[VERY NEW PLAYER (Noob :)]

Mukluklabs here is a link to some new player guides that may be helpful. Especially the "Stronger Start" video. Gives  a good run down of the classes and some tips for leveling. Also pay attention to the "Adventure Guide", as completing those achievements will give you a good boost of experience.

Otherwise like others said just take your time, enjoy. Map complete, do events, explore the world. If you ever get tired of a zone you have access to all starting areas via waypoints. So jump around to see different environments. 

As far as Currencies and Materials: there are a lot in this game. If you want to hoard them you can but, especially at low levels, selling these on the TP can get you some gold early too. You'll get flooded with this stuff fairly consistently at 80.  Remember you have a "deposit all" button on your bag to put these directly into a material storage viewable at any bank. You can craft right from storage too so no need to bring it out. It's also account bound. For Currencies, there are a  ton in game. Karma is the most common. Do not worry about spending it. Every event, heart, ect gives you some.  You can't really make too devastating of mistakes by spending materials. Worse you'll just have to get more. 

Feel free to message/mail me in game if you need anything. But otherwise just enjoy the journey.  The Raids will come at 80. Not much you can do early to prep other than learn your class buttons, learn dodging, and learn enemy attacks. Those skills will be useful when learning a raid.

Have fun!

[Returning player and hopelessly lost]

Welcome back. What is it you like to do? Do you want to tackle group content? Then try fractals. Exploration? Do map complete, 100% or core world gives materials used in Legendary Crafting. Very much worth doing. There is even a new daily system that rewards Astral Acclaim (aka Wizard coins) that can be used to purchase Ascended items, crafting materials, gold and more. I know some is locked behind having the newest expansion (SoTO) but you should still have something to work towards in these tabs.

If you do reroll a new character, leveling has also been made easier. There is a new set of achievements called the Adventure guide. These are character specific achievements that only reward experience. Following these will help you level quickly. They start simple in volume 1 with things like Dodge an attack or complete a heart. Just follow along and you'll be 80 again in no time! I find having multiple Alts, especially in GW2, very satisfying. Easy to switch roles or change up my playstyle to keep the game feeling fresh while doing the same activities. 

When I came back to the game, I stuck to my main (also ranger) and pushed the story forward (PoF just came out). It really wasn't until after that I branched out and made alts. Realistically it doesn't matter where you go, what you do. Anything you do progresses your account. There really is no "right" answer. Just play, have fun, and you'll be building materials, currencies, skins, etc. that you can use to keep moving your account forward. I know this isn't the most satisfying answer. However, it is both a strength and a weakness of this game that you can do whatever you want to progress.

I also used guides when I came back. The ones I found most useful where from Mukluklabs. I liked his humor, and his guides were easy to understand. Both his "Stronger Star" guides and "I'm 80 Now what" gave me helpful info and direction on where I wanted to go.  Hope you have fun! You can also message/mail me in game or post here again if you have more specific questions.

TLDR: Find your fun as everything you do improves your account, don't rush, do dailies, and Mukluk can save you! 😄

[Secrets of the Obscure: Looking Back and Forward]

I love reading developer insights like these. I was always sure SotO would be weaker just because it was the first in a new cycle of expansions. However, you guys packed a lot in. Not that everything was a hit, but I really appreciate everything put into this expansion. It's been fun but I'm definitely ready for the next round!  See you next week for the new stuff.

 

[Returning Player - Desperately Lost!]

Welcome back. As you can see there is a lot to do. This game doesn't limit you for the most part. Once you are 80 everything is open. I'm going to assume you only have up to Path of Fire unlocked so I won't get ahead of that.

First off you can finish your path of fire story. There are still a few more mounts to uncover as well. Just pick up where you left off or start the story back a chapter or two just to get caught refreshed.

Since you like the open world stuff, go check out the Wiki Event Timer (type "/wiki ET" in game chat). Almost every map has a boss in it. Look at Core Tyria, Heart of Thorns and PoF areas and see what is coming up. Get there a few minutes early incase you don't have the waypoint closest and look for Commanders on maps (or look in the LFG tool). Most open world comms are open join so right click on them and "squad join" to get in. Ask if you need help navigating a map to the boss area.  Don't forget Bounties! These are cool boss fights with random mods. Pick one up and ask for help. Usually 3-5 people for a champ or 10ish for a Legendary. There are even bounty Trains that run around taking out all the bounties on a map. Keep and eye out for one!

