Never go back to HoT style zones, stick to PoF

[TwoGhosts.6790]

The HoT maps were a fantastic experience. I love them. TD is an amazing place to explore.

I don't have PoF yet, but I'm starting to get a little worried that the maps (while pretty) might just be something of a bland disappointment after the HoT thrill-ride.

Oh well.

~TG

[TwiceDead.1963]

I honestly don't like the new maps. It's so barren, I hardly see people anymore and if I do they're always running in another direction. I figure events are a good way to gather people, so I go do some, but more often than not, people don't even bother stopping for a moment to help out, they just run straight past and I am left soloing the goddamn thing, much to my dismay as I discover that the events amount to nothing, they're either an escort, a point-defense, or a fetch quest, so all I really did was waste my time on something I didn't enjoy, I should've taken the hint when most players give them a wide berth, but at least I gave it a chance to impress!

 

I guess there's a silver-lining though... I can sleep through the content once more...

[nehezbegar.1065]

> @Ahlen.7591 said:

> I feel like I play a different game than others. The HoT maps were hard to navigate? Really? I just don't get that. I'm not some top tier godlike player and I still feel they were really easy to move around in and figure out.

>

> I already see more people in HoT maps than I do in PoF maps and it's only day 4.

 

That is a false impression. I am not sure about the technical behind them if ArenaNet increased the map population cap, but if its the same as in vanilla, You obviously gonna see less ppl on the maps since they are way bigger than core or (in particular) HoT maps, ppl are more scattered around the area. There are no huge map wide meta event, rather smaller meta event chains around the map and i see groups of ppl constantly doing them. Perhpas as someone earlier said, we play different version of PoF maps :smile:

[Drecien.4508]

While HOT maps were beautiful, you couldn't enjoy it because the minute you stopped, you got bombed by mordrem. POF on the other had is larger, more spaced out and has plenty to stop and look at. But they could have made a small meta on one of the maps. Metas (dragon stand im looking at you) get stupidly boring after like the 50th time. Yet you still need to do it for crystalline ore. Yeah a nice mix would be good, but not over boring. Hated the layout of tangled depths, and the locked areas in AB due to meta not being done. So in that aspect POF is better imo. Fantastic work on the visuals, story and everything that went into POF.

[nehezbegar.1065]

You know what is great about Guild Wars 2 ? That all the previous content stays relevant, because we dont have the gear trademil like in any other MMOs. So ppl who enjoy difficult and complex maps can still play HoT maps and get relevant rewards, ppl who wants more relaxed, laid back experience can play PoF and Vanilla maps, and still get a relevant rewards, thats the beauty of this game, while in other games You just get what u get :smile: . I think a lot of us love this game for this aspect, among others aspects ofc :grin:

[Kaneth.4951]

I actually like both styles quite a bit. The only map I really never liked was Tangled Depths. It's also the map I spent the least amount of time in, so I never really learned it like I did the other HoT maps.

 

Each type of map for both HoT and PoF fit the theme very well. I feel like I am in a twisting jungle in HoT, and I feel like I am in a desert in PoF.

 

Now, if we ever get to go to Cantha in GW2, both styles of maps could be used. I imagine that Kaineng City has only gotten more densely populated over the last couple of centuries. There could be tremendous verticality to the city itself, along with ways of travelling through it. Echovald Forest could also have verticality, depending on how the people of Cantha have built within the forest there. Now the Jade Sea would most likely be a fairly open map without a lot of verticality, probably similar to the Desert Highlands in PoF. Shing Jea Island, could be a mix of areas with verticality and more open areas.

[alceste.8712]

> @nehezbegar.1065 said:

> You know what is great about Guild Wars 2 ? That all the previous content stays relevant, because we dont have the gear trademil like in any other MMOs. So ppl who enjoy difficult and complex maps can still play HoT maps and get relevant rewards, ppl who wants more relaxed, laid back experience can play PoF and Vanilla maps, and still get a relevant rewards, thats the beauty of this game, while in other games You just get what u get :smile: . I think a lot of us love this game for this aspect, among others aspects ofc :grin:

 

Yeah, I like previous content remains relevant. While there was not much for solo / small groups in HoT there was large metas for those that liked them. I am glad that PoF offers something different.

[Andred.1087]

I don't really mind either way on the actual map design; I think both expansions have awe-inspiring maps. Real issue is the playable content: HoT metas added so much replay value to the maps, and it would have been really nice to see at least 1 map like that in PoF.

[Nikal.4921]

> @Ashantara.8731 said:

> The constant need to switch between mounts is getting extremely tiresome. I don't know whether this type of layout and travel mechanic is better than HoT.

 

I do find constantly having to change mounts cumbersome and, yes, tiresome. Esp. while under attack, which more often than not, we are. I wish the transition between mounts was more seamless. However, I do not ever wish the return of HoT-style maps.

 

I do worry a bit about the PoF maps becoming dead. I don't like being ruled by meta timetables or having metas put a cramp in everything else (exploring, questing, etc.), but I think something needs to be added to keep players coming back.

[Ashen.2907]

I liked the difficulty of HoT encounters, but not the maps. I truly appreciate the skill and vision it took to produce HoT maps, but they just dont appeal to me.

 

I love the PoF maps. The grandeur of the desert's open spaces bounded by bleak mountains, interrupted by the ruins of civilizations past. Littered with tbe bones of entire peoples who had thought to tame it...

 

Stark, unforgiving, beautiful, deadly. Yet again Anet succeeds in bringing all of this to Elona.

[Hevoskuuri.3891]

I liked HoT maps, but indeed they got a little too confusing from time to time, to the point where it got annoying (they still do). Draconis Mons was a good example of verticality done right. It wasn't perfect, but much nicer to traverse, especially with the vine mastery.

