Do you know how to have fun?

Dear reader of my post, what follows is a recap of events that I have experienced while playing this great game. I have learned a few things, and am simply sharing them with you for your consideration and discussion.

I remember getting GW when it came out. WOW was there a lot to do and learn. Nah I didn’t have a guild, I was just playing like it was a regular role play. Heh heh boy was I dumb back then. How dumb? Until my buds started to play I walked every where. No clicking on the map for me heh heh. And that brings me to the point of this post.

When a couple of my buds got GW they went father than I did and faster. I remember one day I was in Ascaon and they were like “hey meet us in Piken” I said well that’s gonna take a while and there was some serious laughter on Team speak.” man you can warp there!” Im still ribbed for that one 15 months later he heh. Any how, back when the game was new and pretty much unbeaten it was a blast to learn new things, teaching them and being taught. It was fun to get weapons and stuff and give them to someone in the guild for >gasp< free. I remember meeting a few stellar people in the game who helped me or I was able to help. That played a huge part in my fun back then. I got my first black dye (it was 4k back then) and you know what I did? I went broke getting all my guilds whatever weapons or armor then needed.(man that 4k stretched lol). Any how that’s how it was everyone was doing it, hooking each other up or being hooked up.

Then something broke in me, I sold something and got a TON of money for it in LA. That woke me up to the potential of riches; I never knew money like that could be one sale away. And once I made my first 100k I just never wanted to go back to not having at least 100k on me…and my game changed. I became a seller. Sellers know what I mean.
I changed my UI so that the trade channel took up way more than half my screen.
I knew every stat and price of every item in game. I became the guy my guildies depended on for price checks and weapon value checks. I never farmed. I made well over 5 million gold, and never had more than 300k at one time. I just bought and sold.

How in the world does this relate to my topic? Well a month I was bored and took a pug out to farm ghail for the golem and his staff. When everyone had their golems, they all thanked me and left. I felt weird. Id done something for people I didn’t know and for free to boot. So I kept doing it. Then I went nuts and started to teach -55 monks how to tag team the UW all for free, and I’ll even pay the fee if they don’t beat me to it. Sure I know this is all old hat to a lot of you guys but its new to me. I have been having a blast again, helping folks who need it. So if you can relate to my long tale, take my advice ask yourself if you know how to have fun, if not, take a breather and ask what is different between now and when you really enjoyed gw. For me it helping folks, for you …who knows the sky’s the limit.

you know what this means dont you?

Congratulations, you are not a retard, you are not selfish, you do not thrash new players, and you do not assume that you are the master of everything.

But most of all... you're just getting old^^. I'm envious of you. Hopefully more people will do the same thing.

Nice one Blakk. I can't admit to helping a LOT of others out, but there have been a few memorabale occasions...... and you're right! It felt really good. Good post.

*sigh* Sure wish they'd bring the jerk thread back. :P

ah mature players, a rare find :P

Just means you understand that golds dont make the player. Player skill makes the player.

I still love when new stuff comes out, so you can experiement more and have fun, instead of sticking to strict builds or ways of doing it so you dont get called a noob.

I havent caught on to trading, its dog boring to me, but I stay in the game for the community...I've made some nice friends, made some people mad (which is almost as good ), and other stuff :\

nice story, I hope I too can one day not care about money like you do. Unfortuanatly im a bit selfish and find it a waste of time to teach others to 55 when that isnt a waste of time because it sounds fun to teach others. Becuase of your post i may stop my lonely solo farming and take a trip to Ascalon missions and pick one person to help out and make an expert.

Thank you for your post!!!

I have over 1,000 of most common materials, over 10 superior vigor runes, a bundle of greens, and about 700,000 gold across all my characters. Yet I still scam runners and cheat out my partner in UW runs, I think its a blast. Maybe people get there fix through different ways... AHAHHAHA.

As long as you have fun. Just remember, don't make GW the only thing in you life.

Also PM me if you start having fun by giving away golds.

i feel the same way.
before having lots of money and getting gold weapons itwas soooo fun.
i remember the first time i saw a bone dragon, i was excited as a lil kid, and my firs purple item 10-14 wingblade no mod....the good old times.
now im pretty bored, trying to get that 1 million,but sometimes i do help people for free and it feels good, even that sometimes they tip me for it.
most of the time i run people for free to droks or i give free at ascalon(wich is pretty hard...it looks like poeple in gw dont like free things)

i helped many out back in those days... because back then it was hard to find a purpose for playing after doing everything... you soon realize the heart and soul of fun in this game is in the PvP.... and thats where i've been since..

I have no money, I give way too much stuff away. I get told that an item is worth like 20-30k I have a weak attempt at selling, no intrest so I then give it away!

This is pretty much how I've got through the game! I give stuff out all the time, purples and golds and the odd greens, some people feel they have to give me something in return, which is their choice as I say they are free!

The only big sell I've had was my kunavaang(SP?) but I sold that quick and cheap, 78k! I don't really like standing around trying to sell stuff!

One of my guildies has suggested using the guru auction rooms, which I may take a look at.

