starting Guild Wars now?

Greetings,

I never played this game before, and only got to look into it after I got in the GW2 beta.

GW2 is still a few weeks away and I was considering playing GW in the meantime, and switch to Gw2 when it is released.

I played the free test with a warrior, up until the searing 'event' and quite enjoyed it. It is a bit dated but still very playable and I enjoy the skill system.

Loooking for advice on that and have a few questions:

- Considering I am likely to play for a couple of months or so, would the original Guild War be enough content? Or should I get the expansions as well (I play 95% PVE)

- I understand that one can solo to level 20, which would have to be a must since there wouldnt be many people to group with especially in my time zone (Oceanic) is this feasible or would some classes have trouble?

- Once at 20 is the content mostly for gorups and would I quickly run out of things to do?

Any other tip or advice much appreciated!

Enough content depends on your play style and how quickly you can play through everything. For most beginning players, Prophecies will offer plenty of content to last until GW2. The other campaigns are quite a bit shorter than Prophecies. Prophecies also does run that gamut of environments and story. The only downside to Prophecies is there are no heroes.

In GW, generally, when people refer to soloing outside of farming, they mean the use of henchman rather than other players. Henchman are NPC, whose AI acts somewhat like players, so, if you are a solo player, you can play through everything with henchman, except the elite missions, Fissure of Woe and the Underworld. Henchman are not able to enter there.

The end-game content is somewhat designed for actual groups of players but, if you have all the campaigns, you can do them with heroes. Since you are a solo player and only have Prophecies, you may not be able to do Fissure of Woe or Underworld, however there are usually almost always people making groups for UW and FoW so you should still be able to find a group.

If you get all of the content, Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and GWEN, you will be busy for a long time. Every now and again steam has a sale and you can get all of them at once for a fraction of the price.

And not all classes are good at soloing. There might be a few builds out there for a warrior, but Rits are by far the best at it (requires Factions).

@Zenzai, with solo I guess the op means with heroes/henchman, but he doesn't know bout them yet.

Ah thanks for the replies

Yes I found out about the henchmen, and heroes and I got to do my first 'mission' using them.

So 'solo' does mean using them but not relying on a group of players as I don't expect finding many people keen to run basic content with a complete noob

I did buy the complete game, as it was only $10 extra in the end.

Would another class than warrior (with monk as a secondary ... typical noob choice I suppose) be more adequate for a first run?

'Solo' means not having any party members, whether they are human or npc.
'Playing alone' typically means relying on NPCs.

The only good thing about a monk secondary is the ability to rez. Necro secondary is typically more prefered. Curses have low energy cost spells that would be useful to a front liner such as a warrior.

- Since you are a PvE player, Elite Areas can, if they suit your interests, occupy you for a very long time. Given that you are oceanic though it might be slightly harder to find groups for it.

- If you do all the quests you can find and take your time exploring the world, you would hit level 20 after finishing only half of the storyline, which means you would still have content left to do. Other than the storyline you only have the three elite areas, Tombs of the Primeval Kings, the Underworld and the Fissure of Woe left to do, and while these can be performed with heroes, they can't be performed with henchmen (ToPK can be, but it's quite hard). This means you would have to find players for them (see my first point).

You catch on quickly.

Honestly, the only classes I wouldn't recommend to a beginner are mesmer, paragon, and dervish (and the last one only because it can get a little confusing with the enchantment juggling). Everything else is really a matter of playstyle preference. Warriors are great for smashing face, but until you get heroes you might feel a little overwhelmed in areas with a lot of anti-melee hate (blind, cripple, hexes that make you miss or attack slowly, etc) because henchmen monks rarely have condition or hex removal. Of course, you're a w/mo, so you could bring some hex or condition removal for yourself.

Play around, you have 8 character slots since you bought the full game. Leveling to 20 takes decently long in Prophecies, but it's much faster once you know what you're doing (particularly if you roll characters on the other campaigns) so it really isn't a chore to have a ton of alts to play with.

