Whats the difference?

Hey guys i am getting GW for christmas and i was wondering whats the difference between a pvp/pve character? I want to be in pvp but i have read that i should do pve to get skills or something like that.....I am very confused can u please just tell me the difference between the two

-thx

PvE you go through this storyline-based mission system while doing quests along the way. You can unlock skills and item upgrades that can be used on any PvP character while doing PvE. PvE characters can enter PvP competitions but are generally considered to be inferior due to the difficulty of having exactly the character setup/build you want for cheap.

PvP you can create any character with a maxed-out level and any skills and item upgrades you've unlocked so far. You can unlock skills and item upgrades through PvP too through the use of Faction points, but generally it's faster to unlock most skills through PvE. If you want a PvP character with different items or a different profession, it's really easy to delete a PvP character and remake another one.

ok so if i pick a pvp character can i do any pve?

Nope, PvP characters are restricted to PvP zones only.

Just pick a PVE character, play through the game, you'll unlock stuff <which is much more fun then earning 1K+faction to unlock anything> I'm not knocking PVP; I do it alot, but I don't go in to "faction farm" to unlock things. I use my PVE characters for that. Almost every skill from every class, and mods/runes/and whatnot can be unlocked through PVE much faster then PVP's 1K+faction per unlock...seems to me also to be a solid choice to go PVE due to the fact it allows you to get more acclaimaited with your character, how it functions, how things work, etc, that you won't learn by first playing a PVP character restricted to arenas only <no PVE>

Just my 2 cents. You might wanna go PVE on first char.

--The Shim

Build a pve character. learn your attacks and what certian skill do and in what order is the best to use them for your build. try a few different builds with that character and unlock as much as you can so you can do a few different builds with that character. this will help you learn that character better and its capabilities and disadvantages so you know what your stregnths are and what your weaknesses are then when your ready and knowledgable about your char, you can try your hand at pvp. thats the best advice i could give you

Don't be afraid to use PvE characters in PvP.

I have had as much success or more with my PvE as with my PvP, despite not having the extra 9hp a Superior Vigor rune gives over a Major Vigor rune.

A PvP-only character begins at level 20.. and stays at level 20. Your PvE character can fight in one arena until level 11, in another until level 16, whereas the PvP character will only play in the level 20 arena.

(The lower level arenas, let me warn you, are full of people who have been "run" to the highest armor and elite skills, either by paying or their guild will do it for them. The lower level arenas IMHO are completely broken in this way. It is up to you if you wish to join the twinkies; or, learn how to play without the advantages and become a better player in the end.)

Ok so i will build a pve character and after i get to 20 and have learned how to use my builds i will step my foot into pvp...Sounds good thx!

I also find working with multiple characters after you get one down is essential. All my char slots are filled, and as such I've gotten friendly with many a class. I suggest saving a char slot for a PVP only character <as they are easily deletable to remake new characters> already max level, with arenas on their map.

I say last slot for PVP, because after 3 chars of PVE, you'll have unlocked a majority of things needed to make a successful PVP character.

My two cents.

--The Shim

As Shim said, I'ld also advise 3 slots for pve and one for pvp. There's many advantages to this. First, eventually, after hundreds (or much less) hours of playing the same character, you'll get a bit bored (especially after your first trip through the storyline), and can play characters that play completely differently. It will be up to you if you want to do this, but I'ld suggest creating each character without repeating a class. This will maximize the number of skills you unlock.

That leads to another advantage, the ability to create and change class and skill sets based on team needs once you start to get into organized pvp. If you aren't in a pvp heavy guild, it will be much easier getting into groups if you can provide flexibilty to fill different roles. If you do get into a pvp heavy guild, it'll help you by letting you join in on the fun without the team needing to be a certain build for you to be a good fit, as you can change as needed.

One of the biggest advantages you'll have with using different pve builds, will be in familiarizing yourself with not only the skills you'ld like to use in pvp, but also learning the skills that can counter/render useless your favorite type of character. There are many skills that are used primarily for just pve, or just pvp, but by learning the skills in a pve environment, you can get an idea how they'ld be used against live players. In truth, for the most part, pvp and pve are very different worlds when it comes to skill use, and playing through pve won't truely prepare you for the skill and pace of quality pvp matches, but the more familiar you are with different skills, how they work together, and what can shut them down, the better off you'll be.

The convenience of saving a slot for pvp characters also can't be beat. When you get to the point you're pvp'ing alot, if you're like me, you'll get addicted to trying new things. For example, my main pvp character for quite a while was an elementalist specializing in air, but I like to change to water, earth and fire from time to time for a change. With a pve character, to get the same effectiveness with skills, I'ld have to have different equipment with different runes to create the character the way I want it. With a pvp character, I can simply create the character with whatever set of equipment I want, with no worries about taking up inventory space, or spending hundreds, or thousands of hours to get the money and supplies to get the same equipment.

Funny how this little button says "post quick reply", this one was anything but quick.

Before you begin the PvE part of the game I'd advise you to try out PvP with one of the pre-made templates. It can give you an idea of what your first character should be.