Guild Wars 2

Hello to everyone in the Guild Wars 2 community!
My name is Mark Whittaker. I’m nearly Nineteen years old from the Eastern coast of Canada. Anyways, I’m very new to this community (My first day actually). I’ve purchased this game today after watching and reading some reviews that stated this game as “Legendary” And I figured with no monthly Subscription, why not. Anywho, As I’m waiting for the game to download, I’m looking to get some insight form the current community members, like
1. What should I expect in Guild Wars 2,
2. What should be on the top of my Priority list,
3. Which Race/ Profession combinations are the best (In your own opinions)
4. What should I do as soon as I emerge myself into the vast world?
5. And most of all, what should I do to maximize the fun out of this game?

Of course those are just some ideas of questions that you could answer for me, but really, I’m looking for any tips, or general information that the players could give me to help me prepare for my induction into the Guild Wars 2 community. I’d like to thank you all in advance, and hope to be associated with you all on friendly terms for a lengthy amount of time!

-Mark Whittaker

You might find these threads interesting:

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

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/

This is not whatever last game you left.
Speeding to the end is just that, you will get to the end fast.
Relax enjoy yourself.
Try various things, you may like them, you may hate them but try them.

1. Pretty graphics that look 100% better than WoW even after the update, LOL
2. What ever you want to do.
3. Depends on what you would enjoy and not what other players enjoy. For me I have two mains, a Warrior and Ranger both Human.
4. What ever you want
5. Comes down to what you think is fun and what you want to do to have said fun.

You mis-understand me. I don’t mean to rush to the end, I just would like to establish a quick solid character so I’m not getting destroyed right off the bat. A beach-head if you will.

Did you come from WoW or a WoW-clone? It’s helpful to know this since people who came from those kind of games have a harder time adjusting to GW2 so explanations on what makes GW2 different and why it is different become necessary.

Anyway, race/class combos don’t matter. You can pick any race to go with any class. No gender differences either. Same stats. Make what you want and go out into the world and explore. For your first and maybe second characters, don’t rush to max level.

Learn to dodge, best way not to get destroyed. What character/race you play is up to personal choice.

There was a point in time that I decided to play World of Warcraft, but I made it to about Level Sixty, and never really played it again. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, which really came as a surprise to me because I love games like that. But recently, no, I haven’t been playing any MMO’s, just A whole lot of Skyrim!

1. It’s a game? /shrug

2. Don’t “prioritise” anything except doing what’s fun.

3. Race is chiefly aesthetic, and has little to no impact on gameplay. Pick whatever race you think looks best.

4. Honestly, probably follow the little arrow at the top right of your screen for a bit. It’ll try and show you stuff. You definitely don’t have to do follow it, and I strongly urge you to run off and explore wherever your fancy takes you, but it’s helpful for completely new players. For the first little while or so.

5. Take your time, don’t feel compelled to do anything in any specific order. You can come back and fully enjoy it later. GW2 is an MMO, which means you can play with other people! :o Find some friendly people with whom you get along, and who enjoy doing similar things to you. Play with them and the game will be more fun.

Whittaker.5692:

There was a point in time that I decided to play World of Warcraft, but I made it to about Level Sixty, and never really played it again. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, which really came as a surprise to me because I love games like that. But recently, no, I haven’t been playing any MMO’s, just A whole lot of Skyrim!

Okay, that’s a good sign that you might like this game. You aren’t stuck on the raiding + gear treadmill endgame mindset that many who came from WoW-type games have.

Much like Skyrim, GW2 is about making your own goals and doing what you enjoy. Do you want to make a Legendary Weapon? Cool, go for it! If you don’t, it’s okay. There are a ton of goals you can set for yourself. After you get used to playing, be sure to find a guild that has a similar mindset as you. Makes the game a lot more fun.

Hey! welcome to Tyria, Whittaker!

I think everyone will have a different opinion on this,but here is mine:

1. What should I expect in Guild Wars 2,

- The greatest combat system ever created in a MMORPG < This is my opinion
- Beautiful graphics,maybe even some breathtaking landscapes
- Giant bosses,dragons,rawr!
- A very helpful community,anytime you need help in a in-game event or a troublesome champion/veteran mob,you can ask for help in /map chat and I’m sure people will show up to help!

