Guild Wars 2

The thing about GW2 is that being level 80 doesn’t mean you know how to play a class.

Can you post a screenshot of it?

Helpful links:

Abbreviations/Acronyms: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Abbreviations-Terms-Acronyms-2/first and http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Abbreviations

Combat guide (extremely good read, props to DreamyAbaddon): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/first

Newbie tips (some outdated/erroneous notes, but still a useful read): https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/first

(updating as more come to mind)

Greetings all,

It’s nearing the time for the free trial to begin. I’m not sure how many trial players read this forum, but I thought I’d throw this out here just in case.

If any trial players find themselves in need of a hand, have questions, or just want company while playing, you are free to hit me up anytime. Either send me a PM in-game (type /tell Falunel in chat) or mail me in-game or on the forums. You may also email me at paxcaiant@gmail.com. As long as I’m not afk or in a dungeon, I will answer- if I’m in a dungeon or otherwise too busy with a fight to answer, I will let you know and get back with you as soon as I can. If I don’t answer, by all means feel free to PM/mail me again.

I play on the Tarnished Coast server and will gladly run with you if you’re on the same server, provided my guildmates don’t need me for anything or I’m not busy helping someone else. If you are not on Tarnished Coast, there is no guarantee I can play with you, given that I can only guest to two servers per day- however, you are free to guest to TC yourself. Regardless of your server, I will answer any questions you have about the game.

As for my “credentials,” I have been playing since launch and have four level 80 characters- two elementalists (Falkra and Falunel), a mesmer (Falche Graysong), and a guardian (Asha Lzurei). I know something about each class, having run with skilled players and played them all at some point; however, my primary specialty is elementalist.

I also invite all interested trial players to join my personal guild (Birds of Tuonela [Swan]) for the weekend. Unfortunately, I cannot unlock all guild benefits in time for the trial, but anyone who wants a hub for ease of communication with myself or other trial players is absolutely welcome to join. Just let me know, in-game or on the forums. I do not ask anything except that you a) do not ask for gold or items, and b) are courteous and respectful of other players. If you encounter another guild you are interested in, you are free to represent them.

(Note: this is not a guild recruitment post. You do not need to join [Swan] if you want help or company. The guild will be emptied after the trial weekend concludes, though if you decide to continue playing GW2, you are still welcome to contact me if you need anything.)

I will also say that I am moving this weekend and may not be on as much as I usually am, but will make an effort to be on. If any other veteran players would like to offer their help, please feel free to post.

Overall, welcome to Tyria, and enjoy your stay.

Look in the lower-right corner of the post you want to link. There’s a little chain icon that says permalink.

(BTW your thread is interesting.)

There is none, unfortunately.

There is an alliance guild called Commendation [GC] based on Tarnished Coast that does guild missions en masse in that time frame, if my conversions are right. They’re about letting people without guilds or in small guilds get commendations without being forced to join a rep-requiring guild.

I believe some of the other large NA servers have similar groups, though [GC] is all right with people guesting for the missions.

The basic AR infusion can go into any type of slot. I would recommend getting an amulet with a utility infusion, though, in case you ever decide to switch out the AR infusion for a karma/MF/gold infusion.

The commander symbol (the blue diamond) is always visible to anyone in the map.

Obligatory note: please do not get a commander tag just to put your name on the map, it won’t earn you any respect. Quite the opposite.

http://us.gw2stuff.com/en/events/us for NA. If you’re EU, just click the EU tab.

What timezone are you referring to by 2 PM and 8 PM?

Barabbas.8715:

With the release of harder content recently such as AR, the Candidate Trials, and Liadri I’ve noticed more elitism than usual on the forums. Essentially people saying stuff like:

“You don’t deserve to beat this content”
“You’re just not good enough, go do something else”
“This content is for hardcore players, not for casuals like you”
“You’re not entitled to beat all content in the game, stop whining”

You get the idea.

Instead of coming across like a jerk, why not share tips and strategies on how to beat harder content like this? Why not be supportive of your fellow players? And why not understand the frustration they’re experiencing?

There are players who strive to help others and provide videos, guides, tips, etc. to others and they’re awesome. I personally wouldn’t have beaten the Liandri fight without their help. But if I had listened to the elitists I would probably have just given up.

This I agree with, 100%. The rest of your post, though, I have to disagree with.

It’s firstly important to note that the Gauntlet is optional. Anet even said themselves that it was meant to be difficult, and as such separated it from the rest of the Living Story content. You don’t need to do the achievements there in order to finish the Queen’s Jubilee achievements, and doing the Gauntlet doesn’t award anything significant, just a minipet (which few players use anyway) and some gold you could probably earn quicker by doing easier content. What I would have disagreed with was if the Gauntlet gated a reward, as in doing it was the ONLY way to get a highly desirable skin, or doing it gave you an item that gave you an advantage over other players, like how PvP arenas give highest-tier gear in other games. However, that is not the case, as I said earlier. You also do not have to do the Gauntlet to view the story, unlike the AR dungeon.

