Brand new player- first impressions

Hey All

Brand new player here, i literally downloaded a week or so ago (ftp) and then after a week of very casual play decided to support the game with a purchase despite the recent troubles at anet.

I've been reading the threads since joining, and the suggestions for improving the games fortunes- i just thought i would give a new players perspective (presumably GW2 wants to attract new players to pay)

I'm an ageing (middle aged) casual gamer, probably common for the genre and a target demographic. A demographic that generally has disposable income but wants value - i grew up with MUDS, didn't game at all at university and then played a little wow...raiding a bit before going ultra casual.

I was looking for an MMO where i could jump on for 30 mins and still make some sort of progress, and hopefully one where the community is pleasant.

So after signing up for a ftp account in i dived, picking probably the most common race/class (human ranger).

The starting experience is brill- throwing you straight into the action And the character selection is good. The artwork is also top notch- definitely at least as good as wow (i actually prefer it)

And the personal story definitely is enjoyable for me, i love exploration and stories in my games (i know some consider the story cheesy but i love them)

The community seems fab to be honest, when an early event came up i did the ultimate noob mistake (i am so in the habit of pushback that i clicked it by instinct!) - to my amazement when i apologised i actually got no abuse at all. A sharp contrast to my previous game.

The questing elements could do with some more story background as you enter new zone (ideally some cut scenes) but it isnt a big deal - just something to immerse you in the new zone as you enter it.

The combat system- well it is still too early to judge (i am only level 35) but it feels good so far (i pew pewed until discovering melee damage was better).

So, why did i dither before spending money? To be honest it is the purchasing structure and lack of roadmap - the purchasing/dlc structure is actually confusing as well as a fair bit of money up front.

From what i can see a lot of the content and story is in the 'living stories' content. And the initial story isn't available anymore.And it seems that in order to follow the story i would have to buy LS2, LS3, LS4, HOT, POF... a fairly significant investment upfront.

I appreciate there is no sub as in wow, but i genuinely feel the way the purchases are piecemeal put potential paying players off- i think a 'complete package' even if it is more expensive would result in more people paying, plus it is an awful lot less confusing!

I don't think a sub is the way to go- i personally don't mind a sub, but i think for people in countries with weak currencies it would be a major bar to playing- unless they implemented a system similar to wow tokens where people can grind out their sub payment.

I have to be honest, the uncertainty over the game also put me off a little bit, i honestly believe this game is better (for me as a laid back casual) than wow, but i think a road map (future expansions etc) would reassure people looking for a game of this type

Anyway sorry for the massive essay, just wanted to give a first impression really

Trev

@trev.1045 said:Anyway sorry for the massive essay, just wanted to give a first impression really

Don't worry, this is a rather small wall for the forums.You should see our walls for balance updates. We have one of these walls for each class in the game. :lol:

@Yannir.4132 said:

@trev.1045 said:Anyway sorry for the massive essay, just wanted to give a first impression really

Ill take a read :) i am still very much learning to play my class (still struggling to learn when to dodge!) so i definitely wont be writing essays on balance for a very long time :)

Hi trev, welcome to GW2, yes when I first started playing waaaaay back in the days GW2 was first released I was totally blown away (even back then), since then I've seen significant improvements across the board in practically every area of the game. Your actually lucky in some ways cause your seeing more of a polished product now, I think alot of us remember things like having to double click every single bag in the game to open it up or having to run across every map just to acquire enough skill points in order to use your specializations. Simple things that new players don't realize were changed to make things easier, quicker & more efficient with a lot less frustration. I do agree buying all of the expansions and living storylines would definately add up, but my recommendation would be to purchase both expansions (to help support ANET) & then use the gold to gems coversion system to eventually unlock all the living storylines. Hope that helps & saves a little $$? Have fun, good gaming & welcome to GW2. =)

Indeed. Welcome to the game!Hope you have a good time.

@CJH.2879 said:Hi trev, welcome to GW2, yes when I first started playing waaaaay back in the days GW2 was first released I was totally blown away (even back then), since then I've seen significant improvements across the board in practically every area of the game. Your actually lucky in some ways cause your seeing more of a polished product now, I think alot of us remember things like having to double click every single bag in the game to open it up or having to run across every map just to acquire enough skill points in order to use your specializations. Simple things that new players don't realize were changed to make things easier, quicker & more efficient with a lot less frustration. I do agree buying all of the expansions and living storylines would definately add up, but my recommendation would be to purchase both expansions (to help support ANET) & then use the gold to gems coversion system to eventually unlock all the living storylines. Hope that helps & saves a little $$? Have fun, good gaming & welcome to GW2. =)

Thanks, i can imagine there have been an awful lot of QOL changes over the years! Back when i first played my first multi player game (1991), death meant losing half your experience and probably all your gear :)

I actually made the purchase to support ANET, i am months away from max level at my playing rate and dont want to boost my main- although i am tempted to unlock the mount on a separate character? coming from wow i actually keep going to summon a mount!