There is also a new Vendor in WvW* allowing you to spend some currency for stat selectable exotics. This is nice for catch up or new characters to get a great set of starter gear. Let the forums know what you are playing too if you want character advice. Have you tried any elite specs? Or any archetype of character you enjoy in games?

You can also add me in game and whisper/mail me anytime if you want more in game advice. I am usually on later times (on NA @10-11pmEST usually). Also your serve won't limit who you can play with besides NA or EU. Also don't hesitate to ask in map chat as well. there are a lot of helpers in game! Hope you are enjoying your return.

Edit: WvW is also going to be based on guild not server soon. So find yourself a WvW guild like Inculpatus said above. That will be a big help.

You can also Achievement hunt. Your Achievement Points actually matter in GW. You can get skins, gold, and even Gems from getting higher AP. There are also big rewards like titles, skins, weapons ect in the achievements themselves. There are a lot and it can be hard to navigate at first but just keep that in mind. You can also use the "eye" icon to track them or the cog next to the search box to look up specific things like say Mastery Points!

[warrior or ranger?]

Hi and welcome back to GW2. As a Ranger main I may be a bit biased. However, Warrior was the last class I made and actually regret that as Axe spin is so satisfying!

Might I suggest Mukluklabs as a source for guides. He has a "Stronger Start" video that goes into the classes and explains their elite Specs (Expansion talents) as well that may give you some idea what to go for Longterm. Hope that helps!

[trying to come back..... its been a wile]

Hi friend and welcome back. 

I'd recommend Mukluklabs for his "Stronger start" guides and the "I hit 80 now what" to maybe get an idea of ways to get gear or make gold. 

As for guilds. I know starter areas usually have a recruiter, as well as just asking in chat in Lion's Arch. You could also try the guild forums on here as well.

[Do you like how your characters look?]

Overall, this game, above most others, does cosmetics really well. All the armor types and dye channels make a lot possible. I've enjoyed messing around with skins and making my characters different specs have a different theme. Mechanist is more robotic while Scrapper looks more like a welder/workshop guy. Berserker is in random crazy items while the spellbreaker is a pirate theme! Even though these are the same character, it's cool to swap gear and get a new look! 

[New/returning player google search player observations]

On 4/22/2024 at 12:55 AM, salzia.2790 said:

First off Ranger class max level,

1.  Trying to figure out the steps to max my power was a  nightmare.  Fan bois - THIS IS AN OPINION FROMA RETURNING PLAYER

• Google searching had tons of old/bad articles
• The path to "good" was terrible
• Fan bois...your haha this is the link is fail if google does not support it.  The quest path is laborious at best.

2,  Questing

• 3 dimension questing needs a whole lot of work or really just avoid it!
• Instanced questing:  I am a power player ( kinda) I Hate this let me skip more!
• Instanced questing:  If you are going to force me at least point me better.  I was running around like a headless chicken looking for my next get me our of here yapping fest.

3.  End Game

• No clue yet.  And that my friends is a giant problem.

 

 

 

 

1) Just because it is old doesn't mean it is bad. Some of the old articles are still relevant years later thanks to the horizontal progression in gear. Without knowing what you googled or what sites you got it's hard to figure out how to "improve" the search. And what is this issue you have with "fan bois" as you say. It's a weird way to start don't do that.

2) I don't know what 3 Dimension questing is, but the instance cuts scenes you can skip most of them I think.

3) I have no clue what the problem is. Is it that you have heard nothing about it? maybe you googled it and couldn't find what end game is in gw2? Not giving us a clue to your not having a clue isn't the best way to get a clue. Get it?

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

On 4/20/2024 at 4:36 PM, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

I know people are getting frusted about me not "listening" (or rather immediately applying all advice at once) but it can be a little difficult sifting through all of the differeing viewpoints about what I should do, you know?

I hope you didn't take that as I'm frustrated at you but at the game. It's dumb that it puts you in a position so unprepared for HoT and then guides tell you Ascended is easy but you have zero maps unlocked so you struggle. It's a weird system where we are now. The game does not prepare you in skills or equipment for what comes later. They try to fix this bit by bit but the core game is so lacking. I hope that clears that up.

