Guild Wars 2

So I’ve just gotten to level 80 and it feels like the first 79 levels were a week long tutorial that taught me absolutely nothing about end game content.
I like to think I’m a seasoned mmorpg player but GW2 got me feeling like the 9 year old version of myself begging for money at Varrock West Bank lmao, wtf am I doing?

I get that at level 80 your suppose to gear up and take part in Dungeons/Raids, pretty standard stuff. But what I don’t understand is how am I suppose to gear up? Where was the introduction to Dungeons/Raids? What do I spend the 147(sarcasm) different currencies on and where are the vendors? I’m thrust into level 80 zones with a bunch of activities I’ve never done before and an elitist community that offer nothing but sarcasm.
Sorry for the rant but I’m at my wits end! all help would be appreciated, don’t want to give up just yet :)

Every Dungeon has Story mode which is easier to finish. Use the LFG tool to get few fellow players and try it out.

Most of the level 80 Exotic gear is not that difficult to get. For example you probably have gathered enough Karma to get the armor sets in Orr maps:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Armageddon_armor

Or maybe you got enough Laurels to start getting ascended trinkets:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_trinket

Exotics will be enough for many situations. If you want to upgrade to Ascended Armor and Weapons, you need to start leveling up crafting. It is pretty long process and costs loads of gold.

I think the root of the problem is actually that you’re expecting it to work exactly like other games you’ve played. I’m not claiming Anet reinvented the wheel here, there’s certainly a lot of similarities with other MMORPGs but it’s not identical and you’ve hit one of the big differences. Namely the ‘end game’ isn’t all about getting progressively better gear and using it to do a linear series of instances.

Instead at level 80 GW2 basically becomes a free-roaming game. There’s nothing you have to do, lots of things you can do and what you do, when and how is up to you. Dungeons and raids are just one option, you can also continue to explore the maps (including the lower level ones, you’ll still get XP and items at your level), do your story or go and play World vs. World or all of the above.

As for dungeons the introduction was at level 30 when you should have received a mail inviting you to go and do the Ascalon Catacombs story mode (I think it’s also explained in the level-up notifications). After that you gain access to the explorable mode (which is harder but gives better rewards) at level 35, the second dungeon at level 40, 3rd at level 50 and so on.

The good news is you can still do all of those lower level dungeons (in fact many people choose to wait until level 80), you can use the LFG tool to find a group – but be aware you need to go to the zone the dungeon is in to enter (for Ascalon Catacombs that’s Plains of Ashford, just outside the Black Citadel). I recommend putting up a group request saying it’s your first dungeon and you should get people willing to teach and/or figure it out with you instead of assuming you already know. (Another good option is to ask your guild for help.)

As for currencies and equipment I assume the two currencies you’ve got most of are gold and karma, and you’ve probably got more karma than gold. It also has more limited uses so it’s the best one to use for your first set of exotics. (The downside is you won’t be able to salvage them if/when you want to change them, but that’s a minor issue.) The best place to look is the Temples in Orr, which each have a vendor selling a full set of level 80 exotics for karma: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Temple_armor

By the way, just in case you’re not aware equipment tiers are also a lot simpler in GW2 than in most MMOs; there’s just 6 of them. In order those are:
Common (white)
Fine (blue)
Masterwork (green)
Rare (yellow)
Exotic (orange)
Ascended (pink)

(There are also legendary weapons, backpacks and soon armor, but those have the same stats as ascended so they’re not strictly a tier in their own right. And they’re intentionally much harder to get so not really relevant for when you’ve just gotten to level 80.)

Level 80 exotics are quite easy to get (as well as buying them with karma you can buy them with gold from the Trading Post, from vendors in World vs. World with badges of honor, craft them yourself or occasionally find them or get them from achievements. You can also buy it with dungeon tokens, but you have to do the dungeons quite a few times to get enough tokens. And because they’re so easy to get most people don’t bother with the lower tiers at level 80.

Ascended however is different. It was added after release as a long-term goal for people who want stat progression so it’s designed to be expensive and time consuming to get. You have to craft it yourself (or get it from expensive/difficult achievements) and it needs a lot of stuff, including materials you can’t get before level 80 so it’s best not to worry about it until you’ve gotten more used to the game and know what you want to do, then if you want it you can figure out how best to get it.

(Fortunately ascended also isn’t needed for anything except one dungeon, called Fractals of the Mists, and then only if you want to do the harder version. It’s recommended for Raids but not essential.)

“End game” is what you make it darlin.

No, it’s not about “gearing up” unless that’s what you want to do. You want to chase ascended or legendary gear? Cool.

Its not explicitly about dungeons, fractals, or raids unless (again) that’s what you want it to be. For some people, end game is going to play in WvW, or playing PvP, or even just playing the TP.

The game offers a lot of carrots, with legendaries being the king of all carrots (whether that be a weapon, the armor, or one of the back pieces). Anet made the statement years ago that “the entire game is end game” and personally, I feel that still holds true. Your end game is whatever the hell you want it to be, whatever you make it to be. Because of that, it really can’t hold you by the hand and walk you to it.

You can also work on any achievements you haven’t completed yet, including jumping puzzles (if you enjoy them).

I’m sorry to hear you’ve been met with sarcasm. It’s a shame, but all too often I see this kind of stuff in local and map chat. That being said, there are a lot of good people out there who’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Little Leota.5849:

That being said, there are a lot of good people out there who’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Far fewer, sadly, then there used to be it seems. Hell, I just got into an argument with people here on the forums regarding helping people out. Not sure when asking questions (especially on the forums none the less) became such an offensive thing. I see way too much of the “go look it up” “do your research” type of responses. Its very sad.

GW2 is mostly an unopinionated game. It doesn’t direct you to places because you are supposed to do what you are interested. They have tried to make some changes but it is still mostly like that.

There is a big jump from general Open World and Story dungeons to Explorer Dungeons and Raids. For example there is doing an Explorer and then knowing how a team is going to run the Explorer, cutting through content etc. Also the dexterity needed in many Explorers is much greater than you’ve experienced up to that point and could be even much greater on top of that depending how the leader decides to run it.

Really unless you have someone willing to take the time, you need to study them online first to be prepared. More Pug’s then not are in it for the loot / hour ration, speed runs.

I say this about GW’s, never assume what you have on your power bar / armor is the be all end all. I’m amazed that I can relook at something again for the umpteenth time and come out with a better set and plan.

Overall I probably have about a years worth of time in the game… still learning and there is content I can’t run reliably if at all, lots of it.