New player requesting help!

Hello everyone

I just bought guild wars, to get away from WoW (wonder why...)anyways i choosed elementalist/monk since i think thats fun.
Now to the questions:

In the beginning of the game i were in a green world where i got all my proffesions, and some money i think, then at a later time in some city i got on some kind of a mission with other players, and then i ended up in this ugly burned down city thingie, is that the right way? and eventually by killing some things outside the city i got to lvl 2
Now i know the skill system is completely different... but where do i actually learn new skills? and does it require money like in WoW?
Since i obviously have to advance in elvels how excactly do i do that? in a part of the city i found some kind of a big mission with the Great northern wall... now shall i go on that mission or...?
Since im used to the freenes of WoW where you basicly can deside wheer you wanan go when, my final question sounds like this :
Is guildwars build up around a storyline like you have to do mission number 1, then number 2 and so on, and when i probabl at a later time decide to buy the new chapters with a lvl 20 char what can i then do in those new worlds? get money or kill big dragons etc.

That was all from me today hope you can read it. Bai

Yes, the ugly burned down city happens no matter what. The event is called the Searing. The first bit you did was more of a beginner mode, the game really begins when you get to post-searing.

Skills are commonly learned by completing quests. NPC's with a green exclamation will give you quests (and a location marker will show on your map). The NPC will give you the skills as a reward. There's also skill trainers in some cities that you can buy skill from.

The quests are non-essential to the game (i.e. they're sort of like a side/optional quest). Then there's missions which are essentially very long quests that advance the story line (but they don't have to be completed in a linear fashion)

To level up you will have to complete the quests to get exp or kill monsters (questing is faster). To get to new cities you have to find them by exploring on the map. The farther away you get from Ascolon, the harder the enemies will get.

The game doesn't require everything to be done in a linear fashion. You can complete mission 3 for example before 2. You can decide where you want to go (provided you can survive the monster encounters).

The wiki site is very good for detailing some of the basics of the game and you should probably start there. Also in the game, you can just ask for help and somebody will probably offer to join up and show you around a bit.

I hope this has helped a bit.

What happened with the burned down city thing is the searing, the "green world" is refered to as pre-searing and you can get a nice amount of skills there by doing the quest.
Most people usually leave that area at around level 5+ so it might be worth re-starting your character to pick up anything you may have missed.

You can learn skills from quests or from skill trainers (you can find them in most major outposts).

Finally Guild Wars is built up around a storyline with missions & quests, although there's nothing to stop you from exploring.

i agree....as a new person to GW i would suggest you delete your current character that is LVL 2 in post searing ascalon and recreate.... and elemental/monk is a pretty good choice for a first character....but definetly recreate and go back to the "green" world...aka presearing...stay there until lvl 5-7 ...

talk to anyone that has a Green ! point over thier head...they usually have something important to tell you.

oh yeah Welcome to your new Drug....GW

a great site for you to look at...

www.guildwiki.org

also you have Guild Wars: Prophecies....or Chapter 1

Thank for all your replies, so yes id create a new char as you adviced and get the skills etc. from the "green" world!
Can i get to level 20 by doing the missions only? or will i have to exit ascalon city and just run around un til i find some quests? because i think first of all the mobs are a tad hard, and i find it quite difficult to know where i can find new quests, so how would you advice me to level?

Edit: And yes i have Prophecies, however i am thinking about bying the 2 expansions so i can use the 4 new proffs as they seem kinda cool... but still start the prophecies campaign as i read in the stickies that it have the slowest learning curve, and btw are there any instances like in WoW? or is this games "end-game" all about PvP?

Howdy and welcome to GW - hope you enjoy it here!

The beginning, "green" area is Pre-searing, it's basically the tutorial area for Prophecies. Once you went to the acadamy with the other players and do that little quest with Prince Rurick, the searing takes place, leaving you (after a 2 year time jump) in the burned down city thingie (Post-searing Ascalon City) - being only a level 2 tells me that you've missed a lot of things in pre-searing, you may want to start over...(Don't skip the cut-scenes, that'll help keep you on-track, too)
There are tons of skills you can get by doing quests. In pre-searing there are 3 or 4 quests for each profession that will get you some pretty good skills. Starting over will give you the chance to get whatever skills you happened to miss along with the ability to gain a higher level for when it's time to face the post-searing world. I strongly reccommend that you get to at least level 7 before attending the acadamy. (you can't go back to pre-searing once you've gone to the acadamy.)