[Mastery points]

If you are looking for "how many hours did it take to get all masterties" I'd point you to Mightyteapot and his youtube series "Zero to hero". This is were he started a new account and got it up to full masteries (455*) in about 430hrs. Though he knew what he was do it so it would be slower for a new player. He also wasn't racing them and only focused them at around 380 hrs. Season 1 Review in case you want to look at it yourself. It's worth a watch how he prioritizes maps and unlocks to keep gold up while still doing what he enjoys.

I myself didn't start until Path of Fire (or just before) released. I still have all masteries (except raids). It was never something that distracted me from doing what I was doing in game. Just more of a bonus. Only a few times did I stop and actually go "Oh I need a point" and look through my achievements. So, yea it takes some time but most of them fall into your lap as you go.  Hope that helps.

 

*SotO was not out at the time he did this.

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

On 4/19/2024 at 11:26 PM, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

I get dodging but not all damage is avoidable. I try not to "stand in bad". That's not what's killing me anyway.

More damage than you think is avoidable. You can dodge more than circles. A lot of auto attacks from enemies can be dodge as well just by simple strafing. Learning to move while attack is difficult, especially if you came from a game with a lot of cast bars. Most of your skills won't have them and can be used on the move. Just something to think about while learning your class. Find what abilities need a cast time. Next time you fight try one fight standing still and one moving around more. See the difference, I think you'll be surprised.

Edit:

Quote

I could just do fractals with my power dps set, but if i do it with my friends, since it'd be me with a Power Weaver and a Condi Scourge, unless one of the other random ppl we get in LFG for fractals (or dungeons if I wanna do explorer mode to get dungeon currency for Monk sigils eventually) is coming in as healer/tank, it's probably gonna fall to me

Doing early fractals without a healer (or with a dps spec'd healer) isn't going to be too difficult. A lot of the early fractals is learning the fractal itself. There are 100 of them broken down into 25 chucks. The first 20 or so just let you play around and learn how the instance itself works. Afterwords you'll hit Agony (which lowers healing) or special effects on each run in Tier2. Don't be afraid to step in and learn a bit first. You won't be at a significant disadvantage being dmg rather than healing. Your self heals and dodging should be enough to get you through most of them.

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

See this is the kind of thing I was worried about. You are following a guide telling you not to buy exotic trinkets when you have level 60 common trinkets! That's a crazy idea to keep level 60 stuff instead of getting a lvl 80 upgrade because you are waiting for ascended. Trust me the gold you spend on getting a set of gear, even if not perfectly statted for your healer roll will do you wonders. A +1 power backpiece, a level 30 common ring. To be clear this is by no means your fault. The game doesn't reward items well enough. I'm telling you a celestial or givers set will clean you up real good. You'll feel the power difference. Especially with runes (that's a lot of stats missing!). While I wouldn't worry about the aqua breather everything not exotic could use a clean up. It'll greatly improve your overall performance in every area of the game. 

Trust me when I say we have all been there. Just out of core, fresh 80, spattering of rainbow gear and we walk into heart of thorns and splat! Heart of thorns came out years after core and thus had a difficulty spike to accommodate highly skilled players. This was reduced but it still is a world of difference from core to here.

Edit: I am frustrated that the game put you (and me back in the day) in this spot. It's an awful feeling being so under geared and poor while having guides tell you Ascended is easy. It's true but it doesn't FEEL true. And I'm sorry the game put you through that. While there is the TP or an easy set to get in WvW of exotics, the core story should give you a set as well. If not exotic, rare at least. Throwing newbies into HoT with lvl 60 gear is one of this games biggest flaws.

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

53 minutes ago, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

said it's best to avoid exotic trinkets and weapons because ascended weapons and trinkets

So, I see what he is saying. Trinkets can be expensive if bought. However, he is also talking about farming Fractals and Strikes, have you even done one? I don't mean to insult you or the guide maker but he's talking above you a bit. If you haven't gone into them. Then there is a disconnect here. You are such a new player, and he seems to be more talking as if you are gearing up an alt and have currencies to use and vendors unlocked already. I really don't disagree with anything he is saying, I just think he's a step beyond where you are at. You are struggling in open world and he's talking about farming living world seasons for items you probably don't even have maps for yet. If you were a semi established player his guide is perfect. But skipping exotics on your FIRST character is just painful. That's why again I think you should step back and get yourself Celestial or Givers or Clerics, a base exotic set. Then try these instances. Play your class as the healer, learn the fights and hell have fun! Instead of suffering in content you don't seem to enjoy. Gold and currencies flow out of these places (as well as random drops).

