Guild Wars 2

Having purchased the game earlier this year, I created a few characters – the highest currently being a lvl 32 (?) ranger – but I stopped playing the game some months ago because I just couldn’t understand it.

Sure, I did the rounds of a few events – which were the only things I enjoyed and could vaguely understand about the game – but then they were snatched away, leaving me feeling like, ’what’s the point?’

So I came back yesterday to give it another shot and lo and behold, it appears that trading posts have also been snatched away. I have no idea where they’ve gone or what the reasoning behind their removal was, nor could I find any information anywhere (that didn’t involve walls of unrelated text) to explain it one way or ther other. In fact, walls of text that don’t get to the point up front make me want to stab myself in the eye with my car keys.

I don’t understand 1/10th of the convos in chat, the whole professions thing feels frustrating and seems illogical, and if there’s dungeons in the game, I’ve no idea where they are or at what level one can enter or how to join a group for the purpose.

The only reason I’d initially purchased GW2 was to give me something to do on WoW’s maintenance nights, but I was half hoping it would be something I could divide my spare time with between it and WoW. I wanted to give the game a fair go, but it’s difficult to do when it seems to be so ‘info-unfriendly’ and disorganized (?).

Am I just exceptionally thick?

I was able to understand the basic mechanics of WoW from day one – everything in there is so crystal clear – but GW2 is a very different kettle of fish. I really want to like it, but it’s a struggle.

Am I the only one with the same impressions?

The trading post is still there. It’s improved though.

Thanks, Zoid – but where are they? The two I’d been using last time I played, were Queensdale and the one in the Norn starting area – they weren’t there when I logged in today?

I’m guessing you’re in a starting area? If so then yes the trading posts have been removed from there but they are still available in any town (and a few maps have some knocking around).

Are you NA or EU? I’d be more than happy to help you out when I’m online next which will probably be this evening (around 7 pm UK time).

EDIT – you ninja’d in before my post so yes they have been removed from those zones. Just go into Divinity’s Reach or Hoelbrak and you’ll find them)

Your highest toon is level 32, and your complaining you aren’t an expert in the game?

lol.

Thank you for your kind offer, Adaephon. I’m on Isle of Janthir but won’t be on til tomorrow night.

@Artemis: Not at all, but I’d expect to at least understand something by the 30’s, not waffle and fudge my way through kind of aimlessly.

I find it difficult to believe you have troubles understanding the mechanics and gameplay of gw2 if you have already played another MMO like WoW. It really is not that hard. I still think Guild wars 2 is among the easiest MMOs out there. It sure feels different to what you are used to from WoW but the core features are the same after all.

The trading post is still here, the black lion trading company as it is called. And it still is avaialble through the “lion-icon” at the top of the screen.
Dungeons are those Door-icons on the map. Most people enter them at level 80 though. Even the lower level ones because you’ll be scaled up anyway.

And via the little social icon at the top you can easily search a group for a specific content of the game or look for members on your own with a custom description.

I’d say take your time and look through all of those icons at the top of the screen and all their subcategories. Also, try to visit atleast one out of every icons on the map that you can see and voila, you’ve seen it all already.

Edit: If you have trouble getting a grasp on how you should progress. Well, just do whatever you want really. Aimlessly roaming along the roads of these lands and doing events and heart-quests that you come along is essentially what this games open world PvE content is all about. Pick up some ore-nodes along the way, chop a tree, try out a new weapon. Thats basically it. Once you are 80 there’ll be a little more to do.

The trading posts were moved out of the very early areas because of the NPE (New Player Experience).

Dungeons are pointed out to you by an ingame email when you hit appropriate levels for them. However most dungeon runs are done by level 80s. You can try doing them before that level, but most people wait.

I’ve never played WoW, but Guild Wars 2 is a game for people to play by exploration. It’s much more free form and the game expects you to find things to do without pointing it out too much.

Thanks Flitzie and Astral, although it’s a shame they were removed because of ‘NPE’ – as a new player at the time, I found them helpful and always knew where to find them.

But, like taste, I guess there’s no accounting for logic.

nothing was really snatched away everything is still there. Something to keep in mind is Gw2 is different then the other MMOs other there. Dynamic events arent quests. Dynamic events arent triggered on demand like quests, they’re trying to simulate a living world in that they happen when certain conditions are met (internally they work through timers of course) For example bandits attack aquanaut they’re repelled so they build up their forces and try again later. No one starts the attack, the bandits simply start attacking when the time comes on their own. That means you could pass from that same place and nothing is happening. You could pass and find the bandits trying to blow up pipes . You could pass and find the bandits trying to poison the supply or even players trying to cleanse the poisoned water.

