I ordered EotN... so... - Page 2 - Guild Wars Forums

End · Nov 18, 2010, 07:43 AM // 07:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGizzy

I love this forum. *grins*

UPS says EotN will be here on Friday, and after reading all of your replies, I'm going to add it as soon as it arrives. I've just arrived in Augury Rock tonight, and began reading carefully through the Wiki pages on the missions necessary to ascend. It's clear to me that unless I party up with others, I really do need those heroes to be able to go much further. My choice of being an Elementalist/Ranger probably wasn't the wisest - it's not a particularly effective combination, and other than my pet or rare instances where I must "pull or die," I don't really make use of my Ranger skills.

Honestly, in many cases you will only ever utilize a single skill or 2 from your secondary profession and usually just for utility. Of course the limited skill set that you have changes that. But as you add campaigns your secondary matters less and less. Also, after you are ascended (finish the augury rock mission) you will be able to change your secondary proffession.

Quote:

As much as I love games/gaming in general, I'm not really "smart" about it... and honestly, I'm usually generally the weakest link in partying up with others of equal/greater strength (levels, armor, skills, etc.). I've loads of enthusiasm obviously LOL but very little else to bring to a party at this level.

Not a big deal since honestly finiding a group in GW is a waste of time at the moment because of the dwindling number of people and how spread thin those dwindling numbers are.

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So I think those heroes are definitely an important draw for me, and I'll be looking more closely at the skills and such as well.

Heros are good. But only truely effective when you outfit them with a good build. And truely reaching their full potential with proper weapon and armor upgrades.

Quote:

I did get through Prophet's Path - finally figured out how to handle those bugs, in part thanks to what I've learned here.

Now I think I'm going to kill some time backtracking a bit, doing a little material farming, re-doing some Missions I really enjoyed (I loved Gates of Kryta, ducking behind Oink's house and killing the undead there - and Oink just rocks!!!) and waiting impatiently for EotN to arrive so I can check that out this weekend.

Gratz on getting through and yeah oink pwns

Quote:

I'm also going to go examine some of the builds people have shared... I have a feeling that I'm really not using my toon effectively, and that there are skill combinations I have not yet considered.

While getting builds from other people can be good. Try to not just think of it as Oh Ill just use this someone else came up with. Try to think about why it works so that you can start making builds yourself. Otherwise, you will always be looking for other people to help you and make builds for you.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me on this... and I definitely welcome any additional ones you might have. I'm learning a lot here!

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyz

which letter is missing?

TheGizzy · Nov 18, 2010, 08:35 AM // 08:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by End

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyz

which letter is missing?

Which what wasn't within & what will we win? *grins*

TheGizzy · Nov 18, 2010, 08:48 AM // 08:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by End

While getting builds from other people can be good. Try to not just think of it as Oh Ill just use this someone else came up with. Try to think about why it works so that you can start making builds yourself. Otherwise, you will always be looking for other people to help you and make builds for you.

This is a conclusion I came to after looking over things on PVX... I don't like not knowing WHY something works or why it doesn't, and I won't really learn that if I'm just relying on what someone else has put together. I don't mean to sound as if I'm putting down PVX, or dismissing using someone else's build - but if I don't understand why "these" skills work together and "those" skills don't, I just don't see how I can actually develop effective toons... or expect to even be useful if eventually partied up with others.

My husband, my best friend and I all joined GW together, and while they're a bit behind me (hubby in Maguuma, bf in Kryta) we do a lot of (their) missions together or just generally play an area together for fun. We took me from lvl19 to lvl20 by making a few stabs at Lornar's Pass

just because it was there. LOL

But other than that, we all prefer solo play. They understand a lot more about the battle mechanics of gaming (is that just a guy thing or something? LMAO), so they're much better at picking classes/weapons/armors/skills than I am... but I'm the encyclopedia. I'm the one who spends hours pouring over this forum, paging through the Wiki, learning all the hidden bits & pieces, finding out important stuff and telling them about it... and now I need to apply that "hobby" more to understanding those battle mechanics and what is going to work with AND for me.

I enjoy playing an elementalist a lot... I don't want to set her aside and start fresh with a different class, just because it would be a little "easier" to solo. I want to work with what I've got - my elementalist - and with the tools available. EotN will give me some more tools, including those Heroes... and understanding how the different classes and skills work together will help me make good support Heroes for my elementalist toon.

I'm not going to get that understanding by loading up someone else's creation, that much I do know. I'm actually glad to hear someone else saying that, too... it seems like there's a lot of "oh, just use that build so-and-so made." I won't learn anything doing that.