The best way to level up is to do as many quests as you can possibly find. The story-line is pretty linear, all you need to do is follow the Primary quests to the mission towns and then do the mission. Side quests gain you XP and gold or items. Do them all as you find them, that will get you skills and gold. (there's a quest reward in the "Cities of Ascalon" that people will pay 5K (5,000 gold) for - the grim cesta with -50HP)

Yep, it is. There are a few short-cuts that can be taken to get though Prophecies quickly, but I would suggest that you play it through the first time. In factions and Nightfall, you won't be able to skip bits of the story-line to advance. If you add factions or Nightfall to your account(I'd get Nightfall before factions, BTW), you'll be able to take a quest once you reach Lion's Arch that will get you to the coresponding chapter. You should reach LA at around level 15-16.

Feel free to add me to your friends list, (Chanti Beppu). I'll be happy to show you around. I've got a pre-searing character that has nothing better to do than help show newbies the ropes.

well as far as End game content...yes there is PVP and alot of people including myself do it...some only pvp...but i do both.... there is plenty of things to do after you beat the game or reach lvl 20 (you will reach lvl 20 way before beating the game)

to get quests look for guys the the green ! as i mentioned above..also you can gain exp by killing mobs and such....be sure to add henchman to your party ....if u don't know how...bring up your party window (p) click on search...click on henchman...and add the ones you want...be aware that henchman take thier share of gold and loot and exp...but it is highly suggested that you don't travel alone...atleast until u get the hang of things...if u started a new character and stayed in presearing until lvl 5-7 you shouldn't have many problems with the monsters around old ascalon ...with just you and a few henchmen...good luck

Where excactly do i get that quest? pre-searing or post?

And yes i will add you to my friends list how often are you online on that char? and ehhmm how do i add ppl to my friends list :S?

The cities of Ascalon quest can be acquired post-Searing

And as for adding someone to your friends list,... Press "N", when in-game, this'll bring up the "Friends list". In that box the following things are shown; Your name, your status, "Friends Online" and "Friends Offline". If you press the plus in front of "Friends Online", a gray bar will appear with "Click here to add a friend." written in it,... Just click on it, and type the name, then press enter

P.S. Feel free to add me aswell if you still need any help

You can add me too, In Game Names (IGN's) are shown in my profile. Just add any one and you'll see me when I'm online with any character.

I usually play in the evenings (PST) during the week and randomly on the weekends when I find the time.

Ty everyone ill jsut add your all but if i add one accounts character can i then see if any other characters on that account is online?

yes

arg!! what?? no one word answers??

feel free to add me to (IGN: Coloneh The Reaper).

but i would really start over, you shouldn't be through the searing till around level 6-7. Just follow what the NPC's tell you to do.

feel free to add me to your Friends list as well. I have a monk in Pre named Sylvia Brisinger. If you PM me I'll show you some of the basics.

This game does have a story (although it's not essential to the game) that you really should follow. The cut scenes will tell you why you are doing things and that is always more fun.

Yeap to above. Even though you dont have to follow in a linear pattern it does help to evolve the storyline associated with the game, The side quest will help with acquiring new skills and earning XP as well as gold and special items.

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Main_Page is an excellant resource. Read the new players section as well as the scam section once you have a new char ready to go pre-sear.

You can add me to IGN to the left. varied times when on EST

Welcome to the Guild Wars family! Since it seems as though you've gotten all your answers, I just wanted to welcome you and say that you could also add me to your friends list if you ever need help and all the above people just happen to be offline. Lol. Also, I'd advise you to join a helpful guild if you haven't already. Guildies are great to have for those pesky quests and missions. Okay! Well good luck and have fun!!!

My Character is Dervish Gnome if you couldn't guess. ^.^ Lol.