Anyway i am having fun - which is the whole idea isnt it? a way to unwind after a bad day at work when the Wife is watching her rubbish TV :-)

Thanks again for the welcome.

Trev

Hey there fellow Human Ranger :D

Welcome to Tyria

As I said in the other thread too, I'm fully in support of making living world easier/cheaper to obtain for newer players.Getting people playing Gw2 is always a good thing so getting rid of that daunting catch up fee would be a great enticement.

It's LS2, ((HOT-->LS3)-->(POF--> LS4))

if you start a week ago LW4e5 was added to your acc for free, regardless, you now owning PoF yet , this would be the case with any new episode of living world added to the game. If you login during the release it's free fro you.

@trev.1045 said:I actually made the purchase to support ANET, i am months away from max level at my playing rate and dont want to boost my main- although i am tempted to unlock the mount on a separate character? coming from wow i actually keep going to summon a mount!

I did not know this until very recently but you can actually unlock a mount at any level (if you own POF) by joining another player while they do the first mission. You can either help out or stand back and watch them complete it. Then all you need to do is walk up to the trainer and get your first mount. I did this for one of my friends at the suggestion of another poster here on the forums and it was very easy.

@"trev.1045" said:Anyway i am having fun - which is the whole idea isnt it? a way to unwind after a bad day at work when the Wife is watching her rubbish TV :-)

Why not get your wife to play GW2 with you instead of watching TV? It definitely works well as family entertainment :) . Although I admit it took me close to 6 years to get my husband to play (he prefers "serious" games and went to ESO after we gave up raiding in LotRO and turned into more casual gamers), but he's now enjoying it as much as myself and our daughters (who both started playing on my account before they were old enough to have their own accounts).

Anyway, welcome to Tyria. Don't hesitate to check behind every corner in the road and chat up every npc you come across. Pay attention to events and npc chatter, and you'll soon find that there's so much more to the game's story than just the personal story instances you are following. This game's story is one huge jigsaw puzzle, with recuring characters in different story archs, open world events referencing stuff happening in stories and vice versa.

Once you get into playing different characters and races, you'll see the whole story unfold before your eyes. For example, there's an npc in one of the early Sylvari storylines that you'll meet again (and recruit to the cause) in a mid-level Durmand priory arch. Eventually that npc and the artifact you recovered in that early Sylvari storyline will play a crucial role in one of the later archs of the personal story.

There's a quaggan that you might rescue from dragon minions in a mid-level story instance that you'll later meet as part of the story in one of the Heart of Thorns maps. There's a charr warband in an early Norn story arch that follows the personal story all the way to the end, as well as a prominent asura scientist that puts up a theory that is crucial to what's happening later.

And those are only a few of the characters scattered throughout the story and across Tyria. Which ones you meet, and which parts of the story you get to see entirely depends on the races you play and the story choices you make, so if you are interested in the whole story, consider creating a lot of different characters along the way :) .

Above all, have fun, and don't hesitate to try everything that looks fun, and everything else, too. I found a lot of things fun in this game that I hated in other games, especially when it comes to the pvp part ;) . Not having to grind for your best in slot equipment over and over again definitely makes having fun a lot easier :) .

@Rasimir.6239 said:

@"trev.1045" said:Anyway i am having fun - which is the whole idea isnt it? a way to unwind after a bad day at work when the Wife is watching her rubbish TV :-)

Thanks, i look forward to discovering all the secrets and overarching story! i love the open nature of the game too (i login and say to myself - ill see what is in that unmapped space today)

I played LOTRO years ago, i dont remember much (other than i had a bard..minstrel?) and that the community was really good. When i looked at replaying it i was discouraged by the complicated purchasing options (i just want to buy a complete game!) and the forum posts about big server issues.

To all the other posters, thanks again for such a warm welcome and if you are EU i may well see you in game :)

@trev.1045 said:

@Rasimir.6239 said:

@trev.1045 said:Anyway i am having fun - which is the whole idea isnt it? a way to unwind after a bad day at work when the Wife is watching her rubbish TV :-)

If you're EU, feel free to whisper me whenever I'm online and you have questions or need assistance with anything.

Welcome Trev!

The fact that you're on the forums this early in your GW2 career means you'll probably have a great experience.

I'm wondering how much of the game you've run into getting to level 35. From my own experience, here's my order of progression from brand new:

1. Character creation and class choice - a random guess as a new player, but interesting options
2. Instant action hooks you to the world
3. Learning the basics - scouts, waypoints, hearts, vistas, points of interest
4. Understanding items (inventory wars, salvaging, selling to vendors, upgrading gear)
5. Personal story
6. Character customisation (weapon swaps, hero points, bonuses on armor & weapons, maybe discover the Wardrobe)
7. Participating in the smaller map events
8. Discovering new areas, exploring the big beautiful world

And that's where I stayed for... a long time. I think many casual players will stop there unless they have a RL/guild mentor, because the world is sooooooooo gigantic and beautiful and interesting by itself.

Anyway, would be curious if you experienced something different.

