brand new player

Hey all,
Just picked up the game last night and started playing. I picked a ranger, cuz well, it begins with a R...j/k I didn't know anything about the classes.

Neways! I have played EQII for about 2 years so I have some idea of how MMO's work.

I guess I was wondering what are the nuances of this game.
Which classes are the "good" ones, and which are the "less popular"...
Whats a good class for soloing (I plan on doin that for a while so I can get used to the game)
Any tips/tricks for a new player?

Well, anything that comes to mind that might be helpful would be appreciated!

Thanks!

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

look it up, then bookmark it.

Welcome to the world of GW

All classes are balanced, ……..well not really but they are all fun to play. Best advice experiment with them all in the beginning area. You can delete characters as you want so if you start with the ranger and kind of get sick of it move to something else.

Rather than just link you to a site you won't have the foggiest idea about, i'll attempt to answer your questions! Though definately have a good read around that website Etta posted as it has handy info on it.

1) Don't really understand what you mean?

2) All classes have something to offer to a party, but as with any game there's favourites unfortunatly.
Warriors, Monks and Elementalists are the 3 most populer and desired professions in the game where as Mesmers, Assasins and Paragons tend to be at the other side of the scale... The rest of the professions are somewhere in the middle. Now thats not because W, E, Mo's are the best classes its simply because they are the easiest to understand as they have pretty straight forward roles... The Warrior tanks(kinda), The ele deals damage and the monk heals or protects. The rest of the professions require a little more looking into to find out what exactly they have to offer.

3) Soloing in Guild Wars is completely different than in other games, it's pretty much impossible to solo the game quest and mission wise. You can solo certain monsters with farming builds but i wouldn't worry about that at this point. However alot of people also refer to soloing as playing with henchmen/heros rather than real players. Henchmen are computer controlled party members who will follow and fight by your side for free. They aren't the smartest bunch but generally speaking neither are alot of the real players. :P

4) Finding a guild is the best way to get the most out of this game even though you said you'd prefer to play solo it'll have alot of benefits. They'll be able to help you out with your problems/questions instantly on guild chat for one as well as giving advice, though don't expect people to be at your command. You can usually find guilds recruiting in the main towns though don't into the first guild you see recruiting... Speak to the recruiter ask them afew questions, let them know you're a new player. Also Try to avoid Guilds who advertise with ''awesome hall and cool cape'' in their advertisement. Those tend to be the guilds that don't have much to offer.

I'd also suggest you take a look in the Rangers section on this forum... If you have any questions about Rangers thats the place to ask them. They really are an awesome class when played right and certainly a good class to start out with.

As far as classes go, you'll find that people have all sorts of opinions on what classes are "best" and what classes "sux", but the only 2 things I can think of right off the top of my head are builds/sub-classes.
You won't find many "smiting" monks around. Monks are usually healers/protectors. Most other classes are better at damage dealing.
You won't find many "inspiration" based Mesmers. Not sure why, but I wasn't too impressed with the Inspiration skills myself.

For soloing, do you mean actually going out alone without even Henchmen (or Heros)? If so, check on Wiki or other places for "55 Monk" or "55 Necro" type builds. If not, any class can be done "alone" with Henchies and Heroes, without joining a PUG (pick up group).

My tip-of-the-day - when you open the storage window in a town (by going to the Xunlai Chest and/or Agent), you can leave the window open and access it anywhere in town.
Same is true for the "trade" window when you buy/sell/trade something with someone - there's no need to close the window if they need to run to storage to get something.
(The same is not true for most other windows, such as those that come from a merchant or trader.)

Welcome to the game.

My advise...

1. On your first character don't take shortcuts, play all the content through once. Utilize armor upgrades as they become available. There is a way to get to the best of the best in a matter of less than a hour. I feel it takes away from the "fun".

2. Watch the cut scenes and follow the story line. Prophecies is entertaining from that stand point.

3. Check out the guide for new players at the guildwiki link posted above. I think spoilers are marked. Read the guide to scams so you know what to look out for.

4. Find a fun guild in your time zone/country area. That will make teaming up easier.

Feel free to PM in game if you have questions. My in-game name is to the left.

Thanks all for the replies...

After reading through the forums a bit it seems like there are A LOT of warnings for scams?
Whats the deal with that?

