Guild Wars 2

Hey hey people.

I’m a pretty brand new level 80 player, and I’m looking for some advice on what my first set of goals to achieve should be. What should be some of the all around things to accomplish or start working on?

What gear should I be striving for to start getting me rolling? I’m using some berserker’s prowler armor I bought on the market that’s been runed with runes of strength and fire.

And what’s the deal with the Heart of Thorns expansion areas? I’m playing with my significant other (they’re playing a Druid) and we’re having a tough time making it through the areas. While we kill everything really quickly there, we die in about one or two shots from most of the mobs. Are we just meant to have better equipment before we try to take on this place? Or are we expected to just go in a bigger group to be able to take on all of the content?

Thanks!

If you’re in exotic armor your gear is good enough; I completed Verdant Brink exploration on an Engineer with randomly statted exotics most of them without runes (albeit as maybe my fourth or fifth time completing that map). Though berserker is very glass cannon so you’re going to go down fast if you let things hit you. You need to learn what each mob type does; they all have counters you can learn. (Except maybe those consarned — my original Victorianish term got baby felined — rolling Arrowheads. They’re nasty in every direction so you basically have to snipe them from afar and hope someone else is getting steamrolled by them to hold their aggro. /shakes fist). Kite the smokescales out of their red circle area and use blocks to eat their bamf bamf bamf attack. (Using the mutant Nightcrawler teleport sound there, not an acronym for bad words). Press melee on the Hylek shadow frogs. Keep away from the mushrooms. If a mordrem sniper puts a red target on your head, move move move, sideways and back/ahead so you’ll be out of the line of death on the ground whichever direction it’s coming from. Etc.

Bigger groups do help. But when you don’t have one near, you can run past a lot of the mobs, even the mushroom kings, if you learn when to put up a block or do a dodge to avoid their pull. Get the heck out of any aoe you see. Learn the tells of each mob.

And look for events. The event chains in VB start at daybreak; usually people will be doing them or will come to them if you announce them in Map. I did duo a lot of the Noble chain with an asura once, we were calling for help but prevailed with just us through the hylek attack on Bongo. Otoh that took so long that by the time enough people arrived to get to the wyvern night fell with the wyvern at 1 or 2% health.

The night events are in the canopy and a little harder to find where the crowd is fighting, unless people speak out in Map. It can be hard to figure out which chopper will get you to the right place since the choppers don’t seem to go straight up.

Anyway, keep on trying. Each time you die you’ll see what the mob did and be more ready to avoid that attack the next time Maybe put some soldiers or other survival stats in your trinkets.

Annnnd you asked about your first set of goals. There’s too many options! It depends on what you want. Ascended armor to do higher end fractals? Cool skins? Full map exploration? (Worth doing at least once). Wintersday shoulders? Epic RP? Helping build a guild hall? Learning PvP or WvW? Going through all the story dungeons in order? Unlocking elite specs and weapons? Think about what appeals to you and ask for suggestions on accomplishing that. I don’t think there’s any one “right” answer to what you should do with an 80.

What rarity is your armor and weapons? As a new level 80 you should be using exotics (orange text) because that has the 2nd best stats and the best (ascended) is a long-term goal.

You can buy level 80 exotics from the trading post, or from karma vendors in the temples in Orr, or craft it or buy it from WvW vendors with gold and badges of honor. Or mix animated if you can’t afford a full set from one place – all exotics with the same level requirement are equally good, so it doesn’t matter which you go for.

You might also want to think about something other than berserkers if you’re dying a lot. It’s a pure damage “glass cannon” build – you hit hard but can’t take a lot of damage yourself. Something with toughness (armor) or vitality (health) would increase your durability.

In HoT maps you do need to accept that you’re going to have a harder time though, because they were made to challenge people who had already completed most of the base game.

As for what to do the answer is whatever you want. At level 80 the game basicallybecomes free-roaming, you don’t have to do things in a set order, you can focus on whatever interests you.

I’m bored, so if you like, you can add me in game and I’ll help with PvE stuff or questions you might have.

Some suggestions:

1. Craft your first ascended item, whether a weapon or piece of armor. That means getting at least one crafting skill up to 500 first. Start hoarding crafting materials right now. If you enjoy it, then keep crafting until you have a full set of ascended. If you don’t enjoy it, then you know that crafting is not for you. That’s fine, because you can always buy exotic gear off the trading post, and exotic is good enough.

2. Roll up a new character. Seriously. After my first level 80, I knew almost nothing about the game. For my second and third characters I did everything differently. Plan out a new character down the last detail and start fresh. You don’t have to delete your old one. Find a build editor online and plan it out.

3. Try some WvW or EotM.

4. Find and join a guild that aligns with your interests.

Good luck and have fun.

Most people forget half of their equipment. Do you guys have amulet, two rings, two accessories and a backpiece of exotic or ascended quality?