PoF Intro Mission Impossible to Solo. What's up with the Difficulty Spike?

[ugrakarma.9416]

> @"Phantoms Shadow.4512" said:

> Since it seems the mission I am stuck on it longer then I had thought, I'll try and best describe where I am stuck. After the pyramid you go to a burning village. That's where I am stuck the most. The farthest I've gotten was after the Hearld send her to attack dogs after you. At that point I got stonewalled and had to go back to Lion's Arch because I did nothing but die and my armor was entirely broken. I also end up dying a lot at the pyramid as well, but not as much probably due to the ally bot help.

 

Must look at **burning** ticks. its the most damaging condition

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Burning

 

u probably have this icon on u conditions bar

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Burning.png

[Menadena.7482]

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> Easy, guys. Here's the situation: the OP is a very "casual" returning player - the sort who really isn't interested in deep-diving into game mechanics. Thus his knowledge level is very basic at this point, essentially on the level of a new player.

>

> I met up with him last night and we did some story and open world. He didn't boost and had very little gold, so his gear was a mix of random stats in anywhere from greens to exotics.

>

> Given that piece of information along with the build he shared, you can understand why he was struggling.

>

> Now that he's using full exotic and a more coherent build, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing from here.

 

Thanks, maybe a standard suggestion should be that people should have at least all exotics before doing any of the expacs/seasons?

[Schnuschnu.9857]

> @"Phantoms Shadow.4512" said:

> Also here's my build, I can't seem to figure out how to show my armor setup as it seems to just use generic armor types.

> http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJIQNApeUnUJCFggtdAOeAUthBjADTdrglnFA2g5sMHs3OCA-e

 

Like others have said, your build has next to no synergy. If you don't have exotics you are undergeared. It's the 2nd expansion for max level, exotic is the absolute minimum. Berserker stat (has nothing to do with the specialisation, just a stat prefix for power, precision, ferocity with power as main stat (with precision as main stat it would be assassin)) exotic gear can be bought for dungeon tokens (Flame citadel comes to my mind for berserker). This costs you no money, instead you make some money doing dungeons, so you can buy berserker accessories.

 

So, it's not the games fault. It's not the game that is too hard. It's you using a bad build and bad gear. But that is something you can easily correct. Ask people for help with the build, where to get the gear for your build and than try again. But do yourself one favor. Always look for mistakes in your own play before blaming the game or other people. Chances are high it's your mistake. Always try to watch for your own mistakes. (If you can't, record your attempts and leave a youtube links to the video. This way people can point out to you mistakes you've made) Only this way you will get better. I myself do this still today and I play for over 5 years now and would consider myself a decent player. But there is always room for improvement.

 

[Sojourner.4621]

> @"Menadena.7482" said:

> > @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > Easy, guys. Here's the situation: the OP is a very "casual" returning player - the sort who really isn't interested in deep-diving into game mechanics. Thus his knowledge level is very basic at this point, essentially on the level of a new player.

> >

> > I met up with him last night and we did some story and open world. He didn't boost and had very little gold, so his gear was a mix of random stats in anywhere from greens to exotics.

> >

> > Given that piece of information along with the build he shared, you can understand why he was struggling.

> >

> > Now that he's using full exotic and a more coherent build, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing from here.

>

> Thanks, maybe a standard suggestion should be that people should have at least all exotics before doing any of the expacs/seasons?

 

To be honest, I've run through HoT getting all the HPs with just the white level 80 zerk armor and weapons you get from the NPC vendors. Build synergy, building smart for what content you're playing, and understanding of mechanics are all much more important to PvE than gear is (Except higher than t1 fractals where ascended gear plays a vital role in survival, or Raids where you should be minimally geared in exotics, though some have done it in rares). If I were playing very much lately I would have offered to help him out with the actual mechanics/content side of things but my play time is super limited with my new job. Anyway, glad the general advice seemed to help him out.

