A lot of new players around so: The basics of GW2 and how it's different from other MMORPG
Not quests but Dynamic Events in PVE
In GW2 the core of PvE gameplay aren't quests, but Dynamic Events.
I'll try and explain a bit just what this means. In most MMO's you get
quests (usually in a hub) for your level, then grind some mobs and after
that you do the next batch of quests. In GW2 things happen all around
the the world and you have to be there to participate. If you don't
complete an event, somebody else probably will. The gameworld doesn't
wait for you to push a button, it moves on its own. You need to keep an
eye out and jump into the action whenever you can. You can also ask in
map chat if any events are up and usually somebody will link a waypoint
(fast travel system, very low fee) so you know where to go. Due to the
downlevel mechanism, all the maps and their events stay relevant to the
max level players. Even if you do events in the low level starting
zones, you'll get the rewards of your actual level.
There are over 2000 dynamic events in the game. I played since
release and I still haven't seen them all! You can repeat an event as
many times you want. There are some events that I have done several
times an evening, just because I like them. The rewards you get for
completing an event are always the same, just scaled to your level and
contribution. The events are also designed that anybody who sees them
can join in on the fun. You can do a lot of events with just two
players, or call in reinforcements through map chat. Whatever you want.
Events also happen in a chain, meaning that usually 5-10 events follow
up on each other. When an event is finished, stick around. Clear out
your inventory for example, talk to the NPC, gather that tree just a bit
away ...
Largely there are three tiers of events. The normal ones happen all
the time and you can sometimes even do them solo (if you are trained :D
). The group events are usually the last event of a chain and are
designed for five people and more. Then we also have the World events
that are designed for dozens of players. These events happen on a fixed
timer that you can find on internet (search: that_shaman dulfy.net
timer). The game gives you several hints to get to events. The biggest
are orange circles on the mini map and popping up in your UI. You have
to be quite close to see these indications. There are also NPCs that run
towards you and ask for help. If you talk to them, they can point
towards an event. Some events also have an audio message that signals
their start. It also happens that an NPC has an orange circle just above
their head. That means they are an event starter: talk to them to get
the show on the road.
Even apart from dynamic events, almost everything you do gives you
xp. The max level is 80. In Casual play that will take about 100 hours
to reach. If you power-level (not at all recommended on a first
playthrough) you can get 3 levels an hour.
Combat without the holy trinity as you know it
The holy trinity doesn't really exist in GW2. So there are no tanks
or healers, period. No profession or build can just stand in front of
mobs and soak up the damage without being a dead weight. Taunt exists,
but is very limited to a few skills. The same counts for outhealing
damage since it's more important to avoid damage. Everybody has to
block, dodge, kite, blind, interrupt, line of sight, reflect, ... A
build could maximize it's ability to kill mobs, controlling the battle
field or supporting the other players. However, most of the time a build
is a mix of all three. The aggro system doesn't follow clear lines. So
nobody can just take are lose aggro. Some mobs will focus the player who
is closest, or the furthest, or has the highest toughness, or is
downed... There are mobs that lock on to one player and keep attacking
him until he is dead. Most will regularly switch targets. And so on ... a
lot of mobs use an infrequently big attack that you are just meant to
avoid. The have to watch their animations so you know when to dodge.
This is especially true for bosses. Almost every boss has an attack that
can one-shot kill almost every player.
Everybody is primarily responsible for his own survival. You ALWAYS
have your own healing skill on skill slot 6. People can help each other
out with area heals and boons, but when you die you usually could have
done something to prevent it. Every profession can fight from ranged and
in melee. Melee is almost always advised, because it has higher damage
across the board. It's also a lot easier for people to support and buff
each other.
In PvP we do have bunkers. These are builds that focus on staying
alive under pressure but not just by maxing certain stats. Position,
dodging, blocking, healing, interrupting are still essential for a
bunker. The same goes for WvW.
