Guild Wars 2

Hello All,

I recently purchased this game for my girlfriend and I to play casually. We both decided we do not want to pay anymore monthly bills for our gaming hobby. Now we are extremely casual maybe play once every couple of weeks for a few hours. (We have a 2.5 month old daughter and our attention goes to her, obviously.) So, with that said we both do really enjoy gaming and after researching a bunch of games it seemed like guild wars would be a good fit. It doesn’t cost us money if we need to stop and focus on other things.

Now here is the problem, we are both very used to World of Warcraft and so wind the clock back and you would find us spending lots of time playing that game. This is one of the reasons we liked it because we don’t really have much of a learning curve. We already know and understand the game. We both stepped in GW2 and were so confused on how everything works. There is so much it looks like a giant learning curve and maybe it is or maybe it is not as tough as it looks. There are some basic things we want to do and so maybe someone could guide us in these specific directions or tell us what we want is not even feasible?

We want to be able to collect and find pets, rare items, and cool stuffs. We have seen that there is some sort of crafting system which we tried to figure out and were like ??? seems complicated. How do we go about this? Can we just run around and explore to find really cool items and pets?

We both don’t have the greatest computers for playing the game but it runs well, however we did want to try PvP at some point and I doubt WvW would work. Are there any other types of PvP?

We also look at the professions and races and are like we both have to be the same race…but we necessarily may not want to be. How do we play different races and play together or is that not possible from the beginning? Any recommended classes for newbies? Swords and Magics <3

What exactly can we do for fun while leveling up? Or when we level up all the way? What do we do….so many people say, “whatever you want” but what is that? What can we do exactly, what are some good/fun recommended options? We are sort of a goofy couple so we would probably enjoy some sort of roleplaying or something.

Lastly, I apologize. I understand that all of this information is probably on these forums somewhere or in game. I just kind of want to play and so does she. We both don’t have the time to really sit down and read and try to figure out a whole new game. We are hoping we can just figure out by playing. We both really don’t want to go back to World of Warcraft, but it is familiar so that is where the confusion comes in. We also have a lot of outside responsibilities so spending 3 hours just to learn crafting I think would suck for us both.

How can we transition smoothly? There is so much to read and learn, but is there a guide broken down into little bits we can read? So, one day we try learning one thing and maybe next time we try something else. Everything all at once seems so overwhelming and we both don’t know where to start. I think that also comes with the freedom GW2 offers….but some guided community help I think could set us in the right direction.

Thanks, and again I am sorry. I am just really hoping there is someone out there who understands where I am coming from and has an easy solution for us.

First of all, the wiki is your friend.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

This game is not WoW. It’s the anti-WoW. Everyone has access to all material nodes, no rushing to get it first. Everyone gets a full cut of loot and XP as long as they do a relatively small % of damage to a critter. No need to tag. There isn’t the trinity of Tank/Healer/DPS. Everyone can heal, everyone can rez. Nearly any activity generates XP. There are no plug-ins, no extensive customization of the UI. Also no dueling.

You are not pushed from ? quest giver to ? quest giver to out of the current area. You explore. You encounter Dynamic Events and Renown Hearts. You unlock Way Points (sorry no mounts) that you can use to teleport back to this location for a small fee. You visit vistas, points of interest, do Skill Point Challenges and along with exploration get the map achievement.

If by “pets” you mean those “mini” beings following a lot of players about then for the most part, if not exclusively, they are bought via the cash shop and then can be then sold on the player’s Trading Post for others to buy.

If you play rangers and disliked your pet choice, there are locations around the game where you can find juvenile animals that you can tame to become your pet.

The sticky posts at the top of this forum, OMG and Combat System 101 as well as the wiki are good places to start from.

One of the biggest differences in combat is that movement is key. Few skills will root you. Your armor and hit points aren’t enough that you can plant and face tank something one on one. Dodging is a huge feature here and the primary way to evade damage. Also aggro control is something of a mystery. Different critters follow different aggro rules so what seems to work with one creature doesn’t seem to work with a different type of creature.

You don’t have to be the same profession or the same race to play together.

Now if you make different races you will start out in a different map but after you get out of the starter instance you can meet up and play together with no problem. Since the instructions on how you reach the other person depends on the starting race, I won’t go into it here besides to tell you to meet in Lions Arch (LA), which is one of the major cities. Either you can ask on the forum how to get to LA from your starter maps or you can ask in game and someone can help you.

To party up with them, hit the p key. This will open up a party window.

A video to watch:
Enigmious One’s guide to mobility
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUKWeaXZeOY

Welcome to Tyria.

I’ll address some of your questions with this post.

You and your GF do not have to be the same race to play together. There are 5 races. Each starts the game in their own starting area (for levels 1 – 15, except for human starting zone for levels 1 – 17). After you get out of your opening tutorial you will be level 2 or 3 and in your race’s starting zone. Normally you would buy a salvage kit and gathering tools – sythe, axe and pick (you should have just enough money) then start exploring your starting zone completing heart quests, participating in dynamic events that will pop up, visiting Points of Interest (POIs) and waypoints, winning skill challenges and viewing vistas (some of these will not show up on your map until you are a high enough level), gathering from plant, lumber and ore resource nodes and killing mobs. But at any time you can go to other starting zones (don’t venture into higher level zones until you are ready).