The truth of the matter is that it’s difficult to pin down an “average” skill level. No matter what you do, there will be some people who will be unable to accomplish a challenge and will complain about things being too hard, while other, more skilled people will stomp it flat and get bored. Also, people’s definitions of “optional” vary, in that people will always think it’s unfair if they can’t do a certain piece of content, no matter where the content is located or how it’s labeled. The best thing you can do is have something for everyone, even the hardcore players (and yes, you can be hardcore and still be a genuinely nice person, like the people who give advice on Liadri), and make sure that you aren’t forced to do something or forever be at a disadvantage.

Also, regarding myself, I am a dedicated player, halfway between casual and hardcore. I love pushing myself to the fullest, being the best I personally can, honing my skills and testing them against extreme odds, but I don’t obsess over min/max or berate other people for not being experienced. I haven’t gotten far in the Gauntlet due to connectivity issues. I know for certain that I’m not skilled enough to do a 5-gamkittenallenge, nor the Light Up The Darkness achievement. I don’t even know if I have what it takes to beat Liadri. But it doesn’t bother me. I’ll just give it a try and see how it goes. If I win, good, if I fail, I’ll decide whether I want to put in the practice and time to beat her, or say “Meh” and walk away. In either case, I’m actually pretty thrilled about the Gauntlet, since I’ve spent almost every hour in the game learning and finetuning my skills with my beloved elementalists, and I like seeing a chance to find out if it bore fruit. If I’m not good enough, it just means I have some more work to do.

EDIT: And I agree that some aspects of the Gauntlet are kind of stupid- the timer especially forces you into a DPS race and disadvantages defensive builds and condition builds. But the overall concept is all right with me.

The above posters have covered pretty much anything I could say, but regarding ele… it’s squishy at first, but once you learn to play it and build it right, it’s nigh unkillable. I’ve soloed a lot of stuff that isn’t meant to be soloed and am usually the last standing.

If it helps any… my motivation for playing is kinda hard to pin down, but much of it rests in combat. I want to push elementalist to its limits and see what the class can do (and being the stubborn person I am, I tend to believe it can do everything and I just need to play better). I also want to level one of each class and see how they handle.

I also play for social reasons- I LOVE that GW2 frees me to spend time helping other people without feeling like I’m gimping myself by not grinding instead. Part of the reason I want to play every class is so I can provide better advice to incoming players about their personal best fit and difficulties. I also enjoy exploring everything with my friends, and seeing where the game is going.

Doesn’t that apply to all precursors, not just new ones?

From https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/looking-ahead-guild-wars-2-in-2013/

We aren’t quite ready to go into all the details here, but what I can say is you will see a specific way to build precursor items on your way to a legendary. On top of this, you’ll also see new legendary weapons and new types of legendary gear in 2013. Building your precursor will require a large amount of the new crafting material rewards listed above, 500 in crafting, and likely a combination of other items earned for completing more specific content in the game.

TheMaskedGamer.5708:

Hey guys, hope you guys are having fun. Anyway, i just wanted to ask what are the fundamental differences between a guardian and a Warrior. I only know the simple basics that Guardians have more health and use magic, while the Warrior can use almost all weapons and are possibly have more resistance to damage(Correct me if I’m wrong).
But I want someone to give me the specifics between their stats, and who is more effective when assigned to certain roles like Healer, Support, Damage Dealer or Tank. (Basically who is better in each role. Add other that I may not have mentioned in this post.) Give me numbers even to see the major differences. Hope you guys can help.

First of all, Guild Wars 2 does not use the Healer/Tank/DPS trinity. Every class can heal itself and has ways of avoiding damage (which is more important than healing damage), there is no way to control aggro, and each person is ultimately responsible for their own survival. Give this a readthrough: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/first

Onto your main question- guardians are a more defensive, supportive class (arguably having the best party support in the game), while warriors are an offensive class with access to some offensive support and control ability, depending on their weapons/build.

Guardians have the same amount of armor as warriors, but actually have lower health than warriors. Their health pool is the lowest in the game, right next to elementalists. However, they have access to many active defenses- powerful self-healing and numerous ways to mitigate damage, including but not limited to blinds, blocks, projectile reflections, condition cleanses, and numerous defensive boons such as aegis, protection, and regeneration. A properly played guardian can survive just as well, if not better than a warrior. They support the group by bringing healing, shielding the party from projectiles, and sharing their boons. Their damage output can, with the right gear and build, be decent, but it’s not as high as a warrior’s.

Warriors, on the other hand, have the highest amount of health in the game, but possess far fewer defensive tricks. Their heals are relatively weaker and on long cooldowns, so a good warrior must be highly mobile and skilled at dodging in order to avoid damage. They have the highest direct damage in the game and are wanted often for speedruns. Though their support capabilities aren’t as high as that of guardians, a warrior can boost the damage of allies with offensive boons, provide light health regeneration, and interrupt enemy attacks with control skills.

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Falunel.7645:

Tallying up the costs of everything you can buy to make a legendary (precursor and all gifts save Mastery)… crafting Twilight, if you bought all the materials but made Gift of Mastery yourself, would cost approximately 1404.64g. Twilight is currently being sold for 1777.77g. In other words, if you buy the legendary directly, you’re paying a markup of ~374g.

Just throwing that out there in case anyone finds it interesting. I will say that the crafting price varies depending on your luck with clovers, the market, and how many mats you have saved up/get dropped. Also, I did that calculation on paper (no calculator) and with plenty of rounding, so it may be off here or there.

