Guild Wars 2

HP Train – Choo Choo

stargrace August 9, 2017 No Comments

I heard a lot of people talking about “HP trains” but I had no idea what they were or why I would want to participate. Turns out that means ‘hero point’ – and you very much do want to take part. There are some that run on the weekends but my time restrictions are all over the place, so when I’m in game and I see one starting up (typically mentioned in map chat) you can bet I’ll be there. Yesterday I was in the first HOT zone when one was starting up. I got 8/11 done – a huge chunk. It didn’t take too long, and because you’re with a massive amount of other players it is much less painful than if you were just wandering around all alone.

You can also join (I believe it’s unofficial) the GW2 Discord Channel, I found it linked from reddit. People advertise in there, and there’s all sorts of information and lore tidbits floating around. I am not usually interested in joining a bunch of strangers on Discord, I prefer to talk to those I know, but I’m glad I made an exception this time around.

Aside from HP trains and discord channels I’ve just been casually clearing maps. Stock piling crafting goods, and running a few instances of living world season 2 (and of course HOT story too). It’s relaxing, and that’s exactly what I have needed.

I know a big patch came out yesterday but honestly I haven’t even read the notes or made heads or tales of the thing, so I don’t know what was involved aside from WvWvW being allowed to use gliders and players rejoicing over that. I believe it was a balancing patch, so maybe condition was toned down a bit? No idea.

In any case, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Beautiful

stargrace August 8, 2017 No Comments

I love beautiful games and honestly, Guild Wars 2 is a work of art. I spent yesterday just wandering around taking things in, working my story line a bit, and enjoying the moments. I love how beautiful this game looks and can’t wait to see what they do in the next expansion.

Living Stories and Other Hoopla

stargrace August 7, 2017 1 Comment

I mentioned before that I don’t really know what I should work on or where I’m going in Guild Wars 2, and nothing has really changed there. I did end up swapping things around on my guardian though and that has made a world of difference. I decided to drop the longbow because it doesn’t do that much DPS. Instead I picked up a scepter and a torch, and I added condition damage to my gear. I also kept my greatsword off spec because I just love it. Now I’ve still got a ranged / melee spec, but a lot more power behind my attacks, which is good. Great, in fact. It’s a huge difference to how I was playing before. I got a new set of gear, added some runes to it, and made sure I had all my masteries and points spent where I wanted them. Now I only die about 10 times traveling through HoT zones instead of 80 times.

I started working on the living story season 2 – but quickly got distracted by newer content. I swapped over to the HOT story line, and promptly got lost. I hate making my way around that starter zone. There are so many twists and turns and up and down and bouncy mushrooms and drafts (which I haven’t unlocked yet). By the time I make my way to a section of the map I need to be in, I’ve already died and have to start the adventure all over again. Everything is really spread out, especially things I want to reach on the far West side of the map. I know I’ll get there, but it’s frustrating and a trial in patience.

In the meantime, I have no idea what the items I’m collecting are for. Gears, oil, and other random bits of stuff. I think some is used for crafting, but I honestly have no idea. I store everything in my bank and hope to make use of it some time. There’s no real indication of what I should be working towards as far as gear or weapons go.

With all of that being said – I am having fun. I’ve been completing my dailies, adventuring around, exploring maps that I haven’t been to before. I’ve only got 60% of the map unlocked, which is a good chunk but not nearly as much as I’d like. So I take in a few vistas, play a few jumping puzzles, and just have a good time.

I haven’t purchased the entire season two or three yet – but I’m hoping ArenaNet has some big sale planned for the 5th anniversary which is quickly approaching so I’m trying to hold off spending very many of my gems. I did purchase the first step to season 2, but that’s it so far. I know there are bundles on sale in the market, but again I’d really like to see what they have planned for their 5th anniversary.

It feels good to be playing again (and not having to worry about a subscription cost). I may not get a whole lot of time but the hour I get here and there is more than enough to get some stuff done at least.

Learning about the Newcomers

stargrace August 6, 2017 No Comments

I’ve been learning about the newcomers to Tyria (well, introduced to me at least) after the defeat of Zhaitan, and the issues with Scarlet Briar. This little Azura is the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Handy Guild Wars 2 Sites?

stargrace August 5, 2017 1 Comment

These days it seems like everything I want to learn about a game I’m playing is a youtube video or some other video that I have to watch – and as much as I enjoy watching videos sometimes, most of the time I’d rather just read an article or walk through. When it came to gearing up my Guardian, I had absolutely no idea what sites people still used, what is relevant, or where to go.

Have a site suggestion for me with current information? Please let me know in comments! For now I’m still using:

• Guild Wars 2 Skills
• Dulfy
• Gw2Crafts
• GW2Efficiency 

I’m also using the wiki a lot, but those are the only sites I have kicking around that still work. I was really sad to see the cartographer map site has moved on – is there a replacement for that somewhere? Let me know in comments please and as always, happy gaming, no  matter where you find yourself!