new to guild wars

ive had the game a few days and ive got to level 11 and done a few quests but i dont understand what weapons im supposed to use for my character etc its just confusing to me aha :|

what proffesion are you?

Alright lemme break it down for ya Since I don't know your primary profession...
Warriors: Swords, Axes, OR Hammers. Do NOT put attribute into all 3.
Ranger: Bows
Paragon: Spears
Dervish: Scythes
Assassin: Daggers
The rest of the classes mainly cast spells so just use:
1. A wand with an off hand item(aka a Focus item) OR
2. A staff

Make sure for all of these weapons you have enough attribute requirement...ie if your skill in Axe Mastery is 3 and you're wielding a nice req 9 axe, your damage will suck because you didn't meet requirement.

If you buy stuff from other players, always check to see if you can meet requirement. And if someone tries to sell you a CLAWS OF THE BROODMOTHER for anything more than 500gold just ignore him.

EDIT: I just read your profile says you're Necro/Mes. In that case get a wand/staff with Requirement in blood, death, soul reaping or curses. Get an offhand if you're not using a staff, same requirements. Weapons aren't AS important for casters, it's mainly the modifiers on it and the inscription that makes it useful. I didn't delete the previous information in case you wanted to make any attacking professions...

Welcome to Guild Wars!! Have happy times VERRRRY NICE!!

ive had a few pop ups at end of quests saying ive unlocked new skills but i still appear to be stuck with the same old spells and my character seems pretty weak, what type of armour would you recommend for a level 11 necromancer and also whats a focus item, im overwhelmed by all of this new information and stuff aha, its a pretty lonely game aswell, im forever wondering around alone everyone else is in groups.

compared to WoW, gw is slow and boring sometimes. anet has made it clear that ur gonna get the same armor as every1 else the first few stages of the game. ur time will come when u need new armor. for now just learn how to play and use skills.(press "k" and ur skill list will pop up, drag and drop skills on ur bar to add em).

gl have fun

Make use of the party search. You will find people who are in need of more players to join groups. If you don't see anything listed, start your own party! You can usually find others who would welcome company

If you are a necro, then go to guru's Campfire section necro subforum and read the stickied guide. It will explain all you need to know for a beginner necro.

You also can check things on the wikis

Official wiki (in-game help) is at http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
In-game, use F10 or Help on Menu or /wiki in chat bar

Other wiki is at http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

The wiki will explain professions, secondary professions, damage, armor, etc.

Hope you are enjoying the game.

Well if skills are "unlocked" they are not necessarily available for your PvE character right away, instead it means they are available for buying *Since you are getting them from quests however, this ma not be relevant, this is more for when you unlock skills from a balthazar priest or via another character. More likely you just need to press K and click-drag skills you would like to use onto your bar. If you do want to buy some more skills talk to a skill trainer([Skills])

For armor, simply talk to an armor crafter (an NPC with [Armor] next to their name) and buy your armor. You will need some money and some materials, which can either be bought at a [Material Trader] press request quote then buy, bought from another player, or salvaged from items(note, this destroys the item and you are not guaranteed the correct material) Also note, the further you get in the game, the stronger the armor is, the maximum being 60 for necromancers and other casters, 70 for assassins and rangers and 80 for warriors and paragons. Armor can also be upgraded with bonus armor, health, energy, bonus skill attributes and some other stuff with runes and insignias. Talk to a [Rune Trader] to buy them(some may be quite expensive).

A focus item is an offhand weapon for caster classes that has +energy (generally requiring points in a specific attribute) such as a Grim Cesta or Bone Idol.

To join groups, you must be in a town. You can either use the party search(P) or try to find party members in chat. To invite somebody to your party, type their name in the bar at the bottom of the Party window and press the little + symbol. Clicking on a player's character will automatically enter their name in so all you have to do is press the little +sign.

Hope this helps, and welcome to Guild Wars

where abouts can you buy focus items?

There are weapon NPCs is the larger cities, the further along in the game, the better they are but the higher the requirement.

While you are out and about exploring and doing quests, you will often see NPCs with (collector) after their name - click on these to see what they have and what you need to collect to exchange.

Using the f10 key and typing in something you want to find will help you also (maybe which foes to find the collectable item from for instance).

ahh thanks, which one would be best for now, im level 11 necromancer/mesmer

You can get some focus items from collectors as well if you don't want to spend a whole lot of money. Do a search for collectors on the wiki and you should get all the info you need.

Finding the best weapon/offhand for you will come with time. Without knowing your play style or you skill bar we can't really give you a perfect recommendation. As a good starting point you can make sure that the required attribute level matches whatever you have put the most attribute points onto with your character. Hope that helps a little.

Best bet is too check what people are selling using the P menu, although might be hard at the mo' cos most people selling their Halloween goodie bags etc. I wouldn't worry too much about wand/focus at lvl 11, I just used weapon trader til I got to 20, plus with any luck you'll get some decent drops along the way

What campaign are you playing btw?

im usin nightfall

you may be used to a typical rpg game where u simply go to a weapon trader
and buy a weapon as it becomes available for ur level

in gw, this is not the case
weapons r obtained only through drops, crafters, collectors, and quest rewards

i wouldnt worrie to much bout it tho tbh
equipment at a low lvl isnt as important...especially for a caster
u use ur skills and attribute points for dmg

craft a weapon if u must
but i think u'd be better off jus usin wut u find from monster drops
and not worryin bout it to much

another reason, is that most of the "decent" weapons u'll come across
u wont see until u hit lvl20
so jus wait until then


armor is a different story, as u can only craft/obtain from collectors
craft if u got teh extra dough
but once u hit consulate docks, i highly recommend getting max armour