Guild Wars 2

I don’t dislike heavy armor classes, but I don’t like my guardian. I think for the most part it’s because I’m enjoying ranged classes a lot better, based on the dynamic playstyle of GW2. The guardian only has a couple of ranged weapons (scepter and staff), and I don’t really like the weapon skills that go with them.

It is fun to pound on mobs with a hammer, though. ;]

You must have switched weapons. The skills on the left (slots 1-5) aren’t affected by your level or which skills you’ve unlocked, they’re controlled by your weapon. If you change weapons, you change those weapon skills. Makes being an Elementalist really fun, but really complicated because of all of the weapon/attunement combinations.

If you check the Hero panel (press H), and click on Skills/Traits and then Weapon Skills, you can take a look at all of the different skills you’ll get with each weapon. You do have to unlock the skills by using the weapon, but it happens really fast. Just use a dagger for a few minutes, and you’ll have unlocked all of the dagger weapon skills.

Does that make sense?

Hmm… All good discussion. I’ve been trying to decide between Necro, Mesmer, and Engineer for a while. I don’t like conjuring pets (though I don’t mind the permanent one in the Ranger profession), and I don’t like turrets either, as already stated. I’m also not so sure about phantasms/clones, but going dual sword sounds like fun.

Anything I should make sure to transfer over before I kill my Guardian?

I’m only level 30 on my ranger, so I can’t speak about the endgame, but so far I haven’t had any trouble at all with being a ranger. In fact, I find that I’m dying significantly less than on my other characters. Did you go to the other racial cities and then also level 1-15 or so areas outside those cities? Caledon Forest (Sylvari), Wayfarer Foothills (Norn), Queensdale (Human), etc.?

Also, Dynamic Events (the orange circles and such on your map) are great ways to earn experience. For the most part, when I see a DE start, I drop everything and go do it – unless I really don’t like that particular DE. If you haven’t been keeping up on your personal storyline quests, that’s a great way to level as well.

Crafting can be a bit of a money sink, but it’s a fast way to level, as well.

What level are you?

nottsgman and Helequin;
Thanks for the answers to my silly questions! I really, really dislike my guardian (but I like the Sylvari) so I was thinking of making an engineer. Let me know, Helequin, if you find that rifle/elixir gun build… That sounds perfect!

Are engineers still viable even if you hate turrets? They seem like fun, but I just… turrets… blarg.

I use my mouse buttons (there are only a few of them) for targeting controls – target nearest enemy, etc.

Welcome shirookami and crowgrrrl! :] I think many of us can relate to the accidentally-on-purpose cliff diving. I splatted myself just the other day after getting to the top of a troublesome vista, only to promptly run off the other edge… All before I got the “view” in. Woo for splatting! xD

EDIT: I’m pretty excited for the Wintersday festivities. Those who have participated in GW2 events before – should I focus on leveling before Wintersday begins, or will there be fun things to do at every level? I’m level 30 or so.

Hi Andy! Welcome from one newbie to another! Don’t be shy about asking questions… These folks know everything – and they’re nice. :]

@Riiko:
A couple of posts up, FGreenOak posted a picture of an undead chicken representing the Legion that ahem somebody let in.

Asura, skritt, and undead chickens – oh my!

I decided to make an Asuran warrior, so you may have another addition to the Asuran Army before too long, hehe.

Kitten is just what the forums language filters put in place of whatever swear/obscene word they had there. Don’t worry, I had the same question!

Goodness, Kaii, I can’t stop laughing!

I would say that if your thread has fallen off the front page, it could be bumped. But you might want to rethink the content of your post – maybe it isn’t structured in a way to invite discussion?

Welcome, Leviticus! You’ll find that there’s lots of not-so-serious people here, so I think you’ll feel right at home! I, too, like to explore, not so worried about leveling quickly or getting the questline done right away.

@Leviticus;
Wow! I never would have thought about that, but it makes so much sense.

Buying gear is exactly like AnemoneMeer said. Another thing that is helpful for searching for gear on the trading post is that you can change your filters to only show armor, or a particular type of armor (for your chest, feet, etc.). As already said, equipment is usually pretty darn cheap on the TP, so you should have enough money just by doing some quests and hearts.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this game is very dynamic compared to other MMOs you might have played. It’s not that easy to get the hang of, but you’ll want to remember to dodge. Focus on dodging out of the way of enemy attacks that have animations… Typically, they’re stronger. Getting caught in the middle of some of those can be a big problem.

Have you tried several different types of weapons? Each type of weapon has different skills, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Some of those skills will be more useful than others, especially depending on your playstyle. Experiment if you haven’t yet, and you’ll find something that works!

That’s all I’ve got off the top of my head, but please ask if you have more questions! :]

Akamon, thank you for your lengthy response! I have played other MMOs before, and GW2 definitely has a different mechanic. I really appreciate it, but it took some getting used to!

As for weapons, I also really like the hammer. It’s slow, but it’s hard to beat that protection. My weapon swap is currently the longsword. I’ve messed around with most of the weapons, and those seem to be working the best for me. I also like the scepter, but it seems seriously underpowered by comparison.

Thanks for the suggestions for trait points. I looked at a few final builds, but they didn’t offer much guidance as to which traits to build first, so this is very helpful!

I am on ET, and I would love to check out the dungeons once I get to that point.

Welcome, Pawky! :]

@Akamon;
My highest level character (still only level 20 or so) is a Guardian. I kept dying a lot, mostly because I wasn’t adapting very well to the dynamic structure of GW2. I enjoyed my Guardian, but I seem to be faring much better with my Ranger. Although, I haven’t played my Guardian since I switched the keybindings to strafe instead of turn, and trained myself to turn with the mouse – so that’s probably a fairly big chunk of my problem solved already. Still, do you have any tips for how to effectively build a Guardian?

