New Player, Few Questions

As the subject states I'm a new to Guild Wars. So hi to everyone here! I'm sure my classes will show up under my name but just in case I'm a Warrior/Necromancer level 8.

Just a couple questions regarding my character's progress in this game. I just got past the first part of the game where I picked up some armor upgrades from the collectors. I'm looking at the armor crafters in Ascalon wondering if I should spend the gold on upgrading to Ascalon armor or just wait a little while and save my gold for the next set. Cause it seems like I just upgraded through the collectors and I don't want to be running around broke all the time upgrading just because I can if it's that not big of a deal. This somewhat leads into my next question considering I'd like to save up some gold.

I was looking at the guildwiki site and in doing so I came across a few of the "15k" armor sets that I'd eventually really like to collect. I was wondering if high end armor collection in this game is anything like WoW for those of you that have played it. In WoW if I want the best tanking/dps gear for my Warrior I have to raid an instance with 39 other people. Due to real life and drama and all that stuff there's always an element of chance involved.

So in Guild Wars will I be able to collect these high end armor sets without constantly relying on a bunch of other people? In other words can I slowly work towards them at my own pace only having to rely on myself to actually get it done?

Thanks for any information!

Certainly shouldn't skip buying armor in Ascalon.
Out of the two crafters in there, use the more expensive one. That higher armor really helps.

Forget everything about WoW this game is nothing like WoW whatsoever - there are no raids or über armor in GW.

While collector armor isn't bad it doesn't have the extra properties that the bought armors have so I never bother with them (also since I've played for a while I have plenty of money).

I suggest you skip the basic armor you can buy in Ascalon and go with the more expensive set - that's the one Corwen sells, it will last you until you get to Lions Arch.

If you're short of money (or more likely Fur) feel free to PM me and I'll meet you in game and I'll sponsor your armor.

First off, welcome to Guildwars

You really don't have to buy the armor at the armor crafter, there are collectors that you can get armor from and they are the same level as the crarfted armor. Glad you're already looking at wiki.

As for the 15k armor, you don't have to raid anyone. Well, maybe a few mountain trolls or whatever farming spot you come across. As long as you're able to collect the all of the required material and have access to the locations of the crafter, you should be able to craft the armor with no problems. I'd say about 80% of my material and gold was acquired alone or with henchies. Definitely no need for "39 people raids".

Also for any "best" gear in guildwars, there is a collector version of it that basically does the same damage, or has the same armor level. The only difference is the look.

Hi, welcome to GW.

As you progress in the game, the armour gets better and better. Collector's are usually in line (in terms of armour level) with the town armour's version. Collector armour cost nothing as the items needed are easily obtained by killing things. Town crafter armours are slightly better as they may have additional bonuses on them (e.g. extra energy, more armour against physical, etc.) which collector's armour do not have.

Highest armour are the 1.5K version, 15K version has the same properties as the 1.5K and only differ in looks and cost. The 1.5K and 15K armour can be obtained from certain towns. Only the 15K FoW armour require a party to venture into FoW (Fissure of Woe), do some quests to open the armour guy.

Hope that helps.

As far as the 15K armor sets well if you want them go for them. they don't offer any additional benefit that the 1.5K sets don't offer. they just have a different skin. It's more of a cool factor than anything else.

Post-searing Ascalon collector armor is not very easy to get as a new player. I don't really see them being able to gather claws from hydras (five of them I think it was) for a piece of armor while wearing pre-searing collectors gear.

It's around in the jungle and the desert where collector armor becomes a nice choice for saving money, so I'd still recommend buying the more expensive set from Ascalon and next set from Lion's Arch when you get there.

I always buy the Ascalon city armor, then grab collector gear in the desert if I don't want to be run to Droknar's or go to Kaineng. Eventually I always get at least the 1.5k stuff though.

Hey thanks for the replies! Seems to be a nice community here.

Caged Fury mentioned FoW armor, and since I've been reading the forums a lot I know this stands for Fissure of Woe. I'm not sure which Warrior armor comes from FoW, but I was particularly looking at the 15k Gladiators. I did read on guildwiki that the 15k armor doesnt have any advantages over the cheaper armor of the same name, but yea I'm definitly wanting these 15k armor pieces for the look.

I'm a very visual person and I always like collecting cool looking armor sets in other games. Even if it means more work. Just something else to work towards and thus enjoy my free time for longer. :P

But anyways, I will upgrade to Corwen's most expensive armor with the bonus's for now and keep playing. Again, thanks for the replies and generosity thus far!

As your character is a warrior (primary profession) he will have access to the best armor in the game. Warriors can eventually aquire equipment with 100+ armor level. (On the bottom end of the scale, an elementalist primary can only achieve armor levels around 60.)

So to decide on whether or not to upgrade your armor, consider that small 5-10 armor level improvements may not be worth it. An improvement of 15 armor points is probably worth it, though. You'll probably bias your decision depending on your current amount of gold and how badly you are getting beaten up.

Additionally, you can just upgrade select pieces. Chest pieces take the most hits, so you might upgrade that and wait until later to do other pieces.

Later on, you'll find some collectors have special helms with nice attributes that you may want to get. If you use collectors, I suggest that you use GuildWiki to find the collectors you want.

It really just personal choice whether to use the collectors (saving money at the expense of time to collect items and locate the collectors) or just buying armor from the crafters (Expensive, but requires common materials and they are easy to access).

Good luck!
Dwig

My armor path for just Prophecies is purchased armor in Ascalon, replaced with collector armor in the jungle and then again in the desert, then purchased again at Droknar's Forge. The armor at Lion's Arch is no better than that at Ascalon but may have other options.

The collector armor is actually worse than that purchased in the area until you get to the jungle, where the collector armor is actually better, excluding bonuses.

If you have both Prophecies and Factions, then the path is Ascalon and cross over to Cantha at Lions Arch for the max armor.

The 1.5k sets are fine for me, I've had no desire to deck out my 6 toons in anything more expensive. I also have a couple of sets for some and multiple "hats" for all so as to use various builds.

If you are pursuing the expensive stuff and want to save money and materials then use the desert collector armor until you get your fancy stuff, it is still max armor (AL 80+20 for warrior) but doesn't have any bonuses, like the +energy of Gladiators. Not all the "hats" are available though so you might need to get a hat of the proper attribute bonus if the collectors don't provide one.

Here's a link to the collectors if anyone needs it: http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Collectors