Mastery Points - ArenaNet Please Help Out this 55 Year Old Gamer with 19 Year of MMO Experience

[KeoLegend.5132]

Feel free to leave then. Maybe Candy Crush is more suited to your vibe. I miss the hardships i had on HoT to get all that mastery points, PoF was SO easy i got almost all of them (at least the necessary to fully unlock everything) in a day.

It just stresses me out people yelling for more and more easy content and then leaves anyway because the game "lacks content"

I don't want another SWTOR where i can simply surf trough everything without a single sweat. GW2 PvE and story are already too easy.

 

If you are indeed a 55yo with 19 old mmo experience you would do those stuffs even more fast than i did, because i only have 17 years of experience

[Bones.5730]

> @"ShiningSquirrel.3751" said:

> I may be wrong, but I believe the ops problem may be the same thing I have complained about in the past. Until you complete the core tyria masteries, you no longer earn any experience from doing anything in core tyria. Your bar fills up, but never resets. It can be very annoying playing every day, killing mobs, gathering etc and getting no experience for doing any of it.

 

Exactly. If I can not do some of the Group Required ones for example, why not allow me a Mastery Point for that full Experience Bar instead of freezing it. From what I have heard when you have all the masteries they give you a Spirit Shard, I have no idea what that is, I would rather get a Mastery Point.

[MithranArkanere.8957]

While it may seem you are losing on something, what's actually happening is that you are not qualifying for a reward.

 

It's a little bit different.

 

When they originally introduced masteries and removed spirit shards from the repeated level up rewards, they also added extra sources of spirit shards to compensate.

So that wasn't really lost. The amount of shards people were getting was basically the same, it just came from somewhere else.

 

But they also saw how boring it was to see a bar doing nothing once all masteries had been completed. So they added an additional bonus, bringing back the spirit shards from exp.

But they didn't remove the other spirit shards added. So this wasn't a revert. This was an additional bonus that looked like the original source of spirit shards. Spirit shards from exp are now a bonus reward for completing all masteries in a region.

 

So, what you are missing is the reward for completing all masteries, not the thing you'd usually get if it wasn't for masteries.

Complete the masteries, and you will qualify for this bonus reward.

[Seera.5916]

> @"Bones.5730" said:

> > @"ShiningSquirrel.3751" said:

> > I may be wrong, but I believe the ops problem may be the same thing I have complained about in the past. Until you complete the core tyria masteries, you no longer earn any experience from doing anything in core tyria. Your bar fills up, but never resets. It can be very annoying playing every day, killing mobs, gathering etc and getting no experience for doing any of it.

>

> Exactly. If I can not do some of the Group Required ones for example, why not allow me a Mastery Point for that full Experience Bar instead of freezing it. From what I have heard when you have all the masteries they give you a Spirit Shard, I have no idea what that is, I would rather get a Mastery Point.

 

Mastery Points aren't meant to be an unlimited pool. They are meant to be something earned that can be used to unlock perks in Core Tyria (most usable outside of Core Tyria) and to unlock some required and some perks in HoT and PoF. They force players to look at the perks and the required items and decide which ones they want to unlock first.

 

@"Bones.5730"

 

And you haven't answered any of the questions in my first post. Which area are you having trouble getting Mastery Points in? Since there are different Mastery Point pools for Core Tyria, HoT areas, and PoF areas.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

The Devs will never award Mastery Points for filling the XP bar; the best (right now) you can hope for is a Spirit Shard, which many find less than valuable.

Thus, you will have to use the resources and advice offered to complete all Mastery Tracks, if you want the illusion of gaining something (said Spirit Shard) from filling your XP bar.

 

Good luck.

[Khisanth.2948]

> @"Seaunicorn.9317" said:

> Don't rush into getting the masteries all up. :)

>

> Which mastery tricks are you trying to fill? If it's core tyria, and if you have LS2, it gives a lot of core tyria mastery points out. That helped me to get all the core ones fast. The Teq ones is difficult, so is the Triple Trouble or silver waste ones. But they are not impossible. You just need to be patient with them (infinitely long with some. Teq tail wave, i am looking at you)

>

 

4 out of 5 points from SW is killing the legendaries that spawn at each fort. The only thing difficult about that is getting to it before it dies. That boils down to what is essentially spawn camping. Not difficult, just annoying.

