New Players: Welcome to Guild Wars 2!

[Laila Lightness.8742]

Welcome new young heroes :D

[Lévis.5489]

> @"Leablo.2651" said:

> Any interesting reasons for the influx? Or just marketing doing its job?

 

A certain hyped MMO was released this week. And it was a total disaster.

[DarcShriek.5829]

Buy the expansions. Heavily farm the Auric Basin Meta.

[Cerioth.7062]

Welcome to all newbs!! Take yur time and EXPLORE ALL OF TYRIA! So much to see and experience.

[PyrateSilly.4710]

All great advice but one piece that some miss until their one year birthday comes up:

The yearly birthday presents are PER CHAR, which means that if you delete that char you will not get the birthday gift(s). Just a heads up that if you waiting on gifts.

Be sure you are ok with deleting a char before doing so. I will usually make a throw away char to do some stuff and then be ready to delete very soon after making it so that I don't get attached to them, lol. Any that I still have I will be keeping and will just get new char slots instead of deleting them.

[Aeolus.3615]

> @"Lévis.5489" said:

> > @"Leablo.2651" said:

> > Any interesting reasons for the influx? Or just marketing doing its job?

>

> A certain hyped MMO was released this week. And it was a total disaster.

 

I am still trying to figure out what made it so hyped... :\ but each own to its own.

OFC it has very good stuff like u dont get real life blinded by the skill casting... like that game called gw2 :)

[Arden.7480]

How much did it increase?

How much do GW2 have players now?

Why did it increase like out of sudden?

 

 

Tips?

 

The exploration is really good in this game, when I started playing GW2 doing tasks, vistas etc was something so stunning, and I really mean it.

Enjoy leveling, because it will help you learn the proffesions to the depths.

 

If you like the magic and peace of the Forest: play Sylvari

If you want to learn about the technology and the very secrets of the Eternal Alchemy: play Asura

If you like the sound of guns and roar of war: play Charr

If you seek the glory and want to connect with the Spirits of the Wild: play Norn

If the honor is your thing and you want to destroy all the roots of treason: play Human

 

Welcome to the Game and enjoy every single view and if you like the music, you will hear such music that will give you goosebumps. (If you will walk into Ascalon and you will hear one of the tracks in this location, the name of it is _A Land Restored_")

 

Welcome!

[Danikat.8537]

Adding a few things I've not seen mentioned which I think a lot of us tend to forget because once you've been playing a while you don't think about them any more:

 

**Don't worry about which server to choose** - your server only matters for World vs. World and even that is changing soon. For everything else you can play with anyone in your region (North America or Europe).

 

**Open-world PvE maps can have several copies**. This means there's never a queue to get into the map but it also means even if you go to the same location as your friend you might not see them because they might be in a different copy of the map. You can join up with them by forming a party and then one person right clicking the other person's portrait in the party window and selecting the 'Join in [map name]' option. That will move you to their copy of the map.

 

**The Looking for Group tool is another way to move between map copies**. In this game it's not just for dungeons, you can use it to find a group for anything and it's very commonly used for large open-world events which need a lot of players. Also unlike a lot of games it won't dump you into a group automatically. Someone starting a group chooses which type of activity it's for and then can fill in a free text box with more detail. Other people can see all the groups listed and choose which one to join. If you don't see a group which suits you feel free to start your own. (Also be aware it doesn't teleport you into the map from anywhere in the world. For open-world stuff you need to get to the right map as normal and for dungeons/raids you need to go to the map where the entrance is and then you'll get a prompt to join your group once someone goes in.)

 

**PvE in this game is completely cooperative**. There is no kill-stealing or loot-stealing or any other type of stealing. Even the Thieves Steal skill doesn't actually take anything from other players! If you see someone killing an enemy or doing a heart or event feel free to join in - everyone will get the same XP as if they did it on their own. Any items you see on the ground or in chests are yours to take - everyone else gets their own drops. (Oh and there's an option to loot everything in the area in one click and later on the option to do it automatically.) Crafting material nodes can be harvested by everyone - if someone beats you to the node it doesn't matter because you can harvest it after them (or at the same time) so don't worry about leaving anything for anyone else.

 

Oh also everyone can ressurect everyone else and not only does it not cost you anything, you actually get XP for it! Dead players have a black and blue icon (NPCs have black and white) and it's a good idea to ressurect anyone you can so that when you need it someone will do the same for you.

