Trying to come back to GW2 and having a rough go of it

[piitb.7635]

Bought HoT a while back and real life got in the way. But now I am trying to come back because I really liked GW2 a few years back.

 

My problem is Dry top. Uggghh. Not only is it hideous to look at it’s also confusing as hell which wears on my patience.

 

Also playing as a mesmer (dual swords) mobs seem to be kind of tough.

 

Is the rest of dry top more of the same as the beginning or does it expand out and feel more open?

[Dante.1763]

It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made, and thats comparing them to the HoT maps themselves.

 

What kind of equipment are you running though? Builds and skills have changed dramatically over the last couple years and you might be running a bunch of stuff thats just not good anymore.

[piitb.7635]

> @"Dante.1763" said:

> It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made, and thats comparing them to the HoT maps themselves.

>

> What kind of equipment are you running though? Builds and skills have changed dramatically over the last couple years and you might be running a bunch of stuff thats just not good anymore.

 

 

It’s a hodge podge of orange gear built with illusion damage iirc.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Dante.1763" said:

> It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made

 

Definitely not. You forgot about HoT maps. ;)

[piitb.7635]

About my gear last thing I remember was I was working towards Bolt, the legendary sword. But I think it was laurels that I didn’t want to grind at the time because they seemed so random to get.

[Dante.1763]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > @"Dante.1763" said:

> > It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made

>

> Definitely not. You forgot about HoT maps. ;)

 

Not at all, i find the HoT maps with the sole exception of TANGLED IM LOST FOR HOURS DEPTHS less annoying to get around with than dry top!

 

 

> @"piitb.7635" said:

> > @"Dante.1763" said:

> > It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made, and thats comparing them to the HoT maps themselves.

> >

> > What kind of equipment are you running though? Builds and skills have changed dramatically over the last couple years and you might be running a bunch of stuff thats just not good anymore.

>

>

> It’s a hodge podge of orange gear built with illusion damage iirc.

 

That may be the problem. I dont know what builds most players use for mesmers as i no longer play mine, but hodge podge equipment doesnt work well in the newer areas.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Dante.1763" said:

> > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > > @"Dante.1763" said:

> > > It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made

> >

> > Definitely not. You forgot about HoT maps. ;)

>

> Not at all, i find the HoT maps with the sole exception of TANGLED IM LOST FOR HOURS DEPTHS less annoying to get around with than dry top!

 

Really? I get Dry Top map completion in under 20 minutes, but I guess that's because I've done it many times and know my way around. ;) With Tangled Depths, I still sometimes ponder over certain POIs when I haven't been on the map for a while.

[Blocki.4931]

Only thing annoying about Dry Top is me forgetting the correct entrance for that cavern.

[Dante.1763]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > @"Dante.1763" said:

> > > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > > > @"Dante.1763" said:

> > > > It does not honestly. Dry top is by far and away one of the most condensed and confusing maps theyve made

> > >

> > > Definitely not. You forgot about HoT maps. ;)

> >

> > Not at all, i find the HoT maps with the sole exception of TANGLED IM LOST FOR HOURS DEPTHS less annoying to get around with than dry top!

>

> Really? I get Dry Top map completion in under 20 minutes, but I guess that's because I've done it many times and know my way around. ;) With Tangled Depths, I still sometimes ponder over certain POIs when I haven't been on the map for a while.

 

I think the reason is the amount of time spent in each map. I spent more time in the HoT maps than i did in Dry top since it was added to the game, so im less familiar with it.

[Ziooo.8932]

Lws2 and HoT maps are generally said to be hard to navigate. I also had a rough time with Dtop the first time, but it gets better over time.

 

A lot of the newer maps (HoT lws3 PoF) requires you to have a special mastery to play it properly, and they are very frustrating before having it. Its just a matter of time in the end... after Hot the maps will get easier to navigate like core tyria (apart from draconis mons, which is probably the hardest map without masteries).

[kharmin.7683]

I found Dry Top to be significantly simpler to navigate with mounts from PoF. Might want to delay finishing DT until mounts?

[DakotaCoty.5721]

Buy PoF, get your mounts, go back to HoT and thank me later.

