Post by Rivendusk on Dec 19, 2015 17:58:25 GMT -5
Welcome to Guild Wars 2!
Many of you free2play players are actually pretty veteran MMO players that are maybe interested in trying out the game. Unfortunately, ArenaNet has redesigned the leveling system to help brand new MMO players understand how to play mmo's with no previous background.
What does this mean for veteran MMO players? It sucks! The game is boring and the level unlocks are almost offensive to people who don't need to learn how to WASD move and auto-attack. Must of the core "challenging" content that you'd expect is hidden towards the max level and expansion content.
Now... Plenty of times have people played the game picking a class they have ALWAYS played in other mmo's only to find out that they don't like the playstyle at level 80, and thus feel they just wasted their time. In addition, GW2 advanced combat is hard to explain in one sitting to a new player, and you honestly don't get challenged to utilize these advanced skills until you get 80.
So here is a guide of how to "test drive" the feel of each class without leveling up to 80 and finding out if you like the "feel" of the class before you commit your time to playing GW2. Then, hopefully, when you do level to 80, learning the advanced combat skills will be easier when you are playing a class you enjoy.
Step 1: Create the character and get through the intro.
You also need to get to level 3 to unlock the PVP interface on your account. You will also need a little bit of copper to start out with to buy some of the weapons to test. One handed weapons are 40c and two handed are 64c.
Step 2: Click on the PVP tab and Enter PvP Lobby.
If its your first time your account has been in the Heart of the Mists, it will take you through a pvp tutorial with hearts teaching you how to rez people and take control points by standing in them. Feel free to do them if you want, or just run to the opposite end. You can go back to the tutorial at a later time.
Step 3: Buy your weapons.
There is an NPC that sells very weapons for copper. One handed weapons are 40c and two handed are 64c. Use them to test out the weapon skills. Don't look at damage numbers too much because they are normalized when in PVP zones. Also, you will be wearing gear stats and specializations that I wont be going over in this guide. Just play around with the playstyle of the class. All of the utility and specialization slots will be open for you to play with.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the skills in PVP behave differently than PVE versions. Again, DO NOT READ TOO MUCH INTO SPECIFIC NUMBERS. I don't want you misjudging how important some skills are because their numbers seem low.
Step 4: Make your Build
Click the helmet icon to make your build. First work on your equipment by picking sigils, runes, and amulet. Those are all your stats. You probably wont know what they are. If anything, they speak to the depth of the armor system.
The next tab you pick your specialization lines and traits. Again... a little overwhelming, but just play around with what sounds cool. (Ignore the 3rd tab about Mist Champions)
Step 5: Try the combat
You can try the Sparring NPC's, but I say battle the PVP creatures for a good playstyle experience. Take on Svanir and Chieftain. Then take on the Guild Lord and his 4 npc's. If somebody is working on them, they will respawn. Essentially, for a veteran GW2 players, you can solo all three NPC groups easily. Trying to solo the Guild Lord and his crew is probably the equivalent of how Level 80 open world mobs can feel, but still not the advanced combat in raids and such.
(look at the map in Step 3 above to see where I point out where the PVP creatures are)
Step 5: Repeat with the other classes.
If you didn't like the feel of the class... Congratulations... you just saved a bunch of leveling hours and can try again with another class.
Otherwise, you can exit the PVP Lobby using the same PVP interface, and it will port you back to where you were in the main world.
Finally, if you need help with suggesting a class to play, balancing what looks interesting to you, what "roles" you like playing, and how much keyboard input management you are looking for, please reach out to Rivendusk. I'm more than happy to help find out what would be most enjoyable for you in the end!
I look forward to seeing you around in-game! Good luck!
Many of you free2play players are actually pretty veteran MMO players that are maybe interested in trying out the game. Unfortunately, ArenaNet has redesigned the leveling system to help brand new MMO players understand how to play mmo's with no previous background.
What does this mean for veteran MMO players? It sucks! The game is boring and the level unlocks are almost offensive to people who don't need to learn how to WASD move and auto-attack. Must of the core "challenging" content that you'd expect is hidden towards the max level and expansion content.
Now... Plenty of times have people played the game picking a class they have ALWAYS played in other mmo's only to find out that they don't like the playstyle at level 80, and thus feel they just wasted their time. In addition, GW2 advanced combat is hard to explain in one sitting to a new player, and you honestly don't get challenged to utilize these advanced skills until you get 80.
So here is a guide of how to "test drive" the feel of each class without leveling up to 80 and finding out if you like the "feel" of the class before you commit your time to playing GW2. Then, hopefully, when you do level to 80, learning the advanced combat skills will be easier when you are playing a class you enjoy.
Step 1: Create the character and get through the intro.
You also need to get to level 3 to unlock the PVP interface on your account. You will also need a little bit of copper to start out with to buy some of the weapons to test. One handed weapons are 40c and two handed are 64c.
Step 2: Click on the PVP tab and Enter PvP Lobby.
If its your first time your account has been in the Heart of the Mists, it will take you through a pvp tutorial with hearts teaching you how to rez people and take control points by standing in them. Feel free to do them if you want, or just run to the opposite end. You can go back to the tutorial at a later time.
Step 3: Buy your weapons.
There is an NPC that sells very weapons for copper. One handed weapons are 40c and two handed are 64c. Use them to test out the weapon skills. Don't look at damage numbers too much because they are normalized when in PVP zones. Also, you will be wearing gear stats and specializations that I wont be going over in this guide. Just play around with the playstyle of the class. All of the utility and specialization slots will be open for you to play with.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the skills in PVP behave differently than PVE versions. Again, DO NOT READ TOO MUCH INTO SPECIFIC NUMBERS. I don't want you misjudging how important some skills are because their numbers seem low.
Step 4: Make your Build
Click the helmet icon to make your build. First work on your equipment by picking sigils, runes, and amulet. Those are all your stats. You probably wont know what they are. If anything, they speak to the depth of the armor system.
The next tab you pick your specialization lines and traits. Again... a little overwhelming, but just play around with what sounds cool. (Ignore the 3rd tab about Mist Champions)
Step 5: Try the combat
You can try the Sparring NPC's, but I say battle the PVP creatures for a good playstyle experience. Take on Svanir and Chieftain. Then take on the Guild Lord and his 4 npc's. If somebody is working on them, they will respawn. Essentially, for a veteran GW2 players, you can solo all three NPC groups easily. Trying to solo the Guild Lord and his crew is probably the equivalent of how Level 80 open world mobs can feel, but still not the advanced combat in raids and such.
(look at the map in Step 3 above to see where I point out where the PVP creatures are)
Step 5: Repeat with the other classes.
If you didn't like the feel of the class... Congratulations... you just saved a bunch of leveling hours and can try again with another class.
Otherwise, you can exit the PVP Lobby using the same PVP interface, and it will port you back to where you were in the main world.
Finally, if you need help with suggesting a class to play, balancing what looks interesting to you, what "roles" you like playing, and how much keyboard input management you are looking for, please reach out to Rivendusk. I'm more than happy to help find out what would be most enjoyable for you in the end!
I look forward to seeing you around in-game! Good luck!