Official AT Guild Wars 2 Guild Thread

[diesbudt]

This thread will start the Official release Guild Wars 2 thread.(Thanks Meat for the long Beta thread for GW2)

Previous thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2220374

To keep updated with whats going on: https://twitter.com/GuildWars2

Crafting FAQ/Link. And other need to know info found on Guru http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/...g-disciplines/

Guild Wars 2 will be a subscription-less MMORPG game.

This is a non-exclusive AT guild. Anyone can join, and welcome to bring friends. However you do not have to join us if you wish, though you will break our fragile hearts. This thread will be used to keep updates to the game content and anything else we wish to speak about Guild Wars 2 on here, such as discussing the required hair length that must be worn by female casters, or why an engineer would win 1v1 against a Ranger.

SERVER: Stormbluff Isle
Guild Name: Terrible Purple Apple Demons (TPAD)
[84 members and growing]

Guild has currently unlocked : Lv1 & 2 Architecture, Lv1 & 2 Economics, Lv1 & 2 Politics, Lv1 & 2 Art of War, Guild Armorer, Guild Emblem, Many Banners/buffs and a Guild stash (50 slot)

Teamspeak 3 server: See Guild Message (Thanks to Drebo)

If you place your Anet name tag I will edit it into this post. If you want your name on here but don't plan on joining the guild, please say which server you are on so I can add that in as well so if people want to play with you/find you. (Or send me a message with what info you would like to add)

ArenaNet Name tags (bold = in guild and can invite):

Diesbudt - Ashmundo.4139 (Stormbluff) [Ashyondo]
Zinfamous - Zinfamous.3180 (Stormbluff)
Ashenor - Ashenor.9841 (Stormbluff)
Worthington - Worth.6890 (Strombluff)
drebo - Klythe.8957 (Stormbluff)
Tiamat - Jonomega.7324 (Stormbluff)
Aigomorla - Naekuh.7925 (Stormbluff)
Triglet - Telgirt.4187 (Stormbluff)
JamesV - Hakuryu.6042 (Stormbluff) [Hakuryu]
Phobic9 - Phobic.3286 (Stormbluff)
kmfjd - kmfjd.1934 (Stormbluff)
Dahak - Dahak.1750 (Stormbluff)
Kidniki1 - kidniki.1862 (Stormbluff)
Kingbee13 - Kingbee.4091 (Stormbluff)
bactiman - Godhand.5846 (Stormbluff)
Blueoak - Moreir.9875 (Stormbluff)
Datalink7 - Datalink.6213 (Stormbluff)
ChocobaR - Choco.6731 (????)
krnmastersgt - Mystic.5172 (Stormbluff) [Polythymnia]
jlarsson - Lars.5789 (Stormbluff)
Ig - Igthorn.5398 (Stormbluff)
Anubis - Melbufrahma.7396 (Magumma)
Robert Munch - RobertMunch.3276 (Stormbluff)
Moogoogaipan - boobless.2746 (Stormbluff)
Hellfire88 - Reinhart.1028 (Stormbluff)
Redarmy - RedArmy.6098 (Stormbluff)
Chiropteran - Odyn.3675 (Stormbluff)
Zerocool84 - Isamu Dyson.4821 (Stormbluff)
kentstate - bucknut.2147 (Stormbluff)
jjoshua2 - Josh.3065 (Stormbluff)
miklebud - xRapture.8073 (Stormbluff)
Tookie123 - Chives.8369 (Stormbluff)
FirewolfX - Nexx.8953 (Stormbluff)
SS Trooper - SS Trooper.9810 (Stormbluff)
Imported - Sake.6539 (Stormbluff)
VashHT - bloodrunner.2108 (Stormbluff)
MajorMullet - Kellon.6081 (Stormbluff)
Clinkster - Clinkster.1897 (Stormbluff)
Mk262 - Isaha.6824 (Stormbluff)
Fallen Kell - Kell.3182 (Stormbluff)
Jschmuck 2 - ????? (Stormbluff) [Mustachington]

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[diesbudt]

Guild Wars 2 Beginner's Quicktip Guide!

