Guild Wars 2

Hello and Welcome to Guild Wars2!!!
I’m happy to help you get started to prepare for the Guild Wars2 Experience.

Right now, you’re probably wondering these following questions:

“What am I supposed to do in game?”
“What’s the Endgame like?”
“What’s the fastest way to level to 80?”
“How can I make lots of gold?”
“What’s the most useful class in game?”

I’m happy to say this guide will answer all those questions while pointing you into the right directions by showing you what to expect, when playing the game.

“No but seriously… what am I supposed to do in this game?
Where are all my quests!?”

GW2 does not have a “Quest” System that you may be used to from your traditional MMORPGs. Instead, the game has tons of different types of Contents that you can play and enjoy while progressing your character.

Character Progression is self-objective based. This means you pick and choose what contents you love and enjoy mastering it.

The Vertical progression is short and easy to complete. Getting the best stats you want and capping to lvl80 is fast and quick.

“So… You’re saying there are no endgames?”

Wrong…
There definitely is an endgame!
Just not the same type of endgame you see from other MMOs you’re used to.

While it’s true getting to lvl80 and getting the best stats is fast and easy to obtain, getting the best looking Armor/Weapon skins takes time and effort to collect! Making different types of builds and playstyle takes creativity to create. Coming up with your own strategies in taking down harder challenges takes skills to manage. This game focuses more towards Horizontal Progression which gets rid of Gear-gated contents!

This means there are no Gear-Treadmill for you to worry about. Gear is the least important yet, still important to a degree. It won’t save you or make you a better player however, It does help balances your overall playstyle that you have created. In the end, how you execute your skills and choose your traits matter the most, making the game more based on player skills and strategy, instead of gear.

The Endgame Theoretically begins at lvl2 when you start playing the game.
You can start having fun playing the game how you want right off the bat!!!

However, the Endgame Technically begins at lvl30 when you have access to participating in Dungeons and Fractcls! Since lvl30 is when you can fully experience all the contents GW2 has to offer. This does not mean you have completed all the contents! It just means you can do all types of contents, as long as your level range is appropriate for it.

“That’s Great!!! Now how about making money? I hate being broke all the time!”

1. Crafting & Gathering can make tons of money while earning exp!
By Gathering everything as you explore, such as; Mining, Chopping, Harvesting, you’ll earn tons of exp. You can also earn exp by crafting things you want from the stuff you gathered. After crafting the items you’ve made, start selling them at the Trading Post for some Profit!

2. Loot everything and Sell everything you don’t need or want from your inventory at the Trading Post!!! Believe me, these stuff actually sells and money will be stacking up faster than you think. Chances are, if you don’t need it, someone else does and they are willing to pay for it.

3. Try doing multiple paths of Exporable Dungeons and earn more money that way! Dungeons can be a fun way to earn money if you’re into the challenge.

4. Killing Champions can give you loots that sells well too. But try to avoid farming the same champions, the last thing you want is to get burnt out of the game by grinding the same things, over a couple of silvers that could be earned elsewhere.

“So what’s the fastest way to level up?”

The fastest way to level up is by trying different content, exploring the world and doing the things you love without thinking of leveling. The problem with most people who come from other MMOs into GW2 is they think about leveling and repeating the same thing over and over again which makes leveling slower, a chore, and not to mention boring.

Grinding & Spamming the same content is optional and yet, not required.
It is the BEST way to burn yourself out of the game, and the worst way to get started into the GW2 experience.

You experience all contents at lvl 30, so what’s the rush to lvl 80?

The whole point of the game is so you can explore higher level areas, doing the PvE contents you love and enjoy Or getting into Competitive PvP right away and showing people who’s boss!

Here is a List of Contents GW2 has to offer:

((Personal Story))
This content is a story based on your character, and the journey you take in becoming a Hero! The choices you make during this content, reflects the story missions and directions you take!

((Dynamic Events))
This content is a story based on the world which you explore. By exploring the world and paying attention to NPCs gossips, you will encounter Events based on Cause & Effects, Win/Lose basis.