2. What should be on the top of my Priority list,
- Well,just focus on the game to learn the basics (the New Player Experience recently added will help you with this) and do what you want,maybe collect all mats (materials) you see,with the logging axe,mining pick and harvesting tool,so when you decide to craft something you will have some mats to start,or even if you want to sell them later on,so you can get some gold

3. Which Race/ Profession combinations are the best (In your own opinions)
- There is no such thing as best combinations,because races don’t have great advantages over other races,just pick the one you like the most!
Since you asked for opinions,mine is: Human/Guardian,because I think humans looks the best in any armor,and because Guardian is awesome (also very easy to play,you should be a guardian!)

4. What should I do as soon as I emerge myself into the vast world?
- Do events,gather materials,explore! All these things I mentioned gives EXP,yes,you get EXP just for exploring and looking around the beautiful world of Tyria!

5. And most of all, what should I do to maximize the fun out of this game?
- Just play the game at your own pace. Please don’t rush the game because you can do pretty much everything a lv80 (max level) can at any level,so there is no reason to rush.

The only advantage for being lv80 is because you can customize your character with all armors in the game (once you have your max level gear) because you will not have to change it,unlike the lower level armors,which you change constantly because a lv10 armor will be obsolete once you get to,lets say,lv30,so you really don’t want to waste the transmutation charges (turns armor into “costumes”,just for looks) on low lvl armor.

If you want to look good while leveling,you can also buy costumes from the Gem Store (costs real money / gems),once you buy it,you can freely use it anytime you want,and it will never be obsolete (also you can use it on any character on your account)

@Edit

LOL Sorry for the wall of text

At first I was a bit intimidated by how much this game costs. Usually I don’t hesitate to buy games, but when it’s $40 I have to do some research. I went and looked at some reviews, and this game seems like it will be a lot of fun, but I guess I’ll find that out whenever it finishes downloading. It might take a bit, and I’m just trying to build up some Extra Hype because if I do that then the game will be that much more enjoyable. I’ve already began to plan which Profession I should be. I figured that Since I have a thing for Mages, and in Skyrim I’m a necromancer, I’ll give that a try first. You know? Test the waters. I might have to test the majority if not all of the professions to see which I’ll enjoy the most before I do any real gaming.

No need to apologize for putting thought into your writing! I enjoy it when people have a lot to say, and they put it all out in a nicely formatted large post! It’s easier and more fun to read that way anyway. That post was really helpful, and I’ll be sure to keep all of that in mind while I’m roaming the Map!

You have 5 character slots to use and you can always delete a character you don’t like to make room for another class. Definitely experiment.

Funny thing, I just made a necro a couple of days ago as my 8th character (you buy character slots in the gem store and you can convert the in-game currency to gems instead of using real money). I haven’t been able to experiment with it, but my friends who have a necro all say it is fun.

Sure thing, you have 5 free slots to play with. Your ideas will change over time though so be sure to leave a spot. I thought guard would be wonderful and while it is good and others love it I personally find it kind of meh. That is why I said earlier personal preference plays more of a role than which class/species to play.

First of all $40.00 is very little for the Hours of entertainment you will get from the game. Take your time and enjoy things some may seem over whelming to start. JustTrogdor already gave you some good links to look at. Don’t be afraid to try different Races and Classes until you settle on what you like. For me Ranger was my first choice. I do like having the pet to help out some. But I also have several other classes I am playing.

Welcome to gw2! If you would like to add my tag name to your friends list, I’ll ne happy to show you a few things in game. It’s a big world and easy to get overwhelmed. I remember when I got the game at release I hated it. I needed to retrain myself from years of the raid centered mmo concept. This game is about exploring spvp wvw and looking cool. I think fractals are one of the cooler things I’ve seen in an mmo to date. Reminds me of lost dungeons of norrath. Just an fyi because I have a lvl 80 necro and it was my first. They get a bad rap in end game group content. Hit me up. Good luck.

I would absoutely love to add you tag name to my friends list(Once I learn how). I’m astounded at how friendly this community is. I guess the game was programmed in a way that made seeing other players in your quest area not a threat of a nuissance, but a blessing. It really shows on how friendly the players are. I’m looking forward to playing with you, and everyone else that’s willing to join!

Whittaker.5692:

I would absoutely love to add you tag name to my friends list(Once I learn how). I’m astounded at how friendly this community is. I guess the game was programmed in a way that made seeing other players in your quest area not a threat of a nuissance, but a blessing. It really shows on how friendly the players are. I’m looking forward to playing with you, and everyone else that’s willing to join!