[Sojourner.4621]

> @"shejesa.3712" said:

> > I would have put it more diplomatically, but you aren't wrong. Running random stat greens and having no knowledge of basic mechanics (e.g. standing in orange circles, not using the dodge mechanic, not knowing what your skills do, etc.) is exactly what was holding the OP back. Knowledge of the mechanics will come with practice, but simply equipping appropriate gear and build resulted in an instant and dramatic increase in his ability to survive.

> From my experience, people don't care about diplomatically written stuff. But when I'm a kitten people get offended, that gives me a better (still slim anyway) chance to be recalled in the future :3 :3

>

 

Considering the OP almost exclusively replied only to the more diplomatically written stuff, and took build advice from it, I believe your estimation of the situation is incorrect. Basic psychology suggests that people respond better and listen to what is told to them in a way that aids in appeasing their ego (The Freudian ego, though the two definitions aren't **so** far off) and more likely to be dismissive of or even blatantly defiant against abuse, even if it offers good advice. That means you could actually cause them to do the opposite of what you suggest, making things worse for the rest of us. This is how bear-bows firing off PBS happen... do you want more bear-bows firing PBS?

[kharmin.7683]

> @"Sojourner.4621" said:

> This is how bear-bows firing off PBS happen... do you want more bear-bows firing PBS?

 

I kitten hate that. I yell at them when it happens. "Stupid Ranger!" And I main ranger, too!!

[polarbear.2497]

> @"Phantoms Shadow.4512" said:

 

> You cannot even get past the intro mission on your own. The AI flood you and even when you had the support of the Ally AI they were pointless.

>

> Remembering why I quit the game for so long. The Devs seem intent on forcing you to not do anything Solo. About to give up again.

 

Hi, rather than repeat what other people are saying, I can offer you a different solution. My guild (Misfits of Anvil Rock) loves to help people with any content they feel is difficult, and we pride ourselves on not promoting in any way a toxic environment. So if you'd like to join us, we will definitely help you with advice (including on builds) and even join you in the instance to help you complete it. If you are interested, mail me in game at polarbear.2497

 

[MetalGirl.2370]

They're easy to do solo...

What makes you think that it's games fault and that it's too hard... have you ever considered, hmmm I don't know, ... getting better at it?

 

[Zephyr.5382]

> @"shejesa.3712" said:

> From my experience, people don't care about diplomatically written stuff. But when I'm a kitten people get offended, that gives me a better (still slim anyway) chance to be recalled in the future :3 :3

>

 

Hi. Mr. Diplomacy, here. But even I have to agree that tough love is sometimes necessary....

[AliamRationem.5172]

> @"Menadena.7482" said:

> > @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > Easy, guys. Here's the situation: the OP is a very "casual" returning player - the sort who really isn't interested in deep-diving into game mechanics. Thus his knowledge level is very basic at this point, essentially on the level of a new player.

> >

> > I met up with him last night and we did some story and open world. He didn't boost and had very little gold, so his gear was a mix of random stats in anywhere from greens to exotics.

> >

> > Given that piece of information along with the build he shared, you can understand why he was struggling.

> >

> > Now that he's using full exotic and a more coherent build, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing from here.

>

> Thanks, maybe a standard suggestion should be that people should have at least all exotics before doing any of the expacs/seasons?

 

More than that. The expansions are designed to offer a challenge to players who are equipped with level 80 exotic/ascended gear and not only understand basic mechanics, but how to design and use the trait and skill system to overcome obstacles. New players can certainly jump right in, but they should do so knowing that they'll likely struggle with it initially.

[Kal Spiro.9745]

> @"Menadena.7482" said:

> > @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > Easy, guys. Here's the situation: the OP is a very "casual" returning player - the sort who really isn't interested in deep-diving into game mechanics. Thus his knowledge level is very basic at this point, essentially on the level of a new player.

> >

> > I met up with him last night and we did some story and open world. He didn't boost and had very little gold, so his gear was a mix of random stats in anywhere from greens to exotics.

