New Player, not sure what the goal is.

[Whipple.4085]

Howdy all:

Bit of background first. I'm 55 and have been playing MMORPG's since I started with UO in 1998. I tend to stick with a game for quite some time and do everything but purposefully PvP. I do lots of research before starting to play a game and when I bought GW2 I purchased HoT and PoF with the anticipation of sticking with it for multiple years.

To the point of my post. I'm in the starting area Caledon Forest. I've leveled to 18 as an engineer, over the past 12 or so hours of playing in that zone and completed 68% of what there is to do, according to the numbers on the map. I'm not the type of player who's only care is to level as fast as possible. I like to travel around, check out the lay of the land, discover places I haven't seen before; that type of stuff. After playing about 4 hours today, something dawned on me.....

I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing in this game - other than leveling my toon.

I'm enjoying the game combat mechanics so far. I'm enjoying not knowing stuff and the pleasure of discovery. I haven't worried about dailies yet, and probably won't for some time. The task system with the empty hearts to show you where they are is a neat system. I like the idea of stumbling across other quests as I'm running around the map. However in my mind I'm not seeing the future.

I don't mean not seeing my future with the game. I mean all other MMORPG's I've played except Eve have given the player some direction; and with Eve it was obvious what you should do, based on what you wanted to accomplish (with a fair bit of internet searching, of course). I'm not feeling that "You need to go do this next", like I've felt after playing a few hours in other games. I haven't considered guilding yet as I don't think I'm playing my toon competently yet. My internet searches have proved fruitless for what my overall direction(s) in the game COULD be.

Maybe I simply haven't found my direction in this game yet? Maybe I'm missing something that is staring me in the face and I'm just not seeing it? Anyone have some big picture stuff I'm missing or guidance to offer?

Be safe out there,Whipple

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You can explore all the other level-appropriate zones in Tyria. You can start the Personal Story and do the L10 quests. You can start another character, and level it up.Until L80, the game is mostly about exploring the maps and learning your Profession(s) mechanics. Once you are max level, you can start gearing your character and start exploring the expansion maps and/or expansion Specializations, and begin Mastery journeys. There are also many, many Achievements you can complete.

Of course, there is also WvW and PvP. Though, you might want to learn your Profession first.

The Wiki (link above) is a treasure-trove of all things GW2.

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

[Stitch.1794]

Early on, the game is basically about exploring and levelling. Every ten levels, you’ll unlock an new chapter of the story which will start to lead you into new maps, but there’s nothing to stop you exploring without being led by the story. If you’re bored with Caledon Forest, you should have a waypoint in each of the other races’ starter zones already unlocked, so you could go an explore those a bit. You can go pretty much anywhere that’s your level or below (you get scaled down in lower level areas, so exploring maps below your level doesn’t become trivial).

Much of the game is based around max level characters and you may not find your direction until you get there, but there’s a lot to do and a lot to learn as you level, so I think the best thing is take your time, enjoy exploring and learning while it’s all still new, and then look for a long term goal in the max level content when you get there.

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

In short: Dynamic EventsThe renown hearts (those quest-like task areas marked by golden hearts on the map) are really only there to keep you in an area so that you'll see events to tale part in.

Some are one-off, some are chained. In later maps, you'll see chained events (Meta-events) that essentially drives the entire map.

Also, these events - particularly the chained ones - tend to tell the story of what's happening in the area, so pay a bit of attention to what the NPCs say!

[Whipple.4085]

@Stitch.1794 said:

Much of the game is based around max level characters and you may not find your direction until you get there, but there’s a lot to do and a lot to learn as you level, so I think the best thing is take your time, enjoy exploring and learning while it’s all still new, and then look for a long term goal in the max level content when you get there.

Thank you three. Each of your replies added something to my understanding and I appreciate that. For Stitch specifically, I understand now and it makes sense based on what I'm reading and seeing in folks videos. Makes me feel a tad better knowing how the game is structured.

[Fluffball.8307]

@Whipple.4085 said:I'm enjoying the game combat mechanics so far. I'm enjoying not knowing stuff and the pleasure of discovery.

Yup. That's what you do. :)

Even if you have a specific end game goal in mind, like raids or WvW, it's all just an excuse to enjoy the combat mechanics. Living story and expacs and what not are about the pleasure of discovery and narrative. BTW, if you're into story, you might want to eventually buy the previous living story episodes off the gem store.