 

You'll probably notice early on that **this game has no quests**. Instead there's Renown Hearts and Dynamic Events. You'll probably come across hearts first - these are NPCs who need help with an area of the map. You don't need to speak to them to start, you'll get instruction on the right side of the screen as soon as you come in range, but they can provide some extra background, lore and instructions. Speak to the NPC afterwards though - they become a merchant and have some unique items for sale for karma points.

 

The activities in Dynamic Events are like traditional quests - kill this, protect that, collect 10 rats etc. They are unlike traditional quests in that they'll start, proceed and end regardless of whether you or anyone else is joining in. If an NPC says they need help because ogres are attacking the camp they mean _now_. So if you see an event and you want to join in go ahead and do it. When it ends you'll receive credit for your participation even if you didn't play it all the way through. Also stick around after one ends because many events chain together so another one may be just about to start. (But if you don't want to do it right now don't worry, they always repeat.)

 

Finally don't worry. **There's almost nothing you can do to mess up completely in this game**. There are infinite sources of XP, and you can get more than enough Hero Points to unlock all your skills and traits (and once they're unlocked you can change them any time you're out of combat) and everything can be repeated, at least until you get it right.

[DragonProphet.4286]

GW2 is easily the most newbie-friendly MMO I've ever played. Players are helpful in chat. And the wiki is full of detailed info. Also bookmark Dulfy.net and WoodenPotatoes on YouTube. They will come in handy later on.

 

Some buttons and icons are locked away and hidden until you get a character to a specific level. So if someone mentions something and you cannot find it (ex: Hero Points on a map), don't worry. Possible you just need to level up. (you can see the list here: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Level_rewards )

 

Pick whichever race most interests you. It has little effect on your character's capabilities. All races run the same speed, swing a sword with same strength, and have the same health pool. Except for a handful of weak racial skills, there is no difference. (Related note: gender has no mechanical difference either)

 

If an NPC runs up to you and starts waving, talk to that NPC. It will tell you about an event nearby.

 

Don't worry too much about kill-stealing. As long as everyone got some hits in, everyone gets equal credit for the kill. (at least in PvE)

 

You will see players gliding around and riding on mounts. Gliders require the Heart of Thorns (HoT) expansion. Mounts require the Path of Fire (PoF) expansion. I would highly recommend ignoring these features for now. But if you REALLY want either, then you will need to purchase the expansion, boost a character to Level 80 (max level), and start the corresponding campaign. A couple of missions in and you will unlock the ability.

[Jackk.8104]

To all refugees from Bless Online

Welcome to Guild Wars 2, enjoy your fully free2play not pay2win experience

 

@Gaile Gray.6029

Nice link

The Guild Recruitment Subforum -> https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

[Donutdude.9582]

My advice: take your time.

 

This is a vast, beautiful world with a lot going on. Take your time and absorb everything you see and hear. Guild Wars 2 is unlike anything else on the market at the moment. That is a rare thing and should be enjoyed.

 

Good luck to all of the new players out there!

[Gaile Gray.6029]

> @"Jackk.8104" said:

>

> @Gaile Gray.6029

> Nice link

> The Guild Recruitment Subforum -> https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page

 

Thank you! Changed. :)

 

 

[BeerXerker.3951]

so I jst played for an hour and tried the lvl80 boost..and I was teleported to lvl 80 area..i run around there for an hour dnt know what to do lol. I wanted to play warrior with spellbreaker but I don't know where to start..

[Randulf.7614]

> @"BeerXerker.3951" said:

> so I jst played for an hour and tried the lvl80 boost..and I was teleported to lvl 80 area..i run around there for an hour dnt know what to do lol. I wanted to play warrior with spellbreaker but I don't know where to start..

 

That's one of the reasons many of us have advised against using it. Lots of new players have this issue because the 80 boost doesn't properly intro you to the game, it just skips all the levels, gives you some gear and pops you in a map halfway through the 3rd story arc. I would bench that toon for now and start from scratch just to learn the game, then return to your current one later. The spellbreaker is an extension of the warrior so learning about core warrior, skills and traits is going to be a lot more helpful and due to the way the game works with down scaling, you will still find other in the early maps as well - new and veteran.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"BeerXerker.3951" said:

> so I jst played for an hour and tried the lvl80 boost..and I was teleported to lvl 80 area..i run around there for an hour dnt know what to do lol. I wanted to play warrior with spellbreaker but I don't know where to start..

