Guild Wars 2

This guide, and Dreamy himself, are truly amazing! As a complete newcomer I had no idea what I was getting into. He walked me through everything, using this guide and his others along with the greatly choreographed youtube videos he has made as references making sure I understood everything clearly. I will not lie, if you truly want to master this game its not easy but having Dreamy talking to me and demonstrating everything has certainly helped. He is like an extremely friendly and good humoured teacher but teaching you stuff you actually want to learn about and things that will help you become a better player; ever since he showed me my many errors I have been striving to improve. For people out there who have never played this game before, or are still confused by more complex systems such as PvP and Dungeons, SPEAK TO DREAMY! You won’t regret it

Well first of all I have to thank Dreamy for helping me not only with the guide but also in the game.

The Damage/Control/Support is an excellent idea on how to summarize and “group” different skills, play styles and instances in combat, it’s the best combat mechanic that I’ve read about so far.

And to make thing even easier to understand, the idea behind weapons, skills and armor and how to pick the “thinking about your play style” it’s a very accurate way of putting things down. As a new player I got the idea pretty fast and now I know a lot more about this amazing game.

What more can we ask for a guide, simple, accurate, insightful and with videos to make it even easier to understand the mechanics in game, this should be cannon regarding the definition of the idea behind Guild Wars 2 combat mechanics.

Now it’s time to put what I’ve learned to the test and see if I’m up to it. Thanks!

Though I’ve been playing for several months now this guild helped me understand the mechanics of the game more than what I’ve been able to pick up on my own. Through breaking the combat into 3 basic mechanics and giving step by step instructions this has taught me how to build correctly

this really help me out im even goin to bookmark this to always come back and read it over again i just been looking for stuff just for hp and power u kinda opened my eyes on how to play the game thx

Sitting here with you right now as you spend hours helping me out with the basics of fighting and gearing, you taught me everything i didn’t know, and you definitely stopped me from making extremely bad choices with my gear choice, and trait choices, i literally would have gotten ruined and been so basic and nooby, but now i feel like i’m slowly advancing and as i practice everything you taught me, i feel like i’m going to one day be elite like you.

You really helped me out with your guide. I recommend everyone should read/watch your guide as it helped me immensely in choosing my playstyle traits and gear wisely.
Really nailed it with the Control-Damage-Support section. Made me really look at every skill to figure out what build i will be using for solo and group play. You were a huge help man, keep up the great work showing us noobies how its done. Ill cya around in game.

It helped out a lot. Almost got my kitten beat the first fight after you left then after I’ve been progressing very well losing less health every fight. I found out that I’m a bad mesmer and that Necromancy is my calling. With this guide I have been dying less often and needing less help from other people. Thank you for this guide.

This is exactly what I was looking for in the ways of a guide to the game. Coming in as a new player, I can tell you that the feeling of being lost is not a pleasant one. The only thing that tripped me up was the one section about the traits. Just how it was worded.

“You’ll notice 2 small icons in each Trait Line which gives you
Stat-Bonus

The first 2 Stat-Bonus should be:
(A) Power Increase
(B) Condition Duration Increase

NEVER Choose a Trait Line based on these Stat-Bonus
ONLY Choose Trait Lines based on What Traits actually do."

Okay, that’s all well and good. But what had me slightly confused was the last part. “Only choose trait lines based on what traits actually do.” It made no sense, aren’t both above examples also examples of what traits do? It made sense once I had read it a few times, but the initial reaction was one of ‘wait… what?’

All in all, great guide. Good for those who really want to get in deep with the game and play it seriously.

Well said, everything you had to say was informative and knowledgeable the whole Damage/Control/Support Combat System would have been a long process to learn on my own but with the mass amount of information you’ve left was easy enough for my to fully understand its mechanics without having full and complete knowledge of the game. I would immensely recommend this guide to any new players!

HUGELY informative and a MUST READ for anyone but the most skilled of players. Upon implementing the strategies into my own build, it was immediately clear the difference and ability to inflict harm as well as severely increase my survival-ability. I can’t say enough good about this post and will be certain to point anyone new to the game (as well as many veterans) to this post.

