So new!

[pvw1075]

So I bought the game recently when it was 50% off. I just let my ESO lapse and wildstar beta just didn't impress me.

GW2 seems like a fun game to hold me over till WoD (I'm a heroic raider but I feel like just having fun and getting pretty armor lol.)

I'm playing a Necromancer, after making a couple characters I'm going human (seems like races really don't matter.)

Any tips? or people willing to let me add them in game! I love MMO's with community, I ported into the major human city and it was packed, gave me hope!

Hope to see some of you in game!

[Fibby76]

Welcome and have fun!

As for races, the only real difference are the origins of your personal story, but otherwise, in terms of stats and whatnot, there aren't that much difference.

[Meledelion]

Aside from the Norn elite being a lot better in comparison to other (racial) elites in the hands of a somewhat skilled person.

The reason for this is burst damage. While Lich Form (and other elites for other professions) isn't bad on it's own it simply takes too long to deal the damage.
I think there's only 2 professions that don't benefit from being Norn, mesmer and elementalist.

The benefit is minor but saying there isn't one is simply wrong.

[Valeron]

Definitely agree that the Norn's racial skills being better than the rest. However, it would take up your elite spot so unless your profession doesn't have a good elite for your playstyle than it really doesn't matter.

[pvw1075]

This conversation just went over my head, so I'm guessing for my purpose race will not matter lol

[Valeron]

This conversation just went over my head, so I'm guessing for my purpose race will not matter lol

the simple answer is that each race has a few "flavor" skills that you can use that no other race can use. generally those skills are a bit weaker than the other skills you have as a class though. Since you have a limited amount of skills that you can use in a given time, it is a choice you have to make whether to use those skills on your action bar.

statistically, there is no difference at all between the races

[lawow74]

If you care about min/maxing Mel is the one to listen to. Otherwise, just play the game and have fun exploring the world and all there is to offer. We'll be on a content lull until July, when the new Living Story 'season' starts. Until then, check out the Festival stuff, fool around with it or not, and just experiment with the different gameplay modes. Don't be afraid to jump into PvP and try some traits and skills out to see what you might enjoy in the open world, and always remember: anything you're curious about, just type /wiki and your object of interest to search for more details.

Welcome to Tyria, hope you enjoy your stay!

[worprz]

Hey welcome to the game! the best advice I can give you is don't play the game like a traditional mmo. There is a lot you can do right from the beginning, there is pvp and wvw. You can also try the Festival of the Four Winds update that is going on right now, it's really fun (it's a vertical map!). If you decide to just level through the actual world keep in mind the heart quests are there to show you what level area of the map you are in, you also need to do them for map completion. There are a lot of dynamic events to do and they are much funner than the heart quests.

[pvw1075]

Thank you! I'm really excited for the pvp aspect of the game, and the fact that it's just buy once and play!

Also while looking around the Destiny city place.. some people's characters look amazing! Is it hard to get awesome looking skins/gear?
I noticed some is bought via a store, but surely not all of it is?

[Karizee]

Most of the armors are available just from playing (purchasing with karma, crafting, dungeon tokens, drops from mobs/bosses, Living Story events and the like). Here's a gallery:
http://argos-soft.net/GW2/ArmorGallery/

And here's the wiki where you can find out where to get them:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page


Couple of handy tips:

• Hitting Ctrl will flash the name of any interactable objects (harvesting nodes, environmental weapons, event items).
• Completing a map gives you bonus rewards, the higher zones give very nice rewards. If trying to complete a map and can't find a pesky POI or OMG how can I not see something as big as a HEART, you can use the eye icon on the world map to flash map completion objectives on and off.
• Use the Deposit All Collectibles button in your inventory to automatically transfer any mats from your bags to your bank. You need to go to your bank to withdraw except for crafting stations where you have access to the items.
• You can access the Trading Post from anywhere in the game but must go to one to pick up gold or items. You can use your mouse scroll to raise or lower a price of an item.
• Basic salvage kit for most everything white, blue + green quality. Low level blues and greens usually sell for more than vendor or mat value but it's no big deal if you just want to salvage it all to save time, you'll make much more when you are level capped. Watch out for Half-Eaten weapons though, those are pure gold.
• Think of Hearts like bread crumb quests, they lead you into an area but it's the dynamic events that unfold there that's the real meat of the game. Talk to named NPCs for lore tidbits or to trigger dynamic events, that guy running up to you and yelling for help is not there for flavor! As you progress through the zones events get more complicated, chaining and webbing into other events - stick around a minute to follow the chain.