@trev.1045 said:

From what i can see a lot of the content and story is in the 'living stories' content. And the initial story isn't available anymore.And it seems that in order to follow the story i would have to buy LS2, LS3, LS4, HOT, POF... a fairly significant investment upfront.

to Clarify the Initial Story is available. Its the personal story you are playing now. The Living World Season 1 is not (coming right after the personal story) cause it was temporary open world content. But you can see small parts of it in fractal dungeons though. And there is a in-game summary of it and some very good ones online.

Also any LS episode that is current when you log in you unlock for free. so you already have episode 5 of LS in your account. Secondly LS episodes can be unlocked using in-game gold so you can invest time to unlock those and not pay for it.

The Story goes as follows: Personal Story -> LS1 -> LS2 -> HoT -> LS3 -> PoF -> LS4 etc ...No need to unlock all these upfront.

@Tamur.6503 said:Welcome Trev!

The fact that you're on the forums this early in your GW2 career means you'll probably have a great experience.

I'm wondering how much of the game you've run into getting to level 35. From my own experience, here's my order of progression from brand new:

1. Character creation and class choice - a random guess as a new player, but interesting options
2. Instant action hooks you to the world
3. Learning the basics - scouts, waypoints, hearts, vistas, points of interest
4. Understanding items (inventory wars, salvaging, selling to vendors, upgrading gear)
5. Personal story
6. Character customisation (weapon swaps, hero points, bonuses on armor & weapons, maybe discover the Wardrobe)
7. Participating in the smaller map events
8. Discovering new areas, exploring the big beautiful world

And that's where I stayed for... a long time. I think many casual players will stop there unless they have a RL/guild mentor, because the world is sooooooooo gigantic and beautiful and interesting by itself.

Anyway, would be curious if you experienced something different.

Hey tamur, that is pretty much my journey so far - it went a bit like this

1) Character creation, the only class i never played was hunter on wow (i now know its not like a wow hunter) so went human hunter2) First instance- loving it, and people around!3) Exploring the various hearts4) Personal story (by the second chapter i loved it, and having to make tough decisions during the story is a really nice touch (i even got a mail asking for help from a character i abandoned for the greater good)....lovely touch!. Being astonished that people stop to res / help other people in this game....5) Deciding i really like the game, and checking out what i need to buy (only slight negative as finding out buying both expansions does not give me all the content was disappointing)6) Getting my head around specialisations, finally working out why my bags were filling up with stuff i couldn't vendor (cant vendor quest rewards)7) Having fun, exploring!!! - i love setting off to un-mapped areas, start experimenting with weapon switching and dodging (right now though i can send pet in and solo every event with pew pew) - i am sure that will change as i level up though.8) Being told off by the wife because i came to bed at 1am and struggled to get up for work :)

@trev.1045 said:a fairly significant investment upfront.

The difference between GW2 and (most) other MMOs is that we can buy Gems with Gold so we can unlock Living World for completely free and buy the expansions with real money. Also, we can unlock the currently active Living World episode for free. ESO for example is a lot harder to catch up on because DLCs always cost money OR monthly sub and players cannot earn Crowns in-game. We really should appreciate how generous GW2 is compared to other MMOs!

Edit: Crappy English.

@Mea.5491 said:

@trev.1045 said:a fairly significant investment upfront.

Oh i agree much of GW2 seems very generous, heck you can play 80 levels for no money whatsoever with what appear to be very minor restrictions.I guess i am just used to buying the latest pack and getting all the content. But of course over a period of a year or so you pay far more in the sub fee.

I have no idea how hard it is to generate gold for buying episodes as i am at a very early stage in the game and have about 4 gold in total :). Having said all that i did spent maybe $50.00 on wow tokens a few years ago because i wanted to power level my crafting!.

I guess now that i have decided my new mmo home is GW2 i really want it to succeed, and if the purchasing structure made me pause (as an ex wow player)- it may stop others coming from BFA from purchasing a fantastic game

Making 30-50g a day isnt a problem anymore. 200gems are about 60g. so 2 maybe 3 days. Then you can play the new map/events and earn the gold for the next.

Here is what you can do for daily 2 gold that will make you life bit easy as a new player.Easy 3 pve or pvp dailies in most case s will take you 15 minuteshttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/DailyPress H->achivments->Dailies.It's a good way to learn about the world map as well.Any new character gets 1 waypoint unlocked fro each starting zone, 5 in total.Check on your map they are in front of big cities.You don't lose exp earned if you change the zone, don't worry about that.

One great resource for all things Guild Wars 2 is the Wiki (link above). You can also access it in-game by typing /Wiki (topic of choice) in the chat window.There's also an Online Manual (guildwars2.com - Services - Online Manual), and an expanded online manual in the Wiki.

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

Nice to read something so straight forward. I'd say you've nailed it, on several counts.In any case: I wouldn't worry too much about the future. Just take your time leveling, which still is one of the best parts of the game IMO, as a generally alt-hating GW2 altoholic.Feel free to hit me up on EU, happy to help if you need a hand.Edits: caught up with the thread, even if I didn't mean to ;-)