Zenzai · Nov 18, 2010, 10:26 AM // 10:26

The Ritualist Hero, Xandra and the Dervish hero, Kamhu are highly limited in potential. You cannot force their skills if you don't have factions or nightfall respectively. Their moves are also extremely limited. Other than that, I can't think of a single downfall.

gremlin · Nov 18, 2010, 10:37 AM // 10:37

The Elementalist is very powerful and because of their prime skill track can have a huge pool of energy.
You can very successfully run builds based around your secondary class.
Ok Ranger doesn't need that sort of pool but when you start experimenting with other secondary classes it comes into its own you can emulate all the other spell caster classes extremely well.

While its true you do need to have the skills unlocked to make good use of heroes, they do have the advantage of being 20th level when you recruit them "the eye ones anyway" and you can add skills as and when you find them.

Most of the time I run with a warrior a Monk and a Necro, the necro just keeps an army of minions around so when I do meet a mob of enemies I can throw in 8 or 9 extra bodies to soak up spells and damage.

The earth skill track lets you be a defensive mage fighting the enemies within your circles of protection, I found this a really good way of controlling the battle and keeping my hero/henchmen alive.

BrettM · Nov 18, 2010, 11:32 AM // 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGizzy

My choice of being an Elementalist/Ranger probably wasn't the wisest - it's not a particularly effective combination, and other than my pet or rare instances where I must "pull or die," I don't really make use of my Ranger skills.

It is not a bad choice for a beginner, and will be really, really useful when you are ready to do the Augury Rock mission to Ascend. Pulling, of course, does not require use of any ranger skills at all, and you should always carry a longbow or flatbow regardless of your secondary profession.

My very first character started as E/Ra. The pet was quite useful up until reaching the desert, when it became more of a liability and I stopped bringing him along. Until I faced the doppelganger solo, where the pet made it easy to get mission+bonus, with the use of a few pet skills. This type of build even works in HM, and some of my mule characters use it to farm Zaishen coins whenever Augury Rock comes up as the z-mission. You may end up blessing the day you chose /Ra for a starting secondary.

I was interested in doing the campaigns in order the first time, and avoiding possible spoilers. However, I did make a quick side trip to EotN when I reached the Desert. I got max armor at Boreal and picked up the first three heroes (Ogden, Vekk, and Gwen). Since Prophecies wasn't really designed for heroes, they made it easier even with their default skills, and I was able to build better skill bars for them as I went along.

The slower pace of Prophecies compared to the other campaigns made it painless to improve their bars and equipment over time, and easier to get accustomed to using heroes. The Desert has a very good elite skill for Ogden (Word of Healing) and a passable elite for Gwen that will do until you reach Ring of Fire for something better. I set Vekk up for air magic, and there are several good elites for that in the Southern Shiverpeaks.

Those three heroes were sufficient (though perhaps not always optimal) for everything in Prophecies, including the titan quests after finishing the campaign. In fact, I used the same three after that for all of Factions, and didn't get any more heroes until I finished Factions and went on to Nightfall.

*Darcy* · Nov 18, 2010, 11:58 AM // 11:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGizzy

but further research into the set shows it only gives two additional toon slots (6 total) instead of the 4 more (bringing total to 8) I'd get by getting Factions & Nightfall via the Trilogy or through separate purchase.

This information is wrong. If it was true then there would have been thousands of threads screaming about the problem. You always receive FOUR slots on your first game, then an additional TWO slots for each new campaign. That means that the Complete Collection would give you EIGHT slots just as the Trilogy does.

ogre_jd · Nov 18, 2010, 02:33 PM // 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGizzy

My choice of being an Elementalist/Ranger probably wasn't the wisest - it's not a particularly effective combination, and other than my pet or rare instances where I must "pull or die," I don't really make use of my Ranger skills.

Many people don't use their secondaries, actually, beyond the occasional skill that's useful with 3 or less points. Those that do tend to be Paragons (for the selection of Warrior Shouts), Assassins (who do quite well with bows and scythes because of their critcals), Mesmers (until the Fast Casting changes, the only thing keeping them from outdoing Monks and Elementalists at their own game was a lack of Divine Favor and Energy Storage), PvP and farming builds.

And don't worry - once you're done with the Crystal Desert missions you'll be able to start going around to the various Desert non-mission outposts and doing quests to unlock additional secondary professions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by End

Not a big deal since honestly finiding a group in GW is a waste of time at the moment because of the dwindling number of people and how spread thin those dwindling numbers are.

Hmm. We must be playing different games. Barring the more out of the way outposts (such as Maguuma Stade and the Henge of Denravi [where people really only stop for a second to vend and then go on the very short walk to the link to Riverside Province], and some places in the Echovald Forest & Jade Sea), there are plenty of people around and it's fairly easy to find a group for missions. A little harder for questing in some places, though.

