Couple of noobish questions from noob :)

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Hey all!

I played Guild wars a couple of years ago and only got to level 9. But recently I decided to start playing again since I'm really excited about GW2 coming out soon

And of course I was reading up on the Hall of Monuments. The thing is for someone who remember's almost nothing about the game the guides are rather confusing.

My question is should I just play through the game without worrying about the Hall of Monuments and than follow the guides? I have all 4 of the GW games and i started in Prophecies. Also should I Just start over or pick up with my Level 9 Archer.

Sorry if this has been asked already and thanks for taking the time to read my posts

Fu8ar

Fu8ar

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2008

somwhere

P/W

Play through the game and then worry about HoM, as you're playing through the game you will gain points towards it anyways.

bleh

bleh

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2005

N.Z.

_

P/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasen View Post
My question is should I just play through the game without worrying about the Hall of Monuments and than follow the guides? Also should I Just start over or pick up with my Level 9 Archer.
HOM gets you rewards at 1/50 all the way too 50/50 so its worth doing some of it, how much you do is up too you. Don't "worry" about it though :>.

Making new characters is always fun! level 9 is not very far progressed so make a new one if you want! but keep the archer for birthday gifts.

PS: guides will make sense eventually so are always worth taking in.

Kook~NBK~

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Mar 2005

A little chalet outside Drok's

Natural Born Killaz

Welcome back to GW! Hope you enjoy your stay.

To answer your question; Yes, Just play through the campaigns to begin with. Doing missions with their bonuses in Prophecies and getting Masters in factions and Nightfall on every mission will get you 3 titles that you can record in your HoM once you get there. If you keep an eye out while you're getting back into it, you'll pick stuff up that will help getting your HoM to 30 points (or 50) later on.

As for whether to start over with a new character (or characters to test several out), that's up to you. You're probably not very far along with your Ranger for it to make much of a difference. But one thing - don't delete your Ranger, because whatever mini-pets you'll get on its Birthday can be added to your HoM as well.

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to read my post and answer my questions. And thanks for the tip about not deleting characters

Chthon

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Apr 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasen View Post
My question is should I just play through the game without worrying about the Hall of Monuments and than follow the guides?
Yes. By and large, most HoM stuff all comes after finishing the game and unlocking hard mode. The only thing you can really do to make progress towards HoM during your first trip through is to make sure to complete the bonus for each mission so that you don't need to do it again later.

Quote:
Also should I Just start over or pick up with my Level 9 Archer.
Doesn't matter. Do whichever you like.

Star_Jewel

Star_Jewel

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2010

Denizen of Tyria since Feb. 2009

I agree with everyone else -- play the game normally and you'll start racking up HoM achievements as you go. Once you're a little more caught up to the game, you can better focus on filling in whatever gaps may be left in your Hall.
One piece of advice I will give you is to salvage stuff! The drops you get in the newbie areas probably aren't worth doing so, but once you hit the main lands in Factions and Nightfall or the mountains in Prophecies, salvaging cloth, tanned leather, iron, etc., will really help you when it comes time to craft your elite armors. Most require almost 2 stacks of certain (depending on the armor type) common mats. You also need a stack of granite for at least one Destroyer weapon. Might as well save up for them along the way.

2 other things you should be mindful of as you play (in case you quit playing prior to April 2009):
* Zaishen Quests, which will award you bonus money, experience, and Zaishen Coins (which you can sell for more money), all for doing things you'll be doing anyway.
* Nick the Traveler, who gives you 5 gifts per account each week in exchange for different trophy items. The goodies inside can help you progress your consumable tracks, or you can sell the gifts to other players to help fund your Hall.

Lastly, if you quit playing prior to February 2010, visit High Priest Zhang in Great Temple of Balthazar. You can get (once per account) 50 free tournament reward points which you can redeem with Tolkano for 10 Zaishen Keys. You can sell these to other players or use them to start on your Zaishen Supporter track (the easiest PvP statue to get for your Hall, in case "real" PvP isn't your thing).

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Star_Jewel View Post
I agree with everyone else -- play the game normally and you'll start racking up HoM achievements as you go. Once you're a little more caught up to the game, you can better focus on filling in whatever gaps may be left in your Hall.
One piece of advice I will give you is to salvage stuff! The drops you get in the newbie areas probably aren't worth doing so, but once you hit the main lands in Factions and Nightfall or the mountains in Prophecies, salvaging cloth, tanned leather, iron, etc., will really help you when it comes time to craft your elite armors. Most require almost 2 stacks of certain (depending on the armor type) common mats. You also need a stack of granite for at least one Destroyer weapon. Might as well save up for them along the way.