Yep, best MMO community easily and the game was designed so this would be the case. Don’t think there aren’t jerks in the game, but they are nowhere near as big a problem as in other online games. As in real life, “Don’t start nothing won’t be nothing.”

Something I’ve found interesting when browsing an FFXIV forum. People apparently want you to watch a dungeon video before doing a dungeon for the first time. In this game, people will explain to you how to do it in the game. Just don’t join a group labeled for experienced people if you aren’t one. Respect the looking for group descriptions!

In regards to what race is the best with what profession, there is none because the different races don’t have special abilities or anything. Well i mean they have a few unique skills but those aren’t really viable anyway so the only difference is in size and some people don’t take Asuras seriously as warriors in dungeons and what not.

A good thing to do in this game is to not finish all the content as fast as possible because the patches main content can usually be finished in a couple of hours so its good to have fun things to do while waiting for the next patch.

Anyway welcome to gw2 and enjoy the stay

All of these tips that I’m receiving are very helpful! I feel more educated and hopefully I won’t make as near as many bad decisions as I would have if the people wern’t so helpful! I can’t wait, however I must, because my game is at 5%

A few things I did to get started. Be sure to get harvesting tools at the merchant and hoard materials, you will be glad you did. Get a salvage kit to salvage items drops you don’t want or don’t think you will need. Just exploring will give you a lot of experience when leveling, as will heart quests. Just enjoy the scenery and wander around, you will be rewarded visually, with experience, and sometimes with a chest or node you didn’t see before. There is a lot of eye candy in this game.

Personally I like the “gun” classes Engineer and Thief the best.

^ This. Pick up every ore, tree, plant node you see on the minimap. Its easy starting cash or much needed materials for later. Its much like skyrim, really.

Edit: Ugh, just to avoid confusion on your end. Thanks to recent patches you’ll notice those ores on the mini-map only once you reached level 6.

Flitzie.6082:

^ This. Pick up every ore, tree, plant node you see on the minimap. Its easy starting cash or much needed materials for later. Its much like skyrim, really.

Edit: Ugh, just to avoid confusion on your end. Thanks to recent patches you’ll notice those ores on the map only once you reached level 6.

On the mini-map, you will still see them as you pass by them.

Whittaker.5692:

1. What should I expect in Guild Wars 2,
2. What should be on the top of my Priority list,
3. Which Race/ Profession combinations are the best (In your own opinions)
4. What should I do as soon as I emerge myself into the vast world?
5. And most of all, what should I do to maximize the fun out of this game?

1. Expectations only lead to disappointment. People tend to have unreasonable expectations. Take it for what it is rather than comparing it to your imagination.
2. Nothing. You don’t need to rush anything.
3. The race you choose is mainly cosmetic. Some racial elite skills do help certain professions in specific scenarios, but it’s definitely not needed.
4. Pay attention, there are a lot of things you might not see at first glace. Events don’t always end when they say they do and if an NPC is talking, it’s usually good to listen. The game has far more detail than most MMOs.
6. Do not play the game like a traditional MMO. It’s not meant to be played like that. The “endgame” isn’t dungeons/raiding/etc but the journey itself. Play the game through the eyes of your character, as if you were living in the world.

Unlike every other MMO, the world isn’t filled with quests that you can follow. Events were meant to take their place and hearts, which are like simple quests, are meant to draw you towards these events. The personal story, and at 80, the living story, is the traditional story quest line of the game. Do not try to play the game by following the quests, in this case hearts, as you would in any other MMO. Simply explore and 100% the map to easily level throughout the entire game.

If you enjoy PvP, you will want to try out World vs World or Edge of the Mists, which is a more casual WvW. If you want more competitive team style PvP, there’s Structured PvP, where you’re automatically level 80 and the gear you need is freely available. In comparison to other MMOs, SPvP is like battlegrounds/instanced PvP whereas WvW is like open world PvP.

I’ve seen a lot of people simply not “get” the game. If you’ve played another MMO before, simply forget everything you’ve learned.

A nice tip for a beginner:
Buy six different minor runes with your choosen stats and apply them to your armor to get 60 more stat points. It makes a huge difference during the first levels.

Hey welcome Mark…you’re going to have a blast. I’m assuming you’ve seen this review made shortly after GW2 launched.