I looked on the trading post today and Twilght is actually going for 1525. Eternity is going for 1740. I’m not sure if these prices change or not but as of right now those are the prices listed on the main screen. When I pulled up legendary weapons through the search options, the price you listed came up. Confusing.

The 1525g is the buy order. Someone’s basically saying they’re willing to buy Twilight for 1525g, but there’s no guarantee if anyone will bite. The ~1700 price refers to the selling price- if you were to buy Twilight immediately, that would be the price you would have to pay.

Guilds with that requirement come as a surprise to me- there’s lots of guilds I’ve seen recruiting, on the forums and in-game, that don’t ask for those things, just repping and a good attitude. Personally, I think those types of elitist guilds aren’t worth the time anyway.

I’d recommend giving https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/guilds a look. Lots of casual players or non-elite players post in the LFGuild section in particular, and get a good number of responses.

EDIT: Tarnished Coast? That’s especially odd- I’ve never seen a guild around like the one you described. Anyway, here are a few friendly recruiting posts in that section:
-Ex Cineribus [ExC]
-Remnants of Hope [HOPE]
-Eternal Hearts
-Vanquish [Vanq]
-Serenity and Scars [SnS]

EDIT 2: Regarding not being able to find a group, as blunt as it is, don’t expect a guild to always be able to run when you want, especially in guilds that do a little of everything or are extremely large. Your best bet is to get some friends together and make a static group.

Tallying up the costs of everything you can buy to make a legendary (precursor and all gifts save Mastery)… crafting Twilight, if you bought all the materials but made Gift of Mastery yourself, would cost approximately 1404.64g. Twilight is currently being sold for 1777.77g. In other words, if you buy the legendary directly, you’re paying a markup of ~374g.

Just throwing that out there in case anyone finds it interesting. I will say that the crafting price varies depending on your luck with clovers, the market, and how many mats you have saved up/get dropped. Also, I did that calculation on paper (no calculator) and with plenty of rounding, so it may be off here or there.

A friend of mine got Genesis a few days ago. At the time, he was farming Frostgorge and Orr, but mainly Frostgorge.

I don’t know where he got it, or if he just bought it, but I’ll ask him later today. For now, there’s at least no harm in jumping in Frostgorge or Orr to kill some champs.

You can get the Proxemics Lab zone just by going up to the door- you don’t have to actually go inside.

As someone who finished Maguuma Explorer just yesterday, the spot that had me stumped was Cubular Fells in Mount Maelstrom. If you have Proxemics, check for that, and check Spekk’s Lab (Caledon Forest) and Aurora’s Remains (Brisban Wildlands) as well.

Brother Grimm.5176:

Falunel.7645:

For certain blues and greens, you’ll probably turn a more consistent profit by selling them to NPCs. Primary example being anything that gives silk scraps or thick leather sections, which are nearly worthless.

Unless you are crafting T5 items (or are ever planning to craft them). Free mats are always less expensive than even cheap TP mats. I guess if you have plenty of the T5 common materials, selling to NPCs is an option. If you are only concerned with LVL 80 gear, then your suggestion is more applicable.

Doing some math:
A blue level 80 Rampager’s Pirate Coat, according to gw2spidy, currently has a sell price of 84 copper. Assuming that someone was listing the sell price above the NPC price, let’s assume the sale price to an NPC is 50 copper (which is lower than the actual NPC price, but it’s always better to round against your favor if in doubt).

Now, assume that salvaging the coat will give you 5 Thick Leather Sections, which again, is higher than the actual amount you get salvaging, but it’s safer to err against your favor in cost estimates. Currently, Thick Leather Sections are selling at 8 copper apiece, which means buying 5 sections off the TP would cost 40c (not counting fees).

In other words, if you sold the coat for 50c and bought the 5 sections for 40c off the Trading Post, you would gain 10c more than if you simply salvaged the coat for those 5 leather sections.

That’s for level 80 blue items- with green items, the math becomes more complicated since you have to factor in the cost of the upgrade along with the increased sale price of greens. Generally speaking, though, blue armor that gives silk or thick leather tends to be worth more when sold to NPCs rather than salvaged. (It’s also not too hard to come across those materials- I have three full stacks of silk and two stacks of thick leather in my bank just from salvaging whites and opening bags,)

For certain blues and greens, you’ll probably turn a more consistent profit by selling them to NPCs. Primary example being anything that gives silk scraps or thick leather sections, which are nearly worthless.

nearlight.3064:

Thanks! I actually have a lot of the JPs done, the ones that I’m having the most trouble with are Dark Reverie (2nd JP after morgans spiral), Conundrum Cubed, Scavenger’s Chasm, Fawcett’s Bounty and Revenge, and Scavenger’s Chasm. The Others I should be fine. I haven’t tried Troll’s End or the borderland JPs but I should be fine with the borderland ones.

I’ll add you guys and message you when you’re online and feel free to message me as well. Thanks!

Oh and Asina, I’m on Kaineng NA, and since you’re EU we wont be able to play together, but thanks anyway!

