Tips for a Noob?
So, I just bought Guild Wars 2 (it’s downloading as i type this), and I was wondering if any of you had some tips for me, as I’ve never played Guild Wars before, though I have played plenty of MMOs.
So I was wondering about some things:
What is a good starting class and/or race for someone who has never played GW2 before?
Any general tips on questing/dungeoning (or instances, whatever they’re called)?
Should I join a guild(or faction, whatever) right away or wait a bit?
Can I solo most of the normal story (excluding instances and the like) easily or should I party up with people?
As you can see, I don’t even know the proper terminology for the game, so correct me if I got stuff wrong.
1. Best solo classes for PvE are ranger, warrior, guardian. Dungeons are dominated mostly by warriors and guardians though. Some other classes rule in pvp for example. I’ve mained warrior since beta, so feel free to PM me if you want to get started on that class, I can give you one of my solid builds. Otherwise there are a lot of guides/builds on other classes on this forum. Race beside some of the racials and storymode has no effect on your gameplay, profession skills are usually much better than racials anyways.
2. Dungeons are split into two types, one is story mode, which doesn’t offer that much in rewards and is meant more of a visual/lore experience and is considered as “easy mode”. After completing story mode (or if anyone in your party has completed one) you can enter explorable mode which contain different paths you can choose in the beginning of the dungeon. Explorable mode offers a bit of a more challenge, but also the rewards are much better than story mode. The difficulty cap between dungeons and open world PvE may appear really big at first, so it’s good to get an experienced&helpful party/guild to guide you through. Though it’s easier at lvl 80 with max gear, it’s not required and you can do them if you meet the min lvl and have up to date gear. Note that since downleveling you’ll suffer greatly when you don’t use up to date gear. For example a lvl 50 with lvl 35 gear has worse stats than a lvl 35 with the same gear.
3. Joining a guild isn’t required, but it will help you make friends and is usually adviseable. The added bonus is that you get to run dungeons with people you know and don’t have to rely on randoms who’s skilllevel may vary dramatically. Also having a little community to relieve stress with is always a nice thing to have.
4. You can solo almost everything except some champions in open world PvE and everything in Personal story. Though partying isn’t required, it’s usually easier to do dynamic events when you have people around you. Since there is no mob/node tagging here, i.e everyone gets xp/mats, you don’t have to form a party, you can casually meet someone, do some events together and after that both go on your own way. Making friends and socializing is always advised though, most of the community ingame is wonderful here.
Personal tips:
1. Turn off double-tap to dodge and bind your dodgebutton. It is your best friend. Autotargeting is a personal choice based on the class you play. I prefer to have it off, so you can use your weapon movement skills for mobility.
2. GW2 plays more like a shooter than a traditional MMO, it’s more reflex/positioning based. For example most melee weapons don’t require a target.
3. If you run into something overwhelming, try seeking for help/tips, rather than saying it’s broken/impossible. There are some parts that require experience, some skilllevel and knowledge of the dynamics to overcome.
4. Take your time in the world. There is no rush to get to 80 and the best way to learn the game is by first hand encounter. The content is filled by little surprises and is very beautiful. Also best way to gain experience is by exploring and doing some events on the way anyways. If you feel that you’re a few lvls short from going to the next lvl area, go back to one of the other races starting areas that are below you and get the missing lvls there. It has no effect on your xp. Mob grinding is not an effective way to gain xp.
5. Set goals for yourself, play like you want and don’t feel rushed. Endgame gear is easy obtain here and it’s all about looks and vanity.
6. Avoid adapting to bad behavior/gimmicks when you run dungeons with PUGs, just because someone claims some way is the only way to do something, play nice, but always keep an open mind to other options.
If you’re EU, add me. I’m always happy to help new players.