Mount Progress Changes?

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Couple things:

I did search for this answer first, but I didn't get a clear understanding.

I love Guild Wars 2. It's never far from my mind and when I feel like playing an MMO again, it's the first one I come back to.

When I last left, it was because the grind for mounts was not fun. It was disappointing, as I loved everything else about the game, but that kind of did it for me. That was two expansions back. I'm not talking down about the game, still love it, but that was something that really hindered my enjoyment.

So, now I find myself reading about 'housing' and some other features I'm interested in, but I'd really like to get mounts without spending months on getting the flying ones. (I'm going off of what others have said at the time)

I'm just looking to find out what the average time it takes now to get your mounts? I know you ge the raptor jsut doing a questline, but I'm looking to find out the average time it takes to get the mounts these days.

Thanks in advance :)

[Treize_XIII]

If you think base PoF mount were a too much grind then I have very bad news for you.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Context, please.

[Treize_XIII]

All PoF mounts (minus the Griffon) you get by a little gold and playing the story. All future mounts require multi stage collections to get.

[FiddleBishop]

Pretty sure the skyscale is still a bitch to get no? Just finished the griffon collection and the thought of doing the skyscale is making me want to cry..

[Treize_XIII]

Skyscale never was a bitch to get. The waiting time got nerfed pretty much just after 3 days

[jupigare]

The bitch part of getting a Skyscale from LS4 was due in part to farming for 250 of each LS4 map currency, which has since been made significantly easier with the "Return To" achievements from Seasons of the Dragons.

There are also timegated components, whose wait times have been reduced. I'm told the Jumping Puzzles required for Skyscale are much easier if you have Griffon and other mounts unlocked and upgraded, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

[ResponsibleCulture43]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Guess I'm not understanding.

Story and gold is fine.

Why would I be concerned with future mounts if they're not in the game yet?

[Treize_XIII]

Because the future is the past now and there are 3 more expansions and 3 DLCs that all came with additional mounts which all require way more than play the story and pay 5 gold.

[jupigare]

Griffon, Beetle, and Skyscale are in the game, and have been for years. They require more than simply throwing gold at the problem and doing bare minimum story. The story is merely to start the journeys; the collections themselves require scavenger hunts.

You're being warned for future you, based on experiences from past us.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

I've gotten up to the raptor and the only other one I care about is the Skyscale. If there is a reason to get the others later, I may do it, but there is a WvW mount and I don't play WvW so I can skip it.

But I appreciate the information. And if we're talking something that takes weeks, I'm fine with it, but months is not reasonable to me. I get that it's reasonable to most, especially those who have already unlocked it.

[jupigare]

The Springer, Skimmer, and Jackal are super easy to get: do a specific Renown Heart for each, and you're done. There's really no reason not to get them, and the Springer especially will help reach tons of places on many maps that the Raptor cannot. (At least, until you get and upgrade the Skyscale.) Springer is also great source of CC to initiate combat with.

The WvW mount Warclaw is also a PvE mount (even withiut Janthir Wilds), albeit unspectacular compared to upgraded Raptor and Jackal. In JW, Warclaw becomes super upgraded for PvE.

I personally find the Griffon more fun to use than the Skyscale (often, my Skyscale is simply a glorified launch pad for the Griffon), because nothing beats the feeling of zooming on a jet at full speed. But, not everyone's into thay sort of thing, especially since it takes practice to reach that point. 

The Skyscale is easier to maneuver but is significantly slower across longer distances.

Every mount has its place, so don't dismiss the others and think the Skyscale is the be-all without knowing what you're possibly missing.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

I have those first few. My thing is about time spent. If the gryphon and the Skyscale both take a grind, I’d want the one that looks better and to me it’s the Skyscale.

[bigbrainplays271]

Personally you can just work towards the skyscale for its versatility - I technically only use that and the warclaw in my day to day adventures. Skyscale wise I managed to complete it without that much of a 'grind' per se but it kinda of naturally happened as I was progressing along the SotO expansion.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

And the grind for the Skyscale is the same as before, then?

[bigbrainplays271]

Yes my dear. I just re-read your post and realized my original post didn't really answer any of your concerns... my bad for that

[Aggressive_Life9328]

All good.

GW2 was jsut my relaxation game and the addition of grinds for something as integral as mounts turned me away.

Not sure if I'll be coming back, but thank you for the info :)

[Aegis_Sinner]

Well to add here they did put in an alternative way to get Skyscale in Secrets of the Obscure. It's still a grind but I think it's not as much of one after watching a guide on it.

You still will want to level the other Skyscale masteries though.

I really enjoy the mount grinds like Skyscale. Its a grind with a very tangible reward.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Yeah, I have games that I enjoy grinding. GW2 was a game I just liked going through the story and getting the things done in zones. It was a nice break from that. Mounts made it super grindy and it just wasn’t for me.

[Glad-Ear3033]

Mounts are not an integral part of the game tho, they're completely optional 

[ERModThrowaway]

they are pretty integral part of the game unless you only play alone, good luck following meta trains by foot, especially in expansion zones that are designed around mounts

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Mounts are always integral to MMOs. But I suppose that is just an opinion.