[smsarasin.3468]

The Pocket Raptors from HoT are reason enough alone to try for mounts first in PoF. :)

[Hevoskuuri.3891]

As others have said, take a look at the updated skills and currently well-working stat combinations. Running around in mixed gear and spamming skills isn't going to do you any good, especially as you get to HoT maps. Mesmer is great in the open world, as long as you have the right builds and some experience on your belt. Read guides, watch youtube videos, browse sites like Metabattle, and hone your combat skills, combos and rotations. Remember to buy some food and utilities when your build is ready.

 

Dry top is definitely very confusing, like HoT zones will be. You'd definitely save a LOT of time and nerves getting PoF and, at the very least, the first mount, but if that's not an option, try to take your time around everything and not get too overwhelmed trying to learn it all in a single day. Welcome back!

[Nuka Cola.8520]

Only the core maps are fun and well designed. All their expansion maps are garbage at best.

[Goettel.4389]

The trick to HoT is to have some patience. Explore, look around, enjoy it. Don't grind it. Best zones in the game. YMMV :)

[STIHL.2489]

HA HA HA.. if you think Dry Top is bad.. wait to till you get to Tangled Depths.. or any HoT map for that matter.

[Dante.1763]

> @"Nuka Cola.8520" said:

> Only the core maps are fun and well designed. All their expansion maps are garbage at best.

 

Its a good thing opinions are just that, opinions. In my case, i find the core maps boring now.

 

[Ashabhi.1365]

You CAN do Dry Top and Silverwastes in orange (exotic) gear. If you follow your personal story and the story line of HoT, you'll get some ascended gear and can go from there.

 

Keep in mind that exotic gear will make it more difficult, but yes, it can be done. Follow the story and don't worry about the rest until you gear up a bit. Also, what they said about getting PoF and grabbing your mounts is true. They do make navigating around HoT much easier.

 

Good luck to you!

[Obtena.7952]

While there are some vertical sections in Drytop, it's pretty linear. Wait until you discover the Silverwastes underground area ... or not.

 

BTW, if you know your class and build, you should be fine in exotic, though having an Ascended weapon will increase your damage a good amount. Ascended trinkets are not unreasonable to obtain either.

[Sinful.2165]

Stick with it ;) mesmers are in a much better place now for PvE than they used to be. They changed the functionality of phantasms so that they don't count toward your max 3 clone limit until they attack once and then turn into a clone providing more interaction for fighting rather than the old spawn 3 clones and auto attack. Check out metabattle.com for some more current builds.

 

Dry top isn't my favorite map either. Having the new mounts trivializes some of what makes that map irritating, like needing to use the jump boosters that have limited uses for example. This is true with almost all the older content. Being able to mount on your raptor and leap twice in a row then use the number 1 attack for that little extra distance makes harvesting nodes so much faster. You just zip from node to node. Vistas that require precise jumps with monsters attacking you while you're trying to get up are suddenly very simple to jump up to, grab the vista and usually be back on your mount before you even get locked in combat from a single hit.

 

The game is still a lot of fun! Don't get discouraged. :)

[piitb.7635]

Alright so I went and bought PoF on recommendations due to mounts.

 

But another inquiry....do LS2 before LS3? Will LS3 story make sense if I skip season 2?

[Blocki.4931]

> @"Nuka Cola.8520" said:

> Only the core maps are fun and well designed. All their expansion maps are garbage at best.

 

That bait though.

 

> @"piitb.7635" said:

> Alright so I went and bought PoF on recommendations due to mounts.

>

> But another inquiry....do LS2 before LS3? Will LS3 story make sense if I skip season 2?

 

It's LS2 -> Heart of Thorns -> LS3. There might be a few references, but all in all LS3 is pretty much disconnected from what happened before, seeing as the maps will take you all over the world for various reasons.

[starlinvf.1358]

Drytop is just a Jumping puzzle with extremely simple pathing. Nothing about it is difficult, so long as you understand "gap logic" used for pretty much every jumping puzzle in Core. Its hard to explain, because most despise the JPs (and I'll be the first to tell you some employ very crappy design tricks to fake difficulty), but all you need to do is learn how to read object distance. The aspects also act as markers to paths of travel.... blue means vertical, purple horizontal gaps, and orange straight shots.

 

It always bugs when people voice annoyance or frustration at simple ideas, rather then areas of specific difficultly that are actually difficult because of how it breaks its own rules. The only remotely not brain dead thing Dry top demands of the player is basic 3-dimensional spatial awareness.