Enig (and co.) List of Essential Tips for the Discerning GW2 Noob
Gameplay / Mechanics
Learn to use Dodge. It will be critical as you progress. Especially watch out for strong attacks from enemies which have a "charging up" tell.
You can move around in combat, even while casting (most skills/spells), and it is a good idea to do so. Resist going toe-to-toe like in traditional MMOs.
Don't worry about the "downed" state too much. Unless you are completely overwhelmed, it is rarely defeat. The game is balanced in such a way that you are expected to go down every now and then, especially in tougher areas. Fight and you will rally.
Everyone who attacks an enemy (significantly) will get full XP and loot from that enemy. Help others and don't worry when other players attack your target. Welcome to a multiplayer MMO.
Buffs/heals work on all allies, not just your party, although your party will be prioritised if there are many players nearby. Most area-effect buffs/heals affect five people at a time (the five-target limit is also true for most offensive AoE spells).
Many buffs ("boons") and debuffs ("conditions") stack, but for balance reasons, only some of them will get stronger with more stacks (stack intensity). The rest will increase duration with more stacks (stack time).
Buy gathering tools from a merchant NPC as soon as you finish the tutorial. Gathering craft materials in the field gives very good XP and you will find many resource nodes as you adventure. Resource nodes are on a per-player basis, so don't worry about taking resources from other people, or resources being taken from you.
While not as important as gathering, crafting also gives a lot of XP, and the items will be useful as you level. It is a little more engaging than other MMOs also. Strongly consider taking up crafting at an early level.
Always have a salvage kit. Many crafting professions require cloth or leather, and the only way to get these materials (apart from direct drops) is by salvaging them from "salvage items" (which are drops). Salvage items are not junk! You can also salvage normal equipment if you so choose, to get some of the base resources from the item.
Find another 1+ persons to adventure with. The game is largely solo-friendly (although you will often be playing with other players in dynamic events), but being in a party is very fun. There are many interesting ways for characters to compliment each other. Having an ally will also mean someone to revive you or help you take on elite events/monsters.
Resist simply going from renown heart to renown heart. Hearts are a secondary objective meant to act as a level guideline, not the primary means of leveling (as quests are in other MMOs). Take the time to explore skill challenges and points of interest, and of course, participate in dynamic events along the way.
When you do complete renown hearts, check in with the NPC associated with that heart. These NPCs have items you can purchase with karma.
When entering areas that are lower level than your current level, your character will be down-leveled to +1 above the area level. While down-leveled you continue to earn XP for your true level, and items that drop match your true level. This means it is very feasible to visit zones that are below your level either for completion or to play with friends who haven't progressed as much as you.
Dynamic Events
If you contribute to an event you will get credit even if you leave the area before it completes.
For events which have you gathering items, there is a small grace period (30 to 60 seconds) after the event reaches "complete" status during which you can still turn in your items.
Follow and pay attention to NPCs after an event completes. Often they will sell special items, have dialogue with other NPCs or even kick off other events nearby. It can be very nice if you want to immerse yourself in the world.
Some NPCs will wait until a player speaks to them before starting events/chains. These NPCs will have a noticeable symbol over their head.
For crafting 1-50, it's a good idea to collect materials and only craft every once in a while, perhaps every 10-20 levels. It's especially useful to wait in order to get maximum XP from refining materials, which drops off quite fast.
You should always discover new recipes rather than crafting items you have already discovered. A new discovery always is a "critical success" and gives double XP.
Vendor-only crafting materials are bought from NPCs by crafting stations.
It doesn't matter too much which kind of thing you create, as the XP scales to the amount of materials consumed.
Remember to salvage what you make to refund some of the costs.
If you focus on two crafting professions that don't overlap in material use (like Leatherworker/Jeweler), you should easily be able to create items which match or slightly out-pace your leveling.
8-slot bags can be crafted by any of the 3 armor crafting professions and can be made at very low levels. (Larger bags at higher levels)
All weapon and armor crafting follows a basic pattern:
Raw material + Vendor material (depends on crafting profession, may not always appear) = Refined material
Refined material + Alt. material A (depends on crafting profession, may not always appear, may be refined or vendor) = Item part A / Item part B
Alt. material B (depends on crafting profession) + Collectible drop = Upgrade component
Item part A + Item part B + Upgrade component = New item!
