Completely new to this....

So, I played the trial account one afternoon just to have a look and decided it was fun. Now reached the grand old level of 9 and looking for some tips from more experienced players. My first game of this type too so bare that in mind when writing in abbreviations etc!

I chose a Necromancer with a Monk secondary (just don't ask why, as I have no idea, just liked the idea of it).

Particularly interested in things like what equipment should I be using, how to distribute my points on the attributes etc... anything really.

In terms of playing style, I like dealing damage and solo a lot (not in a guild). Not that interested in minions, but that doesn't mean I couldn't be persuaded.

Anyway, I realise this is a really open question, but your experience and thoughts will certainly make my first venture into this world a more fruitful one.

Thanks for reading.

Oh i would advice against looking at this forum for help at this point in the game. Not that the people here don't know anything, it's the opposite. They know almost everything and imo will kinda ruin a part of GW for ya.

I would just go on like you are doing now, keep experimenting with builds, blood, curses death it's all fun and usefull in low level areas.
It's way more fun to find out things by yourself and unless you are really stuck or getting your ass handed to you in game I wouldnt even look here besides fun.

Just my opinion

If you're looking for Necromancer tips you can do worse than the sticky in the Necromancer section:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/d...t10241271.html

As a new player I'm concious about not giving you all the answers straight away as I feel it is more fun to explore and discover some things as you play.

You should try to focus your attributes on one, maximum two disciplines while also using your primary attribute of Soul Reaping.

Presumably you're running a Curses or Blood Necro so the good equipment will be weapons that increase your skill recharge and reduce your casting time.
As for runes and insignia, then use runes that compliment your attributes and insignia that complement your play style.

The Necromancer is a very strong profession and each of their attributes is viable in PvE there is no reason to play as a Minion Master if you prefer other skills.

I don't know what campaign you're starting in, but my suggestion would be to take your time and do side quests and don't rush to complete the game. That way things will fall into place as you progress.

Wel if you started in Prophecies, I can only sugest as soon you are out of
presearing (green shiny area) on post searing (the day after look"first)."
To do all of the quests which will give you more skills. And maybe buy them
from skill traders when you have enough mony and skill points. (those can be seen when you press H. Also do all missions and when you get in the higher levels bring A signet of capture.(which you get further on) to capture Elite skills. Of you don't like to use minnions. Spitefull Spirit (curses) ore Feast of
Coruption (blood magic)are nice skill to do damage.

Along the way there is a oppertunity to change your second proffession.
I'll suggest to take mesmer. That is one of the best second proffs with A necro. In a other campaign (factions) you can better Take the rittualist as a
second.

But the most important thing....Dont rush.. Don't take runners to anywhere
thay wil just spoil the fun of the game..

If you need help..you may always ask ingame... (Gali Um Scary)

good luck

A very fair point, well made.

Have just realised that you can move points up and down too rather than committing permanantly so I guess that makes experimenting a lot easier.

I will continue to explore and if you see Mirtiger Legendmir standing in town looking puzzled, feel free to say hi!

(I see the mods already moved your thread to the appropriate section)

First, don't worry too much about the secondary profession... lateron in the game you can unlock the ability to switch to different secondary professions (while in a town or outpost).

Attribute distribution is completely up to you, and largely depends on which skills you want to use. If you can, focus on skills of one or two attributes, that prevents being forced to spread your points over too many attributes (which would result in a very weak character). It is recommended to try and get your main attribute to (at least) 9 soon, so you can use max stat weapons (and do more damage). Look for weapons that fit with that attribute.
As for armor... try to get max stat armor as soon as you can find it, the rest (looks) doesn't really matter.
(and yes, as you have noticed, you can rearrange your attribute points whenever you're in a town or outpost, so don't be afraid to experiment)

As for gameplay... aspi is right, at your level, these forums probably won't be of much help (unless you're stuck somewhere and have a very specific question). Your best bet is to keep experimenting and exploring, unlock as many necromancer and monk skills as you can (you didn't say which campaign you started, but if you started in Old Ascalon, then make sure to do all the profession quests... they usually have additional skills as reward). Just play through the campaign you're currently in, and you're sure to find better skills and better equipment.

[Edit] hmm.. I guess I'm a bit slow... got ninja'd on several of these topics

All very helpful advice, thanks to you all.

On that basis, I will be taking my time, exploring everywhere under my own steam (with one or two henchmen in tow), and focusing on blood for now which happens to have the skills I enjoy using the most. (I will of course also be discovering areas that I really shouldn't be in and dying, coming back to life, dying more quickly, coming back to life, dying instantly.... you get the picture).

Having not even explored 10% of this current world (I started in Old Ascalon as you rightly guessed) I think those tactics will keep me going for some time!

Made my first new armour yesterday, simple pleasures I know, but then isn't that what it's all about!

I'm a noob myself, having played the Trilogy and EotN for six months. Have fun and use the "help" button on your menu to access the wiki if you get stuck. Every game in the series and mission is covered there.