2 other things you should be mindful of as you play (in case you quit playing prior to April 2009):
* Zaishen Quests, which will award you bonus money, experience, and Zaishen Coins (which you can sell for more money), all for doing things you'll be doing anyway.
* Nick the Traveler, who gives you 5 gifts per account each week in exchange for different trophy items. The goodies inside can help you progress your consumable tracks, or you can sell the gifts to other players to help fund your Hall.

Lastly, if you quit playing prior to February 2010, visit High Priest Zhang in Great Temple of Balthazar. You can get (once per account) 50 free tournament reward points which you can redeem with Tolkano for 10 Zaishen Keys. You can sell these to other players or use them to start on your Zaishen Supporter track (the easiest PvP statue to get for your Hall, in case "real" PvP isn't your thing).
Wow that's some great info thank you so much! Certainly gave me more to think about hehe. Really appreciate the links!

Just another noob question. I'm in the starter area and there is a Collector npc, should I be trying to get everything he sells or does it really matter?

Also you mentioned about salvaging items, I take it that's an ability I will learn as I progress? ( I just figured it I need to buy the kits to salvage)

And one more question lol....is there a way for me to transfer items from my level 9 to my new guy?

Thanks again!

Kook~NBK~

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Mar 2005

A little chalet outside Drok's

Natural Born Killaz

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasen View Post
Just another noob question. I'm in the starter area and there is a Collector npc, should I be trying to get everything he sells or does it really matter?
No, don't worry about getting every thing from the collector - you'll find most of what you need as you play along.

Quote:
Also you mentioned about salvaging items, I take it that's an ability I will learn as I progress? ( I just figured it I need to buy the kits to salvage)
There are 4 (actually 5) types of Salvage kits - Superior, Expert, normal, perfect, and Charr (pre-searing only) I'd suggest you read up on them on guildwiki. Lots of info there.

Quote:
And one more question lol....is there a way for me to transfer items from my level 9 to my new guy?
In pre-searing Prophecies, the answer is no. But, once you get out of pre-searing, you'll find a Xunlai Agent that will sell you a storage chest (and an addional storage pane in that chest for materials) that can be accessed by any character in any town that has Xunlai Chests and has paid for the chest.

Thalen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2012

But but but....if you salvage things in pre-searing (maybe it depends on your class) and leave at around level 8, you should have all the materials you need, as well as enough cash to give to the nice armourer with the better armour as soon as you hit Old Ascalon, your first stop in post-searing.

There are two armourers there, if you can, go to the 'expensive' one, Corwen, who stands right next to the cheaper guy, Benoit. Corwen crafts armour with twice the armour level that Benoit does. Benoit charges, I think, 20 gold plus mats, and Corwen charges 75 gold plus mats, per piece.

Star_Jewel

Star_Jewel

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2010

Denizen of Tyria since Feb. 2009

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalen View Post
But but but....if you salvage things in pre-searing (maybe it depends on your class) and leave at around level 8, you should have all the materials you need, as well as enough cash to give to the nice armourer with the better armour as soon as you hit Old Ascalon, your first stop in post-searing.
True. Salvaging for one's first armor is important (as well as looking out for upgraded armor in outposts along the way). Fortunately they use few materials until you start getting up towards max armor (which one would be well advised to detour from Lion's Arch to Cantha, Elona, or North to get). However, there are a lot of elite armors one has to plan on for their HoM, which won't be immediately accessible. With that in mind, salvaging every little newbie area drop for 1-2 mats when one could just sell them directly for the gold (thus saving on the salvage cost) would probably be more economical.

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalen View Post
But but but....if you salvage things in pre-searing (maybe it depends on your class) and leave at around level 8, you should have all the materials you need, as well as enough cash to give to the nice armourer with the better armour as soon as you hit Old Ascalon, your first stop in post-searing.

There are two armourers there, if you can, go to the 'expensive' one, Corwen, who stands right next to the cheaper guy, Benoit. Corwen crafts armour with twice the armour level that Benoit does. Benoit charges, I think, 20 gold plus mats, and Corwen charges 75 gold plus mats, per piece.
I just hit Old Ascalon thanks so much for the tip Now to find some of those bolts of cloth

Mintha Syl

Mintha Syl

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2010

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasen View Post
I just hit Old Ascalon thanks so much for the tip Now to find some of those bolts of cloth
Just a tip, if you can't get enough materials for the armour, and you happen to have more than enough money instead, you have the possibility to buy those from Healy (material trader). Sometimes material traders just make your life easier, gotta love them.

Thalen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2012

I'm really new to this too, so probably not the best person for advice, but it did seem to help having a decent stash of materials and a platinum and a little change going pre to post.

Which meant my first Prophecies toon got deleted just from looking at the overwhelming prices in post (in the sense of overwhelming if you have no older toons to help), so I re-created her and salvaged what I could, sold everything else, and was able to get some armour and bags/runes of holding second time around without thinking 'how will I ever get enough money?'