I have only managed to succeed at Dark Reverie once. Ironically, I made the killer jump on my first try and got to the chest. It was when I thought, “Hey, that wasn’t so bad. Let me see if I can do it again” that I promptly missed the jump, plummeted to the ground, and died amidst the laughter of countless Nightmare Courtiers.

Other than that, I finished Conundrum Cubed yesterday, but I wasn’t on my mesmer so I’m going to have to run him all the way down there and figure out how to portal for it.

I will warn that I currently have connectivity issues (staying for the summer at a place with shaky internet and people who interrupt often), but if I suddenly blink out, I’ll be sure to get back with you once I’m able to.

The dragon helms and wings were items you could only acquire through the Dragon Bash Living Story, which is now over. The Holographic Dragon Wings are still available through the Trading Post. They were listed at 5.5g when I last checked. The dragon helm can no longer be acquired, nor can the Shattered Holographic Wings.

If you’re a heavy armor character, the Draconic armor set may be a substitute.

It’s just an indication that the level of the zone is way below yours. It happens with players as well- if you’re in a city as a level 80 and a level 15 runs by, you’ll notice that their level is also grayed out.

In any case, your stats will be downleveled to fit the zone while exp/karma/money will be scaled up to fit your level. You usually get more exp/karma/money from doing events and hearts at zones your level, but not that much more. The main concern regarding a zone’s level is crafting materials, as crafting drops will be at the level of the zone.

To elaborate on that last point, if you try facetanking in any of the more difficult dungeons (Arah explorable, CoE, higher-level Fractals) or some difficult open-world content (Queen’s Gauntlet), you’ll get shredded very quickly no matter how many defensive stats you pack. Not just by the bosses, but by the trash mobs as well (and usually by the trash mobs).

In other words, if you plan on doing difficult content, you have to learn active defense. Otherwise, you and your party are in for a world of hurt.

Giving this another bump.

VOLKON.1290:

Same as a basic (or less)? Crap. If it were the same as a mystic or even a masters I’d be all over it.

According to the gemstore description, it’s somewhere between a crude and basic, but according to Dulfy and the description in the bag, it functions like a basic (recovers upgrades). No one knows if this is intended.

EDIT: Correction, in-game testing a post above yours says the rates are lower than basic, but also that basic’s rates are lower than stated as well.

Warrior is one of the most forgiving classes to begin with in the game, so hearing you were having trouble with one is concerning.

Do you strafe around while fighting, dodge attacks, and time your skills to counter incoming attacks? Avoiding damage is much, much more important than healing it. Warrior is one of a few classes that can, early on, afford not to move and to take damage, but no matter what class you play, later on it’ll cripple you if it becomes a habit.

Here is an example of fighting actively. I move constantly in combat, dodge often, and don’t spam my skills- rather, I use them according to the situation, to keep the enemy under control. Granted, you won’t have access to all the tricks I have as a level 80, but the basics are there and it’s never a bad idea to start learning good habits early.

EDIT: Also, give this a readthrough: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/first

That being said, the best class is subjective. Here are a few notes on both:
-Necromancer: Excels at damage-over-time, but can also run effective power builds. Main defense is in its high HP and Death Shroud, which acts as a second life bar.
-Engineer: Focuses more on utility (support and control) rather than raw power. Has a lot of control abilities, and no weaponswap but access to kits (utility skills that are sort of like additional weapons).

I would say engineer is more difficult than necromancer. Engineer has a higher skill cap in that you have to be good at adjusting to the situation, swapping skills in and out to keep the enemy pinned down with controls. It also takes longer to come into its own, around level 30. Both necromancer and engineer are harder than warrior, though.

Which one is more fun? You have to decide that yourself. If you can, try them both out.

Nime.2089:

There you can only get rings and buy the backpeace. The Rings drop from daily chest starting from Fractals 10+ but as a possible bonus only… If you run a lot of Fractals you can hope that the right stats once drop. But as you asked for a fast way I would tend on buying them…

This was changed in that the daily bonus chests for Fractals 10+ now award a guaranteed Pristine Fractal Relic. You can trade 10 Pristine Fractal Relics for a ring of your choice. If you’re experienced and have a decent group, I’d suggest doing daily 10+ runs. (Possibly could PUG one too, though results may be more mixed.)

Also, you can get Ascended accessories (earring slots) for 12 Guild Commendations an 5 gold each. If you’re not in a guild that does guild missions, there are alliance guilds formed to help people get them. Commendation [GC] is one of them for NA, based on Tarnished Coast.

Someone needs to make a guild called Aperture Nonjumping Elevation Initiative [Port] or something similar, dedicated purely to porting people up puzzles.

That aside, I’m able to help with the following:

Possibly some others, though those twelve are the ones I’ve ported for before. I’m slow at the Chaos Crystal Cavern and have issues sticking the first landing on Weyandt’s Revenge, but those are pretty much the only ones I have significant issues with.

RedCobra.7693:

RLHawk.3290:

If you don’t have friends to do it with, you can also often call out in map chat to see if anyone wants to go along with you.

I personally found the whole map very fun. But I enjoy exploring. One thing I will say though — it’s more fun when you’re doing it because you want to do it than when you’re just trying to rush through it.

this seems to be the issue, i really want to enjoy it but the legendary is teasing me, do i enjoy the explore that i have left or rush for twilight, ive been on the game 1200 hours now and every minute has been dedicated to twilight

Stop and think about why you want Twilight, and what you plan on doing after it.