> >

> > Given that piece of information along with the build he shared, you can understand why he was struggling.

> >

> > Now that he's using full exotic and a more coherent build, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing from here.

>

> Thanks, maybe a standard suggestion should be that people should have at least all exotics before doing any of the expacs/seasons?

 

Nah, it's not even that important, just have at least marginally level appropriate gear. Have at least three stats on your gear. I have plenty of alts with greens and yellows and no orange that can still handle this because they're using cohesive builds.

[Algreg.3629]

This thread shows that GW2 community is rather helpful, but as most people, it does not react well to histrionic claims. The whole "elitism" vs. "noob" thing doesn´t make things easier either. So a lesson to be learned: Don´t start a thread about difficulty with outlandish claims. Things are not impossible to achieve when thousands of players do so.

 

Don´t dismiss the possibility the problem is you, not the game. And I don´t mean that in any way personal. You can be the most wonderful human being in the world, doing something wrong in a game does not tarnish that the least. Look at this case here. It is not a matter of the casuals´ dreaded "meta elitism". OP does not have a bad build, he has no build whatsoever. Things wouldn´t be worse if traits and skills had been picked up by a random number generator. So whenever one encounters a problem, a better approach than bringing up histrionic claims is telling people you have a problem, are you doing anything wrong, what can be done to fix it. Of cause you will always get your "git gud" responses, but also a lot better and quicker advice if you don´t antagonize people up front. And listen instead of adopting a passive-aggressive stance.

[reddie.5861]

man could do this instance with just a dagger or sword or axe in my hand on warrior how u even manage to fail it lol.

[AliamRationem.5172]

> @"Algreg.3629" said:

> This thread shows that GW2 community is rather helpful, but as most people, it does not react well to histrionic claims. The whole "elitism" vs. "noob" thing doesn´t make things easier either. So a lesson to be learned: Don´t start a thread about difficulty with outlandish claims. Things are not impossible to achieve when thousands of players do so.

>

> Don´t dismiss the possibility the problem is you, not the game. And I don´t mean that in any way personal. You can be the most wonderful human being in the world, doing something wrong in a game does not tarnish that the least. Look at this case here. It is not a matter of the casuals´ dreaded "meta elitism". OP does not have a bad build, he has no build whatsoever. Things wouldn´t be worse if traits and skills had been picked up by a random number generator. So whenever one encounters a problem, a better approach than bringing up histrionic claims is telling people you have a problem, are you doing anything wrong, what can be done to fix it. Of cause you will always get your "git gud" responses, but also a lot better and quicker advice if you don´t antagonize people up front. And listen instead of adopting a passive-aggressive stance.

 

It's unfortunate. People are going to keep reading and responding to that initial post, even though we're well past it at this point. As I said in my recent update, I went in and helped this guy out already. I think he's going to do just fine from here on out. But that won't stop the flood of nasty responses to his initial outpouring of frustration. It doesn't reflect well on us as a community, but I can't say the responses are unwarranted, given the outrageous nature of the original complaint.

 

He really is a nice guy, though. He was just understandably frustrated with an aspect of the game that he just didn't understand through no fault of his own.

[Draco.9480]

if you have issues playing the easiest class and fail in the easiest content in the most easy and casual game then there's something wrong with you.

[Algreg.3629]

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> It's unfortunate. People are going to keep reading and responding to that initial post, even though we're well past it at this point. As I said in my recent update, I went in and helped this guy out already. I think he's going to do just fine from here on out. But that won't stop the flood of nasty responses to his initial outpouring of frustration. It doesn't reflect well on us as a community, but I can't say the responses are unwarranted, given the outrageous nature of the original complaint.

>

> He really is a nice guy, though. He was just understandably frustrated with an aspect of the game that he just didn't understand through no fault of his own.

 

I don´t doubt that. Internet communications always seems to be one step nastier than people are actually in person, myself very much included. But you bring up another aspect: As in any situation, frustration and anger rarely put you in a good mindset to communicate. Better to step back for a moment and take a deep breath before writing. After all, you cannot fix other people, just yourself.