@Zenzai: I'd never run a W/N with curses. I can't think of a single curse that would be worth the att point investment and the energy. The only necro skill I'd use as a W/N is Plague Touch. MoP and its ilk belongs on your hero.

Thanks agian for the help, and here's a small update with more noob questions...

Alright so I am in Ascalon, and I have run a number of quests / missions that brought me all the way to the Dragon's Gullet.

I am still collecting trophies to get a better breastplate, and a nice sword, so running around Dragon's Gullet at the moment, which is quite fun and a bit challenging (bloody Hydras!)

Now my problem is that I seem to have run out of quests, and even the 'main' quest is gone. Is this normal and does it mean I am now meant to move on to the next area? Would that be Shiverpeak?

I also found a purple axe... it is good and nice but doesn't seem to be extraordinary. What is the purple colour for?

In my travels I killed a number of 'named' or bosses, they don't seem to have dropped anything special, is it a rare thing for them to have that unique loot? (could it be the purple axe is such a thing?)

Damn I wish I had played this game years ago!

Not quite sure if you've started doing this or not, but you need to follow the chain of missions. They'll take you where you need to go (you won't need to just aimlessly wander through explorables until you find the next place). Start with The Great Northern Wall. Completing each mission will send you either directly to the next mission outpost (like this one will) or to the NPC who will give you your next primary quest (which then leads to a mission outpost).

Regarding armor upgrades, you can craft new armor in Ascalon City if you didn't already, and the next crafter that is in Yak's Bend. You'll get there after completing the fourth mission in the sequence. I mention this because if you're capable of getting through Dragon's Gullet you don't really need to collect trophies for armor anyway.

Purple = uncommon. They tend to be a bit better than normal but as you say, they aren't particularly significant. If you've already got a better axe then you can just merch it. See here for more (the summary at the top is of most importance; the rest is detail).

Some bosses drop unique items: http://www.guildwiki.org/Unique

Also, even if you do kill a boss with a unique item, you're not guaranteed to get it. Don't forget loot/money is split between the henchies too.

oh I got the mission thing now... sily me was looking for a NPC to hand me a mission when all I had to do was stand in the right place and push the Enter Mission Button...

Also went ahead and crafted some Charr Hide armor, pretty nice, but of course I am broke now... broke but good looking!

Though it doesn't really pertain to your question, I'll add to this that another thing that makes bosses special is that you can capture elite skills from them (though you won't come across the bosses who have cappable elites in Prophecies until the Crystal Desert and later; in other campaigns, just the bosses on the newbie islands don't have cappable elites). Once you cross the Shiverpeaks and get to Lion's Arch, you'll be given a quest that teaches you how to use Signets of Capture. It's kind of a bummer that you get that quest but then have to wait for a while before you can actually grab some elites, but you won't be able to change your secondary profession until the Desert anyway, and it's usually beneficial to be able to change that around so you can really have fun rounding up skills for your heroes.

dude i will totally go questing with ya - shoot me a msg if you see me online
IGN: The Goblin Lord

Ah I'd love some company if you don't mind my stumbling into groups of 10 mobs and running around like a headless chicken,

Ingame name is Walkka Walhala, I finally made it to the Shiverpeak Mountains and continuing the missions... bumped into some more Hydras, but luckily only one at a time, so less suicidal.

I run with a group of 5 with my hnechmen, as I thought 6 was an overkill, and doing ok so far. But god as a warrior you do run after the mobs a lot!

Anyway thanks again... and I am sure I will be back with some more noobish questions

Goblin Lord I'd look you up ingame if only I knew how to?

If you're getting along fine now with a less than full party, I suppose it's teaching you good tactics. However, bear in mind the difficulty levels of the areas were designed with a max party size in mind. The areas and missions will get more difficult and you'll eventually need all the help you can get from those non-optimal henchmen (especially in the Crystal Desert, which has a reputation as a newbie crusher; you thought the Ascalon hydras were bad...?). Once you get past the Desert, party size will increase to 8, and believe me, you will want all 8.

