Guild Wars 2

hi guys, this is my first post. so this post might get long.

i am very new to MMO’s (this is my first one!). i picked up the game after being burned out of the eternal loot grind from Diablo 3 ROS. the reason why i picked it up was because of the very good reviews it got everywhere, plus my cousin and his friends were willing to play with me. after i got my copy, my cousin ditched me lol – he thought paying $25 for a game is too much and he’d rather play DOTA 2 or all those free to play stuff (yeah, i know he sucks but that is another topic lol).

so basically, i am playing the game alone.

i am currently at level 8 with my thief … and this really is such a big world… a lot bigger than Skyrim. the most fun i had with the game so far was perfecting the basic motions: dodging, combat, and my favorite – circle strafing.

i have zero clue how the world works … i even find myself in level 11 maps (where i constantly die – not fun at all!).

i watched a lot of tutorials, and even read the discussions in the forums just to have a clue, and yet i am still confused (i just discovered that i can only start crafting when i find a master craftsman, which i did, except it was in another town (of some sort) and when i got out of there, i do not remember where it was lol

i recently found out that there is a main town in the game, which costs gold (?) to go to, and in the main town, you can find everything – so many things that i just got more confused.

while i was in town, i was invited to a Guild. i do not know why they did … probably because they knew i was a new guy based from me running into walls or jumping off ledges or something lol … so i clicked Yes, and i thought i was gonna start having fun, but nope… nobody talked to me lol … i do not know why they invited me. to pad their numbers perhaps? oh well…

anyway, amidst the confusion, i took my borderlands/diablo mentality and got into more combat to level up, but as i’ve said, i found myself in maps higher level than me, so getting out is not even possible without dying (i aggro something, and that something kills me). i got so frustrated not being able to get out of the map last night, i just logged out lol

so, i am beginning to wonder … when will the game start being fun? because right now, i dread of going back to it, and find myself in the same map level where i died lots of times, or in the same map where i complete quests with zero clue how it happened cause all i did was run around looking for something to do lol

i also noticed the chatbox is really active at times … and the people there are having fun. it reminds me of the rare times in d3 where i get in a conversation with some guys about the game, the lore, new stuff from patches, builds, etc. the only problem is, in GW2, i have zero clue about the stuff they are talking about. i try to join in and ask them, but they usually just ignore me and run off to another part of the map.

anyway, i would appreciate your comments and replies here. i mean, i paid $25 for it (not cheap in my country), i owned it for a week and i am starting to get bored with it… i do not want to give up on it just yet.

Well, my advice is to find people (or perhaps a newbie friendly guild) to play with. As for the guild that invited you, did they teach you about how to go about representing them? Or what representing means? There are some functions in game that can be quite foreign to people new to MMO’s, and it would be much better for you to join a guild that can teach you about these.

Not sure what time zone you play in, but feel free to add me in your friends list (open contacts with “y” as default, and enter Elsdragon.5109 into the add friends space) and if we’re on at the same time, I can help you out some more.

thanks elsdragon, i added you … i am in the SEA region, so chances are, we are on the opposite sides of the globe

The maps (press M) display what level you are supposed to be to tackle them. You can use the waypoints to get back to an appropriate place, there is no need to run all the way back. The compass in the top right corner provides some guidance where you could go. There is no need to follow it, though, if you don’t like it, you can disable it.

Are you saying the NPE isn’t curbing your mass confusion?

Weird….

Joining a guild that’s willing to help and explain things to you would be a good move, either a dedicated newbie guild or simply one who are willing to take the time to explain.

But also if you find yourself doing an activity alongside other people and you’re not sure about anything ask them in /map or /say to explain it. Most people are pretty friendly and willing to help, we were all new and totally confused once.

IncXeart.7302:

i watched a lot of tutorials, and even read the discussions in the forums just to have a clue, and yet i am still confused (i just discovered that i can only start crafting when i find a master craftsman, which i did, except it was in another town (of some sort) and when i got out of there, i do not remember where it was lol

i recently found out that there is a main town in the game, which costs gold (?) to go to, and in the main town, you can find everything – so many things that i just got more confused.