Bookmarked and will share often; wonderful work and many many thanks!!!

the author was very patient and understanding on training me the guide was helpful

This was very helpful and thorough. More people to should read and watch these videos. I don’t know what else to say. :P

Also, If you have questions, Dreamy is awesome ingame too..more then willing to take the extra step and help out. =)

This is the best guide out there for new players .I found it very useful , and helped me find my own playstyle . Thank you Dreamy <3

This guy spent 3h with me today, helping me understand the game and its mechanics.

The D/C/S scheme works out really well in getting the point across and he is an excellent coach. Props to him for taking the time to do this for new players and I only wish I found this thread before I leveled to 80 on my thief because now I want to try at least 3 more professions and tbh, I’m afraid thief won’t be my most liked one of the bunch.

ArenaNet should definitely implement this DCS scheme directly in-game to categorize abilities.

To cut things short, I started out on my thief, having a hard time killing the bear with a sb and getting absolutely destroyed in melee to doing ok-ish in melee and consistently managing to down him.

Thanks again for your time, Dreamy@ I highly appreciate the effort!

Great guide! Even most basic combat can be overwhelming for someone tackling it for the first time. This guide broke it down into some great points that are easy to understand. Also the author of this guide is a great help in game too. Keep up the good work!

Very very informative guide and he even got the time to sit down and teach me the basics of pvp. Most players that come from other games (Like me) get on GW2 with the mentality that is gonna be the same healer, tank, dps classes. I was totally wrong since like he said theres no babysitters healing you or taking dmg from you. GW2 is all about what to do to support yourself while you condition your enemy. Thanks Dreamy Abaddon to get some of your time to teach me the basics. Now I just don’t stand in front of the enemy anymore.

Dreamy taught me and my friend a lot, and I know I’ll take these lessons with me for a long time. Very thorough and detailed explanations as well as first hand fighting to really land the lessons.

It may seem I am exaggerating. But Dreamy taught me for a few hours in game as well as making me read the guide, and after getting all of the concepts down I was capable of soloing mobs 10 levels higher than me. Not only that, but actually create a build of my own and dominate PvP matches and earn a decent score and loot. The guide is worth reading and putting into practice.

Great guide, extremely helpful for every type of player out there, complete beginner or even someone who has played the game since release.

This guide helped me out so much with understanding how the game works. The creator of the guide actually walked me through in game teaching me several major tips on combat/control, and support.

Such an amazing guide! Very in depth with the way the combat works.

Thanks a lot for the help!

Really amazing guide!
DreamyAbaddon is the most helpful person that I could have ever encountered. Had a one-on-one skype conversation so that he could explain it more in detail and I can say that I’ve basically went from knowing nothing about this to actually understanding how the combat system works in GW2 and how different it is from other MMORPGs out there. I found the videos in the guide extremely helpful and made it easier for me to learn since he demonstrates every profession in combat.

10/10 without a doubt. Very in-depth and detailed. Thanks a lot for helping me finally understand this game

I would like to just say that Dreamy is an inspiration, the willingness to take time to truely help another person is lost in todays society. However, Dreamy was fantastic, he really took the time to make sure that everything in his guide was understood and do I ever appreciate it. I have been a gamer for many years but, Guild Wars is something that I have never picked up. The way the game is played is so different from every other MMO out there, its insane. And I honestly needed somebody to explain it in these different terms. So I would just like to say Thank You so much Dreamy!

Raistthedark

I was running around “questing” habitually from my experience with other MMO’s and suddenly I’m being taught how to actually play the game. My interests are specifically geared toward PVP, having said such this guide has given me a fantastic foundation for which I can branch off and develop my play style in GW2.

Hey guys, this is EXTREMELY useful guide for complete noobs like me to mmos. I went through the videos and after getting the theory, balancing control, damage , and support I know where to focus. Although applying it is the next step, that’s something that comes practice. But like I said, you can really choose any class and build it according to your style, just have to understand how crucial balance is. Once you understand the balance, you can focus on mastering the gameplay.

Thanks for taking the time to teach a total noob!!

:)

Thank you for this great guide. This was every good information. Keep up the good work!

Great guide for a new player, especially coming from a classic MMO where certain play styles are engraved into us. It is difficult to adapt to GW2’s combat system, but this guide is a good first step to adjusting.

