Another mount question

[Aramus.8143]

I have two of the level 80 boosts. I want to use one of them on one of my characters to get mounts for all my other characters and nothing else.

He or she will only be there to get mounts and nothing else. I only want the mounts to get around quicker, that's all this character will be used for.

 

I want to know if there is a lot of combat to get them or is it basically just time consuming and also is there a particular class you would send there

to do the job or does it matter.

 

I enjoy leveling and exploring and I just can't see going up to level 80 and then coming back to do the maps and tagging what people are killing so

they can get the xp without actually killing anything.

 

Thanks

[MarshallLaw.9260]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> I have two of the level 80 boosts. I want to use one of them on one of my characters to get mounts for all my other characters and nothing else.

> He or she will only be there to get mounts and nothing else. I only want the mounts to get around quicker, that's all this character will be used for.

>

> I want to know if there is a lot of combat to get them or is it basically just time consuming and also is there a particular class you would send there

> to do the job or does it matter.

>

> I enjoy leveling and exploring and I just can't see going up to level 80 and then coming back to do the maps and tagging what people are killing so

> they can get the xp without actually killing anything.

>

> Thanks

 

This all depends on which mounts will be satisfactory.

Raptor is the basic mount and will be obtainable after the start of POF story after about 5-10 mins of doing a miniquest(heart).

Other mounts require you to progress further into POF maps and sometimes story to obtain sufficient mastery points to unlock more abilities and more mounts.

In addition, you will need to gain experience to unlock POF masteries **only on POF maps**, so bear that in mind.

 

Mount progressions for land based ones : Raptor, Springer, Skimmer, Jackal.

Griffon requires far more investment and more time than any other single mount.

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

Give some thought to your style of play and what you think you might want to try in the future. If you're going to blow a level 80 boost on a toon, use it on something that you think you might want to play in the future, don't just make a necro because you already know necro, do a mesmer or a revenant. Then after you're done leveling your main character, you'll still have that level 80 mesmer sitting around that you can go play with.

[mtpelion.4562]

If all you want is a Raptor to ride around on in the core maps, then you only need to finish the first stage of PoF "Sparking the Flame".

 

Honestly, you probably won't need more than that for navigating the core maps since they were all designed before mounts were added so most things are pretty easy to get to, the Raptor just makes it faster to get to them.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

I'm going to suggest that you don't do it. Do not boost a character just to get mounts.

Sure, it sounds good on paper and even in practice, it's going to be a huge time saver and help in all sorts of ways. It's not _bad_ to do it.

 

However, you'll miss out on something hard to describe. One of the things most fun about GW2 is the exploration, learning your way around (rather than through) the denizens of Tyria, running into interesting events or funny NPCs, stopping to smell the, um, mature herb nodes. There's a certain amount of serendipity that only happens off-mount, in between the waypoints.

 

Whenever veterans are asked _what do I wish I had known when I started_ or _what do I wish I had done differently_, a very common response is, "I wish I had taken my time getting started." If you like the game, you're going to spend **all** your (remaining) time at L80, using mounts, and running the same builds for months or years in a row. If you like the game, all that will be fun. But don't miss out on the other fun, that happens **before** becoming a veteran. The fun that happens when you know less than Jon Snow, when you can't get around quickly, when you just let Tyria be Tyria.

 

So my strong recommendation is:

* Walk your first character through the game.

* Experiment a lot, with different weapons & skills & traits, with different routes, with personal story and hearts and event chains.

* Follow your nose (or instincts) and build up your intuition of what's great.

 

There's plenty of time later to get mounts to "get around quicker."

[MikeL.8260]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> I have two of the level 80 boosts. I want to use one of them on one of my characters to get mounts for all my other characters and nothing else.

> He or she will only be there to get mounts and nothing else. I only want the mounts to get around quicker, that's all this character will be used for.

>

> I want to know if there is a lot of combat to get them or is it basically just time consuming and also is there a particular class you would send there

> to do the job or does it matter.

>

> I enjoy leveling and exploring and I just can't see going up to level 80 and then coming back to do the maps and tagging what people are killing so

> they can get the xp without actually killing anything.

