Please point me in the right direction....

I have been playing RPGs for years, but Guild Wars seems to be the most chaotic I have ever tried. I now know why some games are refered to as "linear," and those are the games that I have played.

I have tried the search tool, and I have looked all over the Internet for tips and hints. There is just so much information out there, I can't begin to digest it all. I need someone to point me in the right direction, even point me to something I can read. I thought the pre-searing was confusing, post looks worse....

I have no idea what people need to know to help me, so here is the "whole" background:
I have a level 8, R/Mo
1 pt smiting prayers
2 pt Beast Mastery
4 pts Expertise
3 pts Wilderness Survival
5 pts Marksmenship
Charm & Comfort Animal, Orison of Healing, Powershot, Reversal of Fortune, Shielding of Hands, Bane Signet, Retribution, Symbol of Wrath, Troll Unguent and Resurrection Signet.
I have Leather Armor and and an Ascalon Bow. For my second weapong set I have a Long Sword of Shelton and a tall shield.
I have about 1500 GP, and 5 dyes (4 colors)

Please have pity, and point me in the right direction. Do I join a guild? DO I scrap this character? Do I buy skills? Armor?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my first online RPG, and the possibilities seem overwhelming.


I apologize if this has not been posted in the correct forum. I know how frusterating that can be. If I have this in the wrong place, kindly let me know, and I will fix it.

What do you need help with?

GW is a game of builds. So it all revolves around assembling 8 skills to fit a certain role.

You'll upgrade armor at, usually, one of 3 places until you get the maximum protection.

As general advice: Rangers use bows, optionally pets. Focus on that. Healing is best done by monks. At your point, monk henchmen will do that well enough. Sword and shield won't be of much use to you.

In Ascalon, there's a plethora of quests to get you more skills and some equipment. You also have the options of upgrading armor. There's really not much else you should worry about.

In your quest log, there's always a primary quest that will advance you to next mission. Use that to progress through storyline.

The de-facto reference for everything Guild Wars is guildwiki.org. It gives guides to all the quests, missions, lists all equipment and just about everything.

Guilds? Up to you.
Scrap? You have 4 slots minimum.

In GW, there is primary storyline, which brings you somewhere. But what you choose to do and how is up to you. Storyline is just part of the game. Ultimately it comes down to what you prefer doing, not excluding the pvp.

Well, sell the dyes to dye trader unless its red, silver, black or white, in which case sell to players.
Then, i suggest train most on marksmanship, then wilderness survival then expertise, none on healing or smiting. Heal with troll urgent and the only monk skill i recommend is resurrect.
Guild is not usefull unless u want to do GvG
I would not suggest on getting runes for your armor until you have max or near max armor.
Traps are great skills used by rangers, pets are for more skilled players and are effective but hard to control

I think guilds are very useful even for PvE. If you find a friendly, PvE oriented guild with people who are willing to help beginners, you can learn the game really fast and get just as much help as you want. You'll always have people to fall back on if you want company for a mission and can't get a player group from the mission place itself. Also, it's really nice to just be able to talk with friendly people about random things.

Guild Wars isn't very chaotic on the long run. You'll eventually learn the environment. A good thing to remember is that you can always change your attribute points and skills in towns to better match whatever quest you're doing. Also, at the very beginning of the game you don't need to spend lots of money on weapons and such, since you get good enough drops from monsters (it's good to get armor though, if you can afford it).
In the beginning, just concentrate on quests and missions to get further along the storyline.

I agree with Perynne, a good guild with helpful people can go a long way to helping you learn the game:

- people to team with to show you the ropes
- people to chat with in-game to ask questions
- a safer, more friendly forum to post questions on without fear of flaming (although this thread is good so far)
- team mates that can be patient with a new player

GW is very different from most traditional RPGs and does take some getting used to. Don't feel bad about starting another pre-sear character and running him through to become more familiar with the game while still in a newbie-friendly environment.