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

43 minutes ago, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

And the problem witht he other sets with healing power is this guide i'm following says you really, REALLY need concentration/boon duration.

He does say at the start of the gear section "We overcap on boon duration...but more is better" so don't stress too much on getting that concentration maxxed out.

For tanking honestly, outside of raids I can't name a boss that targets the highest toughness target. So you'd be safe for fractals/Strikes and can swap out a piece or two when you want to raid if you don't want to talk. That would be my suggestion.

Edit: You are trying to jump from Rare leveling gear -> Ascended Raid Gear, it would be the equivilent of going from Common in wow to Epics without using a rare. It's a weird jump. I get that Harrier doesn't exist outside of the Ascended stuff. Still I'd say go Givers or better Celestial Exotics first. Take baby steps before you try and fly!

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

12 minutes ago, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

especially Ascended Weapons and Trinkets, because guides say to skip exotic weapons and trinkets

I doubt it said to skip Exotic, the game was made with exotics in mind, but it probably just shows you the completed build with full Ascended. DO NOT SKIP EXOTICS. It's like trying to buy a car with only getting school lunch money every day. You can do it but it'll be painful.

Also there are some fun cheats when looking for gear on the TP. Don't search  "Harrier" this will get you named and probably crafted items which will be expensive. If you do Healing Power, Power as your search using the drop-down bars then sort by cheapest and lvl 80 you'll see much lower prices. I can see a Mhenlo's light set for 35silver a piece with a Rune in it. I know it's Clerics and not Harrier, but it's a good starting point to launch from. There are also stat selectable items such as a Ice Golems Maw Box that has a stat selectable helm in it. Or Iron Legion Staff for stat selectable Staff weapon. Other weapons if you search Givers you can see a bunch of cheap Christmas themed weapons with a nice sigil in them to start you off as well for 50silver or so. 

Again these are just starting points to get you in a set to play instances comfortably. So you can learn the instance and make some gold until you can work up the currency/gold for the ascended Harrier's versions.

[Struggling trying to gear/get my foot in the door as a healer]

2 hours ago, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

I just don't understand why people reacted that way about me buying harrier's gear because i want to be a healer and focus on it and treating me like i'm stupid...I just want to be able to start healing instanced content....

Then do it. Alot of people (me included) wait until they get perfect gear or even ascended before stepping into Instanced stuff. I didn't even do a strike or fractal until EoD despite being in the game since the first expansion. For me it was a lot of social anxiety from other games (WoW) but this game isn't always like that. As long as you aren't trying to join experienced runs and tell people you are new, they are very open. Heck I specifically run low level fractals or EZ3 strikes just to get people in. Don't worry about having perfect gear. You got healing power, concentration, runes and sigils that actually benefit your role! They don't have to be top of the line 13gold ascended items. Grab some mixed stuff like Celestial to round out the missing pieces and replace them as you go. You can start trying the content now. Play what you enjoy! The gear/gold will follow. 

 

1 hour ago, ChrisTheEnby.9046 said:

healing gear must really suck in this game if it makes you that reliant on other players

Gear in something like WoW, gives you power, vitality and other stats on most items. GW2 is more specialized in its gear. Harrier's gives you Power, Healing and Concentration but no Vitality to survive if you are running solo. No matter how much you heal some mobs can hit you really hard or faster than your cooldowns. Items stated as Celestial may be weaker overall in healing but give you some of every stat to make you more versatile. Don't get me wrong Harrier's is better for pure healing, but you could also heal early instanced content just fine with a mix of stats and probably be stronger solo with celestial. 

Another strength of guild wars is that you can swap Weapons (gear), talents, skills any time out of combat. You die to a monster, maybe switch a skill for more reflects or CC. Party wipes to a knockback, bring some extra stability. The ability to adapt to your situation is very powerful in this game. It's a common trap new players fall into that "if I follow a guide, I need to be 100% exactly copy it" regardless of situation. It's a guide for a reason. While it shows you the most optimal builds you have to think of the situation it was built for (i.e group content). Doesn't mean that healer gear is terrible just the guide you are following is pushing to max output in a group situation rather than open world or soloing story.  It would be like a DPS telling you they didn't move out of the fire because they get better numbers if they don't move. While a true statement overall, in that situation it was better to move. 

