How to GW2

No, it's not my Laptop but it makes a great picture!

My computer died. 

After a short distance of falling brought upon by an 8 or 10 year old, the investigation is unable to determine, I am forced to use the "family" computer to blog.  So, after hours of Marvel Super Hero Squad online, Facebook, various kids' websites to include but not limited too PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, The Friend, LEGO, Boy's Life, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and etc, etc, etc.  I finally get to blog.  Woot!




Guild Wars 2 will be out 28 August!  Why are you not writing this down.  Go on, I'll wait.

Now if you are like my brother-in-law, you're a WoW bred MMORPG player.  You instinctively look for floating punctuation above NPC's heads.  You seek the rush of tagging a mob before that *&%^$ punk gets it.  You crave the challenge of finding 6 boar livers out of 25 dead boars.  You expect NPCs to vanish into thin air after you escorting them past vicious kobolds.  Unfortunately if you do this in GW2 you are going to one frustrated player.  But fear not, many excellent bloggers have put together some outstanding posts that will aid you in not being a total "GW2 Noob"  You will have to re-learn a little trial and error and that skill does matter.  You'll again enjoy wandering and exploring and learn that crafting is pretty fun and not just for level cap bonuses.

I would love to write-up a "How To" or a "Player's Guide" but time is a precious commodity and there are so many great bloggers who have already created excellent posts touching these subjects.  So with out further Adieu I suggest reading the following:


First off is a great post by the Magnificent Mistress of Illusion, Aly.  In  Navigating PvE content in Guild Wars 2 she describes how "hearts", waypoints, vistas, points of interest, skill challenges and the mini-map all affect your PvE experience and how to use them.  Also, I hear she makes a mean egg salad sandwich but unfortunately we'll never know.

Second, there is Class Homogenization by the Enigmatic Entomb.  He explains how individual and distinct each class is in GW2.  In addition, he illustrates how weapon based class skills may seem similar on the surface but are actually quite distinct.  This is a great starter post for the Sun Tzu strategists.     

Finally, there is Guild Wars 2 Tips  by Hunter; who has been the source for almost all things GW2 since 2009 or maybe longer.  He has written a short novel that explains the UI, character creation, story, game play, guilds, crafting, leveling, world vs world, jumping puzzles and the average ground speed of an unladen Moa bird.

GW2 will be different. You will have to play it differently but you know what, that's the best part about it. It's honestly different.

Update 14 August -
Some readers have pointed out some other great "getting started" posts on other blogs so I'm adding them in.

Siadina from Trippin Tyria suggests Community Highlights  from Guild Wars 2 Guru.  Please be advised you 'll probably need a Mountain Dew, its a very thorough read and covers EVERYTHING.

Bible of Dreams wrote-up Getting Started with Guild Wars 2.  She has a number of tips and tricks for players new to Guild Wars 2 but have some other MMO baggage.

And before I forget, you have to check out Overlords GW2 comic Dynamic Events. You can see it on the Deviant Art site or the GW2 Guru site.  It is quite fantastic.
 

See you in Tyria!