New to guild wars and looking for begining advice - Guild Wars Forums

Drakar Shadowbane · May 16, 2011, 10:51 PM // 22:51

I recently got the complete collection last weekend and I'm not entirely sure wither to start in prophecies or in nightfall. I've figured out that I either want to start out with a warrior, a ranger, a necromancer, or a dervish character.
Any advice that you guys can give me would be appreciated.

also, if I were to join a guide that is aligned with one of the factions in factions, will all my characters be forced to join that one faction and not be able to join the other one? Is there any major differences between the two factions?

wilebill · May 16, 2011, 11:51 PM // 23:51

If you join a guild all the characters on your account will have that guild alignment, whether Kurzick or Luxon. However, the NPCs on each side will regard you as a member of that faction for which you have the most points at the moment.

Thus it is easy to change sides and do all the quests on both sides of the PvE maps in Southern Factions. Kurzick faction probably best and easiest for a new player. (I'm a Luxon by the way, but I once was a Kurzick long ago.)

Of the characters you mention, warrior or ranger would be my recommendation for a first character. My primary is a ranger. Both are easy to understand and have good survivability. You can start a dervish only if you start in Nightfall.

Where to start just depends on what you want. Prophecies is the original game and is very rewarding to play through. If you start in Nightfall, you will begin acquiring heroes at once and have a good set by the time you finish Nightfall. Starting from Nightfall or Prophecies or Factions you can move to the other campaigns so where you start is really a matter of taste.

tcratty · May 17, 2011, 04:41 AM // 04:41

start a ritualist in factions and get to level 1O and go to eotn to get some heros and then roll your way thru the game

englanda · May 17, 2011, 05:21 AM // 05:21

Nightfall is the hardest campaign IMO. It's designed for people who already have a good understanding of the game. You'll face large groups of enemys with good skill sets, and it can be overwhelming if you only have base skills unlocked and no gold for runes etc.

Factions or prophecy would be the best place to start. I personally don't like prophecys that much, it's more about story and character development etc, factions is more about just playing the game. Personal choice. Factions is several hours to level 20, proph is several days.

As for characters, I'd personally go for the necro. It's what I started with back when the game came out, and they've only gotten better over the years. You have tons of choice about play style. Want a minion army? Death. Life Steal and party support? Blood. Wanna screw the enemy over? Curses. It's also really easy to go with a full secondary bar as a necro, their Soul Reaping ability is some of the best energy management in the game, making them very good healers too.

I personally hate rangers in every game/movie/book etc. But if firing wimpy arrows and having an ugly pet are your thing, go for it.

As a warrior still getting used to game mechanics, you'll probably spend a lot of your time face down in the dirt. But warriors are fun. My 2nd "main" is a warrior. Not as much play style choice as the necro, though.

Hope this helps.

gremlin · May 17, 2011, 12:23 PM // 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakar Shadowbane

I recently got the complete collection last weekend and I'm not entirely sure wither to start in prophecies or in nightfall. I've figured out that I either want to start out with a warrior, a ranger, a necromancer, or a dervish character.
Any advice that you guys can give me would be appreciated.

also, if I were to join a guide that is aligned with one of the factions in factions, will all my characters be forced to join that one faction and not be able to join the other one? Is there any major differences between the two factions?

Hi and welcome to guild wars.

Prophesies slow character progression "factions and Nightfall are must faster at getting you to maximum level and if you decide on Dervish Nightfall it has to be.
Why not start a character in each and see how you like each game start area.

Warrior not my style but a mainstay in the game and capable of doing tremendous damage so very popular.

Ranger slightly weaker than some other classes when it comes to dps damage per second but very survivable and usually last man standing in party wipes, I like them.

Necromancer probably my favourite class or maybe mesmer is anyway I love them both.
Necro very good class loads of armour ignoring damage so great at all levels of play and has a wide range of build types so you never get bored.

Dervish the new super melee class since they had a huge overhaul of skills am still getting used to just what they are now capable of but they are looking very good.

Factions, yes you have to choose one faction for each account so all players are allied to either kurzic or Luxon though after the final mission of factions you will probably want to explore the other factions areas so will swap sides.
This shouldnt cause any guild problems as everyone needs to complete the game and get all the elite skills.

Skyy High · May 17, 2011, 12:37 PM // 12:37

Start in Prophecies. It's the easiest campaign, has the slowest difficulty / leveling curve, and you get free skills from some quests. It's also where the story really begins. Nightfall gets you heroes, but honestly without unlocking a bunch of skills heroes aren't any better than henchmen.

Quaker · May 17, 2011, 05:09 PM // 17:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakar Shadowbane

if I were to join a guide that is aligned with one of the factions in factions, will all my characters be forced to join that one faction and not be able to join the other one? Is there any major differences between the two factions?