**Key hint = You can deposit crafting items from your bag into your bank without ever stepping foot in a city. Either right click the item and click the deposit option OR click the little gear symbol at the top right of your bag storage and click "Deposit all collectables" which will deposit every collectable in your bags into your bank for later use.

The 8 Professions:
Engineer, Warrior, Guardian, Ranger, Necromancer, Elementalist, Mesmer, Theif
The 5 races:
Asura, Sylvari, Human, Charr, Norn
The 8 crafting choices:
Chef, Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, Leatherworker, Tailor, Jewelmaking, Huntsman, Artificer

General information
1 - You can only play on 1 server at any time. 5 character slots, 1 server. First week of play you can server transfer for free. But after that it will cost $$.
2 - If a server "instance" zone is full, you will be placed into an overflow server, in which many people from other servers will be in also (as theirs will also be full). In these overflow servers, you can do anything and everything you could in the actual server zone, except check out the WvWvW progress and guild invite people from another relm. While on the overflow server you will be in an invisible queue, once that time is up it will ask you if you want to travel to your actual server now. You can accept or re-enter the queue and wait. If you do travel to your server, beware: You will spawn EXACTLY where you are when you click accept. So you may spawn with monsters around you.
3 - As you quest and move around in zones too low for your character, your level and stats will temporarily drop to the max level designed for such an area. (However any and all skills you know will be known by you still). So sometimes going backwards isn't a bad idea, or even as a level 40 play with a new level 4 friend in his zone.
4 - Max level = 80.
5 - You can dye your armor anytime you want! On the character screen, just above the helmet slot, is a dye dropper. As you collect more dyes, you have more colors to color yourself with!

Character selection
1 - Any race can be any profession (the class system in GW2 are known as professions)
2 - Choose a character and profession that is fun for you, not what you think is powerful. Anet has always been good at balancing their games in the past between various classes.
3 - Actually pick stuff in your creation you want to see, it will influence your story and how NPCs speak with you.
4 - After creation try them out real quick, see if you will like their play style, if not try again. It is pretty easy and harmless to do so.

Crafting
1 - Crafting gives xp, so craft often while leveling as you get materials, do not wait for max level to start on it.
2 - You have a choice between the 8 crafting trades, and can have 2 active at any one time. If you change crafting trade, the one you unlearn will still be as high skill wise as it was if you relearn that trade at a later date.
3 - First character it is beneficial choosing the armor and weapon making crafts for your character. (Tailor = mesmer, Elementalist, Necromancer) [And so on]
4 - SALAVAGE ALL UNUSED GEAR. (Or offer the gear to other people first to see if they need it) Using a salavage kit, you can acquire cloth, leather and metals to be used for crafting, and you will find a lot of "Throw-away" gear.

Combat
0 - (Holy law of GW2) THERE IS NO TRINITY. No tanks, no healers, no just dps. Any class can do anything, just depends on the gear stats used, the skills on the bar, and which area your trait points are focused.
1 - Combat is a little more active. You can dodge (if you have the dodge energy) an attack by rolling, this is very beneficial when fighting a range unit or getting away from a monster that will melee you.
2 - Half of your skills are based on your weapons. No weapon set skills are "better" than others for the most part, so use what you find most fun or your play style.
3 - Buy 1 of each weapon type you can use early on from a vendor (Or from our guild bank once its up and running), and attack mobs as you level and learn your weapon skills asap. This is so you won't find a new weapon and gimp yourself as you never unlocked it's skills.
3.5 - Everyone's underwater weapon is the spear, trident or spear gun. Don't forget about these and fighting underwater either.
4 - In combat you cannot switch skills on your bar. You however (as long as not an elementalist and engineer) can switch between 2 weapons through the (`) key to change your first 5 skills to something else [The key to the left of 1]. These combos between weapons on the fly in combat can be very useful. (Elementalists have 4 skill sets per weapon [1 for each element], and Engineers can learn skills that get access to other weapon skills).

