HoT vs PoF: which is the better overall map

[Game of Bones.8975]

I know this has been discussed many times in the past, but since then new players have joined and others' opinions may have changed.

 

In the ease of movement category, I think the PoF is better hands down. The story content and meta-events from HoT are much more interesting.

 

I can explore PoF on my own, for the most part, but in HoT there are many places where travel along the third dimension (tree-tops to underground) has me turned around.

 

For those of you who craft Legendary weapons, do you prefer Gift of Maguuma Mastery or Gift of Desert Mastery?

[Ayrilana.1396]

I prefer HoT maps in all cases.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

They are both ...ok. I really prefer the Core Tyria maps. Not necessarily the content, but the maps.

I'm hoping for some really good content/maps in the upcoming expansion.

[Perihen the Thawk.9527]

Path of Fire maps are better for slow, immersive exploration, in my opinion. There's nothing in Heart of Thorns that quite compares to the Dwarven ruins in Desert Highlands, for example.

 

Path of Fire has so many of these secrets tucked into corners of the map. They mostly don't have rewards attached to them, but they really turn the exploration up a notch.

[Khisanth.2948]

Based on where I actually play the definitive winner of that question is HoT for me.

 

One thing I really hate about PoF is amount of running for the sake of running due to lack of WPs. It was probably designed that way because of mounts but movement speed increase does not compensate for the distance increase.

 

As for the gift. HoT wins here as well. Desert requires you to do all the stuff AND you still have to pay for it.

[Randulf.7614]

I'm replaying both on different toons. I find PoF to be the more varied and interesting. HoT was great, but with only 4 maps and one of those really only existing for a single battle, I find it less engaging overall. I do enjoy Verdant Brink and Tangled Depths a lot though, but PoF wins it between the two.

[Tails.9372]

Just looking at the maps: HoT

 

Both PoF and HoT have each only one map I actually like but HoT has better metas (none of which I would call great either) and I like what Dragon Stand tried to do even tho IMO it ultimately failed at it for various reasons.

[Dante.1763]

TBH

 

Hot for the color( green is nice.) POF for the lay out. Sorry but i despise a map that has multiple levels when the map doesnt support multiple levels well, or..or my favorite when the map gets -locked- to a level and you cant scroll. If the map functioned id probably say HOT over all, as it is, POF.

[Aihao.5824]

i prefer pof maps, just rememer my suffering at tangled depths when i first time entered it

[notebene.3190]

I like them both, and like that they are very different. HoT is much more claustrophobic, great verticality, and has the better group metas (opion). PoF has the repeating hearts, open spaces, different agro range considerations, and I play much more solo (but will often jump in to help with champs or people wanting to do a hothouse (sp?) run or what not).

 

And because they are very different, I can have great adventures depending on my mood, or what character I feel like playing and what sort of content they are better at.

[AliamRationem.5172]

For me it's HoT. No contest. The maps are incredible. The combat is intense. The event structure is particularly well designed. I feel like I know much more about what is going on in the HoT maps because every bit of it is designed for you to play through as part of that story as it unfolds. And that is integrated with the meta event in that zone as well as the overall story. It's all really very well done, in my opinion.

 

For me, it doesn't get any better than Heart of Thorns for open world play in an MMO. Let's have more of that, please!

 

PoF is good, too. It feels a bit like a playground for the absolutely stellar mount system they've created. But even better is going back to HoT with all of the mounts and masteries unlocked! Recalling how difficult it was to get around at first, navigating the jungle while swapping between gliding and various mounts feels like a great accomplishment!

 

Other issues I have with PoF are the enemies. They're not as dangerous as HoT enemies, generally, but somehow they manage to be more annoying (e.g. extreme aggro range, condi bombs, etc.). The maps feel rather empty of meaningful events, too. They still tell a story like most events do, but that story is much less coherent to me on some maps. I felt the story itself did a better job of driving that, where in HoT it all seemed to work together better?

