Guild Wars 2

Generally, I respond to LFG requests, and here are some tips based on my experiences so far:
1. Use gw2lfg.com. Simpler, quicker and less annoying to others than posting an “LFG…” in map chat at Lion’s Arch. And it works across servers.

2. Ignore all the bad stuff on here about players being scammed, kicked or generally mucked about. It might happen to you, but it probably won’t: the vast majority of your fellow players are honest decent people who just want to have fun. Admittedly, some of them want to have very quick fun, particularly when it comes to dungeon runs…

3. At the very least, read the walkthrough on the GW2 wiki. While it can be fun figuring out some of the puzzles and quirks in the dungeons as you play through them, and somebody surely had to do this at some point, at least some other members of your group will know what they’re doing and won’t want to wait while you figure things out.

4. Make sure you know how to get to the dungeon. Visit the right map beforehand at least.

5. In the dungeon, keep an eye on the party chat. Particularly if things are getting hairy. Other players will offer advice / tell you what to do. This is wasted if you don’t read it.

6. Have as much free space in your inventory as possible. Nobody wants to wait around while you salvage stuff to make more room. Seriously, there’s no such thing as too much space.

So, in case you think I’m up on my high horse or anything, here’s what happened with my level 80 ele over the past few weeks:

1. I signed up to do TA. Never been to Caledon Forest before, didn’t know how to get there. One of the others met me in Kessex Hills, we both got lost but found the way through eventually. Wasted 10 minutes of the lives of the other group members doing this (3 other people @ 10 mins = half an hour of human life. Gone, just like that.) In the dungeon, I died. A lot. And then some more. I now own a staff, and I don’t aggro spiders any more.

2. I signed up to do CoF. We got to the bit with the fiery domes. I got so caught up in killing things (and generally trying to be helpful) that I didn’t stay where I should have, and ignored the party chat. Eventually, the others all wandered off into a huddle back down the corridor, and I thought “Huh, wonder where they’re going?”. Then I (finally!) checked the party chat, saw some of the things they’d been calling me… I just want to say thanks for being patient, guys!

3. TA again. Knew my way around, didn’t die more than average (or not much more…). Paused (only very briefly, honest!) to sort out inventory, then ran (solo) through various mobs. Or tried to. Died a few times. Waited at waypoint for someone else to die, so we could both run through together…

I’m sure I’ll have more sterling advice once I’ve done a few more dungeons. So, what do you think?

Sounds like my first few tries on my Elementalist.

Eventually i ragequitted, and made a Guardian just to ease the pressure towards my Elementalist. I will still play him, but i just feel i need to see some other class now.

So much different than the “usual – WoW – dungeons”, and i see several people having problems the first few times.

I hope with more experience and dedication i will be better for the exploreable’s.

as someone who primarily runs with PUGs I would suggest the following:

1.) if you don’t know a dungeon speak up – most groups will have people that know the dungeon very well and don’t mind explaining as it will make it go faster more times than not.
2.)Have both ranged and melee weapons available (also don’t be scared to change skills in quickbar throughout a dungeon run)
3.)When in doubt hang at back of group as to not add unwanted mobs (there are typically two(2) types of players in dungeons… “lets run” or “lets fight”)
4.)As stated above – READ party chat
5.)With PUGs or even experienced groups – Some Dungeons can take hour(s) so prepare accordingly..
6.)when doing ARAH u should really have rares or better equiped (if you can) which shouldn’t be a problem if you try other dungeons before going for the big dog…

sure there are other things I’ve missed.. but this has worked well for me up to this point.

Star Reaver.8415:

as someone who primarily runs with PUGs I would suggest the following:

1.) if you don’t know a dungeon speak up – most groups will have people that know the dungeon very well and don’t mind explaining as it will make it go faster more times than not.
2.)Have both ranged and melee weapons available (also don’t be scared to change skills in quickbar throughout a dungeon run)
3.)When in doubt hang at back of group as to not add unwanted mobs (there are typically two(2) types of players in dungeons… “lets run” or “lets fight”)
4.)As stated above – READ party chat
5.)With PUGs or even experienced groups – Some Dungeons can take hour(s) so prepare accordingly..
6.)when doing ARAH u should really have rares or better equiped (if you can) which shouldn’t be a problem if you try other dungeons before going for the big dog…

sure there are other things I’ve missed.. but this has worked well for me up to this point.

Thanks

Really, if you never did the path, say it. Or say something like “Oh my, it’s been 4 months since I did that, so I might not remember stuff”, but be careful, this doesn’t work in CoE or Arah. Those dungeons are painful enough that one time is enough to scar you for life.

Some players might kick you, but they aren’t the only ones running dungeons, especially for stuff like AC or CoF.

And whatever happens, unless you over aggro, no one can honestly blame you for a wipe, even during Giganticus.
Unless of course they gave directions (like “take Feedback”) and you didn’t use it at the correct time.

Better yet, just stay away from CoE and Arah till you get a bit more used to dodging.

TA is a bit harder than CoF or AC. Can’t recommend trying Arah unless your ready for it. Definitely say “hey I’ve never done this boss before” most PUGs are happy to give advice before a boss. Watch video’s of the dungeon’s there are plenty of them. Buy level 80 gear, rare is great but at least have greens on. Its very cheap. Consider buying consumables. Some of them only cost a few copper! And lastly, have good patience. Your first runs in any new dungeon are likely to have some tough moments. Just roll with it because your 2nd run will be much easier.

Kumakichi.2583:

Watch video’s of the dungeon’s there are plenty of them. Buy level 80 gear, rare is great but at least have greens on.

After my guild took 2 and a half hours doing CM, our 2nd dungeon (4.5 on AC), the other tactically minded person and I tried watching a video for CM. It didn’t really tell us much, groups we had died on in a couple of seconds had the guy making the video charge in and just start killing everything while barely taking damage. In 20 minutes worth, I think his hit points dropped under 50% once, and bounced right back up faster then I could have reacted. We weren’t sure what combination of stats, gear (I was in full Exotic armor for CM, at least) and powers he was using, or maybe it was just a lot more player skill then we had. The video maker had a lot of cheery comments like “this part is really easy”. . .

I suppose we’ll keep looking at it, maybe we can at least figure out what powers were being used (neither of us has a high level Warrior such as he was using).

just communicate. say if you’re inexperienced – you might get kicked, but when you find a group which takes you, they know what to expect and will be more helpful.

other than that: try watching a youtube clip of the dungeon so you know what to expect.

if you can, find a group of people with the same amount of experience. I never found a group for CoE because everyone always told me how hard it is and they don’t want noobs.. guess what, I finally found a group which hasn’t done CoE and we did path 1 & 2 without any problems. we died a few times each, figuring out the mechanics of the bosses etc, but nothing too major. the dungeon was actually pretty easy imho. I found fractals after lvl 10 a lot harder.. same for SE path 1 or CoF path 3 – everyone always talks about how hard it is.. both are actually quite easy if you have someone who knows how it goes and takes 5 minutes to explain it and a group of people who are capable or reading and following instructions. I still haven’t gotten into any arah path yet, because most groups kick me for being a noob before we even enter (because yes, I always tell them I’ve never been there).. but my guess: it’s not that hard either ;-)