Help! im new as crap....questions for veterans

I am taking a break from wow and I am currently trying to remember why I used to love this game. It has been so long that I dont even know how to play or where to start. My account was apparently hacked while i was gone so I dont have any assets on my account or anything. With that said, here are some questions....If you guys could answer them as if im completely new ( simply because its been so long) i would appreciate it. I have all the campaigns except EOTN.

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?

2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?

3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?

4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.

5) How is the pvp scene?

6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?

7) What do i do when i get to 20?

8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?

9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)

The reason I am coming back is that wow slowly was consuming most of my time. Raid nights, arena, leveling alts....I found that i had filled up every day of the week. It is much easier for me to cut it all off and reintroduce it one piece at a time ( if i even come back). In the meantime, id really like to get back into this game. I dont even know where to start- it seems like it has grown enormously. I hate travel time and i love grouping and talking with people. I will search for a guild with my interests but for now, if you guys could answer any or all of these questions, and feel free to throw in tips that you might suggest to help me hit the ground running. Thank you in advance.

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?
Depends on your personal opinion, really. Factions is the fastest to play out, so might be good to get back in the swing of things. Prophecies is good if you like the actual storyline and a more drawn out game. Nightfall is good for heroes, and is sort-of in between Prophecies and Factions in length and story.

2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?
A full party is always easier. It doesn't have to be filled with humans, though. Heroes and henches can be as good, or substantially better, than most random people you'd pick up somewhere.

3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?
Certain missions in Nightfall have the requirement of one of your heroes. Most heroes will do what you tell them to, fairly efficiently. They require little micro-management most of the time, if you give them a decent build. For builds, check pvxwiki.com

4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.
Zaishen missions and quests are usually popular. I'm not sure how popular UW and FoW still are, but I'd guess there are still PUGs for it. Most of them are probably certain speedclear builds, though. Again, for those builds, refer to pvxwiki or possibly search through these forums.

5) How is the pvp scene?
Last time I checked (which is admittedly several months ago), terrible.

6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?
No idea what you're talking about. Do you mean bots (scripted players) or hero/hench?

7) What do i do when i get to 20?
Start playing the actual game. Up to level 20 is basically a tutorial, except in Prophecies, possibly.

8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?
Never played WoW, but this game has comparatively less grind than other (generic) MMO's. There is also the fact that max-specced gear is pretty easy and cheap to obtain. Most of the money in this game goes to aesthetics, rather than actual usefulness.

9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)
You're always safe choosing any profession, but if you're new (or returning and not having remembered anything), I would suggest starting with a warrior. They're the easiest to play, though they can be harder to fully master.


If you're more of a social person, I would suggest looking for one of the megaguilds, a good starting point to look would be Kamadan (first actual city in Nightfall). Just keep in mind, if someone recruits you just on a whim with no conversation or anything beforehand, that is likely how they recruited others as well. That means you have no guarantee that the guild is filled, or if the people filling it are nice, conversational or whatever.

thank you very much. By robots, i mean the wierd looking npc ones im seeing in various outposts and instances. Also, when u say " play the game", what exactly "is" the game now?

first of all, this belongs in q&a.

1. most fun = factions, least resistance = proph.
2. generally speaking, yes full of hero/hench.
3. no, unless u play nf.
4. a lot of ppl solo play/solo farm rather than group up. but in terms of grouping, still uw/fow and the new zqs, doa is popular with guilds but not so much pugs.
5. boring and broken.
6. your prolly referring to golem tonics--basically they're just costumes for fun.
7. finish the campaign storyline first and foremost.
8. for me, it would've been the pvp and build making (if it wasn't so broken).
9. in regards to pugging, no. rangers and sins are semi-safe; if i were to rate them all in order: monk, rit, nec, ele, warrior, sin, ranger, paragon, mesmer, dervish.

sorry about the wrong forum. Thank you very much for your input.

i just want to add that if you enjoy more of the social and multiplayer aspects of rpgs, you'll definitely want to find a good guild as early as you can. the pug scene isn't quite what it used to be.