If it's not your first toon, it's probably not a concern. If it is your first toon - go start in Nightfall (personal preference), but it was nice being handed 450 gold for the tutorial mission, the same for another early quest, a rune of vigour for the tutorial quest for 'what are runes?' and battle commendations you can trade for expert salvage kits. I like the story in Nightfall better, too, but I may be in the minority there. Plus my Nightfall toon was able to pick up all kinds of drops that my Prophecies toon could use, whilst my Prophecies toon was just striking out on the useful drops front. Could just be the luck of the draw.

As it stands, Nightfall toon is 20, has max armour, some decent runes and insignias, a decent weapon, has even managed to collect some useful stuff for his heroes (and I really like playing a dervish). My Prophecies toon has just about had it with Prince Suicide tagging along and getting her killed (why didn't you stay at the bridge with Erol like you promised??? Why are you trying to make us all dead???)

She's somewhere around Yak's Bend now, and I know Prince Suicide gets what's coming to him soon enough, and I will get back over there and level her up, but I'll probably do some more stuff on my Nightfall guy first.

I'm not sure if it's actually true, but I don't do well in mazes, and that's what most of the Prophecies missions have felt like to me so far. Aside from one rather nefarious one in Nightfall that I snagged a guildie to do with me (who got almost as frustrated, even though he knew the mission) it hasn't been so bad. But - you seem to trade off babysitting Prince Suicide for having to learn a decent amount of strategy quicker.

Toss up, I guess. Though eventually I'll get through both campaigns, and Factions, too (only done a bit of that - don't take any quests from Brother whatsisname after you drink the bad stuff if you go over there - just map yourself back to KC to cure the effects).

...scattered thoughts from another noob...take them for what they're worth...

enter_the_zone

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Nov 2007

R/

Yeah, thinking back to my early game time, cash was always an issue, even more than storage (my current biggest issue). Too much of a packrat.

Blackbirdx61

Blackbirdx61

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2011

Maryland.

Costumed Aggression. : )

R/E

I'm not too far ahead of where you seem to be - Drops Jump when you reach Yaks, and again when you reach Krytia - where you can farm 1 Plat a day - and still have a life away from the keyboard.

I'm running two toons just now, both Lv 17; One I will run through the story; the other I'll probably semi-retire as soon as I can create a Mercenary Twin. Anyhow once you leave Ascalon the Economy of the Game opens up considerably; and you'll be able to Salvage better weapons components. I've yet to find a Drop (even a gold one) better than the weapon I'ld already crafted for myself.

Take the Sunspears in Kryta Quest given by Lionguard Figo sometime after your reach LA, its challanging, but you dont need to complete it to unlock Hero's; I dont use all the Hero's that would unbalance the Game. But Koss is just Cooler and Smarter than the Prophecies Fighters, and you can kit him out with better toys.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalen View Post
My Prophecies toon has just about had it with Prince Suicide tagging along and getting her killed (why didn't you stay at the bridge with Erol like you promised??? Why are you trying to make us all dead???)

She's somewhere around Yak's Bend now, and I know Prince Suicide gets what's coming to him soon enough, and I will get back over there and level her up, but I'll probably do some more stuff on my Nightfall guy first.
LOL Oh are you ever right about the Prince. LOL thanks for the post. BB.

Thalen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2012

That's good to know. I did the mini-mission to get Olias with my Nightfall character, and didn't run into any directional dyslexia there - I liked the area a lot more than the earlier stuff I'd seen in Prophecies.

But right off the bat in the Plains of Jarin I picked up a green ele staff that my Prophecies ele is still using - it beats anything she's found so far, which just seems - odd.

I hated that particular mission with the Prince. I had to do it three times, because the first two times he said he'd stay at the bridge with Erol, he LIED! Came and aggroed every Charr (and possibly a few more) at the place to do the bonus and kept wiping the party. Third time lucky, I guess (but how many hours was it before he got that door/portal/gate open?), but having him in a mission still makes me cringe - yes, please, run and find all the monsters to send them towards me, then run away, get yourself killed, and manage to kill everybody else, too. Ghaa!!!

Kook~NBK~

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Mar 2005

A little chalet outside Drok's

Natural Born Killaz

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbirdx61 View Post
Take the Sunspears in Kryta Quest given by Lionguard Figo sometime after your reach LA, its challanging, but you dont need to complete it to unlock Hero's; I dont use all the Hero's that would unbalance the Game. But Koss is just Cooler and Smarter than the Prophecies Fighters, and you can kit him out with better toys.
Here's a better way to get to Nightfall with your Prophecies characters: Take "Mhenlo's Request" from First Watch Sergio in LA to get you over to factions. Once you enter Kaineng Center town, take the "Sunspears in Cantha" quest, which will take you to Nightfall. The reason for doing this is that you can add 7 level 20 henchmen in Kaineng, which is much, MUCH better than trying it from LA with 5 level 10 henchies.

