Noob question: Where to next?

[Faline.8795]

So I hit level 45 in Harathi Hinterlands and the little "go here next" arrow in the upper right corner disappeared. So I'm kind of lost as to what to do next.

 

I know I can always go explore, but the maps are so big I'm just feeling kind of lost.

 

Where do I go next?

[Fluffball.8307]

Have you done any of your personal story?

 

Generally you want to walk south-eastish to get higher maps. You should have access to the city of Lion's Arch, just walk out the southern entrance.

 

Also due to downscaling, all maps are perfectly fine for you to explore as long as they aren't too high level.

[Linken.6345]

You get the next personal story at 50 just walk around map completing harvesting mate.

[Irensaga.6935]

It doesn't really matter what map you do next. You could even go do the Sylvari, Norn, and Char starting maps and still get good EXP from them - since the game automatically scales your character down to the level of the map you are on (to avoid powerful players just coming in and being invincible on low level maps). Any map you want to explore will give you good EXP.

 

But... if you want a suggestion for direction...

 

Why not head down through Gendaran Fields to Lion's Arch, fully explore Lion's Arch, and once you're done there, head south into Bloodtide Coast? Story-wise, it isn't a bad next stop, and the map is the same level as Harathi Hinterlands. Work your way south through Bloodtide Coast fighting pirates, and then enter Sparkfly Fen. Sparkfly Fen will be a good place to take the next step and fight slightly harder enemies. It's also the place where the Tequatl the Sunless world boss appears regularly, attracting hundreds of players, with a pretty epic fight against a giant dragon.

 

Once you're done with Sparkfly Fen, you can move on Mount Malestrom, a map based around a giant volcano, with another world boss appearing occasionally in the center crater. Mount Malestrom will probably get you up to level 80 or close - at that point you can move into the Straits of Devastation, the first of the Orr maps on your path to facing the dragon Zhaitan and ending the basic personal story path.

 

Be sure to do your personal story whenever it becomes available if this is your first playthrough. The EXP rewards are really good, and the story is decent enough for an MMO. Your personal story will eventually have you end up in the Straits of Devastation anyway. So I think going Bloodtide Coast -> Sparkfly Fen -> Mount Malestrom -> Straits of Devastation just makes sense anyway.

 

Be sure to hit those active events whenever they spawn - the heart quests are really only designed to keep your character busy in an area long enough for an active event to spawn, and the rewards are better.

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

Back in my days, we didn't have those arrows pointing you where to go next. We just explored and found things to do in the map as we discovered them! =) You should try that. Being lost is a good thing.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"Faline.8795" said:

> So I hit level 45 in Harathi Hinterlands and the little "go here next" arrow in the upper right corner disappeared. So I'm kind of lost as to what to do next.

> I know I can always go explore, but the maps are so big I'm just feeling kind of lost.

> Where do I go next?

 

If you zoom out on the map, each zone has a level range visible as well as the name. You should go to any zone with a minimum level that is less than or equal to your current level. At 45, I'd personally suggest you hit up Lion's Arch, and walk south into the Bloodtide Coast, which will give you a nice direct path all the way to 80 and Orr, without ever getting stuck without an appropriate level connected zone.

 

The reason it vanished, BTW, is that once you complete everything on a map, it will turn into a blue "try this zone next" indicator for any connected zone ... but you ended up in a region that doesn't have one of those appropriate to point out. As soon as you return to anywhere that has one, it will reappear.

 

Also, you will scale **down** to the level of the zone you are in, if it is too low, but rewards are based on your actual level, so you could just go do, for example, any lower level zone, and you will still level up pretty much as fast, get level-appropriate gear drops, etc.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

> @"SlippyCheeze.5483" said:

> > @"Faline.8795" said:

> > So I hit level 45 in Harathi Hinterlands and the little "go here next" arrow in the upper right corner disappeared. So I'm kind of lost as to what to do next.

> > I know I can always go explore, but the maps are so big I'm just feeling kind of lost.

> > Where do I go next?

>

> Also, you will scale **down** to the level of the zone you are in, if it is too low, but rewards are based on your actual level, so you could just go do, for example, any lower level zone, and you will still level up pretty much as fast, get level-appropriate gear drops, etc.

 

I'd also note that the downscaling is based on the part of the map you're in rather than the map itself - if you are level 10, you'll be scaled down when you are in the north-west part of Queensdale, but not if you are in e.g. the swamp in south-central Queensdale. This is different from "Level Sync" in SWTOR, where you are synced to the planet rather than the part of the planet, so you'll end up way over-level for the early parts of a planet if you are above-level for the planet.