The robots are probably players using a Tonic. Giving them a Golem Form to be precise.

And the game is what you make of it. If you need a checklist with 'things to achieve' to enjoy this game, check the wiki, the PvE section.

I liked it better to just explore a bit, and see what each next section of the game had to offer.

Welcome back. Sorry to hear about your account being hacked

1) Probably Nightfall (or better yet go and get EoTN), since you've already played through Prophecies. Since you ask for least resistance, I would say get the Heroes in Nightfall, use the builds on PvXwikia.com and then do Factions. EoTN also gives you heroes, but Factions doesn't.

2) Yes. Except for a few farming builds. But nowadays, doing speed clears with organised teams in dungeons and Elite areas makes far more gold per time spent.

3) You need to use specific heroes in most of the Nightfall campaign missions, otherwise henchman are fine. Going through the Nighfall storyline will teach you how to control, equip etc. your heroes.

4) Most of the time is spent doing speed clears with Guildies or PUGS. Underworld, FoW and the elite areas in Factions and Nightfall. You will want to get EoTN to get access to PvE skills and dungeons, which are pretty fun.

5) Not a person to comment on PvP, but it is no where near as exclusive or l33t as it was back in the day. Most people run builds found on PvXwikia and those posted on these forums.

6) Those are GOLEMS invented by the Asura race (which you meet in the EoTN campaign). There is also a consumable which turns you into one.

7) Work on your titles, full up your Hall of Monuments (need EoTN expansion), do elite areas and dungeons. Or PvP.

8) Raided as a lvl 80 Feral druid dps and main tank. Guild Wars endgame is more casual and noob friendly. The player base is far more relaxed and accepting. Your toon is customizable and can be very unique at endgame compared to WoW where everyone rolls for the same epics.

9) Assassin will allow you more flexibility later on if you are looking to do speed clears at endgame (which is in all honesty most likely). It's also pretty fun to level with. But once you get back into GW you'll see yourself having 4 or 5 actual main characters.

Yes it has grown enormously. But the gwwiki is an awesome tool for everything you need. Personally, if I was you, I would slowly go through the Nightfall and then Factions stories (there is a little spoiler at the end of nightfall regarding factions but it's not a bother) and appreciate the game for what it is. Prophecies might be fun to do for nostalgia later on.

I could write lots more but I'm sure other people will help out too. Welcome back and enjoy.

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?
I'd say Factions or Proph, Factions has some really nasty missions tho.

2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?
Not a full human party, the AI can take you through most, if not all the game on normal mode.

3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?
You'll without a doubt need to make use of them, but using them is very easy. If you need to find out anything, goto GuildWiki
4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.

5) How is the pvp scene?
Don't bother with Heroes Ascent, it's a club of elitist gimmicky idiots

6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?
Farm bots, which have just exploded.

7) What do i do when i get to 20?
PvP or do titles, titles with Eye of the North will give you unlocks for GW2

8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?
You are more in control of your game, somewhat.

9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)
Each profession has it's use......in PvP. In grouping, steer clear of Mesmers and Assassins (they cannot take damage and the former just is plain hated in PvE)

I'm not sure if it is still available, but Steam had all 3 campaigns for $20 not too long ago. Might be worth checking out a deal like that, then you can pick which campaign to play.

