Returning Player, pre-Factions

Hey folks,

I played back in Prophecies when the game was released and ended it when Factions was released due to lots of factors. Was thumbing through some stuff and came across the CDs and figured `Hey, let's see what's changed. Maybe it'll be fun and get back into the PvE side of things for solo-challenges.' And it worked just fine after a big update download. Anyhow, sort of saying "Hello" to the community, once more, as it's been quite a while.

I'm trying to catch up on things via reading, but so much seems to have changed--detail wise--on so many things. Looks like I may just have to relearn the whole package. If I can get back into it enough, I'm wanting to pick up Factions, Nightfall & Eye of the North for some campaign fun, unlock the skills, items, etc. I'm not much for PvP because I just don't have the dedicated time it takes to get into a good group, coordinate, etc, as I may have to get up time to time and that's not cool for other people. So instead, I focus on the PvE side of things; mostly, solo-challenge stuff. I used to love to build Warriors and Rangers to solo hard bosses, solo areas, do solo area clears, etc. Tough stuff. And I've come back to what is now called "Hard Mode," so it looks like a lot of new challenges await me on the PvE front.

So, just as a sort of welcoming back, a few things perhaps to discuss if anyone wouldn't mind taking a moment:

1. Of factions/nightfall/eyeofnorth, are all 3 worth having for the skills/PvE story, etc? Or is factions not worth picking up compared to the others?

2. Any major changes that aren't obvious to me yet in terms of PvE folk? Aside from skill changes of course, those are inevitable. But are there still fun solo runs, hard bosses, etc, to do for rare skin or unique items? Any new ones put in, or is Prophecies pretty much the same as it was a few years ago (been like 2 years or more now I think since I played!).

Thanks for any thoughts.

Very best,

...i think this is the like, 5th returning thread this week. how about searching the forums before posting?

Ahh,

So this is how it is now? Folk have to behave as if they've lived here for the past few years? If you're going to reply, why not drop a link or give some info--otherwise, why are you even bothering to post? Other than for the ease of being the target caller casting the first stone?

Meh.

Very best,

/presses T
/casts stone

Thanks for calling targets!

As for buying the new chapters , they are all worth it, as for solo bosses,areas, farming unique items, or whatever you did, probaly the things and the bosses you are talking about are pretty old and are no in use anymore, mostly those farms arent worth a shit now.
Anyway, a lot have changed,you will learn in time...we cant really help you with that.
And yea, 'search' is always best before posting something like this ^^ probaly the 5th this week like Star said

all i gotta say is WELCOME BACK man

boss farming is out, speed clearing the underworld through the abuse of such things as shadow form and consets is in.

You want solo runs? Get Factions and NF. Permanent Shadow Form.

Couple of things happened and went away while you were gone.

Ursan (Ursan Blessing, a PvE elite skills) used to be huge after EotN first became released. It's been nerfed and rarely used anymore though.

Assassins can use Shadow Form to solo things quite frequently now.

I don't known if you were around before titles were released, but great many people are focusing on maxing titles, as they are supposed to carry some benefits over to GW2. In EotN, there is now a thing called Hall of Monuments, where you can display your titles and elite armors.

Nightfall and Factions have elite mission - Urgo'z Warren, the Deep and Mallyx. Defeating Mallyx the Unyielding gives you access to tormented weapons, which are supposed to be very valuable.

Heroes have been added. They're like henchmen, but you can adjust their equipments and skills as well as command them more precisely in battle. (Force skill usable, movement, attack options, etc)

I can't think of too many now, but there's alot of things released. I'd suggest that you at least invest in Nightfall mainly due to heroes.

Heya,

Thanks for the effort guys; it is appreciated. The idea of doubling up skills makes for some killer build fun. And the new Hero thing sounds right up my ally to avoid public groups. I'll look into area clears; I used to do area clears with my monk (55), but did bosses with my Warrior (with reposites/bleeds/tank). If it's back to area clearing, all the fun, I like lots of drops to sort.

One final question if someone would be so kind:

-- Are there quests/missions where Heros really can't cut it? I recall Thunderhead for example being near impossible with henchmen, and often times worse with live players, but ridiculously easy with just one person who knew the sequences of the waves and AI of the little king. Are there more silly missions like this where you simply can't do it hardly at all with just henchies/heros? The folk I used to play with are long gone, and pubbing for helpers is like playing the lottery.

Thanks again to those who responded with real information.

