Curse

Asterai · May 17, 2011, 11:16 PM // 23:16

Short version:

I've been away from Guild Wars for a long time and am coming back to do it right this time with a shiny new Prophecies monk. What can all you experienced monk players tell me about finding good people to play with and learn from, and especially, how do I find a good guild?

Longer version:

I'm coming back to Guild Wars in preparation for Guild Wars 2, which I am very much looking forward to. The idea is to actually experience the whole game, to improve my ability to play this kind of game, and to pile up earthly rewards in my Hall of Monuments.

While I've logged a lot of hours on Guild Wars, I never finished vast swaths of it, I always played pretty casually, and I've been away for so long that I should essentially be considered a new player.

A necessary part of my new master plan for world domination is learning to play with others. I'm perfectly capable of being fair, honest, and friendly, and I'll legitimately try to hold up my end of the encounter, but...

(1) I'm not a very good monk player yet, and I don't want to get yelled at when I am, really, trying to learn the class.
(2) I have a hard enough time making friends in real life. With no friends playing MMOs, and the inability to see other players' faces, the problem only gets worse. This makes it difficult to find a social niche in online games and has been a persistent problem for me in MMOs.
(3) My personal schedule is erratic and busy. I will not be able to heal runs at regular times and days. I am unlikely to meet the same regular-schedule-keeping people twice.
(4) Some people are just jerks.

These problems apply to both PUGs and guilds. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way, so I'd really like to hear how other players solved the same problem.

Robin Hood Uk · May 18, 2011, 12:00 AM // 00:00

Heroes, heroes and more heroes

Mama pacha · May 18, 2011, 12:15 AM // 00:15

Hi Asterai, If u want I can show you my monk builds and help you out a bit, now on days its hard to find a nice guild or good players that are friendly enough to teach or whilling to aid you. My IGN (In game name) Mama Pacha drop me a line.

Frozen_Chips · May 18, 2011, 04:52 AM // 04:52

For monking:
While I’m generally loathe to copy-paste meta builds, they are a fantastic way to learn an unfamiliar class. PvX Wiki is the place to go for these, though if you’re playing a new PvE character there may be some limitations on skills (buying tomes on an alt can help). It’ll give you a solid base to learn the class with, and it also reduces the chances of people yelling at you if you’re fielding a widely accepted build. Once you’ve got the hang of one all-purpose meta monk build, you can (and should) start experimenting.

For finding fellow gamers:
Join a nice big guild / alliance. It might seem counter-intuitive, but the bigger they are the more approachable members tend to be. If nothing else, they tend to be more willing to team up with near-strangers. If you can find one that’s active on the forums or hosts community events, all the better – it gives you an extra avenue for making in-game contacts. In my experience, small close knit guilds are (ironically) less supportive, and sometimes borderline hostile. It’s do with the anatomy of small indie guilds: an ‘in crowd’ of about a dozen founding members who know each other outside of the game, and a bunch of randoms they only invited to pad out numbers.
As for how to find the guilds... well, the GWG forums are an obvious choice, but good ol’ trial and error has its merits. Don’t be shy about joining a guild just to test the waters – as long as you’re not sponging off them, most guilds won’t hold it against you if you decide to quietly take your leave after a week.

Hope that helps!

khezial tahr · May 18, 2011, 03:56 PM // 15:56

Frozen has some good tips. GWPVX is a great site for builds, use them to get your feet wet. Once you start to become more comfortable you can start to do more with your builds and customize them. you may have to do some swapping of skills anyway starting off in prophecies, but this way you'll see the types of skills preferred by people.

As a Monk primary I'll also add this: People ARE jerks. Don't feel you need to take crap.

The Only Warrior · May 18, 2011, 04:32 PM // 16:32

youre the monk, dont forget, if someones beign an asshole, u can just let em die.

bergetl · May 18, 2011, 07:41 PM // 19:41

If you started off a monk in prophesies then as you play through the game you'll have plenty of time to get used to being a monk. By the time you get to areas where its worth it to team up with real people I'd guess you'll have the necessary experience.

As for finding a guild I would suggest trial and error. Join a big guild/alliance and see how you like it. If that seems unapproachable try joining a small guild, or you could try starting a guild and inviting people that you meet to it.

X-Plosiv · May 18, 2011, 10:53 PM // 22:53

If you're searching for guilds, I suggest checking section here on GW Guru.

What I would suggest when you're joining guild think of:

What they can do for you
and
What you can do for them

...I have switched some guilds, from strictly PvE guilds to SCs guilds, did a lot of things in each guild I was in, but never really got into "that" guild. Had 2 guilds I liked before I joined this one I'm in, and I'm really glad they are moving to GW2 as well because I'll join there too.

Think what you wan't to do in this game, and then search guild with similiar interest.

For instance:

In last few days with my guildies I did

DoA - City NM
DoA - Veil HM
Sorrow Furnace
Shards of Orr HM
Raven's Point HM
few ZVQ and ZB....

...now, maybe you like PVP and you would rather do:

AB
GVG
HA
JQ

and then you don't see a point being in guild like I am.
It's all for your interests.

There are a lot of guilds that advertise themself in section for it, I suggest reading their "why you need to choose us!" and checking their pages/forums if they have one.

Yes, it might be a little bit of "hard" thing, but if you find one you like being in, you got yourself a gold one

sssh, maybe you even find one where I am

delphwind · Jun 14, 2011, 09:00 PM // 21:00

My wife and I just started playing about 2 weeks ago, we've gotten up to Yak's and started in on Factions to see whats different.

We have not grouped at all since we started (except for with each other I mean) We would love to set something up with you, maybe start some new characters.

PM me in game the characters i play most right now are:
Tao Fyte
and
Ganit Fyte

Essence Snow · Jun 14, 2011, 09:14 PM // 21:14

There are still a lot of guilds out there whos only requirement is being nice. I have spent three years filling mine up with nice ppl..who may not all have the same gameplay interests (some sc, some pvp, some balanced pve, some purely titles), but all are very nice and socialble people. From some of the guildes I have had that left to join more niche guilds and come back....I have heard that some of the more specific guilds (sc only or pvp only) can be harsh on newer/less exp players.....gl to ya in whatever u choose. =D

GODh · Jun 15, 2011, 12:16 AM // 00:16

My monk is 5 years old and i am still bad at healing (i never had any complaints but i just hate it) :P

That is why i leave the healing to a hero and became a smiter myself (its an option)