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?
Fun is relative.
All I can tell you is this:
- Prophecies: Slow progress. Playing normally, making all quests and so by the time you get to the port city, you will be level 10..13. Feeling of emptiness compared to the rest (you won't feel it the first time you play if you play the games in order). You can explore around 80% of the map without following the plot.
- Factions: FAST! pace. You can get to level 20 in under 6 hours before getting to the port city. Cramped. That's not necessarily bad. But after playing Prophecies, you may feel a little overwhelmed in some areas here. You can't take two steps without finding the next enemy party. Around every 2..15% of the map you explore, you must go on with the plot, or you won't be able to get to the next areas.
- Nigthfall: Something in the middle. You start in the city port. By the time you can actually travel to other campaigns, you'll be around level 16..18. It has a more relaxed gameplay, without being slow. I wish the two previous ones had this pace. You can visit most places in each of the 4 regionsn freely (25% of the map or so), but you must follow the story to advance to the next region.
I personally suggest to play them in order: P, F, N.

2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?
You will need a party to do most things, but the party doesn't have to be human. You can use AI-party members for most of the content when you don't find anyone to partner with.

3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?
You don't have, but they REALLY help.
The guide for heroes is in-game, when you get the first ones. All you may need to do is told in-game.
And anything you may don't find, will be on the wiki. Just hit F10 and input a word.

4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.
Most of them are now where Zaishen quests, elite areas and events-related places. That includes War in Kryta.

5) How is the pvp scene?
I couldn't tell, I just join, walk around, kill anything that dares to move near me, and ignore the bickering of those that lose.
You may wat to ask a more hardcore PvPer.

6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?
They are in certain spots, not all over the place. They won't directly affect you, since GW is fully instanced, but they severly damage economy, which only affecyts you if you trade with other players or by using trader NPCs, though.
PvP bots are a different thing. They are actually players with some kind of macro that makes them able to perform almost-impossible actions like 100% accuracy interrupts with skills under 1 second.

7) What do i do when i get to 20?
You play the game.
Seriously, many people don't get this, but getting to level 20 is actually THE TUTORIAL. The tutorial ends when:
* Got to level 20.
* Got the 30 extra attribute points.
* Unlocked other secondary professions.
* Made the signet of capture quest.
After that, you start playing for real.

8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?
Well, there are little bars to be filled, and shiny stuff but they are not the only reason to play, and only an idiot would judge you or leave you out of the team for having basic equipment instead the most expensive and flashy stuff.
That is, no frakking gear rankings.
Not having to spend countless hours killing the same monsters again and again to get to the next level helps too.

9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)
The profession that is never left out is monk. But let's face it, healing others is not as fun as killing others.
The next best thing is elementalist. Burning stuff is fun. Necromancers are just behind elementalists in frequency of use. And the rest... well... they are nice too, but they do not always get so easily in teams as those three. I have one of each, so I could care less.
Oh, well, there are cases like the "perma assassin". Those are not a profession those are a build, and once the build is gone... they shine no more.
Personally, I favor elementalist, and then ritualist. I find those two the most fun to play.


With GW you may play 6 hours a day or once a week, and the only difference will be how filled your Hall of Monuments is.
The fun is the same.

Wow, thanks everyone, especially mithran for your very complete answers. I will choose the elementalist for now.

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?
Theyre all fun
Prophocies=the beginning, best for beginning players as it takes it slow and eases you in to what guildwars pve is like.
Factions=Faster paces, morechoices of to where you want to go
Nightfall=Long, fast paces, dramatic storyline. typically most difficult for newer players
2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?
Nope one of the great parts of the game is henchmen, which are always there... and once you advance your playing into Nightfall you get Heros which are customizable/cotrolable henchmen
3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?
Nope not if you want, they just make things easier for you. There are many guides on this site as well as here> http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Heros
4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.
Well Fow and UW are not really fun, but many do hang out there to make some cash. Most people are found doing UW/FOw/Domain of anguish (elite area in Nightfall endgame) pr vanquishing (*killing all monsters in a zone*) for their titles. Titles are a big part for people who have been playing a while. But I think the MOST players are found in the central trade hub towns. These include Kadaman, Jewel of Istan (most people) in Nightfall. Lion's Arch in Prophocies, and Kaining Center in Factions.
5) How is the pvp scene?
Broken but amusing. Theres some lame crap in the higher teired pvp (i have quite some experience there) and its not always the most honorable stuff, but it is a blast. It takes a learning curve to understand whats smart to use and whats not, but its still interesting.
6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?
Anets kind of lazy, but they drive the economy of the game.
7) What do i do when i get to 20?
You finish the game! Level 20 comes pretty early in the storylines. After you complete one campeign theres 3 more to go do and have fun, after that you can start chasing titles, and maybe work into pvp.
8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?
The lack of grind, the fact new level maxes dont just keep coming out and make a boring grind twice as long, and everyone doesnt have the same crap at a higher level, and you basically choose what you want to do and where you want to go. Oh and map travel won me over
9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)
Will this is a little though. When it comes for general questing and missions, anyone is really good to go. But when it comes to elite areas and Hardmode, or FOW/Us /Dungeons its kind of selective since people have worked out what team builds (skill sets for a character/profession) work best, check out Pvx.wikia.com for some popular things people demand...The easiest profession for a team is monk, or ritualist. But generally heros+you at any profession with another player or a few make a fine team.


