New to GW

firedank

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2007

I'm brand new to GW, I saw a friend playing it and it seems like alot more fun than the other games so i figured i'd give it a shot. Unfortunely I have no idea what to do. If I went out and bought the game does a tutorial come with it? Or just hints and tips as I go along?

Also, i'm still not understanding on what character would be good to make when starting out. yep i'm a noob =)

Thanks.

Toutatis

Toutatis

Walking Wiki

Join Date: Nov 2006

Isle of Medication

Visitors from Aranna [VFA]

Me/E

Welcome to GW!

As far as tutorials go, only Factions and Nightfall have proper tutorials that give you instructions on how to move, attack, use skills and all the rest of that kinda stuff. Prophecies doesn't give you a defined tutorial like that; instead it gives you a whole beginner area filled with very weak monsters to practice on and gives you regular hints and tips that show up on the right of your screen in a blue box. Though overall, the basic controls are very easy to pick up.

As a newcomer to the game, the professions that most people would recommend you start out with are the Warrior or Elementalist. These professions are both relatively straightforward to grasp and pretty much anyone can pick them up and learn to play with them quite easily. Another relatively straightforward profession to try out is the Monk, although if you want to play as a healing or protection Monk you will need to practice quite a bit (monking is easy in theory, but takes a bit of getting used to). If you want a real challenge, you might give the Mesmer a try, but be forewarned that the Mesmer profession is not straightforward at all and can be quite difficult to understand (even for more advanced players) - nevertheless, mesmersing the enemy can be quite fun.

When you create a new character and get presented with a choice of primary professions, read the little blurbs that show up at the bottom of the screen when you click each one. Choose a profession that you think you'll have fun playing, and you will always have a minimum of 4 character slots so you can experiment with each profession until you work out which one is right for you.

Also, as a newcomer: I suggest you visit the Guild Wars Wiki and add it to your bookmarks. That site is an excellent resource to refer to if you're looking for extra info about the game; it has mission guides, armor arts, newbie guides, skill details, weapon specs... Pretty much everything you need to know.

Vinraith

Vinraith

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2006

I'd say take a warrior or ranger as your starting profession. As the poster above said, all the campaigns come with one variety or another of tutorial. Prophecies (the original Guild Wars campaign) has the most gentle learning curve, and wouldn't be a bad place to start. Ultimately, if you enjoy the game, it's worth your while to pick up all the chapters and the new GWEN expansion. Oh, and he's also right about Guild Wars Wiki, it's invaluable.

Hope you have fun.

firedank

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2007

Thanks for the starting help guys.
Is there a free trial of the game anywhere?

MaDDoG1221

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Sep 2007

Perth, Australia

DOTR

D/

^Some people might have a spare Trial Guest Key laying around.
Only lets you play 14 days or 10 Hours though.

firedank

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Sep 2007

Alright. thank you.
So I should just buy the first guild wars, I think i'm just gonna make the Ranger my first character untill i get used to the game enough.

free_fall

free_fall

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

One thing you might want to keep in mind so you don't repeat my mistake.

I came to GW from Neverwinter Nights, where I had played as a dual-wielding (light swords/maces) ranger; the only time I used a bow was to open those exploding chests. So my very first GW char was a ranger.

Imagine my surprize when I discovered that, in GW, I was expected to use, well, a bow.

I managed to get him about 1/2 through the game then simply used him for storage for a year before finally deleting him.

Now, I've since created another ranger who's completed all 3 campaigns and is one of my favorite chars.

Titanium

Titanium

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2007

Australia

Kindred Spirits (KiN)

W/

What everyone here has said is right on the money, the one thing you should however consider is, what your secondry proffesion will be. Now, i have played this game for awhile but im still no expert, not by a long shot, but IMO a monk as secondry is very useful because unless your a Ritualist, being able to rez your team more than once is a very useful thing and especially in missions where you cant be rezed at a shrine because there are none .
I leave that to the debaters if im right in saying this. All i can say is that its helped me a lot