Returning Newb

[Dreadborne.7961]

First of all, sorry for being one of those "returning players" post.

 

 

Context. I never gotten far in gw2. My highest level is 41 thief 33 Necro and 20ish mesmer.

I have heart of thorns so I was given a free 80 boost but I do not want to use it yet.

 

 

Now what made me play, quit, play, quit is that I play alone and usualy in an mmo I have a general class and direction I like to play.

 

Other than story I dislike grinding or secondary objectives to level. I do not mind the straightfoward path if it doesn't feel like a chore. Yet I've never gotten a feel of the leveling system in gw2.

 

I'm not looking for the fastest persay.

Looking for the most enjoyable.

 

 

I really want to try to end game but I do not want to cheese it with the boost. What should I do to enjoy leveling my characters? I really want to play daredevil and deadeye or whatever spec is coming for thieves.

 

 

Also I've always wanted to play Mesmer since I enjoy their aesthetics of illusions. Really seems enjoyable. Even Necros with the reaper thingy. I do not know what I'd enjoy best. Worst case I enjoy trying all classes in an mmo and try to get all maxed. Except in this one.

 

 

Tl;dr what is the most fun way to level?

What class will I enjoy more for the endgame Thief, Necro, Mesmer or an other?

[Ojimaru.8970]

Unfortunately, "fun" is subjective, and varies greatly between people. Unlike many other "theme park" MMOs, your exploration through Tyria won't be linear, nor directed. Renown Quests (aka Heart Quests) were a stop gap measure, but they don't provide explicit direction to the next point of interest. This doesn't appeal to some player taxonomies, and instead favors those who enjoy exploration and immersion.

 

Now with that context out of the way, let me leave you with some tips for leveling:

 

* Run as many EXP boosts as you can, including Birthday Boosters, Celebration Boosters, Nourishment (from food), Utility (from Oils, Sharpening Stones, or Crystals), XP Boosters, and Guild XP Boosters.

* When a mob spawn into the world, it will gradually accumulate an "Exploration EXP Bonus." When killed, players will receive the normal EXP allocation, plus the Exploration EXP Bonus, which can reach up to 200% of its base EXP reward. So go kill mobs that are not associated with Renown Quests or Dynamic Events and you'll be getting a lot of bonus EXP very quickly. This goes especially for Neutral mobs (i.e. mobs with Yellow name tags).

* As a Thief, find a Shortbow for your secondary weapon. The Shortbow won't necessarily be what you kill with, so its attributes don't matter. Rather, the Shortbow's Infiltrator's Arrow is an amazing movement skill that will significantly speed up your traversal across the world.

 

Hope this helps.

[Dreadborne.7961]

I'll try to find motivation to go left and right.

 

I also use a short bow exacly for that.

 

While I'm on thief is D/G better for leveling or straight up D/D?

 

[Inc.4753]

Naturally the only person who can decide what is fun for you is yourself. So fair warning, the following might not be your way of having fun.

 

Depending on whether you are interested in the story and how far you've got with your existing characters, you might want to continue one of your existing characters. Story for level 1-30 is decided by choices you've made during character creation and serve more as a background to your character before the real story begins. Next to a few minor details, it will not be referenced again and thus can be skipped as a whole (as far the main/current storyline is concerned). If any of them hasn't progressed to Lion's Arch (in the story, first lvl 40 range mission), you can continue any/all of them until you've found one that suits your playstyle most. Of course you can always start a new character if you wish to experience the 'entire' story ('entire' because of all the possible branches, especially in the lvl 1-30 range story, in which you would need 15 character to experience all bits of the story).

 

Unfortunately these days the story is gated behind your level (you need to be level 40 to continue to the parts of the story that take place after your race/biography story parts). My personal favorite way of leveling is to follow the story, but take the time the walk/explore to wherever I have/want to go. Go into that mysterious dark forest to see what is in there, go towards that event marker and finish the event chain, talk to the NPC with the marker above it's head which indicates an even will start there. Usually there are about four chapters in a story arc (after which you need to reach the next level gate to continue, i.e. after the four lvl 40 chapter you will need to be lvl 50 to continue the next story). Keeping that in mind can guide you in how much you need to explore before continuing on in the story. If you pay attention to the events and the stories they try to tell, leveling by exploration probably won't feel like a grind.

 

As for your profession, as a PvE-only, non-raid, non-fractal player (basically: non-end-game) I tend to play whatever feels best, even if that is considered sub-par. As long as I can survive and kill my targets, that is what matters to me most. In regards of what you would have to play to fit into the endgame, you'd first have to decide what you would like to do, and by extension, what do you consider grinding? Fractals (relative short pve content, repeatable, increasing difficulty, new mechanics), raids (high difficulty, will take a lot of effort to get properly into, fighting the same bosses over and over until you succeed, then do it again next week), open world PvE (completing achievements and collections, leveling another character) WvW (large scale pvp battles) and sPvP (5v5 PvP battles) all have their own flavor and can be considered both challenging and grindy, depending on the player. Each of these modes have their more efficient and less efficient professions, which can change any moment by any balance update (the intend from the developers being that any class is useful in any game-mode (note: not every class has to be able fulfill any role, i.e. a Mesmer who wants to tank won't be as effective as a Warrior), your skill as a player should matter most). Again, play whatever gives you the most joy.