Think of Gw2 as a living world more then a game, you’re roaming around and helping out npcs in trouble rather then questing to level up. While looking for dynamic events you can kill time by gathering, doing Hearts, Reaching Vistas, uncovering PoIs etc..

There are dungeon and your herald should be contacting you by mail whenever you’re high enough level to do them. In fact at level 30 you should have already been contacted for the first dungeon probably you missed the mail as well its no something that other MMO do really. Gw2 here is different, NPCs send you mails too.

If you like dungeons there is also fractals though thats a max level thing I guess so no need to worry about that just now.

Trading Posts in Starting area still are present.

in Queensdale Trading post is at Altar Brook Trading Post.

As reminder, usage of Trading Post is unlocked at level 8.
Unless something has changed again.

Well, friend, you can always message me in the game and ask me things in case you’re not sure about something. I do this quite often so it’s no trouble.

The point of the game is to have fun, and if you feel lost, then I guess a way to go would be finding a nice friendly guild.

You can get to a trading post and crafting tables/bank from anywhere in the game by going to WvW (world vs. world). That can be accessed by either the castle icon at top left of the UI or by the default key binding of letter b. From there you can also go through the portal to Lions Arch or return to where you were by opening up the WvW panel and using the exit icon (looks sort of like a door) at bottom right of the panel.

You can also reach Lions arch by going through the PvP area, (use the crossed swords icon at top left of the UI) and then through the portal to LA.

Flitzie.6082:

I find it difficult to believe you have troubles understanding the mechanics and gameplay of gw2 if you have already played another MMO like WoW. It really is not that hard. I still think Guild wars 2 is among the easiest MMOs out there. It sure feels different to what you are used to from WoW but the core features are the same after all.

Obviously, you’ve never played WoW. WoW is a cake walk compared to this game. Raid bosses have easy-to-see, typcasted attacks and condis and boons are also easier to see, amongst a whole slew of other features that make it more casual friendly.

I’ll take Ragnaros over any give Arah boss any day of the week, as far as difficulty goes, but i also like easier content, since i’m not an uber, twitch-happy player.

Combat in this game is a HELL of a lot more involved and difficult, but its risk/reward, so the better at it you get, the better it plays. In that aspect, GW2 > WoW any day.

To the OP: As far as map chat language, every game has its own language. You just have to play long enough and ask questions to figure it out, like the rest of us have, when we started out.

Make no mistake, this is not WoW. Cons > Pros are the status quo here.

You may find this helpful (minimal walls of text):

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/manual/

For more in-depth information:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

Another option would be to create a new character and take it through the NPE, which was created just for circumstances like yours. =)

Welcome return, and good luck!

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You may find this helpful (minimal walls of text):
…
Another option would be to create a new character and take it through the NPE, which was created just for circumstances like yours. =)
…

If you have a character created before the April update do not delete it. The April update changed the trait system. You will still have many of those changes but pre-April characters have their traits grandfathered in. Most traits do not need to be unlocked by performing tasks or buying with gold and skill points.

The Sept updates changed much of the game play for lower level characters. It also changed the actual starter zones. No need to create a new character to experience the wonders of the NPE.

Here is a post I made recently that you may find useful. The whole thread contains good advice for a new player.

And another one

Good luck and hope you have fun.

Tao.5096:

Trading Posts in Starting area still are present.

in Queensdale Trading post is at Altar Brook Trading Post.

As reminder, usage of Trading Post is unlocked at level 8.
Unless something has changed again.

IT IS NOT UNLOCKED AT LV 8 GOD kitten IT! The tutorial to explain it is available at lv 8. You can buy sell trade at lv 1 (or 2) like always.

Stop giving him false information kitten it!

At any chat prompt you can type the command /wiki and follow it up with anything in the game and it will automatically open a browser to the information you want to know about. This game is not difficult to figure out.

There are several things I don’t understand from your post Moregause so I’ll try to approach each of your concerns in order.

When you say events I believe you are talking about the dynamic events that happen all over the world. They have not been snatched away, they are still happening all over the world like they used to. If you are talking about the world boss events they now spawn on a timer system to prevent excessive farming of them, and allow players to not have to be forced to choose between which ones they want to do if more than 1 comes up at a time. This link is fantastic for seeing when the world boss events spawn: http://dulfy.net/2014/04/23/event-timer/

I don’t understand what you mean by trading posts being snatched away. The trading post is accessible by the Lion Icon on the top of your screen as it always has been. The hot key for bringing up the trading post is “O” Trading posts are still in all starting zones, and Lion’s Arch has multiple trading posts located around the map. While checking your map you can mouse over icons on the map. The trading post is a golden circle with a balance in the middle, and when you mouse over it the text “Trading post” appears.

