Puzzled About Level Cap at 20 and Mobs at 22...24 I Saw and Ran From...?

Geez. I know I'm only level 15.8 and read that I had no business in Lornar's Pass right now having just arrived to Beacon's Perch BUT...

The game through Nightfall so far has a level 20 cap and Henchmen right now are 5 levels below me at Beacon's Perch??

One day I will be level 20 with Heroes and Hench. Will they all be level 20 too or still only level 15??

Maybe the level 24 Pinesouls and level 22 Ice Imps mobs that cripple me in short order now will be no match for me at level 20??

Maybe I will skip Lornar's Pass--can I??

How does this level cap business make sense if mobs are allowed to exceed it--that's what I'd really like to know and appreciate now if someone would explain enough to me??

Thank you.

Beacause Guild Wars is a PvP game. Enforce the level cap on PvE monsters, and it will be even easier than it already is.

lonars pass is the wrong way for you to go (leads you where you dont want to go right now). follow your primary quests for the way to go.

eventually henchmen reach level 20 (in droks IIRC). monster will be above level 20 as you get deeper into the game (southern shiverpeaks and the fire island, plus FoW and UW). the reason being is difficulty. a group of 8 level 20 players easily beats a mob of 6 level 20 monsters. but 8 level 20 players against 6 level 28 monsters is a bit tougher. its just how ANET set things up. they could have given us mobs of 12+ level 20 monsters, but they went the other way. the increase in level makes it so that the end game missions arent just as easy as the ones from when you first reached level 20.

The game is built around the concept of teamwork and balance as well as the idea that leveling won't be an eternal grind.

Even though the level cap is 20, your character can still grow by accumulating skill points for further skill purchases as well as acquiring elite skills. Additionally, you can select new secondary professions and switch among them once acquired. Instead of new level caps we get new skills and new explorable areas every time the game is expanded.

The high level mobs are challenging but not unbeatable. Teamwork or skilled use of Heroes/Henchies is a must.

Because the higher level mobs tend to drop more items of possible value, it is only right that they aren't push overs.

In other games the level grind is never ending, level caps are often raised so that the treadmill is always under the player's feet. In guild Wars PvP is always there as a reminder that it is an undeniable part of the Guild Wars World, as well.

GW a PvP game. Lol someone is uneducated.

It is a PvP game. It's also a PvE game.

And as Kuldebar said, it's more about figuring out how to spank the monsters rather than simply grinding to a stupid level and spanking them by being more powerful.

Yeah lol. I liked Kuldebar's and ss1986v2's explanations better. Go with those Ratsneve.

The level 22-28 (even a couple of 30's thrown in) AIs have that advantage because they lack the flexibilty players have in their builds. They aslo typically only carry six skills for use, which never change.

Once you reach level 20 and get your armor, heros, and skills all set, you'll be wiping the floor with those level 24s and teaching the 28's who's boss.

monster can be lvl 28 because you have a team of 8. and a brain, thats an advantage.

So you are saying that a level 24 monster will be an even match to my developed level 20 character? That's good--no problems then. Why do you say GW is PvP when it is PvE too? Are you saying it isn't really PvE? I'd rather it wasn't PvP. LOL.

What he was saying that some very foolish people beleive ANet only cares for the PvP side of the game, claiming that skill balances made in any updates are purely based around the criticisms of PvPers. Usually the people that complain about this tend to be pure PvEers.

It is very important to understand that GW is PvE too. If it was only PvP I would never play it. If it turned into PvP I will never even try to finish it. I enjoyed getting through The Frost Gate finally and love the PvE challenge finally doing that--even though I can get very frustrated in the process. I'm sure those mobs were above my lvl 15.6 character too.

This thread is/was in large part to be certain as I can that my character development and game play is still on track and possible with Heroes and Hench and PvE.

And I realize a good chunk of GW players live for the PvP value--I'm just not one of those--never have been and never will be. It will be a milestone if and when I really get into a Group or Guild even. I'm glad ArenaNet chose not to make GW MMO only. Surely they make some more sales out of making the game more versatile this way?

Sweetie...there's something called Drok's Run. It's an epic run from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge and its designed to keep low level and inexperienced players from skipping a large quantity of the game. Lornar's Pass is just the beginning of Drok's Run and even with Heroes you'll probably die. Running yourself to Sanctum Cay is less trouble and much less expensive than doing Drok's or paying some1 to do it for you. You'll get to Drok's automatically once you complete the Crystal Desert missions.