The core game won’t change after you get Twilight. You’re not going to get access to top-tier raids or dungeons or PvP, unlike other games after grinding for a certain piece of gear. Neither are you going to have mass admiration or fame. Nor will you become a more powerful player. A legendary is a skin and a personal goal, not a game-changer. You get one because you like how it looks (as in, even if it was common as a blue drop, you would get it because you like how it looks) and then you continue playing the game as always.

With that in mind, is it worth getting the skin if you just burn out and blow past content you want to enjoy? My friend has multiple legendaries (all of which he made himself) and 100% map completion on five characters. As soon as he decided he wanted a certain legendary or map completion, he went after it hammer and tongs whenever he was in-game and didn’t stop unless someone needed his help. Yet the work hardly bothered him- rather, he enjoyed the feeling of making progress towards his personal goal, and after finishing those goals, just played the game as always.

However, I on the other hand don’t go after things so fervently. I like doing things on a whim and will usually drop everything if someone calls in with a question or even just wants to chat. I have my legendary’s precursor, WvW map completion, and more than enough clovers, so all elements of chance are out and the only thing that keeps me from finishing my legendary is straightforward work. Still, I spend most of my time online not actively working, but just doing things I like to do. When I explore, I pick an interesting direction and just walk and see what I find.

My way of doing things is much slower than my friend’s, but we both enjoy the game and progress without burning out or getting bored, and neither of us feel forced to work. Ultimately, that’s the most important thing. Make sure you’re getting the legendary because you want to, not because you feel you have to or that it’ll earn you admiration or make you a better player. And when you do the work required, try to do it in a way where you’ll enjoy it. Your legendary’s not going away, and there’s hardly any point in getting it if the process leaves you burnt out on the game itself.

The only required dungeon is the dungeon from which your legendary’s gift is linked to.

For example, I’m making The Minstrel. The Gift of The Minstrel requires Gift of the Nobleman, which can only be obtained by trading in 500 tokens from Caudecus’ Manor. Each legendary weapon has a component like that, one you obtain by trading in 500 tokens from a certain dungeon. You can check which legendary needs which gift on the wiki.

Otherwise, dungeons are not required, though they help in that they pay well when done with a good group.

Astral Projections.7320:

One thing you can do to get the T stones is run an alt thru one of the cities, Hoelbrak say, and get 3 stones. You can run it thru the others cities if you want for more stones or delete and repeat.

Running thru a city only takes a few minutes once you learn it.

This is pretty much what I do. I can get the Grove done in about 5 minutes a run.

Also, regarding grind, the philosophy is that you don’t have to grind for stats. You’re not forced into attending a several-hour-long raid at a fixed time every week no matter what RL things come up. Exotics are easy to get- you don’t have to fight other players over a rare drop, and dungeon tokens mean you get the gear you’re looking for, guaranteed. Crafted armor is relatively cheap and on the same level as dungeon exotics, and you can also get exotics with karma or Badges of Honor (which are being handed out like candy for achievement points). You grab your exotics at 80 and that’s all you need for the rest of the game- hell, even in Fractals, AR isn’t needed that badly if you’re good enough at dodging.

The dev team said several times before the release of GW2 that the grind in the game is linked to cosmetics- legendaries, and now also rare backpieces like the Fractal Capacitor. Cosmetics don’t hamper your ability to play the game and perform just as well as any other player- sure they’re nice, but you don’t NEED them to play and there’s no pressing need to get them like top tier stat gear in other games. If you like the look, you work towards them- it’s something you want to do. If you don’t feel like grinding for the skin, you’re not punished for it.

As for my background, I’ve always tricked out my alts soon after I make them. At level 5, I gave my sylvari ele a full set of T2. My level 23 thief has several T2 pieces and Midnight Fire dye. My guardian’s had a bunch of level 80 stuff, some of it pretty expensive, ever since level 20. To preserve all of their looks, I kept a character slot open and made temp alts to run the Grove again and again for transmutation stones. If it got tiring, I could say “eh” and just let them wear whatever was on hand until the next ten levels came around, or even let them keep wearing gear 20 levels outdated. In either case, I never suffered for it like I would have in other games.

tl;dr want and need are two separate concepts.

I would highly recommend NOT going full zerker until you’ve had more experience with dungeons, reading enemies, and avoiding attacks. Start with balanced gear like Knight’s and Valkyrie’s and adjust according to your preference- if you survive well in many situations, start swapping it out for offensive gear until you hit the right balance for yourself.

As for your original question, check http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Equipment_acquisition_by_stats for a list of stat sets and where you can find them.

Go to the edge of the Crown Pavilion (the underground area with all the events, not the aboveground area in Divinity’s Reach). Head along the outer path bordering all the event zones until you see a thin ramp going upwards and toward the center of the arena. It leads to a walkway above the Pavilion with the Gauntlet domes along it.

Bumping and +1.

Do your dailies, as a previous poster said. From there, explore Fireheart Rise or Mount Maelstrom, which will give you the most exp at your level.

