Does PoF offer replay-ability?

[Beast Sos.1457]

So I've been away from Gw2 for a while now and was wondering if PoF is worth coming back for. Ive been hearing about this whole "dont rush through" mentality but that sounds quite worrying. I should be able to rush through the maps and story and then come back with a ton of re-playable content for me to dive into. An example for replay-ability would be chests that unlock everyday but is gated behind a mini meta with a boss battle at the end. This should reward players with a currency, which if the player collects enough of they can then buy a armor/weapon skin or something along those lines. Or hidden chests that when you unlock all of them you get a title. Once you have all unlocked you then get a chest in your home instance and also all those chests now have a chance at dropping a item similar to the queen bee or chak egg sac. Or the bounty system. If you complete all the bounties you unlock a specific collection which has its own unique armor and weapon sets that you can then unlock by killing the bounties again but by only complete specific tasks such as kill x bountie without getting hit by his x. Or kill x bountie without taking more than x amount of dmg.

 

Hopefully this is what PoF is and not that whole dont rush mentality so you get more play time...Incentives to go back to do things should be the cause of more playtime not us slowing ourselves down.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

I expect to be going back to the PoF maps long after LS4 drops. Heck, I have not finished all there is to do in HoT or the LS3 maps. I like the sort of content PoF offers. There are certainly collections I am nowhere near completing, achievements, mastery points, etc. As to whether there are enough incentives to attract blobs of players who will not repeat content unless there are "enough" rewards, well, judging by the reaction, maybe not.

[Deihnyx.6318]

PoF has replayability, but maybe not the way classic MMOs have it (through grinding and farming).

After finishing the story you can get back to get the extra masteries, hero points, map completion, achievements, bounties, but none of them really feel like it's purposely made to slow us down (aka timegated content or things like saving the city of gold 100 times).

 

And I think that's a good thing, personally. I don't feel like wasting my time like I do sometimes after redoing the same meta again and again just for one title, or to get a full stack of gems.

[Lokki.1092]

What you may consider replay value, may not be replay value to another player. and what they may find value in, may not be worthwhile for you.

[Danikat.8537]

People aren't saying that you shouldn't rush through the story because there's nothing to do afterwards. There is a lot of stuff to do in PoF after completing the story - for example I found a treasure map today which lead me to a chest with an item inside which unlocked about 10 different weapon and armour collections, that alone would keep me going for a while.

 

People say not to rush for 3 reasons (that I know of):

1) Because the story itself is enjoyable to a lot of people, but it's more enjoyable if you take the time to appreciate what's going on now rather than worrying about what's coming next.

2) You end up being stuck on the parts where you have to unlock a mount or earn specific masteries and then you get frustrated, whereas if you take it slower you're likely to have enough XP and mastery points by the time you need them.

2) If you rush the story chances are you'll rush through/past everything else, and then you won't know what's there to do. If I'd been trying to finish the story as soon as possible I'd never have gotten that treasure map, certainly wouldn't have followed it up so I'd never know all those collections were there to complete.

[Evil.1580]

Only bounties - similar to Orr trains.

 

Whatever others tell you, the only truth is this.

 

When you finish the story and get the mastery points/mounts/achievements you are with bounties only, which doesn't give any special mats for any end game gear and farming gold from them is not efficient.

[Ashantara.8731]

I have to wonder: why are people already worrying about replayability, when the expansion has only been out for a week (even less)? And does no one remember the devs' promise that a LWS4 will be starting soon after? Why can't you just enjoy the content for now?

[VaLee.5102]

> @Danikat.8537 said:

> There is a lot of stuff to do in PoF after completing the story - for example I found a treasure map today which lead me to a chest with an item inside which unlocked about 10 different weapon and armour collections, that alone would keep me going for a while.

 

If by a while you mean a day or two, then ok. Already completed that, together with most of my guildies. And I'm not a rusher, I just played through my free time casually while watching tv.

Even if you're the worst player, shouldn't take you more than a week to get the collection.

 

[Evil.1580]

> @Ashantara.8731 said:

> I have to wonder: why are people already worrying about replayability, when the expansion has only been out for a week (even less)?

 

Because they have done almost everything it offers at this point.

 

[TheGrimm.5624]

> @Ashantara.8731 said:

> I have to wonder: why are people already worrying about replayability, when the expansion has only been out for a week (even less)? And does no one remember the devs' promise that a LWS4 will be starting soon after? Why can't you just enjoy the content for now?

 

I have not completed the content yet nor gotten all my alts/toons into places I want them to be........aka no where near done and lots to do yet. So undecided on replay-ability in general since not passed thru everything once yet.