Please enjoy your gaming experience, feel free to pm me @ Unreal Stalker in game for any info

By the robots I think you mean the NPC robot called M.O.X? He's a hero that came out just before Eye of the North came out. There are also the three robots:

Rox

Pox

Nox

wich are some kind of elite bosses you can form up for and play with other members of this game.

The other thing is maybe real players you saw with the "blue" dot on mini-map with a robo-likely costume called "tonic" wich you can get from the Zaishen Chest in the Battle Islands. And from completing a certain quest that will give you 10,000 gold coins, and 10 tonics that looks like a robo.


Welcome back to Guild Wars.

3. Guide to Heroes - visit guru's Heroes & AI sub forum in the Campfire section. There is a basics thread that explains how heroes work and what skills they cannot use correctly.
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/b...t10293264.html

Please keep in mind that equipping heroes with armor insignia & runes, decent modded weapons and useful skills costs GOLD, lots of gold. The only thing you don't have to shell out for is their armor itself. The henchmen in the game were upgraded last year with improved builds so do not be afraid to use them instead.

8. I haven't played WoW, but GW has a different focus than other MMOs. Unless you are 15 or under and want to look like every other player in your guild or social group (black armor, chaos gloves, torment shield and a voltaic spear), you don't need to change your armor after you get your first max set (pretty early in each game, although in Prophecies you will need to buy a run to Droknar's Forge from Beacon's Perch if you want Prophecies armor sets). You can also get max damage weapons by the time you are level 20, through drops or purchase or /bonus. The rest of the game is just learning how to use your skills so that you can beat the foes in each area.
-----------------

Welcome back and sorry about your account misfortune. Although, depending on how long you have been gone and what you had amassed, it's very possible that your holdings had depreciated. And if you didn't know, we have a wiki that is available in-game, via F10, Help on the menu, or /wiki in the chat bar.

1) Nightfall for heros

2) no, u have heros

3) u dont, but they are better than real people usually.

4) no idea, dont play much anymore

5) dying

6) people like to cheat. i think that is what ur talking about...

7) lol, everything else. this isnt a lvling game, game starts at lvl 20.

8) didnt play wow u lvl grinder...

9)ranger or sin will be fine. puggin missions is a waste and u prolly wont be doing any serious high-end are runs for a while for ur proffesion to matter.

The biggest difference for me is that combat in GW is fun, there's strategy to it. WoW combat is boring and I'm usually spamming the same skills over and over. If I change a build I have like one other choice.

My bet is that the robots npc he's talking about is MOX; he is a dervish hero that will join you after you reach level 20, just talk to him outside Kamadan/Kaineng center/Lion's Arch. The other robots are players using tonics, like someone said.

1) Personally I find the starting campaign, prophecies to be the most enjoyable. Can't really comment on the 'easiest', depends alot on playstyle, that and the fact I haven't done normal mode in a looong time.

