Guild Wars 2

Hi Forum!

I have been a long time mmo player but I have been only playing Neverwinter since its beta launched 3 years ago. It hit a lull for me and im branching out. GW2 was highly recommended by many in my Neverwinter guild so when I got an access code in my the Christmas humble bundle I just had to sign up and dive in.

Anyone want to offer some advise to a beginner?

Got any helpful links or guides? (I didnt see anything stickied in the main forum)

Even things like quirks in the game? example: In Neverwinter you can get random graphical artifacts from certain textures if you have shadows quality at max and also using ambient screen occlusion filter. not game breaking but a nice QOL upgrade knowing you can make a small change in settings and it will go away.

Any way, im looking forward to exploring the game and getting to know the forums.

Cheers,
Mantara

Just dive in and follow your nose. The personal story kicks in every 10 levels. In between just explore the map and do anything you like.
I played Neverwinter for about 18 months. In general you’ll find GW2 a friendlier place in PVE.

Enjoy!

Excelsior!

This is not supposed to be harsh or rude, but the best thing would be just to take it as an adventure and dive right in. Or would you read a Tomb Raider walktrough and THEN play the puzzles?

The game really has much room to learn slowly – and I highly recommend you to do this. I did, and I still discover many things instead of being told. That’s why I play games like this and not Tetris.

A good thing to start though would be the GuildWars2 Wiki. It has a lot of lore (also sometimes linking to GW1) and useful information, but everything else should be discovered ingame by yourself.

Don’t rush to max-level! Just take your time and enjoy exploring.

Some things in this thread have changed a bit over time but there is still a lot of good info and tips that do apply:

OMG If you only knew this – tips for new players

Also as others have stated the GW2 wiki is going to always be a great source of info. I recommend you use it often. Welcome to GW2 and happy adventures.

I agree with the people who say early on the best thing to do is just play.

It may be helpful to know there’s very little you can do wrong. Death is not a big problem in this game (you won’t lose any XP and will only lose a tiny bit of gold if you need to use a waypoint to revive yourself), you will eventually get more than enough hero points to unlock all your skills and traits. Nothing you can do will lock you out of any content, and you can move between different game modes and activities freely.

And if you’re not sure about anything feel free to ask either here or in-game, you’ll usually get at least a few helpful responses. Also check out the Wiki – it has a lot of information.

deposit all materials is your friend
don’t delete your first character
gather and salvage often
explore every nook and cranny
try all game modes

Repeat after me. This is not WoW, or any other MMO you’ve ever played.

There is no sharing of loot or XP so feel free to help anyone you see in a battle in PvE.

Everyone gets their own shared resource node.

Everyone can rez everyone including downed NPCs.

There is a weak MMO Trinity as multiple professions can fill rolls and everyone handles most of their own healing.

Don’t expect to be led from one area of the map to another or pushed into other maps. The game is very self directing.

Nearly everything you do in PvE gives you XP. Exploring, gathering, rezing, beating up critters.

Learn to dodge and move in combat. Armor doesn’t absorb too much incoming damage and your self heal isn’t very much. So best way to avoid damage is to not get hit.

Lower level areas will automatically down scale so you can do events in lower level areas and still earn an amount of XP relative to your current level. You could level to max without leaving your starting map, but that’s boring.

Don’t automatically use your level 80 boost, if you got one, since this game isn’t heavily loaded with “cool content” only at max level. There is a lot of stuff to do in “core Tyria” all the maps that aren’t tied to the expansion.

The wiki is your friend. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

I’m an explorer, it was my purpose when I started to play to clear all the fog of war on the map, get every point of interest, every hero point, every vista and every waypoint on a map.

Don’t forget to have fun.

Mantara.1056:

Hi Forum!

I have been a long time mmo player but I have been only playing Neverwinter since its beta launched 3 years ago. It hit a lull for me and im branching out. GW2 was highly recommended by many in my Neverwinter guild so when I got an access code in my the Christmas humble bundle I just had to sign up and dive in.

Anyone want to offer some advise to a beginner?

Got any helpful links or guides? (I didnt see anything stickied in the main forum)

Even things like quirks in the game? example: In Neverwinter you can get random graphical artifacts from certain textures if you have shadows quality at max and also using ambient screen occlusion filter. not game breaking but a nice QOL upgrade knowing you can make a small change in settings and it will go away.

Any way, im looking forward to exploring the game and getting to know the forums.

Cheers,
Mantara

Look me up when you are in-game, I will help you if possible.

Don’t be like me and skimp out on crafting until level 80! The best gear – Ascended and Legendary equipment – requires at least level 400 in multiple crafting disciplines. It’s a lot of hard work, so be sure to level up your chosen disciplines early so you don’t have to later. Collect tons of resources and USE them – don’t pawn them off to Black Lion like I did.

Exotic gear is the next best thing, and can be bought from Black Lion, the player market. Sets of armor, weapons, and upgrades can be bought for 100 gold or less, depending on the prefix, so you should have some freedom to experiment with your build. There are also build editors online you can use to pick which combination of prefixes, runes/sigils, and traits fit best with your playstyle.

Top 5 tips for players first starting GW2:

What class should I pick? What race do I start with? Any! GW2 classes are player friendly and easy to learn. The different races have their own starting story, but end up doing the same thing all the other’s do.

Do I need to join a guild? No. Guilds are optional. Some want players to add to their numbers. Some are huge and can be overwhelming. Best thing to do if you want to join a guild, know what you want in a guild. PVP, WVW, PVE, or a mix. Some are small guilds and very social. Some are Role Play. Just decide what you want then ask around.

What armor and weapons do I need for my class? Experiment. There are allot of armor types. Players will tell you to go berserker, but that has become a generic armor. Experimenting with different armor and weapon types. When most reach lvl 80, they have a pretty good idea on what armor and weapons works best for them. Some players will have more then one set of armor and weapons as well.

Always ask questions. GW2 has a friendly, helpful community and will gladly answer questions. Do not feel as if you are asking too many or taking someone’s time up. Players are here to help. The best way to learn is ask.

Last, but not least, have fun playing the game! Explore, whack away and always give yourself a challenge.

Mantara.1056:

I just had to sign up and dive in.

Sounds like a plan. Resist the urge to follow guides/tips initially, and as someone else said just follow your nose.

A surefire way to take the fun out of a game real fast is to start by following a guide. Once you’re at a point where you’re trying to maximize builds, craft a certain item, figure out how to get to that last vista then I would say to delve into guides (google is your friend).

One tip I will give you is that you can type “/wiki ______” in the chat box in game to look anything up.

GW2 is the first MMORPG I’ve played, and I’ve been obsessed since a friend got me hooked in February. What worked for me was like what everyone had been saying above, just do your own thing and it will eventually start making SOME sense. Once you have some sense, then check out the wiki page to get some more info.

Another point, at least which works for me, is concentrate on one aspect of the game at a time. It is so easy to get side-tracked with so much stuff to do, so I concentrate on one minor goal at a time IE 100% map completion was my 1st goal, complete the story line, get all the Achievement Points from battling this boss, get a full new wardrobe and weapon, become a crafter…

There is so much to do in the game I think I would’ve been overwhelmed doing it all at once. I’ve not even messed around with WVW and PVP yet, and I’m still learning things in the PVE.

The core areas of the map where your personal story begins have many new adventures to help you explore, learn, and level.

You will be rewarded for everything you do from logging in, to finding a new area of a map, to harvesting… Literally everything, even going up a level, gives rewards.

So go do anything and everything you run across.