[Pifil.5193]

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > @"Algreg.3629" said:

> > This thread shows that GW2 community is rather helpful, but as most people, it does not react well to histrionic claims. The whole "elitism" vs. "noob" thing doesn´t make things easier either. So a lesson to be learned: Don´t start a thread about difficulty with outlandish claims. Things are not impossible to achieve when thousands of players do so.

> >

> > Don´t dismiss the possibility the problem is you, not the game. And I don´t mean that in any way personal. You can be the most wonderful human being in the world, doing something wrong in a game does not tarnish that the least. Look at this case here. It is not a matter of the casuals´ dreaded "meta elitism". OP does not have a bad build, he has no build whatsoever. Things wouldn´t be worse if traits and skills had been picked up by a random number generator. So whenever one encounters a problem, a better approach than bringing up histrionic claims is telling people you have a problem, are you doing anything wrong, what can be done to fix it. Of cause you will always get your "git gud" responses, but also a lot better and quicker advice if you don´t antagonize people up front. And listen instead of adopting a passive-aggressive stance.

>

> It's unfortunate. People are going to keep reading and responding to that initial post, even though we're well past it at this point. As I said in my recent update, I went in and helped this guy out already. I think he's going to do just fine from here on out. But that won't stop the flood of nasty responses to his initial outpouring of frustration. It doesn't reflect well on us as a community, but I can't say the responses are unwarranted, given the outrageous nature of the original complaint.

>

> He really is a nice guy, though. He was just understandably frustrated with an aspect of the game that he just didn't understand through no fault of his own.

 

It is a pity that so many people seem to be in such a rush to berate the OP that they don't actually read the thread.

[Phantoms Shadow.4512]

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > @"Algreg.3629" said:

> > This thread shows that GW2 community is rather helpful, but as most people, it does not react well to histrionic claims. The whole "elitism" vs. "noob" thing doesn´t make things easier either. So a lesson to be learned: Don´t start a thread about difficulty with outlandish claims. Things are not impossible to achieve when thousands of players do so.

> >

> > Don´t dismiss the possibility the problem is you, not the game. And I don´t mean that in any way personal. You can be the most wonderful human being in the world, doing something wrong in a game does not tarnish that the least. Look at this case here. It is not a matter of the casuals´ dreaded "meta elitism". OP does not have a bad build, he has no build whatsoever. Things wouldn´t be worse if traits and skills had been picked up by a random number generator. So whenever one encounters a problem, a better approach than bringing up histrionic claims is telling people you have a problem, are you doing anything wrong, what can be done to fix it. Of cause you will always get your "git gud" responses, but also a lot better and quicker advice if you don´t antagonize people up front. And listen instead of adopting a passive-aggressive stance.

>

> It's unfortunate. People are going to keep reading and responding to that initial post, even though we're well past it at this point. As I said in my recent update, I went in and helped this guy out already. I think he's going to do just fine from here on out. But that won't stop the flood of nasty responses to his initial outpouring of frustration. It doesn't reflect well on us as a community, but I can't say the responses are unwarranted, given the outrageous nature of the original complaint.

>

> He really is a nice guy, though. He was just understandably frustrated with an aspect of the game that he just didn't understand through no fault of his own.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I am willing to admit I could have conveyed myself better in my initial post. That is indeed my own mistep.

 

However I've stopped actively refreshing this thread in my browser, as I was able to get some help with my struggle. However I wish I hadn't come back now, seems many of the replies I am now seeing after coming back (the forums were notifying me that new replies kept being posted) are rather hostile, nasty, or hardly supportive. Regret coming and looking at the thread again.

[Nikal.4921]

> @"Nafets.1238" said:

> @OP I know what you are talking about. First time I did that mission I failed miserably for hours and hours. I had to ask two guys that I know to come help me with it. ANet doens't understand that this is not raids!!! This is story content that's meant to be enjoyed by everyone but the difficulty is just above the sky. I bought this game to enjoy a nice story, not to lose hours and hours on a single mob in a story instance! This is beyond unacceptable!

