On the latest episode of Guild Chat, host Rubi Bayer was joined by Game Designer Nellie Hughes to explore some of the ways players can have fun in small chunks of time in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™ content. Rubi started off with a reminder that Game Director Colin Johanson has talked about changes coming to expansion content to bring it in line with ArenaNet’s overall design philosophy for Guild Wars 2, and these changes should make it more accessible for solo players and those with less time on their hands. In the meantime, Rubi wanted to provide some tips for players who may be venturing into Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns for the first time and are feeling a little lost in the jungle.
Rubi said she’s noticed a tendency in herself to have a goal in mind and forget events, enemies, and other activities along the way to her primary objective that might offer the same rewards. It’s often worth your while to take extra time to explore, mop up some Mordrem, gather materials, and help the Pact with their events. All of those can contribute to your Mastery progress and coffers.
If you need a particular event, hero point, or other objective and you’re having trouble completing it on your own, it’s a good idea to call it out in map chat and link the nearest point of interest or waypoint. There are almost always people in a map who are tackling content for the first time, and banding together can mean the difference between frustration and success. Another good bet is to look for commander or mentor tags and follow them, or to ask in map chat to join established groups, since these are usually players well-acquainted with the map.
Each map in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns contains scavenger hunts, achievements, and hidden strongboxes that grant rewards like achievement points and special items. For example, in Auric Basin you can collect Exalted masks to unlock an aurillium node for your home instance. Nellie said that they’re difficult but fulfilling to find. You can also track down lore within the Exalted city of Tarir for an item that will gobble up your excess bloodstone dust.
Some of the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns achievements encourage players to travel off the beaten path to find unusual things, including a golden chicken, a musically inclined Itzel who wants to jam with players, and a reclusive Itzel named Witzel who doesn’t want to be disturbed. Checking your in-game achievement list or the event timers on the official Guild Wars 2 wiki are two of the best ways to find activities to do in a short time frame.
Next, Sound Designers Jerry Schroeder and Drew Cady demonstrated some of the work they’ve done for an upcoming raid boss. Using items as varied as a creaky door, a crushed milk carton, a didgeridoo, and a wooden table, they created an audial sketch of whatever creature it might be.
If you missed the episode, you can check out a recording below!