Roen · Nov 18, 2010, 03:13 PM // 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrettM

Until I faced the doppelganger solo, where the pet made it easy to get mission+bonus, with the use of a few pet skills.

I just want to say I play R/any primarily and this makes the doppelganger fight so easy it's almost boring.

Star_Jewel · Nov 18, 2010, 11:47 PM // 23:47

*nods* I make most of my Survivor contenders /R for the specific purpose of facing the Doppelganger. Although I now find /Me Midnight+Empathy+Spirit of Failure easier, at least the pet build doesn't require an Elite.

TheGizzy · Nov 19, 2010, 09:56 PM // 21:56

In a very strange twist of fate...

I ordered EotN, as mentioned, from NewEgg with 2nd Day shipping via UPS. NewEgg was awesome, shipped it within 12 hours of my placing my order. UPS, on the other hand, got the package to the facility about 20 miles from my house... and then promptly sent it two states away. It's back in the facility nearby, but won't be delivered until Monday - and I could spend the next hour regaling you with my tales of dealing with their rude/unhelpful customer service...

On the flip side, a good friend of mine bought me the Trilogy as a Christmas gift! She said she'd had no idea what to get me this year, and since I was babbling on about really enjoying GW (and groaning a few nights ago about getting massacred LOL) she figured it was perfect - which of course, it is! I went ahead and applied the keycode last night and started exploring... oh my!!!

I have MOX now... and a few henchies... though we're still getting our butts handed to us trying to do the Zinn Tasks. I got some nice new armor... Shing Jea (sp?). All of my obsessive hoarding/salvaging paid off, there - I had the supplies I needed except the glass vials and those were easy enough to get from the trader. I also got two new staffs, fire & earth (and now have both a fire & earth aura to go with each)... and another way hoarding paid off, I had perfect Insightfuls & Fortitudes to add to each. And I'm looking forward to finding a decent spear, since I saw on the elementalist thread that a spear/shield combo can be really useful for an Ele.

I'm blown away by the quantity of content... and excited... I really do have that whole "kid in a candy store" thing going on over here. LOL

I'm going to leave the Zinn quests alone for a bit and continue on with the Prophecies story line at Augury Rock. I've still got so much to do and explore within Prophecies, and I don't want to get sidetracked. I do like the fact that the option is there for me to jump over to another storyline if I'm so inclined - really good for me when I'm having a bad ADD day. LOL But I feel really "attached" to what's happening in the Prophecies storyline, and I want to see that through first.

I wanted to again say thanks to all of you who have been contributing on my threads... there's so much to learn, so many questions to ask, and as a relative newcomer it can be really daunting. Even asking the questions can be scary, since you never know how they will be received by the "old timers." But you have all been incredible, and I so very much appreciate your willingness to tutor an old lady.

BrettM · Nov 19, 2010, 10:23 PM // 22:23

Gratz, and welcome to a wider world of Tyria.

Don't worry too much about Zinn's tasks now. For one thing, MOX is not such a great hero, particularly for someone in your postion because you won't find any skills for him until you reach Nightfall and EotN. The tasks are designed for players at a fairly advanced level (those who have completed the campaigns), and require access to one area rather deep in the Nightfall campaign.

A spear/shield is useful for an ele, though I prefer spear/focus myself and have a selection of focuses available depending on the task.

I am glad I did things in order with my first character. Later characters jumped around among the campaigns as the mood took me, but it was good to have the experience of doing everything in sequence first. One thing I did do when I moved to another campaign was to make a temporary character in that campaign to experience the newbie areas and backstory there. It also gave me a chance to experiment with non-core professions (rit and para in my case), both of which I liked well enough that I eventually made permanent characters for those professions. That can certainly provide an outlet for your ADD.

Since the beginning part of Factions takes place simultaneously with the beginning of Prophecies, it will do the story no harm to start on that project now, if you need a break from Prophecies.

