So, my friend recently joined gw2 as an ele and I wanna help him level

As you know by the title, he has joined as a human ele and how do I help him gain exp and I don't want to kill everything for him. What are some good ways I can help him gain exp? Is it just map comp, personal story, crafting or is there more I can help him with?

@Paradox Reaper.7249 One way is to create your own new character and play with two lowbies together. Your greater knowledge of how to play (you've been playing for longer than he has, so you probably know more about how the game works) will help you to survive and help him.

At the start all you can do is do map completion and events together. Once he's lvl 30 you can start running dungeons with each explorable path giving almost 1 lvl. If he has HoT and access to a Guilded Hollows Guildhall, he can also use the Auric Basin meta-event to level. This isn't something I'd recommend a new player to do though.

Bear in mind that I've never seen a player who got leveled quickly stick around for long. They usually become inactive a week or two after reaching lvl 80.

Teach them of dailies in GW2.

I don't think there's much you can do to make him gain xp faster, aside from things like having a guild with xp buff to offer and the like. You can be useful more for removing some of the other obstacles for new players - giving him gear/gold, or possibly mats to help him level crafting. Stuff like that. Also show him where world boss events are going on and that sort of thing. Really you level so fast in this game I think new players should just explore on their own.

Could you equip a set of green gear and use no/minimal traits to make yourself weaker? I've never tried specifically, but on some alt account characters I never outfitted them beyond the gear from level ups and found items, and they still mow 'em down, so perhaps intentionally under-gearing could help? And of course, only do 1-1-1-1-1-1-1...

Be his healer, let him in on your guild boosts and if you have the statuettes, always place an xp bonfire. Make sure to do all dynamic events for maximum efficiency, and keep a bl chest handy for when he gets his first map-complete key in order to keep motivation up. Also craft the poor guy some inventory bags.

@rng.1024 said:Also craft the poor guy some inventory bags.

This. One of the biggest helpful things you can do.

Depending on what your goal is:

• support him as a healer while he gets to terms with the game
• send him some gold for the cheaper crafting professions like cooking (use gw2 crafts.net)
• try to tackle areas which are above 2-4 levels above his level

Remember that you do not get good xp from areas drastically over your level, so there's no point bringing a lowbie to end-game areas.

Inventory bags, as mentioned above, is huge. Those tiny bags you get as you level up don't really go very far! You don't even have to go for 20-slots right away, 2-3 15-slot bags is a massive improvement and are dirt cheap on the TP!

Keep your buddy supplied in cheap food and utility buffs (like sharpening stones or slaying potions) since those give xp boosts. Using low-level stuff here is fine, as the xp boost usually stay the same.

Giving advice is good, but make sure you don't become a "backseat driver" - let your buddy explore stuff and try different things!

Fury and might really improve the dmg at low levels.If you have a character that can give that, go for it.Quickness and alacrity too, but sharing them in open world is harder :)

Teach him about, and help stock him with minor/major sigils and runes, and.....oh wait nvm... (yes, still upset over this debacle).

Aside from the things mentioned above, help guide him with your completed map. Hero points and events all give solid XP. As he won't have a mount, get a warhorn and give him toots of swiftness to help him with map exploration, another good way to grab XP.

Just be careful to not kill mobs he hasn't tagged, because unlike other MMOs, him being in a party doesn't qualify him for XP from kills you make that he hasn't tagged.

You can easily level up by simply running around, doing hearts and visiting vistas/points of interest, doing crafting. Half of my levels we acquired through non-combat, or very casual combat stuff, much faster than I would like :) And yes, personal story gives tons of experience, and good rewards.

@Paradox Reaper.7249 said:As you know by the title, he has joined as a human ele and how do I help him gain exp and I don't want to kill everything for him. What are some good ways I can help him gain exp? Is it just map comp, personal story, crafting or is there more I can help him with?

Good thing about GW2 is that in lower level areas the game already de-levels you. So you shouldn't have to worry about being crazy OP even if you do nothing. If you want to further lessen your impact on combat you could run a less than ideal build, go full support, bad gear, etc.

GW2's downscaling should take care of it, but... it's not good enough at lower levels, so you will probably still feel stronger.

Tip to weaken yourself to their level? Remove all your trinkets, that'll reduce your stats by roughly half (and generally that's how most players go before 80 anyway).

Somebody else mentioned changing your gear to whites, changing your weapon is probably enough, plus it's an opportunity to play those other weapon sets you haven't used in forever. Warning, if you equip a sub-80 weapon, you may end up being too weak to kill anything, I've tried and it wasn't fun hitting enemies for 2~4 damage per hit. >_>

Welcome to your friend, and thanks for helping a new player experience GW2!

Perhaps your focus should not be on leveling up.

EXPLORE! Whether PvE, PvP, and/or WvW. Experience derived from doing something will seem to accrue faster than simply trying to level faster.

Someone else mentioned creating an alt and work on exploring together. An excellent idea, as it allows you to better see your friend's limits due to character level (something we frequently forget once we achieve higher levels). Also, as you realize the limits, your previous experience may allow for solutions that your friend may not have considered (e.g. using PvP or WvW lobby to access your bank / sell materials / repair armor without losing your location in PvE, utilizing the Trading Post to buy/sell items, etc.).

If both of you are part of a guild and have access to the guild bank, you can us it as an easy way to share non-account/soul-bound items (as opposed to mailing in game). In one of my guilds we place bags we no longer use in the guild bank so that members with new characters can easily use them until they have chance to craft/upgrade them. Access to a Guild Hall with a bartender for players with Hot or PoF allows access to Guild Enhancements to help buff a little bit a number of different ways (only one active at a time, though).

Don't forget to have your friend experiment with his build and find what works best for him. Sites such as Metabattle offer build advice, but generally for 80th level characters. It can be useful as an example of understanding how to have traits/sigils/runes/weapons/armor work together.

Remember, however you directly help your friend, it is akin to wading into the water to learn how to swim. No harm in this, but diving into the water can also yield positive results. So, don't be afraid to encourage him to play on his own, and ask questions the next time you play together.

Another person mentioned doing dailies. Also excellent advice as it gives a distinct direction for playing while also rewarding up to 2 gold/day for completing any 3 of PvE/PvP/WvW. Check out the GW2 Wiki for Daily.

There's an old adage, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Focusing on leveling is like giving your friend a fish. Exploring with him, as well as, introducing him to various game types/mechanics will provide him a firm foundation on which to build his game experience.

Good luck! Have fun!

Ah! Thanks for your help everyone!