 

 

 

 

[Hashberry.4510]

HoT maps by far. I like PoF as well, but the HoT maps feel much better to traverse. Mounts are clunky compared to gliding with updrafts.

[artcreator.4859]

Hot maps definitely, pof maps are cool, but the HoT maps were downright AMAZING, no other MMO reaches that level.

 

Feeling like you were really lost in a jungle was awesome, and as you played more and more you slowly started to understand you way around, combine that with the mastery system (learning languages to talk to the hylek, getting a glider, bounce mushrooms) and it really felt like you were learning to master and enviorment that was kicking your ass when you first tried it.

 

wonderful experience

[battledrone.8315]

pof by a country mile. hot should be deleted. the end.

[battledrone.8315]

> @"artcreator.4859" said:

> Hot maps definitely, pof maps are cool, but the HoT maps were downright AMAZING, no other MMO reaches that level.

>

> Feeling like you were really lost in a jungle was awesome, and as you played more and more you slowly started to understand you way around, combine that with the mastery system (learning languages to talk to the hylek, getting a glider, bounce mushrooms) and it really felt like you were learning to master and enviorment that was kicking your kitten when you first tried it.

>

> wonderful experience

 

i have never been lost in a jungle, but i am pretty sure , that it doesnt work this way.

it is a bad expansion, nothing more. it cost them many players and took them to niche status forever

[MajinSoul.4512]

I prefer PoF maps. The HoT maps all feel a bit samey (jungle) and navigation through the maps is a hassle though mounts help a bit. Meanwhile the PoF maps do follow the desert theme yet spice it up quite a bit. Every map in PoF is quite distinct from eachother

[Quench.7091]

If you cut out the Living World maps from both ends and only consider the base expansion maps, HoT is better. HoT Living World maps just didn't give the same kick as the original HoT maps. The original PoF maps were mostly used for bounty trains. The developers did not put bounties into their newer PoF Living World maps, so thank you developers. PoF Living World maps brought back what the Silver Wastes and HoT introduced into the game, which is to center things more around meta events, but with much better art and easier to comprehend map navigation. I like PoF Living World maps more than HoT Living World maps.

[Erzian.5218]

Definitely HoT. I feel that the different layers in combination with the masteries added more complexity than the mounts and together with the overall much tougher enemies made exploration very interesting and sometimes challenging (in a positive manner). I found pof a lot more boring in terms of exploration but I liked the personal story better.

Oh, and the hot meta events that require Splitting up and coordinating your players are part of the few open world events that I actually like and don’t just find plain boring.

[Cuks.8241]

Hot. Green, vertical. Love the exploring and the enemies. Metas are also better.

Pof is cool but just to much flat desert. I do like the big temples, ruins and cities with secrets in pof though.

[Deniara Devious.3948]

**When it comes to gameplay and replay value, the original core Tyria maps are superior to both HoT and PoF.**

 

PoF is slightly better than HoT due easier navigation and lots of secrets in those maps.

 

[Solanum.6983]

They each do what they're meant to well Hot does the tangled Forrest feel well just like PoF does the vast landscapes well.

For me I do rather PoF tho just because it has a lot of variety in it's maps and in my opinion is aesthetically more pleasing, with HoT It's a lot of the same for the most part.

[Tukaram.8256]

I prefer everything in PoF over HoT. PoF is the most fun map I have played yet (well obviously GW pre-searing is the best map in any game, ever). I spend so much time just exploring and having fun, that I keep forgetting to do the story or quests. It is just a fun & interesting map.

[Antycypator.9874]

I don't like exploring HoT for map completion, because some points are available only during meta (Dragon's Stand) or after meta (Auric Basin), but I like enemies and difficulty level, unique map style (jungle). I like that mobs can be dungerous there.

 

 

[yoni.7015]

I prefer the HoT maps. They are much more adventurous.

[Fueki.4753]

In regards to the maps, I definitely prefer PoF over HoT.