Guild Wars 2

I’ve been trying to play but I have no idea what I am doing.

I have tried playing my asura engineer & also my sylvari elementalist.

I keep dieing… if I solo 1 mob I die most of the time. If i go near 2 mobs or more i always die. Now all my gear i think is broken. I really don’t know what my skills do, I’ve read them but it doesn’t really make sense I’m not sure if I am using the wrong combination or if I just suck… -_-

I don’t know where to go to fix my items. It keeps taking what i have left when i die to go to a starting place and I don’t think i have much copper left to buy any new armor.

I’ve only been going near mobs that are 1 level above me or the same level or lower… the quests (or whatever you call them objectives) ask me to go near things that keep killing me.

I try to move away but then i can’t attack, and when i move the mobs keep coming & hitting me anyhow. I can’t do any personal instances/event things and not die.

I’ve been sitting in the starting area asking for help but there is hardly anyone there & when i do find another person they tend to ignore me.

I converted some items with salvage kits & now I don’t know where they went, the items are no longer in my bag & just vanished somewhere? I asked to deposit them but I don’t know how to view wherever on earth they went…

I wish there was a way to ask for help from someone in game, like to ask them questions where they can explain or show me what i SHOULD be doing… how to do things right? Maybe some sort of mentor system.

I am just so frustrated… i tried this after launch & was so lost & confused & took a break because this is what happened to me last time on my engineer. Now I am trying to play again this time i thought maybe id do better on my elementalist, but nope -_- its painful and very frustrating.

I don’t understand the terminology which doesn’t help either.

Sorry if this sounds so full of QQ, but I don’t know what to do ankittenhinking of giving up again. 2 hours of dieing over and over and not becoming any the wiser isn’t fun; i’d hoped that maybe i would have learnt ‘what to do’ by now.

Can someone can tell me where i can find the stuff/salvage items that i stored?
Is there a guide for noobs/lowbie elementalists? (a simpletons guide please)
Also am i just supposed to be wandering around? I dont understand what I am to do. Is there a quest list or something that shows my list of things that I am supposed to be doing?

Thanks for any help!

The GW2 wiki could answer most of your questions. Your salvage stuff is in the Collectables tab in your bank, and is also accessible through crafting stations.

As for your characters, what level are you? A few tips though that work with any profession:

• Big attacks have quite the charge time, so in that case, just move out of the way, and save your dodges.

• Vitality / Toughness gear is good early on to increase survivability.

• If going ranged, make sure to use CC (Cripple, Immobilize, Chilled), and open with them.

• Keep on the move, since you can use the majority of skills on the move.

You are trying to play the two most complicated professions in the game, at least in terms of the sheer number of abilities available. And really, elementalists are just punishing at low levels anyway, since their best survivability tricks have to be skilled/traited.

My advice would be to roll something else to learn the basic game mechanics. Literally any class would be simpler than what you have, but I would recommend the warrior as the most straightforward for people with previous MMO experience. They also have the benefit of being able to survive a few hits while you learn how dodging works in this game.

Far as fixing your items, look for a broken heart icon on your map/ above an npc’s head. They will repair your armor.

This game is different than most other similar games..which is one of the reasons I really like it. And yes, elementalists die very easily. You’ll have to do a lot of dodging and moving to help lessen damage. At least to get a better grip on the game you might want to try a Guardian, they are much more durable, that might ease your frustration while you learn the ropes.

And you might want to read this thread

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OPERATION-UNION-Bringing-Players-Together/first

It’s kind of a guild but not server specific. So if you post your info, we can invite you to the guild chat, and can help you and support you as you learn this great game!

If Warrior is not your thing, the Ranger is a very good starting class. For your first character, I would go with Human or Norn since those starting areas seem to have the most people in them and the Norn lore and NPC dialog is awesome.

I think this is one of the biggest pitfalls of GW2for new players, people come in and feel utterly lost unless they do some hard research, which a lot of people either do not know how to do or just refuse to and the game doesn’t hold your hand like some other MMOs.