Angry Joe Guild Wars 2 Review

Watching this still gets me hyped about GW2 because it’s all true. In fact the few minor criticisms Joe makes of the game have since been completely addressed. So many quality of life changes, new zones, abilities, etc. have been added to the game since that review that I think if Joe reviewed it today it would get an 11/10.

As others have said approach this game almost like you would Skyrim. Just explore and experiment at your own pace. You may decide to investigate some half hidden cave only to have it open up into a sprawling subterranean jumping puzzle or mini-dungeon. Some seemingly minor event to save a town invaded by centaurs might have you traveling through the entire map to ultimately fight a world boss with 20 other people. So much is hidden in this game and a lot of it is dynamic so take your time.

Going back through lower level maps remains rewarding as well since you are down-leveled to match that level. All resource nodes and any loot & XP from kills are completely shared by everyone so there is always a sense of cooperation instead of competition in PvE.

Anyway have fun…and please post back with your impressions once you get everything rolling. As Angry Joe said, “It’s just one big kitten party!”

Auto censor makes a lot of ‘kittens’ on the forums but GW2 is also one big kitten party.

Edit: Oh and I almost forgot here are two links that most find add a lot of information for new and veteran players alike.

WoodenPotatoes
Exhaustive lore and discussion about GW2 (and GW1).

Dulfy
Usually everything you need to know that’s not covered in game, especially pertaining to new content or updates. One caveat though, there are some profession guides that are mislabeled as PvE guides (for optimal builds) that are actually more specifically designed for optimized ‘speed run’ highly organized dungeon groups. It represents a very small part of the game as a whole so don’t feel the need to follow any of these guides at first.

Yes, that was the review I seen, and I’ll be sure to post my thoughts after I’ve given it a go! I’m very excited to give this a chance. If it’s just like everyone else says it is, I’m going to love it. I can’t wait!

Well hello whittaker! I hope you will have nice ingame time.

My advice is: learn how to use trading post. Collect mats. Don’t chase gold, it will become a choir. Do whatever you feel like doing, even dance in lion’s arch in your underwear. I personally like map completion and fractals, but many people have problem understanding that.

So, just enjoy, have fun and don’t worry. Play what ever class/race you want, you can allways make alts if you change your mind

I’ll go ahead and post some of my thoughts in a bit, but for now I’ll go ahead and welcome you to the community. If you search around the forums, you will see a lot of negative sounding posts (which isn’t that rare for an MMO), but I assure you the complaints stem from the fact that people like this game and want it to succeed, and not because they hate the game.

If you are coming from Skyrim, then I suspect you’ll have a really good time with this game, as it is similar in a lot of ways.

I’ll be more than happy to add you ingame and help you out/explain some stuff if you like. Just add my tag to the left of this post when you get in game to your friends list, which you can access with the default shortcut Y, or pressing the face icon at the top left of your screen (where you can access all of the UI menus).

I’ll make another post with some tip and thoughts in a bit when I’m a little less preoccupied.

What should be on the top of my Priority list?

>> Your top priority should be to have fun. There are a lot of different forms of content in this game, and while you could decide to primarily focus on one, I find the game is most fun when you hop between all of them. Do you want to do PvP? Go to the Heart of the Mists and do some completely balanced structured PvP, where everything you need is provided to you. Want to explore the world, complete events, and complete content that focuses on group-oriented instances? Do PvE. Do you like the idea of running around with dozens of other players attacking other groups of players? WvWvW is your thing.

This game offers something for everyone, and it’s really up to you to decide what you want to focus on. Since you are just starting out, I would suggest leveling up normally by playing the game in PvE. Explore a lot and try to find as much stuff as possible. Additionally, learning the combat system early is the best thing you can do in this game, since it’s the one thing you’re going to be doing the most. It has a heavy emphasis on positioning and movement, so the sooner you learn to move while attacking, how to dodge attacks, and how to attack without clicking the skills, the better.

Another thing I would highly suggest is find a guild to play with. It shouldn’t be that hard to find one, you can probably just ask in map chat and get a lot of responses. People are really friendly in this game, so don’t be hesitant to say you are new. In my experience, people will jump on the opportunity to help new people. This game is designed to be social, so playing with other people will make the experience all the more positive.