((T-PvP))
This content is balanced for competitive PvP! Hone your skills and strategies against other players and form a good coordination within your team to win matches! This content will boost your character to lvl80, with access to all Weapons/Utilities/Traits and Armor/stats you need to stay competitive! You can level up your PvE Character or get best looking weapons/armor skins as well as titles as you climb the ranks! But you will not get better Stats or Skills during this content because in the end, this is a Competitive PvP, it’s about the best player with the best Skill execution, and Strategy that wins!

((WvWvW))
This is a Real Time Strategy Objective based Game Mode, where 3 servers are constantly in a huge warfare trying to fight over land and recourses. This is not balanced for competitive PvP. You will be boosted to lvl80, however, you keep the same skills, traits, and armor you have from the PvE world. A player with 100 gold can earn the Commander tag. Each Commander leads his/her own squads for different objectives when contributing to his/her server.

((Guild Missions))
There are 4 types of Guild missions with tons of different verities! They are fun and by participating with your guildies, you can earn Guild merits which the guild leader and officers can use to upgrade the guild with Guild Benefits! Missions such as: ((Guild Puzzles)), ((Guild Rush)), ((Guild Bounty)), and ((Guild Challenge)) are available.

((Fractals))
Fractals of the Mists is a special type of dungeon that consists of an array of mini-dungeons called fractals, where each fractal has its own story and environment. Characters are Boosted to level 80 within the dungeon. The dungeon has some unique mechanics and design. The party must choose the difficulty scale prior to entering the dungeon. This difficulty scale starts at 1 and can be increased. The personal reward level tracks the current position of the account on the difficulty scale. This provides progression in the dungeon, allowing players to continuously complete higher and higher levels on the difficulty scale and greater rewards as a result.

((Story Dungeons))
Story Dungeons is played through on the first visit to a dungeon. Story Dungeons are told through cut scenes and exposition, and are focused on revealing the development of Destiny’s Edge situation. One or two members of Destiny’s Edge join the party to guide them through a largely linear dungeon story. This content is relatively straightforward for a pick-up-group to complete. Personal storylines and Story Dungeons are parallel: the Story Dungoen does not affect a player’s advancement in a Personal Story or the outcome of the story, but still occurs at the same time storywise.

((Explorable Dungeons))
Explorable Dungeons deals with the aftermath of the events of the Story Dungeon. The Explorable Dungeon’s story is told with fewer cutscenes and little exposition, and is no longer related to Destiny’s Edge. The player is presented with at least three different paths to play through for each dungeon. The party votes on the option they will take through the dungeon and the majority determines the dungeon version seen. The explorable mode dungeon is designed to be repeated, with player actions and decisions determining the occurrence of hidden or random events along with the related changes to the dungeon. This Content requires significantly more coordination between team members and so is far more difficult than the Story Mode.

((Open World Dungeons))
Open World Dungeons are non-instant dungeons which are located in the persistent world of Tyria which you explore. They are hidden in your map and requires you to explore to find them. By completing the Open World Dungeons, you will get a Grand Chest loot!

((Jumping Puzzles))
These are open world Platforming contents with puzzle elements that require the player to find the correct route to the end of the puzzle. The reward for solving the puzzle resets daily and is typically a Grand, Magnificent or Splendid Chest. Completing a jumping puzzle will also reward the player with a Jumping Puzzles achievement. Some common themes for the puzzles are environments matching the theme of the zone, veteran enemies guarding the end chest, other hidden chests, and false endings.

((Super Adventure Box))
This content is truly a “game within a game” experience with an 8-bit platformer theme which can be completed alone or with a group. Talk to Moto in Creator’s Commons at Rata Sum to gain access to this content. The goal in this content is save the Princess who has been captured. To do this, you need to complete different worlds and Stages and collect 250 Baubles by killing enemies, breaking things, jumping on platforms, and collecting keys to open the grand chests which contains even more Baubles. Baubles are SAB’s currency and you can use this to buy more lives, and health as well as other useful things. Converting 250 Baubles gives you BB points which you can spend on getting Epic looking Weapon Skins!