[pvw1075]

karizee!! Thank you so much that helps a ton!
And everyone else too, you've been so helpful!

[Forsedar]

I will admit, I enjoyed leveling in that game. While late/end-game is a little stale in my mind, the overall look and feel of the game was awesome. Despite finding a build and it looking it would feel repetitive- it wasn't at all! I don't know if you tried playing a Mesmer, but I absolutely loved it. GS Mesmers were so fun and it didn't feel repetitive. Overall the game is really beautiful after you get used to the art style. I specifically loved the different armor combinations.

[pvw1075]

It's taken me a bit to get used to the maps, they're a little....impressionistic.

[zed zebes]

I would encourage you to explore the nooks and crannies of the world. Also, check out the Festival of the Four Winds. It's different from what you may be used to in a MMO. It reminds me of some of the blue coin hunts in Mario Sunshine. It's also a gorgeous area.

[pvw1075]

ha, that sounds awesome! I got a lot of learning to do!

[Rivellana]

I main a necromancer as well, and it seems to be one of the less played professions, from what I've noticed in the world anyways.

Feel free to send me a PM for my in-game character name if you want to add me. I'd be glad to talk necromancer with you if you need.

[Meledelion]

This conversation just went over my head, so I'm guessing for my purpose race will not matter lol

I'll explain a bit, if it's still not clear keep telling me and I'll find a way to express myself properly.
As you probably know you have 2sides of skills on the left are your weapon skills (these change depending on the weapon you use) and on the right there's 3 utility skills, a healing skill and your elite (these can be picked and are 100% determined by you).

I'm focusing on the elite so I'll throw something out here and respond to two people at once (oh that sweet sweet optimization that I crave).

Definitely agree that the Norn's racial skills being better than the rest. However, it would take up your elite spot so unless your profession doesn't have a good elite for your playstyle than it really doesn't matter.

Your playstyle is underlined because depending on what you're doing some things aren't viable. Healing/tanking/doting (conditions) aren't worth using in content with other people (WvW and PvP are the exception).
What it comes down to is that in (large scale) open world content you want direct damage and as much of it as possible.

At the moment there's an elite skill which greatly out damages any other spell in the game Fiery Greatsword (I won't go into the details with the hows and whys) the Norn elite Become the Bear works in the same way but is less powerful.
Elementalist is the class that summons the FGS mentioned before and Mesmer has an elite named Time Warp which basically doubles your party's DPS for 5s.

No other class has the ability to bring more DPS than the Norn elite (due to fights being incredibly short so burst > all).
Let's look at Necromancer.
1. Lich Form
2. Plague
3. Flesh Golem

1. Does good DPS but bad Burst dps.
2. Focuses on conditions so is bad by default (depending on what content you're doing).
3. Bad DPS and AI.

In conclusion:
1. There is a racial difference
2. It's only important if you're into min-maxing
3. You don't use elites a lot anyway so the DPS increase is fairly minimal in the grand scheme of things

[Huehuecoyotl]

You can use your mouse scroll to raise or lower a price of an item.

A year and a half I have been playing this game, and I never realised that. Could have saved me a LOT of time on the TP!

[Deleted]

Welcome to GW2! ^^
I would really suggest to visit the Bazaar of the four winds, it is absolutely stunning </3
Also exploring is a lot of fun since it's beautiful everywhere. I am actually enjoying myself doing world completion for the second time.
When you go to a city, there's always a portal there that will bring you to the main capital of the game, Lions Arch. From there you can go to any other city, which is connected to a new starter area.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and enjoy :3

[Karizee]

ha, that sounds awesome! I got a lot of learning to do!

The exploration in this game is phenomenal

If you open your world map you'll see in the lower left how many layers a map has. Some map objectives will have a ^ or v to indicate that it's on another level.

Look behind waterfalls and bushes, there are hidden areas and jump puzzles everywhere. You can fall through a hole in the ground or crack in the ice to find another zone. Completing certain events opens portals into instances, dungeons or maps. Tons of easter eggs like if 3 rangers use the Call of the Wild warhorn skill at the same time they summon a Lunar wolf.