12-08-2005 01:07									#451
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quote: Originally posted by Sir Ralph Ok, I did it yesterday. Finally I installed Guild Wars. According to my desire to play a caster (since I play a tank in EQ2) and your recommendations I started an Elementalist/Mesmer. I played for about two hours, it took a while to figure all out and got her to level 3. Overall it is a nice game. It looks a bit easy, though, but this may be because of my level, which is still low. I don't have many spells (only 5 at the moment), but they work well, and two of them even heal me when I am beaten up. The possible weapon choices disappointed me a bit. I mean, I am a pure caster even with my second class. I expected to be able to wield a wand and perhaps a dagger. But why in the hell can I wield a longsword, a great hammer and even a ****ing longbow? Which by the way does a nice damage over time, almost as much as my spells, however without using energy and not even needing arrows. It makes combat too easy IMO. But this may be subjective and due to my low level only. So far I solo, and my hunting approach is almost always the same: Slow the target with a spell, soften it up with my bow while it crawls near me, then pummel it with my sword and chime in a few DDs and DoTs. After the first two hours of experience I can say for sure, that I will play it again. Maybe I can raise my level to your heights one day and go adventuring with one of you.

Lower levels are absurdly easy. In Pre-Searing, I never had to 'party' except for that Adventuring With An Ally and Across the Wall quests. I have a Ranger and a Necromancer and I soloed all newbie quests except for two listed above. As a Ranger I died about 10 times in Pre-Searing seeing that it was my new character. As a Necromancer, I died only once and it was because I overestimated myself against a group of grawls.

As you progress farther into the game, harder it gets and the need to party is higher. Trust me you won't be disappointed.

As for weapons, yeah, snoopy369 and Kassiopeia pretty much answered your concern. Really, as a caster you do not want to worry too much about your wielded weapon - focus on your casting. You are not a warrior .

	12-08-2005 01:10									#452
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Oh, by the way, Sir Ralph, two of my characters are low level and one is in Pre-Searing still. I also plan to make a new character soon. So if you'd like, do feel free to hollar.

Sarak Layghlin
Okja Zutaagon
Kor Skarn

	12-08-2005 03:27									#453
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Oh for the love of god.

The first day in weeks I take a night off from GW, and what happens? The trader prices are reset and the first lucky ones get their Runes of Sup Vigor for SIX GRAND. Now the prices are probably back somewhere in the 40k-80k region. FFS, just my luck.

	12-08-2005 03:49									#454
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100g actually.

I got a couple for a decent yet not amazing 30K.

Prices/stocks should be more stable now though - looks like they've rolled back whatever they screwed up about a week ago, and added 2 major improvements. Firstly buy/sell spreads aren't so stupid, and stocks are shared across servers.

I can stop playing second guess the guild wars market now I hope, which to be frank is a rather annoying game as there were no rules at all.

	12-08-2005 03:52									#455
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100 g? That isn't making me feel any better you know.

	12-08-2005 16:49									#456
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quote: Originally posted by DrSpike I can stop playing second guess the guild wars market now I hope, which to be frank is a rather annoying game as there were no rules at all.

Second guessing?!!!
All those years studying economics, and that is the best you can do?

	12-08-2005 22:44									#457
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Economics doesn't help when the whims of ArenaNet are the main explanatory variable.

	13-08-2005 11:35									#458
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quote: Originally posted by Barinthus Oh, by the way, Sir Ralph, two of my characters are low level and one is in Pre-Searing still. I also plan to make a new character soon. So if you'd like, do feel free to hollar. Sarak Layghlin Okja Zutaagon Kor Skarn

What is a Searing? Sorry, bloody n00b here. Swearing I know .

Got my caster wench to level 5 and rolled a ranger to level 3. What is a good second class for a ranger? I want him to be a jack of all trades, master of none type. Now I have my two main characters from EQ1 "transferred" to Guild Wars.

Mytilma Elrad the E/Me (was mage in EQ1 -main- and enchanter alt in EQ2, abandonned)
Harovan Elrad the R/? (was secondary in EQ1)

Yes, I am a pervert and play cross-gender. No, I don't care.

Storage becomes difficult, I have my backpack and sort of a quested belt poach, but that's it. Collector items take a lot. I can't even make it half through the Catacombs without running out of space. Is there a central vault in this game, like a bank? Found none so far. And how does one buy/sell from others?

