For the last beta weekend event, we were lucky enough to receive a beta key that we gave to a friend. He had already been with us when we went to GamesCom last year and everything we have told him about the game has fascinated him. But he doesn’t have much time for playing games and so never read up on the game himself. And while we had done our best to promote the game, Guild Wars 2 isn’t the only thing we’re talking about with said friends and so, all in all, he hadn’t gotten that much information from us about the game’s mechanics. When we finally managed to be online at the same time and chat with each other, he asked me one question: “How do you get new skills in this game?” – This made me realize a few things.
First of all, the tutorial is really, really bad right now (it’s mostly tool tips and especially when fighting the boss monster at the end of the tutorial zone, you really don’t have the time to read those tool tips). Not for people like me who have read so much about the game so far. But for people who are new to Guild Wars 2 and I would assume especially for people new to MMOs. On the other hand, I also assume that the tutorial is something you do at the end once the mechanics are all finished, etc. So I will not complain about it (yet). ;)
But no matter how great a game’s tutorial is, there will always be questions that newcomers have and that are left unanswered. With that in mind, which one piece of advice would you give a person that is new to Guild Wars 2? What’s the one thing that you think may be difficult to understand or easy to miss even if it’s explained in a tooltip?
Nerdy Bookahs 
I think some of the most important are:
– stay out of red circles AT ANY COST!
– try to evade attacks
– keep moving while using your skills
– Dynamic Events (orange circles) >> Renown Hearts
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Well, that’s several pieces. But they’re short and sweet. :) I’m just not sure I get what you mean wtih “>>” – they’re bigger? Or look out for the renown hearts if you want to find events?
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I think he means that Dynamic Events give more XP than Renown Hearts so it might be a good idea to keep an eye for them and try to do as many as possible.
My advice would be, get used to moving around in combat and dodging as soon as possible. That way you will die a lot less often. Also, try to always keep a ranged weapon and if the class allows it, a melee weapon. Different mobs may require different weapons after all.
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I meant that you should look for and participate in Dynamic Events. Not only do they usually give better rewards, but they are also often more interesting/fun and can result in special stuff, such as big boss events.
“>>” was to say “are a lot more awesome than” ;)
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Aaaah. Thank you! :)
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Yep okay. :)
Ha… movement, right. That’ll be fun to see with said friend. We had a bit of a problem in Lotro because he kept moving – backwards, without watching into which group of mobs he’s moving to add to the ones in front of us. ;)
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Heh. I’ve been guilty of that too in a few games, mostly FPSes. I would run backwards to try getting some distance and avoid attacks only to find myself running either in a corner making me an easy target or more enemies!
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DE not only give better reward and better XP, but they too help to complete hearts. So, helping to complete DE can potentially double your XP: you gain XP for completing event and gain XP from completing heart.
So, if you see any DE at map, RUN FOR IT!
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I will add my two cents to regendo advices:
1- GW2 it is not a WoW-clone, there are NOT holly trinity, play open minded, forget everything you saw at other MMO, but most important of all: LEARN WHEN SELF REAL (click 6!!!!) BECAUSE THERE IS NO HEALER;
2- there is no kill stealing, more players better;
3- rezz other players, you gain XP;
4- if you cannot learn all your weapon skills asap, at least learn one melee and one ranged weapon skills: try learn them before level 7;
5- if you don’t like how the class plays, change weapon: your class can change from a melee to artillery or to ranged or to a support;
6- try learn the combos, they are easier than you imagine (maybe because WoW-clone thinking make us think combos are extremelly hard): EVERYTIME YOU SEE A WHITE CIRCLE OR A WHITE LINE ON THE GROUND (and that fire and other elemental attacks have a white circle or white line on the ground, just the fire is more visible…), click at the key that will finish the combo (normally it is a projectille, throwing weapon, jumping or a cone, it is an attack that CROSS the white circle or white line, it is one key between 5 keys, it is easy to lean what key to click, test each one if you have no idea what one to use!);
7- autocombo is possible: for example, guardian with greatsword is click 2 (for a symbol, white circle) and immediatly after click 4 (jumping attack) for massive damage and regen;
8- if you don’t want complete each map, at least get ALL skill points from each map: you will need them later.
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Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s a friendly community and people had no problems answering questions for others without the snobbery I’ve experienced in other games. What fun is an MMORPG when people don’t actually communicate? The game is great in the way cooperation is so natural, but people seem to forget we can actually talk to each other. Beyond that, relax, go with the flow and learn at your own pace. This is a game that almost begs players to stop and smell the roses.
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After reading some of these comments, I also want to include advise for seasoned MMORPG players advising new players. Use basic language. Avoid acronyms. If someone tried to talk to me about things like kiting and XP the first time I played an MMO, I’d go slack jawed. You have to ease beginners into the lingo. Tell them what they need to know as they need to know it. Don’t try to tell them everything about everything all at once. I know my husband enjoyed the game a lot more when I stopped hovering over his shoulder and just let him play, and answered questions for him as they came up.
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Get to grips with MMo terminology or your’ll get horrible lost. Here’s a list with explanations. http://www.boneblack.shivtr.com/forum_threads/1113978
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Oh, and the first term is very fitting for any of our readers who are new to Guild Wars. ;)
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Don’t panic and try to breath slowly.
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explore every thing, think outside the traditional MMO box. there aren’t any specific quest strings to follow, the world is yours to explore and conquer. biggest piece of advice i can give is have fun
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Sadly underrated lately… so it’s a piece of advice that can’t be given often enough, no matter which game. ;)
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Everyone can gather crafting materials. Even if you don’t plan on crafting, you get XP and Achievements and you can make money selling the raw materials, so you should gather as much as you can!
But, you’ll need to buy an equip the three types of gathering tools before you can get ore, wood or vegetables.
And if you’re worried about filling up your inventory, you can right-click and choose to “Send collectible to storage” at any point to put it in your bank and clear out your inventory.
So get out there and gather!
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“Just stick with me kid…”
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