One of the under-marketed aspects of Guild Wars 2 is how natural it is for you to customize your leveling experience to what you prefer. You can do as much or as little exploration as you like, you can engage in PvP or dungeon runs, you can hunt down points of interest or stick to dynamic events, and you can craft. All of this awards XP, and it never stops rolling in.
My preference is going for 100% map completion, which may seem at odds to the typical flow but whatever. It’s what I want to do. While I’m just level 29 and plenty of folks I know are 40, 60 or above, it’s totally fine. I don’t feel rushed and I love having plenty on my plate for this first run-through.
Here are eight advantages I’ve discovered for being a map completionist (every skill challenge, point of interest, vista, and heart):
1. You keep making XP, even if you’re overleveled. Because GW2 auto-levels you down to match the current area, it not only remains somewhat of a challenge to go through these beginner zones, but I’m also still earning XP. Hey, I’d rather get some than none, and I’ve been surprised just how much I get from the dynamic events and from filling out the map. As a point of comparison, when I finished the Asura beginner area, I was level 17. I’ve gotten 12 additional levels from fully exploring four cities and two other starter zones.
2. It familiarizes you with the world. I want to get to know this brand-new game world, and by setting map completion as my goal, it’s a good way to make sure I do just that. I’m not rushing through areas, but am exploring them, getting to know them, and finding all sorts of fun little surprises.
3. It expands your wealth. I’m sure if I was at level-appropriate content right now, I’d be getting a lot more money, but I’m not complaining at what I do bring in. Building up a bank account with money and karma will help in the future. That’s a good feeling; I hate being broke.
4. It unlocks your skills. Since part of map completion is doing all the skill challenges and thus getting those points, it’s helping to quickly unlock all of my skill options.
5. It unlocks all the waypoints. That means that in the future, I can pretty much jump around the world all willy-nilly without worrying that I might have to do long runs to get somewhere to hook up with a friend or what have you.
6. It sets you up for life with crafting mats. Crafting is a blast in GW2, but sometimes you find yourself needing more mats than what you find during casual adventuring. This is not the case when you’re completing all the maps in the same level brackets, because it’s almost impossible to avoid stocking up on barrels full of useful mats. Plus, you get tons of rare mats, which are highly useful for some recipes. Pro tip: Since you’re unlocking all the karma (heart) vendors, definitely check out what they have to sell. Several offer special recipes or crafting mats in bulk for just a little bit of all that karma you’ve been raking in.
7. Map achievement treasure chests are incredible. When you fill out a whole map, you’ll unlock an achievement and get a special treasure chest for it. The city maps are so-so, but the zones cough up all sorts of goodies. I’ve gotten a heapload of mats, Black Lion chest keys, green gear, money, and more.
8. It’s just fun. Of course, this is subjective, but I really don’t feel rushed to get to 80 (for… what, really?). Events in lowbie zones are fun whether you’re 4 or 30, and it’s a rush to explore this virtual playground.
I could probably go way past just eight items on this list, such as never worrying about having enough XP so you’ll be able to access higher levels. I’m not saying this approach is idea or perfect for everyone, but I’m greatly enjoying it so far.
This is exactly how I’m playing through the game as well. I’m an explorer at heart, so I love the way they’ve designed the maps. Collecting points of interest, vistas, and skills challenges are my favorite.
I’ve been spending my nights playing for the last week and I’m not as high level as I could be but I’m having a ton of fun. I’m currently level 33 and have 25% map completion. I’ve been having a blast!
Started the Asura, Sylvari and Char areas but they did not click. The Norn starting area was OK but I love the Human area. The Queensdale escort events are fun. Where else do you get to escort a troupe of dancing Moas or kegs of beer. The bonus chest for completing and areas are great.
I have a habit of taking a trip through and area to get the waypoints and viewpoints first. I usually only stop when I stumble onto an event that seems fun and of course, any resource nodes I see. I always pack extra harvesting gear fro that reason and love being able to deposit the resources remotely.
I’m doing exactly the opposite. I want to see the big, broad brush-strokes of this amazing world first. I’ll have years to get to the detail. Consequently I’m as often in maps ten levels above me as ten levels below me, pushing as far as I can until I die. I’m level 50 now but not through any attempt to level up – it just happens.
I hadn’t heard about the karma vendors selling mats, though. Got any names?
I’m not quite convinced by the first bullet point you pointed (especially after having played TSW).
For me, being down-levelled is more a pain than an advantage, considering how i both am motivated in gaining levels and hate killing needlessly, because it means you will never ever be relatively safe in a zone.
OK, you gain some advantages over the actually-on-level characters but it feels for me like your progression is somehow denied.
Regards,
Skro
This is my first real foray into a “proper” MMORPG (I play a lot of Eve Online but she’s a special case!) More from this fact than anything else I’ve found myself working to complete the maps as it just seemed the “right” thing to do as someone with no real experience of the rush to level up etc. It’s a great game with compelling stories and nice little group events that happen “live”. I do like the levelling down that happens as well that ensures it remains a challenge
I can only see one downside of this (and keep in mind… I play the same way). You get a lot of exp from completing lower areas, so acquiring levels doesn’t stop. However, the gear you get from events caps out at the level of the event. IE your drops and rewards don’t scale to your level. So that means your gear level is suddenly much lower than your actual level. You COULD go into those lvl 30 areas, but with gear still in the level 15-20 range, it might be a little tricky.
Sadly, I could see players start using this as a limiter, ala Gearscore, for dungeon runs. Just hope then that GW2 never allows mods or have an “Armory” type website showcasing your gear, as that would be one of the first ones made.
Great list, I like to complete the maps also. Plus, who wants to pass up on those rewards!
I agree with everything you’ve written here, for the most part. But I do think that it takes someone whose MMO resume begins with WoW to believe that these options in GW2 are really options. Oh wow, you mean I can do different things that utilize the exact same mechanics and systems and feed into the same predefined progression? How . . . linear.
Setting your goal as 100% map exploration doesn’t save you from falling into the trap of rushing. I found myself impatiently rushing through Brisbane Wilds, growing annoyed at each new fight because it was putting more time between me and that sweet, sweet reward chest.
OK Sauce. I’ll take your bait. What magical, perfect MMO you hiding from all of us that’s so much better and “non-linear”?
I, for one, am absolutely loving the the wander-around, no-real-plan style of playing in GW2. Sure there’s a story, but I don’t have a laundry list of quests to fulfill when I log in so I can level up. No matter what I am doing—map completion, DEs, PvP, WvW, crafting, . . . healing defeated characters—I’m never “wasting time.” Arenet has created a big beautiful word to explore. Iam happy to explore it.
Was like reading what I have accomplished so far :p I’m lvl 27 and finished all big cities except for Hoelbrak and finished all of the starting areas except for the norn and charr one.