So are the HoT masteries useless outside of getting map completion for HoT?

[Gamefreak.4207]

Gliding is now pretty pointless in most cases once you get a Griffon. Anyone know of any reason you would want to max out the HoT masteries outside of doing it for completionists sake?

[Pifil.5193]

The main reason is because, unlike in most MMOs where they raise the level cap, the content in the previous expansion is not suddenly obsolete: it's still very good end game content that a lot of people like and play and those masteries are useful there.

 

Gliding also has a few advantages over the griffon, the main one being that you can glide in combat, so think of it as a parachute if nothing else.

[Perses.9683]

Spectral agony is also useful in open world.

[Dark Light Shariu.3792]

You need to have all masteries on your way to some legendary weapons. But that's just needing the mastery to buy one item. Other than that, yeah, I agree with Pifil. You can't mount in combat, and sometimes you just need to jump off a cliff to not get killed by a mob, and then the glider becomes very useful... Oh, and Dragon's Stand Meta. You just need the winds there sometimes.

[Einlanzer.1627]

I don't think gliding is useless even after getting griffon. In fact, I just went back to max it out. I also wouldn't be surprised if they try to find ways to increase its relevance in future content.

[Tails.9372]

Aside from the gliding ones I do find the Signet of Agony rather useful (unlike the Bond of Life mastery from S4E2).

[RoseofGilead.8907]

I honestly glide just as much as I use my griffon (I might even glide more often, actually). The rest of the main HoT masteries range between "haven't used them since I unlocked them" and "I use this all the time." I go back and do metas in HoT, so the poison mastery, Nuhoch wallows, bouncing mushrooms, stealth detection, and the various masteries that allow you to use the vendors all see great use from me. Also, the Signet of Agony from LWS3 has been very useful to me.

[cyanweapon.7290]

Just a mention, but if you don't have the Griffon equipped as your mount and you fall off somewhere, you'll be happy you had that Glider mastery.

[Jimbru.6014]

I glide more than I use the griffon. It's quite handy for most of the game world. There are places outside HoT where the Itzel poison immunity is useful; there's a cave in LS4 Ep 2 that immediately comes to mind. And I return to the LS3 zones often for farming, so the bouncing mushrooms and other things are all quite useful to me.

 

The masteries that suck are the ones like Oakheart Essence that can only be used in one or two particular zones. Same can be said of the Kourna turret achievements, among other things.

[miraude.2107]

I've watched so many people with griffons overshoot and fall off while I glide onto it no problem using lean techniques like a boss.

 

> @"Jimbru.6014" said:

> The masteries that suck are the ones like Oakheart Essence that can only be used in one or two particular zones. Same can be said of the Kourna turret achievements, among other things.

 

This. Oakheart Essence, the ones in Siren's Landing, etc that are only usable in that map or select places are the ones that kitten me off. If I knew they'd only be for that zone, I would have never have spent the mastery points into them. I hope that maybe we'll see them used later on or if they continue do these one shot mastery ideas, that instead they upgrade other masteries like maybe getting more colors for mentor tags or buffing gliding and mounts.

 

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Nearly all of the masteries are useful while in a HoT map. A few of the big ones, though:

 

All of the language boosts are useful for trading goodies and currencies for keys.

Nuhoch Stealth Detection lets you do the daily treasure mushrooms, which can drop invisible boots which sell for 3k gold.

Nuhoch hunting lets get free currency drops in all of the HoT core maps.

Adrenal Mushrooms are really powerful. They let you instantly recharge all your skills, refill endurance, fill all energy bars and other resource management systems.

 

Probably the most useless one is Exalted stuff. Save that one for last, unless you like to grind Auric Basin.

[Dreamy Lu.3865]

All masteries - red, green and purple - bring an ability useful for something. Like many other things in the game, to do them or not, and what priorities to set to them, depend on way to play, activities and objectives.