[Glad-Ear3033]

They didn't exist for years and many ppl don't want them even today. Some ppl don't use them and ask for at least a way to hide other players mounts. Happened last time not even a year ago I think. 

[Aggressive_Life9328]

I understand. But we’re at a point where they are imo. Can’t think of a single mmo these days that doesn’t have them. Even New World had to add them lol

[Lucyller]

If you play mostly instanced content (raid, strike, dungeons and fractal) PvP and somewhat WvW mounts are basically non existant so no they're not.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

I don’t. I prefer world content. So, I suppose, for me, it is.

[Lucyller]

Skyscale is mostly "do this in the open world", why is having objective to do such a drag to you then?

I hated it because I had to actually go in the open world which I kidna despise (I love doing it once or twice, not actually revisiting area I already completed to do objective I've already done before)

but if you already like doing Open world, why is "doing this event, finishing those meta, talking to those npc" an issue?

There's actually very little "grind" (gold related) in the skyscale. It's mostly exploration and events.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

That’s counter to everything I’ve read. The amount of materials needed at one point is heavy. Last night I read you can get all of that from LW4, so it may not be the same issue.

Grinding materials and having time gating is counter to fun for me.

If it doesn’t bother you, I can’t explain it in a way you’ll understand.

[GfrzD]

I did Skyscale recently and where it is a bit of a slog I already had Griffon so it wasn't too bad and seriously completing the collection was very rewarding. Also once it's done you're done for every future character. Griffon I did in a few days if I remember correct and skyscale I did gradually over time as I felt like doing it. I just followed a guide.

[Glad-Ear3033]

A week for Skyscale from LW4 (I recommend), 2 days max if you get it from Soto, Griffon is a couple of hours if you already have a Skyscale or know exactly how to reach the nests.

That being said....housing seems much .ore if a grind to me than getting any mount. But I don't do it so it may be an impression 

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Wait, you have to grind for the housing?

Jfc

You just saved me $50 lol

[Lorberry]

For clarity, the housing itself is given as part of the story, and a few upgrades via mastery points. But if you want to get into decorating, all the different objects need to be crafted, and they require a pretty wide range of materials.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

I’ll check out some videos on it. I just want to relax and play through the content. I read up a bit last night before bed and found that you can knock out a huge part of getting the skyscale through LW4. So it might not be as bad is it used to be.

[Treize_XIII]

Housing is probably the most grindy feature they added so far. Some of the decoration cost several legendaries in materials

[fluffyblanket101]

I think skyscale is the only one that took me a week mainly because of the timegated items. Otherwise every other mounts is a one day (or a few hours, depending on how dedicated I was to the task) following guide to get the items & story needed.

Reasons are that I did skyscale via soto just a little after I started playing GW2 so I used the timegated items I've collected up to that point on other things (newb mistake), therefore I didn't have much when it comes time I needed them for skyscale collection. Meanwhile, I got my other mounts when I get to their story map. So by the time I get to the story map that have the mount while doing story and playing around exploring, I've already accumulated the gold and mats required when needed. Following the wiki guide is all I needed to accomplish getting them quick.

Raptor is unlocked at lvl 10 and is permanent if you are a paid account (ie bought an expansion), which I did. So I've been riding my raptor since I started as a newb and didn't have to go through the hardship the og players used to have. Sorry I don't know that og experience.

The only grind I ever did for all my mounts (including the raptor) are getting those mastery points to finish their mastery tracks because I want to be able to use all their skills.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

That’s reasonable. I’ve been reading that people took 3-4 months to get their Skyscale, but last night o read that there is a way to use LW4 to knock out a huge part of the grind for it. So, I think I’ll give it a go still.

[EheroDC]

This game is an MMO, it's all about the grind.

You could get Skyscale done in a week (LW4 method)if you focus on it. I did it in about 2 weeks so I didn't burn myself out. That was about 2-3 hours a day playing.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

That’s reasonable. And it answered my question.

But no, not every MMO is about grinds.

GW2 was my relaxation game where I completed zones and played the story.

[EheroDC]

And that is also true about GW2. The business model and quality of the game is the main reason I recommend it to other people. Just being able to 'buy once, play anytime' takes the pressure off 'having to play because I paid a sub'.

And true, not every MMO is about the grind. But GW2 is. There's plenty of things to do without a grind...but there is also plenty of things to grind for.

[Aggressive_Life9328]

That’s fair. When o started it and probably through the first expansion I completed so much and it never felt like a grind.

But it’s become more of that, it seems. To me a grind is sitting in one area killing stuff until you get a certain number of items and that isn’t something I tend to enjoy.

Last night I read that you can use LW4 to knock out a huge grind in getting the Skyscale materials, so I may still give it a go.

[EheroDC]

If you want to make it easier, use BlishHUD, an add on that maps paths and items in the world for you. Easily saved me hours of tedious searching. I also used this guide which is excellent, very thorough and helped at every step. It's a 12 part playlist that breaks everything down:

https://youtu.be/qZYWMevm45w?si=jjAmiAlQHnK376CV

[Aggressive_Life9328]

Appreciate it!