Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone! I am completely new to the game, I am very excited to get started. I got 60 bucks for my birthday and I figured, why not buy what was rated last year’s best MMORPG. I am a WoW player. I do realize they are very different in story and such but the environment I heard is a similar idea. So my basic questions are what race should I start with in terms of xp and such. I don’t know how races work in this game but for example pandaren in WoW can get a lot more xp. Are there any perks to races besides the starting area and such. My second question is, what class or profession I think they are called, should I do. I did a bit of research, and I generally do not like classes that are boring or too faceroll, so warrior is a no no. While ranger looks nice, I want something more unique. I was thinking Theif, Necromancer, or Mesmer since those seem to have interestign mechanics but I heard they are really hard to level. If anyone can give me any help or opinions, I would be much obliged. Any info on the game in general is much appreciated(tips etc.) Thank you so much!

1. None of the races have such perks, only racial skills which are weaker counterparts of class related skills.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Racial_skill

2. Roll whatever you want.

ps: Don’t infract me, but this is at least a useful link.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/wiki/newplayers

Welcome to the game!!

First, this is not a WoW clone, and is a completely different game. Any of the things that are “standard” in WoW or other MMOs, do not apply to this one. I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, but trying to make those comparisons will only frustrate you and keep you from just enjoying this game.

Second. The races are all pretty much the same. And as Dalanor said, the only real difference is the racial skill. They all move at the same speed, they all have have the same stats, and get the same skills, etc.

Roll which ever profession you find interesting. Out of the 6 that I have (4 lvl 80s) I didn’t find any to be more difficult to level then any of the others. And ALL of them are viable and useful.

Find a guild and meet new people. You can join up to 5 guilds, so find at least one that fits with your play style. There are Role Play guilds, World vs World vs World (WvW) guilds, PvP guilds, world boss guilds, dungeon guilds, etc. Check out the guild recruitment page or just create your own.
(https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds/recruitment)

Last, but certainly not least. Have fun. This is a casual centric game that rewards exploration and working with others. There is no traditional trinity (i.e tank, healer, DPS), instead it’s damage, control, and support, so a varity of playstyles and builds, over a range of professions are useful.

Good luck!! Feel free to hit me up in game sometime, I’ll be happy to show you around a bit, and maybe send a guild invite

the only advantage/disadvantage to race is size. like, literally how big the character is on your screen, and how much of the screen you can’t see because of it. There’s actually no difference in hit box size, footprint size, obstruction size, etc. Almost all the time you don’t even notice, but smaller can be easier when you’re maneuvering around cliffs and close against walls (which is not very often – pretty much only in jumping puzzles). For the most part, race is just aesthetics; what you want your character to look like.

For profession, based on what you said, I would recommend Elementalist or Mesmer or Engineer. They tend to have more complicated skills. Necro, and Thief would be the next-most complicated. Warrior, Guardian, and Ranger would be the simplest.
That’s in general – the average. You could make a Elementalist that’s just point and click. You can also make a Warrior that dodges in and out of fights.
Also, the more-complicated professions also tend to be the ones that are hardest to play with in early levels, but get their stride around level 31. The simpler ones are easy from the start. But it’s super easy to get to level 80, so you won’t spend much time below that, I just thought I’d point out that you shouldn’t form a judgement on any profession until at least level 40.

One tip that I hear WoW players need to hear: learn to dodge. dodge is an ability everyone has. You will slowly regain endurance up to 2 dodges-worth. So you dodge twice, then have to wait like 10 seconds before you can dodge again. Save them for when you’re about to get hit. use them when you’re about to get hit. You should not be standing there trying to tank every shot – move around, dodge the big attacks, move back and forth.
There was this one youtube video where a bow ranger was auto-attacking someone far away, and the person was just moving side to side; the AI of projectiles anticipates where the person will be and calculates where to fire so it hits. So if you’re running and someone shoots you from the side, it will hit you in front of where you currently are because the arrow takes time to get there. But if they see it coming, they can stop moving and the arrow will fly by in front of them. That’s what this person was doing. for 2 minutes. It was one of the best laughs I’ve ever had. Anyways, most attacks can be made while you are moving, so there is no reason to stand still and be an easier target for the enemy.

Thanks. I mean as WoW tank and dps(mainly), I am used to the art of positioning and avoiding big attacks, but the mechanics are a bit different. It is not just running to the side if you know what I mean. I can’t say I love the playstyle yet(Probably due to my ingrained WoW style/Blizzard style lol), I have to say, in a very small way, it does remind me of Assasins Creed a bit, using your environment to your advantage.