 

But, replay-ability in a map is important since that will define the long term interest in a given map and its population. Haven't been in the forum as much since PoF since been in game but I agree with some of the threads if people are questioning replay-ability then ANet should take a note on that. Have said it in posts before and will again, to me Silverwastes is pretty spot on for map that is enjoyable and quite re-playable.

 

To me elements that defines replay-ability:

* Fun fights that are not static each time that you are not guaranteed to win

* Map progression - events that alter the status of the map

* Building events, smaller events unlocking bigger ones as they progress

* Events that can be done solo and in groups

* Price for failure

* Rewards for success

* Appropriate reward levels

* Currencies that have a use

 

As I said not done with content so not judging new maps yet. But if this does turn out to be an issue with the new maps then I hope that the business plan with LS4 layers more activities into the new map. I liked HoT maps and I like the PoF maps so I hope that there are activities that make me say, shot which where I am going back to now....

 

Good gaming to you!

[killermanjaro.5670]

As it is now I don't feel there's anything to draw me back to them. I've done full map completion, finished the story, got all mounts including griffon, maxed all masteries, and have some spare points ready to spend on any new lines that drop in LS4.

 

I'm planning on finishing some achievements and getting all the ones with masteries, but once I've done that I don't feel there's any events interesting enough for me to return for.

 

I liked the introduction of bounties, but to be honest I find bounty trains boring after ~15mins. So I'll maybe do one or two on a weekend and that's it.

 

It's not that I've rushed the content, I've still taken my time on it, it's just I've had a lot of free hours to game since launch.

[Andred.1087]

Sad to say, so far there is very little. I've been taking it quite slow and I still see no reason to believe I will be regularly returning to these maps after 3 weeks. Especially if the raid comes out by then. Unless they add some genuinely engaging meta events to these maps, they will likely be quite empty soon.

[Lokki.1092]

> @Ashantara.8731 said:

> I have to wonder: why are people already worrying about replayability, when the expansion has only been out for a week (even less)?

 

You have to understand how these players play the game. They go in with optimized builds that trivialize the PvE content, turning boss battles into 30 second speed bumps in the road to completion. They look up guides to maximize time efficiency, and go through the achievement window like a check box. These players have also likely put 40-60 hours into this completion already, and you have to understand they do not fuck around when they are playing, there are clear goals and activities to be done and they complete them.

 

Once they tick all the boxes, they need something new to do.This is why we have masteries in the first place, for this type of gamer. The MMO endless treadmill is perfect for this type of player because there is always something new to strive for. So the question for them is simply, "What do I do now?" because they have effectively beaten Path of Fire.

 

If you are one of those types of players it is a reasonable question.

[Vindicus.2130]

I think PoF is high quality mapping and the mounts are excellent additions to the game, but I, too, am struggling to find anything to do in PoF now. The maps already feel devoid of other players also. I generally only see one or two people in a map over an hour long period. I did a bounty train for about 2 hours yesterday, that was about enough of that for a lifetime. Not super fun and worse, not very rewarding. I have repeated a few maps worth of HPs each day, but after that I find myself back in LS3 or HoT usually, even though I despise HoT maps. Pretty disappointing. I really hope they add some kind of events that feel rewarding to partake in soon. Right now I feel like I bought 4 unique mounts + the extras from ulti edi for $80.

[flyingfox.6150]

uh...no. I am in the last zone now and haven't even completed my first mastery for the Jackal but even I can tell you there isn't much replayability and most importantly EXCITEMENT so far with all this time spent on the expansion. You do understand for gamers to actually...uh game, it has to be more than just story and exploration right? I mean there is only so much collection, lollygagging with your mounts and scenery soaking you can do. What made HoT and to an extend even core game right off the bat is they front-loaded a lot of public group events. They kept the excitement and engagement of players working together alive.

 

At this point I just want to be done with the story and maybe move on to WvW (great, no new pvp modes and wvw maps...) for a while before taking a break from the game until LS4 drops. I don't think I've ever moved on from an expansion of any game that quickly. Frustrated because I had a lot of expectations from this expansion. The mounts are rock solid and they are the best in the business when it comes to that. Meta events were too, no other company does it better but for the oddest reasons they decided to completely remove them from PoF.

[Shirlias.8104]

> @Vindicus.2130 said:

> I think PoF is high quality mapping and the mounts are excellent additions to the game, but I, too, am struggling to find anything to do in PoF now. The maps already feel devoid of other players also. I generally only see one or two people in a map over an hour long period. I did a bounty train for about 2 hours yesterday, that was about enough of that for a lifetime. Not super fun and worse, not very rewarding. I have repeated a few maps worth of HPs each day, but after that I find myself back in LS3 or HoT usually, even though I despise HoT maps. Pretty disappointing. I really hope they add some kind of events that feel rewarding to partake in soon. Right now I feel like I bought 4 unique mounts + the extras from ulti edi for $80.