Questing
1 - There is no actual quests. Instead there are "golden hearts" which are area wide quests in which you complete tasks for an NPC (you never have to talk to the NPC to start or finish it.), Events that spawn either on triggers or random, and exploring things such as Vistas aka "jumping challenges" and interesting points.
2 - Do not just go gold heart to gold heart, you will find if you do not do some events, some crafting, and/or some exploring to obtain xp, the areas with the gold hearts will outlevel you. (P.S. Killing monsters does not give good xp)
3 - Finishing each zone map 100%, will net you a choice of reward and a good ole pat on the back. So it can be in yoru interest to do this.
4 - After each golden heart you complete, you will get a mail. It normally is a heart felt thank you note with some money in it. (These add up so do not forget them!)

Character Advancement
1 - As you level, after 5 or 6 you will start earning skill points, which can be used to unlock more skills in the 6,7,8,9,0 position on the keyboard. These are what can set your character apart from every other similar profession out there.
2 - At level 11+ you will also learn trait points. (First you must spend 10 silver and buy a book that allows you to) each point you can place in a category to strengthen your character and give new abilities. Every 5 points in each trait unlocks new abilities, or enhancements to your character. You can get 70 total, and 30 max for any branch. (Therefore you can max 2 branches and add 10 more elsewhere)

(Example) - As an elementalist:
1 trait point in Fire gives me +10 power (attack stat) and 1% longer condition up time (DoTs).
1 trait point in Water gives me +10 vitality (HP) and +10 healing ability.
1 trait point in Earth gives me +10 toughness (Defense) and + 1% (something).
1 trait point in Air gives me +10 Precision (Crit) and +1% to crit damage.
1 traint point in Arcane gives me +1% in boon uptime and less skill downtime.

Guilds
1 - Unlike previous MMO experiences, guilds can be cross server. However you have to invite using the Arena.net tag (with number) and not the character name they are using.
2 - When first joining a new guild. Whether on a new character, or an alt in the same guild as another character, you have to click represent, to be able to speak in the guild chat and such. Also while representing, everything you do = influence for the guild you represent.
2.5 - You can only represent 1 guild at a time, and each character can only be in 1 guild at a time.
3 - Each guild gains influence per people completeing achievements and other splendor stuff. This influence is then spent to research different things such as karma increase, xp increase, crafting increase, guild banks etc.

Guild Stash Rules
1- Don't be a jerk
2 - Don't be a troll
3 - If something is in there and you can use it, then by all means take it.
4 - If you wish to put something in, that is awesome, don't expect compensation though. This is a kind, free hearted community.
5 - Unless mail is down, do not use this as an avenue to trade or give items to people
6 - Unless you want to fund me in obtaining dye packages through the AH, gold has no real meaning to the guild (at the moment) so placing it in there isn't a big deal.

Also for all those curious, that don't look up this info already, and curious just what comes into creating the top end game items...

Legendary Weapons are obtained through a lot of hardwork, determination, time and money. (Helps if you team up too!)

An Example would be the Legendary staff (Bifrost)

To craft this you need to put these into the Mystic Forge :
(Exotic Staff) The Legend of Rage
The Base Gift
Gift of Mastery
Gift of Fortune

How to obtain these you ask?

The Legend of Rage
Loot one luckily in the world
Throw 4 rare (lv76+) staffs into the Mystic Forge and get lucky

The Base Gift
Mystic Forge [Gift of Color + Gift of Energy + 100x Icy Runestones + Superior Sigil of Nullification]
- Icy Runestones can be purchased for 1 gold a piece at the Frostgorge Sound after Claw of Jormag is defeated
- Gift of Color : Mystic Forge [250x Piles of Crystalline Dust + 250x Unidentified Dyes + 100x Opal Orbs + 1 Gift of Zhaitan]
--- Gift of Zhaitan costs 500 Zhaitan shards, which are dropped by bosses in the Arah dungeon explore mode. (level 80 only)
- Gift of Energy : Mystic Forge [250x Piles of Radiant Dust + 250x Piles of Luminous Dust + 250x Piles of Incandescent Dust + 250x Piles of Crystalline Dust]
- Sigil of Nullification : Make one on Mystic forge (???) or Salvage one from an item

Gift of Mastery
Mystic Forge [Bloodstone Shard + 250x Obsidian Shard + Gift of Exploration + Gift of Battle]
- Obsidian Shard can be obtaiend for 2100 karma a piece from the Tactician Deathstrider at Temple Balthazar in Stratis of Devestations
- Gift of Explorations is obtained when a character gets 100% on the map (2 per map completion, per character)
- Gift of Battle is purchased in WvWvW with 500 Badges of Honor
- Bloodstone costs 200 skill points from an NPC in Lions Arch.

