Guild Wars 2

I am a pretty new player to the game, and I have 2,800 gems to spend. As a nub, what’s worth grabbing in the gem store, and are black lion keys a worthwhile investment?

I already have: Copper-fed salvage thing, dreamcleaver wood cutting axe, digital deluxe upgrade, third profession upgrade

all advice and opinions welcome

For me the Salvage O matic is one of the best convenience items in the game, so that is a great choice. I also love my Royal Terrace Pass, which lets me waypoint to the royal terrace for free and has all the npcs bundled in one place. This is a temporary item though and currently not no sale.
Permanent Harvesting tools are also handy but not on sale atm, so you would have to wait. The Watchwork Pick is the first one you should get because it gives you extra watchwork sprockets while mining, they sell for 3-s atm.

Usually, any account upgrade is worthwhile, for example extra bag space or bank space.

I wouldnt recommend to buy keys, its a lottery and most of the time, you lose out.

As wanze said, salvage o matic is incredibly useful. Bag space is also very important later all, but keep in mind that you not only can buy extra slots from the gem store, but you can buy bigger slot bags from the TP. You may want to convert some gems to gold to purchase them

BTW, how do you find the new player experience so far? Reviews are overwhelmingly negative – at least for veterans.

Vol.7601:

As wanze said, salvage o matic is incredibly useful. Bag space is also very important later all, but keep in mind that you not only can buy extra slots from the gem store, but you can buy bigger slot bags from the TP. You may want to convert some gems to gold to purchase them

BTW, how do you find the new player experience so far? Reviews are overwhelmingly negative – at least for veterans.

You can read my view here (and bump for anet viewing )

Imo wait for sales to buy anything. In terms of storage…..a storage guild is cheaper than the alternatives in terms of price per slot.