I actually learned a GREAT deal from the guide and the help in-game. The video parts of the guide helped even more. I don’t think I’ve see a GW2 guide this detailed. I especially love how it’s easy to read, and it’s newbie friendly. Great guide!

Awesome guide! It helped me learn a lot of things I didn’t even know about (i.e., how the traits worked, balancing gear, no roles, switching weapons). I will have to re-watch some of the videos on Guardian, but this was an excellent start. I wish that I had watched these earlier so I knew what to work into. The videos were good at breaking down what to use at certain situations, and continuing with the damage/control/support methodology. It would have made gameplay a lot more fun I think. It is hard to do away with other game mechanics and embrace this game without bias; however, I’m starting to learn the differences thanks to this guide!

This is the most intensive, interactive, and helping tutorial I have ever had. You have greatly increased my interest in this already fantastic game an I can’t wait to delve into the many secrets this game holds. It is going to be an amazing journey and you have shown me where to start. Thank you!

This was a very good guide. I’ve had Guild Wars 2 for a little while now, but I haven’t really known any good techniques or combat strategies until after reading this. This helped me understand he true potential of all the classes, and how to play them to their full power. This guide made me understand most everything about your builds, combat and strategies. Thank you for this great guide!

Dreamy is generally a really good guy. He invested time into this guide and into teaching me about the combat system. He’s played since the alpha and has one of the best understanding of the game. The guide itself is in depth but east to understand, regardless of what your play style is Dreamy can help you. 10/10 would learn from him again.

Great guide! It helped me to understand the overal mechanics of the game. It also made me love the game even more since I learned you play based on what YOU like in a very dynamic and creative way

Hey DreamyAbaddon

Thanks for helping me out I’m a totally new player and my mindset was restricted to roles but your guide explains everything which unlocks full potential of every classes now I have at least more idea while I’m leveling my way through. This is a great guide for new players to Guildwars 2

Very informative and in depth guide. I am fairly new to the game and I can tell this is a lot different than WoW. Guess I can no longer just stand and rely on have a group of healers to support me.

Great guide, DreamyAbaddon! I learned a lot from it. I got three questions for you, though. Are you planning on updating it? Are you planning on making a guide on combos? Isn’t there really 4 steps in making your build, choosing your profession being the first?

Uden Reavstone.3426:

Great guide, DreamyAbaddon! I learned a lot from it. I got three questions for you, though. Are you planning on updating it? Are you planning on making a guide on combos? Isn’t there really 4 steps in making your build, choosing your profession being the first?

Hello Uden!
I have thought about updating the guide by including Combo Fields & Finishers but then realized that the Combat System 101 guide is suppose to cover all the basics which already has a lot of information. I really didn’t want to overwhelm my target audience with that much information so I decided to leave the Combo Fields and Finishers out. Because I wanted new players to be aware of Combos, I decided to mention this guide doesn’t have lessons on Combos and finishers in hopes they would continue their research on wiki to learn more.

Choosing a Profession is not considered the first step in making a build because a build has nothing to do with your profession. Every class has Damage/Control/Support skills to manage. Every class has their own unique ways of managing these types of skills.
Your playstyle is based on your skill choices and how you deal with them.

A build consists of 3 elements: Skills/Traits/Stats
Think of this as a trading card game.

1. A build is your deck – Which includes Skills/Traits/Stats.

1. Skills are the cards you play with. This is your Playstyle

1. Traits change how you play with your cards. Enhances your playstyle.

1. Stats give you the balance you need to play with your cards. Which supplement your playstyle.

So when it comes down to choosing a class, you’re choosing it based on your playstyle preferences. The way a Warrior handles Damage/Control/Support skills will be different than how a Mesmer deals with those types of skills. This is why choosing a class is not part of the steps when making a build. Remember there are no Roles in GW2. Just the classes. Your builds, skills, and strategy will determine how good you are as a player.

I hope this helped answer your questions! ^-^

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

Uden Reavstone.3426:

Great guide, DreamyAbaddon! I learned a lot from it. I got three questions for you, though. Are you planning on updating it? Are you planning on making a guide on combos? Isn’t there really 4 steps in making your build, choosing your profession being the first?

