Guild Wars 2

Hello. I have a fairly simple and yet seemingly complex question for anyone who is willing to help.

My Father recently decided he wanted to learn how to play GW2. I loved the idea and have been attempting to teach him the basics. However, there is one thing I cannot figure out how to accurately explain to someone who has never played a PC game, and has essentially 0 experience with games in general….Movement.

I have tried illustrating how to use the keys in tandem with the mouse, and explaining it about 8 different ways. He still is struggling to make his char change directions, and turning 180 degrees is seemingly impossible.

That being said. I realize this is such a simple thing. And it should be noted I am aware that he will get better with time, but I was hoping/wondering if anyone had suggestions/links to any resources that would help illustrate/explain the incredibly simplified idea of using the keys/mouse for movement.

Any tips in general for teaching someone with no gaming experience how to play GW2 would be much appreciated. Thanks.

TL;DR Links/Suggestions for explaining basic mouse/key movement, among other things, to someone with no previous gaming experience.

he’s going to have lots of fun with jumping puzzles

I would usually recommend against turning with the keyboard but that might be easier for him.

You mentioned he has never played a PC game but how about consoles? There are ways to set things up to use a controller to play as well.

Start outside of GW2. Pick an object in the living room or dining room and get him to walk around the object while looking at it (kind of like circle strafing). Then get him in game and see if he can translate the RL equivalent into the game. Pick a tree to focus on, try to keep the tree centred while strafing around it.

No idea if this will work… :-)

using you mouse to move is key

If you have the mouse to do so, bind strafe to side-buttons (like my naga)

AwesomeAsBlue.1348:

My Father recently decided he wanted to learn how to play GW2.

Wish i had a father like that!! My father only complains that i play too much games.
Fact is i only play GW2.

If your father is currently only using the keyboard for movement, you should try to get him to move by only using the mouse.

(Press both mouse keys at the same time to get your character to move forwards. Move the mouse around to change direction during this movement.)

After your father has gotten used to this, allow him to use the keyboard again, effectively using W to move forward instead of pressing the mouse buttons.

Next, you can get him to use Q and E to strafe. If he has that down, he should be set.

I started on a Mac and I couldn’t use the two mouse buttons to move. Had to use the w, s, q and e and the right mouse button. When I use my windows laptop now I move the same way since I’m used to it.

My sister started on windows and uses the two mouse buttons and can not seem to break the habit. She is terrible at jumping puzzles where precise movement is needed. My son, who plays many games, and I watched her attempting a jumping puzzle the other day and realized her problem was not being able to maneuver very well using only the mouse buttons .

I would not recommend starting them out with only using the mouse for movement and then expecting them to change to using keys and mouse.

EDIT: Also you might discuss with them any key reassigns they may be comfortable with. Since they have no experience with other games they are not predisposed to certain keys doing certain things. But some keys and combinations will be easier than others. I find using the F keys to be a pain so have mapped them to x, c, v, and b. Swap is z, since I use tilde for vetrillo and teamspeak to toggle talking. My dodge is g, although I use double tap w, s, q, e to dodge. But discuss with them to get the right fit for them.

Could try pedals. Set W to the gaspedal, and S to break. Now tell him the mouse is the steering wheel, touch it (keep right mouse button pressed) and move side to side.

Start small, don’t try to teach him 180 degree turns.

Good luck and be patient with your dad!

Good for you for trying! What about using a gamepad?

Give it a try like Lazuli of using the w, s, q, e. Also, there is a keybind for Turn Around, while it’s buggy, if you keep hitting it, you will eventually turn around. lol

I started gaming just a few years ago (I’m 35) and I did struggle a little bit. Show him different options. My husband (who has gamed since his teens) showed me how he plays but also told me all the options of how to move. I tried his way and found a different way that felt much more comfortable for me.

In my experience, having never played a pc game or mmorpg, I found it pretty overwhelming at first….inventory, what to save/sell/use, who to buy what from, builds, crafting. I didn’t understand why I would want to gather, why I would want to make things at all, how to create builds that work for my game style (especially when you don’t have all traits unlocked)…or changing how I play to maximize a build, using consumables, creating combos…there is a lot more reading involved than I thought there would be. And that doesn’t touch the socialization part! Map chat was always gibberish for the longest time as everyone talks in acronyms and sometimes it’s kinda shocking what people write (no I’m not a prude).

Please be very patient – you’re going to have to repeat…A LOT. Just a little bit at a time! And encourage him not to give up!

Most of all, have fun! Your father is likely happy to spend time with his kid so make the most of it!

I’m having the same “issues” with my wife who recently started playing. The hardest part for her is the controls. I’ve read that rebinding q/e to a/d for strafing is extremely helpful, as she won’t be trying to turn and can use the mouse to change direction. Anyone have any experience with this?

If he is using a keyboard for motion….good luck. I use a Logitech G13 gamepad (I would absolutely SUCK at trying to move with WASD keys).

Found this…
http://youtu.be/sUKWeaXZeOY
…hope it helps.

pdavis.8031:

I’m having the same “issues” with my wife who recently started playing. The hardest part for her is the controls. I’ve read that rebinding q/e to a/d for strafing is extremely helpful, as she won’t be trying to turn and can use the mouse to change direction. Anyone have any experience with this?

I’m not sure if this counts as “experience”, but I remapped my keys the way you suggested pretty early in the game, since the turning keys would always make me mess up. I’m using the mouse for turning, w/s for moving ahead/backwars (v for dodge) and a/d for strafing, and since my finger’s rest positions are always a/s/d/f (relict of ages past when I learned to type 10-fingered ), it works a lot better than q and e.

I currently have the “teaching”-problem in a somewhat easier variation: My youngest daughter, who isn’t old enough to have her own account, is sometimes allowed to explore cities and jumping puzzles with my characters. Since it’s her first computer game, she’s having a hard time with the movement controls, too. Fortunately, as a kid, she learns much easier than an adult, but seeing how every family member is able to navigate MMOs so much easier than she is does make it difficult for her (and for us when she throws a tantrum each time the character doesn’t move the way she wants it to ).

The “strategy” that helps best in our case is actually “show her once, then let her practice someplace safe (preferably inside a city) by herself”. I suspect that this works the same with adults: Try not to “teach” too much, but only show the basics, then leave and let them practice by themselves at their own pace (her dad is always in the room when she plays, but he doesn’t “count” since he doesn’t play GW2 and thus can’t judge on her movement skills in her opinion ).

@Rasimir

Excellent suggestion. Thanks!