Guild Wars 2

hey guys, ive always had a junk computer and couldn’t play the better games. IO watched guild wars release trailers come and go and the game come, and grow. until now i couldnt play it. im not a wow player, or any other mmorpg player for that matter and have found myself a bit overwhelmed.

basically, any tips for a newby? where to start? what to do? just follow random quests? and is there a point in the game when it really takes off? any pointers are greatly appreciated!!!

Well just enjoy and do whatever you want. Stop and smell the flowers. Gold will follow eventually, so will shiny items.

Welcome to GW2. It is a wonderful game. First tip is to just jump in and explore. You will begin in the starter area for what ever race you choose. There are not traditional quests like most MMOs. There are hearts tasks located on the map that kind of guide you to various areas around the map, vistas to discover, points of interest and also watch for dynamic events that pop up around all the maps. So the first tip I guess is to just start exploring and see what you discover.

Also here is a thread that may be helpful, it is a long read and some of the things mentioned have changed since it originated. However, there are still a lot of good tips.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/

JustTrogdor.7892:

Welcome to GW2. It is a wonderful game. First tip is to just jump in and explore. You will begin in the starter area for what ever race you choose. There are not traditional quests like most MMOs. There are hearts tasks located on the map that kind of guide you to various areas around the map, vistas to discover, points of interest and also watch for dynamic events that pop up around all the maps. So the first tip I guess is to just start exploring and see what you discover.

Also here is a thread that may be helpful, it is a long read and some of the things mentioned have changed since it originated. However, there are still a lot of good tips.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/

thanks a ton, im going to read that right now… ive hit lvl 13 which i know isnt very high, but i still have no direction :P

here’s some links to some tips (the 2nd and 3rd especially)
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/20871
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/New-Players-Beginners-Guide-Playing-to-80/6231073
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Level-80-Beyond-Guide-What-to-Do-Goals/6245545

Once you hit level ten you should of unlocked the first chapter of your personal story. A new chapter will be unlocked every 10 levels. The personal story will lead you through most of the core maps.

Welcome to the game! It is truly a great game and has a fantastic in-game community. I’ve found that most times help is only a map post away.

Not sure if you’re into intense gaming or not…I’m very casual so these tips are more from my own perspective.

First, enjoy, as others have said. Don’t worry about what people are doing at level 80…you’ll get there soon enough.

I agree that exploring (mapping) is a great way to jump into the game.

Find a good guild. You are allowed to join up to five guilds, representing only one at a time.

I find personal story a lot of fun. New chapters come available every ten levels so that’s something I’ve always looked forward to. Although a lot of players skip the video cut scenes, I found (at least with my first round of characters) that they did help me to understand what was going on in the world.

Open world events are a blast too. You come upon them…jump in and have fun. Everyone that participates gets rewards. In general, the game is structured to encourage participation and cooperation rather than competition.

Again, welcome and good hunting.

thanks guys!! im doing my personal story now, just trying to finish the first map 100%, im very close i think. i guess the most overwhelming part is the skills and stuff, i feel like im not even doing anything… i got 5 skills and i didnt even select any of them, they just magically got assigned it seems. i am the revenant. id LOVE to get into a guild and start doing some social play. honestly i feel a bit alone in the large world currently. im really glads i made this post tho, you guys have alrdy given me some life into the game

Skills 1-5 are based off the weapon. You’ll find weapons have a disposition towards ether direct damage or condition damage. Your 6-10 skills are ones you get to choose usually. Now Revenant is a little different. His 6-10 skills are based off the legend you are channeling and all you can do is change the order.

I feel like 13 is one of the perfect levels. I’ll assume you’re past it by now, but basically 13 means you can move into the next zone level, but it also means you can freely do as you please in all of the starter zones.

I personally recommend map completing all the cities. It’s not necessarily interesting, but then, since it’ll be your first time, it also kind of is. You’ll be able to gate from your starter city to Lion’s Arch and from there to the other cities. From those cities you can also explore each of the starter areas, which give a really good indication of what each of the races are like and a fair introduction to two of the main villain races for each of the races also.

Just remember that no matter how much you play, even in an area it will probably be a significant amount of time, maybe even years, before you’ve actually experienced everything there is. That usually because of how dynamic events work. Even after four years I still find myself running into events that I didn’t know existed because I just hadn’t spent enough time in that particular zone.

Welcome to Tyria!

The Wiki (link above) is a great resource. You can also access it in-game by typing /Wiki (subject of interest) in the chat window.

The best advice might be: Take your time to explore and the nooks and crannies, and spend a bit of time learning about the Trading Post as soon as you are comfortable doing so. (If you come across an item that looks unusual or interesting, check the Wiki or the TP first.)