Well, first off, you don't "join" a Faction. Your Guild is "allied" to a faction. Faction really only matters as far as some PvP (GvG) is concerned. For the individual player, it means nothing in the long run. Your individual "alliance" varies with the amount of faction you gain by doing quests, killing foes, etc. and only affects what NPCs will talk to you. You can have either Faction or both at the same time. You can also buy and equip armor from anywhere regardless of your Guild's alliance.
There is no real difference in the Factions - Kurzick vs Luxon is the same as Blue vs Red, Alliance vs Horde, or Spy vs Spy.

Drakar Shadowbane · May 18, 2011, 12:38 AM // 00:38

Thanks wilebill, gremlin, and quaker for the explanations of Kurzick vs. Luxon factions.

And thanks everyone for the advice you gave, which helpped me choose which class I'm going to play. ^^ Through I'm still not sure where I'm going to start yet.

Urcscumug · May 19, 2011, 08:08 AM // 08:08

Maybe this will help decide that:

If you start in Prophecies: Pre Searing and the zones before Lion's Arch have been designed as a training area which will teach you GW very very well. So start in Proph and work you way to LA if you want to learn GW well, at a slow and decent pace.

If you start in Nightfall it will seem easy because you get all those heroes. But you will not know how to use them or anything about GW. Nightfall has nowhere near the smooth learning curve (or any) that Prophecies has. In spite of the heroes, you will start hitting walls very soon, as soon as the Cliffs of Dohjok or even right in the Plains of Jarin. People deal with this by taking builds off the GWPvX wiki and using them without having to understand anything about the game. So start in Nightfall if you just want to play GW casually for a few weeks then give it up and move on.

If you intend to stick to it, here's how I recommend going about Prophecies:

Explore Pre-Searing fully; meaning doing all the quests, getting all the quest rewards, try out secondary skills and ideally suceed to make at least one full Northlands hunt (kill all the Charr). It's ok if for Northlands you team up with another higher level player, as long as they explain how they do it and make you help, not just drag you along.

Go to Post whenever you finish all that, regardless of level. Don't stress too much, you should be done with Pre in a few days at most.

When in Post, start exploring Old Ascalon, including Regent Valley, then work your way on foot through The Breach, Diessa Lowlands, Ascalon Foothills, Traveler's Vale, Iron Horse Mine, Anvil Rock, Deldrimor Bowl, Griffon's Mouth, Scoundrel's Rise and North Kryta Province, unlocking all outposts on the way and doing all the quests. You will get tons of useful skills and items for nothing, you will level to 20 smoothly, you will meet crafters and collectors that will upgrade your armor as the zone requires, and you will learn a lot about the game. I also recommend doing the mission that takes you to a certain outpost only after you've reached that outpost on foot.

Once you reach LA you can consider you've passed basic training and you can travel to Cantha or Elona and do whatever you wish.

If you still havent' decided on a profession, my recommendation is either warrior, elementalist or ranger, depending on your preference. Monk and mesmer require advanced knowledge to use effectively and you won't know what to do with a necro as a beginner.

But don't let any of this advice stop you, if you really really are dying to make a necro/monk/mesmer, or to start in Nightfall, your fun is more important than anything.

May 16, 2011, 10:51 PM // 22:51	#1
Drakar Shadowbane Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2011	New to guild wars and looking for begining advice I recently got the complete collection last weekend and I'm not entirely sure wither to start in prophecies or in nightfall. I've figured out that I either want to start out with a warrior, a ranger, a necromancer, or a dervish character. Any advice that you guys can give me would be appreciated. also, if I were to join a guide that is aligned with one of the factions in factions, will all my characters be forced to join that one faction and not be able to join the other one? Is there any major differences between the two factions?

May 16, 2011, 11:51 PM // 23:51	#2
wilebill Desert Nomad Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mt Vernon, Ohio Guild: Band of the Hawk Profession: W/Mo	If you join a guild all the characters on your account will have that guild alignment, whether Kurzick or Luxon. However, the NPCs on each side will regard you as a member of that faction for which you have the most points at the moment. Thus it is easy to change sides and do all the quests on both sides of the PvE maps in Southern Factions. Kurzick faction probably best and easiest for a new player. (I'm a Luxon by the way, but I once was a Kurzick long ago.) Of the characters you mention, warrior or ranger would be my recommendation for a first character. My primary is a ranger. Both are easy to understand and have good survivability. You can start a dervish only if you start in Nightfall. Where to start just depends on what you want. Prophecies is the original game and is very rewarding to play through. If you start in Nightfall, you will begin acquiring heroes at once and have a good set by the time you finish Nightfall. Starting from Nightfall or Prophecies or Factions you can move to the other campaigns so where you start is really a matter of taste.