[Majirah.5089]

When I first started playing I just went around with a friend completing maps. I learned the basic mechanics of combat for thief (that was my first character).

Then I started trying world vs world at about level 50. Did that till I got to level 80. Hopped into the heart of thorns maps and got murdered over and over. Gave up on pve for a bit and tried pvp.

Did pvp only for about a year and learned all the other professions. Crafted ascended armor sets (one light, one medium, one heavy). Then went back into heart of thorns and had a much easier time of it. Mainly because I just got better at the game after playing pvp.

I then started working on masteries in heart of thorns. Along. The way I realized I really like the Bo staff skin. So I did that collection achievement.

By this time path of fire came out and I did all of Path of Fire. Got all the mounts and masteries. Then went back to heart of thorns since I only had about 70 mastery points worth of unlocks there. Heart of thorns has a lot more than path of fire.

In the last few months I also started working on making legendaries. I focused heavily on the pvp achievements to get The Ascension and then I crafted Bolt and Predator.

Now I am trying to unlock core masteries and the remaining heart of thorns masteries. Once I am done with that I will probably try to tackle fractals.

What I like about this game is there is a lot you can work towards that is quite variable. If you like crafting there is definitely things you can work towards (ascended and legendary items). If you like pvp there is instances structured pvp and world vs world. If you like pve there is map completion and story. If you like team based pve there is fractals and raids.

[Tiger Ashante.1792]

@"Whipple.4085" said:Howdy all:

Bit of background first. I'm 55 and have been playing MMORPG's since I started with UO in 1998. I tend to stick with a game for quite some time and do everything but purposefully PvP. I do lots of research before starting to play a game and when I bought GW2 I purchased HoT and PoF with the anticipation of sticking with it for multiple years.

To the point of my post. I'm in the starting area Caledon Forest. I've leveled to 18 as an engineer, over the past 12 or so hours of playing in that zone and completed 68% of what there is to do, according to the numbers on the map. I'm not the type of player who's only care is to level as fast as possible. I like to travel around, check out the lay of the land, discover places I haven't seen before; that type of stuff. After playing about 4 hours today, something dawned on me.....

I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing in this game - other than leveling my toon.

I'm enjoying the game combat mechanics so far. I'm enjoying not knowing stuff and the pleasure of discovery. I haven't worried about dailies yet, and probably won't for some time. The task system with the empty hearts to show you where they are is a neat system. I like the idea of stumbling across other quests as I'm running around the map. However in my mind I'm not seeing the future.

I don't mean not seeing my future with the game. I mean all other MMORPG's I've played except Eve have given the player some direction; and with Eve it was obvious what you should do, based on what you wanted to accomplish (with a fair bit of internet searching, of course). I'm not feeling that "You need to go do this next", like I've felt after playing a few hours in other games. I haven't considered guilding yet as I don't think I'm playing my toon competently yet. My internet searches have proved fruitless for what my overall direction(s) in the game COULD be.

Maybe I simply haven't found my direction in this game yet? Maybe I'm missing something that is staring me in the face and I'm just not seeing it? Anyone have some big picture stuff I'm missing or guidance to offer?

Be safe out there,Whipple

The early experience of GW2 while leveling specifically, is all about exploring the rich world of Tryia. You level naturally as you explore it. The leveling is not meant to be the focus, but rather exploration. Doing 100% map completion is important later on, for when u may want to craft your favorite Legendary Weapon(s). Completing the entire core game 100% will give you 2 Gifts of Exploration which you will need to craft certain Legendary Weapons. GW2's world is rich and full of hidden secretes like mini dungeons, Jumping puzzles, Diving goggles (for a dive master achievement), hidden treasures and Easter eggs, etc.GW2 is also heavily driven by achievements that are optional to a player, but provide lot of content and achievements are not just there for looks, they give you actual rewards for reaching certain milestones. To access them, open your hero panel H and then achievement tab and browse all the different categories on which you may want to focus and set your own goals. At the top of that page, you will see chests and if you hover over them they show what your next reward is and how many achievement points it requires to get it. Achievement panel is your guide to content and you pick and choose which ones you want to go after. Lot of the achievements you will get naturally as you play, but others you will have to seek out.Enjoy the story, enjoy the exploration especially your first time, your first experience of the game only happens once, so take your time don't be afraid to get off the beaten path and stop and smell the roses.GW2 doesn't hold your hand, or set you on rails like other games do. It's an MMO but feels more like a single player RPG at least until you encounter Dynamic Events :smile:. But basically, you are given this huge, rich and interesting world and get thrown into it and you have to find your own way and goals as you explore it. Do a google search for gor GW2 boss timers. There are lot of amazing World Bosses in the game and the timers will tell you where and when they appear and some timers also show when meta events happen in certain maps which are lot of fun.If you enjoy the story in a game, GW2 is rich in lore and showcases lot of story and narrative in the game. It goes in the order of Personal Story, then Season 2 living story....living story is basically a narrative that tells the story between and leads to the expansions.... these are like dlc's in other games that you have to buy per episode or buy it in a bundle, very cheap for what you get. Then do the Heart of Thorns story, then Season 3 living world and then finally do the Path of Fire expansion, followed by Season 4 which has just been released and season 4 you will get for free if your an active player while the episodes are being released. There's also season 1, which sadly is no longer available but there's a really good summation of it in a movie format by Dreamy Abaddon on youtube, here's a link to it:

Hope this gives you some guidance, good luck and have fun, that's the main thing and welcome to GW2 :)

[Cragga the Eighty Third.60]

By the way, you don't mention the story at all.

Every ten levels, a new chapter of the story is unlocked. You played the intro story, you may have played the Level 10 chapter, in two levels there will be a new chapter for you to play.

In between, you explore the world, level up your character, take part in local events, and just have fun where you find it.

(If you haven't figured out how to play the story, follow that bright green star or swirly on your map, it leads to the next event. You usually receive a letter from an NPC summoning you to come and talk about something to begin each chapter.)

[Danikat.8537]

This is one of the good and bad things about GW2: it's very open. Even more so at level 80, but right from level 1 you're given a lot of choice in what to do. Think of it a bit like Ultima Online. You've got a character, you've got a world to explore with them and it's up to you how you do that.

Early on it's probably best to stick to the open-world stuff - exploring, talking to NPCs (even if they're not part of a heart or an event they might have something interesting to say) and just seeing what you find as you roam around. Every 10 levels you'll also unlock a new chapter of the Personal Story which gives you more lore, takes you to new areas and gradually introduces the main story of the game - the fight against the Elder Dragons.

Later on there's also dungeons and raids you can do, and you can start thinking about going after specific items and skins which may interest you or would be useful. But for now I think exploring is the way to go.

[Whipple.4085]

Again, thank you all!

Last night I had someone track me down in game. He spent a couple hours of his time to take me around and showed me how some of the game mechanics work. I was amazed at how different this game is from other MMORPG's out there. I've also found a guild to join because of it, which was nice. One thing I had heard while researching this game was how outstanding the community is.

From all these helpful replies to the people I meet in game last night, I can believe that now!

[Urud.4925]

Yep, I also like the community, that sense of helping all the other players trying to kill the same boss. Unfortunately this is fading away a bit, but it's still more present here than in many other MMOs that I played. (I remember more "brotherhood" before PoF; now that PoF requires you to travel faster, kill, loot fast and get out of there asap, there's less time to help others. But during some champion encounter, people still help each other - less during meta events). And I never had problems playing with pugs. On the contrary, I often meet nice people. The only issue might be elitists who think that only because you are playing a character without a fashioned skin, you must be bad... or that they are good because dressed in white with a comm tag above them. But they don't really hurt anyone.

In general, as Fluffball said, I also play because the mechanics are entertaining, the landscapes are gorgeous (try to complete the map 100%, there are a lot of hidden spots). Eventually, playing another profession may completely change your experience, as the combat system changes also a lot. Also, play the story on different races, they are all interesting.PvP is also funny. Even if you said that you never cared about it, it's not bad. I always fled from it in other MMOs, since I'm not a teenager anymore. But the fact that it's not geared-based (and that you are matched with players of similar skills), gives me fair chances to enjoy it.

[Biff.5312]

You're right that it is less directed than most MMOs. However, if you follow the story quests that pop up every 10 levels you'll be directed through the content in a level-appropriate manner and get some of the lore. Really though - one of the virtues of the game is that you can decide for yourself what is most fun to pursue. Personally I levelled to 80 without doing a single dungeon/fractal, no wvw either. Now those are things I might explore. But I could just go for map completion, or helping other people with world events, or crafting legendary items, or whatever.

Most MMOs ultimately lead you to just grinding raids for gear upgrades that become obsolete in the next expansion. This one doesn't force you into any particular channel. IMO that's better.