Just incase the original poster is unaware...

You may distribute and redistribute your attribute points whenever you're in a town or outpost. So this means the build you listed can be changed.
----------------
1 pt smiting prayers
2 pt Beast Mastery
4 pts Expertise
3 pts Wilderness Survival
5 pts Marksmenship
-----------------
You're not stuck with these points distributed as you have them. I only mention this because you asked about scrapping your character. There's never any need to do that with GW because you can't make a perminent mistake as far as distribution of attribute points and/or skills go.

Antheus:
I guess I am not sure at this point. I am looking for direction, which many of you have provided. I am trying to get a handle on what I don't have to do.

One of three places meaning geographical locations in the game, or anatomical locations on my character?

Dump the sword and shield then, they did not seem to be terribly effective. I will look at redistributing skill points, at the time it will actually help me get Marksmenship or wilderness skills to the next level.


My next next stop, thank you.

beliserius:
I have two silvers, two greens purple and yellow. I will see what I can get for them. Thank you.

I am sure that this will make more sense to me after I learn what max armor is. I will check on guildwiki. I will go out on a limb and suggest that my Armor 12 (leather) is not suitable for runes then.

Perynne:
I guess that all of the "blue dots" running around in town is new to me.

While I figured out that the points could be reallocated, I had not thought of reallocating for each mission. How does one know how to allocate based on a mission?

I can sell two of my dyes (green) and buy all new leather armor and increase from armor 12 to 25.

DeanBB:
If my wife gave me more time to play, I would love a do over. Although she gave me the game for Christmas, she doesn't understand how anyone can sit in front of a computer for more than 15-minutes straight.

Takmatai Liki:
As no one has come forward and said that I have a terrible class combination, I will look into maximizing my skill points

Thank you to all that took the time to help, I really do appreciate it.

I do have one more question, what the heck are all of the Grenches running around in Ascalon?

I would definetly suggest upgrading your armor fist in Ascalon...then again somewhere in kryta and you can get max armor in Droknars forge

Go to the dye merchants in ascalon and see how much the trader is selling them for then try selling them for a bit less than that. Also buy an id kit and a salvage kit to use ID kits raise the value and tell you additional info about items and Salvage/Expert salvage kits give you raw materials or other modifications

You can always change your secondary profession later in the game so no worries there...and as a first character monk secondary is nice :P

Oh yes the enchanted wife effect :P I usually try to disable mine or just not bring it along in my skill bar but it usually shows up about half way thru a mission :P

Trial and error...if u lose badly during a mission or quest...try switching some stuff around :P

And i would definetly suggest looking for a guild...just because you join one doesn't mean you have to stay if u don't like it...you are free to guild hop as often as you want.

I am on US servers most evenings after 6PM est. unfortunately i am done for the night but feel free to add me to your friends list(press n) my in game name is Coridan A

Haha.

My friend, these little devils are part of the Wintersday festivities (ie. Christmas/New Year's). Unfortunately you have missed most of them, but there's always next year

Welcome to Guild Wars!

Hi Cyvil. It's always nice to see new players in the game.

Since you are brand new to the game, you really don't need to worry about most of the stuff you've mentioned. At this point just concentrate on having fun and enjoying the game. Do the quests and you'll gain levels and skills. If you fail miserably on a quest or mission well that's ok. You can always do it over later.

You have 4 Character slots so I'd encourage you to create some more chars and experiment with the different professions. You'll soon discover that you like 1 particular profession more than the others and that will become your main character.

As far as weapons are concerned, each weapon (well, each weapon worth using anyways) comes with a requirement. Swords will require X points of Sword Mastery, Bows will require X points of Markmanship. Staffs and Wands will be geared towards one of the spellcaster professions and may require points in anything from Blood Magic (Necros), Illusions (Mesmer), Fire (elementalists) or various other attributes found in those professions.