May 17, 2011, 04:41 AM // 04:41	#3
tcratty Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 6 feet under Guild: forever angels Profession: E/	start a ritualist in factions and get to level 1O and go to eotn to get some heros and then roll your way thru the game

May 17, 2011, 05:21 AM // 05:21	#4
englanda Academy Page Join Date: Mar 2009 Guild: Project Cuddle Puddle [PCP] Profession: Rt/Me	Nightfall is the hardest campaign IMO. It's designed for people who already have a good understanding of the game. You'll face large groups of enemys with good skill sets, and it can be overwhelming if you only have base skills unlocked and no gold for runes etc. Factions or prophecy would be the best place to start. I personally don't like prophecys that much, it's more about story and character development etc, factions is more about just playing the game. Personal choice. Factions is several hours to level 20, proph is several days. As for characters, I'd personally go for the necro. It's what I started with back when the game came out, and they've only gotten better over the years. You have tons of choice about play style. Want a minion army? Death. Life Steal and party support? Blood. Wanna screw the enemy over? Curses. It's also really easy to go with a full secondary bar as a necro, their Soul Reaping ability is some of the best energy management in the game, making them very good healers too. I personally hate rangers in every game/movie/book etc. But if firing wimpy arrows and having an ugly pet are your thing, go for it. As a warrior still getting used to game mechanics, you'll probably spend a lot of your time face down in the dirt. But warriors are fun. My 2nd "main" is a warrior. Not as much play style choice as the necro, though. Hope this helps.

May 17, 2011, 12:37 PM // 12:37	#6
Skyy High Furnace Stoker Join Date: May 2006 Profession: R/	Start in Prophecies. It's the easiest campaign, has the slowest difficulty / leveling curve, and you get free skills from some quests. It's also where the story really begins. Nightfall gets you heroes, but honestly without unlocking a bunch of skills heroes aren't any better than henchmen.

May 18, 2011, 12:38 AM // 00:38	#8
Drakar Shadowbane Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2011	Thanks wilebill, gremlin, and quaker for the explanations of Kurzick vs. Luxon factions. And thanks everyone for the advice you gave, which helpped me choose which class I'm going to play. ^^ Through I'm still not sure where I'm going to start yet.

May 19, 2011, 08:08 AM // 08:08	#9
Urcscumug Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2011 Guild: UNO Profession: W/	Maybe this will help decide that: If you start in Prophecies: Pre Searing and the zones before Lion's Arch have been designed as a training area which will teach you GW very very well. So start in Proph and work you way to LA if you want to learn GW well, at a slow and decent pace. If you start in Nightfall it will seem easy because you get all those heroes. But you will not know how to use them or anything about GW. Nightfall has nowhere near the smooth learning curve (or any) that Prophecies has. In spite of the heroes, you will start hitting walls very soon, as soon as the Cliffs of Dohjok or even right in the Plains of Jarin. People deal with this by taking builds off the GWPvX wiki and using them without having to understand anything about the game. So start in Nightfall if you just want to play GW casually for a few weeks then give it up and move on. If you intend to stick to it, here's how I recommend going about Prophecies: Explore Pre-Searing fully; meaning doing all the quests, getting all the quest rewards, try out secondary skills and ideally suceed to make at least one full Northlands hunt (kill all the Charr). It's ok if for Northlands you team up with another higher level player, as long as they explain how they do it and make you help, not just drag you along. Go to Post whenever you finish all that, regardless of level. Don't stress too much, you should be done with Pre in a few days at most. When in Post, start exploring Old Ascalon, including Regent Valley, then work your way on foot through The Breach, Diessa Lowlands, Ascalon Foothills, Traveler's Vale, Iron Horse Mine, Anvil Rock, Deldrimor Bowl, Griffon's Mouth, Scoundrel's Rise and North Kryta Province, unlocking all outposts on the way and doing all the quests. You will get tons of useful skills and items for nothing, you will level to 20 smoothly, you will meet crafters and collectors that will upgrade your armor as the zone requires, and you will learn a lot about the game. I also recommend doing the mission that takes you to a certain outpost only after you've reached that outpost on foot. Once you reach LA you can consider you've passed basic training and you can travel to Cantha or Elona and do whatever you wish. If you still havent' decided on a profession, my recommendation is either warrior, elementalist or ranger, depending on your preference. Monk and mesmer require advanced knowledge to use effectively and you won't know what to do with a necro as a beginner. But don't let any of this advice stop you, if you really really are dying to make a necro/monk/mesmer, or to start in Nightfall, your fun is more important than anything.