The map of Tyria is divided into instanced zones that are connected via Asura gates to other zones. Each race’s starting zone is connected to the race’s city, each of which is connected to Lion’s Arch (LA). So for instance you may start a character as Charr and she may start her character as a Sylvari. You could travel from Plains of Ashford (your starting zone) to the Black Citadel to LA to The Grove to Caledon Forest (her starting zone). The only issue would be to make sure you end up in the same instance of that map is to form a party between the 2 of you. Each would add the other account to their friend’s list. Then one would click on the other from their friends list and invite to party.

While in game press “M” to see a map. The purple swirly things are the Asura gates that connect zones.

Good luck and have fun!

So many great responses already. I recently lured – erhm.. invited a frien over from the WoW realm to try out GW2 and she has voiced similar issues.

One of the main things to remember is GW2 encourages responsive game play, and one of the first things my friend learned was: dodge, dodge, dodge! When you’re fighting enemies, from huge trolls to tiny mosquitos, you cannot afford to stay rooted in one spot.

Don’t think you can take the hit, even if you’re a heavily armoured character. Learn to dodge out of the way of oncoming attacks (the enemy tells get easier to spot as you play), so that by the time you reach higher levels, it will be second nature to you.

With this in mind, take your character out into the world and start exploring. Kill the baddies, gathering plants, chop trees, mine ore. Participate in events or quests that you come across while you explore – or don’t – as you like. Events will respawn and you can choose to do them whenever you choose.

If you don’t have much time, spend it exploring the world and learn the game mechanics as you go. GW2 doesn’t have a huge learning curve, it just very different and that seems daunting right now. But, it won’t be for long.

Last but not least, when you’re in-game and have a question – just ask. Aside from the occasion troll, we do really have great game community. Chances are, you’ll get at least three answers to your question before your fingers have even left the keyboard.

If you like (and you’re EU players), you can search for me in-game and add me to your ‘Friends’ list. When I’m online, just right-click on my name and choose ‘whisper’ to talk to me. Would be happy to help out if I can.

Also, check out the sticky posts at the top of this forum. There’s one called ‘New player outreach’ that should contain a list of players who are happy to be contacted in-game for help and/or random questions.

Good luck – and see you around Tyria!

I to am pretty new to GW2 having just come form ESO and 6 plus years on WOW prior to that.

I can only agree with what others have said on here but add one thing myself, don’t rush.

It’s taken me about a month to reach max level and tbh it probably was too quick (no doubt some smiling at how slow here ) The differences between GW2 and WOWs gameplay are easy to spot but for myself at least they took a while to sorta sink in and only then did I get what a different mmorpg experience this is to any other I have tried. Biggest one for me and a good one to illustrate is how you level. Because whatever map you go on you are scaled to map level I ended up reaching 80 with only 30% of the map explored. Compare that to WOW by the time you reach max level you have been forced to “do” every region so although you wont have explored every nook and cranny you will have seen every region. Am max lvl and still actually only seen about a third of the regions You will find this truly different, and hopefully very enjoyable

I don’t have time to answer all the questions at the moment (and I think others have already covered them off quite well) but if anyone does need a hand in game please feel free to add and contact me and I’ll try to help out as best I can.

Per above, OP needs to sit down with the wiki for about an hour and all questions can be found…..List of pet locations, Go to the Wardrobe (any bank or crafting station and open the Wardrobe tab) and find the armor / weapon you find “cool” thing you want then search it on the wiki….

Note that you can type/wiki <whateveryouwannasearch> in the chat window and GW2 will open your default browser to that wiki page (if it exists).

This is your quandary as far as I can tell.

LazerCatPewPew.6708:

I just kind of want to play and so does she. We both don’t have the time to really sit down and read and try to figure out a whole new game. We are hoping we can just figure out by playing.

So stop wasting your time writing walls of text on the forums. Log in to the game and have some fun with your girlfriend!

There’s nothing stopping you from logging in, starting up a character, and just having fun. In fact that’s how the game was designed and meant to be played, and that’s how myself and probably most of the player base started out. If you need a specific question answered down the line that has Google or the Wiki stumped (don’t bother trying to use the forum search) please ask.

That’s the beauty of GW2. The game doesn’t “start” at max level like in WoW style MMOs so take your time leveling, exploring, crafting, doing dynamic events (don’t ignore these), PvPing, taking part in WvW, and in general learning the game as you go. The least efficient method of leveling happens to be grinding kills. How’s that for a breath of fresh air?

The only hitch to your plan will be playing separate races and hooking up in game so I’ll lay that one out for ya.

• Whoever wants to meet up with the other go to your capital city (you start right outside it).
• Inside there will be a portal to Lion’s Arch. Find it and Jump in.
• Find portal to your sig other’s capital city and jump in. They’re easy to identify since standing right in front of each are members of that race.
• Exit capital city #2 and enjoy.
  Fun fact, you’re eventually going to want to do it anyway so you might as well explore all capital cities relatively early since they give you a nice chunk of exp. Unless of course you’re unsure about your race/profession choice in which case you may want to wait until you’re settled so as not to “waste” any time.

Hey Everyone,

I don’t have much time, but I have been reading the posts when I can. You are all so wonderful and helpful. I will continue to go over your posts and follow your advice. If I posted something like this on a WoW forum I probably would have been trolled and told to search the forums or something. Thank you guys so much for the responses. I am really glad to see that GW2 is a community full of much more mature, kind, and helpful players! My girlfriend and I are super excited to log in and give the game another shot with a fresh perspective and with some of the tools you guys have given.

We appreciate everything, truly.