((Live Story Events))
The Living Story Event is a story of the ever changing world of Tyria. Every 2 weeks the Living Story Event will change the game by adding new features, new areas, new heroes, villians, while shape-shifting the world entirely. Once the Live Story Event is done, it’s done for good. The world will change with or without you. Get involved and enjoy the exclusive rewards this content has to offer!!! Be part of Tyria’s History!

((Holiday Events))
This content is based on Story of Legends. For example, 500 years ago, the mad King Thorn used to be a cruel and evil King of Kryta. One day, the citizens of Kryta got together and decided to execute the mad king on October 31s… Thus, Halloween was born. There will be contents such as Story Dungeons, Minigames, Jumping Puzzles, and new explorable contents based on this holiday which gets you, the player, closer and closer into discovering what will happen next. Each Year, ArenaNet adds new contents for the Holiday Events while keeping the most popular events active to keep things fresh with more stories to be told!

((Heart Tasks))
Hearts are Not Quests! Hearts are just there as tasks to give you something to do within the area were ((Dynamic Events)) are not active. If a ((Dynamic Event)) is active within that area, be sure to do that instead. By completing a ((Dynamic Event)), you are also completing the ((Heart)) of the area which you are exploring.

((Vista Challenges))
Vista Challenges are designed to challenge the player into figuring out how to interact with the floating map object located in the world which triggers an associated cinematic. It appears as a column of light with a scroll floating near the ground. Interacting with the object will cause the camera to pan across nearby scenery while it rewards you with experience points.

((Skill Challenges))
Skill Challenge is a content which you can do to earn a Skill Point, which allows you to learn new Utility Skills. There are 5 different types of Skill Challenges such as;
((Combat)), ((Puzzles)), ((Orb Activation)), ((Item Challenges))

((Minigames))
There are tons of minigames GW2 offers! Some are tied to Hearts, some are tied to Holiday Events, some are tied to it’s own content and such! Explore the world and see what minigames you love and play them with friends to earn loots and even titles!

((Achievement activities))
You don’t even have to look to know you’re doing it!!!
Achievement Activities are based on what you do in game and by just playing the game, you can easily complete your dailies and monthlies as well as all sorts of achievments available in game. You have the options to go to the menu and toggle which Achievment Activities you want to see as you progress in doing them, however, it’s not required for you to toggle the achievements you want to do. You can still complete them without looking!

“So what’s the BEST Class for PvP and PvE?”

The best class is the class that you are best at. For me, it’s the Necromancer however, for you, it could be anything! All Classes are viable when it comes to doing any contents you want in GW2. So it’s the matter of personal skills and playstyle preferences when choosing a class.

Welcome to Guild Wars 2!

Reserving Spot for Future New Contents that ArenaNet will add in the upcoming year!

Incredible. This Guide has everything right here on the official Guild Wars site! If anyone, and I mean A-N-Y-O-N-E is looking for a guide, this is the one to use. The fact the poster put so much effort to this is amazing. His guide has helped me from Player vs. Player to finding those awesome events! Great work Dreamy!

Great Work XD This guide is the most filled out guide on the forums , If any new player is looking for help this is the post for you….Its just like a tutorial.

Like it, really do.

You’ve covered all the basics that I can see, and you’ve obviously put some serious amounts of time into this. When people start asking what they need to e doing in-game, this is where i’ll link them.

I wanted to find something you’d, to be able to make this comment sound more balanced, but other than actually getting into some of the finer details, like kinds of dynamic events or categories of achievements you’ve covered it all.

Advice to new players, read this, then get exploring.

This definitely a must read for new players. GW2 is slightly different than your average MMO and w//o proper knowledge can lead to a frustrating experience. I also highly recommend checking out the combat 101 guide as this game has no holy trinity and can be confusing at first.
P.S This should be stickied!

Bump for an excellent guide!

This will be a tremendous help, i get asked questions about the game all the time by new players and it never seems to stop. don’t get me wrong i love helping new players but it does get old after the fourth time explaining how the dungeons work… now i can link them this and they will probably understand this better than me failing to explain. thank you for the great guide keep up the fantastic work.

This is obviously a great guide for new players.

I think it might have even more value as a resource to what this game is really like.

It gives you a feel of the mechanics and flavor of the game.

Valuable information for someone thinking about purchasing this game.