I heard dyes are valued, especially some. So far I found a green (used on myself - Mytilma has always been the green mage) and a purple. Now I am aware, that I will hardly find valuables in a n00b area, but perhaps I can make a few gold out of it.

Btw, I am a bit disappointed about the average audience. Very WOWish, I miss the much more mature EQ2 community. It's a deterrent to group, to be honest. I avoid cities and outposts, but in the wilderness I am having a blast.

	13-08-2005 12:04									#459
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quote: What is a Searing? Sorry, bloody n00b here. Swearing I know.

You'll know what it is when it happens

Hmm, are there Xunlai agents in Ascalon? I think not. You'll get a vault to deposit stuff later, though, so hang in there. There are also runes you can apply to your belt pouches to make them double in storage. My lvl 20 monk hasn't run out of space for a good while.

	13-08-2005 12:19									#460
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Its more chilled later on. Ascalon is one of the big hubs for people, and the idiots always gravitate, you know.

to trade with other players, click on them and the click the trade button at the top ofthe screen next to their health bar

dye is worth quite a lot, especially silver and black. I sold a silver for 900 to the merchent yesterday, black would be even more. blue and red sell for 700 at the merchent, so they are probably worth a bit as well.

Most of the stuff you get early on is junk, so salvage it, you will want the materials for armour later anyway. Save the highly salvagable stuff until you get a high salvage kit

	13-08-2005 12:41									#461
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Last night was an interesting run in Fissure. We carefully set up a party, with me (Mo/Me) actually building it and my friend (with his tank W/Mo) organising strategy (like who is tanking, etc.)

It ended up to be our best Fissure run ever. We cleared the initial location with ease for the 5k xp, then we made it to the Wailing Lord by dodging mobs and whatnot.

Then the awful happened: one of our Eles had to go AFK. And while he was AFK, our pther Monk had to go AFK. We waited for the Ele for a moment, he got back, the Monk did not. Waited another five to ten mins, Europe lost favour at this point. We said "screw this" and tried the banshees ourselves.

We are nearly wiped out, but with only the banshees alive, the mobs cleared. And now our missing Monk appeared! He waltzed in and rebirthed us. "Good timing", I'd say.

We killed the banshees in due order, but then the monk went and, against all odds and commands screamed on the team chan, talked to the Wailing Lord and triggered the Griffon quest.

Oh well. "I'll heal the party, you focus on the Griffons". We survived a few mobs, dodged a few. We made it back to the initial area. DP was stacking high since we were barely winning encounters since we were focused on keeping the Griffons alive, lest we get thrown back to the Temple sans favour.

It worked out fine...

but then a mob of Shadow Monks and Mesmers got the Griffons. It was so close! If we hadn't taken that damn quest, we would have gotten the fat exp off the second Rastigan quest AND gotten rid of our huge 20-60% DPs.

Checklist for parties venturing into Fissure:
- Keep Rastigan alive
- Don't talk to him until the tower and its surroundings are clear
- Always kill Shadow eles first
- Always try to lure first (my friend is getting good at this with his W/Mo)
- DON'T RUSH
- Dodge mobs when possible, but always watch your back
- If you're a monk, don't try to rez someone if it's going to draw a mob at you (our other monk did this once and gave most of us a good 15% chunk of more DP)
- Don't talk to people and take quests unless you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN and know what it is you're doing
- Don't say you're AFK for 5 mins and be AFK for 10. "The only good reason for being AFK is if the house is on fire."

All in all, I blame the other Monk for our failure

	13-08-2005 13:41									#462
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quote: Originally posted by Sir Ralph What is a Searing? Sorry, bloody n00b here. Swearing I know .

Right now you are in a newbie world so to speak. Keep continuing and you will eventually find out what Searing is

quote: Got my caster wench to level 5 and rolled a ranger to level 3. What is a good second class for a ranger? I want him to be a jack of all trades, master of none type. Now I have my two main characters from EQ1 "transferred" to Guild Wars. Mytilma Elrad the E/Me (was mage in EQ1 -main- and enchanter alt in EQ2, abandonned) Harovan Elrad the R/? (was secondary in EQ1)

Ideally, there is no wrong class combination - it depends on your playing style and preference. From what I've heard, E/Me is rather nice. I plan to make an E/N myself.