You can go to the Heart of the Mists as soon as your class tutorial is done by using the [H]ero menu, and selecting "take me to the mists," there you will be able to enter structured (sPvP) and world vs world (WvW or 'WuvWuv') PvP.
Your character will be bumped to max level and given full access to traits and skills while in the Heart of the Mists and sPvP.
For structured PvP, you can change out your weapon sets and customize the additional bonuses on your weapons and armor for free using the merchants in the Heart of the Mists.
Try to use your dodges when you think the enemy is going to use a significant attack. Wasting dodges will get you killed quickly.
Use your heals efficiently. Most of the time this means using it as soon as you can get the full effect from it, so that it cools down as quickly as possible, and you get the most uses of your heal in a given fight.
Duels are not everything! Being good at 1v1 encounters is nice, but the goal is point capture, and kills alone are worth little.
Is anyone on your trebuchet? No? Then get on your trebuchet! (for the 'Battle of Khylo' PvP map)
Sometimes the best course of action is to simply bide your time and wait at a control point your team already holds, rather than leave for more action and let the enemy take the point you should be guarding for free.
Remember the names of your opponents in each match. Does that guardian deal little damage but is too tough to kill? Let your team know and remember to focus him last in fights.
Points are neutralized much faster than they are captured, meaning it is easy to use a knockback or two to keep opponents off of their own point long enough to neutralize it, preventing them from gaining points from it. Likewise, it is difficult to capture a point when it is currently contested without a whole lot of knockabout.
Boons and conditions are a big deal! Do not discount their seemingly minor buffs and debuffs, they are quite powerful.
Learn what each class's elite skills look like so you can tell when they've got a round live in the chamber, and so you can potentially unleash yours in response.
In order to do sPvP as a group, you must have 5 people and join an automatic tournament. Simply using the "join friend in pvp" button will not guarantee you on the same team as your friend.
Fight another day! It's difficult to kill people in GW2 that don't want to be killed, and it's better to run and force them to chase you than to give up your respawn timer.
World vs World
Make sure to pick up "Supply" at your first opportunity. Players can carry 10-15 supply (depending on where they pick it up). Supply can be used to build seige weapons (once someone has put down a blueprint), build incomplete keep defenses (such as cannons), and repair keep walls/gates. You can pick up Supply at supply camps, towers or keeps which have it in their stockpile.
Apart from player-carried Supply, the resource is also useful stockpiled in towers/keeps where it can be used by NPCs to upgrade defenses (at a player's command). In order for a tower/keep stockpile to gain Supply, it must be delivered by caravan. The caravans start at supply camps, then travel to nearby allied towers/keeps (caravan positions are visible on the map).
Interface / Miscellaneous
You can get to starting zones for other races (e.g. to play with friends) by traveling through the Asura Gate in your home city. The Gate will take you to the city of Lion's Arch (a neutral city/hub), and from there you can take another Gate to your destination city. (An alternative route to Lion's Arch is by traveling to the Mists via your [H]ero panel and taking the Gate to Lion's Arch from there)
You can right-click collectibles (crafting items) in your bags and choose "Deposit Collectible" to send the item straight to your bank from anywhere in the world. You can also click the little gear-shaped button in your bag window to deposit all the collectibles you are carrying at once.
When at a merchant NPC there is a button to sell all "trash" items at once.
In the UI options you can set the game to "auto loot". This lets you simply press "F" (or whatever your interact key is) to put drops straight into your bag. Loot in the game is on a per-player basis, so grab everything you see.
You can access the Trading Post from anywhere in the world to conduct transactions. This can be especially useful for selling valuable items that you find in your adventures. You only need to visit a Trading Post NPC "in person" to collect your earnings and purchased items.
You can access mail from anywhere in the world, and it is delivered almost instantly. This is the best way to give items to friends/guildmates.
Character names are saved for 24 hours after deletion. If you are keen on a name, grab it quickly at release and then go back to recreate the character with all the details you want.
Use the official wiki! It is already becoming a valuable resource just from the beta weekends. You can look up equipment, locations, missions, profession skills or other gameplay mechanics.