Hope that makes sense. I know this game can throw people for a loop with gearing and stats. Hope to see you in the instances soon!

[Please, help a casual noob understand the endgame]

Never be afraid of doing anything in this game. There are guides online, raid training guilds/discords, and even just putting in the Looking for Group "hey I'm new, no idea what I'm doing" can get you assistance as well. I have a social anxiety and hate feeling like I let the group down because I messed up. So, I waited for my gear to be "good enough" and when I finally stepped into Strikes/Fractals, I was blown away how over prepared I was. I could have used all that time doing those strikes and getting currency to get the high-level gear I was trying to dig up. Don't get me wrong there are some harder ones even on normal but once you clear them a lot of them are laughably easier than even some world bosses. I now "lead" newbies through a few to show people what they are missing. It really doesn't take a lot. So come play. Fractals, Strikes, Raids get in there and hit stuff!

I'm even about to craft my 6th legendary! All this with semi-casual play. Some weeks I can do more and some I do less. I've almost never grinded for anything. I log in, do some dailies and then chase achievements*, do some strikes, or just bounce around to world bosses. Just have to learn how to turn what you get into gold or materials for your own crafting. It does take a minute to learn and I'm even still learning it. I came from WoW so the fact that I wasn't handed gold and had to instead use currencies and the trading post to get it through me for a loop at first.

As I was learning I found Mukluklabs and his streams to be very helpful. His guides on the strikes and fractals let me know what I was in for, and his guides are gear gave me goals.  The guildwars wiki is a great resource too. Type "/wiki (item/place/ect)" in game to get the page open on your topic. Great for finding those hidden PoIs on maps or looking up recipes for the mystic forge!

Welcome to the game, hope you enjoy your time in Tyria!

*You can get skins, gold, items and even Gems from the achievement chests as you get higher Achievement Points. Don't sleep on these!

[Legendary Relic]

3 hours ago, Reminas.5641 said:

 "newer relics added in the future expansions" are not those already in the game, right? 

For this, I'm going to assume future relic will work similar to how skins do now. Once you bind/salvage the skin it gets added to your wardrobe. Future relics added to the game sound like they'll be like that. Bind/acquire it and then it will be in your legendary.

[Too many toons!]

 Mastery Points are account wide. If you got all the ones in the open world, check your achievements. Next to the search bar is a little cog that can search for Mastery. The green ones are Heart of Thorns. On my account I have all the masteries done (except raid) and still have points left over. So there are definitely more for you to collect.

[Is the grind worth it for Ascended Gear?]

9 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

Only mats in there or also gear? Have open few, nothing special in there until now 😕

Don't disrespect the mats! I see you have another thread open here asking how to make money. Well materials are a great way to do it. Even if you don't want to craft yourself you can sell these on the TP for a lot of money.

Loot in GW2 comes in a few forms:

1) crafting mats. Great to sell or build up legendaries of your own.

2) Currencies. Often used to buy gear or more material bags to make gold.

3) Unidentified items: Identify these and salvage them for mats. Occassionally you can get a high value skin or Precurser to sell. Can also just be sold as unidentified if you are lazy like me.

4) The rare items. Ascended items, rare skins, or even the big infusions. The hire the value on the TP the rarer it is usually. You actually will see ascended drops fairly often, but they tend to be account bound. Strikes have a good chance for weapons, world bosses do drop some boxes and fractals have a good drop for rings! (trinkets and armor typically come from currency vendors).

5) Junk! Those grey items actually can add up. In fractals you'll mostly get items worth a few silver but they add up. You can make good money just selling the junk. Don't discount it if you get junk. 

So go look at your material storage. Maybe you have some mats to sell if you want to build up your gold. 

[Need some advice!]

On 2/7/2024 at 10:19 AM, Padrion.7382 said:

As a general advice I would refrain from using berserker gear for solo play unless you what you are doing. You will have much more room for errors with something like marauders or celestial.

This is important. While Berserker or Viper are common for damage builds they are min/maxed for Group content. So you'd have healers and buffers with you to help keep you alive and focusing on damage rather than survivability. Make sure you have runes in your gear. Even if you can't afford the best/expensive ones as long as you have a set as they give a lot of stats. Also if you look at builds look for ones that are LI (low intensity) it will let you learn and do good damage without having too many buttons.