Blackbirdx61

Blackbirdx61

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2011

Maryland.

Costumed Aggression. : )

R/E

Is there a way to lock the Camera to a given angle (ala Ms Croft) the forced camera changes can be real annoying in a melee, when you want a clear view of the action; but you just came round a corner and the camera zooms way in or way up? Or both.

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BTW thanks for the sunspears from Cantha tip! I can still use that one. : )

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintha Syl View Post
Just a tip, if you can't get enough materials for the armour, and you happen to have more than enough money instead, you have the possibility to buy those from Healy (material trader). Sometimes material traders just make your life easier, gotta love them.
Yeah that's what I ended up doing is just buying the materials. I had 900 gold on my character I played 2 years so it gave me that little extra boost I needed

A very nice person helped me out today by getting me to a new part of the map so I could higher level henchmen....but I forgot his name Thank you again! I was starting to have a really hard time at level 9 and I kept dying, could not figure it out until I realized all my henchmen were level 3....ROFL!!

Kasen Thule

Blackbirdx61

Blackbirdx61

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2011

Maryland.

Costumed Aggression. : )

R/E

Oh Kasen,
We seem to be pretty close in level and experiance, feel free to Friend Claudia de Anar, be happy to do a mission or two with you if you need a little firepower.
Blessing BB.

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbirdx61 View Post
Oh Kasen,
We seem to be pretty close in level and experiance, feel free to Friend Claudia de Anar, be happy to do a mission or two with you if you need a little firepower.
Blessing BB.
Thanks for the offer I added you to my friends list

Well so far so good. I am currently level 13 and have picked up 4 heroes which rock! lol. I have made it to the Hall of Monuments and picked up my fist tapestry. I have slowly figured out that I need to 3 other primary quest in that area for the other tapestry's.

I really like how it scales up your level so you can quest in that area. I was wondering does it really matter if you do some questing or there or should I go back and finish all of Kryta quest and fill up my Mission books?

Oh yeah another question I just go the quest to use the "signet of capture" on a boss for elite skills. Are bosse's only found in missions or can they be found just doing regular quest?

Thanks

Thalen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2012

I've found lots of bosses in explorable areas. Generally check the wiki if I'm going to a new place to see what's available.

When you get those +2 morale boosts in an explorable area it's because you've killed a boss. I've snagged more elite skills in those than in missions, truthfully, but there seems to be no shortage in either.

I bounce around the map a bit, too, sometimes pop up to EoTN and get a few quests done, then go back to Nightfall (there's one mission where no matter what I do I only get 3 of 4 bonuses, driving me crazy, so I need to leave it be for a while). Check Embark Beach to see if there's anything doable that day, sometimes go mess around in Cantha or Prophecies with a challenge mission, still trying to figure out how to sell things.

And I occasionally pop onto my Prophecies or Factions toons. So it's not exactly a straight line for me, either. I really have to finish up those last two Prophecies Missions at the end of Yak's Bend, from what I've seen of Kryta on my Nightfall toon, it starts getting a lot better there (personal taste).

And figure out a good anti-harpies build for Vabbi. Odd - it's always the plants from hell and harpies that have been my absolute worst things to get around at any level!

Teino

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2007

The Netherlands

Death To Society (syke)

Mo/

Guys, when you need any help in-game, feel free to ask me.

my IGN is Crimnox the Great

Kook~NBK~

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Mar 2005

A little chalet outside Drok's

Natural Born Killaz

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasen View Post
I really like how it scales up your level so you can quest in that area. I was wondering does it really matter if you do some questing or there or should I go back and finish all of Kryta quest and fill up my Mission books?
If you've got max armor and decent skills, it doesn't really matter. But, for a new player, it might be better to focus on one campaign at a time, both to keep the story-lines straight and get a better grasp on the different geographies.

Quote:
Oh yeah another question I just go the quest to use the "signet of capture" on a boss for elite skills. Are bosse's only found in missions or can they be found just doing regular quest?
You'll encounter bosses both in missions and explorable areas. However, bosses won't have elite skill available to capture until you get farther along in the game. In Prophecies, they start carrying elites once you reach the desert. In factions and Nightfall, once you reach their respective mainlands you'll find bosses with elites. In EotN, they've all got elites.

Happy Hunting!

Kasen

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2012

Yeah I did some looking around and found this nice guide for which missions I can find elite skills. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_...pture_location

And yeah I figured I would stick with prophecies and finish that one off first before I go bouncing around the map, my quest log is already starting to fill up lol

Thanks for the offer Crimnox

Thalen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teino View Post
Guys, when you need any help in-game, feel free to ask me.

my IGN is Crimnox the Great
Consider yourself added to my friends list - and thank you.