Thanks for another guide to help us new players. I really hope this gets pinned to the top with your other post. I found them to be a valuable resource in understanding the game.

KITTEN!

Dreamy, you did it again. this guide gets better every time i see it. not only does it explain what all you can do in game, it doesn’t give away any spoilers. mini-games everywhere, open world dungeons. teasers to encourage new players to explore the world and look for them. i wonder how many players don’t even know about open world dungeons after casually strolling through Tyria for 3 months or more without ever accidentally stumbling upon them…

+1

EDIT: sticky! /signed

This is an awesome guide Dreamy! I’m really glad this was brought to my attention, and I’m happy to be able to give positive feedback. I’m still a newbie to the GW world, so this was a huge life saver.

Bumping this up and it better be stickied!

Holy crap! I really wish there was a guide like this out when I first started playing GW2. Amazing guide, keep up the good work! Now I have a reference to turn people to when they have questions.

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

If you are New to the game, Please Do NOT follow The Queensdale (Train).

Seriously, don’t. I’ve seen players leave the game because they though the queensdale train was the only fun lvls 80 had in the game. That’s completely WRONG, the train it’s just a way for lazy people to complete monthly achievements in 2-3 days instead of completing them all over the month.

Elrey.5472:

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

If you are New to the game, Please Do NOT follow The Queensdale (Train).

Seriously, don’t. I’ve seen players leave the game because they though the queensdale train was the only fun lvls 80 had in the game. That’s completely WRONG, the train it’s just a way for lazy people to complete monthly achievements in 2-3 days instead of completing them all over the month.

lol My statement doesn’t say to avoid the Train entirely, It just says for new players to avoid it completely since new players might think it’s the only thing the game has to offer. It’s that new players might think this is the normal way of playing and they don’t get the chance to experience the game as a whole and possible quit without giving the game a proper chance for how it’s made to be played.

Yeah, good work. I just wanted to point out one spelling mistake, you might want to edit that just because.

“…This game focus more towards Horizontal Progression which gets rid of Gear-gated contents!…”

First post I believe. I think it should be “focuses”.
Anyway, good job on the guide. :>

Yoroiookami.3485:

Yeah, good work. I just wanted to point out one spelling mistake, you might want to edit that just because.

“…This game focus more towards Horizontal Progression which gets rid of Gear-gated contents!…”

First post I believe. I think it should be “focuses”.
Anyway, good job on the guide. :>

Yeah, I just fixed the spelling mistake.
Thanks for the feedback! =)

(Fracticals)

lol?

Anierna.6918:

(Fracticals)

lol?

Thanks for pointing that out!
I just corrected the spelling mistake to: Fractals

^^ I appreciate the support!

Another informative and very helpful Guide from DreamyAbaddon, don’t wanna think about how bad i might fumble and or stumble around without those

Awesome guide, really explans things in a systematic manner – dreamyabadoon makes the best guides, +1 vote for sticky!

Amazing. I don’t even know what to say about it, if i didn’t read this, i would need to learn about everything on my own, but now i have the idea as to why this is different to the average MMOs in the market.

There are features in the list i didn’t even know that existed, and i don’t know if i would learn about them in due time.

I really respect the work and effort you’re doing for the community, and seeing a community like this is only increasing my love for this game.

Wow! A very clear guide and it got to the point! Had just as much fun reading as playing the actual game.

Simply amazing. I have never met such a helpful player before in my whole mmo lifetime. Dreamy Abaddon explained to me EVERYTHING I needed to know about this game. I almost have no questions left to ask. To say something like having no questions to ask about an mmo is a feat in itself. I thank you for your hard work on this guide and literally allowing me to have a one on one session with you. My thanks to you.

I needed this being a GW player that just recently got Gw2 I was totally lost and at level 12 questions were all I have… These answered a lot of them I had, thanks…

Hellswraith.6209:

I needed this being a GW player that just recently got Gw2 I was totally lost and at level 12 questions were all I have… These answered a lot of them I had, thanks…

I’m glad it helped however this is an Outdated guide which I need to update due to the changes this game has gone through. I’ll update as soon as I get the time!

Enjoy the game! There is just a lot to do! =)