>

> Thanks

 

Since you want the mounts only for the extra mobility for your main (good idea btw.) You only need the first 2 mounts, Raptor which you get from the get go and Springer, there's plenty of combat to get those so you will want a class that can deal with it fast enough but since you will be using a core class I would probbaly go with Ranger, safe easy to play and gets the job done. I would also recommend getting the Springer to lvl3, it opens up a lot of paths.

[Aramus.8143]

Hey guys, and maybe gals, thanks for the responses. Ok just wanted you to know that I'm a retired widower and I live alone so I have plenty of time to explore which I do.

One reason I was thinking about getting a mount is I generally make human characters. I have a warrior, guardian and a necro. Since they all start in the same area I can do my usual exploring with one character, without a mount, and follow it up with a mount on the others. The mount, probably Raptor, would just make it a little quicker. Whatever I make to get the mounts, like MikeL said probably a ranger, I'll work on later and maybe load him up every once in a while to get the other mounts.

 

And I will dismount and fight my fights and not run around hitting something one time and leave just to get the xp.

Thanks again for the responses, most appreciated.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> Hey guys, and maybe gals, thanks for the responses. Ok just wanted you to know that I'm a retired widower and I live alone so I have plenty of time to explore which I do.

> One reason I was thinking about getting a mount is I generally make human characters. I have a warrior, guardian and a necro. Since they all start in the same area I can do my usual exploring with one character, without a mount, and follow it up with a mount on the others. The mount, probably Raptor, would just make it a little quicker. Whatever I make to get the mounts, like MikeL said probably a ranger, I'll work on later and maybe load him up every once in a while to get the other mounts.

>

> And I will dismount and fight my fights and not run around hitting something one time and leave just to get the xp.

 

 

I can see that you're keen on going with the "mount up" ASAP strategy, so I'll leave you to that, with the understanding that this game plays out differently than others. For example, you **do not** need mounts for your second & subsequent human characters to quickly reach the other areas. There's nothing wrong with going for mounts right away, I just think that if you have "plenty of time", you'll enjoy the game even more if you wait.

 

Or to phrase it differently: you can change your mind and get mounts any time you like. But if you start with mounts, you'll never be able to experience the game any other way.

[Blude.6812]

Look at this to see if you want to go for the Griffon http://dulfy.net/2017/09/24/gw2-griffon-mount-collections-guide/

[Shirlias.8104]

If you really love to lvling and exploration, then forget mounts.

They will definitely ruin your CORE and HOT experience.

 

It's nonsense to get mounts and claim to love exloration, because mounts will allow you to skip content, take the easier path and so on.

[Aramus.8143]

> @"Blude.6812" said:

> Look at this to see if you want to go for the Griffon http://dulfy.net/2017/09/24/gw2-griffon-mount-collections-guide/

 

LoL, no wonder I don't see many Griffons.

[Aramus.8143]

> @"Shirlias.8104" said:

> If you really love to lvling and exploration, then forget mounts.

> They will definitely ruin your CORE and HOT experience.

>

> It's nonsense to get mounts and claim to love exloration, because mounts will allow you to skip content, take the easier path and so on.

 

Ok after reading all the responses I'll hold off on the mounts. But could you answer this for me, it's just a curiosity question. Pretty much all the builds you see posted here and just about everywhere are level 80 builds. The builds list the best weapons for that build. Class A needs an axe, class B needs a torch, etc. But you can't equip those weapons until you reach 80. My question is if you boost to 80 and equip those weapons then come back to do all the zones from 1 to 79 to complete the maps can you use those weapons or are they not allowed. I asked this before somewhere but never got an answer.

[ReaverKane.7598]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> > @"Shirlias.8104" said:

> > If you really love to lvling and exploration, then forget mounts.

> > They will definitely ruin your CORE and HOT experience.

> >

> > It's nonsense to get mounts and claim to love exloration, because mounts will allow you to skip content, take the easier path and so on.

>

> Ok after reading all the responses I'll hold off on the mounts. But could you answer this for me, it's just a curiosity question. Pretty much all the builds you see posted here and just about everywhere are level 80 builds. The builds list the best weapons for that build. Class A needs an axe, class B needs a torch, etc. But you can't equip those weapons until you reach 80. My question is if you boost to 80 and equip those weapons then come back to do all the zones from 1 to 79 to complete the maps can you use those weapons or are they not allowed. I asked this before somewhere but never got an answer.