Add him to your Friends List. You can access your list by hitting "N". There's a field to add his name, and you can check if he's online at any time by checking your Friends List. If he's got you on his list, too, you can even see where each other are in the world.

Here I am again...
Made it to Lion's Arch this time, it's serious business now!
Found out about runes, this looks interesting... wonder how many runes I can cram on a piece of armour.

now to the question of the day: I got options apparently to move to another continent, I believe the Factions campaign, is that something to do now or should I wait till lvl 20?

I am just keen to get some heroes with me, so I can start building them up, but maybe it's too soon? was is vox populi's advice on this?

Currently running North Kryta province at lvl 14 while I ponder... a bad pull here has a lot more consequences than it used to!

You can put 1 rune and 1 insignia on each armor piece. - Watch out for HP penalties that come with most major and superior runes!

Now that you've reached Lion's Arch (a port city), you can take the different quests that will take you to Kaineng City (factions), Kamadan (Nightfall), and the EotN expansion area (If you've got them). I'd suggest taking the quest that takes you to Factions - where you can get max armor and level 20 henchmen - and then taking the quests there to take you to Nightfall and EotN. Once you reach NF & EotN, you can pick up several henchmen fairly quickly to help you through the stuff.

No, it's not too soon to start working on gearing up heroes, don't worry about doing it all at once, just work on them as you go along - equip them with whatever drops you get for the time being.

As you progress, you'll find the difficulty level ratcheting up at certain points - the next big jump will be when you hit the desert.

Runes, one per armor piece (so 5 altogether) and only one of each type. Vigor runes aren't cumulative, so putting more than one on your armor is a waste.

Now you're at LA you can take a trip to Elona and start amassing your hero army - then maybe EotN for another 2 straight away and more with some tricky missions.

Factions is good for levelling up quickly - the game assumes you'll be L20 when you reach Kaineng Center so the contents appropriate for higher levels and rewarded appropriately.

I would recommend that if you have both factions and nightfall and want to go to elona, to do it from Factions rather than Lion's Arch. I suggest this because the quest is easier from factions as you have access to level 20 henchmen and have a full group of 8, vs LA where your in a group of 6 and henchies are levle 10. When you take the quest to go to elona you will have to do some fighting that can be tough for a party of 6 lvl 10 henchmen, but is much easier when have a group of 8 lvl 20 henchmen.

This is true, and is the way I did it when I was new and got my first heroes. Two very important things to bear in mind:
* Fresh heroes have incomplete bars. So pop open your S[K]ills menu and try to give them a few more useful skills you may have unlocked, if you plan on playing with them right away. If you tried any of the other professions before choosing your secondary, and have been doing skill quests, you probably have enough unlocked to fill some of their bars.
* If your heroes' bars are lame, it's okay to stick to better henchmen to fill your party while adventuring. Just remember to put your underleveled heroes in your party when accepting quest rewards -- they get experience from that, too.

Good catch, Kam. It's been several years since I've needed to do that quest and yes, it's a bugger

haha yes I actually tried both options.

the Factions route turned out to be a lot more feasible... as in not getting owned totally!

Don't be afraid to jump story lines a lot. Are you familiar with the concept of capturing elites yet? if so, then that is reason number one to jump them.

Other reasons not stated yet for playing at least 2 alternates one in factions and on in Nightfall at the same time (especially if you are going for HoM rewards points):
1. Money. missions will give you extra capital to buy skills or armor.
2. Speaking of skills your alts should be different professions and secondary so that you may buy skills cheaper for your heroes (once a skills is bought it can be used on heroes on any of the characters) You may have notice how skills start getting more expensive the more you buy them.