Hello Uden!
I have thought about updating the guide by including Combo Fields & Finishers but then realized that the Combat System 101 guide is suppose to cover all the basics which already has a lot of information. I really didn’t want to overwhelm my target audience with that much information so I decided to leave the Combo Fields and Finishers out. Because I wanted new players to be aware of Combos, I decided to mention this guide doesn’t have lessons on Combos and finishers in hopes they would continue their research on wiki to learn more.

Choosing a Profession is not considered the first step in making a build because a build has nothing to do with your profession. Every class has Damage/Control/Support skills to manage. Every class has their own unique ways of managing these types of skills.
Your playstyle is based on your skill choices and how you deal with them.

A build consists of 3 elements: Skills/Traits/Stats
Think of this as a trading card game.

1. A build is your deck – Which includes Skills/Traits/Stats.

1. Skills are the cards you play with. This is your Playstyle

1. Traits change how you play with your cards. Enhances your playstyle.

1. Stats give you the balance you need to play with your cards. Which supplement your playstyle.

So when it comes down to choosing a class, you’re choosing it based on your playstyle preferences. The way a Warrior handles Damage/Control/Support skills will be different than how a Mesmer deals with those types of skills. This is why choosing a class is not part of the steps when making a build. Remember there are no Roles in GW2. Just the classes. Your builds, skills, and strategy will determine how good you are as a player.

I hope this helped answer your questions! ^-^

Yes this answered my questions. Thanks!

Wow! just Wow. I’m brand new to guild wars 2 and its helping me so much. I have such a better conceptual understanding of the game play mechanics. I look forward to seeing more from you.

Thanks Dreamy! very informative guide, i learned so much reading this. this is the kind of guide ill keep coming back to, definitely gonna share this to future players.

Very interesting concept. Definitely will enhance how the character develops and how I play.

Loved this guide even thought i had a good understand of all this already i still learned alot about minor things but they turned into big things t help me refine my skills.

I can appreciate how this guide is focused towards newer players and getting them to be more aware of how combat can be handled. I want to highlight that it is not about “The best build” and more about your preferred play style. I feel there is a lot of content to go through so some may find it overwhelming with just having to ingest this much content in one sitting. Guild wars 2 has a fairly demanding combat style unlike other large online games that have required damage and static abilities that do not synergize well beyond one or two skills. We’d have to find a clever medium to reduce the strain of the ingestion of content vs the amount of knowledge required to be very successful.

love the guide. helped me realized just how bad i was playing this game and after watching and reading this guide it made me really pumped to jump back into the game because i feel like i am going to get a whole new experience with different builds and to play the game based on my play style which i thought was also very important because when i first started this game i played to try to get the best equipment and do the most damage but now i see there is so much more that guild wars 2 has to offer. great guide and good job with explanation. very in depth and easy to understand.

i really appreciate your effort, generosity, patience and general guidance of helping break down the way GW2 is meant to be played. you make it clear and concise which if perfect for helping beginners gradually understand what you are trying to portray in terms of strategy and method. it opens our minds and helps use LEARN to learn and not just simply learn ad verbatim. we rephrase and put it into an understanding that help us maximize our own potential and grasp on developing an effective and enjoyable style and approach to this unique system that ArenaNet has developed. we will now rather than solely relying on extrinsic calculation be able to internally figure out how we can make it work for our selves.

this is the way of teaching that is needed to help make an experimental, creative and more enjoyable way of approaching and understanding gameplay.

teach someone to fish and they can feed themselves for a life time.

balance and adapting to the way the game was designed

this is a core principle that can apply to many thing and many games.

thanks again for your insight and generosity,

WWH

Brand new player here, awesome guide! definitely the essentials

Great Guide, with near perfect structure. Thanks for taking the time to make this information available in one reliable source.

10/10 many help so good xox

Very helpful guide! When I started trying to pvp I was completely lost in what to do since I didn’t understand the combat system of the game well. Now that I have the basics I will be able to start doing well in the pvp realm. Thank you very much!

Awesome guide. Level 54 and I realized that I haven’t been maximizing my potential. Videos display greatly what you can do with all of the classes. Can’t wait to get in and try these tips.

Cool! I’m forgetting to have fun and only thinking in metagame. This guide teach me a lot and changed my way of thinking.