Questions about expansion packs

[Lorca.3409]

So, I am returning after quite a while off from the game. I have a few level 80 characters and I am possibly looking at the expansion packs.

 

1. Am I understanding correctly, there is no raise in level caps but, there new areas to explore and fight mobs in?

2. What is involved in gaining a mount? Is there a quest line you have to do or what?

3. Is it a quest line to do that gives you your new profession?

4. Are both packs worth getting and what does each one offer?

 

Thanks for any info.

[Shikigami.4013]

1) Level has never and will not change. Each expansion has several new maps, the ones in HoT being arguably the biggest/most extensive ones because they include a lot of vertical levels of terrain, resulting in a lot more areas to discover than on a "flat earth" map.

 

2) You need to do certain tasks (you could call them quests) and you need to gain experience in the expansion's maps to train your mounts with new abilities

 

3) It is no quest. You will need points to train the new profession just like you needed points to train skills/abilities of your old profession

 

4) This is completely subjective. HoT offers huge areas of terrain with often complicated maps you can get lost in, and the glider that lets you jump down anywhere without dying. PoF offers the mounts which all have different abilities and feel to them. They are not just "animals you ride of to move faster" like in some other games. Both of course give access to a big storyline.

 

Judging by the price of the expansions and the amount of content you will get, in my opinion they are totally worth it.

[Hoodie.1045]

> @"Lorca.3409" said:

> 1. Am I understanding correctly, there is no raise in level caps but, there new areas to explore and fight mobs in?

 

The level cap is still 80. Every zone from the expansions require your character to be level 80.

 

> 2. What is involved in gaining a mount? Is there a quest line you have to do or what?

 

Your first mount is the raptor. Keep in mind, this is not the upgraded raptor. The rest of the mounts can be purchased once you complete the heart or quest for that specific mount. The only mount that involves a long quest line to acquire is the griffon. I suggest you check out a few guides on how to acquire the griffon because without them, you're going to get lost.

 

> 3. Is it a quest line to do that gives you your new profession?

 

I'm not sure if you're asking about profession as in a class or an elite specialization? The revenant requires the Heart of Thorns expansion in order to play it and elite specializations can be unlocked even in the vanilla zones if you have the appropriate amount of hero points to unlock the traits, utility skills and elite skills.

 

> 4. Are both packs worth getting and what does each one offer?

 

Definitely. Both expansions are great and offer a lot of content. Heart of Thorns gives you the ability to glide and it introduced raids in Guild Wars 2, Path of Fire gives you mounts that are all different and have their own roles (mobility, verticality, water speed, teleportation, flying), new meta events in the zones, bounties etc.

[Danikat.8537]

1) That's correct. There is no level cap increase or new tiers of equipment. (There are several new stat combinations included in each expansion which some people consider better than the core stats but it's not an actual increase, just more options.) There are several new maps (4 for HoT, 5 for PoF) and of course lots of new enemies, achievements, story, collections etc.

 

2) The first mount - the raptor - is unlocked at the end of the first part of the PoF story and doesn't involve anything except completing the story, the rest are unlocked as you progress through the expansion. There isn't a quest line but you do need to complete a heart which is related to each mount and teaches you a bit about them, as well as letting you use a borrowed version to try them out. You also need to pay - 1g and 50 trade contracts (PoF map currency - you'll earn these automatically while playing) for the springer, 4g and 50 contracts for the skimmer and 20g and 200 contracts for the jackal (which is not required to complete the story or maps).

 

The griffon is quite different. It's an entirely optional 'end game' mount. You have to finish the PoF storyline and then at some point (probably very soon) you'll get items which start a mini quest/scavenger hunt which sends you to a secret griffon roost/sanctuary. There you start 5 collections which ultimately lead to you to unlocking the griffon. Those involve killing specific enemies, finding eggs hidden in PoF maps and buying 10 items at 25g each. So the total cost is 250g but you only need to save up 25g at a time (it comes to the same thing but I know a lot of people find it much less daunting that way). If you want to know more the Wiki details the whole process and there are both video and text guides, but IMO part of the fun is finding out what you need to do so I've tried not to give too much away while covering the main 'OMG I need to do what?' points.

 

3) No quest lines (GW2 doesn't use quests...although some things in the game can be similar) but you'll need to earn 250 Hero Points (in addition to the ones you get from levelling to 80) by completing Hero Challenges in the open-world. Ones in core Tyria maps give 1 point each and expansion ones give 10 points each. In general Hero Challenges in PoF are easier than HoT but it depends on a lot of factors like who else is around at the time, what state the map is in when you arrive and what you're good at/enjoy doing. Oh, there are also NPCs in the expansion maps who can tell you about the lore and mechanics of the elite specs and introduce you to them.

 

4) I think both are definitely worth getting but you'll get different answers from everyone. If you want to follow the story you'll need both (and the Living Story), if you're interested in other things then it may be possible to skip one or the other.

 

As a general rule HoT is harder (that's what vocal players said they wanted at the time) - the maps use a lot of verticality so they're not as easy to navigate. You can't go in a mostly straight line to your destination, you often need to go around or above/below to get there. I find that a lot of fun and I love finding stuff I didn't even know to look for on my way to my destination but if you're the type who just wants to set a goal and get it done ASAP then move on to the next thing you may find it annoying. Each map also has it's own 'meta-event' which is progressed by completing smaller events around the map - these require coordination between large groups of players and will unlock new rewards and often access to new areas of the map.

 

PoF is much simpler and more solo-friendly. The maps are easier to navigate with clear paths even when it's not flat, there's only a few big meta-events and I don't think any of them restrict access to areas like the HoT ones do. Some people find that much more enjoyable, some find it dull. But like I said it really depends on you.

[Odinens.5920]

1 - correct, there is no level cap raise, but you start gaining experience for masteries (the yellow number you see next to players' names). New maps for each expansion, plus a new map for every LWS episode.

2 - the main thing you get with HoT is gliding. The main thing with PoF is mounts. Also, as previously mentioned you unlock masteries (you can unlock this with either xpac). If I remember you have to do some short quest as part of the story to unlock, acquire, and start leveling both gliding and the 1st mount (raptor). gliding/mounts are masteries that you have to level.

3 - I can't answer this with 100% accuracy, but I believe if you have hero points to spend you can just place them in the new elites and they will be unlocked. There are npcs you CAN talk to, but I don't think they are required.

4 - HoT; gliding, new maps, story, access to gen2 legendaries, and some stat combinations exclusive to HoT. PoF; mounts, new maps, story, some stat combinations exclusive to PoF. Both are worth getting, and depending what you plan on doing the stat combinations are among the meta right now.