Nov 19, 2010, 10:23 PM // 22:23	#32
BrettM Desert Nomad Join Date: Aug 2008 Guild: Fuzzy Physics Institute Profession: E/	Gratz, and welcome to a wider world of Tyria. Don't worry too much about Zinn's tasks now. For one thing, MOX is not such a great hero, particularly for someone in your postion because you won't find any skills for him until you reach Nightfall and EotN. The tasks are designed for players at a fairly advanced level (those who have completed the campaigns), and require access to one area rather deep in the Nightfall campaign. A spear/shield is useful for an ele, though I prefer spear/focus myself and have a selection of focuses available depending on the task. I am glad I did things in order with my first character. Later characters jumped around among the campaigns as the mood took me, but it was good to have the experience of doing everything in sequence first. One thing I did do when I moved to another campaign was to make a temporary character in that campaign to experience the newbie areas and backstory there. It also gave me a chance to experiment with non-core professions (rit and para in my case), both of which I liked well enough that I eventually made permanent characters for those professions. That can certainly provide an outlet for your ADD. Since the beginning part of Factions takes place simultaneously with the beginning of Prophecies, it will do the story no harm to start on that project now, if you need a break from Prophecies. Last edited by BrettM; Nov 19, 2010 at 10:25 PM // 22:25..

Nov 18, 2010, 10:26 AM // 10:26	#24
Zenzai Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Jun 2009 Profession: N/E	The Ritualist Hero, Xandra and the Dervish hero, Kamhu are highly limited in potential. You cannot force their skills if you don't have factions or nightfall respectively. Their moves are also extremely limited. Other than that, I can't think of a single downfall.

Nov 18, 2010, 10:37 AM // 10:37	#25
gremlin Furnace Stoker Join Date: Oct 2006 Guild: GWAR Profession: Me/Mo	The Elementalist is very powerful and because of their prime skill track can have a huge pool of energy. You can very successfully run builds based around your secondary class. Ok Ranger doesn't need that sort of pool but when you start experimenting with other secondary classes it comes into its own you can emulate all the other spell caster classes extremely well. While its true you do need to have the skills unlocked to make good use of heroes, they do have the advantage of being 20th level when you recruit them "the eye ones anyway" and you can add skills as and when you find them. Most of the time I run with a warrior a Monk and a Necro, the necro just keeps an army of minions around so when I do meet a mob of enemies I can throw in 8 or 9 extra bodies to soak up spells and damage. The earth skill track lets you be a defensive mage fighting the enemies within your circles of protection, I found this a really good way of controlling the battle and keeping my hero/henchmen alive.

Nov 18, 2010, 11:47 PM // 23:47	#30
Star_Jewel Jungle Guide Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Denizen of Tyria since Feb. 2009	nods I make most of my Survivor contenders /R for the specific purpose of facing the Doppelganger. Although I now find /Me Midnight+Empathy+Spirit of Failure easier, at least the pet build doesn't require an Elite.

Nov 19, 2010, 09:56 PM // 21:56	#31
TheGizzy Krytan Explorer Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: A giant mitten Guild: TeAe Profession: E/R	In a very strange twist of fate... I ordered EotN, as mentioned, from NewEgg with 2nd Day shipping via UPS. NewEgg was awesome, shipped it within 12 hours of my placing my order. UPS, on the other hand, got the package to the facility about 20 miles from my house... and then promptly sent it two states away. It's back in the facility nearby, but won't be delivered until Monday - and I could spend the next hour regaling you with my tales of dealing with their rude/unhelpful customer service... On the flip side, a good friend of mine bought me the Trilogy as a Christmas gift! She said she'd had no idea what to get me this year, and since I was babbling on about really enjoying GW (and groaning a few nights ago about getting massacred LOL) she figured it was perfect - which of course, it is! I went ahead and applied the keycode last night and started exploring... oh my!!! I have MOX now... and a few henchies... though we're still getting our butts handed to us trying to do the Zinn Tasks. I got some nice new armor... Shing Jea (sp?). All of my obsessive hoarding/salvaging paid off, there - I had the supplies I needed except the glass vials and those were easy enough to get from the trader. I also got two new staffs, fire & earth (and now have both a fire & earth aura to go with each)... and another way hoarding paid off, I had perfect Insightfuls & Fortitudes to add to each. And I'm looking forward to finding a decent spear, since I saw on the elementalist thread that a spear/shield combo can be really useful for an Ele. I'm blown away by the quantity of content... and excited... I really do have that whole "kid in a candy store" thing going on over here. LOL I'm going to leave the Zinn quests alone for a bit and continue on with the Prophecies story line at Augury Rock. I've still got so much to do and explore within Prophecies, and I don't want to get sidetracked. I do like the fact that the option is there for me to jump over to another storyline if I'm so inclined - really good for me when I'm having a bad ADD day. LOL But I feel really "attached" to what's happening in the Prophecies storyline, and I want to see that through first. I wanted to again say thanks to all of you who have been contributing on my threads... there's so much to learn, so many questions to ask, and as a relative newcomer it can be really daunting. Even asking the questions can be scary, since you never know how they will be received by the "old timers." But you have all been incredible, and I so very much appreciate your willingness to tutor an old lady.