Guild Wars 2

I just recently started playing Gw2, and I really do like it. There’s just a few problems that are making the game feel awkward to play. I really want to get these sorted out so I can have even more fun playing.

My first issue is that I really don’t know what to do as far as leveling goes. In a traditional MMO sense, you level to get max level so you can explore everywhere,Kill things and get cool loot. With Gw2, it feels like I’m leveling ultra slowly and if I try to explore a new are or something, I get killed because I’m too low of a level. It feels like the only way to level is to clean out someone’s farm or go stand on a mountain.

My second issue is that the gear seems bland. I’m level 11 and I look the same as I did when I was level 1. None of the enemies drop gear, nor do any of the heart quests give gear. I have no idea what to do, where do I buy gear that looks different from the starting gear?

Also, please don’t say anything about PvP, or that the game is only fun if you play PvP. I can’t stand it.

Thanks

It sounds like you’re already doing the hearts, so I would say to make sure you are doing your daily quests and unlocking Points of Interest, Vistas, and Waypoints everywhere you go (this will give additional experience for zone completion); also, gathering crafting materials actually gives decent experience and will count towards your daily quest requirements. Also make sure to participate in any event which happens to spawn near you.

Oh, and you can also travel to other races’ low-level starting zones and do the hearts and events there (Lion’s Arch has portals to each of the zones, and you can get to Lion’s Arch by traveling through the portal in the Heart of the Mists).

By the way, the heart karma merchants do eventually start offering gear; you can also check the Black Lion Trading Post when you start getting a bit more money.

Disclaimer: I am a slow leveler and do not yet have a max level character. I’m sure others will chime in with advice much more useful than my own, but in the meantime I hope this post has been at least a little useful.

Welcome to Guild Wars 2! :-)

Hello,

First of all, welcome to Guild Wars 2. To be honest, one of the problems of being a new player in this game is that it can be confusing as first, just like it seems it happened to you.

My advice would be to complete 100% the map you are currently on, this will ensure that you have the right level to go to the next zone, as well as receiving a bonus chest for map completion (yay!). Also, try to gather the material nodes when possible, it’s always good to have those materials available for leveling your professions.

On the beggining you will be leveling slowly, it was intended to be that way, at higher levels the curve will remain the same, just be patient

For the gear part, well you can use the trading post to buy armor corresponding to your level, but well some things are overpriced… if you do gathering you can create some armor for yourself (here’s a great webpage with a gallery of each armor http://www.gw2armorgallery.com/index.html)

tl;dr

Complete the maps, gather materials, advance your crafting discipline, with a bit of exploration and a few more hours of playing you will get the hang of the game… Good luck.

Adding onto what ^they said; play with a party. Cliche I know, but it does make it a lot more fun.

and you get extra experience. and work with high leveled friends, ask them to take you to a high leveled area (not like lvl 50 or up but like lvl 15-20), that’ll get your xp bar going

To level up you want to be doing a bit of everything. Use your Personal Story quests and the heart quests to give you an idea of where to go (if you hover over the hearts on the map it will tell you the recommended level, and generally everything else in the same area is for the same level) but make sure to get any waypoints, points of interest and vistas you pass because they give XP, gather crafting materials, definitely do all the events that happen along the way. The only thing you don’t want to be doing is killing every single enemy because that’s just a waste of time.

Also enemies should be dropping gear. Not all the time but occasionally. You do also get gear from heart quests but you have to go and talk to the NPC to get it, it won’t be included with the gold in the reward mail.

You can also buy gear from armor vendors and craft it if you pick tailor (light armor) leatherworker (medium) or armorer (heavy). At first there will only be a few styles available but more will become available as you progress.

I"m not sure you realize this, OP, but heart quests are different from dynamic events. The hearts are placed in areas where events spawn…events, and specifically event chains are some of the fastest ways to level.

Sometimes if you do an event (not a heart), and you wait around for a minute after, listen to what the NPCs are saying. Sometimes they’re preparing for the next event which piggybacks on the first one. Some of these events can be a lot of fun.

Gather everything that you find also. Even if you don’t craft, you can sell the stuff on the trading post, but you can get a decent amount of experience from gathering.