Of course there will be newcomers... such is the nature of stand-alone games like the
GW camapigns

I wouldn't worry too much about the first 2 chapters, if you ever wish to take them on, there's no rush to do that, you can finish
NF and take on the prior campaigns later.
As for the gameplay... I suppose it's down to preference. There was a major AI update that has split opinion. But at the end of the day, it's not about having the most powerful weapon, it's about having the weapon you can work with and how skilled you are with it. Good tactics plays a part too.
Some facts:
*For the most part,
GW PvE is co-operative. No other player can kill you unless it is a PvP mission and that player is on the other side.
*You do not, I repeat,
DO NOT need to stay in town and kill rats for a week. In fact, you can't kill in towns or outposts. (unless ANet come up with a new event to allow this temporarily)
*The maximum level is 20, for the sake of balance. Please, spare people some annoyance. Don't ask for help in training. The quests and monsters are laid out to allow you to level up at the right pace, meaning you should
never have to grind.
*You can jump straight into PvP, but you may be disadvantaged at first. You have to unlock everything for PvP characters, which can be done in the PvE campaign