 

The fifth one is from golden badges which has also been made much easier with mounts. Even if you don't have mounts finding someone to help get the badges has become much easier since many people do have mounts.

 

> For HoT, if you don't raid, you really don't need the last 8 mastery points. I haven't opened the adrenaline track yet because I really don't fancy that one. PoF, i am assuming you have all of them Unlocked as they are rather easy to get. Do you ever want to fight Mayatl or Potoni? Unless for some other collection, I personally find them useless.

 

Not quite useless. Fighting Potoni will give you one point but you could ask someone else to start that fight for you.

 

[Reimia.8741]

I think I shaved about 5 years off my life with the amount of rage that JP in gendarran gave me trying to get the JP mastery. I needed so many masteries for my legendary and I enjoyed none of it. I get why there are plenty of people who like the system but wow I hated every moment of it.

[Sinful.2165]

> @"Bones.5730" said:

> I came back to GuildWars 2 after I quit due to the complete lack of any reasonable ways to get Mastery Points. Path of Fire was a true game changer. I WAS having so much fun, until now.

> Simply allow me to get one "Mastery Point" everytime I fill up my experience bar, then clear my Experience Bar and let me continue. Why is this not allowed? FORCING me to do crazy collections and other crazy things that I can NEVER, EVER accomplish just forces me to stop playing, I don't want to stop playing. Do you understand? I have looked at ALL the ways to get these Mastery Points, I can not EVER accomplish these tasks...I am too old and on too much medication to even attempt them, I did complete the Karka one and that about killed me.

>

> This is not complicated nor should it be hard to fix. When your level 80, each time you fill in your Experience Bar, you get a Mastery Point. Done and Done. But no, I am expected to keep playing, killing thousands of mobs an hour, every node I mine, every single thing in the game gives you experience I get NONE of it, it's wasted time.

>

> Hell, sell me Mastery Points, I would buy em, SOMETHING to let me get Mastery Points from just pure Experience. Path of Fire completely changed the game for me, it is so much fun, but I just can't play and gain nothing for playing, would you?

 

I thought you were trolling at first. I really hoped you were. After reading this several times I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not a well crafted post to bait others into an argument but rather your sincere thoughts.

 

It is good to see so many people offer help to you.

 

Allow me to offer some helpful advice of my own. Perhaps it is time to retire? As a veteran gamer surely you can appreciate a good challenge. What you want is all the reward for none of the effort. I’m curious what MMOs you grew up on that gave you such an entitled mindset?

 

Claiming to be too old and that the mastery points are locked behind achievements you could ‘NEVER, EVER’ do is pretty pitiful and I’m surprised so many people are humoring you. There is a huge excess of mastery points available. Please don’t do this community a disservice by making such absurd requests as to dumb down the game any further.

 

There are other games available if you no longer enjoy putting in the effort for the reward. Doubly so if you just want to buy your way to the end game content.

[Weindrasi.3805]

I'm sorry the mastery points are unobtainable for you, but Arenanet cannot make major changes to the game for one person--or even the minority group of people for whom content is too challenging. My dad is in his 60's and he can't do some of the new content either--the PoF and living story bosses were impossible for him. He either waits until me and my husband can log on to help him with content like that; seeks help through the LFG; or looks up How-To videos on Youtube and does as best as he can on his own. I suggest the same to you--use family and friends; find a helpful guild; use LFG; and watch tutorial videos.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

Sorry, but everyone who isn't able to get the points to max your mastery: watch TV shows, read a book or go for a hike. This is so faceroll easy content, also you can get help for nearly everything. I really wonder if those players played any single player games. There is nearly in every game harder content.

 

But it seems we are in an era of games where you are taken by hand, or you can simply pay to skip 'hard' content. That said, this isn't even a young person, that's what I wonder. Good old times when we had to play 'Nintendo hard' games like Castlevania, Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden.

[Bones.5730]

I came here for help, that's all. Apparently I was wrong. I am done with the forums, I won't be back. Thanks to all that tried to help.

[Kururu.8140]

> @"Bones.5730" said:

> I came back to GuildWars 2 after I quit due to the complete lack of any reasonable ways to get Mastery Points. Path of Fire was a true game changer. I WAS having so much fun, until now.

