New Player Experience

[Jaxim.1253]

Firstly I do really like this game!

 

However, there is some trouble I have has a new player and this post will explain my experience in starting out.

 

Firstly I will give my background on MMO's and what I have played is listed below:

 

* World of Warcraft (9 years player)

* Black desert online (since release)

* Tera (since release)

* Perfect world (not too much around 6 months)

 

So I have some experience in how MMO's work and function.

 

Firstly I created a character and leveled to 15. This was very repetitive gameplay going from one location to another doing "quests" the hearts.

 

So I thought I'll buy the expansion that gives me raids (HoT) and jump into dungeons or something to gear and go for raids (as you do in most MMO's)

 

That was a bad decision I got into the game, took me to an NPC at first I was expecting some "this is level 80 tutorial", nope just an NPC that has options of "why has my skills been reset"

"how do I create a build" on most of these options the NPC would say "cannot help you" great I though an NPC for level 80 can't even give me some direction!

 

So I plodded along with the main quest I had which was a low-level class quest not the Heart of Thorn's questline at all which would have been better to set me on automatically so I can get some quick ascended items.

 

Then I got better did some of this joined a guild and asked a ton of questions about items and what to do.

 

This is where I am currently locked to do anything! , firstly I play hunter druid because I have always been a healer in MMO's.

 

Now I found out I can use some Magi gear to start with before I can craft ascended gear. However, I am locked from buying it on the Trading post. I cannot buy items to level professions. so I did fractals and completed them very easily as its only low level. Now my only options are do fractal dailies and pvp dailies.

 

So after that easily done in less than 2 hours. I sat with nothing to do. at all I cannot craft I can only farm agony resistance and I have to wait out before I can buy basic gear and get pug'ed in a raid as I craft ascended gear.

 

There is nothing for me to do really that improves my progression in the game. I can only farm agony/masteries and that is it no other content for me to do as I am locked by the Trading post. however, I did managed to get quick gold to get my ascended gear upon access to Trading post by flipping reaching 600 gold.

 

I have played the game since the 13/03/2019. I do enjoy the gameplay and would enjoy it more if I wasn't locked from progressing.

 

I am not hating the game I just think something needs to be done for new players in the game. some guidance at least for those new to any guild wars game.

 

[Trise.2865]

Welcome to the game! You skipped over about 3/5ths of it, especially the parts where you experiment with and learn how to play your class.

 

What exactly are you "locked off" from playing? because it sounds like you're doing just fine.

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

The main problem here is approaching the game "like most MMOs".

There is very little gear progression, so start with getting the hang of playing your class and how stats and stat sets work in relation to your skills.

 

Boosting your first character is *generally* a bad move, but can be fine depending on how you like playing new games.

I do *completely* agree that some better direction is needed, some kind of guide toward making builds, how to think about stats and such would be very good to have!

 

A good resource is the wiki - wiki.guildwars2.com

It's accessable from the game even, type /wiki followed by what you want to search for, like */wiki magi*

[Jaxim.1253]

I figured out my druid class very easily and can manage to pull 3k HPS no problem, by locked off I mean I am limited in my progression to create gear as I cannot access the Trading Post for items to craft with. I am also locked in getting any better gear than the basic 80 gear for my class such as "magi" gear

[Vayne.8563]

The problem is you're so experienced. Truly. That's your issue.

 

I come from WoW, Iv'e been there X years ...that's your problem right there. You're approaching this game as if it's WoW. As if instanced content is the defacto end game. That the only things to do are to wait to raid or play fractals. And while that's true for a small percentage of the playerbase, the rest of us are doing the meta events, in HoT, we're making legendaries, maybe playing WvW, completing stories, doing some of the dungeons, even.

 

The thing is, this game is centered on the open world and that's where a lot of the action is. It's a completely different animal than WoW and many of us are here for that reason. If you approach this game as another WOW, you're never going to stay or want to play it long term. You have to give up a lot of your assumptions.

 

For example, I can get BIS gear in this game without ever setting foot in a raid or dungeons. Legendary gear doesn't have higher stats than ascended gear.

 

Season 3 of the living story is great to pick up/farm fairly cheap ascended jewelry including amulets, rings, backpiece pieces and earrings (accessories). You can play low level fractals to get ascended rings as well if you want core stats.

 

Magi gear for most of the game is useless and the fact that you play a healer in every other game doesn't mean anything here, because you only heal in high end end game instances. It's a different game. It's made with different sensibilities. I'm here because I don't like how WoW does things.

 

Do you know we've had two expansions that have neither raised the level cap nor introduced a new tier of gear.

 

This game is less centered around stats and more centered around player skill. You can't just keep outleveling everything. You can learn how to play your character/class better however. There's more twitch involved in this game than WoW.