Problem for me is, not buying and selling enough to watch the flow of the market and have a decent idea of prices. A lot of the prices on here tend to be based on the US servers and not the EU ones, which I'm told is much more than people in EU are willing to pay?

I have my 15k Kurzick armor for my sin and I'm starting to look at doing the same for my Ranger, Necro and Warrior, hey we all have something to aim for!

I'm now slowing down on the handing out of golds, but will give away the purples, even though I could get 100-200 from the merchant, I like to feel I am helping others.

Someone wound me up last night though! I gave them a gold runic axe, since he was a friend of the guild. A little later I spot him in another outpost spamming, gold runic axe for sale 2.5k....

I have no problems helping people out, I'll even go out on missions with some! If they are lower level I just take a lower level character, so that they still have to earn their way through the mission! I find it better to do it that way than run my lvl 20's through the starter island missions, hitting stuff with a couple of hits and their dead, all well and good if you want to solo but not good to teach people how to get through a mission!

I tend to have a varying amount of mods on me at any one time, so I give a shout out, "xxxx mods available free, get them now before they are scrapped at the merchant" Noob or new characters appreciate the gifts, or at least most do! You won't belive how many people come up with something like "Oh man! crappy mods on that sword, you not got anything better?" I'm like WTF, it's free, going to cost you nothing and you complain? but I make sure it is in the open channel so all can see!

I've given out materials to others to help them along their way towards their new armor.

The problem I have at the moment is, wearing 15k kurzicks, people think you have money! I have a vast total of 849 gold! Although I've probably got about 5-6k of materials if sold to trader? I'm not rich, I had a lucky break as such since I had the kunni but other than that it was hard work earning all that amber!

Why do I do this sort of thing? I believe that what goes around comes around! It's karma baby, I hope that by doing deeds like this will lead to others doing the same. There is much more to the game than having gold, yet we all strive for it for our own reasons. You see people gloat about having 300 gazillion gold, which for me is not a problem as you get people like that in real life. You have others like me, who will never really be rich because they don't like to sell or they sell their golds to the merchant, makes you wonder how many high level items have just been merched! The more casual gamer gets frustrated by the increasing numbers of weapons that are selling for 100k+ as they feel they would never attain that wealth.

I have set my self some personal targets and it does mean I have to earn gold, but it still will not stop me giving away items on a random basis.

I was in Seitung Harbor yesterday for the first time in ages and was stunned that a) people were selling cap son letters for 1k+ b) people were offering to do the quest for 2k+ Yes it is a variation on the running from prophecies but personally, even with my new characters, if I can't do that quest with henchies then I don't know my character yet! Getting help from higher level chars, only leads to one thing, bad gameplay!

Anyway, that's enough gibberish from me

Have Fun

I used to be the same way. then something changed. Granted ill still help people and ill still do things for free, but i dont give anything away anymore. those same people would constantly message me afterwards askign for free items or gold. I dont try to offer suggestive criticism anymore because theres always some complete dipshit that thinks he knws better than you and he has t be right and everyone has to listen to him.

now i pretty much just have fun with guildies on vent and gvg. gvg = fun to me. i dont have to normally run into those thickheadded people that are the complete assholes in this game. NOTE THAT I SAID NORMALLY, there are a few exceptions even in pvp.

What? You can warp using the world map???

Ahh Blakk, me old buddy. The very first person who took the trouble to teach and mentor me in the art of trading all those long months ago. One of the very first friends I made early on in the game who stayed a friend til I retired from the game. We shared some great times and a lot of funny moments, and I will always look back on my GW experience with fond memories, many of which you helped create. You are truly one of those rare players who take the trouble to make other people's gaming experience more pleasant, and I salute you for that. Keep up the good work.

Trading makes my head explode I don't understand what would drive people to deal with the mountains of spam ugh seems more like work than game there, just my view anyway.

I don't bother too much anymore with 15k armour or ridiculously expensive items and so forth, which require grind and/or selling. Especially since you can mix and match armours for a nice look and weapon stats are arguably more important than appearance. Also I learned ages ago that stuff which isn't 100% perfect but looks nice, works just as well as the 100% perfect stuff that you need to spend forever to obtain. I mean, most of the time you're playing you're not staring at the weapon/shield your character is wielding anyway... ever since then it's been more like a game again and less like work/grind.

I can somewhat relate to this...I haven't had the game for that long, but after beating Factions, I've now taken a liking to just randomly helping new people do missions/quests and giving them random items I don't need when I'm not trying to complete Prophecies. That and it always feels nice to just help out new people in the Monastery by answering whatever questions they have.

I always keep decent weapons I find, that are good enough for poor people to use, but too crap to be worth selling. like those 13^50 req 12 bows with a skin no-one wants.

when I have quite a few, I go to some newbie area, the small outposts in the beginner area which rich and experienced people skip, and give them all away. The reactions are great, almost everyone is happy with their item, and some even give items back. I once made a new warrior very happy with a sword, he gave me a pink dye as a thanks, how cool is that?