Here’s a list of sigils: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sigil I can’t recommend any since I’ve always used Energy, and I’m not sure whether your final build will stack a lot of precision.

When were you last here?

Statwise, there’s Ascended trinkets, which aren’t too hard to get and not necessary nor much more powerful- you can stay in exotics and do just fine, if not better than a weaker player in Ascended. They’re more of a way to round out your character over time.

Rings:
-Do Fractals of the Mist at fractal levels 10+. The daily bonus chest from the Jade Maw has a chance to award a random Ascended ring, as well as a guaranteed reward of a Pristine Fractal Relic, which can also be traded for rings.
-Trade 35 Laurels for a ring at PvE Laurel Vendors in the main cities, or 25 Laurels and 250 Badges of Honor at WvW Laurel Vendors. You get Laurels by doing daily and monthly achievements.

Accessories:
-Trade 40 Laurels and 50 Globs of Ectoplasm for an accessory at PvE Laurel Vendors or WvW Laurel vendors.
-Trade 12 Guild Commendations (received from doing Guild Missions) and 5 gold for an accessory at the Guild Commendation Trader in Lion’s Arch.

Backpiece:
-Buy an exotic Fractal Capacitor backpiece for 1350 Fractal Relics at the relic vendor in Fractals of the Mist and upgrade it.
-Craft one through the Mystic Forge.

Amulet:
-Trade 30 Laurels at PvE Laurel Vendors, or 20 Laurels and 250 Badges of Honor at WvW Laurel Vendors.

You can buy masterwork/rare backpieces from the TP- search “Spineguard.” I believe they have a berserker’s spineguard available.

Correct. I use that armor setup on both my guardian and my elementalist (which has about the same health pool and even less armor) and do just fine- I have a lot of flexibility in that I can change my build around and not have to worry about changing my armor to go with it.

Endurance is basically your dodge meter- dodging consumes endurance. Superior Sigils of Energy refill 50% of your endurance on weapon swap, which means you get a free dodge back when it triggers. Vigor doubles your endurance regeneration, which means you can dodge twice as much as before. Some people may debate me on how necessary lots of dodging is for a guardian, but in harder content where the mobs hit like freight trains, it’s always better to dodge an attack completely than to take it and try to recover. The reason I suggested boon duration runes is that if you don’t have lots of precision, it’s hard to keep vigor up permanently. Boon duration runes help by increasing the amount of time vigor stays on you, making it easier to stack it up. (It’s also a good all-around choice for guardian, since the class specializes in putting out lots and lots of boons for everyone.)

Another thing- I’m not sure how often you swap weapons. I personally swap all the time. If you don’t swap that much, you might want to consider looking into a different sigil.

Corrupted Bulwark is a Valkyrie shield, so yes. If you’re after the stats rather than the look, I’d recommend buying a cheaper Valkyrie shield. All exotics of the same level, gear type, and stat set are the same.

No problem. All of that is just my personal taste. Don’t be afraid to tweak depending on your level of experience or preference. If you’re having issues with keeping alive, you can swap out some pieces for more defensive stats to begin with- if you’re doing fine and want more damage, you can swap out some pieces for more offense.

Just going to repost this. I’m already a member, but may as well make my offer of help easier to see:

Name: Falunel.7645
Main Character: Falunel (Sylvari Elementalist)
Current Region/Server: Tarnished Coast (NA)
Interested Activities: I’m a PvEer, but I know a few things about basic WvW tactics.
Active: Usually evenings in US Central Time and weekends. Erratic connection, so I may go offline for periods of time suddenly.
Additional Comments: Like Atlas, I don’t really talk about myself, since my head is full of poetry analysis and odds and ends about working in a lab and other strange things that would likely bore most people. Otherwise, I’m up to help with things involving the game. Quoting an earlier post of mine:

I’m working on a website for new players, but before that, I want to add my name here. If you ever have any question about the game, just PM me (type “/tell Falunel” in chat without the quotation marks) or send me a mail, and if I’m not busy or afk I will do all I can to help you. Even if I am busy, I will try to reply telling you that I am, but that I will get back with you the moment I’m free- if you don’t get a followup or any sort of reply, by all means message me again. If you’re very new and the spam prevention system keeps you from messaging me in-game, send me a PM on these forums. I check my inbox here every day and will always reply.

I play on the Tarnished Coast server and will gladly run with you if you’re on the same server, as long as my guild isn’t asking anything from me. If you’re not on Tarnished Coast, there’s unfortunately no guarantee I’ll always be able to play with you, given I can only guest on two servers a day- however, you are always welcome to guest to the Coast yourself. And no matter what server you’re from, I will answer your questions.

My main is a charr elementalist, who I’ve played since launch- I am currently working on another elementalist, and sometimes play my ranger/mesmer/guardian alts. I know a little about every class, having tried them all at some point and ran with skilled players, but my specialty is elementalist. Though I’ll give no guarantee that the way I prefer to play my ele is the same as your preferred style (I don’t use staff much, for instance), and I won’t give you a specific build if you ask for one, as I believe the best way to find a good build is to tinker and experiment rather than copy another’s.

Again, this is all free of charge. There will be cases I can’t help, but I will do what I can. As Hayashi said, you lose nothing by asking.

Welcome to Tyria.

