Newb question on equipment. [PVE]

Necro - Prophecies - PVE

I've only just started playing GW, so I've no idea what is decent equipment and what's trash. For instance, I have:

Wooden Buckler - Armor +4, Health +28 while Enchanted
Flame Artifact - Energy +3, Health +24 while Enchanted
Grim Cesta - Energy +3, Reduces Weakness duration on you by 20% (Stacking)
Grim Cesta - Energy +3, Armor +5 vs. physical damage, Armor +5 while attacking

Are any of these decent equips, or complete garbage? What does make good gear on GW? Anything in particular I should be looking for on a Necro?

You're still in the very beginning of the game so nothing you find will be either useful or valuable compared to standard level 20 equipment. Just pick what you think is best (don't know what weakness is? - forget about it and equip something you do understand). That said, as a Necromancer (a caster profession), you'll want to use a wand and focus combination. It's not necessary to delve deep into this stuff until you get further into the game. Remember that levels 1-19 are training levels so by all means mess around with different bits of equipment to see what works, what doesn't, and what makes no difference whatsoever. Consult the necromancer forum and/or gwpvx.com (NOT wikia) for more specific advice, but once again, don't feel pressured into getting optimal equipment right from the start. GW is more about good play and skills rather than equipment.

When I was new and trying to figure out which drops were good and which ones weren't (which is not an easy task when you're new, since the weapons/upgrades system is very rich), I found the wiki page on Perfect stats to be very helpful. That way you know the possible range for your drops and whether or not there are better things out there.

EDITED TO ADD: If we're talking about drops in Pre, PreSearing.com has a guide for max stat equipment to be found there.

As for worth to other players, there's not much market for common weapon skins. Not much demand for weapon parts.... But the "Aptitude Not Attitude" and "Forget Me Not" inscriptions (available on Nightfall and Eye of the North weapon drops) can fetch a decent amount if they're perfect.

The real value in equipment drops is armor runes and insignias. Take a peek at the rune trader NPC to see which ones fetch a high price -- vigor, vitae, attunement, survivor, blessed, and several profession-specific ones -- they're always worth looking out for for your use, that of your heroes, or selling for a decent chunk of change.

Understanding objects is valuable, so you might as well start right away.

This is a shield, which you wear off-hand, that is in your left hand. If your primary weapon is two-handed, you cannot wear an off hand.

This increases your armor with 4. That is not a lot, as shields go, but beginner necro armor sucks, so it will actually be an improvement.

This one will also increase your health with 28, but only when enhanted, which sucks for two reasons: You arer only going to be enchanted soem of the time, and when the enchantment ends this equals taking 28 damage, which might be just enough to ruin your day.

This off-hand increases your energy. Energy is what you need when casting, and a necromancer is a caster, so that is useful. +3 is a mich as you get with ordinary off-hands. I already explained the 'health while enhanced' thingy.

Yet another off-hand. Nice energy gain. Weakness is a condition. Certain casting skills induce weakness, so if you use one of them, this could be useful. 'Stacking' mans that you can gain more of this enhancement from other objects. If it says non-stacking, it will exclude similar effect from other add-ons.

This is the one I would recommend you to equip, till you get something better. The extra energy will come in handy, and the armor increase is very significant for a beginner necro.

Crafters can make decent gear. There is a weapons crafer in Ascalon City. Collectors supply decent gear for the area they are in. North of the Wall, there are some good droppings.

For all professions, you need the best armor you can get in the area, and a good primary weapon. As you are a caster, make sure your chosen weapon fits your attribute levels.

One remark: Necromancer, while a fascinating profession, is not easy for a beginner. You might get aquainted with the game with an easier one.

In my opinion:

Warrier is easy for starters. Just hack and slash your way through. In the high levels, it is also a very strong profession, if somewhat dull.

Ranger is a little more complex. Will teach you to exploit ranged attacks. The possibility to have a pet increases your manpower. For full use, the Ranger is quite complex, and a high-level ranger is a killer machine.

The simplest caster profession is the Elementalist, start with fire magic. The elemetalist has both ranged and close quarter attacks, and in pre-searing, it is arguably the profession that can deal the most damage. In high levels, it is a formidable nuker, but suffers from vulnerability.

Curiosity satisfied. Thanks, everyone. This newbie appreciates all the help he can get.

True, in that they are a good reality check for the nieghborhood; but honestly I've yet to see one offering anything worth farming for - If I'm to collect 5 Ancient eyes for say a +7 Energy Artifact; It would nice if there was a better chance I dont have one; or at least could sell it for more than I'ld get for the eyes themselves; this part of the game has never made much sense to me.


Nice to see some love for Rangers and Elms; I see so many posts that treat them like they are hopelessly nerfed; but I'm personally having alot of Fun with my r/E. but for a new Character I would Recommend E/r the bows give you a nice Physical Attack and access to the Pinning shot skill to slow down Melee types; which makes armor less of an issue; and the E Primary has Soooo much more Energy.

Personally all my Ranger points are in Marksmanship, but I expect others would recommend other E/r R/E Builds. BB.

Easy 40/40 sets from Luxon/Kurzick towns.

On topic.
It is quite hard to estimate a real value of any given item, especially later on, if it's perfect and with a wanted skin. There is a Price Check forum here, and once you get at least to the Crystal Desert, you might want to start checking it, just to get familiar with general trends and get the idea of GW's market. I'd also recommend taking a look here, especially at the basic guide (lengthy, but totally worth reading), to be aware of possibly valuable items when they drop.


edit @ MRC Hans:
I find your lack of comprehensive reading skill disturbing.

I recommend going to kam and picking up perfect green staffs and weapons. Greens are the unique drops with green writing on them. They always have maxed stats @ req 9, drop frequently, and are generally not merched. They are the best bang for the buck items in game and can be had for 1-7k usually. Grab one death staff with lots of HP and one with faster cast and enchanting. Then grab a curses staff or 40/40 set if you run curses. Even if you don't meet the req yet, these will be a good investment and you can put them on heros when you find better items.

The collector goodies usually scale to your expected level for the area. No sense in offering players a req. 9 weapon if they don't typically have enough attribute points to spec into the requirements. And since Prophecies is pretty notorious for leveling you slowly, the good collector stuff for Level 20s isn't available until the Desert. Other campaigns offer worthwhile items much earlier.

The wiki's Collector Weapon page will take you to lists of perfect weapons for your profession so you can quickly see if and where something is available that suits your needs.

All very fine, but the OP is currently in Pre-searing.

Hans

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If you have the bonus pack, up to lvl 20, a ranger with a good pet and a fire imp is a deadly little army.

Elementalist is always a good second profession, but for the ranger, one should also consider necro. Equip a minion master skill, so you can have minions draw some of the melee fight while you stand off with your bow.

Minions don't do that much damage, but they draw a lot of damage, and since they are expendable .....

Hans