Hi, I'm new
Basically, just play the game. That will level you up and gain you gold.
Start in your home world and do map completion there. Then move on to another place you would like to explore while continuing to do your personal story whenever you are the appropriate level for it. I think that is the best way to level, gain gold and karma.
Never run a necro before, but as far as I know, you want to go with condition damage stats.
There are Personal Story and Heart Quests to guide you around the map but you can’t focus on them exclusively. Everything you can do in this game will give you experience – exploring the map, gathering crafting materials, crafting but probably the main thing is the Dynamic Events which pop up in orange on the map and the activity list on the top right. As you progress through the game you’ll find fewer and fewer heart quests and bigger level jumps between Personal Story chapters, so you’ll need to do events to balance it out.
“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”
Maps here are good references:
http://gw2.mmorpg-life.com/interactive-maps/
Dulfy, of course, is one of the most excellent resources:
http://dulfy.net/category/gw2/
and then there is the Wiki for lot of good info, lore etc.:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page
You will build as you go, harvest as you explore, sell or craft what you find, the main thing is to have fun and enjoy the trip. Lot of nice folk out there who help out. Watch the map and local chats to see if folk are putting out events you can participate in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in chat. Look at the achievement lists to find things you may be interested in doing. My first avie was a Ranger and one of my first goals was to collect all the pets available which ended up being a fun thing to do. It is pretty much doing what you want to do. You can do the dailies/monthlies/Living Story or not, it is your choice.
Welcome to Guild Wars 2!
Plus no need to rush to the end.
RIP City of Heroes
Check the sticky “If I only knew this” at the top of this forum for a LOT of helpful hints. I have two necromancers, so you can whisper me in game with specific questions. Warning, I’m no theorycrafter. I can give you layman’s info, not esoteric min-max build advice.
Condition damage is highly useful, indeed.
While condition damage is useful for some of necromancer’s strongest bulds, you may want to invest into power and precision if you like using an axe or a main hand dagger. Condition builds are great, but only staff, scepter and dagger off-hand apply damaging conditions, and their damage takes a while to build up.
Also consider investing a little on vitality or toughness because they benefit your second health bar ( Death Shroud ) too.
“You can’t have more than 10 HS decks because that would confuse people”
“30 fps is more cinematic”
On leveling;
Highly recommend spending a bit of time in crafting, especially with a Crafting Booster.
You can bump yourself quite a few levels up in a short space of time.