Guild Wars 2

hi all, I’m very new to GW2 and the mmo style game, ive been looking for a game to get into over the past week or so and have come across GW2. I had a few questions really that was stopping me downloading the game.
1) its now 2017 and is it worth me playing GW2 now as its been out a few years now?
2) what is the community like in GW2? is it a popular game still ? is it a helpful community that would help a new player out with advice ?
any feedback would be much appreciated.
thanks.

Yes, there are always plenty of players in the maps.

The community, for the most part, is friendly and helpful. There are many resources with game information. The Wiki (link above) is full of information. There are some (somewhat out-of-date) Stickies above you can peruse.

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

1) Yes it’s still worth getting into it. The usual problem with getting into MMOs late is that it takes a long time to level up and/or get good equipment, and most people who have already done that are spending their time exclusively in the higher level areas so you’ll hardly see anyone around.

That’s not a problem in GW2 for two reasons: firstly for whatever reasons there always seem to be new players about, and many people play more than one character so even long-term players may well be using a low level character. But secondly the game is not designed that way. Levelling up and getting equipment is relatively quick (even without the level-80 boost), and the game is designed so that all the maps stay relevant. It’s not at all uncommon to see level 80 characters in the starter maps, because there are things for them to do there (including ‘end game’ stuff like world bosses) so there will almost always be people around. (And if there aren’t it’s more likely to do with the time of day than where you are in the game.)

Incidentally if you go to a map that’s below your level you will be scaled down – so you’re only slightly more powerful than characters at the recommended level, and the experience and items you receive will be scaled up to your level.

2) Yes the game is still popular and I think the community is very helpful. Of course the community is basically a big group of people, and like any group of people attitudes and experiences will vary. But I’ve found it’s extremely rare to ask a question and not get at least one helpful answer. It’s not uncommon for people to offer to help in more practical ways too – for example there’s one puzzle with a hidden entrance and even though I’ve done it before I can never remember where it is (other than not where I expect it to be). The other day I asked in map chat if anyone could remind me and almost immediately a total stranger offered to come and actually show me where it was.

Generally I recommend just taking your time and getting to know the game. If you’re not sure about anything ask either in-game or on this forum. I also highly recommend checking out the wiki as it has a lot of useful info. But the best way to figure it out is probably just to play it.

This was a little bit of a curve to me when I just started. Some important things you should know, however, to make your transition a smooth one:

+ Take your time with the game. Get used to combat, movement, intereactions.
+ It’s okay to be a bit overleveled. If you’re in an area that your level is too high for, you’ll be scaled down to an effective level near what the monsters’ levels are. This maintains a challenge; but do know, experience for anything you do (except hearts) is adjusted for your actual character level in that area. (If you’re Level 30 and you’re scaled down to, let’s say 15, rewards and experience will be scaled up to you being level 30.)
+ If you feel you can’t tackle something, don’t force yourself to do it alone. True if you encounter champion-rank monsters which often require a few people to handle effectively.
+ Participate in events, and speak to task owners (reknown hearts) when you’re done with the area. You might be able to acquire some better gear with karma you’ll acquire. Most of the karma — a currency — you will gain are obtained by successfully participating in events and helping out with the hearts in the area.
+ The wiki is your friend. Use /wiki anytime in the game to access the Guild Wars 2 Wiki in your browser. From there, you can get information on something specific.
+ Don’t be afraid to ask questions! You’re doing right coming here, but players in the game can also help answer questions you have, if you’re unsure of what to do, or what a certain thing is.

The most important thing is at the top of the list. There’s no hurry when exploring Tyria. Take your time, explore what weapons and skills are available to you, but more importantly, don’t be pressured into following something specific — if it works for you and it works well, don’t change. But if you’re stumbling, remember that we’re here to help you with what’s wrong. :)

Your time in Tyria will be a pleasant one. Just remember to take it easy.

Oh yeah, if you’re new to MMOs in general it may also be helpful to know that there are no real consequences for dying. In single-player RPGs even if the game gives you the option to just carry on when you die (which not many do) I’ll always reload a saved game and try again from there. So when I started playing Guild Wars I found it really difficult to get used to the idea that dying was not a big deal and I could just carry on. But the game is much less stressful once you know that.

When you die one piece of your armour is damaged (shown with a yellow shield symbol), but this doesn’t actually change anything. Once all the armour you’re wearing is damaged the next time you die one piece will break. When that happens it will turn invisible and you’ll no longer get any of the benefits from wearing it.

But any time you come across an NPC or anvil with a red, cracked shield symbol (I always think it looks like a broken heart) over them you can ask them to repair your damaged or broken armour, which is completely free. So unless you forget about it there’s almost no chance you’ll end up with broken armour. (You will never lose armour this way – it can never be so broken that it can’t be repaired.)

Also if no one is around to resurrect you you’ll have to pay to use a waypoint, but the fee is very small. In many cases the more annoying part is that you then have to run back to where you were.

Oh yeah, on the other side of this all players can resurrect all other players. It won’t cost you anything and actually gives a bit of experience and contributes to an achievement so it’s well worth doing if you see anyone dead. Just be careful when you approach them that whatever killed them doesn’t get you too.

I was sorta in the same boat. I have had GW2 since launch but had never done anything outside of questing and leveling but had not even played enough to have a level capped toon. I tried to get into the game before but it was hard for me because I didn’t have any friends that played the game. What finally made me come over to GW2 was the PVE grind that WoW Legion turned out to be. I only play for pvp and can’t stand pve. GW2 is a little better because there are large scale world events that you just stumble across and it is awesome to find 100+ people rolling around in a group to complete the events.

The community for pve is helpful and the same with wvw. The “community” with spvp is not so much….. I have found if you don’t have spvp experience it is a little harder to find groups of experienced players to show you the ropes. If you are lucky enough to find a guild that has active spvp players then that will make it easier. Other than that I think reading up on metabattles and playing well in games is the most effective way to find spvp buds.