 

Gems still have their value whatever the content.

At most you could have wasted 30$.

[Payne.1250]

> @Vindicus.2130 said:

> I think PoF is high quality mapping and the mounts are excellent additions to the game, but I, too, am struggling to find anything to do in PoF now. The maps already feel devoid of other players also. I generally only see one or two people in a map over an hour long period. I did a bounty train for about 2 hours yesterday, that was about enough of that for a lifetime. Not super fun and worse, not very rewarding. I have repeated a few maps worth of HPs each day, but after that I find myself back in LS3 or HoT usually, even though I despise HoT maps. Pretty disappointing. I really hope they add some kind of events that feel rewarding to partake in soon. Right now I feel like I bought 4 unique mounts + the extras from ulti edi for $80.

 

I agree !

Rewards are a global disaster for all the maps

[Vindicus.2130]

> @Shirlias.8104 said:

> > @Vindicus.2130 said:

> > I think PoF is high quality mapping and the mounts are excellent additions to the game, but I, too, am struggling to find anything to do in PoF now. The maps already feel devoid of other players also. I generally only see one or two people in a map over an hour long period. I did a bounty train for about 2 hours yesterday, that was about enough of that for a lifetime. Not super fun and worse, not very rewarding. I have repeated a few maps worth of HPs each day, but after that I find myself back in LS3 or HoT usually, even though I despise HoT maps. Pretty disappointing. I really hope they add some kind of events that feel rewarding to partake in soon. Right now I feel like I bought 4 unique mounts + the extras from ulti edi for $80.

>

> Gems still have their value whatever the content.

> At most you could have wasted 30$.

 

4 unique mounts +** the extras ** from ulti edi for $80

 

Anyway, I would buy PoF again because the mounts alone are worth the box price to me. If you try to buy a mount from a cash shop in another game, like WoW, you're looking at like $25 for a skin. PoF delivered 4(5) unique mounts with different dashes and skills. Worth it even if the replayability is underwhelming.

[flyingfox.6150]

Yup, at this point what you paid for is the new story, new maps (rather empty maps except to showcase mounts), amazing mounts (my favorite part of the expansion) and new class specs (fun-wise, subjective here). PoF really killed the "let's get together and do something fun", "unite under the commander to victory!" vibe it strongly gave off in HoT right off the bat. It's like from hot to extreme cold. Not sure what happened in the developmental process.

[Deihnyx.6318]

If the only thing that defines replay-ability is the rewards (or lack of) you get out of them, then you won't find much replay-ability in this one.

 

But again, I much rather prefer interesting, intense but shorter content rather than grinding and farming the same components again and again and call it replay-ability.

 

[Drew.1865]

My suggestion would be to find an active guild that uses discord. Voice chat makes mmos much more fun for me. Also if you find a fun guild invite me lol! Having friends in the game is what makes content replayable and fun for me.

[flyingfox.6150]

> @Drew.1865 said:

> My suggestion would be to find an active guild that uses discord. Voice chat makes mmos much more fun for me. Also if you find a fun guild invite me lol! Having friends in the game is what makes content replayable and fun for me.

 

But you need actual proper group content to make things fun...even in a guild. At this rate it's more fun to go back to core Tyria or Heart of Thorns zones for group play. Crystal Desert is just so....vast and spread out with to be honest, pretty boring mini group events sprinkled here and there.

 

The guy who just said interesting and 'intense' content just made me laugh. Nothing is intense about PoF except maybe parts of the storyline. Maybe.

[Korval.3751]

It offers as much replay value as you give it. In other words, what I consider replay value may not be your replay value.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Beast Sos.1457" said:

> So I've been away from Gw2 for a while now and was wondering if PoF is worth coming back for. Ive been hearing about this whole "dont rush through" mentality but that sounds quite worrying. I should be able to rush through the maps and story and then come back with a ton of re-playable content for me to dive into.

 

I don't recommend you return then. There's tons of stuff to do that have nothing to do with story or masteries, but if you rush through, you'll miss out on all the good stuff that happens during the story and while acquiring masteries. If you're just looking for a game that provides lots of farming opportunities to acquire new stuff, well, GW2 isn't the best option among the many on the market.

 

Essentially, nothing substantial has changed regarding the things you like and the stuff you don't. Stuff is new, but it's not different.

[Conncept.7638]

The PoF areas have as much replayability as the base game has in each area, and just a handful of those kept me easily preoccupied for years. And while that amount may be technically "less" than HoT, it's a style of replayability that applies to a much larger portion of the playerbase, the casual player. HoT was just too niche in favor of farmers, speed runners, and other hardcore players; who, in spite of how much noise they make wherever they can, have been, are, and will always be a small and unprofitable demographic.