 

Note that the specializations you've mentioned are tied to the expansions and are therefor lvl 80 (max level) content. You will not be able (by normal play) to get those specs fully unlocked without being level 80. Choose a profession with which you are comfortable in multiple builds/playstyles, some without the elite specializations.

[Dreadborne.7961]

Will I be overwhelmed should I boost a character 80? I still have mine and don't want to be "that guy" running around the dungeon not knowing what to do. Or be stuck with so many things to do and no knowledge and end up doing things completely useless that I will end up running in the main city for a fews days then just quit?

 

I really want to give this game a good go and not quit this time.

[Omar Aschi Popp.7496]

> @Dreadborne.7961 said:

> Will I be overwhelmed should I boost a character 80? I still have mine and don't want to be "that guy" running around the dungeon not knowing what to do. Or be stuck with so many things to do and no knowledge and end up doing things completely useless that I will end up running in the main city for a fews days then just quit?

>

> I really want to give this game a good go and not quit this time.

 

Do not boost!

 

Because for starters you will annoy people more if you fail since at lvl80 they expect you to know what you are doing.

 

Also boost should be only used if you for sure want to keep that char. Or want to max a chats elite without hp hunting.

 

I know expansion is soon but take your time. Take your time.

 

Message me in-game for any help level in map complete and dungeons. I do nothing now but help out core noobs when I am not in PvP.

[Ojimaru.8970]

> @Dreadborne.7961 said:

> Will I be overwhelmed should I boost a character 80? I still have mine and don't want to be "that guy" running around the dungeon not knowing what to do. Or be stuck with so many things to do and no knowledge and end up doing things completely useless that I will end up running in the main city for a fews days then just quit?

>

> I really want to give this game a good go and not quit this time.

 

What follows is strictly my opinion on the matter, and it will definitely vary between people.

 

I don't see the leveling experience to be meaningful. Gameplay at low levels, compared to level 80 is a world of difference, and one that biases specific build archetypes, i.e. Power-based builds. You won't really gain access to meaningful build choices until the level cap, and when you access endgame zones and challenges. Before then, the "leveling" experience is one built around exploration, which can be done even after you've reached max level, if that is something you enjoy in the first place.

 

In terms of learning your profession and its associated builds, again here is my opinion.

 

Pick up a build from a trusted source, e.g. Metabattle or Quantify.EU, and let that be your baseline. It is not the be-all-end-all; the builds you find there will be the foundation from which you develop your understanding of the character. Once set up, whether in Rare or Exotic-tier gear, go to a level 80 zone and run around solo. Kill mobs, complete events, and explore in general. This will first and foremost start building your muscle memory and feel for the rotations, and slowly gain familiarity for the "basic" build.

 

Then, if you are interested in improving further, start looking at your other weapon, utility, and elite skills, as well as other traits. Try tweaking your build here and there to help you overcome specific challenges better. Are the enemies in an area knocking you down a lot? Slot in some stun breaks, or Blinds, or more evades. Are you feeling a lot of Condition damage pressure? Look at your profession's kit and find more ways to cleanse conditions. That Bristleback murdering you with its projectile attack? Then find means to block projectiles. After each challenge, whether you succeed or fail, reflect on what went right, and what you could change in your build, or rotation, or position that could make things go better, and you will gain a better appreciation for your character's profession and their capabilities, and you won't be "that guy" in any situation.

 

Hope this helps.

[Inc.4753]

It is also recommended to join a guild that is geared towards starters. There are more of these guilds everyday so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. In such a guild you can ask all your questions, learn from another ones questions, find help and likeminded people for all kinds of content etc. Guilds like these are usually pretty patient.

[Dreadborne.7961]

> @Inc.4753 said:

> It is also recommended to join a guild that is geared towards starters. There are more of these guilds everyday so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. In such a guild you can ask all your questions, learn from another ones questions, find help and likeminded people for all kinds of content etc. Guilds like these are usually pretty patient.

 

Thank you! Do I need to be in Lion's arch to look for such a guild?

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

I believe there is a 'Looking for Guild' sub-forum here that may be helpful.

 

Good luck.

[LadySilverHand.6841]

Guilds will regularly and often post recruitment messages from any map, but especially active ones. A good way to find a Guild that shares your interests is to watch map chat during events that you enjoy. Aside from that, there are forums here and on reddit to help you find Guilds.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/categories/looking-for-guild