Gift of Fortune
Mystic Forge [77x Mystic Clover + 250x Glob of Ectoplasm + Gift of Magic + Glyph of Might]
- Mystic clover is obtained (10% chance) when mystic forging the items [10x Obsidian Shards + 10x Mystic coins + 10x Glob of Ectoplasms + 10x Crystals]
--- Crystal is obtained from Miyani for 3 skill points per 5 crystals
--- Mystic coins are obtained for completeing daily and monthly achievement chests. Or buying / obtaining from other players.
- Glob of Ectoplasm is found when salvaging 70+ rare/exotic items with a master's salvage kit
- Gift of Magic : Mystic Forge [250x Vicious Fangs + 250x Armored Scale + 250x VIcious Claw + 250 Ancient Bonw]
- Gift of Might : Mystic Forge [250x Vial of Powerful Blood + 250x Powerful Venom Sac + 250x Elaborate Totem + 250 Pile of Crystalline Dust]

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i'm down

 

[Tweak155]

Heroes of Anandtech, Forum Fighters, Our Computer is Better Than Yours, Hcetdnana - my submission(s) for guild name.

I'm on the fence about this one. The gameplay vids look way better than I was expecting. I never got too into the first one, too much instancing.

 

[Chiropteran]

I have no idea what I'm playing and how long I'll be into the game, but I'll roll on Stormbluff and participate.

 

[diesbudt]

Heroes of Anandtech, Forum Fighters, Our Computer is Better Than Yours, Hcetdnana - my submission(s) for guild name.

I'm on the fence about this one. The gameplay vids look way better than I was expecting. I never got too into the first one, too much instancing.

GW2 is way different than 1. Don't judge 2 on 1. Vids, reviews and trying it are the 3 best ways to see how it fits you.

 

[Ashenor]

I have no idea what I'm playing and how long I'll be into the game, but I'll roll on Stormbluff and participate.

I will be on Stormbluff, running my own guild but i will add people to friends list for sure.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

We should call ourself [TiHiR]. This is how I roll.

 

[Tweak155]

GW2 is way different than 1. Don't judge 2 on 1. Vids, reviews and trying it are the 3 best ways to see how it fits you.

The videos make it seem like it is more open world than the first one. I remember being in an instance as soon as I left town in the first one. I don't like that.

 

[diesbudt]

The videos make it seem like it is more open world than the first one. I remember being in an instance as soon as I left town in the first one. I don't like that.

Yea #1 was 1 single server with a lot of things instanced.

#2 Is only instanced per zone, at least in the beginning. The idea behind that is, lots of people will help you and you help them in events/quests as you automatically contribute to those things as a group just being in the same area. No groups needed.

 

[Tweak155]

Yea #1 was 1 single server with a lot of things instanced.

#2 Is only instanced per zone, at least in the beginning. The idea behind that is, lots of people will help you and you help them in events/quests as you automatically contribute to those things as a group just being in the same area. No groups needed.

How on earth is it instanced per zone? You mean like entering a house or something (thinking LOtRO style)?

 

[diesbudt]

How on earth is it instanced per zone? You mean like entering a house or something (thinking LOtRO style)?

Well not instanced per se.

Like going to the main city from the first real questing zone you enter through a loading screen/"instance" but other people will be there too.

And so on. I never got out beyond level 10 so maybe the higher zones away from the city are connected without the loading screen. However all people share the same "instance"

 

[Tweak155]

Well not instanced per se.

Like going to the main city from the first real questing zone you enter through a loading screen/"instance" but other people will be there too.

And so on. I never got out beyond level 10 so maybe the higher zones away from the city are connected without the loading screen. However all people share the same "instance"

Ah yes, this is similar to the houses in LotRO. I never made it far in that game either.

Either way, I don't care if it takes loading screens - that is fine with me.