Personality-wise, I can be a bit tart at times. One of my major peeves is whining, and by that I don’t mean “Events are hard to find in this area” or “I’m having trouble leveling/staying alive.” By whining, I mean things like “X class is soooooo OP because I can’t beat it, Anet hates my class!” or “This game is mean and unfair, I should get 10g for killing the champion troll!” or “My class is underpowered because I can’t stand in one place and kill everything by facerolling my keyboard!” Just… no. Otherwise, I’m nice and won’t talk down to you for not knowing something.

Do you want to be a member of the guild Legion of Honour?: I already am, but I tend to rep my small guild [Alta] or my personal guild [Swan]. Sometimes I’ll drop in to chat.

Are you happy for people to contact you directly (whisper/PM)?: Yes, though I might not immediately respond if I’m in a dungeon/event/tough fight or afk. I also get sporadically booted from the game, but I’ll try to get back with you if I do.

cpg.7140:

T3 gear might mean tier 3 cultural armor, in some contexts.

Oh yeah, forgot about this. This is probably what they mean when they talk about T3 gear. It’s cosmetic, so don’t worry about buying it if you don’t like how it looks.

That’s the first time I’ve heard that terminology as well. As far as I recall, there is no T1/2/3 gear in PvE or WvW, nor is anything in PvE divided into T1/2/3. T1/2/3 in WvW refers to the server’s ranking and shouldn’t have much of an impact on how a class plays.

The most I can think of is that they’re referring to sPvP, where the tiers refer to certain tournament levels, and the gear is all cosmetic.

I can’t say for certain, given that I don’t know your upgrade slots or your accessory quality, but you can plug it into here: http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ That’s only at level 80 with exotics and Ascended, though.

The absolute best option is to start with balanced/tanky gear and gradually replace each piece with offensive gear until you find the right balance of defense or offense for you. However, if you want a general template, this is a good setup for balance:

Weapons: Soldier (power/vitality/toughness) or Valkyrie (power/vitality/critical damage)
Armor: Knight (power/precision/toughness)
Trinkets: Berserker (power/precision/critical damage)

I would not recommend trying full zerker until you’ve had a lot of practice with your guardian in all sorts of content and feel very confident in your ability to avoid damage. As for runes and sigils, Energy sigils and boon duration runes (2 Superior Water, 2 Superior Monk, 2 Minor Sanctuary/Water) help massively with keeping your endurance up- no matter how tanky your build or armor is, you’re going to have to dodge a lot.

For traits, I’d recommend at least 5 points in Honor for vigor-on-crit, which is very useful for dodging. I can’t say anything further than that for your particular weapon setup, though I’d recommend carrying with you one of each weapon if you want to be especially flexible.

If you’re curious, this is my personal build. I can’t explain it in full due to space issues, but essentially it’s an evasive build that supports through lots of boons.

As for your other questions:

Karma exotics offer certain sets of stats for each piece, but they’re of the same quality as other exotics and you can mix and match them with exotics from crafting/dungeoning/etc. You can see which stats are available here: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Equipment_acquisition_by_stats#Karma

Each armor piece has an upgrade slot. Armor upgrade slots can accept runes. Each rune has a set of stats linked to it. The more runes of that type you have in your armor, the more stats you get from its set.

For example, let’s say I have a rune that has the following stat set:
>1: +10 Vitality
>2: +15% Boon Duration
>3: +25 Vitality
>4: etc

If I slot one rune of that type in my armor, I get +10 Vitality. If I slot another, I get +15% Boon Duration along with the +10 Vitality. If I slot a third, I get +25 Vitality on top of +15% Boon Duration and the original +10 Vitality.

Note that each piece of gear can only hold one upgrade. If you want to put in another upgrade, the new upgrade will overwrite the old one. You can salvage the gear with a Black Lion Salvage Kit (can use others, but you risk losing the upgrade) to get the original upgrade back or transfer it by transmuting one piece of armor onto another, but both cases will result in the destruction of the original gear.

Gold can be traded for guild influence, for gems for various gemstore items, for some Ascended items in conjunction with other materials, for WvW blueprints, and so on, but overall you don’t need massive amounts of gold to improve your stats like in other games. It’s mainly to gear up, and after that, cosmetic purposes. Regarding dungeons, they are very profitable, but you’d best run with people you know- some PUGs will make you want to gouge your eyes out. (Also, the hundreds of gold from one item thing is very rare- my guess is that they got a precursor weapon to drop, which almost never happens.)

Regarding backpieces, you can apply them to any backpiece- I don’t understand the rest of your question, though. Are you asking where to get backpieces?

Treadstone.2564:

For some reason, questing in GW2 feels like grinding dailies in other MMOs.

Seconding Vayne’s suggestion. Whenever I explore maps, I choose a random direction and run off without any regards to what hearts I need to fill/what PoIs I need to grab. I go wherever my whimsy takes me.

Just a week ago, I was exploring the northwestern part of Frostgorge Sound underwater. When I surfaced, I saw rows of dark, gleaming, massive peaks of corrupted ice soaring far above. I also realized it was night, starless, a full moon glinting in the sky, and there were countless Icebrood prowling the frozen shore. It was what the world would become if Jormag won.