Professions in the game are similar to most other MMOs including WoW, which it sounds like you are more familiar with. They determine your armor class, they determine the weapons you will have access to, and they determine what skills you will have access to. The difference from what I’ve seen is that in Guild Wars 2 the skills you use of the left side of your screen are dependent on what weapons you are holding in your hands rather than just based on your profession alone.

Dungeons in the game become available to your character as you reach certain levels. In fact, your level 32 ranger received such a message when it turned level 30. The mail arrives in your mailbox, located at the top of your screen. When you receive mail there is a noise to indicate it, and a bright number on the icon to tell you how many unread messages you have. The message includes a short story about what is happening at the dungeon it is talking about, and gives you a reason to go. At the bottom of the mail is a button with the text “Show Me”. Clicking on that button will position your map directly over where the dungeon is located. Alternatively you can go into map view, and no matter how far you scroll out the icons of all dungeons you have access to will be on your map. When you mouse over the icon, (It looks like a doorway) it will have the text “Dungeon – (Name of dungeon)” appear.

I believe that was all the points you mentioned in your post. I hope this helps. If I didn’t cover one of your concerns please message back and I’ll try to help.

I just wanted to say that if you are REALLY having this much difficulty understanding the base gameplay options available to you, you should be more careful about reading the prompts given to you via the “hints” and also via your mail. As you get further in your personal story, the dungeons (story mode and explorable modes) are brought up to you via your mail and they even provide a “show me” button that shows you where the dungeon is located. I don’t even think having a full-mailbox will prevent these mails from getting to you, but maybe you should delete some of your old messages just to be sure.

If you’re still having trouble, consider joining a guild and asking some questions in guild chat. Most of your questions have very simple answers that even if you didn’t know could be easily explained in a conversation.

Taking the time to retype essentially the in-game hints and dungeon mails sent to your mailbox is asking a lot…which would be fine if this conversation were real-time. But since it is not, I advise the above options.

Yumiko Ishida.3769:

Tao.5096:

Trading Posts in Starting area still are present.

in Queensdale Trading post is at Altar Brook Trading Post.

As reminder, usage of Trading Post is unlocked at level 8.
Unless something has changed again.

IT IS NOT UNLOCKED AT LV 8 GOD kitten IT! The tutorial to explain it is available at lv 8. You can buy sell trade at lv 1 (or 2) like always.

Stop giving him false information kitten it!

This, along with the OP stating how the now removed TPs were useful says it all. The NPE is a failure. It’s too much hand holding. Way too much. It throws so much reward at you at every turn that it all becomes meaningless. The information isn’t even clear as indicative of the quote above. It clearly didn’t improve the new or returning player experience as per the statements by the OP.

Then there is the change to the personal story. Horrible. You get on a role with it, and then you have to stop for a while. Breaks immersion. Hell, you forget some of what went on and you end up scratching your head. As it is now, I can level a toon up completely simply by doing map completion. No need to interact with others, it’s all soloable (even most events are soloable although not needed for map completion). So why couldn’t the personal story be a viable way to level to 80 straight through? At least to complete that you have to group up for the final dungeon, or did they change that too. Hell, the dungeons should be incorporated into the personal story. As it is now, I’ll grind to 70 before I even start it just so I can play through, only stopping for RL. The difference between reading a book and putting it down yourself vs reading a book and after a few chapters have it taken from you for a while. I’d rather be the one to put it down.

Then there is the change to traits which occurred just prior to my break. It’s a huge mistake putting off traits to such a late level. Especially when you can’t even plan ahead within the game. When it’s locked, you can’t even access it simply to view it. Same for skills for that matter. Pretty bad when you have to google this kitten just to find it out because something is greyed/locked out completely. Then there are the traits. Earning them isn’t a bad idea except for two flaws.

1. You access the minors at what, lvl 36? Yet some minor traits are locked behind content well above that level. Completely backwards to how it should be. All minor traits should be locked behind content for lvl 36 or less.

2. Unstable content. Because of events being prone to bugging out (ie. Temple of Melandru event), this makes obtaining it a royal PITA.