> Simply allow me to get one "Mastery Point" everytime I fill up my experience bar, then clear my Experience Bar and let me continue. Why is this not allowed? FORCING me to do crazy collections and other crazy things that I can NEVER, EVER accomplish just forces me to stop playing, I don't want to stop playing. Do you understand? I have looked at ALL the ways to get these Mastery Points, I can not EVER accomplish these tasks...I am too old and on too much medication to even attempt them, I did complete the Karka one and that about killed me.

>

> This is not complicated nor should it be hard to fix. When your level 80, each time you fill in your Experience Bar, you get a Mastery Point. Done and Done. But no, I am expected to keep playing, killing thousands of mobs an hour, every node I mine, every single thing in the game gives you experience I get NONE of it, it's wasted time.

>

> Hell, sell me Mastery Points, I would buy em, SOMETHING to let me get Mastery Points from just pure Experience. Path of Fire completely changed the game for me, it is so much fun, but I just can't play and gain nothing for playing, would you?

 

You do realise that achievements and collections isn't the only way to earn mastery points, right? You can find mastery insights throughout HoT, PoF and (a few) in Core Tyria, all you need to do is get to the insight and commune with it. Have a raptor? That's all you need to start and it'll become easier and easier once you get all points for the raptor and get the other mounts. Nothing's forcing you to do anything.

[Zohane.7208]

> @"Bones.5730" said:

> ****UPDATE

>

> I guess I should of mentioned something that I didn't think needed to be added, but maybe I should. How my disability affects my game play.

>

> I am 55 years old but I am also disabled with a back condition. I game solely for the purpose of pain control. I game laying down because I can not sit up in a chair. I also take A LOT of pain medication. This medication is really strong. It not only affects my mind it also affects my motor skills which makes it really hard sometimes because I know what I am suppose to do, but just can not execute.

>

> I play alone, because I do not want to hold anyone else up or cause issues with their game play because I can't do something. As an example I am sure most of you have played PoF, The First City, that last fight with Snuffy 2.0 took me 1.5 - 2.0 hours, it might of been longer, but it seems like it took forever, I bet I fell off that platform 100 times. Any kind of jumping puzzle that requires precise movement, I am just unable to move the mouse and select the right keys, I accept my limitations, but I will not impose them on others. So grouping up, I just won't do that to someone else, it's not fair of me to do that I will just slow them up.

>

> I didn't mention this in my original post because sometimes people see disabled people in a certain way, and treat them differently or think they use their disability looking for some kind of "Pity", I assure you while that does happen, it is an extremely small percentage, most are like me and wouldn't even mention it just for this reason they do not want to be treated differently. I didn't think it was really important but it is one of the reasons I can not accomplish some of these Mastery Points, it is a small reason, but it is there, and therefore I added it.

>

> I am starting to believe this is "MY" problem because so many of you seem to have completed these with little problems. So I will look into everything you guys suggested, I really do appreciate the suggestions, you took the time to respond, I thank you. Actually all of your stories gives me hope that maybe I am looking at gaining these points in the wrong way, I will re-evaluate each Mastery Point and give them another shot. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

If I were you I wouldn't be as cautious to join up with people as you seem to be. There's lots of people out there who don't care if doing a mission or something else takes a little longer, or if we have to carry someone else mostly. I'm sure if you ask nicely and are open with that you're not going to be excellent (no need really to go in to details unless you wish to) you'll be amazed at how much help you can get.

Most of the content, except possibly for higher fractals and raids (haven't done those) are completely possible to do with fewer than 5, and I'm quite convinced that you'll not be as useless as you seem to think you are in a group.

 

I guess my point is, ask for help, but don't hide the fact that you'll be a bit slower - I'll bet you'll be pleasantly surprised!

[Julischka Bean.7491]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > @"Tatwi.3562" said:

> > > @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > > I'm sorry you don't like the system, but I don't see that it's all that onerous.

> > Why is this, "it's not a problem for me, therefore it's not a problem", sentiment so prevalent? It's rude and intolerant.

> > Plenty of people **_can't_** take part in some aspects of the game, for no fault of their own, yet the can love a whole lot of other aspects about playing the game (and spend loads of money supporting ArenaNet in the process!). It's not OK to tell these people that their problems are not worthy of being solved.

>

> It's not rude or intolerant to disagree. I'm not saying "it's not a problem for me therefore it's not a problem for anyone." I said specifically that it doesn't seem onerous, as the OP contends that it is. Of course it's not their fault that they are handicapped in what they can do. But neither is it necessarily a good idea to design a game meant to appeal to the masses in a way that is without challenge for anyone.