 

Yes, you can use those, your level will be down, but you keep traits and specializations. Only your stats are reduced. So a lvl 80 in a lvl 10 zone will have stats close to a lvl 10 player, but will still be way stronger due to Rune interactions, traits, and a complete skill set. Just not kill everything in sight in one attack strong.

 

You didn't ask, but while leveling, although anything goes, and you can just equip stuff you get along the way, Berzerker (power, precision, ferocity) is usually the best choice, at least for the random stuff you kill for hearts and such. when you get to 80, and want to start doing harder content, you can start shifting towards a more meta-like build (the ones you see in sites like meta-battle, and such).

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> Pretty much all the builds you see posted here and just about everywhere are level 80 builds.

The reason is that ultimately, you don't spend that long at any particular level until 80, so I don't much recommend worrying about your build on the first character of any given profession.

 

Instead, what I do is:

* Wait for gear to drop, whether as loot or level-up rewards.

* For armor & trinkets & backpacks, equip the highest level/rarity you have. Salvage|sell anything else.

* For weapons, change those every 5-7 levels, also based on what you happen to have. So if warrior started with sword/shield, then use (for example) a longbow in the alt slot as you get it, then change to axe/shield, axe/axe etc.

* As you level, you'll also get to master new specializations, and those come with new utility skills. Swap those around, too.

 

That gives you a chance to see what each weapon does and play with the various skills. Some stuff will feel more natural to you, some will be more fun, some will be "huh? is this actually supposed to work like that?"... and by the time you reach 80, you'll have some idea of what the various L80 builds are about.

 

I was frequently surprised when using this method. I found certain skills and weapon combinations that I would never have chosen based on their description. Some stuff was wonderfully fun, some combinations were stupefyingly boring. It gave me a much better overview than I would ever get from a guide or a mentor... and gave me a better context with which to understand the advice offered by guides and mentors.

 

tl;dr don't worry about builds, but 'explore' them similar to exploring the world, by trying stuff and discovering what you like.

 

[Aramus.8143]

Thanks for all the info, very helpful. Never thought about trying all the different weapons but it is different doing that. And I don't have an 80 yet but my warrior

is 33 and I took him back to the other level 1 - 15 zones and he's leveling pretty quick there. I finished Queensdale and Kessex Hills with him and Now working on

Caledon and then Metrica.

[MrMojoRisin.7364]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> > @"Shirlias.8104" said:

> > If you really love to lvling and exploration, then forget mounts.

> > They will definitely ruin your CORE and HOT experience.

> >

> > It's nonsense to get mounts and claim to love exloration, because mounts will allow you to skip content, take the easier path and so on.

>

> Ok after reading all the responses I'll hold off on the mounts. But could you answer this for me, it's just a curiosity question. Pretty much all the builds you see posted here and just about everywhere are level 80 builds. The builds list the best weapons for that build. Class A needs an axe, class B needs a torch, etc. But you can't equip those weapons until you reach 80. My question is if you boost to 80 and equip those weapons then come back to do all the zones from 1 to 79 to complete the maps can you use those weapons or are they not allowed. I asked this before somewhere but never got

 

Worth noting here that a Mesmer (or any class) doesn’t just hit lvl 80 and is suddenly able to use an axe (or whatever extra weapon)

 

You have to earn a whole lot of hero points to fully unlock the elite specs. These are not included with a lvl 80 boost. You have to go earn them.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Aramus.8143" said:

> Thanks for all the info, very helpful. Never thought about trying all the different weapons but it is different doing that. And I don't have an 80 yet but my warrior

> is 33 and I took him back to the other level 1 - 15 zones and he's leveling pretty quick there. I finished Queensdale and Kessex Hills with him and Now working on

> Caledon and then Metrica.

 

Super. That's a great way to learn your way around and learn about the game at the same time.

 

Every so often, when I'm waiting for someone to show up for an activity, I'll go around a new zone doing events I have ignored for the last x years... and sometimes it's just fun being nostalgic remember how hard some of them seemed back then. There's something that's fun about coming back all this time later to see why I thought they were hard (and why maybe they aren't actually... or maybe they are).

 

PS come back and post here any time you think you've hit a blocking point, either with mechanics or you feel like you're missing some key fundamental. You seem like the sort of person who usually figures stuff out on their own, so I imagine there won't be that many occasions... but the game does have some interesting jargon and less-than-intuitive mechanics.