Enig (and co.) List of Essential Tips for the Discerning GW2 Noob
Gameplay / Mechanics
Learn to use Dodge. It will be critical as you progress. Especially watch out for strong attacks from enemies which have a "charging up" tell.
You can move around in combat, even while casting (most skills/spells), and it is a good idea to do so. Resist going toe-to-toe like in traditional MMOs.
Don't worry about the "downed" state too much. Unless you are completely overwhelmed, it is rarely defeat. The game is balanced in such a way that you are expected to go down every now and then, especially in tougher areas. Fight and you will rally.
Everyone who attacks an enemy (significantly) will get full XP and loot from that enemy. Help others and don't worry when other players attack your target. Welcome to a multiplayer MMO.
Buffs/heals work on all allies, not just your party, although your party will be prioritised if there are many players nearby. Most area-effect buffs/heals affect five people at a time (the five-target limit is also true for most offensive AoE spells).
Many buffs ("boons") and debuffs ("conditions") stack, but for balance reasons, only some of them will get stronger with more stacks (stack intensity). The rest will increase duration with more stacks (stack time).
Buy gathering tools from a merchant NPC as soon as you finish the tutorial. Gathering craft materials in the field gives very good XP and you will find many resource nodes as you adventure. Resource nodes are on a per-player basis, so don't worry about taking resources from other people, or resources being taken from you.
While not as important as gathering, crafting also gives a lot of XP, and the items will be useful as you level. It is a little more engaging than other MMOs also. Strongly consider taking up crafting at an early level.
Always have a salvage kit. Many crafting professions require cloth or leather, and the only way to get these materials (apart from direct drops) is by salvaging them from "salvage items" (which are drops). Salvage items are not junk! You can also salvage normal equipment if you so choose, to get some of the base resources from the item.
Find another 1+ persons to adventure with. The game is largely solo-friendly (although you will often be playing with other players in dynamic events), but being in a party is very fun. There are many interesting ways for characters to compliment each other. Having an ally will also mean someone to revive you or help you take on elite events/monsters.
Resist simply going from renown heart to renown heart. Hearts are a secondary objective meant to act as a level guideline, not the primary means of leveling (as quests are in other MMOs). Take the time to explore skill challenges and points of interest, and of course, participate in dynamic events along the way.
When you do complete renown hearts, check in with the NPC associated with that heart. These NPCs have items you can purchase with karma.
Dynamic Events
If you contribute to an event you will get credit even if you leave the area before it completes.
For events which have you gathering items, there is a small grace period (30 to 60 seconds) after the event reaches "complete" status during which you can still turn in your items.
Follow and pay attention to NPCs after an event completes. Often they will sell special items, have dialogue with other NPCs or even kick off other events nearby. It can be very nice if you want to immerse yourself in the world.
Some NPCs will wait until a player speaks to them before starting events/chains. These NPCs will have a noticeable symbol over their head.
For crafting 1-50, it's a good idea to collect materials and only craft every once in a while, perhaps every 10-20 levels. It's especially useful to wait in order to get maximum XP from refining materials, which drops off quite fast.
You should always discover new recipes rather than crafting items you have already discovered. A new discovery always is a "critical success" and gives double XP.
Vendor-only crafting materials are bought from NPCs by crafting stations.
It doesn't matter too much which kind of thing you create, as the XP scales to the amount of materials consumed.
Remember to salvage what you make to refund some of the costs.
If you focus on two crafting professions that don't overlap in material use (like Leatherworker/Jeweler), you should easily be able to create items which match or slightly out-pace your leveling.
8-slot bags can be crafted by any of the 3 armor crafting professions and can be made at very low levels. (Larger bags at higher levels)
All weapon and armor crafting follows a basic pattern:
Raw material + Vendor material (depends on crafting profession, may not always appear) = Refined material
Refined material + Alt. material A (depends on crafting profession, may not always appear, may be refined or vendor) = Item part A / Item part B
Alt. material B (depends on crafting profession) + Collectible drop = Upgrade component
Item part A + Item part B + Upgrade component = New item!
You can go to the Heart of the Mists as soon as your class tutorial is done by using the [H]ero menu, and selecting "take me to the mists," there you will be able to enter structured (sPvP) and world vs world (WvW or 'WuvWuv') PvP.