I wish Anet focused more on making the story content accessible and less on ramping up difficulty. As things are, I do enough of story lines to get into zones. I've given up trying to complete them. I'm not that good a player, but I don't think I'm the worst either. I just want to see the story. If I wanted a steep challenge, I would do fractals or raids.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"Nikal.4921" said:

> > @"Nafets.1238" said:

> > @OP I know what you are talking about. First time I did that mission I failed miserably for hours and hours. I had to ask two guys that I know to come help me with it. ANet doens't understand that this is not raids!!! This is story content that's meant to be enjoyed by everyone but the difficulty is just above the sky. I bought this game to enjoy a nice story, not to lose hours and hours on a single mob in a story instance! This is beyond unacceptable!

> I wish Anet focused more on making the story content accessible and less on ramping up difficulty. As things are, I do enough of story lines to get into zones. I've given up trying to complete them. I'm not that good a player, but I don't think I'm the worst either. I just want to see the story. If I wanted a steep challenge, I would do fractals or raids.

 

Some of this, I think, is the unfortunate jump directly from core to PoF content, without any of the intervening content, for some players. Tell me, did you play any of HoT, or LS3?

 

My experience was that this story content was quite accessible, save a couple of difficult boss fights near the end, but I have also spent the time working through those earlier expansion and story where there was more of a curve of difficulty, and I learned to handle a number of the styles of attack that PoF used, so I only had to master a handful of new things like the spinning blade air-skateboard mobs.

 

Skipping that, I think, likely makes for this apparently huge jump in challenge, as well as the distinction between experiences. (Like you, I'm not what I would call an amazingly good player or anything.)

[kharmin.7683]

> @"SlippyCheeze.5483" said:

 

> Some of this, I think, is the unfortunate jump directly from core to PoF content, without any of the intervening content, for some players. Tell me, did you play any of HoT, or LS3?

>

> My experience was that this story content was quite accessible, save a couple of difficult boss fights near the end, but I have also spent the time working through those earlier expansion and story where there was more of a curve of difficulty, and I learned to handle a number of the styles of attack that PoF used, so I only had to master a handful of new things like the spinning blade air-skateboard mobs.

>

> Skipping that, I think, likely makes for this apparently huge jump in challenge, as well as the distinction between experiences. (Like you, I'm not what I would call an amazingly good player or anything.)

 

This mirrors my experience as well. Either that, or I'm a better player than I give myself credit for being. If raids share this level of difficulty, then I don't understand the hype.

 

/me shakes head

[thruine.8510]

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> Easy, guys. Here's the situation: the OP is a very "casual" returning player - the sort who really isn't interested in deep-diving into game mechanics. Thus his knowledge level is very basic at this point, essentially on the level of a new player.

>

> I met up with him last night and we did some story and open world. He didn't boost and had very little gold, so his gear was a mix of random stats in anywhere from greens to exotics.

>

> Given that piece of information along with the build he shared, you can understand why he was struggling.

>

> Now that he's using full exotic and a more coherent build, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing from here.

 

That was my situation when I first quit playing. Not very knowledgeable about the game mechanics and very little resources I found quite a bit of the game to be quite difficult. Of course I also heard how easy this game is and if you make the comparison to WoW once you've maxxed out your character then yes, both games are extremely easy. My big turn around was money. The more I struggled the more resources I had but there was nothing in the game telling me how to make it work for me. Now I crafted exotics for myself and buy any equipment I need from the trading post.