 

OP, that gliding is pointless is your own opinion. Personally, I think totally different. I don't use griffon much. I take it only to fly over long distances out of reach of foes, or to cut short over obstacles between two locations. For daily use, I very much prefer the combination raptor/skimmer/springer and gliding, because it allows me a lot more precision in what I am doing. Beside, like said by others before me, the use of updrafts works only with gliding and is very much needed in HoT areas, as well as in several combats of the story and in raids. :)

[Patchwreck.2357]

Hi. My name is Patchwreck and I'm also a glider.

It got so bad I was matching wings to outfits and gliding all the time.... just for.....fun.

[Ashantara.8731]

Most HoT Masteries (basically all of them except gliding) are indeed "useless" outside of HoT - but then again, they _are_, after all, _HoT_ Masteries designed to help you play flawlessly through all of HoT's content.

 

Whether you are a fan of that concept of Masteries or not is a different story (for the record, I am not and prefer Masteries that provide you with benefits _everywhere_ in the world ;) , so I guess we are in the same boat).

 

However, I agree that blocking general XP level progress (and thus the acquisition of Spirit Shards) until you have all Masteries in that region maximized, is a rather unpleasant design.

[Vayne.8563]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> Most HoT Masteries (basically all of them except gliding) are indeed "useless" outside of HoT - but then again, they _are_, after all, _HoT_ Masteries designed to help you play flawlessly through all of HoT's content.

>

> Whether you are a fan of that concept of Masteries or not is a different story (for the record, I am not and prefer Masteries that provide you with benefits _everywhere_ in the world ;) , so I guess we are in the same boat).

>

> However, I agree that blocking general XP level progress (and thus the acquisition of Spirit Shards) until you have all Masteries in that region maximized, is a rather unpleasant design.

 

With the exception of spectral aid, which is listed as a HoT mastery even though it came out in Season 3. Spectral aid is useful in most of PvE at least.

[Manasa Devi.7958]

They call them Heart of Thorns masteries for a reason. The more specific ones require certain environmentals/objects to be present to interact with. Putting these in other places than just HoT would make the world less attractive for non-HoT owners.

[zealex.9410]

Gliding would be neat if we could take the gliding skills from bloodstone fen to other maps.

[Scud.5067]

Gliding is still very useful, in Open World.

 

You can use it for short hops over AOE in fights when fighting on sloped ground and to bail from fights all together by jumping off the many ledges in the game.

 

 

[Urud.4925]

The ley-line was useful for some achievement, but probably you can use the griffon now. It's still useful in Dragon's Stand and in the Escort (in case you want to do that raid). It might be also useful in WvW (idk if you must have it unlocked in PvE, before unlocking it also there though). And to save you from some fall, as others said (some JP doesn't allow you to use mounts, but you can glide - some HP in Orr iirc).

Not VERY important contents, but if you have fun while you play, why not unlocking it? :)

[Offair.2563]

glider useful anywhere

[Lamont.5973]

I would like to add in that oakheart reach is an absolute blast in the guild hall, especially in Gilded Hollow which is very vertical. Using the mesmer portal/wp trick you can shoot yourself well above the top of the hall and build amazing designs in the air only reachable with the oakheart essence.

[Blocki.4931]

Gliding is awesome. Especially since there are quite a few areas where you can't use mounts but glide. Story instances for example.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Vayne.8563" said:

> With the exception of spectral aid, which is listed as a HoT mastery even though it came out in Season 3. Spectral aid is useful in most of PvE at least.

 

Yes, this it true. I love that downed skill. :)

[Khisanth.2948]

In some cases it doesn't even get close to the "getting map completion" level of usefulness such as Itzel Leadership, Exalted Purification and Nuhoch Proving. Nuhoch Alchemy isn't all that useful either.

[Kal Spiro.9745]

I'll assume this has been stated, but Masteries don't actually contribute to map completion, except in so far as Gliding, Mushroom Jumping and Wallows allow for easier traversal of the zone, and may grant access to certain HPs.