You already made the biggest step, asking for help. This game is a wonderful game for the casual player who just wants to enjoy a game, but it does require a certain degree of skill and ability to seek information.

Welcome (back) to GW2, I also suggest finding a guild that would like to help new players, there are some out there.

You should post in that thread linked up there and let folks know how to get into contact with you. There might be someone on your server willing to help out.

I agree that you picked 2 of the hardest professions – especially the elementalist is prone to dying horribly often if you haven’t mastered the general gameplay yet.

Warrior, Guardian (for melee) are much much easier, as is the ranger (pick a bear pet as your starter for extra easy gameplay) or even the necromancer (tanky scholar, plus starts off with a minion for heal, which will take some aggro away from you).

I believe the icon for armor repairs is actually a broken shield, not a broken heart.

Apart from that: Visit the wiki! There, you can get more insight into what your skills and their side effects do. That should be quite a big help…
One easy tip though: Circle-strafing. May take some practice (I’m still not excellent at it) but it does help tremendously if you keep dying. If you want to know when to use your dodges: Watch the animations of the monster you’re fighting. You’ll usually see some specific moves before they unleash their more powerful attacks.

What do you mean you can’t attack when you move away? Simple movement shouldn’t disturb most of your skills.

@Kaboo: Yes, that was the most helpful post ever >.> (note sarcasm). Some people have a hard time with it and that is ok, it isn’t intuitive to everyone.

@Original Poster: It is difficult for us to describe a lot of what you have asked in a written format. If we were on the same server I could help you out, also, feel free to message me here on the forums if you want to go over some terminology for the game or your skills. You can also likely find some helpful tutorial videos on youtube that can help show you some useful tips via actual gameplay footage.

Hang in there, it is a fun game once you get used to it.

I’ve played almost all other mmorpgs, and I’m still learning how to master this one…but imo that’s part of what makes the game so fun! Keep at it, check out the Wikipedia, and ask questions

Hey there Chinchilla!

I understand that you have a hard time learning this game. It is not your usual MMORPG where they keep your hand till you reach the end content. You need to learn how to play, and what the mechanics are.
For that, Ele is indeed a very hard choice, so as suggested by other people, try a guardian, ranger or maybe even warrior.
If you really want to stick with Ele, join a good supportive guild that can help you out in the first 10-20 levels.
As suggested by Vlawde, check this thread out
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OPERATION-UNION-Bringing-Players-Together/first

It’s a very very long thread, but in there is a great group off people that have formed a guild know as The Legion of Honor XIII.
You can simply ask for some advice in the thread or even join up. If you’re on a server with none of our members on, and you have nothing binding you to your current server, you can jump to a more populated one and get real help from our people there. And if you not feel like changing server, there is allways the guildchat where you can ask any question you have. We allways try to give good advice and there are no stupid questions.

So check it out and maybe we see you soon ingame with us.
Greets, Noppy, member of The Legion of Honor XIII

You chose 2 of the most difficult classes to play, imo. At least in starting out. Try a Ranger or Warrior for awhile until you get the feel of the game, then go back to your Engie & Ele.

Hi, I’m going to try and answer some of your questions well in depth. First I do want to agree with others that the elementalist is extremely squishy and complex and engineer is pretty tricky. I love playing Guardian and Ranger, and they are much more survivable. It is important to know what your skills do as some are about doing damage and some are about controlling your target. Running away can be tricky because it can be easy to just agro more mobs when doing so. If I were you, while in the learning process, I’d carefully approach each mob and try to agro just one at a time, which shouldn’t be too difficult in the lower part of the starter areas. That should give you a chance to figure out what each of your skills do with out being overwhelmed and killed.

To answer your question about your salvaged materials. When you deposit your collectibles they go to a bank tab in your bank. The bank shows up as a yellow money bag symbol on your map and they are in each starter city and Lion’s Arch. Each crafting station will also give you bank access, even if you are not a crafting profession.