As a minor point, if you get dyes as loot, keep in mind that the most expensive dye is black, followed by white. If you check with a dye trader you'll see that the asking price for black or white dyes is high enough that it's better to sell these two colors than to use them, at least for me.

Take a full party of Henchies with you when you go exploring. The foe levels will go up quite a bit soon and you will be happy for all the help you can get.

You wrote that you are not interrested in joining a guild, but I would recomend you look around to see if you can find a beginners friendly guild and join them. Joining a Guild does not mean you must play with them or that you have to contribute / pay dues or something (at least not in a serious Guild that is not focused purely on Faction farming which is not interresting for you anyways). Leaving a Guild is always an option if you decide that the one you are in is not up to what you are looking for.

Furthermore, you can always ask around in the outposts you are in if someoen needs to do the smae quest/mission as you do and join forces (Just tell them that you are new to the game and they should be understanding and maybe even give you a bit of help if you are stuck at a particular point.

Welcome to GW

Lots of useful advice in this this thread already, but do find a nice guild - playing with people you get to know is a wonderful part of the game.

did you just get the one campaign?

Welcome!

my advice, read up on your profession, try different combination of skills, some from advices, some on your own. You will get the right mix for yourself real soon. Many people will have different things to say about different things so the best way to do it is to customized it for your own.

Try not to be too upset by the fact that every creature in the game wants you dead.

Also, If you ever run into a particularly troublesome group of foes it may be because they are set up to be deliberately powerful against your particular class and spec. Don't be afraid to experiment (with your spec).

Monk is as good a choice as any at this point. You'll be able to change it later if you want. The main thing is - don't actually try to be a healer with your secondary. About all you should be using from your Monk side is a resurrection skill, and perhaps a self heal. (or a heal such as Heal Area if you go minion master).

It's hard to answer such questions because the answers depend a lot upon what sort of build you are using and what you want the equipment to do.
Points distribution-wise, you should have most of your points in your main skill line (Death, Curses, Blood) and Soul Reaping. It's best at this point to concentrate on one main line - Death, Curses, or Blood - and not spread your attributes too thin. Only put a few "leftover" points into Monk stuff.

In that case you would probably want to either do a Curses build based around damage dealing, or a Death Magic build based around minions (a Minion Master (MM))
For equipment I'd recommend - for Curses - a Curses staff with an Adept Head and an "Aptitude not Attitude" Inscription (and +30 health wrapping), ideally. The AnA inscription is rare and expensive, so you may need to do with something else for a while. (The two HCT (Halves Casting Time) mods are because Curses spells have a long casting time, generally.)
For an MM build - the weapon is less specific - whatever floats yer boat. A Bloodstained Insignia (on your armor) is useful.

Once you're out of Pre-Searing, you'll find the Xunlai chests are useful for the rest of the game. You can store things, including raw materials, there and all the other characters on your account can then access them as well. For example, when my necro character finds a rune that would suit an elementalist, she leaves it in the storage for him.

I'm not sure how far along you are, but the Canthan New Year is coming up and you can participate in that as your first holiday. (Halloween and Wintersday were my first.)

Once you get heroes, you can upgrade them and even give them a secondary profession. They're not available in "Prophecies" (without owning other games such as Nightfall) but they are in later games such as "Nightfall" and "Eye of the North", plus once you get to Lion's Arch you can start travelling to the other games that you own, and bring back heroes (if you own the other games). "Prophecies" has henchmen instead of heroes, which can't be customized the way heroes can.

If you get "Eye of the North", it's recommended for level 20, though you can travel there starting at level 10 as far as I know. I don't recommend travelling to EotN until level 14 at least, which one of my characters did.

Just for clarity, it was minions I am not that interested in rather than guilds. Just been too busy exploring to look at guilds

and for even more clarity, I bought the trilogy together.

Quick question oh learned ones. I got my first runes today and put one on each piece of armour expecting the end result to be +4 but it wasn't. Have I just discovered what non-stacking means or am I doing something wrong?

you learned the art of non-stacking

Heya and welcome. I love the necro/monk combo. It's more useful than you think. That combo can come in handy for some of the later missions.

Anyway, what runes did you put on? If you put on, for example, two minor runes of soul reaping, they don't 'stack' and you'll only get +1 and not +2 to your soul reaping attritube. Likewise with minor runes of vigor, the health won't stack. It was confusing as heck for me at first.

For my necro (and all my characters) I usually pile on the radiants, the survivors, the highest vigor run I have or can afford, some attunements and vitaes, along with runes on the 'headpiece' for a particular attribute, like a headpiece for curses, a headpiece for blood or death.

Good luck, have fun and I'm jealous. I wish I could go back to when I was new and everything was really cool-- things are still cool, but not in that OMG way.

I'm always willing to help, too, and I know all the quests and missions inside out. in game name: Laraja Mikalazodo.

You might read this very similar topic from the ranger forums. Every meaningful answer in that thread applies to you as well.