Atomos.7593

In terms of the competitive modes in the game, it's definitely the least pay-to-win I have experienced in any MMORPG I have played so far.

Looks as your going through the same experience as me. You know they will tweak POF until it hits the pleasure bone. Same as they did with HOT's. One does not create another silver wastes overnight. :) I played through the PoF maps with the engineer again and most of them still don't appeal to me much. Most of it is just the map design I guess. It isn't awful, but not that great either. Other than the Elon Riverlands, the rest of the maps were forgettable to me. I happened to also being playing in Thanalan in Final Fantasy XIV around the same time and that area in FFXIV does desert-style maps much better in my opinion. The rest of the GW2 maps, generally speaking, are great though. I too am putting a few hours into FFXIV. It's a good game if not a bit of a slog. I must be some sort of MMO junkie as I have 3 going at once, GW3. FFXIV and TESO. I mostly play GW2 though. GW2 is the sort of game you can jump in and get right to the action, so that makes it perfect for long and short term sessions.Hehe I am playing all 3 of them at once too. =) They are all good in different ways. However, what makes exploring maps especially great for GW2, in my opinion, are the mounts. The mounts are something very unique in the MMO industry. You may, like me, even find yourself going back to explore through maps you like less than the others in the game again, just because the mounts are so fun to use.

Looks as your going through the same experience as me. You know they will tweak POF until it hits the pleasure bone. Same as they did with HOT's. One does not create another silver wastes overnight. :) I played through the PoF maps with the engineer again and most of them still don't appeal to me much. Most of it is just the map design I guess. It isn't awful, but not that great either. Other than the Elon Riverlands, the rest of the maps were forgettable to me. I happened to also being playing in Thanalan in Final Fantasy XIV around the same time and that area in FFXIV does desert-style maps much better in my opinion. The rest of the GW2 maps, generally speaking, are great though.

I just started HoT again on my engineer and most of the maps do feel so much better than PoF in my opinion. Exploration in the HoT maps with a skyscale that has all the masteries unlocked feels so much more fun to me than in the PoF maps. The multiple levels/layers of zones in the HoT maps means I keep discovering new areas and things that I had previously missed during my time there.

I wouldn't mind something like a sub-area in a map being dedicated to purely difficult enemies to somewhat challenge groups and zergs, perhaps with better drops/rewards from defeating them. In another MMORPG I play, sometimes certain areas of a map where dedicated to things like this while the other areas were still easy and integrated into the story. I found these small open world areas of greater difficulty in some maps to be fun to run with groups for fairly relaxed sessions. In terms of enemies that challenge zergs in the open world, in GW2 I found the bonus ley infused champions that spawn after the meta event is complete on Dragonfall fun and difficult sometimes with certain groups. In particular, the ley infused hydras can cause chaos sometimes even with large numbers due to high AoE damage and CC, so I find those battles interesting and enjoyable. It's one of the few times I think about maybe playing as support in the open world. More fights like these would be welcome for me in specific areas and situations. Claw of Jormag at the end of the Drizzlwood meta was fun and challenging until people realized that you can just stand at its feet to avoid the AoE fear from the boss haha. Now, if most of the group does this, it turns out to be a fairly easy fight.

Interesting suggestion. The dialogues in Cyberpunk work like this and I used it all the time to skip the less interesting parts of the story for me. Worked well in this regard in my opinion.

I would use this option as I'm not really that interested in much of the story any longer. Just a personal thing for me as I'm not really a big fan of stories in games in general anymore. I usually only do parts of the story now to unlock the map associated with the story chapter. So a skip option would be nice for me to be able to go straight into the map without ever having to do any of the story. At the least, a skip dialogue option would be great to be able to complete the required part of the story for the map to unlock quickly.

I feel like it's a bit too short too for the final boss in Drizzlewood relative to how many chests that spawn from defeating it. I like to revive people that get downed from the last bit of the fight with the boss, which often happens, so that everyone can open as many chests as possible before they disappear. But sometimes I have missed out by just a bit on being able to open all of the chests that spawn too after reviving others. Not a big deal as I would rather help the group that fought the boss get as much loot from it as possible than open all the chests myself, but it would be nice if the timer to remove the chests could be increased at least a little.