I have W/Mo (wanted to see what's the hype's all about), N/Mo, and R/Me. I really enjoy playing R/Me a lot. I think it's a verstile combination as long you're willing to give up having a beast. I'm not sure if you're willing to give up the bow, R/W can be a vicious warrior type if you have high Expertise R/Mo I suppose would be alright as long you know to not expect to be a primary healer. I'm not sure about R/N and R/E due to low energy capacity but if you do not mind occasional group spell here or there, R/E might be a good choice unless you like N's blood magic.

quote: Yes, I am a pervert and play cross-gender. No, I don't care.

Me either. I have two males and one female. Fourth will be a female.

quote: Storage becomes difficult, I have my backpack and sort of a quested belt poach, but that's it. Collector items take a lot. I can't even make it half through the Catacombs without running out of space. Is there a central vault in this game, like a bank? Found none so far. And how does one buy/sell from others?

Sorry, no storage in newbieland. As for items, I pretty much identify anything that's labelled unidentified. Those labelled precious I sell, the rest I salvage then sell. You will have plenty opportunities to pick up same items after you've 'entered' the real game world.

quote: Btw, I am a bit disappointed about the average audience. Very WOWish, I miss the much more mature EQ2 community. It's a deterrent to group, to be honest. I avoid cities and outposts, but in the wilderness I am having a blast.

Yeah well, you're in the newbieland so idiots are everywhere. As you progress deeper into the game, it'll get better. As for grouping in newbieland, don't worry too much about it - I soloed everything except for two quests - Adventuring with an Ally and Across the Wall - and it's only because those two quests required a group.

	13-08-2005 13:44									#463
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quote: Originally posted by Kassiopeia Checklist for parties venturing into Fissure: - Keep Rastigan alive - Don't talk to him until the tower and its surroundings are clear - Always kill Shadow eles first - Always try to lure first (my friend is getting good at this with his W/Mo) - DON'T RUSH - Dodge mobs when possible, but always watch your back - If you're a monk, don't try to rez someone if it's going to draw a mob at you (our other monk did this once and gave most of us a good 15% chunk of more DP) - Don't talk to people and take quests unless you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN and know what it is you're doing - Don't say you're AFK for 5 mins and be AFK for 10. "The only good reason for being AFK is if the house is on fire." All in all, I blame the other Monk for our failure

You forgot the most important one - don't go in with pick up groups unless you are much more patient than DrSpike.

	13-08-2005 13:53									#464
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quote: Originally posted by Sir Ralph Mytilma Elrad the E/Me (was mage in EQ1 -main- and enchanter alt in EQ2, abandonned) Harovan Elrad the R/? (was secondary in EQ1)

E/Me is fine, though if you care about making your character most effective straight ele is best. The ele role is ueber dmg dealer, and sometimes warding, and you don't need any help from other classes to do this.

As for your ranger, well, (starts running) they are the joint weakest PvE class with Mesmers. Your relatively best option is to make him R/N (expertise/marks/blood or curses) for degen and conditions or R/Me (with domination) for all around support. Expertise doesn't look great but I only ever take rangers with it as there is a neat skill (small aoe blind) called throw dirt you should pick up asap.

	13-08-2005 14:37									#465
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I am the epitome of patience. *nods fervently*

	13-08-2005 14:52									#466
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Well then you qualify.

	13-08-2005 23:14									#467
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quote: Originally posted by DrSpike As for your ranger, well, (starts running) they are the joint weakest PvE class with Mesmers. Your relatively best option is to make him R/N (expertise/marks/blood or curses) for degen and conditions or R/Me (with domination) for all around support. Expertise doesn't look great but I only ever take rangers with it as there is a neat skill (small aoe blind) called throw dirt you should pick up asap.

Here is where we will have to agree to disagree. Unless I'm a much better player than I grant myself, I'm very successful with R/Me. I was still wearing pre-searing armor well into the mid-game and still performed very well. I've observed that most people seem do not play mesmer that great.

Expertise, I find it's a great skill. It makes non-spell skills dirt cheap and more spammable. Also it give me more potential energy for spells I may wish to use.

The only thing I am not so hot about Rangers is beastmastery and the only reason for that is because if you want your beast to be effective you have to give up a lot of slots toward beastmastery. I do plan someday to fool around with playing a pure Beastmaster and see how that goes, although.