Morgause.9625:

So I came back yesterday to give it another shot and lo and behold, it appears that trading posts have also been snatched away. I have no idea where they’ve gone or what the reasoning behind their removal was, nor could I find any information anywhere (that didn’t involve walls of unrelated text) to explain it one way or ther other. In fact, walls of text that don’t get to the point up front make me want to stab myself in the eye with my car keys.

well, if in game map symbols don´t work for you, here is the fourth entry on google search “gw2 trading post” http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Trading_Post – aka “wall of text”

Morgause.9625:

I don’t understand 1/10th of the convos in chat, the whole professions thing feels frustrating and seems illogical.

don´t even know what this is supposed to signify.

Morgause.9625:

and if there’s dungeons in the game, I’ve no idea where they are or at what level one can enter or how to join a group for the purpose.

yeah, I guess the mail notification with an attached “zoom in” pretty much tells players where not to look.

You’re only level 32 on your highest character. As easy as WoW might be to you I’m sure you didn’t understand everything at lvl 32. Why not actually level? Playing the game will make map chat make a lot more sense :\

Also, Anet does publish their update notes, why didn’t you read them?

@OP:

Your lack of knowledge probably stems from the lack of care you put in.

I.E., if you’re only going to play once every two weeks for a little while and are still going to focus primarily on another game entirely, you’re not going to learn about the nuances of the game. GW2 is another full-fledged AAA title with an incredible amount of content and focus on keeping a lot of the content under the radar to appeal to those who like to explore and learn more about the world. Acronyms, traits, and the whole nine yards of game mechanics come in time and experience when playing. And a lot of it is level-gated which imho adds to complexity since there are things you know you get access to at some point but don’t know when or what they mean.

Ultimately, you’re just going to need to play a little more, care a little more and try exploring and considering the game as more than just a temporary time-killer if you really want to learn about it. It sounds harsh, but a lot of the questions you have are really trivial and are given to you directly while playing. You’ve probably just since forgotten due to a lack of playtime/routine and are basing your game knowledge off of another totally different game.

Why don’t you just ask in mapchat for help/questions? There tends to be at least one person who would be willing to guide you as needed.

I would, anyway…

I really can’t fathom a WoWer that actually fits the ‘noob’ bill anet dumbed down the game for in the last feature pack. The ‘o’ button has always worked for the trading post, now and forever. (you can hover over the icon and see that)

You don’t like text? Or classes? Honestly I dunno what you were expecting but pretty much all this stuff is the same in both MMOs you play.

It is worth noting that GW2 has THE EASIEST GRIND TO 80 OF ANY MMO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE! So if you are at 32 and confused after months, you just aren’t trying pretty much. Join a guild and ask, use the forums (these can be for help, not just complaints!), or map chat. If you don’t like these options..

Play regular RPGs.

Morgause.9625:

Thanks Flitzie and Astral, although it’s a shame they were removed because of ‘NPE’ – as a new player at the time, I found them helpful and always knew where to find them.

But, like taste, I guess there’s no accounting for logic.

I think its pretty ironic that Anet’s removing of the Trading post in lower level areas because it was too “hard for new players to understand” actually caused you to write a portion of your post about how you do not understand the game.

neat

I elaborated in more detail on reddit, where discussion is a little less subjugated, but here’s my thoughts on the OP’s dilemma:

It underscores the seeming contradiction of playing a game while not actually being engaged enough to learn the game…which strikes me as both humorous and sad.

Kuldebar.1897:

I elaborated in more detail on reddit, where discussion is a little less subjugated, but here’s my thoughts on the OP’s dilemma:

It underscores the seeming contradiction of playing a game while not actually being engaged enough to learn the game…which strikes me as both humorous and sad.

This has a point. ^
I’m seeing people that the NPE is helping though. Maybe it was the right step, but for vets who have completed the older tutorial, it’s just a big mandatory borefest for something that in the end is optional.

Essentially GW2’s starting areas, to veterans, have become the first 30 or so levels for FF14ARR. Snooze grind while you L2P; and if you last that long you actually get to enjoy the real game, which has a plethora of nonsense things that the tutorial didn’t bother to tell you about, like combo fields or bundles.

Mind you, to new players starting off they have no idea how it was before (or found it too hard before and quit) so this really doesnt bother them as much as it does the people who have done it already. And, coming from other MMOs, these players probably expect grinding, so it probably isn’t as repulsive as we might think.

@ the Thread Maker

It’s worth it. It may seem odd, but the combat system here is miles above any similarly genre’d MMO out there at the moment. Just keep at it.