I certainly hope not. For me personally, DRMs have done nothing to keep me interested in the game until the next expansion. I still only play because of the same reasons before DRMs were introduced. I would rather see them save the resources for a better (even if less frequent), more content-filled update or for the next expansion itself.

I can only comment on the effects and it is indeed quite bad. All of the flashy lights and effects actually made me eyes hurt. I can't believe they made it like this when there had been many complaints about over-the-top flashy effects in the game already.

The trick with those hydras is to hit them fast and hard! If you knock 33% off their health they lose a head and become stunned, buying you a second window of time to knock another 33% off, stunning them again. If you can burst hard enough, they often die without fighting back! It also helps if you always stay in motion with hydras. Not only because some of their attacks are directional and they are slow to turn, but also because their attacks are much easier to avoid/dodge if you are already moving. May you fare better in your future attempts at lentil farming! Yeah, these are very helpful tips against hydras. Especially to always move and circle/kite the hydras while dealing damage. That way it becomes much easier to avoid their stronger attacks and crowd control abilities like when it breathes fire or summons crystals. If you do these things consistently they can even become a breeze on the squisher and high dps professions like the elementalist, after some practice.

Kind of related to this I think. The dialogues with Scholar Nimmin are some of the funniest in GW2 I found: "Excuse me. I'm in need of information. I'm scouring the Riverlands for a place of special significance. It might be related to Vlast. Anything come to mind?" Scholar Nimmin: Special significance? Well, I did have the most spectacular romantic encounter of my life on an overlook just thataway— "Not quite like that. What I mean is—" Scholar Nimmin: Let me set the scene for you! "Please don't." Scholar Nimmin: Sunset. I'm looking out over the Riverlands, brooding and pensive. A rebel with a heart of gold... If only she would notice.Scholar Nimmin: And just then: she arrives! Dressed to kill and wearing the most alluring fragrance. But why? "Please stop talking for a moment." Scholar Nimmin: Then I realize: This is no chance encounter. She's on a mission.Scholar Nimmin: And her sole objective: taming a heart that, by its very nature, must run free. "Fantastic. I need to go now." "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, but I have another question for you. Do you know anything about a lost city located somewhere in the Riverlands?" Scholar Nimmin: Lost city? How do you lose a city?Scholar Nimmin: I mean, I'm forgetful. I've lost plenty of things. But a city? "Just...just answer the question, please." Scholar Nimmin: Once I lost my favorite journal. Looked everywhere for it. And I never did find it, but you know what I did find? "Please say "a lost city."" Scholar Nimmin: Every single left sock I had ever misplaced. I swear, if it's not in the last place you look, it's...well, elsewhere. "Fantastic. I need to go now." "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, but I have another question for you. I'm searching for a lost city called Kesho. What do you know about it?" Scholar Nimmin: Kesho? Y'mean...oh. Wait. Kesho. I know who you're talking about. "No, Kesho's a place—" Scholar Nimmin: I met him at a krewe mixer some years ago, if memory serves. Short fellow, yes? Loud, reeking of solvent— "Please. Stop talking." Scholar Nimmin: ...And the most hideous laughter I've ever heard— (imitating laughter) "Thanks. I'm walking away now. Why did I think that'd turn out differently this time?"

I got all 20 by the end of the south meta. Not sure if there was a stealth change today or I just got lucky. I don't like the concept of needing a lot of RNG drops for dailies though.

Joining in some of the more active and fun meta events in this game is one of the best experiences of GW2 in my opinion. Even if you don't succeed in it or get to finish it, I still find it very fun.

I don't like the PoF expansion maps much either. The living world season 4 maps are much better in my opinion. The PoF maps feel too bland and empty for me, but I realize it is meant to have this feel being a desert and all. Elon Riverlands is a fairly populated area most of the time though and has some fun events.