Your character will be bumped to max level and given full access to traits and skills while in the Heart of the Mists and sPvP.
For structured PvP, you can change out your weapon sets and customize the additional bonuses on your weapons and armor for free using the merchants in the Heart of the Mists.
Try to use your dodges when you think the enemy is going to use a significant attack. Wasting dodges will get you killed quickly.
Use your heals efficiently. Most of the time this means using it as soon as you can get the full effect from it, so that it cools down as quickly as possible, and you get the most uses of your heal in a given fight.
Duels are not everything! Being good at 1v1 encounters is nice, but the goal is point capture, and kills alone are worth little.
Is anyone on your trebuchet? No? Then get on your trebuchet! (for the 'Battle of Khylo' PvP map)
Sometimes the best course of action is to simply bide your time and wait at a control point your team already holds, rather than leave for more action and let the enemy take the point you should be guarding for free.
Remember the names of your opponents in each match. Does that guardian deal little damage but is too tough to kill? Let your team know and remember to focus him last in fights.
Points are neutralized much faster than they are captured, meaning it is easy to use a knockback or two to keep opponents off of their own point long enough to neutralize it, preventing them from gaining points from it. Likewise, it is difficult to capture a point when it is currently contested without a whole lot of knockabout.
Boons and conditions are a big deal! Do not discount their seemingly minor buffs and debuffs, they are quite powerful.
Learn what each class's elite skills look like so you can tell when they've got a round live in the chamber, and so you can potentially unleash yours in response.
In order to do sPvP as a group, you must have 5 people and join an automatic tournament. Simply using the "join friend in pvp" button will not guarantee you on the same team as your friend.
Fight another day! It's difficult to kill people in GW2 that don't want to be killed, and it's better to run and force them to chase you than to give up your respawn timer.
World vs World
Make sure to pick up "Supply" at your first opportunity. Players can carry 10-15 supply (depending on where they pick it up). Supply can be used to build seige weapons (once someone has put down a blueprint), build incomplete keep defenses (such as cannons), and repair keep walls/gates. You can pick up Supply at supply camps, towers or keeps which have it in their stockpile.
Apart from player-carried Supply, the resource is also useful stockpiled in towers/keeps where it can be used by NPCs to upgrade defenses (at a player's command). In order for a tower/keep stockpile to gain Supply, it must be delivered by caravan. The caravans start at supply camps, then travel to nearby allied towers/keeps (caravan positions are visible on the map).
Interface / Miscellaneous
You can get to starting zones for other races (e.g. to play with friends) by traveling through the Asura Gate in your home city. The Gate will take you to the city of Lion's Arch (a neutral city/hub), and from there you can take another Gate to your destination city. (An alternative route to Lion's Arch is by traveling to the Mists via your [H]ero panel and taking the Gate to Lion's Arch from there)
You can right-click collectibles (crafting items) in your bags and choose "Deposit Collectible" to send the item straight to your bank from anywhere in the world. You can also click the little gear in your bag window to deposit all the collectibles you are carrying at once.
When at a merchant NPC there is a button to sell all "trash" items at once.
In the UI options you can set the game to "auto loot". This lets you simply press "F" (or whatever your interact key is) to put drops straight into your bag. Loot in the game is on a per-player basis, so grab everything you see.
Character names are saved for 24 hours after deletion. If you are keen on a name, grab it quickly at release and then go back to recreate the character with all the details you want.
Use the official wiki! It is already becoming a valuable resource just from the beta weekends. You can look up equipment, locations, missions, profession skills or other gameplay mechanics.
Something I think should be added. Somewhere along the lines of their level in regards to lower level areas doesn't hinder them. Like if they start as Norn and get to level 20 and then their friend gets the game and first plays as a Asura than they can group together in the Asura area with neither player losing anything as the xp gain is per level. Even going back and fighting mobs in the Norn starting area again and doing dynamic events still rewards the first player. This also allows the player to basically goes where they want as they level up and aren't necessarily restricted to areas that are level appropriate. Unfortunately this doesn't allow them to go off into the high level areas as there is no upscaling.
Otherwise, great intro guide.