To fix your items you go to an NPC with red cracked shield over his head, it also had the symbol on the map.

As for what you should be doing, the only linear quest is your personal story, but that will go up in levels much faster than you will level up, so you only want to pursue your personal story when you are the same level as the next part. It shows up in green on the top right hand corner of your screen and will be a green star on your map. In the top right corner it will also tell you in parenthesis what the recommended level for that story is, and if it’s above your level, it will take you to areas that are likely to get you killed.

To level up to be able to continue your personal story, you should complete hearts and events. On your map if you mouse over a heart, it will give you the recommended level. Just do the hearts that are your level or lower, and it will give you the xp and more importantly money to help you progress. When you are near a heart, it will show up on your upper right corner of the screen under your personal story and tell you what you should do to complete it. It generally involves collecting things or killing things in the near by vicinity.

When an event pops up, it will show you a large orange circle on your map and it will show up in the upper right hand corner of your screen, below hearts and personal story. It will tell you the level range, the goals, and sometimes it will say “group event” which generally means you want to have at least 3 people to complete it.

Also from the merchants you can buy harvesting equipment, a sickle for plants, a logging ax for trees, and a pickax for ore. Having these equipped at all times allows you to harvest from the various nodes and also gives you decent experience.

I don’t know what server you are on, but I’m on Yak’s Bend, and would be happy to help you out if you want to transfer here. I also highly recommend Operation Union that others have mentioned, I know you’ll get lots of help there.

Good luck!

I started playing an ele as my first character, so I feel your pain. Eles are awesome once you know how to roll, but at lower than lvl 40 I was a sad panda. Now I feel awesome though, so it pays off.

Raising as character with a simpler class might be good if you really don’t think you can do it yet, but I’d also suggest hanging around the Elementalist forum, it’s full of people who can give good advice. Also, remember that you can switch attunemetns to have more skills in battle. I didn’t start doing well until I unlocked all the skills for each element and could use them. Spend some time practicing skills in starting areas until you get a feel for them.

I’m happy to answer questions in game or play with you if you’re on Tarnished Coast. Operation:Union is filled with a bunch of people who are awesome and like to help. However, we’re a cross-server guild, so we may not have a big presence on your home server. In that case I’d find a helpful guild on your server too, since you can be in up to 4 guilds in this game.

The wiki is lovely: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/ Also, you can type /wiki search term into the game chat window and you go straight to the wiki.

Also, Dulfy’s guides are good place to go if you get stuck: http://dulfy.net/category/gw2/
She helps a lot especially with monthly events like Wintersday.

Lots of good advice, and as a member of Operation: Union and the Legion of Honour, I also suggest you check out our thread/guild – we’re all friendly people who love to assist and answer questions. That is your mentor system. What server are you on?

Guild Wars 2 isn’t your typical MMO… You have to stay moving, and learn that dodging is your best friend. When you are fighting a mob and you see them animate for an attack, that’s the time to dodge away! You’ll learn as you go exactly when the best times to dodge are, but usually the animated attacks are the strongest – you don’t want to be hit by those.

Since your main attack skills change with each weapon, have you tried changing up your weapon? You’ll find that some weapons are much more suited for your playstyle. Try them all, and when you find the one, you’ll usually know. You’ll say to yourself, “Wow, this is much easier/better/more fun!” If I might ask, which weapons are you currently using?

As an Elementalist, you’ll want to get used to swapping your attunements regularly and often. It’s not easy to get used to, but it’s absolutely critical for playing an Elementalist. You’ll also want vitality/toughness gear, and look around online or in the Elementalist forum for survival builds.

Dying is part of life in GW2, especially early on. Don’t get discouraged.