As for the level cap, its not only PvP. From a PvE perspective some skills simply couldn't exist or would be severely nerfed if the level cap wasn't in place. Spiteful Spirit immediately comes to mind. Honestly, 90% of the time the level cap doesn't matter. Foes have a fixed set of skills and so you can prepare yourself for them.

I'm not interested in running or in Drok's Run. If I was then that would have been my point of view. I was interested in understanding what looked like a level imbalance --honey-- and after a half-dozen replies so far it is obvious that there isn't any relative to PCs being capped at 20.

It is interesting though that so many have posted to this thread--almost as if something hadn't been said enough? Okay everyone...you can stop posting on this subject.

Oh but I wanted to add... What about Experience Points (EP?)? I just finished a battle where I don't think anyone got more then 0 EX. Is this a pretty good indication that it wasn't a very fair match--the party overpowered the mobs in short order?

Thanks.

Except for if I go some where I am not supposed too during the very first initial leveling I never notice the level cap. As long as you are progressing normally the difficulty will stay about the same.

Those level 24+ mobs suddenly become easier because you have access to good elites and should have max weapons by then. Right now, just stay away from there.

Oh, and the heroes level isn't dependent on the area you are in - they are linked to your character. That is, go back to Ascalon with them and they will still be level 15 (or whatever yours are now) even though the hench will be level 4 (I think - around that). They gain experience and level just as you do.

Just in case you didn't realize it - you have to equip your heroes also (both in items, skills, and distributing their skill points), make sure you are not running around with a 5-8 damage sword on Koss and 3 points in sword, strength, and tactics, that will make life MUCH harder Their armor automatically increases, though if you want good builds on them you need to add runes to the armor also. Hench are taken care of by Anet and you have no control over them (other than flags and calling targets).

Neat! I'm looking forward to managing Heroes pretty soon. I think I will pick up at least one as soon as I can get reach "Nightfall" though iirc the first one that comes along has a mob at bay that I couldn't dispose of in my earlier game. What to do about that when I get there again. Maybe there are other options. Does Factions have any Heroes to pull from it? It looks like myh saved platinum might get used up pretty quick if I have to equip 3 Heroes at once? I hope to find good stuff and avoid crafting or buying materials to craft, but buy materials to craft is what I did do for my last set of 50 armor. Hope it lasts a while longer.

Heroes can be a fairly large money sink yes, but also worth it as they are very helpfull The largest profit hero wise I got out of factions were the elite skills, think there is an assassin hero there though.

I wish mobs were level 20 too. But give them good skills instead. GW PvE would be more balanced and interesting.

Right now, in North Kryta Province, the mobs are out of balance again and the game isn't fun. I'll try to work just mission with Sprint in one place and see how it goes. I think the one thing I still feel GW badly needs is a comprehensive tutorial.

No doubt my skills build stinks and should be overhauled but I can't do it if I don't understand why.

Sooo...once again I'm whinning and that's a bad sign. Hopefully I won't delete the character this time but just turn it off for a while until I feel interested again.

Do Fractions and Nightfall play any differently from Prophecy? More balanced battles throughout or the same sort of hard mix I'm getting with Prophecy? Anywhere I can go to get the right clues as to how to put my W/Mo together properly and the Heroes for a good Solo+Heroes game?

did you read all those other posts? and whats this about using sprint for an entire mission

PLUS- this forum could be classified as one GIGANTIC tutorial if you know what to look for. I would suggest:

-Searching for W/mo builds (proabably the most common, definately the easiest to learn)
-Researching (reading) up on some of the skills available to your class(s) and which might prevail in the multitude of tough-spots you're currently in, and will be in for the rest of the game.

Once you get the hang of it you'll be fine, oh and one more thing...

The creatures arn't over-powered, there are some locations you are not supposed to reach till a certain point in the storyline, hence they will be far more difficult to reach if you're corner cutting.

1.Follow the storyline if it's you're first time through
2.Until you get a grasp on the game mechanics deleteing characters and starting afresh every time it gets hard isnt going to help.
3.THE GAME ISNT THAT HARD!!! (granted there are a few missions who's metaphorical throats i'd love to shove my hand down)

cheers and good luck