 

According to at least one dev, an average player in this game does 500% less damage than a good player. That has a lot less to do with gear and a lot more in understanding how the game works and how it's played.

 

Try running the HOT metas if you think, there's nothing to do. Go to a timer site like gw2timer.com and look at the boss timers. See if any big guilds are doing Triple Trouble. Look for Dragon Stand runs. There's plenty to do in this game that's not a raid or a fractal.

[Randulf.7614]

Yeah this isn't a progression based MMO. The game teaches you as you level and explore - if you insta boost you lose out on all that experience and learning.

 

I would also forget about ascended entirely for now. That is a slightly tweaked version of the main exotic (orange coloured) gear which pretty much is all you need outside of the highest tier fractal dungeons which specifically requires ascended. Dungeons, open world, story, early fractals - exotic is the most you need. Many of the newer combos are self crafted extra options, so you wont be getting those straight away anyway and it isn't really a stat orientated game

 

I would learn the game the intended way - they redesigned the new player experience in with the 1-80 levelling a few years ago specifically with this in mind.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You are locked out of the Trading Post because your account is too new.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Account#Limitations

You will be able to purchase mats/items as your account ages. Limitations are set in place to discourage RMT.

(If you want to play the Heart of Thorns, or Path of Fire (when acquired) story, open your Story Journal (H - Story Journal), and choose Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.

 

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

[Ashantara.8731]

1. As a new player, don't use any instant level 80 boosts. You will miss out on everything important to discover about gameplay and profession mechanics.

2. I get that you are interested in end game content. But without experiencing the game content that will eventually get you there, you will miss out on big portions of the game. The hero panel (H) has a story tab, which let's you decide which story content you want to play, but I recommend you do it [chronologically](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Story_Journal "chronologically").

3. Dungeons won't provide you with efficient gear for the current meta builds required for raids and such.

4. It is true, GW2 is awful tutorial-wise, as it has none implemented into the game, unlike GW1 (which won't help you with GW2, though). You need to research everything yourself or ask people. It is a total drag for beginners, so I suggest you check out the links in [this post](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/581676#Comment_581676 "this post").

[trev.1045]

It is really interesting reading a fellow new players experiences!

I have also played wow for a long time (i was a raider during BC and wrath, but casual when i returned during draenor)

 

I went about GW2 quite differently, i leveled and ignored my boost...doing personal story etc...its taken me 2.5 weeks casually to hit 80.

 

I do get where you are coming from with progression, i bought a set of exotics upon hitting 80 (i have been saving) and it is odd knowing gear improvements from there are minor.

 

But overall i have had a blast, i guess it is down to whether you can enjoy the journey before destination.

 

[Jaxim.1253]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I will be getting PoF very soon and I do have the ability to create acended very easily, I will be sitting on 20k Jems with PoF, mainly for slots and profession slots and cosmetics as I am a one character player. so I will end up doing that and work for legendary crafting as it seems fun.

 

I'll look into the living story as you said for acended items.

 

I have a different view at the moment after doing alot with the guild recently and learning more about what's good to do.

 

Seems it would be so much better for the game to give a fresh account a lock on 80 boost for a time of a week or so as it does not give enough direction even a small amount would be nice.

 

At them moment I am sick of using the wiki with the game.

 

I have learnt a good amount on other classes in pvp as guild did pvp event. Learning their skills and what to avoid.

 

Still wish hero points where not just WvW or go grab em in world but more like gaining masteries as that point system works well.

 

Exploring the game is good but I think the PoF mount would be nice rather than pulling and army when I'm going from a to b on the road paths.

 

I have done alot of world bosses that gave me some nice exploration places as well as grabbing a few pets on the way in some locations.

 

I do like pve and the mechanics in this game and pvp so far seems fairly balanced.

 

I plan on playing for a long time as this seems the best mmo out at the moment :)

[Mushuchalaka.9437]

Welcome. I ran into similar experience when GW2 launched and I quit 1 week after launch. Came back 2014 and never looked back. Even after taking a 2 year break due to circumstances and stale content in 2016, it was great to be able to jump back in without farming for gear.

 

> I will be getting PoF very soon and I do have the ability to create acended very easily, I will be sitting on 20k Jems with PoF, mainly for slots and profession slots and cosmetics as I am a one character player. so I will end up doing that and work for legendary crafting as it seems fun.

 

If you meant just crafting a Legendary, then it's mostly gold, unless you're talking about the Legendary Crafting mastery and crafting the precursor. If that's the case, I'd advise you to check gw2efficiency.com on which ones are worth it to craft. Only the first set of Gen 2 Legendaries(newer ones most refer to them as gen 2.5), require any real questing/collections in addition to gold. They are also the most revered for that reason. It's unfortunate, but I'm sure it was changed due to financial reasons.