Take a look at everyone’s advice here, try some of the things out… Also check out https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/first – it’s a super helpful thread with random tips that I think will help out out a lot. Try all of these things, and then post again with more specific questions! You can do this. ;]

First question: what server/world are you on? It’s unfortunate that your starter areas were empty, but you’ve come to the right place and some people may be able to come help you out.

Chinchilla.3401:

I don’t know where to go to fix my items. It keeps taking what i have left when i die to go to a starting place and I don’t think i have much copper left to buy any new armor.

You will need to repair your armour, which will cost a little. Repair NPCs have a red shield icon with a crack through it over their heads – they will show up on your map with that icon too.

I’ve only been going near mobs that are 1 level above me or the same level or lower… the quests (or whatever you call them objectives) ask me to go near things that keep killing me.

The safe plan is to stick to things that are your level or lower. Are you aware of down-levelling? Your effective level will be adjusted to the area, so check in the bottom left of your screen for what level you’re currently adjusted to.

I try to move away but then i can’t attack, and when i move the mobs keep coming & hitting me anyhow.

I’m not sure what issue you’re having here, in most cases you should be able to move and keep attacking. Even just a continuous auto-attack should take things down at low levels, although it’s not so much fun. Some skills will take a while to activate and won’t go off if interrupted (you can tell because a yellow bar will start charging in the middle of the screen when you use the skill).

I converted some items with salvage kits & now I don’t know where they went, the items are no longer in my bag & just vanished somewhere? I asked to deposit them but I don’t know how to view wherever on earth they went…

They’ve gone to your bank. There’ll be a bank in your home city (Rata Sum or the Grove), with a bag icon on the map, and there’s a section for collectible materials.

I don’t understand the terminology which doesn’t help either.

The wiki is your friend.

Also am i just supposed to be wandering around? I dont understand what I am to do. Is there a quest list or something that shows my list of things that I am supposed to be doing?

In the top right you will see a few things as you move through the world. Your personal story will always be there, but that’s not always the easiest or best option – if it causes you trouble, leave it for a while. There are ‘hearts’ in the zones which will pop up with instructions on the right when you walk into the area for them, and they’re more like your basic questing. Plus there are dynamic events, which come up in orange if you go near one. These are best done with other people, though sometimes you can do it alone.

As for what you should be doing, if you want a goal, take a look at your map (hotkey ‘m’). Each zone has a list of things: hearts to complete, points of interests to visit, vistas to view, skill challenges to complete. If you do all of those things in a zone, you get a reward. That’s usually a good first goal for a new character.

There are also a few other, non-combat things you can do to get a couple of levels under your belt. Crafting requires stuff and money so might not be good for you right now, but try exploring your home city. Finding points of interest and that kind of thing earns you experience.

Elementalist and engineer are both tough professions, but if you stick with it and can get the hang of the basics I’m sure you’ll settle into them eventually. Play around with the controls in town if you have to, just try out your attacks to see what they do. Once you know what to expect, you can use them better. Good luck!

One note about Elementalists, because I had this same reaction about level 6 or 7 (omg why am I dying so easy and can’t do any damage but others seem fine), and I didn’t see anyone else mention this, do NOT try to solo using water attunement! That is for support in a group, crowd control and healing. If you solo, use Fire for a lot of raw damage, or personally I like Earth for a blend of damage and defense. Choosing the right weapons to get a good assortment of powers is important too. Use the wrong weapons and you can’t solo as easy as they give you a different power set. Lastly, you have to use your skill points wisely on good additional skills, they help a LOT.
Yes other classes are easier, Necro rips through things for example, but Ele are interesting in their unique nature. One thing, all other classes can hot swap weapons sets to switch out powers. Ele can’t, but you can hot swap attunements. So, you could blow all your powers, swap attunement, and blow a bunch of other powers in a mass power nuke of your biggest damage spells. And yes, don’t forget to “kite” the mobs, if you go toe to toe you die a lot faster. Takes some finese, but I really enjoy it now that I got past the "why does this suck so bad" phase of what I was doing wrong