I didn't even know that you could keep windows open in town. I knew I've walked away from merchants and the window closes out on me, but I never knew the chest box could stay open like that.

Thanks a lot! You just sped up my farming adventures!

The main things I know...

Stay away from buying gold online. It'll get you banned.

Do not buy accounts online. That, again will get you banned.

You can buy accounts from someone but only when they send you the original box. ANet wants proof that you own it. I remember an incident a while ago with a friend of mine. He bought the game from someone, and then the original owner turned around and reported to ANet that his account was stolen. So, when he proved to anet that it was his game, my friends IP was banned permanently.

So, I'd say use the wiki anytime you have a question. Or join a great guild like the one I'm in(LaZY) and ask fellow guildmembers.

Like the real world scammers are everywhere. Best way around it is study up. If you see something to good to be true it more than likely is. If you get something you think is valuable go to this sites “price check” forum. Or just look at it now study what valuable and what is not. When trading ALWAYS put your pointer on the product to see if it is indeed what you are trading for, Some items have the same skins so you can be taken advantage of. See what people are selling things for in town view the chat logs it helps. If grouped with other players never drop things in an explorable area other people can pick them up. Example: you are selling a sword the buyer says can we go outside so I can see it. Please put it on the ground so I can get a better look. By the time you set it on the ground he can pick it up and zone away leaving you to sulk Right thing to do Equip it to your character let him look at it in your hands.

Just a couple words of advice always look out for #1

Good luck to you

ALSO NEVER EVER GIVE YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT INFO OUT TO ANYONE

I understand all that, its just this type of behavior is kinda rare in EQII...I mean I heard about it, but it definatly wasn't a common thing...From the warnings here it seems like every other player is like this? Or am I reading too much into it...

Don't read to much into it. A few bad people make it worse for everyone. Just double check yourself before doing anything.

Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but definitely keep an eye out for it. First things first, I'd say make some friends in-game that you can trust.

Feel free to add me to your friends and I'll help you whenever I can. My IGN is Shatterstorm Elite

Ranger is a great class for solo play...especially starting out. It offers you a balanced amount of offense and defense. Once equipped with a pet, you can be quite a formidable "soloist".

Best of luck.

As for a first character, I'd definitely pick something you can farm with. I've been playing for over 2 years now, and I just made a good farming build to make some money and I'm just now really starting to really enjoy the game.

No not all. Most are good. But with 4 million players on GW Even one percent is a substantial number. I am just a paranoid freak so better to warn you in advance then to find out later.

Some basics that differ from other games:

Top level is 20; everything prior is training.
Max skills usable at the same time is 8.
All armor is customized to character and must be purchased from an NPC.

There is no uber profession; it all depends on what skills you can access and how well you play that character. When people speak of unpopular professions, they are talking about chances of being accepted into a pick-up group for a quest or mission. Such groups tend to avoid the harder-to-play professions such as mesmer, assassin and paragon.

If you have specific questions, post again in our Q&A forum, as you can see, we are very helpful.
If you're shopping for a guild, visit our guild forums first.

Welcome to the game.

Most players are good honest people, but there are those who will try and take advantage of new players. Just remember if a deal sounds too good to be true it usually is.

The 2 quickest ways to avoid getting scammed:

NEVER, EVER Drop an item outside of town at the request of someone else for any reason, they'll steal it from you faster than you can blink.

ALWAYS check over the trade window for accuracy before clicking on "accept. Every time, even when (especially when) trading with someone who cancels the trade and re-opens it.

And finally, DO NOT SELL DYES until you find a Dye Trader NPC to see what they're really worth.

Every profession has its merits and drawbacks. A Ranger is a good one to start out with because they're ususally hanging towards the middle of their party and can see what the other party members are doing. And it's not too tough to pick up. There are no "Bad" professions, only bad players. What makes the less popular professions less desirable is the lack of understanding of what they do. (If you want "nuances," you should start a Mesmer and master it! They're much more popular in PvP, but work well in PvE)

For the new player, do every quest you can get your hands on! If you're playing Prophecies (Original GW) then get to level 7 or 8 before going to the acadamy, because once you go, there's no going back!

You should watch the cut scenes. I've been playing this for over 2 years and still havn't watched it ><

And yea, just do what everyone else said.