I’m going to answer these two points together because the answers are related.

Towns & Transportation
There are 6 cities in the game, one for each race and one shared:
Rata Sum – asura
The Grove – sylvari
Divinity’s Reach – human
Hoelbrak – norn
The Black Citadel – charr
Lion’s Arch – shared

When you created your character and finished the first instance you’ll have appeared near the entrance to your race’s city. You also go there repeatedly during the early part of your Personal Story (instanced quests marked with green stars).

You can travel between them for free by looking for a pink swirly portal (called an asura gate). The ones in the racial cities all take you to Lion’s Arch and from there you can use any of the other gates to go to any of the other cities. (And you can get back the same way.)

Exceptions

• Divinity’s Reach has 2 gates – the one near the middle of the city goes to Lion’s Arch, the one in the south west goes to Ebonhawke which is also a city but is in a level 40 zone.
• Rata Sum has a lot of gates (because the asura invented them). The one at the northern most point of the triangle goes to Lion’s Arch. The rest go to other parts of the city or out to the asuran starting zone.

A useful trick
You can also get to Lion’s Arch for free from anywhere in the world by opening the WvW menu (tower icon at the top of the screen, or press and selecting to go to the Edge of the Mists. Look around for a cracked asura gate, that will take you to Lion’s Arch.

Waypoints
You can also travel instantly to any waypoint (blue and grey diamond symbols) you’ve unlocked. Some of these are in cities, others are in explorable areas. They all cost money (copper at low levels, silver at high levels) to use. They’re very useful if you need to get somewhere quickly, but if you can use a gate instead it’s a good idea to do so.

Crafting & Services
All of the cities have the same services, including a full set of master craftsmen and crafting stations. Some of these are also found out in explorable maps.

So you don’t need to go to a specific city to craft, you can do it in any of them. Some people stick to their racial capital, some have a personal favourite. (For example I always go to The Grove because I think it has a good layout and it looks pretty.)

IncXeart.7302:

while i was in town, i was invited to a Guild. i do not know why they did … probably because they knew i was a new guy based from me running into walls or jumping off ledges or something lol … so i clicked Yes, and i thought i was gonna start having fun, but nope… nobody talked to me lol … i do not know why they invited me. to pad their numbers perhaps? oh well…

To speak to a guild (and get access to other guild functions like bonuses and the guild bank) you need to represent them. Open the guild menu by pressing G, select your guild and press Represent. You’ll then be able to use the /guild chat channel to talk to them.

They probably assumed you knew that, a lot of long-time players forget little things like that because it just becomes automatic.

IncXeart.7302:

anyway, amidst the confusion, i took my borderlands/diablo mentality and got into more combat to level up, but as i’ve said, i found myself in maps higher level than me, so getting out is not even possible without dying (i aggro something, and that something kills me). i got so frustrated not being able to get out of the map last night, i just logged out lol

Step 1: Get back to a map that’s the right level for you

• Press B to open the WvW menu
• Select ‘Edge of the Mists’ and press Yes
• When you load in look for a cracked asura gate, that will take you to Lion’s Arch
• When you arrive look for gate with guards the same race as your character (or ask in /map for directions)
• Go through it and you’ll be back in your race’s home city
• Then you can head back out to the starting area (the direction depends on what race you are, but again ask if you’re not sure).

Step 2: Follow the compass
In the top right corner of your screen is a little arrow and some text. This is the content guide, it will direct you to activities which are appropriate for your level and which will help you level up.

Below that is a list of all the activities currently available in your immediate area. You can do any of these in any order. The two main ones are Renowned Hearts (also called Heart Quests) and Dynamic Events.

Renowned Hearts
These have a yellow heart icon and white text. They become available as soon as you get close to them but you can also speak to the NPC for more information on what you’re doing, why and some background on the area you’re in.

They usually consist of a list of fairly basic tasks – killing particular enemies, clearing up the area, speaking to NPCs etc. and you can do them in any order. Each time you do something that counts towards completing the hear the bar will fill a little bit. When it’s completely full you’ll get a pop-up in the bottom right corner with a thank-you message and some money and the NPC becomes a karma merchant who will sell you potentially useful gear.

