Need answers and advice please.

I've been playing Guild Wars for a few days now, and so far I am loving it. I'm still in the process of learning how to play the game properly, and could use some help.

Firstly I have a question about the craft armor sets sold in Ascalon. I am a Warrior/Monk (lvl 10) btw. The Ascalon set has "Reduces damage from attacks" (non-stacking) on it, what does that mean exactly? I am trying to decide which set to craft.

I have done the first 2 missions and various quests in the process. I'm wearing the collector set from pre-searing, a shield with +4 armor, +5 armor while health is above 50%, and +15 health, and an axe with dmg 6-16, double adrenaline on hit (chance 10%), dmg +15% (vs charr), and customized for the +20% dmg.

I could use some advice on where to go from here, what kind of weapons to look for, what skills are good to learn, etc. I am having fun learning the game, but if there are things I don't know about that will progress me faster I would love to know. Thanks in advance.

Armor Pieces that say Reduces Damage From Attacks, You Only Need one of them because it globally affects you. Having 1 piece with Reduces Damage is no different then having 5 Pieces with Reduces Damage.

NOTE

there are 2 crafters close together there in Ascalon.

get the higher level armor and it will take you past LIONS ARCH easy

EDIT

THESE MIGHT HELP A BIT

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...-10-id1195.php

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...lon-id1264.php

I'd say don't sweat it too much. Just learn the mechanics of the game and you'll advance. Armor as you level your toon isn't too important when you're just getting started. Just take in the scenery and pay attention. :P

as far as ur weapons and shield go the collectors stuff along the way is a great way to have the max u need and save money for later in the game. u can also get collector armor throughout the game this ar as well is a good way to save money. it doesn t look as good as the armor u can buy from a merc but when u get to the higher lvl s in the game everything gets more exspensive as does ur armor weapons shields etc... for someone just starting out id get what very lil u need to buy check the game out and then decide on what type of stuff u d like to get i went with collectors ar for 3 char in a row lol.

Could also use some tips on what loot I should be looking for. Like what to vendor, what to keep, what to salvage, etc. I am still a noob as to what stats are good, and know pretty much nothing about how to obtain runes.

Oh and something else... Is it worth it to buy those ascalon keys for 50g and open the chests in the missions and such? I tried 3 keys and got a purple from each one, none of which seemed to be that great.

Do not buy keys in that area, gold sink. You can get runes by salvaging blue/purple/gold armors. Note: You must use an expert salvage(later there will be superior salvage kit, which is the same but with 100 usage) kit to receive the rune.(otherwise you end up with some material)

A great way to build up gold and a good collection of crafter materials is to salvage any white items you get (keep the materials) and ID and sell any blue/purple items. When you get any blue/purple/gold armour drops (Ash Fiend Trappings etc) ID it first, it'll tell you what rune is in it, then before you expert salvage it, go to the rune trader to get an idea of the price of the rune. Do this because sometimes you'll find the dropped armour is worth more than the rune that can be salvaged from it.

Continue this way and by the time you get to places with expensive armour, you should have enough gold and materials. Then you can just sell off any materials you don't need, or store them for your other characters.

my rule of thumb is to salvage anything less than 8 gold.

You can only use runes that match your primary follow the previous advice on what to salvage or sell as armor.

You personal armor I disagree on however. BUY THE ARMOR IN ASCALON OR YAK's BEND! I will carry you halfway through the game. Don't buy armor again until it exceeds 59 points. Do buy the one piece of damage reduction, I recommend boots. It's got lower armor rating and you get hit in the feet less often.

Take your time going across the map, do every quest you can find. You need the XP, items and skills. (you really want the skills.) The quests are meant to push you around the map but ocassionally finishing one triggers a new one inthecity you started from. So go back and recheck periodically.