>

> The OP is entitled to wish for the game to be easier than it is. And it's entirely fair that others wish for it to wish it to be harder. That doesn't make anyone right or wrong, rude or polite. It's simply an opinion. And like any opinion, no one else is required to agree.

>

> Had the OP said, instead: "I'm finding this really challenging, what can I do, in my limited circumstances, to make this more fun...," then I would have attempted to offer suggestions. Including what I implied in the part of my message you cut off: there's no rush. It's perfectly okay — and fun — to play the game and not worry about masteries at all.

 

Beautiful post. Have a thumbs up. I might take you up on the asking part. Hmmm...maybe a guild for people with physical problems but are gung ho about playing the game. We could help each other. Or maybe there could be a Guild who can offer help.. maybe the Devs could cook up a Guild Achievement for helping the unblessed among us...it could be called "The Helping Hands." Hmm this name actually sounds like a good name for a Guild.

 

Anyways. I have to get ready for work. Cheers.

 

 

[Julischka Bean.7491]

> @"ProtoGunner.4953" said:

> I think I got all masteries within 1 or 2 weeks after HoT release. Be resourceful, check the Wiki/youtube and see it as kind of a progression. Progression is fun! I really don't see a problem here. Or do you want to finish a game within minutes?

 

And check out Dulfy's site. Once I discovered her guide to Solo Hero Points in HoT I was all over it. She also has a similar guide to the Mastery Points.

 

I love Dulfy.

[Odinens.5920]

> @"costepj.5120" said:

> Be aware that not all mastery tracks are equally useful. If you aren't working on a legendary, then you might as well skip Legendary Crafting for example.

 

Unfortunately for me this is my current roadblock. I have all the core Tyria masteries maxed, except for legend crafting, and now that I've decided to actually make one I can't, because I need the last 2 levels. The MPs I need aren't that easy to come by, and I don't really have the time at night to sit and wait for rng spawns or events to start and run through their course. So, I've been stuck at 203 for probably 3 or 4 months.

 

 

[GreyWolf.8670]

Asking in-game usually helps, too. I, for one, would be happy to help with MPs if you sent me a PM.

[sorudo.9054]

i still need plenty of core ones, same with PoF but since allot are done trough achievements it's gonna be a HUGE grind, if only they made them obtainable trough simple exploration.

[Ayrilana.1396]

> @"sorudo.9054" said:

> i still need plenty of core ones, same with PoF but since allot are done trough achievements it's gonna be a HUGE grind, if only they made them obtainable trough simple exploration.

 

PoF has 51 mastery points that are obtainable solely by exploring/communing and by obtaining the first four mounts. You get another 12 by doing the main story. That’s more than reasonable.

 

Core Tyria has 9 that are commune only. Personal story gives you another 8. There are also many other achievements that are fairly quick and easy to do but didn’t list as they’re not what I assume you would refer to as “exploration”.

 

[sorudo.9054]

> @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > i still need plenty of core ones, same with PoF but since allot are done trough achievements it's gonna be a HUGE grind, if only they made them obtainable trough simple exploration.

>

> PoF has 51 mastery points that are obtainable solely by exploring/communing and by obtaining the first four mounts. You get another 12 by doing the main story. That’s more than reasonable.

>

> Core Tyria has 9 that are commune only. Personal story gives you another 8. There are also many other achievements that are fairly quick and easy to do but didn’t list as they’re not what I assume you would refer to as “exploration”.

>

 

and how is it smart to add it on personal story when many only have 1 character?

i still have the last legendary crafting mastery not filled because it needs 9 mastery points, with everything locked away i doubt i ever get anything close to that.

[Ayrilana.1396]

> @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> > > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > > i still need plenty of core ones, same with PoF but since allot are done trough achievements it's gonna be a HUGE grind, if only they made them obtainable trough simple exploration.

> >

> > PoF has 51 mastery points that are obtainable solely by exploring/communing and by obtaining the first four mounts. You get another 12 by doing the main story. That’s more than reasonable.

> >

> > Core Tyria has 9 that are commune only. Personal story gives you another 8. There are also many other achievements that are fairly quick and easy to do but didn’t list as they’re not what I assume you would refer to as “exploration”.

> >

>

> and how is it smart to add it on personal story when many only have 1 character?

