Guild Wars 2

I am a new player who purchased this game as part of the sale that is currently on. As a lot of the guides and other online materials I looked up for information still reflect the old system where traits became available at level 11, I was looking forward to reaching level 30 and gaining access to this system that, apparently, has a significant impact on the strength of my character. I’ve seen the trainers that sell the trait guides, but presently for me money is scarce and skill points scarcer still, and I would rather not have to hamper my progression in another area (skill acquisition) to be able to access these traits that can also be earned out in the world. So I went to the wiki to find out what I needed to do to unlock my first traits.

Frankly, I was dumbfounded. I think I can count on one hand the number of objectives that appear doable as a traitless level 30. Most of them ask me to do content I won’t have access to for tens of levels. One even demands 100% completion of a zone designated as level 70-80! Then there are the ones telling me to venture into PvP areas, when A) I don’t really like PvP, and B) I’m probably going to get destroyed by people who already have their traits, good equipment, etc. There are also a lot of them requiring completion of group events or dungeons. I’ve already seen a number of group events go ignored because nobody in the area cares to do them, and I’m rather turned off from dungeons at the moment due to the fact that I don’t know any of the strategies, and the emphasis for most people seems to be on speedrunning with little tolerance for players who can’t perform at peak efficiency.

This is, quite frankly, the most discouraging thing I’ve run into since I started this game. The objectives required for the trait guides are so absurd and out of line with the level the traits actually become available that it seems designed to force you to buy the guides instead. I can appreciate the concept of a money sink, but this specifically hits new players, aka the least wealthy members of the playerbase, and not long-timers who already unlocked their traits under the old system, who are the people most likely to have money and skill points to burn. I absolutely cannot fathom the logic behind this system. It seems to be designed under the assumption that every character is a wealthy level 80 who can freely choose to purchase the guides or seek out the objectives. For a new player with neither an excess of money/skill points nor the ability to complete an array of objectives requiring level 55+ to unlock level 30 traits, this system feels like a brick wall set up purely to obstruct character progression.