2) Not entirely. You CAN do pretty much anything with under 8 if you really want to, the fact being though that the extra time it takes doesn't often outweigh it. Especially with 'end chests' now. (end chests being when you complete a area, a chest spawns with goodies for everyone in it, the common goal these days being to get there ASAP)

3) No. But it WILL help you a hell of a lot. For guides, there are many on this site. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/heroes-ai-f243.html is a forum dedicated to heroes/AI help.

4) Fow and Underworld are still very popular, still for the rare materials. Other popular places include: Eye of the north (alot of places, very good 'end game' expansion as far as farming is concerned, due to LOTS of dungeons), Domain of anguish (area unlocked after completing 'Nightfall') and anywhere associated with the daily zaishen quest.

5) Elitist as always. If you want to seriously PvP, JOIN A PVP GUILD!! You just won't back it fast at all otherwise.

6) you mean the bots? yeah, it sucks. Same on all games these days though :/

7) Complete all campaigns, farm elite areas, do random stuff for fun.

8) As a WoW raider myself, theres 2 very large factors for me. the first being that it is free to play after upgrading to all games. The second is that it is VERY casual friendly. You should always be able to find groups for what you want any time of the day, and are not penalised for not doing it for a week or 5.

9) Assasin is currently at a good spot with the meta, as they make great tanks, and as such are used in many 'speed clears'. Rangers are at a terrible spot (as always) and are really very unwanted for any particular case, most of the playerbase prefer a NPC ranger interrupting. Dervishes are also rarely used in team farming. Everything else has its place somewhere or other.

P.S dont take 9 as rangers/dervs don't have their roles. They are both capable of anything, as long as you are content to not use the current meta, and stick with a number of heroes/hench (h/h)

1) Which campaign will give me the most fun, and the least resistance?
Prophecies, longest, drawn out, free skills, yeah.

2) Do you still need a full party to do absolutely anything?
You can use heroes and henchmen.

3) Do I have to use heroes? If so, does anyone know of a guide to heroes?
the wiki has lots on them. wiki.guildwars.com

4) Where do people spend most of their time now, and what do people group for now? When i left, i remember doing FOW and underworld runs, which i thought were insanely fun.
Due to nerfs I'm out of touch with which is done and how atm.

5) How is the pvp scene?
dunno, I pve

6) whats with these stupid robots all over the place?
the GOLEMS? or people? If people, then well, its always like that.

7) What do i do when i get to 20?
start playing the game for real.

8) For those of you who played wow (seriously played it as in level 80 end game) and prefer this game...i would ask you what makes this game more appealing?
I was only on a tbc private server and this game has less dedication, better graphics, simpler combat, more skill based and less gear based, profession diversity.

9) Am i safe in choosing any profession i want? I am strongly leaning towards ranger or assassin. (in regards to grouping)
either, you should do a ranger in prophecies and an assassin (which has to be in factions). Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

I'd say the one you enjoy the most will give you the most fun, and the oine you find easiest will give you the least resistance. I'd recommend you try Nightfall.

You never needed a full group to do everything, but the game is designed for group play. In the early stages, you won't have the skills to make the builds that can solo things. On the other hand, by using Heroes and Henchmen, there's no need to group with other people either.

No, you don't have to use Heroes. But, you'll want to.
There's not as many people looking for groups to do earlier parts of the game these days, so you'll need to use Heroes and Henchmen.
Also, certain quests and missions in Nightfall and EotN require that you bring certain Heroes with the party.

Eye of the North, and Zaishen quests in Hard Mode.

Don't know, don't care.

The young folks think they're kewl.

Whatever you want - more of the same. Unlike WoW, getting to max level is not the end.

I played WoW until level 60. If I had started WoW on a PvE server and joined a good guild, I might still be playing it. Both games have their good and bad points.

As far as playing the game goes, any class will do, but you are most likely to be able to group if you play a Monk or Ritualist, these days.