Gear
In PvE, people usually focus on berserker gear, that
power/precision/ferocity (damage+crits). That's because this gear does
the most damage in a short amount of time. It basically means kill fast,
or be killed yourself. If you can't survive in full Berserker gear, mix
a couple of Soldier (power, vitality, toughness) pieces in. The most
common thing that kills new players is that the level of their gear is
too low compared to their actual level. This is especially true when you
get downleveled, since the system increases the disadvantage of
underleveled gear. Ideally you should upgrade your gear every five
levels. Usually you will get loot drops that keep you going. You can
also buy it on the trading post for very little cost and when you
outlevel that gear, you can salvage it to recover most of their worth.
While leveling, you should only look for fine (color blue) or masterwork
(color green) gear. Rare (yellow) and Exotic (orange) are too costly
for the amount of time you'll use them.
In WvW (World vs World, a massive PvP game mode between hundreds of
players over 4 maps) the standard setup is soldiers gear (that
power/vitality/toughness). If you're going into WvW with a lower level
character, you're going to have a hard time. In WvW you can really die
before you know what hit you, especially if you aren't max level with
end game gear (meaning exotic or ascended).
Structured Player vs Player
You can start PvP as soon as you exit the tutorial and you will
immediately get access to all the skikls, traits, weapons and have the
same possible stats as everybody else. A max level character doesn't
have any advantage over a level 1 in PvP. SPVP has it's own 'build' menu
where you can decide how you want to play. All the stats from gear are
given by an Amulet you pick for your build. The only overlap between
SPVP and WvW/PvE are the type of weapon you have in your hands (again,
stats for SPVP are on the Amulet). It's completely possible to level up a
character solely by playing SPVP because of the rewards you get. Those
rewards are grouped in the reward tracks. If you want to get high end
gear that you can use in PvE/WvW, it's best to do the Dungeon reward
tracks. However, you will have to do the story mode of the dungeons in
PvE to unlock these tracks, or you have to wait for the weekly rotation
of dungeon tracks.
Most SPVP is three capture points combat in teams of five. You can join a
game on your own and will be matched with other players, who hopefully
are in your level. The three capture points are designated as 'close',
'mid' and 'far' respective to your base. Your team gets 1 point each
second it controls a capture point and 5 points per enemy kill. First
team to 500 points wins. Other game modes are in development and will
probably ship with the expansion.
World vs World, the large scale pvp
This is the large scale open world PvP mode of the game where people
play for their server against two other servers. It's considered end
game, because lower level players are actually a disadvantage for the
server. Lower level players get upscaled, but not enough to be evenly
matched. WvW is also capture point based. Every 15 minutes the timer
ticks and each sides points are added to the overall score. Matches last
for 7 days. Each server has its own home borderland and then there is
also the Eternal Battlegrounds. A big part of WvW is 'capture the tower'
with siege. Killing enemies gives the most loot, but not the most
points. Defending is crucially important, but very unpopular.
What to do, what is the end game?
Actually the game is what you want to make of it. You don't really
have to do anything. There are over 30 explorable dungeon paths,
personal story, living story, world bosses, crafting, six mini games,
pvp, wvw, 12 fractals, over 30 jumping puzzles, a lot of hidden areas,
collectible achievements, guild missions, guild events, community
events, festivals, hidden treasure chests ... and those thousands of
dynamic events. GW2 is a living world, things happen all the time and
you can miss it if you're not there. There are lots and lots of options
to have fun, but you have to go look for it, you have to find out for
yourself what you want to do. The game doesn't hold your hand and point
to where the action/fun is. It's your game, it's your time, it's your
move. Just take your time, relax, try everything a bit and have fun.
Maybe you'll even find a goal you never though of at this moment. I know
of people whose goal it is to solo all the champions in the game.
People who want to have 40 level 80 characters, one for each combination
of race and profession. Others compete to have the fastest dungeon run
and upload their playthrough videos with timers on special sites. People
that want to have every legendary. Some even go for world completion
with every profession. Others solo the party dungeons.
For many people their look, minipets, dyes, title ... are also
extremely important which gives this game the nickname Fashion Wars 2!