It was a completely unexpected sight, and one that, quite literally, chilled me.

The profs and races of GW2 never really grabbed me, either.

Have you looked at cultural armor? Charr and Asura have the best in my opinion.

As for class abilities playing off each other, I find that you get a feel for how they work together by doing difficult content. Early on, especially with warrior, guardian, and ranger, fights are really easy. As a guardian, in much open-world content, I could just autoattack normal enemies into submission. However, against harder enemies, I have to plan my attacks and adjust to the situation.

I am soloing a veteran jungle boar in the Straits (one that bleeds me and tears off a third of my health with each hit), with a hammer and sword/shield. These are a few combos I would use:
-I blink in and blind the boar with Sword 2, and hit Sword 3 right in its face for big damage. If it tries to attack again, I use Virtue of Justice (which I traited to blind) to keep it from striking me.
-I use Hammer 5 to put down a barrier the boar cannot cross. While it bangs itself against the ring, I switch and use Sword 3 or simply strafe in and out of range to attack it.
-I notice the boar winding up a charge attack. I immobilize it with Hammer 3 so it cannot move or turn, get behind it, and attack freely. Or I put down Hammer 5 and let it run smack into my barrier. Or I use Hammer 4 to send it flying.
-The boar’s getting too close for comfort. I use either Hammer 4 or Shield 5 to knock it away from me, and follow up with Hammer 3 to keep it locked down or Sword 3 to attack from a distance while it’s stunned. If both control skills are on cooldown and I’m out of endurance, I use Shield 4 to minimize the damage I take while kiting it until my endurance recovers.

I am essentially cycling my skills to keep the enemy under control rather than spamming them all to try to kill it before it kills me.

Here are the profs I’ve tried:

Warrior, guardian, and ranger are the easiest classes to begin the game with. They are extremely forgiving in that you can stand still and take relatively large amounts of damage without having to worry about using your skills actively or dodging/kiting.

Engineer, on the other hand, is one of the harder classes. The class doesn’t shine until later (around 30), when you get more access to kits. It’s also a class that’s built around juggling the enemy with control skills and comboing rather than raw power, which are more advanced concepts that newer players won’t know well.
If it means anything, I saw an engineer win 1v2 against a thief and a warrior in WvW, with plenty of health left and in under 3 minutes. It’s an effective class when played well, stronger in PvP than PvE but can hold its own in both.

I personally main an elementalist, which is the class with the lowest health pool and the lowest armor, and I regularly solo champions and clumps of veterans that shred other players into little itty bits in seconds. It’s a very fast-paced class, and the least forgiving early on. You have to make use of all of your skills (and eles have a ton of them) to hold the enemy at bay, and you have to have a good feel for kiting and dodging. It’s a challenging class with a steep learning curve, but very rewarding. I get twitchy when I play other classes because I’m missing the rush ele gives me.

Overall, I think your problem is mainly one of inexperience and not finding a best-fit class. There’s this odd zone where certain classes are forgiving to learn, but boring and don’t give a feel for the complexity of combat, yet other classes can be almost too complex at first and difficult to pick up, especially if you develop bad habits from the easier classes.

My schedule is erratic at the moment and I get logged off at random thanks to where I’m staying, but if you’re on a NA server, I can group with you later today and run around with you. GW2 is a lot more enjoyable with people to enjoy it with. Have you looked into finding a guild?

Take your time, enjoy the game, and don’t get into the mindset of “having” to do this and this and that. GW2 is about doing things because you want to.

Like to explore? Pick a zone, any zone, and have at it. You’ll get level-appropriate rewards no matter where you go. Check the crevices and caves and hop up ledges that look suspicious. Maybe you’ll discover a jumping puzzle or an open-world dungeon along the way.

Want to completely min/max your stats? Go for Ascended gear at your own pace- save laurels or run Fractals. Don’t feel like min/maxing? Stay in exotics and you’ll do just fine, if not better than a less skilled player in Ascended.

Like story? Follow the Living Story and play through the story quests provided. Hang around a town and centaurs may invade, and then a bunch of NPCs will run off to rescue their friends. Take some extra time talking to NPCs and you’ll learn about the conflicts going on.

Looking for a challenge? Climb to Fractals level 48, delve into dungeons, duo a dungeon, solo a dungeon, solo things that are not meant to be soloed.

GW2 is not meant to be played as a constant grind to be “better” than the next person, where the world is just a backdrop. It’s an open sandbox- jump in and see what you like to do, then do it. Relax. If you ever need a break, take one- no sub fee, no gear grind, no pressure to play.

Regarding combat, there’s no dedicated healer or tank. Everyone can heal themselves, everyone has a way to avoid or offset damage, and everyone contributes to damage. Though there are ways to support others, everyone is responsible for themselves. I would recommend reading https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/first

Learn to play actively- it’s more important to avoid damage than to heal it. Move in combat, learn when to dodge and how read the enemy’s attacks, and don’t spam your skills, but apply them according to the situation. This is easier to show than to explain, so I’ll leave this here.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up. Welcome

I run around with less than 10g (often less than 5g) very often, and do just fine.

Delete your green star letters, have someone send you another mail, and don’t open your mailbox until the message comes up. If that fails, delete everything in your mailbox and fill it up again.