Depending on if you have an expansion or not, End of Dragons introduced the Jade bot. It has an item slot that gives at least 100 vitality extra. So, take a character through the story there until you get the bot (second map) and all your characters can equip an item easily bought off the TP for extra life.

[Old legendaries need some love]

On 2/7/2024 at 6:34 PM, Ashen.2907 said:

I would rather not see my existing legendaries changed in the manner proposed.

This for sure.

Why change what is and instead make new items? Some people enjoy the item they've taken time to craft. I'd rather see new items be made that people can choose to go for. IF they choose to "improve" old items then I would rather see an "upgraded" version of them existing. Something like turning Dusk into Twighlight. You still have the old one, but you made a new shiny version through some collection or mystic forge mumbjumbo. That's the only way I'd want them to improve a classic skin.

[Useless drops]

I don't disagree the GW2 loot system lacks the excitement of other systems. However I think I prefer this system. It's slow but the currency and crafting components come at a decent enough pace that I can plan when I'd get my rewards. There are still some fun drops, skins, ect to make loot interesting but they are rare.

After playing WoW for 10+ years though I am tired of the "hope the item drops and hope its my turn" kind of loot style. Being able to slowly build an Ascended or Legendary item has a nice feel to it. I know it's not for everyone but that satisfaction of making something I've been working for is so nice. I also love that I don't have to grind this game at all. I can play any thing I want anywhere and still be building it. Sure there are more efficient paths but that doesn't matter to me.  I can see how this loot system can confuse or dishearten players used to other systems. A lot of the loot is unidentified piles, rare but non-upgrade items, or crafting materials that vanish into the void of storage. The stuff is there, you can profit off it, but if you aren't aware, it does feel hollow. 

So how can it be fixed for people like you? More obvious how currency is spent and turned into rewards. Better more front facing collection giving players more obvious goals. The loot system is one of those things GW2 does to be the Anti-WoW. So overall I don't think it's going to change much. But I'll ask you, how often do you need to see a drop to feel it's there? How powerful should the item be to make it satisfying? 

[Is the grind worth it for Ascended Gear?]

3 hours ago, DoNotAimAtMe.3510 said:

And what is better with legendarys? And how to aquire them? In my build nothing mentioned for legandarys:

https://hardstuck.gg/gw2/builds/necromancer/condition-scourge/

Legendaries are more of a luxury item. Same stats as Ascended but account wide access. So you craft say Bolt the legendary sword then every character you have that wants a sword can equip it from the Legendary Armory. There is also a "legendary starter kit" in the Wizards Vault, which can give you a great boost forward in making one. These can be long projects but are so worth doing if you have multiple characters.

As for ascended don't grind it. As you push into Fractals and Strikes and even Raids, all which can be started in Exotics, you'll get drops or currency to buy the items rather than grinding out crafting mats. Unless it's a cool skin you want or collection to complete don't worry so much about it.  Also look up in your achievements "Guide for the Lost" it's an ascended torch for your specialization you can get by just doing a few things. You can track the achievement by clicking the eye and it will appear next to your story in the top right so you can track it. Just do a piece of this every day/week and you'll eventually have a powerful item for your build.

[Stonecleavers musket]

You can equip them from the Hero Panel. Just click on the weapon you want and you should see them in your inventory on the left. Right click and equip it to the item and it should show you both slots. Just don't put them in the same slot as that will destroy your other sigil.

If you are just doing open world don't worry about buying "the best" sigils either. If they are too expensive just play around with others that give you more power damage. Also things that say "on weapon swap" work for when you equip kits for the Mechanist.

As for Fractals, what scares you so? Social thing or just don't feel prepared? I'll gladly take any new players through them, they are great fun! Tier 1 is just about learning the dungeon for the most part. Just smack some bosses and get loot! Strikes too if you haven't, the first few are so easy you'll laugh later when you realize how silly it is to be scared of them. Take it from someone who "wasn't prepared" for years in this game. Wish I didn't wait.

As for great, ascended is great but did you know the game is kind of built around Exotic! So having full exotics is good enough to do any content in this game (almost). You can get a good set of the Trading Post by searching for stats rather than by name or in WvW they added an entire set of stat selectable exotics for cheap currency too! 

If you still need to see what you are getting into try Mukluklabs for guides. There is a lot of good content here to make you feel more prepared. There are many other sites but that is a personal favorite and the one I used to get into fractals, strikes and even raids!