Despite this, any character can wield any weapon. However if you don't meet the minimum requirements for that weapon you can't deal much damage with it. This is probably why your ranger isn't doing well with his sword and shield. Think of it this way.... In real life if you were to pick up a heavy broadsword and go out in the street to kill muggers and other enemies you could probably do some damage, but you could not wield that sword as well as a fully trained knight from the middle ages could. Sure, you'd do some damage before the police shot you to death, but without proper training that nice sword is just wasted in your hands.

The same is true with your ranger. You have no points in Sword Mastery and strength like a Warrior would. Your ranger can pick up that sword and use it, but he isn't properly trained to wield it effectively. He is however trained to use a bow and can deal a lot more damage with a good bow and arrow. If you really like fighting with the sword though, then create a warrior and try him out.

One bit of advice I'll give to newbies....Don't always team up with Level 20 friends who want to help you out on a quest. The Level 20s will do everything for you and basically run the quest for you. This helps you out in the short run, but in the long run you didn't learn anything. Ask the more experienced players for help and advice, but also ask if they'll hang back and let you and the henchies do most of the fighting while you're still learning.

My main character in the game is The Scarlet Raven and I'm usually online in the evenings after 8pm EST. Look me up if you have questions. I don't mind answering newbie questions. I asked a bunch myself a few months ago.

Personally, I keep dyes I find because I never can buy them for as cheaply as just finding them. I tend to hoard them however because I love dyeing my armor. I usually don't bother dyeing until I have max armor, though (which for you won't be until Drok's).

I sort of have that, but it's a little different. It's the "Bored Husband Effect". My solution was to get him playing GW too, but I get the impression that doesn't work so well for most wives.

You can't go wrong with Monk as a secondary - my suggestion here is, like others have said, is to pour your points into your Ranger attributes (Rangers are a bit low on energy to be effective healers). Monk secondary is great to have access to a res that can be used over and over again, as opposed to using a res signet which only recharges with a morale boost.

Take the henchmen whenever you need them. I started GW as a Mo/R because I figured I'd have a pet to use as distraction so I wouldn't get beat up on so much. I found out later that since I get henchmen, it really wasn't necessary, and is kind of a funky combo by many people's standards (although I confess he's usually still Mo/R, even though I don't use the R part much). Find something and specialize in it (or a couple of things), and bring henchmen or form up in a party to fill in the rest.

There's a number of pages that will give you builds and ways to do things, but I highly recommend you experiment first. See what you like, what you're good at, and feel free to mix and match and try new things. What works great for one player might not work for another.

And most of all, don't be afraid to ask for help, even in game. There are a lot of helpful people around.

Hi Cyvil. I have played a Ranger for almost a year and a half now. I have played only as a warrior for my other characters and I have always come back to play my ranger. It seems to be my favorite class to play. Look at websites like others have mentioned on guildwiki.com and also in the The Campfire forums section under rangers for different types of builds you might want to play around with. One thing is for certain I think you may never find the time to read up on all there is to lean about this game. Like I have said I have played this game for well over a year and a half now and I read new stuff I have never even thought of doing on these forums and others all the time. My In Game Name is either Riley Serden or Alexandra Sereden. Add me in your friends list and I will give you a green bow from the Ruins of the Tomb of the Primeval Kings. You can’t take full advantage of it yet but you will get to the level soon that will allow you to put more skill points in marksmanship.

cyvil, welcome, please feel free to whisper me anytime. I'll help you out. My ranger is by far my fav character, and I can play him with many different builds. To whisper me, on the chat screen, hit whisper and type in my name, Don Fideli. I'll help you set up.

Your frustrations is also based on what has kept me playing for the last year and a half. The options are in fact nearly limitless.

Have fun, I'm usually on 9-12pm pacific time.

Don

A guild is the single most important thing to a new player.

Post here if you havn't already http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...32#post2402832

If you don't find a decent guild on your first try just hop around until you fine one that suits you.