Dynamic Events
These have orange symbols on the map and orange text on the right side of the screen. The actual activities are very much like quests from other games – protect this, kill that, collect 10 rats etc. but with the important difference that they will start, continue and finish whether you (or anyone else) is participating or not.

Which means you can and should jump in any time you see one going on. Even if it’s part way through, or you don’t want to stick around until it’s finished you will be rewarded for your participation when it ends (announced with a big gold, silver or bronze medal). It’s also worth sticking around after one of them ends because sometimes after a bit of dialogue between NPCs another event will start up.

Step 3: Don’t follow the compass
It’s a helpful tool but you don’t need to let it dictate your play completely. If you see anything that interests you – an event further away, a portal to a new zone, a big group of players, even a cool bit of scenery – go and explore it! See what you can find, there’s a lot of hidden detail in this game, everything from big puzzles and dungeons to NPCs in odd places with amusing dialogue.

The absolute worst thing that could possibly happen as a result of doing something ‘wrong’ is that you die. And if that happens you just have to pay a bit of money to resurrect at a waypoint and carry on. That’s it.

So don’t worry too much about doing things right, or getting lost, or whatever. One of the strengths of this game is that it’s extremely hard to screw up so badly you can’t fix it in a few minutes.

I won’t give a step by step for your issues because the two posters above already have. Read those two posts.

I’m in the SEA region though, so if you have anything else, you should be able to find me ingame…

whoa! thanks for the detailed map guide Danikat.

i played last night, got to level 10 and finally found a “direction.” it turns out that your personal story unlocks after every 10 levels.

i’ve also learned a lot about the game, stuff like “stick to lower level areas” which was common sense but took me awhile to figure out. i am still sort of annoyed that i cannot solo the veteran wasp queen, despite being level 10 and it being level 9…

i’ve also talked to a few players last night, and its cool that i have some people on my friends list. i hope you guys wont mind that i’d add you up. cause i realized that its ok if you dont have anyone to do quests with, as long as you can have people to talk to about the game. it breaks the monotony of killing things.

also, i am beginning to enjoy collecting raw materials … it feels like crafting is a mini game in itself, and its fun

thanks for the help everyone

The wasp queen used to be a champion. I haven’t fought it since the change so I can’t be sure, but maybe they didn’t scale the difficulty down properly.

And yes, the ‘having people to talk to’ is where guilds do their thing. ^^

Wow, one thing World of Warcraft will never have: a nice and friendly community. I’m new to this game also. Thanks, Danikat. You helped clear up a lot of the things I wasn’t too sure about!

Glad to hear you’re finding your feet, OP.

His story though, is why I’d argue that the PS unlocking every 10 levels should be reverted. For total newbies, it’s a bit confusing to get thrown into the open world with no clue of where to go or what to do. Previously you could at least follow the Personal Story which would send you to different parts of the starter map, and you could explore the new areas as you went.

exactly zaxares! … last night i messed with my level 5 nord elementalist, and had fun doing “non lethal” quests. i was exploring the main town, opening every way point i could find. i did not know it was possible! i wish the game told me something like:

“ok level 2 guy, please do 4 of these heart quests to get the basics of combat. when you are done, come back to me!”

Done.

“ok, now, you have the option to open up the waypoints in the main town, you will get Xp for that, and you could do things like take up a crafting profession, buy weapons, and other stuff you learned from Diablo”

“and oh, some NPC was looking for you, he is going to contact you when you are level 10. this is gonna move your personal story forward, so dont forget to check that out”

starting the game is hard cause you are left with no direction. but when you find it, a goal of some sort, then it starts becoming fun.

I think a lot of that issue would be solved if the first scout you encounter (the one that stands right next to you when you exit your prelude) would also direct you to your racial home city.

The rest (area completion, waypoint use, etc.) is actually already covered in the New Player Experience (NPE), which gives hints on what the game has to offer included in the levelup popup messages.