I remember running someone to maguuma stade from henge of denravi, I didn't realise he was offering 5k for the run, I just love running that, and I got there and he gave me 5k, I really felt good after that

Many people in my real life and in game have asked me why I continue to have a blast playing Guild Wars after all of these months. You touched on a few things in your post, but for the most part:

1. Don't get stuck doing the same thing. The best way to start to get bored, then resent, then hate the game is to repeat the same activity over and over. From farming/faction farming, to doing HA, to doing GvG...repetition generally starts off fun, but then the law of diminishing returns kicks in and you start to view it as a chore.

2. Don't rush it. Enjoy the PvE experience. Don't join max groups that are perfectly constructed. Try joining a 4 assassin group as a monk. Try doing a PuG by accepting anyone who is willing to join. Try soloing the missions first, before grouping it. So, you may fail, but you'll have a TON more fun failing than the quick enjoyment spike that you'll get for finishing three missions in a row in an hour. And finishing it makes it all the more sweet.

3. Don't focus on wealth. The minute you start paying attention to how much money you have, the more you start doing things to maintain that wealth. In the real world, that is called employment. The last thing you need is, when you're trying to "escape" from the real world, is to bring aspects of your real life into the game.

Yeh, I have been doing that as of late also. I have really been enjoying Guildwars like I did originally, helping players near Ascalon and such. I give out free golds that are not exactly great selling material, but a mid lvl character who is new would love to have. I enjoy helping others also, it makes you feel like you are giving back for all that help people gave you originally in the game.

Needless to say, I think more high ranking/highly notable players should help others. I have done everything there is to do in Guildwars, from 3 manning Urgoz to 2 Manning UW, to FoW clearing, to ALL missions and 70% of the quests or so. Lord Sojar, my monk, has 3.5 million exp for Dwanya's sake... and I DONT 55/Spirit Bond very often (maybe 4x a month for an hour or so). So I think it is only right to teach new players the ropes, show them a few tricks, show them how aggro works, how enemies attack, how to own face in RA, some cool builds, join their new guild and help in a GvG match, etc.

It is really fun to help new players, and players that just need a boost. When I see beggars in Lions arch who noticed new armor, I help them out (if I think they are legit). A few weeks ago, I saw a Mesmer at grotto. She wasn't spamming or even asking for money or anything. She went up to another Mesmer in 15k enchanters, my mesmer, and was admiring me. She put a sad face on the screen "" and remarked how she hated her lions armor, and really wished she could have the pretty armor I had on. I told her she could, she asked how, and I gave her all the gold and materials needed, and a good domination build to play in PvE. She PMs me here and there for help and invites me to do missions with her if I'm not busy. Granted, spending that much gold on a random player isn't an everyday thing, and so, I don't do that everyday, but maybe every 3 months, when I have a little extra gold I am not planning to use, I help out a fellow legit player who isn't just saying they are poor for handouts. She was legit, and poor as sin.... very new to Guildwars, someone in her guild ran her to grotto for free (which was nice BTW whoever did that).

So yeah, help other players out if you are well off ingame. Just think about the good ol' days when you were a "noob" and how you loved the game, even though you spammed frenzy and healsig in giant mobs... Lend a helping hand, whether it be in gold, materials, a general tip, a farming build. Don't just give them gold and say Your Welcome, teach them how to be self sufficient. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. Good luck!

I hope your kidding dude.

lol same thing with the bone dragon here. My friend and I were exploring Kryta and we came across Rotscale (this was over a year ago) and we thought it was friggin awsome. he owned us.

You have just been added to my ignore list...

I am (what I have been called) new (6 months or so) and still can't get a team in HA because of all of the so-called pros...flashing rank and such.

It's refreshing to see that there are still people out there who actually play to have fun and not to brag show off and talk nonesense.

I love Guild Wars so much, but it seems once I got to college the dorm’s internet won't support it, or any other online game for that matter... I wish I could play. All this talking about having fun makes me want to play soooooo bad. Lol. You guys are lucky. I always thought farming was fun and running. What I liked most, however, was making new characters and leveling up with friends of mine who play as well. /sigh
...Those were the days...

Agreed. I actually still have a couple low lvl char I haven't touched in a while since I'm waiting on a few friends of mine to get time to play again. It's generally fun to run through the game bit by bit with people you know, makes for a different experience than spamming "LFG <mission/quest>" to build the perfect group.

Back when I was new was when Guild Wars was the most fun. Going through pre-searing and Ascalon with friends, discovering stuff for the first time with each other. You didn't have to be the most efficient or the best at anything, you could just enjoy it.

I also find that anticipating something is far better than actually getting it, for example money, the best weapons etc. Back when I had my 7-10 dmg Ascalon Bow, I was so looking forward to getting new equipment. Every town some new armour and weapons. And of course, leveling up. Now I just get a Drok's run.

Hey Rain, call your college internet support and see if they will open some ports for you. Or, if your on a router, double check and make sure the ports are not closed. That might let you play!

That's why when I to 2 man runs in UW with my guildies, we don't do 50/50. It's already random.

talking to people in grotto is teh way to go