Leveling

[Balefyre.6437]

what's the best way to go about it?

[JustTrogdor.7892]

If you are new, the best way is to play the game. Pretty much everything gives you exp from killing mobs, to doing story, to harvesting nodes, crafting, exploring etc. If you are indeed new I would suggest not being in a rush to level. It happens through play and that is where you will learn more about playing GW2 than trying to level as fast as possible.

I actually have a good example of that, sort of. When I started GW2 in 2013 I rolled a Ranger and about 20 levels in I decided to take a shortcut and use crafting to speed level my character to 80 back when that was a thing. I played the Ranger for a bit but got frustrated by not being very good at it. So I shelved it and played other professions for years. A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to try something new. So I created a new Ranger with the rules that I could not use my scrolls or tomes to level it, can't buy any gear off the TP, can't craft and just have to level normally. Granted I know a lot more about the game now than then but I wanted to kind of go back and start over so to speak. I've learned more about playing core Ranger by doing so than I did with the one I speed leveled and it has been a lot of fun. It also made going back to the lower level maps fun again instead of just blasting through them with an instant L80 character.

So tl;dr Don't stress about leveling and don't rob yourself of the experience that leveling a character from 1 to 80 can provide via exploring and game play. Find something fun and go with it. This game isn't a race to an end point it is about finding what you enjoy.

[Danikat.8537]

Almost everything in this game gives XP, so you can do almost anything to level up, and it doesn't actually take very long to get to level 80 even doing it slowly. (My slowest so far is 134 hours, 39 minutes. And that includes a lot of time afk or just wandering around. I believe the fastest without tomes or other shortcuts is about 48 hours.)

Maybe more importantly there is very little you can do at level 80 that you can't do before then, apart from unlocking mounts and gliding. Dungeons start at level 30, raids and Fractals are basically dungeons with some extra mechanics and PvP and WvW scale you up so you can start those whenever you like.

Between those two my advice is to do what you like and not worry too much about levelling up. Focus on whatever you enjoy in the game, or try a bit of everything to find out what you enjoy doing.

[Ashantara.8731]

You should start by exploring all 6 big cities - map completion will provide you with decent XP: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/City

Map completion and general exploration will provide you with tons of XP, plus leveling crafting: https://gw2crafts.net/ (only do that on later characters, your first one won't have the resources)

Then, of course, there will be the bonus XP weeks for expansion territory on Sept 3: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/catch-up-with-the-expansion-boost-special-event/

[Vayne.8563]

Best way may not be the fastest way. I guess it depends on what you consider best. The fastest way to level wtihout using level up tomes obviously, is to utilitze bonus experience.

The longer something is alive in the world, the more bonus experience accrues. So if you kill it, when it respawns, it respawns with zero bonus. By stacking buffs like food, utlity, any kind of buff you can get (including guild buffs and banners if you have access to them), the faster you level. It's only for kills, so test creatures when you go into an area. Stay away from heart areas, since they're more heavily trafficked. Kill a couple of creatures see the bonus and if it's low move on. Again, this is a very fast way to level, a level about every ten minutes, or if you have a ton of buffs, a level every five minutes.

My wife and I used this method to train core Tyria masteries. We went to Orr, buffed out the wazoo, went underwater where a lot of people ignore combat, and we were getting 5000 to 11,000 XP per kill.

Of course, you can combine this knowledge with other leveling methods to speed it up and still learn the game.

[windbliss.3158]

I was about to suggest going for the neutral mobs, because yes -- the longer a mob exists in a world since its last defeat, the more 'exploration' bonus you can acquire from slaying it. So it's best to fight enemies (especially the neutral/yellow ones) that are often most ignored, because you will get the most experience due to the exploration bonus. Anything that grants boosts to experience effects both the standard kill and exploration bonus for the kill, so go ahead and get some minor boosts and stroke some out-of-field monsters. That'll get you some decent levels.

Also, after a while with salvaging and gathering you'll gain some crafting materials, and crafting is another way to get some decent levels early on. As far as boosters go:

• You'll get a strong XP booster (the yellow ones are 2 hours) as part of your Chapter 4 personal story rewards
• You'll get a strong item booster as part of your leveling
• Lesser XP/item boosters (30 mins) can be purchased for laurels, obtained during your daily rewards cycle (and if you miss days, you won't lose progress)
• A heroic booster is obtained just before the royal tombs exploration part of Chapter 8 (Against the Corruption), obtained at the end of what plan you choose. It is a combination of XP and Item booster.

And something else to keep in mind:

• 5 tomes of mentorship and a piece of Lv.18 leveling gear is obtained by completing the personal story (finishing "Victory or Death"); tomes of mentorship can be used for instant levels, and Lv.18 leveling gear has functionally Lv.26 stats for those who wear it.** You can also get Tomes of Knowledge as part of the daily rewards cycle, useful for levels as well.

Events also reward experience regardless of success or fail, but success yields far greater than a failure, but I only suggest doing these if you're not on a booster and if you are relatively at or above the level listed, never below. Rewards are adjusted for your current level.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@Balefyre.6437 said:what's the best way to go about it?

Whaever you can do that gets you reasonable amounts of XP and that you can tolerate doing for 78 levels per character.