Another very good site http://guildwiki.org

I feel you OP. I've been on GW for about a month and a half now and I'm quite comfortable with it, even though I'm learning basic things daily. Guildwiki is the place to go (not here). Go there, and pick ONE thing you need to figure out (like the game's progression, or skills, or NPCs) and then go into the game and prove it. Minimizing the game client makes for easy reference to your opened browser with the guildwiki displayed and you can learn as you go.

I had the same "type" of questions as you because the intuitive nature of this game leaves little to be desired..then you come here and spend a week figuring out what the hell "pre-searing" is and what "post-searing" is. Where's the storage? What quests should I do? What's a mission and can I repeat it if i fail, is there things to know before doing a mission? Should I join a guild? Where's the PVP at? lol

All answered by doing the guildwiki browsing. Asking questions here is good because the regulars who quickly answer you often do so in very noob'd down terms..but not always...which is why I've just gone to wiki since it's faster and more thorough. They really did a great job on that wiki.

Your build is not a problem as mentioned above since you can reallocate your attribute points anytime you are in a town. that's a great strength of this game that you don't find elsewhere...you can completely overhaul your character. Heading to an elementally offensive map, change your attributes and skill selection around to adapt..going to a physically challenging map next, reallocate for physical defense. the only thing you're stuck with is the limitations of your chosen professions. I see that you have a ranger/monk. So if you're using a bow, and a couple ranger attack skills, and a monk healing skill, and your pet, you'll be happy I"m sure. There's soooo many build options (probably innumerable) and play styles, you can't really screw up. Sure, I've delted characters (my lvl 18 warrior yesterday) just because i didn't like the name or something stupid, but i could easily live with the various jacked up characters I experimented with (my ele/N, my R/Me, etc) so don't stress about it.

anyway, i'm just a noob babbling...good luck, and take your time. as with any new game...patience and lots of reading is the solution.

Thank you for the advice, but I do not understand some of what you wrote. Why sell for a little less?

They mean try to sell it to another player for less than the merchant would sell it to that player for. For example if the Dye Trader is selling silver dye for 450 gold then open your chat and click on the Trade tab and type in something that indicates that you want to sell silver dye for 400 gold. WTS = want to sell. WTB = want to buy. WTT = want to trade

"WTS silver dye 400g"

This will appear in red in the chat window. Anyone interested in buying silver dye in that town can see your 'ad' and whisper you that they are interested.

People will buy from you if you offer it at a lesser price. Otherwise you're wasting your time trying to sell it at or above trader price.

Tips:

Since you've reached Ascalon... if you haven't already done so, open a Xunlai Storage Account. You'll find some Xunlai agents in Ascalon, and you can open a storage account for a very small fee. You can leave anything you want in there... dyes, runes you want to save for later, etc.

Get yourself a pouch and 2 bags for more storage. You'll be able to upgrade your bags from 5 slots to 10 once you get to Yak's Bend (or if you find someone selling Runes of Holding (500g each)).

Expert Salvage Kits. Use these on things like Charr Armour (and other 'salvage items') to get yourself raw materials used to craft armour. Expert kits (unlike normal salvage kits) also have a chance to remove runes for you to use/sell.

If you want to be thrifty with your gold, try to get collector armour rather than buying it. There are many collectors who'll give you decent AR armour for a few collectables (you can find lists of locations etc on guildwiki). I strongly advise against wasting expensive dyes, or using expensive materials, on your armour until you have progressed far enough in the game to acquire maximum protection armour.

As has been mentioned, you can redistribute your attribute points in towns (using the K key). You can also change the skills on your skillbar. It costs you absolutely nothing, so change it around as much as you want and find something that works for you. As a ranger, you'll probably want to use a bow and/or a pet.

Later in the game, you'll also be able to change your secondary profession. Again, as often as you want.


Where the main storyline is concerned, check your Quest Log. Primary missions will progress the storyline. Everything else is optional, but the rewards are pretty much worth it when you're low level and need experience.