Steam: The_Zeta
LOL NA: Rednaz
Currently Playing: Dark Forces
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Dr_KeenbeanDumb as a buttPlanet Express ShipRegistered Userregular
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
I'm not really going anywhere with this.
Go to Alexandria cupcake. Much tastier.
Meh. My opinion may have been skewed by having gorged myself on Fogo de Chao only minutes prior.
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
I'm not really going anywhere with this.
Go to Alexandria cupcake. Much tastier.
Meh. My opinion may have been skewed by having gorged myself on Fogo de Chao only minutes prior.
Why you wouldn't have used that space to eat more meat, I do not know.
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
I'm not really going anywhere with this.
Go to Alexandria cupcake. Much tastier.
Meh. My opinion may have been skewed by having gorged myself on Fogo de Chao only minutes prior.
Why you wouldn't have used that space to eat more meat, I do not know.
I ate silly amounts. A small bit of lamb or something must have been digested for energy for the walk to/from my car.
3 bucks a cupcake, but that's including delivery of a fairly large order, customization, and on a very tight schedule for a massive order, all things which will drive up the price significantly. Still steep, but not outside of the realm of possiblity for decent cupcakes.
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
I'm not really going anywhere with this.
Go to Alexandria cupcake. Much tastier.
Meh. My opinion may have been skewed by having gorged myself on Fogo de Chao only minutes prior.
The Parade of Meat, baby ! My favorite is Tejas de Brasil, in Dallas.
The Manifesto does kind of sound like bullshit if you know nothing else about the game.
SCChirp has been doing a good series of videos that are short and concise. He doesn't hype anything up too much, just gives facts, which in itself is hype worthy. Deceptive...
Posts
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
The more the merrier. It's going to be packed in a few hours.
Enig (and co.) List of Essential Tips for the Discerning GW2 Noob
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
grizwhirl
Look at the usefulness!
Edit: Look at it!
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
an impenetrable wall of usefulness.
I kid, nice work.
suggestions?
Something I think should be added. Somewhere along the lines of their level in regards to lower level areas doesn't hinder them. Like if they start as Norn and get to level 20 and then their friend gets the game and first plays as a Asura than they can group together in the Asura area with neither player losing anything as the xp gain is per level. Even going back and fighting mobs in the Norn starting area again and doing dynamic events still rewards the first player. This also allows the player to basically goes where they want as they level up and aren't necessarily restricted to areas that are level appropriate. Unfortunately this doesn't allow them to go off into the high level areas as there is no upscaling.
Otherwise, great intro guide.
LOL NA: Rednaz
Currently Playing: Dark Forces
I got some cupcakes last weekend in Georgetown in DC. They were $3 and mediocre. The place has a TV show or something, apparently.
I'm not really going anywhere with this.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
Otherwise I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning and ask what the hell I was thinking when I made my characters.
- Terence McKenna
Go to Alexandria cupcake. Much tastier.
grizwhirl
Meh. My opinion may have been skewed by having gorged myself on Fogo de Chao only minutes prior.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
"We love it"
"Sorry we didn't buy more copies of your game. Bought cupcakes instead."
The charade stops now. You've flaked on warhams this weekend to play GW2, haven't you?
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
Why you wouldn't have used that space to eat more meat, I do not know.
Oh well :P
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Ron Swanson would be a charr.
The Manifesto hooked me.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Probably something by WoodenPotatoes.
I ate silly amounts. A small bit of lamb or something must have been digested for energy for the walk to/from my car.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
Seriously, the Manifesto is incredible when you realize that it's not just a pile of bullshit.
It has come to this.
The whisky is out, the glasses are prepped.
The Parade of Meat, baby ! My favorite is Tejas de Brasil, in Dallas.
I tried to nap. Lay there for about 2 hours. I may have actually lost consciousness for 15 minutes?
It was just like waiting for Christmas as a kid.
SCChirp has been doing a good series of videos that are short and concise. He doesn't hype anything up too much, just gives facts, which in itself is hype worthy. Deceptive...
He has never shot whisky before.
He may never do so again.
I had my wife take a shot of my whisky once and the face she made was priceless. It truly is not a drink for everyone.
Because I am getting sleepy.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
He got some nice whisky all over his Guild Wars 2 shirt from PAX two years back.