 

You were is The SilverWastes, which is part of the "Living Story" episode 2, which itself is the prequel to the Heart of Thorns expansion. Being completely disconnected from what the heck you are doing there is pretty expected.

 

I'd strongly suggest you level a character from the start, because it gives you a pile more guidance, but: go to the options, find "Content Guide", and set it to "Disable Personal Story".

 

You will then get an orange pointer in the top right towards the nearest event which is happening; when you are close enough you will see a (brief) description of what you need to do in order to complete it on the right hand side. Do that, and collect your rewards.

 

Some events are part of a bigger chain of events that culminate in something; in the SilverWastes that is fighting a big boss at the end.

 

The other thing you should do, if you elect to stick with the boosted character, is ... go back to your starting zone, and play through the map there. Complete hearts, do events on the map, fight world bosses, and generally just do, like, whatever the heck you want. Explore.

 

GW2 will scale you down to match the zone, so you won't be bored, you will be fighting a relatively fair fight with whatever is there.

 

(GW2 originally didn't have the hearts at all. They were added to behave like the "quest hubs" in other MMOs because people demanded them. So, literally just running around doing stuff is the originally intended way to level up.)

[Donari.5237]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > @"BeerXerker.3951" said:

> > so I jst played for an hour and tried the lvl80 boost..and I was teleported to lvl 80 area..i run around there for an hour dnt know what to do lol. I wanted to play warrior with spellbreaker but I don't know where to start..

>

> That's one of the reasons many of us have advised against using it. Lots of new players have this issue because the 80 boost doesn't properly intro you to the game, it just skips all the levels, gives you some gear and pops you in a map halfway through the 3rd story arc. I would bench that toon for now and start from scratch just to learn the game, then return to your current one later. The spellbreaker is an extension of the warrior so learning about core warrior, skills and traits is going to be a lot more helpful and due to the way the game works with down scaling, you will still find other in the early maps as well - new and veteran.

 

If you didn't finalize the boost, you haven't actually used it up. You can test-run on any of your alts using the same boost. Once you confirm using it, then that alt is 80 and has the soulbound defensive stats gear.

 

To eventually get spellbreaker, you will need to get a warrior to 80, own Path of Fire, and get enough hero points to train up the elite (unlike mastery points, hp are not zone specific -- you can slowly accumulate enough points in the core maps, each hp there grants 1 points, or more quickly in HoT and PoF, as each one there grants 10 points. As a rule hp are gained either by communing with a shaft of light or fighting a creature; a few instead have you gain an object and then use it from inventory). Then you need to slot the elite line into the third traits position, the one with a gold outline.

 

But as others in the thread have said, take your time. Explore, test out all the weapons and traits, practice combat, bind your dodge skill to an easily hit key, and get it all in muscle memory. You may only have 5 weapon skills and 1 heal, 3 utilities, and 1 elite skill at a time, but you can mix those up quite a bit and some of them work better together than others. Find what works for you, then expand on it with the elite specs. (Note: elite skill and elite spec are separate concepts that share the same name).

 

Look for what's fun, do what's fun, don't worry about what others say you should be doing, and you should enjoy this game for a long time. Welcome!

[Gaile Gray.6029]

I second the idea of setting aside the boosted character and playing through from Level 1. Level 80 boosts are terrific, but I think you'll miss a lot of awesomeness if that's your first character.

 

Totally up to you, of course. We're here to help with question if you have them!

[DeceiverX.8361]

> @"Aeolus.3615" said:

> > @"Lévis.5489" said:

> > > @"Leablo.2651" said:

> > > Any interesting reasons for the influx? Or just marketing doing its job?

> >

> > A certain hyped MMO was released this week. And it was a total disaster.

>

> I am still trying to figure out what made it so hyped... :\ but each own to its own.

> OFC it has very good stuff like u dont get real life blinded by the skill casting... like that game called gw2 :)

 

A good PvP experience in an MMO. It was a big part of their gameplay ideology. My guild was looking to move there from here. For now, we're in limbo just tooling around other games casually.