 

[diesbudt]

Ah yes, this is similar to the houses in LotRO. I never made it far in that game either.

Either way, I don't care if it takes loading screens - that is fine with me.

Yea I realized 1 post too late that describing this wasn't going to be exactly simple.

Because from what I personally saw, each zone acts like an instance with loading screens. But each zone is shared amongst all (unless it has too many people, then you get thrown into an "overflow" server of that zone and can play until your que is up to return to the regular server zone.)

 

[zinfamous]

Zinfamous.3180

Mes [Human]

Engineer [Asuran]
Ele [?]
Guardian [Charr]
Warrior [Norn]


I'll copy paste one of my tip posts from the other thread




copied from other thread. Take it or leave it: :\


For those that are new, here is what I found to work best (for me) in getting started:

1. as mentioned and posted earlier, if you are unsure of class, create a dummy character and head to WvW to test it out. Your name will be saved for 24 hours if that is your main concern

PvE, leveling:

1. acquire all your class's weapon sets as soon as you can--there are weapon vendors, usually, for each race just outside your starting zone (you usually begin the game outside your capital, in a small outpost--this is after the short intro event, immediately following character creation). You can simply purchase from them, when you can afford it, or just wait for drops. I believe HoM bonuses from GW1 are just "skins" which you can apply to anything...so you will still need to acquire weapons?


2. money: once you hit level 11, you will gain access to class traits. You need to purchase a book, which costs 10 silver (1k copper). The game can be quite expensive starting out, as you will be dying constantly, and needing repairs, as you learn the mechanics. Don't be shy about selling just about everything that drops from mobs. You will often get decent leveled gear from completing class quests and completing achievements in each zone.

3. crafting: start crafting asap! (find trainers inside your capital area. You can start with 2 crafting disciplines, I believe, and can potentially max all crafting on each character if you want). You can gain some serious levels while crafting, so if you are feeling out-matched in certain areas, take some time to craft for quick levels. (exploring is also a great way to passively level). I recommend your classes armor discipline, and perhaps whatever weapon discipline is best for your class. the armor classes (tailor, leatherworking, armoring) offer a great number of recipes to start and as mentioned--use discovery as often as you can. It is quite simple once you figure out the mechanics and components involved in each piece. components sell pretty well on the market, too.

the armoring classes allow you to make bags with more slots than standard. Obviously, this is quite useful, and something that should sell well on the market

3. money balance--just about anything can be salvaged in GW2. It doens't depend on your discipline--you can salvage anything. For this reason, I tend to save all my karma points from Heart missions for salvage kits. the gems and relics you get with karma in the starter zones are something of a waste. I find it best to wait until you open up the second zone (level 15+), as those karma vendors will offer dual-traited gear. I'm honestly not sure how that works--and how to craft them, yet, but it is the first time that I found gear that was better than what I could craft for myself.

so, to this end--try to balance between the items you salvage for crafting, and those you just merch for cash.

4. Events Vs Heart events: Hearts are not events. You will see the Heart missions as one of the achievements for each zone, and you can find them on your map. In my experience, directly doing them is a slow way to complete them. Oftentimes, random world events will spawn in the area, and completing those events will often complete the hearts for you, and much sooner. Once you complete one, the NPC that offers the Heart event then becomes a Karma merchant (the merchants that I suggested to spend most of your karma for salvage kits, or even some decent weapons--perhaps you can craft better). Also, upon completion, these NPCs will send you a mail, with copper or silver attached to it. DO NOT IGNORE THESE! you need all the money you can get.

I find that actually completing the specific heart tasks is the most grindy traditional MMOish experience that you find in GW2--which is why I learned to avoid them.

 

[zinfamous]

Ah yes, this is similar to the houses in LotRO. I never made it far in that game either.

Either way, I don't care if it takes loading screens - that is fine with me.

yes, each "zone" is roughly 15 levels for your character. Each one of these is persistent, with many active events and massive numbers of people running around.