@Helequin;
I like your idea of equal but different ranks… And it might solve some of the problem that Glitch was working on – trying to figure out how to make it easy for guild members to find others who are interested in the same things as them (dungeon running, PvE, WvW, etc.).

Obviously, lots of people have overlap – I would consider myself mostly an Explorer/PvE type, but I definitely plan on participating in WvW and dungeons as well. Still, I think most people tend to have a specialty. Correct me if I’m wrong?

@DEKeyz;
Thanks for the clarification! And yep, I’m on ET as well. I should probably put that in my forum signature, huh?

@DEKeyz;
You can dungeon run with someone from another server?

Not that it really matters for me, I’m still too low of a level for it to really matter. I keep jumping from character to character… But I’m really enjoying my human ranger, so I think that’s probably the one I’ll level.

I don’t think that there is a way to return to the tutorial (but I may be wrong). I think you’ll find that if you stay in the lowest leveled areas of Queensland, you won’t have too much of a problem. Check the hearts that show up on your area map, and note the recommended levels for them. That will give you a pretty good idea of what level each area is. If you wander too far away from a given heart, then you may end up running into some monsters you’re not quite ready for.

Besides that, are there any specific questions we can try to answer to help you learn the ropes?

Oh, and Glitch, if you need any help with anything, I’ll certainly do my best! I’m a fair writer and an excellent proofreader, so I can help with writing some content or editing for clarity.

Organizing everything is way too much work for one person to take on, so do not be afraid to delegate!

Hmm… Here’s a possible way to show activities: I’m thinking if everyone is organized in the charter by sever, if you show across the columns which activities that member is interested in, with checkmarks or whatnot. Crafters should list which crafting disciplines they are most interested in. That way, if a member is looking for someone to help them level, for example, they can look down the column at who has a checkmark in that column.

It’s probably not the best way, but it’s hard to have something that’s both easy to read AND easy to manage. I’ll definitely keep thinking, too, and let you know if I think of something better.

This is perfect! I’m playing a Ranger, so “target nearest enemy” was exactly what I’m looking for. I think I’ve got everything figured out now… All I need is some practice! I’m already seeing where this will be a huge improvement, despite my derping around now.

Thank you everyone! :]

New question: Now that I’ve started trying to use the mouse, how do you target? I know that T and Ctrl+T are the default targeting keys, but what is the difference? How do you avoid targeting things you don’t want? Is there a way to untarget everything without clicking the mouse? Any other general tips?

@mapokl;
Thanks for the tips!

Also, I asked if anyone had a guide for learning how to strafe and use the mouse, and I found one that cleared things up for me quite a bit. It’s a video guide that basically just tells you how to circle strafe and kite, while showing you why it works and what it’s supposed to look like. For people who know how to do these things, it will probably seem painfully simple, but for those who are struggling (like me), you might find it interesting. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sUKWeaXZeOY

Welcome, Neferteri! I’m about as new as they come around here (GW2 and the guild), but you sound very much like me! I’ve played several other MMOs, but I’m always scared to play with online people I don’t already know. I decided to be different with GW2. Good luck to you! :]

I had the same problem with my Guardian, but I know for a fact that it’s my own fault. I’m horrible at evading, and I can’t get my hands/mind around how you’re supposed to use the mouse to turn, instead of the usual WASD. Is there a good guide somewhere for that?

I’m noticing that I’m faring much better on my Ranger. I thought I wouldn’t like pets, but I’m really enjoying the fact that there’s something else for the mobs to attack when I’m soloing. That gives me a lot more time to react to evade. Since I can attack from a ranged position, it doesn’t really matter which direction I run/evade… I can still turn around and attack. I’m not forced to get back to where I was.

@Kiteisa and others;
Sorry I wasn’t clear before – I’d love a guild invite! =D

@akamon and Kaii;
That definitely answers my question! I’m on the Eredon Terrace (US) server right now, but if there’s a way to swap servers, I’m certainly not wedded to this one.

Hello everyone! I’m Aeleniel… Fairly new to Guild Wars 2. I’ve got a level 18 Sylvari Guardian and a couple of alternate characters I’m messing around with – a Ranger and an Elementalist. Everyone here seems very friendly, so I’m glad I found this thread!

EDIT: I hear that there’s a guild iteration on several servers… Is there a list somewhere that I could take a look at?

Elementalists are always fun… I just started a Ranger, though, and I’m having a blast with that. I’m coming from a Guardian background, though – your Engineer is probably a lot more fun than a Ranger. I haven’t tried Thief, but it sounds like it might be a lot of fun as well.

Good luck!

I agree with akamon – if you’re not sure how far you have to jump, adjust your camera so that you’re looking from the “bird’s eye view.” That always helps me gauge how far the jump really is. Once you’re there, you can let off the W key and allow yourself to fall straight down if you need to.

Keep trying! The controls aren’t always easy in this game, and sometimes the platforms are hard to judge because of the way the graphics are, but you’ll get the feel for it. I’m by no means an expert at jumping puzzles – I don’t even really like them very much – but I feel like I’m figuring it out. Also, sometimes leaving and coming back later is all it takes.

If I can jump in here and also ask about combos… I understand the concept of the Elementalist’s fire circle and the combo finisher arrow, it makes sense that in a “real” battle, the arrow might catch on fire. Is it always that straightforward to tell what the combo finishing effect will be?

Do certain combos get in the way, hampering instead of helping battle? I can definitely see where going out of your way to create combos might waste precious time, life, or DPS – but are combo effects ever bad, or do they ever get in the way?