Am I getting everything so far?
Sounds ok. It’s really do whatever you feel is right. Some people like to craft as they level, because they are often in the zones that are appropriate to the mats they need, but it isn’t necessary to ever craft if you don’t have any desire to. Or they leave it until later. It’s really all personal choice.
You can check the Wiki (link above) to find out how crafting works and what you might need. The Wiki can answer many of the questions you might have about things in-game, as well.
You will, of course, get many different opinions on the forums …about anything. Lol.
Welcome to Tyria, and good luck!
Just do what you like in the game. If you want to craft, craft , if you want to explore maps and complete hearts, just go ahead.
Crafting for end game is for Ascended gear , overall little better quality gear than exotic wich you can use at level 80 but it is a gold sink. I suggest you to save karma so at level 80, you can buy exotic gear from Cathedrals in the maps of Orr. cost around 250k karma for 6 pieces.
I think playing a MMO at your own pace is the right thing to do because you feel too much like “I missed some content” if you rush to the end levels.
You’re going along the right path. It’s almost exactly the same thing I’m doing. (Except that I’m advancing 5 characters at the same time.) If you intend on doing crafting, I strongly recommend storing up any crafting materials you get like cloth scraps. You never know if you’ll need them down the line.
Long-term, crafting is the only reliable way to acquire Ascended weapons and armor. If you enjoy having the highest tier of gear in a game, then this is something you should start saving for now. However, it is perfectly possible to get by with Exotic gear; since Ascended gear is extremely expensive compared to Exotic stuff, only go for it as a long-term goal.
There are lots of hidden things. Many of the jumping puzzles for example. But yes, sounds like you’re doing it right to me.
But the beauty of this game is, you can always go back on the same character and find more stuff, because the game downscales you. You’re not limited just to end game zones at max level.
In my experience rushing to level 80 is a mistake. Take your time and learn your class. The first play through in pve is fun especially finding the hidden stuff like Vayne said. From what you have said though it seems like you are doing it “rite”.
I don’t think you’re really missing out on anything. As others have said, this game is really more about do what you want than do what the game requires. There’s no requirement to do certain things at certain times like other mmo’s. Anything you discover or get interested in later can still be done with no negative. I’d recommend save all mats in your crafting tab in the bank. Until you’ve been playing for quite some time, you’re unlikely to know what you’ll really want to keep.
For crafting, the wiki is a good starting place. Alternatively, you can do a google search for “gw2” and whichever crafting discipline you’re interested in. You’ll see plenty of guides that will give you shortcuts on the fastest or best method to raise skill. Just keep in mind, the results of crafting while leveling up aren’t very useful these days. It’s usually a kitteneaper just to buy whatever gear you want instead of using the mats to make it yourself. While crafting does give exp, and can be used as a leveling option itself, I wouldn’t recommend that for your first character.
This is a concern of mine too. I feel there are a lot of aspects of the game that I simply know nothing about. Only this week I began playing with the mystic forge (throwing couple of greens and getting a rare after couple of tries :P) but still…
Most of the things I miss involve crafting (ascended? Clovers?) or tokens to get crafting mats/armour/gear, or some of the “high end” dungeons like fractals (which I only started this week). Try and read the wiki when you have a chance, though sometimes you get dumbfound by all the info and all the processing you need to do in order to obtain a legendary weapon.
Best way to learn this game, in my opinion, is to join a helpful guild. Then you get some guildance whenever you have questions.
Edit: I meant to type guidance but it’s such a great typo I’m leaving it.
DONT START ON YOUR LEGENDARY UNTIL YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN GAME. You will just get frustrated by the cost and time requirements.
The only other thing I would suggest is to get into some pvp. It’ll improve your skill timing and knowledge base of your class if you have a reactionary target instead of a static one like in pve. Just don’t do solo join or team join pvp as you will be behind the 8 ball and get stomped a lot.
A guild is a good place to start b/c they can give you tips and won’t grumble if you wanna tag along on a dungeon run. Plus, if they do guild missions, you have easier access to lvl 80 gear.
Just as an aside, you probably picked one of the harder classes to excel in. I LOVE ELE, but it takes some getting used to in pvp and dungeons as the group expects a lot of you.
And as far as crafting goes…buy your stuff from the heart vendors. about every 10 lvl get new stuff and chuck the old. You get tons of karma later on with which to buy your exotic gear. Plus you save all of your gold. The one crafting discipline I would get into is chef. Food can get crazy expensive, but the mats are easily found anywhere.
(edited by Indweller.1402)