How to prepare for dungeons

[Alaris]

Sure, I got a scrub team once (maybe I was lucky it wasn't more often than that) in CM. We ended up quitting. But in most cases, I end up getting a pretty decent team. Keep trying.

Also, it might be worthwhile doing lvl 1 with allies, maybe lvl 2 too, just to get you over the lump of players who just can't manage to get this completed. But I'm at level 5 now, most of which was gained via PUGs because unfortunately, Dii allies are great to team with but the few times we tried at the beginning of fractals, we've had problems with DC's and now I am not sure I want to attempt that again before the fix.

[Gorani]

I have done AC, CM, TA & CE so far - to the extend of redoing explorable modes a few times to get enough tokens for armor & a weapon.
Quite a few with Wethospu and I can see his point.

It gets way easier when you have more traits involved and better gear, but bad coordination is what slows you down or kills you. In dungeons as far as I am concerned not knowing what your team mates will do next is the most frustrating.

Playing with friends usually has the bonus of playing with people that are more forgiving with errors and that are willing to track back to revive or start running sections all over with you.

[ghosia]

The "level up to 80" advice is good for first time players. By lvl 30 most first time players are in no way prepared for what's in AC. It doesn't take that long to reach 30, and by then first time players are usually still learning the game mechanics. And AC is not a place one goes to to learn how to play. It's so completely different from what's in pre-30 open PvE. Better to go there when you already know how to dodge and what all the condition icons mean.

Sure is nice to get lower level players in a group, but that only works if at least some people in the team know what to do and are willing to explain. Or if playing with friends, when dying every few minutes is not a big deal and the dungeon is still fun after two hours of trials and errors.

[Domitilde]

It gets way easier when you have more traits involved and better gear, but bad coordination is what slows you down or kills you. In dungeons as far as I am concerned not knowing what your team mates will do next is the most frustrating.

Playing with friends usually has the bonus of playing with people that are more forgiving with errors and that are willing to track back to revive or start running sections all over with you.

We make use of Vent and it sure helps, especially when I haven't a clue what is going on. Much easier for me to watch the screen instead of the chat while having a couple of TRUEbies giving me advice.

[BladeDVD]

I would think if you were playing with friends or guildies, vent/TS would be standard. Makes things so much easier.

Thanks for the tips WetHospu.

I remember when I did CM the first (and only time so far), it was quite a shock from mapping. I think you're lvling to 80 advice for people attempting dungeons the first time is good advice. It's not just the lvl and equipment but skill and trait options too. It doesn't help to be open to build suggestions when you don't have the skills they recommend.

Thanks for all the tips. I would like to get into doing dungeons once I level up a couple more characters.

Is there a listing somewhere of the average amount of time it takes to do the different dungeons in story mode and the three explorable paths?

[Wethospu]

Average clearing time is really tricky question (good team X, average team 2*X, bad team 4*X). I think I have tried bit estimate it dungeon-specific guides. Anyways, I'm planning to rewrite those guides to hopefully more accessible and useful ones.

[Alaris]

By lvl 30 most first time players are in no way prepared for what's in AC.

"Characters" are not prepared, yes. But players can be prepared, especially alt-a-holics, and I find it frustrating the very concept of having to level up to make the dungeons more do-able. I can't deny that scaling isn't as good as it should be.

[RabidCoqui]

Indeed. My first time through CM Story was with my warrior who was around 50 at the time and we did not have an easy time of it. I think only one or two of us had done it prior.

Second time was with my mesmer at lvl 42 or so (can't remember exactly) and it was way easier even though a couple of the other players had never done it before.

[ghosia]

"Characters" are not prepared, yes. But players can be prepared, especially alt-a-holics, and I find it frustrating the very concept of having to level up to make the dungeons more do-able. I can't deny that scaling isn't as good as it should be.

I agree with you here, that's why I wrote it's good for first time players. Meaning first character. After getting one to higher levels, most people know how to play so there's no reason not to do dungeons on alts as soon as they qualify.

But of course better gear, more traits, more skills - all that helps. So I see Wethospu's point when he writes that it's better to level up first. I don't like it, but it's still true.

[Alaris]

I don't like it, but it's still true.

Same here. I do wish scaling meant that only your personal ability as player mattered. Sadly, it's not the case.