Thinking of playing again!

[Nick Reit.9462]

Hi all,

I've been playing mainly FPS games for the last couple of years. Recently, that's been Fortnite and PUBG. However, from time to time I remember how much fun I had in WoW (before it got painfully grindy/boring for me) and wonder if I maybe could recapture that magic. I prioritized PvP way more than PvE in WoW (PvE was a bit too grindy and time-consuming for me) and did have a blast but considered myself casual as I never got into the rated brackets. A while back (probably around 5 years ago) I played a little GW2, and if I remember right, leveled a ranger to around 55-60 but gave up not long after. I never got a good grasp on the PvP system and didn't really understand the builds. Many other aspects of GW2 confused me as well but I was more interested in rushing to max level cap than enjoying the game itself. I'm currently downloading GW2 again with the plan of creating a new character and taking my time. Do you guys have any suggestions? How is the state of the game nowadays? Is there still a solid player base?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Plenty of players in maps. I'd suggest just taking your time to learn the game. There's an Online Manual (link above) for an overall view, and the Wiki (link above) for more in-depth questions.

Welcome return, and good luck.

[cesmode.4257]

I just returned two days ago. I took a 4 year break, similar to you I guess. The game is very new and different than what we remember. Tons of content, tons of reason to do a lot of things.

State of the game is fine. Two seemingly amazing expansions, sprinkling in some content drops in the form of living stories. Tons of system and mechanical changes. Two subclasses (specializations) per class. One new class added.

Playerbase seems legit.

If all you did was level one character to 55-60 I suggest continue that character, or start a new one. I leveled all except a ranger, engi (36) and elementalist (71) to 80, spent 1450+ hrs in the game. I boosted the new revenant to 80 this time around, wanted something new. Getting what I asked for, more or less.

[Josif.2015]

@Nick Reit.9462 said:Do you guys have any suggestions? How is the state of the game nowadays? Is there still a solid player base?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

The players base is better now since the release of the Path of Fire expansion. Since you're a new player or a returning player planning on creating a new character, play either warrior, ranger or necromancer. These professions are in my opinion the most beginner friendly professions.

Don't play PvP until you have learned how to play your profession. Make your own keybinds, reduce some graphics settings in order to have smooth FPS and above all have a wonderful time playing Guild Wars 2.

[Ellegon Mcleod.5931]

Also do suggest popping into all the basic play styles as they pop up eg wvw, dungeons ( a bit quieter but still some happening), initial fractuals, pvp lobby etc. This will give you some info about each other without diving into the deep end. Also try out each profession a little to see which style you like playing the most. The 2 expansions are fun to get but not required for core and actually make some of core way to easy.Key thing is take your time and enjoy. Also ask questions as many are willing to help each other out.

[Urud.4925]

If you concerns are the farming for the gear and the playerbase for PvP, then no worries! The sPvP requires no grinding/farming at all: once you have at least 1 character lv21, you can join the PvP lobby with any character >lv2 and you'll be instantly lv80 with all the core builds unlocked. The waiting time for a match is usually 1-2 minutes, and you are paired with people of your level (most of the times...). At least in unranked (I don't play ranked, so idk).But you remember well: there were a lot of builds and now, with the expansions, even more. You could start to PvP right away, but maybe it's better to refresh some basics first, as Hoodie suggested.

Also, if you are still not sure if you want to play GW2 and buy the expansions, it might be a good idea to choose a profession that has not been outclassed too much by the new specializations. The gear is meaningless in sPvP (it's important in WvW instead), but some specialization is better than some other (although everything is viable in the end, more or less).