 

PoF maps are amazing, and I also hope Anet uses them as an example for future maps, rather than the messy HoT ones. You can throw in some verticality for sure, but not to the point where it's a mess like Tangled Depths.

[Peregrine Falcon.5496]

I agree with the OP about 90%.

 

The less complicated 3D HOT map, Bloodstone Fen I think it's called, is great. I love 3D maps when they're not so complex that I literally cannot figure out how to get to the point on the map that I'm right next to without going to YouTube. I love jumping puzzles so much that I've completed all of them, but I don't want the entire zone to be a complex jumping puzzle. That's just too much.

 

IMHO.

[zoomborg.9462]

> @nehezbegar.1065 said:

> As title says. You don't even realize how much fun is to not get confused on the map. The first impressions of the expac is 100000000000000000000 better than HoT.

>

> Please ArenaNet, never go back to the confusing disaster the HoT maps were, while beautiful they were, the navigation and enjoyment of exploring was atrocious. Please bring more open world like, expanded and vast landscapes we got in PoF:)

 

Actually HoT maps were much more engaging for that precise reason. U lost your way, then found it and with time u learned the map inside-out (exploration felt like exploration should be), to the point where u dont even need the map anymore. New maps are beautiful but really flat or even bland at some locations. They are well designed, the enemies are really nice but the maps themselves dont have much replayability and the ez exploration is part of that. After i got my griffon mount, there has been no reason to go back there apart from HP's farms (which is much faster in HoT maps). I actually didnt find HoT maps that hard to navigate and exploring led to a lot more secret areas, wheres PoF is lacking those. New maps are more like LW3 season maps. Go in, do your achievements and collections then bb.

[Player.9621]

i think people will get bored of the new maps faster than they did with HoT

...and then they will migrtate back to HoT maps because meta

[Myrdreth.6829]

> @warbignime.4610 said:

> I like them both, and gw2 shold have a balance of the two. Not focus solely on one or the otber.

 

This! I like both of them and would love a map that includes both versions.

 

 

[symke.3105]

I would prefer them making some sort of combination of HOT and POF zones. Size, design and ease of travel from POF combined with one or two vertical levels and big meta events from HOT that do not disturb the rest of the zone.

[Brimstone.3807]

> @Mea.5491 said:

> I prefer HoT, it's more fun because of the meta events and exciting map designs. PoF maps are boring, once you finish the masteries there's no reason to go back.

 

I agree. The PoF map design in my opinion is a bit short sighted. The maps are pretty dead right now, as opposed to the HoT Maps, which still seem to be more active. I think this trend will get worse without new meta maps or a solid perpetual reason to run bounties. I love the meta maps. I am very sad to see there was not even one map of this type.

[Westenev.5289]

TD was and still is one of my favourite maps. Perhaps not in aesthetics, but in terms of gameplay - at every wrong turn, there's a hidden treasure, easter egg or event or even an ancient asuran disco. It's apparent complexity hides a beautiful simplicity. The map isn't as complicated as it first seems, and once you realise this, it stops being a mess of corners and becomes a choice of where you want to go.

 

VB (on launch) actually held a sense of danger when night fell. Perhaps my fears were a little unfounded (because, really, it's not THAT much more dangerous than the day), but this was a feeling that never carried into LS3 or PoF.

 

Personally, I think PoF and HoT maps excell in catering for different types of players, which is what I think anet was going for - like elite specs, they want to encourage alternate styles of play. Instead of asking Anet for more of the same, we should be asking... "HoT was zerg-meta driven, PoF was solo-exploration driven... so who should the next expansion cater to?"

[Celldrax.2849]

It's a late response. But for whatever next potential future expansion they bring out, I'd neither want the maps to be in a style similar to HoT, nor would I want them to be like PoF.

 

There's things to like and dislike about both. But they're different, and that's a good thing.

[flog.3485]

There is no point in requesting that HoT map design style should be completely abandoned if they significantly increase character movement abilities with mounts. We should embrace HoT more now that we can jump higher, cover higher distance or even fly imo.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

> @flog.3485 said:

> There is no point in requesting that HoT map design style should be completely abandoned if they significantly increase character movement abilities with mounts. We should embrace HoT more now that we can jump higher, cover higher distance or even fly imo.

 

Yeah to get hit in the face with those stupid invisible walls. Yes. Sure. Let's do that.

 

I say mists no.

[Yargesh.4965]

I have been very disappointed with HoF maps, I really enjoyed the feel of the HoT maps. So while it is anets gain that you enjoy it OP it is their loss that I do not.

[vesica tempestas.1563]

I liked both, and would be happy for both styles to appear again in the future. The alternative? Every map like HOF, thats gonna get old fast, just like it would get old fast if every map was like HOT.

[NeroBoron.7285]

I liked the vertically maps more, beside tangled depths... Dunno never liked that one.

It was more like to figure out how to get to something which made the exploration more interesting in my opinion. But well in the beginning it was really hard without all the masteries, but with them it was just nice. And even now to use the mounts on hot maps is really cool :)

 

But the griffon degraded gliding a bit :( hopefully grinding will be improved again to keep up with the griffon :)

[Shirlias.8104]

> @Dahkeus.8243 said:

> Totally agreed. I'm actually enjoying map exploration and gathering mastery points. In HoT, all the map stuff felt like such a grind because of how labyrinthine the maps were.

 

You should probably read again the definition of grind.

 

Also, td and Vb apart ( though the first is pretty easy with many portals and tunnels ), what hot map should be a Lab?

 

Hot map were grind for mastery endless experience and for loots meta related.