Anyways, there is too much in this game to explain in a single post on the forums. Go ahead and add me in game and I’ll be glad to help with anything. I also haven’t made a new character since they changed the leveling experience, so I’ll be more than happy to play along with you too.

I hope you enjoy your time here, and feel free to ask anything you want. Cheers ~

Whittaker.5692:

Hello to everyone in the Guild Wars 2 community!
My name is Mark Whittaker. I’m nearly Nineteen years old from the Eastern coast of Canada. Anyways, I’m very new to this community (My first day actually). I’ve purchased this game today after watching and reading some reviews that stated this game as “Legendary” And I figured with no monthly Subscription, why not. Anywho, As I’m waiting for the game to download, I’m looking to get some insight form the current community members, like
1. What should I expect in Guild Wars 2,
2. What should be on the top of my Priority list,
3. Which Race/ Profession combinations are the best (In your own opinions)
4. What should I do as soon as I emerge myself into the vast world?
5. And most of all, what should I do to maximize the fun out of this game?

Of course those are just some ideas of questions that you could answer for me, but really, I’m looking for any tips, or general information that the players could give me to help me prepare for my induction into the Guild Wars 2 community. I’d like to thank you all in advance, and hope to be associated with you all on friendly terms for a lengthy amount of time!

-Mark Whittaker

1. Nothing, Don’t come in expecting anything and you’ll come out the better for it.
2. Exploring the world. Don’t rush to level or do the personal story. The world is the real story. Stop to smell the omnomberries and participate in events.
3. There is not “best”, but I recommend human/anything.
4. Explore. See above.
5. Explore. See above.

I’ve seen a lot of people say that this game is similar to Skyrim, and if that’s the case, I’ll adore it. I just got all the DLC for Skyrim and started a new save about a week ot two ago. I have 120 Hours in already, and I didn’t spend much time on that DLC. I guess I’ll get to see what the Game is like once it finishes! I can’t wait to emerge myself into this friendly community.

Similar to skyrim? . Well in some things can be similar , like the beautifull snow landscapes , the dragons , and the same music compositor mmm..

You should use Norn. They live in the snow , their enemy is a dragon and they are Norns lol .Proffesion your choice

Try out all aspects for the game…..don’t expect anything from it…..just find out what you enjoy and don’t enjoy. Don’t be afraid to talk to and ask questions of people in the game, as most players are friendly and willing to help.

And stay away from these forums(unless you have a specific question or problem) for a few weeks while you learn about the game. Develop your own experiences and opinions about the game, rather than letting these forums influence you.

Have fun and welcome to GW2!

I don’t know what you should expect, but nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Welcome to the magnificence which is Guild Wars 2 and I consider myself a pretty seasoned player. Been in world since 2012 and well, heck, spend a lot of my time helping out noobies so if you want to know something, or want somebody to hunt with look me up. Best Wishes ~ Belenus.9132 (aka Arcos Shiningpaw)

Whittaker.5692:

1. What should I expect in Guild Wars 2,
2. What should be on the top of my Priority list,
3. Which Race/ Profession combinations are the best (In your own opinions)
4. What should I do as soon as I emerge myself into the vast world?
5. And most of all, what should I do to maximize the fun out of this game?

1. Active combat. No healing or tanking. No raids.
2. Having fun and exploring the beautiful world.
3. The races in this game do not come with notable benefits. There are racial skills, but none of them are strong and only a small portion of them are useful in some very rare cases. Of note is that different races are of different sizes, which creates a different field of view and a difference in the animations. Norns are notoriously bad for doing jumping puzzles whereas Asura are popular for PvP due to their small animations.
4. Not buy gems with money.
5. Experience all of the races. Experience WvW.

As Gaile has mentioned, the Wiki is a great resource. You can access it in-game by typing in the chat bar: /wiki (space) (topic/item of interest)

Example: /wiki Caledon Forest or /wiki Armor or /wiki Jumping Puzzle

The Wiki will automatically open in a browser, you will be taken to the page corresponding to your search criteria, and your game will minimize until you are ready to play again.

Welcome to Tyria, and happy adventuring!

Everyone keeps giving me more and more tips and suggestions and I couldn’t be more grateful! I’m still downloading it(Been having a bit of INternet problems the past few days. We always do when the snow first comes in) And I Still can’t wait to play it! But until it’s done, I need to do as much as I can in Skyrim, because I fear I may not touch Skyrim for a while after this is done!