Guild Wars 2

Hi

So i finished my exams and just wanted to get myself familiar with the lore in this game
I have not played gw1

and I am unsure where to start.
Im guessing the best source is the wiki?

But where do i begin?

Thanks

As a recent (<3 months) enthusiast of GW lore, I suggest starting with the living story. It really puts some boundaries on the material that you’ll be looking at. For example, for the most recent patch, you could check the wiki for krait, Kasmeer, Marjory, Scarlet, Kessex Hills, etc. That way, you’re not just randomly reading some about the Flame Legion, for example.

Also, and more importantly IMO, learning the lore surrounding the living story just makes the game more fun. The game is essentially revolving around the living story now, so coming up with theories and hypotheses about what will happen next is honestly what drives me to play. I pay so much more attention now to what Scarlet says; what sounds I hear in the tower; the mechanics of each mob; the holo rope things attached to the tree. They ALL mean something. So I look in the wiki about things relating to those aspects and hopefully I find something neat. Then you branch out from there.

Edit: The wiki is the best go-to resource. Anything that isn’t answered there can be brought to the forums and hopefully someone clears it up.

I think a good place to start, is to read the Guild Wars 1 manuscripts. The game’s manual came with a very good summary of human history, which ties in directly into GW2.

ftp://ftp.guildwars.com/downloads/gwp-manual.pdf

What followed were the Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North campaigns. All of those are interesting to read up on. But most important is Eye of the North, since it bridges the gap between GW1 and GW2.

Here are all the cutscenes from Eye of the North. It will help you understand how humans first got into contact with the Norn and Asura (Sylvari had not awoken yet), and their difficult relation with the Charr. It also shows you the dawn of the rise of the Elder Dragons, and the history of Jora and the Nornbear known as Svanir (which is where all the Sons of Svanir come from. They are cultists that seek the same power).

While the wiki is the best source, it still has a good deal of false or missing information. GWW has articles that are full and up-to-date as of GW1’s perspective of lore (some articles also including GW2’s perspective, but those are rare and few). Keep in mind that some things from GW1 has been proven “false legends” by GW2. GW2W is as said, lacking in lore articles, both quality and quantity but it’s steadily improving, slowly, but the blog posts that were put up are worth reading.

A word of the wise: WoodenPotatoes videos (especially the discussion videos rather than the ones animated with unique art) are not the best source. In fact, I’d hardly call them a source at all. They’re a decent introduction and people (not me) seem to like his voice, but he mixes and melds theories and speculations with fact quite often (especially in his old videos at least), without any real differentiating of them in any way or form. And on top of that, I’ve seen something said completely wrong in almost every video of his I’ve watched – minor or major. They’re good, but not something to rely on solely.

Some links:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lore
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Category:History_of_Tyria
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Category:Tales
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Timeline
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Timeline
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Living_Story_summary

There are other articles, but they’re probably best read at a personal interest search or the like.

The honest-to-god way that I got involved in the lore was straight through the wiki. I played through GW Prophecies-Eye of the North and had a few years til GW2 came out, so I decided to just get on the GWW and hit the random page button over and over and over again reading articles, many of which were pointless, but others which brought forth perspectives I had never seen before. Sadly, this also lead to some mis-understandings of the lore on my own part, but it also built me up to know a lot of what I do know.

Personally, I wouldn’t start with the Living Story.

I would start with the spots that you can revisit from GW1, finding them in GW2 and reading up on the role they played 250 years ago, via the Wiki. Places like the Temple of the Unseen (the ruins are now in Caledon Forest), the Temple of the Ages (sunken ruins now in southern Queensdale), and the Henge of Denravi. They all played major roles in GW history and lore, and it feels good to have the solid, visible connection in GW2 by revisiting the sites and reading up on them.

If you’re max-level, then I’d also heavily recommend doing the Explorable paths of Arah, in which you learn about the ancient races. The Forgotten, the Mursaat and the Seers were all interacted with in GW1, and make up a huge part of the lore of the first game.

The final, and probably most important element to read up on would be the Fall of Abaddon and the rise of Kormir. Without playing GW: Nightfall, I can only recommend that you visit the Wiki, or talk to priests of Kormir in the game (do they provide any good information?)