 

For ascended armor, you'll need to craft most of your first set, especially the Chest/Legs/shoulders. Since, you're an experienced MMO player, you should look into Fractals as even entry level fracs 1-20 can drop ascended gear, albeit very rare.

 

> I'll look into the living story as you said for acended items.

 

I'd recommend getting Living World Season 3 - Episode 3 – A Crack in the Ice, first, to unlock Bitterfrost Frontier. Easiest map to get the ascended items compared to the other episodes.

 

> At them moment I am sick of using the wiki with the game.

 

It gets easier to figure stuff out quicker by yourself without using wiki after you get more experience in the game. Don't be afraid to ask in map chat also, many are glad to help answer.

 

> I have learnt a good amount on other classes in pvp as guild did pvp event. Learning their skills and what to avoid.

 

That's great your guild hosts pvp events. If you're really into PVP, I'd recommend watching some high level players on youtube, it gives you a better feel(not that I'm a high level player at all, but it helped me pick up some tips).

 

> Still wish hero points where not just WvW or go grab em in world but more like gaining masteries as that point system works well.

 

GW2 promotes exploration and helps you progress towards map completion (which are needed for Legendaries). Hey, 2 birds with one rock!

 

> Exploring the game is good but I think the PoF mount would be nice rather than pulling and army when I'm going from a to b on the road paths.

 

Indeed, I'd recommend getting 2 mounts first (raptor and springer to level 3 each), makes exploring doing stuff much easier from previous expansions. Although this may not help you understand HOT masteries(some knowledge is needed to explore some parts of the maps).

 

 

> I do like pve and the mechanics in this game and pvp so far seems fairly balanced.

 

You'll probably find the least toxicity in this game both pve/pvp wise, but there will always be some kid or perfectionist that complains. But I'll be honest, this is the game where I notice the most max characters who don't know mechanics/skills as well, compared to other games. I think because in PVE it's not needed for every single player to be able to use the potential of your class for most events in the open world. But I think to myself, it may be a new class they're trying out, or they just came back from a break. I know I've been there myself.

 

 

> I plan on playing for a long time as this seems the best mmo out at the moment :)

 

It is indeed the best out there, although it's hard to please every type of MMO player, lets hope they keep improving and bring in more players. Wow is too outdated(graphics,engine,gameplay) wise. GW2 has the best core gameplay, they just need to find a way to make money without spoiling the fun.

 

 

[MoriMoriMori.5349]

As many others mentioned, you are making classical mistake of rushing ahead to some mystical "end-game content", skipping everything what constitutes the actual game. The repetitive experience you encountered up to lv 15 was partly due to the fact the game starts slow by design (you won't get real access to even a half of your profession's potential and complexity up to lv 25-30), partly due to your chosen way to play it ("hearts" is the most boring thing you can find here; I never do them unless I really must, or just don't pay them any mind and complete asap, then play the real game - explore the map, join any ongoing events there). There is little to this game except the actual gameplay, so it's all about experimenting with your class and playing it. You don't really need to grind for anything (the most grind-intensive items in game are just cosmetics with the same stats as "regular top-tier" items), and you can reach level-cap (including elite specs) quite soon (a couple of months of regular play, a 1-2 week if you're really determined).

 

I've been playing from lv 1 to lv 80, and had a blast all the way. Then I created a different character and also leveled it up to 80 without any boosters - still having fun (I tried to visit maps I didn't with the previous character). All low-level maps are full of things to do, and are full of people so you don't feel yourself lost. I'm not sure what exactly you try to achieve with your "race to the top". Why are you so fixated on getting ascension gear now? You only need it to get into high-tier fractals, it's not that much better than exotic, and the latter is enough for 90% of game's content. It seems like you are making the very same mistake again.

[phs.6089]

if you played Tera since release I wonder how come hearths are boring.

I still have bad taste of questing in Tera and miserable exp from dungeons.

Wondering in zones looking for side quests or trying to kill bams for exp.

Way before avatar weapons were a thing and overall mobs got nerfed.

NPC doen't have to give you lv 80 tutorial. core game is tutorial and you skipped it.

[AlexxxDelta.1806]

Posts like this is why I think Anet should restrict use of level 80 boosts until you have reached max level with one of your characters.

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

> @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said:

> Posts like this is why I think Anet should restrict use of level 80 boosts until you have reached max level with one of your characters.

 

On the one hand, yes. On the other, the OP is precisely the kind of player who *could* use the 80-boost on their first character and not be set back. The primary problem here is that too many assumptions were brought along from other games in the genre.

While the game does an ok job of teaching people not used to MMOs how it works, it really doesn't actively knock these assumptions out of experienced MMO players early or forcefully enough.