 

Also, warriors are awful in the game in comparison to the other classes in my opinion. That's what I started with. Too many skills they have available require you to park yourself to make use of them. If using great sword, that is. I found a rifle to be a better option but since that didn't fit what I wanted in a warrior, I just changed classes. Even if the OP gets better gear and learns more about his setup, the warrior is a disadvantage if you've got a certain ideal of what kind of warrior you'd like to be. Taking things to the face certainly isn't going to work since it seems to me heavy armor offers the same advantage as no armor. With so many mobs in this game having the same mechanic of throwing absolutely everything at you on the floor in the air while throwing you clear from them. The first half of season 2 (which I'm currently working through myself) was terrible for me as a warrior. Especially with mobs like the vines that cover the ground with poison everywhere. The only tells you get is the damage you receive and I've yet to land a stun on one. I'm still learning the game too.

 

Not much advice I'm sorry to say. I know how the OP feels. Especially when I came into the game thinking warriors were like those I had played before. Bringing the mindset in of someone who had tanked dungeons and raids in WoW for years it was hard to change for GW2 where that play type will just get you killed. If its a struggle for you now with a warrior, its just going to be frustrating down the road with one. If possible, I'd leave the class as I did.

 

Edit: Oh, wanted to say I don't think this community is toxic. Its probably the nicest in any game I've ever played. The forums are a bit more like the internet as a whole though which is why so many avoid them. But except for a few even those are okay. Better than many.

[Amused.3091]

Some people breeze through the content and some struggle with parts of it. I found the xpacs to be much harder than the core game and I've struggled through some of it too. Here is my advice: If you find you're struggling too much and it's completely not fun, save yourself the aggro and ask a buddy or a kindly guild mate to help you get through that section before you hit the point of wanting to quit playing the game entirely. Some portions may not be solo-able for everyone, ask for help and save yourself a lot of frustration.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > @"SlippyCheeze.5483" said:

>

> > Some of this, I think, is the unfortunate jump directly from core to PoF content, without any of the intervening content, for some players. Tell me, did you play any of HoT, or LS3?

> >

> > My experience was that this story content was quite accessible, save a couple of difficult boss fights near the end, but I have also spent the time working through those earlier expansion and story where there was more of a curve of difficulty, and I learned to handle a number of the styles of attack that PoF used, so I only had to master a handful of new things like the spinning blade air-skateboard mobs.

> >

> > Skipping that, I think, likely makes for this apparently huge jump in challenge, as well as the distinction between experiences. (Like you, I'm not what I would call an amazingly good player or anything.)

>

> This mirrors my experience as well. Either that, or I'm a better player than I give myself credit for being. If raids share this level of difficulty, then I don't understand the hype.

 

One of the two. I'm not sure where raids sit, though I know they have some vague DPS checks ... but they also have bosses cleared by a group of four players, now, so that isn't exactly a punishing timer. I am beginning to suspect my heroic (now mythic) raiding self would find them rather easier than expected too.

 

That said, there was definitely a hard learning, uh, wall for me when it came to HoT. So, yeah, I'm happy to credit that the same skills that mean I don't just instantly die if a mordrem sniper lines up on me also mean I don't instantly die to hookheads, and thus, practice is what made the difference.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"Amused.3091" said:

> Some people breeze through the content and some struggle with parts of it. I found the xpacs to be much harder than the core game and I've struggled through some of it too. Here is my advice: If you find you're struggling too much and it's completely not fun, save yourself the aggro and ask a buddy or a kindly guild mate to help you get through that section before you hit the point of wanting to quit playing the game entirely. Some portions may not be solo-able for everyone, ask for help and save yourself a lot of frustration.

 

This is really, really good advice. There is no shame in getting help if things are not working out. I absolutely have, on several jumping puzzles -- those being my personal bane -- because I tried until I just couldn't any more. Sure, it'd be nice if I had really done it, not just mesmer-ported to the end, but ... that'll do for what I needed it for, and I tried for hours.

 

There also is absolutely positively a huge jump in challenge between most of the core world and the expansion -- even Orr is mostly full of friendly, generous, easy enemies by comparison. Anyone saying there isn't a jump has just forgotten how much they have spent time on "git gud" in the game. (or they came in with extensive outside experience that translated to a huge jump-start on GW2 mechanics.)