A new who needs some help.

Hey guys I need some help. I haven't played a MMORPG since DAoC, and I didnt get very far in it. I bought GW:N a couple of days ago and I have gotten nowhere. I really need some help. I am getting angry to the point where I dont want to play, but I would really like to get into the game. I really have no idea what I am doing. I just want to lvl up and do some PVP. Can anyone help me?

Can you be more specific about your problem? rather than just saying "I'm getting nowhere?" Is it a quest you're stuck on for example?

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Main_Page

here, links. specificity is key though.

I just dont know where to get started. I like being in groups but its hard to find one. Since its my first char should I even worry about PVP? Where do I buy weapons? Whats the easiest/fastest way to lvl. Stuff like that.

You'll need to specify your character(s) and where abouts you're up to in Nightfall at the moment. That way we can fine tune our answers to suit your needs.

Also, my in-game name is just under my avatar, feel free to PM me in-game.

Alright, I'll take a crack at these questions here:

About PvP: Just go through the game for now until you get to level 20 (max level) and you've gotten a good amount of familiarity with the game and some good skill combos.

About Leveling: The fastest way to level in Guild Wars is doing quests and missions. If you just keep doing the quests and missions that you encounter, you should hit level 20 a little bit after you get off Istan (I've been hearing complaints of people who make it to level 20 on Istan before leaving and they can't continue through the story, so watch out for that. Don't grind on the monsters too much). The primary quests are the quests that you have to do in order to get farther in the game, any other quest is optional, but I still recommend doing them because you will level up faster through doing quests like I said earlier.

About equipment: There is a weaponsmith in Kamadan, but I don't think his weapons are all that great. Just keep the weapon you have and use any that you may find that are better than what you have now. Armor... keep the starter armor until you get to the Consulate Docks mission. Once you get there, you can get the best armor in the game for your profession. If you want, you can get a ferry there for usually a small amount of money (if they charge more than 500g, they're overcharging you). So save up your money for the armor because you will need to spend 1k for each piece of armor plus materials plus any runes or insignias you choose to get which adds up to quite a chunk of change for a new character, but it's worth it (I would estimate around 6-9k for a full set with good runes and insignias.

Other tips: On the wiki page there is a link to common scams tried on newbies. Read it and know it because someone will offer something like buying armor (it's customized for you, so you can't buy someone else's armor) to decustomizing weapons (not possible either). Yea, there are a lot more scams than these, and you gotta learn to watch out for them. Also, try to get into a decent sized guild. A good guild will help out the newer people with missions or monetary concerns (within reason, of course) and it gives you a good group of people to get to know and have fun with. I can't think of any other advice ATM (its almost 4 in the morning here) but I'm sure someone else will fill in what I'm forgetting.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: feel free to PM me in game too, my GW name is under my avatar too. All those names are tied to the same account, so just enter one of them to reach me. If I don't respond back, I'm probably not paying attention to the screen though.

Since it's your first char, take it easy in the beginning. Learn your surroundings, talk to NPC's and people, get to know the place bit by bit.

Don't worry about PVP. Learn the game system and get skills first by doing quests. If you want to learn more about PVP, you can just pop into the Battle Isles to check out how it's done. It's a good idea to be a bit more experienced before starting PVP though, otherwise some players might give you a tough time about it.

Weapons can be bought from NPC's in towns, and monsters also drop them. When I start a new character, I never buy my weapons since monsters tend to drop them frequently enough with good enough stats. Once I get to level 20, then I start worrying about what weapon is the best for me.

As for fastest way to level... well, GW isn't about hard grinding, so levels aren't that important in this game. You will progress well enough if you follow the storyline and do as many side quests as you can, no need to do a lot of extra leveling in-between. If you still want to get levels fast, I suggest just progressing in the game until you get to an area with tough enough monsters for good leveling up. In Nightfall, that happens about the time you get out of the island (or then you can try running through the primary quests as fast as possible until you get to Issnur Isles and Mehtani). A warning though: if you get another player to level you up to 20 or if you manage to do it yourself before you've gotten to Issnur Isles, you'll get stuck and won't be able to progress in the game. It's a well-known issue, and currently there's no way to get ahead in the game by power-leveling too early.

If you're playing for the pvp aspect go make a pvp only char then and read everything the npcs in isle of the nameless (outside of temple of balthazar). Fight npcs (zaishens challenge) then go to random arenas and fight real people.

grouping with others:
use the SEARCH button on your Party window
- announce that you are LFG for questing

Kamadan has a party limit of 4,
its best you do not have any heroes/henchies in your party when you are looking for group

Best piece of advice for a newbie is..find a decent PvE guild. A decent guild makes playing the game soo much easier. Once you have learned the ropes and leveled a few chars to 20 then worry about PvP.

Is true. Find a good PVE guild.
But don't go asking around and joining the first guild you see. There are so many guilds, it's quite possible you will not like it, if you join the first one you see spamming recruitment. Be a little patient in finding the right one for you.
I think the best way to find a guild is ask players who you have grouped with who are nice and friendly if their guild is looking for new people, and if you could meet some of them. I was in 2 wonderful guilds in Everquest because I grouped with very nice people and asked if I could group with more of their guildmates before joining their guilds. They were like little online families. Or big families! Good times those were. Good times!

Wow, you guys are really freakin helpful. Thanks a million. I guess my last question is one that gets asked a lot, but is there a ranger build thats good for noobs?

IMO, if you just wanted to PvP, you should have grabbed the PvP edition.

The only problem with this is this person will have to grind away with mobs to bet his/her blessings as the game as it made.When it come to weapons save your money and get collectors or drops.Good Luck if you wanted to levle faster Faction would of been the game for you.

take it slow and learn the game. trial and error is the only way. Do not be afraid of failure.

*This message is brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood cartoon character.

Well, I think in the beginning you'll survive quite well with the skills you're given. A ranger's strength is in interrupting, spreading conditions and good evasion stances, so you should try having at least one of each of those kind of skills on your skillbar to try them out. For more info on possible builds, check out Guildwiki or the Ranger-section of the Campfire forum here.

Oh, and when leveling up, remember to get the blessings from the sunspears at the resurrection shrines. They'll give you more exp and sunspear points for killing certain types of creatures. (You might know this already, but just in case... )

Well, everyone here has given some fantastic advice, so here's all I can do to help you.

As has been stated, try and get into a good PvE guild. One such guild is the ULGG, short for the United Legit Gaming Guilds of Guild Wars (name's old, guild's been around in various games since 1997), and I will send you a PM on these forums with a link to their website. I was in their alliance for quite a long time: since the beginning of alliances (with the Factions release) until mid-November of this year.

As for PvP, put it in the back of your mind until you've gone through the PvE story and have an idea of what the skills do. As one of the moderators of our PvP forum here once said, PvE teaches you what skills do. PvP teaches you how to use them properly to achieve the best effect. After you've gone through PvE, you can ask your guild for PvP help. Should you end up joining ULGG, I have a close personal friend who is probably the most experienced in that entire alliance PvP-wise.

So congrats on your purchase, and I hope you enjoy your play.