Good luck!

Edit: As far as the starter maps go, if you prefer, each one has a Waypoint open, so you can just ‘insta-travel’ to each one, and check it out. Or, as stated above, you can travel through the Racial Cities to Lion’s Arch and use Portals to visit the other cities and starter maps.

Again, good luck! =)

simplesimon.2084:

Skills 1-5 are based off the weapon. You’ll find weapons have a disposition towards ether direct damage or condition damage. Your 6-10 skills are ones you get to choose usually. Now Revenant is a little different. His 6-10 skills are based off the legend you are channeling and all you can do is change the order.

hm, maybe i should have chose a different character since revanent seems to be somewhat unique, im definitely confused haha

MeDz.8320:

simplesimon.2084:

Skills 1-5 are based off the weapon. You’ll find weapons have a disposition towards ether direct damage or condition damage. Your 6-10 skills are ones you get to choose usually. Now Revenant is a little different. His 6-10 skills are based off the legend you are channeling and all you can do is change the order.

hm, maybe i should have chose a different character since revanent seems to be somewhat unique, im definitely confused haha

You can buy different weapons for each profession that will give them different 1-5 skills.

For Revenant here is a list of skills by weapon type as well as Revenant slot skills and such:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_revenant_skills

Note: Shield is only available after unlocking the elite specialization. But you don’t really need to worry about that until L80 and when you enter HoT.

That said Revenant is a bit unique in how skills are handled. You should have 5 character slots so I’d encourage you to try some other professions as well. A lot of people seem to enjoy starting with Ranger, Guardian, or Warrior. They are a bit more simplified early on. My suggestion though is if you give Ranger a go don’t get too used to sitting back plinking mobs with a long bow while your pet tanks. I think it teaches bad habits that will haunt you later on.

I main a Revenant now after first maining Guardian then Ranger then Mesmer. I love it but I agree it may not be new player friendly due to the swapping of stances and such. But if you have the patience and learn it as a new player you might benefit later when you try other professions.

Yes, Rev won’t really teach you how the other professions play. It’s designed as a departure from them.

Of the other 8 professions, 6 have weapon swap starting at some level I haven’t memorized, but it’s low. That means they can equip an alternate set of weapons and swap between the sets with a key toggle (default is ~ ), generally on a short cooldown. This gives 5 extra skills to use and also allows a choice on the fly between, say, melee and ranged.

The two that can’t swap are Elementalist and Engineer, both of which take a bit of “stance dancing” to play well. Ele gets 4 different sets of skills per weapon choice, and changes to those by cycling through attunements with F1-F4. Engineer gets F1-F4 skills as well, but these hinge on the chosen 6-10 utilities. And those utilities can include swapping out the weapon carried for a kit — could be bombs, grenades, flamethrower, etc — and each gets its own special F skill, in the order placed on the utilities.

So, yeah, those two are the most complex professions to play well. Ele is also very squishy. So I’d recommend against those two choices for your learning curve time; pick one of the six “standards.” Heck, pick several, you have five slots to play with and can buy more slots with gems if you wish.

And whichever profession you choose, learn to dodge. This is a super mobile combat game, you need to keep roaming around in the fight and dodging when the ground lights up orange under you.

PS on Rev — what makes it different is that it doesn’t offer any choice of utility but does have the utility set swap out based on the chosen Legend. It does have weapon swap as well, after beta feedback showed how frustrating players found it to be completely shoehorned in. Anyway, it’s likely best saved for once you understand how it’s different.

Try this

If it works, keep at it.

If it doesn’t, those are the guys above who told me to tell you.

MeDz.8320:

JustTrogdor.7892:

Welcome to GW2. It is a wonderful game. First tip is to just jump in and explore. You will begin in the starter area for what ever race you choose. There are not traditional quests like most MMOs. There are hearts tasks located on the map that kind of guide you to various areas around the map, vistas to discover, points of interest and also watch for dynamic events that pop up around all the maps. So the first tip I guess is to just start exploring and see what you discover.

Also here is a thread that may be helpful, it is a long read and some of the things mentioned have changed since it originated. However, there are still a lot of good tips.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/

thanks a ton, im going to read that right now… ive hit lvl 13 which i know isnt very high, but i still have no direction :P

Welcome!

There is a lot to learn about your profession so take the time and enjoy exploring. Just wandering around at random with no idea of where the most stuff is (and not doing boosts like crafting) will probably advance you a level every couple of hours so you will be at 80 in no time. Look for people with apples or triangles over them … if they are doing it in PVE they will hopefully be open to questions (or just gather names of people in this thread). Good luck!