 

People are seriously willing to hype virtually anything at this point if it looks like it may be able to deliver on that front. I think people vastly underestimate the size of the audience; you don't see them here because they've all already quit with how uncompetitive the PvP in most major titles has gotten, GW2 included.

 

Don't get me wrong - GW2 is head-and-shoulders the best MMO out there currently. It's just PvP-centric players are quickly demoralized once they start getting competitive with its pretty embarrassing class balance and anti-fun mechanics.

[FrizzFreston.5290]

*Leveling*

Gotta say, the leveling can feel pretty slow when going just after heart tasks and overly focusing on trying to farm out to level 80. In fact, the biggest thing to remember when leveling is, everything gives Experience. EVERYTHING.

- Just running through a city for the first time with your character can give you alot of experience.

- Harvesting, gives experience,

- crafting, gives experience.

- Skill points,

- events,

- heart tasks,

- killing mobs all give experience,

- daily achievements gives alot of experience daily. (Check out the achievements definitely, daily tasks are very profitable since they give you 2 gold a day + experience on top of that.

 

The one thing that GW2 wants to tell you with this is, don't focus on farming experience, focus on exploring the next new thing, talk to an NPC, check out a landmark.

I wouldn't immediately say turn off the content guide (the thing that guides you to the closest undiscovered thing) But I felt that there is a sandbox feel to it when you're not restricted by some arrow that you are in fact totally not obligated to follow. Run off to the horizon and touch and interact with everything you see.

 

Once you start honing in on the leveling experience, making it quite possibly dreadfully boring, you need to put it aside and focus on something you do find fun. Exploring, Harvesting, personal story (although that only comes up every 10 levels.) Check out the crafting system. In fact the best way to enjoy crafting is to craft alongside leveling up, AND it does give you , again, lot's of experience.

 

There's not much in GW2 that you can't start right from the beginning. (if you're not free to play at least)

 

 

[Gaile Gray.6029]

It's important to know that XP comes from a lot of things. Thanks for sharing that info, Frizz!

[Deimos.4263]

Rainbow Cake is Account Bound. Don't even think about sharing it.

[xCeifer.6159]

Old player here that left before the first expanse, coming back as always to have a great time, wonder if Anet addressed the situation of insanely grind you need to get some weapons. Anyway, glad to be back!

[Grampybone.3716]

This is great news!

Welcome to Guild Wars 2!!!

 

My first advice would be:

- Have fun & take your time, there's no need to rush through the game. Each zone has it's own hidden (group) events, explore and keep an eye on chatwindow for events.

This game is not only about reaching max level & supergear, the road to getting there is just as fun as well! The game is full of things to do and most of it gives experience as well :)

- Revive other players whenever you can! Others do the same for you.

- You don't like to join a group? Me too! No worries, participating in a event is enough to give you the rewards, no one is excluded because of not being in a group.

- If you plan on discover the world/map 100% (some nice rewards for doing so), explore from the moment you enter a new zone. And meanwhile enjoy those events I mentioned. Discovering all those maps afterwards could become a huge (dreadfull) task + the completion bonus might be far below your true character level at that time.

 

- GW2 is a huge playground, like a huge candystore and you don't know what to choose first. No worries, there's no need to have a goal, opportunities to participate in an event will come to you, it's up to you to join or not. Relax and enjoy.

Purchasing the expansions will expand the playground, more things to do, more story and specializations. Get a glider/new skills (1st expansion) or mount/new skills (2nd expansion). So far every expansion only makes the game bigger (and better :) )

 

Expansions are recommended. GW2 goodies store is optional to support the devs. My favourites are the outfits, it's a full reskin for a decent price, that you can apply/change whenever you want. But most important there's no P2W, all purchases are optional.

 

E N J O Y !

 

[Brother.1504]

Welcome. Shop around for a good guild. The people in your guilds will effect your experience a great deal.

[Oldirtbeard.9834]

> @"Solidaris.5423" said:

> > @"Leablo.2651" said:

> > Any interesting reasons for the influx? Or just marketing doing its job?

>

> Bless Online came out yesterday which was hyped pretty much for a looooooong time now.

> But it had a catastrophic launch which made some youtubers (like Lazy Peon) to say that he does not recommend Bless but people should come to GW2 because they now enjoy it.

 

The dudes got a cult following, the comments section was loaded with people saying they were coming for the ride; I tried pointing that out in a thread where I suggested ANet make him a partner.