Guild Wars 2 has a solid reputation for being one of the most approachable MMORPGs to date. Even now, it continues to welcome players with open arms as its third expansion, End of Dragons, also waits just around the corner. Speaking of the third expansion, that probably got some budding players excited and it ought to bring an influx of newbies to the game.
If some of you plan to be among them, then it's advisable to clear up some confusion or expectations regarding the game. That's because despite Guild Wars 2's casual atmosphere, the way it sets itself apart from other MMORPGs makes many players wish they knew a lot of these things before they dived into the world of Tyria.
10 It's Not About Warring Guilds
First thing that ought to get clarified is that Guild Wars 2 is only named as such because it's the sequel to Guild Wars. In fact, the majority of the game is spent dealing with dragons and the apocalypse that they supposedly bring about with their reawakening.
Don't be surprised that the game isn't a PVP-centric playground where players can have massive guild-vs-guild battles despite the name. It's quite the opposite-- Guild Wars 2 is a highly-cooperative game and even something as dreamy as an inter-guild or clan conflict isn't officiated in the game.
9 Progression Is Horizontal
Guild Wars 2 does give its players a sense of progression but it's not like with other MMORPGs. Whereas industry heavyweights like World of Warcraft keep introducing higher levels or power creeps that make old gear obsolete with each new update, Guild Wars 2 doesn't.
Players don't have to worry that their level-80 weapons, armor, and trinkets will become less effective with each new content added to the game. Guild Wars merely gives players some new maps and perks like mounts or gliding once they've reached the max level (80) and need more stuff to do.
8 You Don't Have To Level Up To Join PVP
That isn't to say only solo or story-crazed players can enjoy Guild Wars 2. If players want to focus on proving their "mad skills" supremacy to others and laying waste to them, they can do so in a separate environment or aspect in Guild Wars 2. The best part is that they don't need to level up or play through the story quests.
Guild Wars 2 lets players jump into the PVP action (PVP and World-versus-World) right away as early as level 1. If you join a PVP lobby, your character is automatically adjusted to level 80 and is given some appropriate gear so you can kill other players right away. Of course, the character level goes back to its original once you leave the game's PVP environment.
7 World Choice Is Important If You Have Friends
Speaking of PVP, Guild Wars 2 also allows for massive war playgrounds where "servers" get to fight against one another in a triumvirate match that resets every now and then. This is called World-versus-World or WvW and pits players in one world against others.
Hence, this is the closest thing you can actually get to a "guild war" in Guild Wars 2. The catch is that you're stuck in whatever World you picked when you first logged into the game. So, if you do have friends that play Guild Wars 2 and you want to play with them in WvW, then you might want to ask them which world to pick. Otherwise, feel free to choose whatever.
6 Best Way To Level Up Is By Questing And Exploring
In other MMORPG titles, this is likely the most eye-rolling aspect of gameplay. Leveling up is tedious and boring especially if the only way to do it is by grinding dungeons ad infinitum or killing the same monsters until you feel like you're committing ethnic cleansing.
Thankfully, you don't have to feel this way in Guild Wars 2. Leveling up in this game (for the general non-PVP experience) can be a breeze. Players merely have to finish the story quests, explore around the game world, and do some world events and voila, they'll be level 80 before they know it.
5 There's No Loot Or Kill Competition Here
In addition to being friendly to players regarding leveling or progression, Guild Wars 2 is also a rare MMORPG that encourages player cooperation instead of competition. In other titles, players often fight for grinding spots or rewards.
None of that exists in Guild Wars 2 because everyone gets their own prize after a boss or dungeon clear. Additionally, monsters in the game world don't reward enough experience to sustain leveling up activities so no one needs to be greedy regarding kills.
4 You Can Play Free Forever
This is probably the best news for students or those who are on a budget. Guild Wars 2's base game went free-to-play some time ago and only the expansions have a price tag. Those who want to try the game need not worry about spending anything or missing out on the fun.
Most of the casual stuff in Guild Wars 2 along with the PVP and WvW are accessible for free. Only the expansion story, new PvE maps, the in-game trading market, and some of the cosmetic items are locked behind a one-time paywall.
3 Pick "Beginner" Classes
One mistake that many players make in Guild Wars 2 is picking the edgiest or flashiest class they lay their eyes upon. Sadly, the developers of the game never declared that some classes are more difficult to commandeer than others. New players might end up having to re-roll or even get turned off by the difficulty associated with a specific class.
If you're one of those, then picking a beginner-friendly class will offer a better experience. Those would be the Warrior, the Ranger, and the Necromancer. Everything else might feel like you're playing the piano with their complicated combos or are easy to build incorrectly with their specific knowledge or skill requirement.
2 Help Is Available Anywhere Via Wiki Command
Speaking of knowledge, it pays to declare that you're a newbie in Guild Wars 2 since lots of veteran players will readily help a newcomer. However, there might be some off-hours where no one is available in the chat.
In such cases, players can actually peruse the game's official wiki and they don't even have to tab out and manually search for it in their browser. Simply typing in "/wiki" in the chat and without the quotation marks will bring up the wiki page in-game. This way, you can check or double-check some information before you upgrade, buy, or craft. You can also check for event timers in the wiki.
1 Always Login For Free Content
At the moment, Guild Wars 2 has a content system called Living World where those who own the expansions can get to play continuous episodic story content for free-- assuming they logged in on the day of those episodes' releases. That's the only way to claim them for free: logging in during their release or availability window.
If players don't have the expansions yet, then they can still log-in and claim the Living World episode. It will be in their library of quests forever. Those who miss the Living World episode window will need to buy them with gems, expansion owners or not. So, even with just a simple login, the game will still reward players with fresh content.