret is knowing where the ingredients are, always moving, and throw when the chef has stopped
 

Stuart444

Member
I'm definitely reaching the limit for a Dualshock 4 controller user since I've decided to see if I can fit the individual mount keybinds onto the controller (so I don't need to keep going into pointer mode to change it).

So far, I've got R1 + Share and R1 + Options. and I may change the autorun and walk buttons when I get the other mounts.

Despite there being 5 mounts, I only need 4 and the default mount button since the default mount doesn't change even if you use the keybinds to mount one of your other mounts.

Hope they don't add anymore new things to keybinds after this >_<.

On the bright side IF you use a controller and don't want to do this but still want to be able to summon your mounts quickly, just set up an easy keybind that you can reach while holding the controller. I just did this as I prefer to have my most used functions on my controller. (I can always use walk/autorun with the KB so I don't mind taking them off the controller since I don't use them much).

Oh and my keybinds for my skimmer/springer mounts (not got the others yet) are Shift + F6/F7
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
On a random note, I hate the second map (the highlands), primarily because it made me think there are important stuff in the mines involving the rune puzzles even though I only went there for one PoI/Vista/Mastery/HP. Turns out you don't need to do the runes >_>

Wasted a huge amount of time there.
 

Sylas

Member
On a random note, I hate the second map (the highlands), primarily because it made me think there are important stuff in the mines involving the rune puzzles even though I only went there for one PoI/Vista/Mastery/HP. Turns out you don't need to do the runes >_>

Wasted a huge amount of time there.

I think doing stuff with the runes can net you a unique staff and axe.
 

Morokh

Member
Do people not realize no meta means no schedule/time table? Meaning people can literally pick up and play. And you can get meta-like rewards for doing events anyway.

It's not about having a shedule, Metas, or organized events or World-Bosses just are more engaging, mechanically interesting and have a more epic feeling than your run of the mill event or event chain.
They made alot of them on fixed timers (and I agree that's annoying as hell) but something like the Silverwastes wasn't and works too.

HoT metas were annoying cause they were everything on the map on every map and left nothing else to do, but they had the opportunity to mix things this time around, especially with how big the maps are, and they didn't and made almost a complete 180.
I mean they already did less intrusive metas with LS3 maps, here there is almost nothing.

I played one of the so called 'metas' of this expansion today, it's basically a very condensed version of the Balthazar temple event in Orr, and the rewards were shit ... save for a few tokens of a currency that I don't know how to use cause I don't find an NPC that would take it at the location they give you.

Popular theory is that they didn't include such things in the base maps but will in LS4 since it's around the corner we'll have to see, but a balanced mix would have been preferable.
 

th3dude

Member
Loads of people moaning about no metas. Jesus christ this community is a fussy bunch of bitches. Wahhhhh pof maps are boring no meta just bounties. Wahhhh.

Funny thing is these bounties and just exploring give so much materials and loot it beats tarrir in some cases. Ive got over 400 blue unidentified items ready to be opened and 100 of the yellow ones. Just by doing events and bounties and picking up sand n bleached skulls etc and ooening the key chests

May I ask why you are saving those unidentified items? Is there a strategy in opening them?
 
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