My old 10k Ranger armor from the Citadel is now called "Radiant Elite ..." armors. Interesting!

Very best,

THK is piss-easy with the factions and NF skills and the new pwnage builds.

In NF there are a few hard missions (Dzagonur) but you'll get people on here saying PvE is c-space easy in NM with heroes and henchmen. I think most of them are just talking out their asses and fluffing up their own e-peen.
Everything's different. I was in the same boat, "quit" after 9 months in proph, came back when NF was out for a while. Just running around with a main character unlocking new skills, doing new things, it's refreshing. Getting a pug though...not the best idea.

Armor was changed to make it so people weren't pigeon-holed into one set of armor, insignias made armor combinations possible. Now instead of say switching to gladiator armor for energy, you just put on the correct insignias.

tldr


why do random people returning to lolguildwars have to make these threads?

Factions ids must have, its way better then nf/eotn in my opinion. Story in nf is booring though theres few good skills, eotn is fine but still doesnt beat factions/ proph

Why do random people post on forums dedicated to Guild Wars who complain about others who are wanting to play, who don't play themselves?

Wah much?

@A11Euro, Thanks. That sounds great. Hadn't read about those yet, but that certainly makes gear more interesting instead of using just one style of armor for the benefits.

Very best,

You just missed the black friday sales where EotN was 5 bucks or something. Anyways, campaigns are now buy 1 get 1 half off iirc too, so you don't need to shell out too much money to get everything.

You may have already checked it, but if not, don't forget to check GuildWiki, its a wealth of information:

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Also if you're planning on getting back to solo farming, read up on loot-scaling (was introduced with HM)

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Loot#Loot_scaling

Hope that helps.

Cheers.

Welcome back....

I'd recommend getting the other 3 games as soon as is practical for you. They will really add to the gameplay and if you are planning on buying GW2 then the Hall of Monuments in Eye of the North is a must.

You asked if there are areas where heroes don't cut it. Yep! There are. I'd say all of the elite missions fall into this category:

Prophecies/Core: Fissure of Woe / Underworld. You can't bring henchies so it's just you and 3 heroes. I doubt these areas can be cleared with just your heroes, but sections of them can be completed this way and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some of the better players have cleared fow with just 3 heroes. I've done it myself with 6 heroes. (A friend entered with me, dropped off her heroes and left)

Factions: The Deep and Urgoz's Warren. Party size of 12. No henchies. You won't get far with just heroes.

Nightfall: The Domain of Anguish - Again, no henchies and heroes just won't cut it. Most players just won't cut it either. Have fun!

Eye of the North: Slaver's Exile. This is a 5 part elite dungeon. I've done the first 4 bosses with just heroes and hench but it's long and slow going. Much faster with a full human team that knows what they're doing. 5th part is tougher, but I think it's doable with the right builds on heroes.

That's about it. Someone mentioned Dragonur Bastion. This is a normal mission in Nightfall. It's easily beatable with just heroes, but is considered one of the harder missions in the campaign. I've achieved masters in normal mode on every mission in the game with just heroes (Except The Eternal Grove) and I'm not considered an "elite" player. I'm average. I can vanquish most areas, but I suck at solo builds and I'm not that good at pvp.

Another welcome back. Hope you enjoy the game more this time.

Personally, I think Factions is great. It is shorter than the other campaigns (Anet's response to the "it's too slow" complaints about Prophecies); but packed with quests and bosses. I enjoy playing the Ritualist profession. There are some great skills available in this campaign.

Nightfall is longer (Anet's response to the "it's too short" complaints about Factions); but you get heroes and the culmination of the storyline. Nightfall also has some unique factors - including a solo challenge mission to complete the cartographer title. This campaign has more missions that require splitting your party.

There are also new "PvE-only" skills. Factions has Kurzick/Luxon ones that you purchase with faction. Nightfall has Sunspear ones that you purchase with hero points (gained by getting ranks in Sunspear title). Eye of the North has Norn, Asuran, Delver and Vanguard ones that you gain through quests. All of them gain power through title rank increases.

Some of those skills - like [Pain Inverter] and [Cry of Pain] are very popular.

How would searching the forums help a guy say "hello".
If you are tired of seeing these threads, don't read them, and please help reduce the clutter by not posting in them.

To the OP - your best resources would be the wikis. The one linked above and the official one: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

As far as soloing goes, there are many new solo builds and the 600/smite monk/hero team is also very useful. (Human 600, hero smite.)

For builds: http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page