Before I buy Guildwars, just a few questions

1) Is GW even available to buy in Australia yet?

2) What class should I play as? What do you suggest a complete nooby starts off with. In other RPG's, I've played as Healer/Fighter, like Paladins and that kind. And the nature rituals really appeal to me, So I was thinking Ranger/Monk, but I'm open to suggestions.

3) I heard there is no montly fee. Is that true?

1) I don't know

2) I think ranger/monk is a nice class 2 start with

3) yes its true

1) YES definitly (i live in australia i should know)
2) & 3) same answer as sandstorm

My first character was a Ranger/Monk (still have it as my primary), and I thought it was easy enough to get into and this was my first game of this type.

That said, the only classes which could really be considered that 'hard' to get into would be a Healer Monk and a Mesmer, I would have thought. The former gets a lot of grief and sometimes has a hard job keeping everybody alive (no thanks to them), and the second is a particularly unusual class which requires a fairly unique strategy. In addition, Mesmers often find it hard to group, though don't go thinking that they're useless as a result -- they're most certainly not.

Depends on personal preference in the end, though.

1) Yes. I bought them off EB Games.
2) Your choice, give them all a try.
3) Yes, no monthly fees.

Ranger's are pretty easy to use early on in the game.. troll unguent is available early so you have all the healing you'll need for a while.

You really cant go wrong no matter what profession you choose.. some are harder than others.. and i think its good to go through the game and learn what the other guys are supposed to be doing before you jump right into a hard profession.

2. I feel it's important to note- noob-ness has no weight on class selection. GW is very balanced in that aspect. Go for your favorite style of play, as with other games. Sorry if you consider this a spoiler, but after a certain point in the game, you will have the option to switch secondary classes, through quests, and as often as you wish. ANet is big on keeping one's options open, and not so big on crucial decisions that effect the rest of your gameplay. At any town you can switch attribute points and skills. So, you can be a pure Ranger one minute, and a Ranger/secondary spellcaster the next.

Your account gets 4 characters.

Also, as soon as you install the game, you can create/delete instant max-level/weapon/armor PvP characters, with a selection of templates of class mixes with advanced skillsets. This way, you can get a feel of gameplay for each class, before even beginning your journey. However, most people start with PvE first, and if they start with PvP, they're in for a few "nOOb!" rants.

Oh, and someone mentioned Mesmers. They are not necessarily the most difficult, it's just that they are not a traditional RPG class. If you can adjust to their backwards sort of methods, and have a knack for anticipating enemies' moves, you might really enjoy this class.

here try it for free for 10 days! at least you can try it first

http://buy.ati.com/myprofile/gw_index.asp?Ref=&AIB=HIS

1) Not sure
2) Elementalist/Messner (and pump your points in to fire & engery attributes)
3) 100% no montly fee

I found doing a Elementalist and doing all fire (nuking) easy to play and usually will not have trouble finding any parties.

Thanks for all the answers guys.

Before I registered I was reading a lot of the threads on here and found the one about the Mesmer finding it hard to Group for Sorrow's Furnace.
From what I've heard/read they seem like an essential part of any group, and I'll make sure I include one in whatever group I join

So... Guess I should go get GW now :P

EDIT: Also, how much did you aussies buy it for?

hey i also bought it at EB games i paid $97 bucks for it which is $50 american

about wat proffesion ur thinking of being its purely ur choice but if i could recommend a good starting character that will b easy to get in team in the earlier stages and the later stages in the game i would say a monk/warrior the reason i say this is uz my 1st character was a warrior/monk (paladin) and in the later stages of the game it is EXTREMELY HARD TO GET IN A TEAM unless mayb u change over to american severs

AND YES NO MONTHLY FEES