I did write another post of my "journey" so far since I re started playing this game recently (never finished even prophecies the first time). Rigth now I only need to beat EoTn, GW: Beyond and get 15 more HoM to get 30/30.

Another thing to do, grab the books from the NPCs in each port town (Lion's Arch, Kamadan, Kaineng City). Fill them and turn them in for the bonus experience and money. I know they take up some valuable room in your inventory, but when you are starting out you can use the experience for the skill points for capping elites, and the money never hurts. Especially for your first few characters.

I am back, and yet with more questions:

First of all a brief update:

Went to Factions and followed the story there up until the Cathedral mission where I got wiped by the last (?) boss.
Went back to Prophecies, and did the jungle part, startwed the Desert which so far is not as hard as I feared
Got to level 20, and saving to buy me a set of max (80) armour. Slowly getting there with 7p to my name (dont laugh :P)

Now regarding Heroes:
So far I only managed to get one, almost by accident, it's the golem type MOX I think is the name, he is pretty good and I'd be keen to find memore heroes, is there a guide to find them?

About armour as a warrior:
Once I get my set of armor, I was thinking of what I need to put on it to make it a good all round setup.
Should I go with the minus to physical damage on all slot for a start?
And then which runes? get a combo of purity etc to reduce the states duration?
Thinking of getting different helm for different weapon skills, seems logical way to go.
Anything I am missing?

re elite skills:
can any lvl 20 boss of my class drop any skill? or do they only have some?

re story quest:
After the jungle I got sent to the Crystal Desert, and I find local quests there but none shows as a 'main' quest, have I missed it?

Once again thanks for your time and kind help

Unless you are also saving up for materials, 7p is enough to buy a max set of standard armor (the elite armor cost more but are not functionally/statistically better than standard armor). You can get max armor in Kaineng Center (Factions) and Consulate Docks (Nightfall).

If materials are the factor, you should be carrying around a salvage kit and using it on white sword, hammer, and shield drops -- regular kit for iron, expert kit for a chance at steel.

Hero acquisition happens only in Nightfall and Eye of the North. Just by going to those two places, you'll get a good number of heroes right off the bat, while the others require progressing through the storylines.
The wiki has a recruitment table.

Knights are okay, I guess, but you may find +HP or +armor to be more beneficial. Sentinel's, to increase defense* against elemental damage, can also be useful.
As for the condition-lessening runes, I personally don't think they're that great, since your heroes should be plucking conditions off of you before they can expire naturally.

This is standard practice.

Don't load up on superior runes. The -HP stacks.

No, different bosses have specific skills, and not all bosses have elites (that's mostly restricted to the Pre-Desert part of Prophecies and the newbie islands of the other campaigns [with the exception of the Nightfall quest "A Land of Heroes"]).

You can track down elites starting here, and follow either List of elite skills by campaign or by capture location.

The Ghostly Hero in Amnoon Oasis should have your next primary quest, "Sands of Souls," which leads you to Augury Rock. If you've already found Augury Rock, you won't have any Primary quests for a while. The next step is to wander around in the Desert until you find the 3 missions outposts -- Dunes of Despair, Thirsty River, and Elona Reach -- which can be done in any order. Then go back to Augury Rock and do that mission to move on, where you'll soon get primaries to guide you again (if you get lost, you can refer to the missions/quests wiki page).

Yep, 1 platinum per piece, so 5 plat a set. There are collectors scattered around the desert who can give you max armor for a few trophies, but I seem to recall that these particular armors can't take insignia.

If you can wait for another 4 missions, you can get max armor the "proper" way - from Morgren and Seifred in Droknar's Forge.

True dat. And the choices in Droks are pretty snazzy (whereas in Kaineng and Consulate Docks, you're limited to max versions of the newbie skins).

For the sake of completeness, we should also mention Jolvor Stoneforge who is the armorer in Boreal Station, the first town in Eye of the North proper. Again, it is pretty much starter armor with max stats.