Guild Wars 2

when i started GW2 at launch, there were plenty of players in any map doing every DE available.

now, i’m lucky i can even find a single non-bot player in an entire map.

a lot of speed leveling areas (like ulgoth, frogland DE’s, etc) are barren.

guys, i don’t know how to put it, but at level 18, i am getting desperate. i’m too low for AC SC’s, too poor for crafting, and essentially all PvE leveling methods are now at a slug’s pace or nonexistent. all i have to grasp onto is WvW, which is a hit-or-miss (mostly miss)

please tell me there is some other mystical method i neglected to look into, because i will never get to level 80 at this rate

Doing hearts around or higher than your level always helps. A large portion of tasks have non-violent ways to complete, always ask the task giver before doing anything you haven’t done before. Personal story quests also give a lot of exp, usually between 1/4 to 1/3 of your exp bar. With about 3 to 4 hours a day, it’s fairly easy to get up to 80 in two to three weeks.

on that note, work on map completion as well! anything that contributes to map completion will give you XP. how i leveled up mainly was while doing my story, whenever the story led me to a new area, i would try to clear that map. then my level would more or less be in line with the story. and keep going that way. though eventually i got so caught up just exploring and doing random stuff, i hit lvl 80 and my story was only at 50+

if you need a little boost or need a break from PvE-ing or WvW-ing, you can also always craft. know that going from lvl 1 – 400 for any given craft will give you 10 levels worth of experience.

You can also go to Queensdale at a higher level, youll get the same amount of exp for DEs, gathering, and killing.

WvW is a mixed bag right now, no matter where i go i always either miss out on keep captures or we’re losing..
going to low level places and doing DE’s would work, but even low level areas don’t have players running around. it’s literally a barren wasteland everywhere you go outside of like orr. you think i’m joking but i transferred to a higher population server and there is still no one walking around

there must be SOMETHING left to do to level. i am at a point where i have lost almost all patience because i attempt and attempt and attempt to do DE’s solo and all i get is a big ol’ bill for armor repairs.

If the world you are on seems to be short on players, try changing to a different world. I’m on Jade Quarry and I have had no problems in to two lower levels finding people to complete events with. Revive NPCs, they generally will help out, if in no other way but to draw aggro. I’ve managed to draw other mobs in the area in to help out with the events also.

If you do come to JQ, feel free to send me a message or whisper. I’m more than happy to party up with anyone to help them out.

I don’t see how not having people makes leveling slow. No people means easier DEs which means you can clear them quicker which means faster XP.

LithePanther.5027:

I don’t see how not having people makes leveling slow. No people means easier DEs which means you can clear them quicker which means faster XP.

do the DE’s really scale down low enough for a solo thief to do? i’m having difficulty believing that (only because i’ve never done it before)

Not really at low levels but once you get your desired weapon set, and about 15 trait points (so around 25-ish) they start to be a lot more effective.

Well… I came into this game having only ever played one PC game before and having never played an MMORPG before. I levelled my first character (a thief, ironically) in about 5 weeks of casual play.

They are a bit squishy, even with lvl 35 gear, my mesmer has more HP than my lvl 80 with lvl 80 exotics. You just need to choose your fights more carefully.

Do not attempt group events alone. Just… don’t. They will reward you only with tears and pain. When doing other DE’s, don’t rush them. You get a reward even if you fail, so use shortbow to break down the enemies into bite sized chunks, eat, go back for seconds.

I find pistol/pistol to be effective versus single opponents, sword/pistol and shortbow against groups.

Go to a different race’s starting area.

I took my level 16 Sylvari Ele over to Queensdale, did the full map completion and was level 19 (was almost 17 when I started). Then went to the Norn 1-15 area (name escapes me right now, it’s late) and left there level 21.

So 2 levels for full map completion including events per area and I wreck faces in them (mostly).

The best part, on my sever (Tarnished Coast) there were tons of players in these lowbie areas, some were actually people leveling and some where higher level doing completions and they all loved to help if you ask for it.

I enjoyed it so much I ran my level 45 Ranger through Queensdale too for the completion.