There is no real grouping (Well, there is--you can make a group--but it's not exactly essential. I have no idea if there are benefits to this--loot, XP, etc)
Grouping is mostly on the fly--everyone gets shared XP, loot, whatever simply for participating in an event or a regular mob. You get rewarded for simply reviving people (you will--and you MUST--be doing this a lot ), or simply running by, wanding an NPC that someone else has aggroed, and running along. That will not steal the mob, and you might also get some loot. No loot rolling--each piece drops assigned to each person. No BS< I call it.

No shared mining nodes--you will see multiple people activating the same node at once. So no need to wait around for others to do their thing, etc...

Basically--don't think abotu GW1 when you think about this game. It is as far from GW1 as WoW is from GW1 or GW2 (in terms of gameplay).

 

[Worthington]

Worth.6890

Still on the fence between Thief (played in beta) and Warrior (main in GW1). Can't wait!

 

[drebo]

Klythe.8957

Will be playing a ranger as main, I think...but haven't really decided. Maybe Asura Ele or something.

 

[Tiamat]

Jonomega.7324

Thinking Elementalist or Engineer...

 

[diesbudt]

I don't know myself still. I may end up rolling a d8 to find which one I will play.

Though warrior seems to be getting the fewest amount of love. And that was my first GW1 character...

 

[JamesV]

The early start begins tomorrow, and I think I might finally bite and get this.

I only see it for sale on the GW2 site... no Steam I take it? Would you say the $80 version with the extra goodies is a good deal (ie are the one time use items good)?

Just watched a video of the game on YouTube... did I see micro-transactions? Looks like you can buy buff items with gems, and the guy kept comparing the gem cost to real dollars. Any 'pay to win' issues?

 

[Phobic9]

I'm potentially interested. My only concern is that I really would like people to play with for this game.

The AT guild I was with briefly on SWTOR was just a bunch of people in a guild doing their own thing. I know these sort of things can't replicate playing with real friends but I don't have any real friends that game.

I'm pretty excited about this game. I've build a new PC and purchased a small gaming laptop so I can play when I'm away. That being said I have no idea on what I want to play and I didn't level past 5 in any of the betas so I wouldn't spoil anything. Midnight can't come soon enough.

 

[diesbudt]

The early start begins tomorrow, and I think I might finally bite and get this.

I only see it for sale on the GW2 site... no Steam I take it? Would you say the $80 version with the extra goodies is a good deal (ie are the one time use items good)?

Just watched a video of the game on YouTube... did I see micro-transactions? Looks like you can buy buff items with gems, and the guy kept comparing the gem cost to real dollars. Any 'pay to win' issues?

Only things you can really buy worth anything on the microtransactions is more character slots and more bag room. Which you can save up for through gems though too.

No steam, Steam wont have it for a long while. Until Anet has received enough revenue from it and start price dropping it.

GW2, or Amazon (amazon emails code to activate account, and ships disks later) has it I know.

Early start may actually begin tonight, I think their site was actually recently aiming at 1am EST Saturday.

 

[Phobic9]

The early start begins tomorrow, and I think I might finally bite and get this.

I only see it for sale on the GW2 site... no Steam I take it? Would you say the $80 version with the extra goodies is a good deal (ie are the one time use items good)?

Just watched a video of the game on YouTube... did I see micro-transactions? Looks like you can buy buff items with gems, and the guy kept comparing the gem cost to real dollars. Any 'pay to win' issues?

Most of the things in the store are cosmetic. Besides, everyone is auto-leveled to max level when doing PvP, which is a good test of how skillful players can get.

 

[zinfamous]

The early start begins tomorrow, and I think I might finally bite and get this.

I only see it for sale on the GW2 site... no Steam I take it? Would you say the $80 version with the extra goodies is a good deal (ie are the one time use items good)?

Just watched a video of the game on YouTube... did I see micro-transactions? Looks like you can buy buff items with gems, and the guy kept comparing the gem cost to real dollars. Any 'pay to win' issues?

Honestly, I don't think the deluxe items are particularly special-mainly single-use items to help a guild get rolling early.

I look at it as paying extra money just to throw a bone to ANet, what with no sub fees and all

:\

no subscription = money store.

HOWEVER--gems can be purchased in-game with gold. There is no pay to win, and any gem purchases made are not a real advantage. You don't get some super skill or any kind of useful gear. It is mostly cosmetic, and some timed XP buffs.