 

What does having only one character have to do with whether or not to include the personal story. You do it once and you get 12 MP. Having more than one character doesn’t matter as you can only get an MP for each chapter the first time.

 

> i still have the last legendary crafting mastery not filled because it needs 9 mastery points, with everything locked away i doubt i ever get anything close to that.

 

Not everything is locked away. I think only 18 MP is locked behind LS2. Maybe the SW bioluminescent armor one as well if it’s required for you to complete the mastery story achievements.

[DeanBB.4268]

It's really more of a mindset. I too am a 55 year old gamer without much interest/desire to get the mastery points, and so it just feels wrong to earn XP but get no value out of them. Once I accepted that, it became much less of an issue for me.

 

What is annoying is my core-only alt accounts fill their XP bar and get nothing, no spirit shard. Not that I need them really, but why is that reward denied?

[Ayrilana.1396]

> @"DeanBB.4268" said:

> It's really more of a mindset. I too am a 55 year old gamer without much interest/desire to get the mastery points, and so it just feels wrong to earn XP but get no value out of them. Once I accepted that, it became much less of an issue for me.

>

> What is annoying is my core-only alt accounts fill their XP bar and get nothing, no spirit shard. Not that I need them really, but why is that reward denied?

 

Completing all masteries gives the reward of being able to earn a spirit shard with each “level” on top of the other sources they added. It’s just an additional way to earn spirit shards. Something that some people in another thread consider to be worthless.

[Joraan Adenard.2061]

> @"Countess.3267" said:

> I understand the frustration with an experience bar that is locked. Rather than playing the game in an "open world" as I would wish to explore it, I am forced to stop doing what I am enjoying and shift to these mastery points. I am returning to the game after a few years absence. I'm trying to go back and play through the living world seasons to catch up to the story line. But my dailies force me to go into the expansion areas, even though my story hasn't brought me there yet. And so now I've got this capped xp bar, and any xp that I would be earning there is wasted because it goes nowhere. Stuck. Getting nothing. Put in time and effort. No experience. If you let the experience continue to grow, bank it somewhere and only let it be effective when the MPs are unlocked, that would be great! But as is, I feel a goodly portion of my time in game is wasted. I don't like wasting my time (says the person sinking hours/years into an MMO, I know). But it's my leisure time. You used to let my full bar at 80 cycle into an accumulated hero point that I could use for all sorts of things. What was wrong with that system? How was it broken? Why did it need "fixing" into this system that forces me to make a choice between wasting XP, or playing the story out of order. It makes me very unhappy.

>

 

I'm sorry but. you know that experience is pretty useless in that game once you hit lvl 80 ? You gain a spirit shard each time the bar fills. And there are other ways to gain those if you REALLY need them. However, what I find disconcerting is the fact that, for you, if you don't get experience, your time is wasted in the game. Don't you enjoy playing it ? At least I hope you do. Because if a goodly portion of your game is spent not enjoying acquiring experience to obtain useless rewards, then why are you playing this game ?

[jbrother.1340]

> @"Countess.3267" said:

> I understand the frustration with an experience bar that is locked. Rather than playing the game in an "open world" as I would wish to explore it, I am forced to stop doing what I am enjoying and shift to these mastery points. I am returning to the game after a few years absence. I'm trying to go back and play through the living world seasons to catch up to the story line. But my dailies force me to go into the expansion areas, even though my story hasn't brought me there yet. And so now I've got this capped xp bar, and any xp that I would be earning there is wasted because it goes nowhere. Stuck. Getting nothing. Put in time and effort. No experience. If you let the experience continue to grow, bank it somewhere and only let it be effective when the MPs are unlocked, that would be great! But as is, I feel a goodly portion of my time in game is wasted. I don't like wasting my time (says the person sinking hours/years into an MMO, I know). But it's my leisure time. You used to let my full bar at 80 cycle into an accumulated hero point that I could use for all sorts of things. What was wrong with that system? How was it broken? Why did it need "fixing" into this system that forces me to make a choice between wasting XP, or playing the story out of order. It makes me very unhappy.

>

 

You just necro'd a 6 month old thread in which the OP basically was driven off by a lot of passive aggression in it.

 

Right or wrong I just wonder why did you post in this thread?

 

Some people that posted here months ago were actually trying to help, the rest were giving the finger to this middle aged player who while not phrasing what he wanted well was just frustrated and looking for advice that fit within his capabilities. You might want to let this die and start your own thread.