And oh, Sir Ralph, I think you would like to know this tidbit - one of nice things about GW is that you don't have to worry too much about your build and even class combination. With build there's refund points which was discussed earlier and for class combination, much later into the game you will be able to change your secondary class. The only downside is that whatever you choose in Pre-Searing you are basically stuck with that secondary class up to that point in the game where you can change classes.

	14-08-2005 01:34									#468
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quote: Originally posted by Barinthus Here is where we will have to agree to disagree. Unless I'm a much better player than I grant myself, I'm very successful with R/Me. I was still wearing pre-searing armor well into the mid-game and still performed very well. I've observed that most people seem do not play mesmer that great.

You can agree to disagree with me but you are wrong.

I'm sure you can play your R/Me well - I've played with plenty who do, and a good R/Me is better than a bad Monk or Ele. However, when the dust settles, and you've played the game enough to know which classes are the most important for your party you'll realise what I said was true.

	14-08-2005 01:58									#469
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Well, if that day does come, rest assured that I am a man enough to acknowledge that I was wrong. Only time will tell

	14-08-2005 12:19									#470
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Thanks about the reminder, but I had already "discovered" the refund points and even used them on occasions.

I decided to trust DrSpike (yes, yes, I know what a risk that is ) and rerolled my E/Me5 as E5. Wasnt that hard, 2-3 hours and it was done now that I dont need to search anymore and know a tidbit about mechanics.

Found three vials of dye, green, orange and silver, but still don't know how to sell.

	14-08-2005 14:06									#471
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I'm not sure I understand you Ralph. Did you start again and not take a second profession yet? Or just switch your attributes towards elementalist? The latter was what I meant for you to do later in the game when you had enough good ele spells to do so.

I didn't want to mislead, you can keep mesmer as your secondary (in fact I thought getting a secondary was a pre-requisite for leaving pre-searing), and early on that mesmer illusion degen spell you get in pre-searing (conjure phantasm I think) is a useful backup until you get some good single shot ele dmg spells.

Later in the game conjure phantasm is weak (my theory is it's there to give primary mesmers a break early on ) and you can go fire/air or fire/earth or even air/earth (all with energy storage, natrually) for a while. Late game you can specialise in either fire (aoe)or air (single target), and still take earth as backup for wards.

Essentially the reason there aren't many combinations that can match straight ele is they have the best aoe dmg (fire), best single target dmg (air), and arguably the best protection (earth wards), as wards are undispellable and grant massive bonuses.

Back to the other discussion when I'm building parties for the tougher missions later on I wouldn't even look at an R/Me before I had got at least one fire ele and one air ele, one of which has earth as backup. Simply put, they are just more important for the success of your mission.

	14-08-2005 15:23									#472
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I started over, which is no big deal for me. I do so in nearly all MMORPGs after learing the basics. I am not sure if I need to pick a second profession or not, and if I do, I'd probably take Mesmer again; I really miss that DoT spell they have.

I already got that fire rain now, its a nice to have when there are multiple mobs on you.

By the way, what level is best to do these quests that require grouping?

(Drat, while I type that, my warlock alt in EQ2 got ambushed by roamers, but I managed to survive)

	14-08-2005 17:44									#473
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You can do the adventure with ally one any time. The only other group pre-searing quest is across the wall, which isn't that difficult if you avoid the charr group. Level 5 or so should be fine.

I would take Mesmer as your secondary.........there are some nice options in it for eles in case you need to switch to play a certain role in a group, even if a priori it's not the most powerful choice.

	14-08-2005 21:28									#474
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Ok, E7 now and out of my apprentice clothes. Somebody offered me 800g for my silver dye, but I declined.

Yea, I will probably choose mesmer as second profession. So far I put my points into fire and storage. Doing nice damage already.

I have two guild invites pending, but I am unsure. Is there a site where I can look up the guilds?

	14-08-2005 21:34									#475
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Hmm, last time I checked, 800 for silver is pretty good. The prices may have risen though.

Generally a guild that invites people at random is not a guild you want to belong to.

	14-08-2005 22:14									#476
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Take 800 for silver as it's the trader's buy price and you wont get a penny more for it unless you meet someone that doesn't understand the all new improved trader system.

As for guilds ask people you play with in game that aren't too awful and post/check on gw guild forums for guilds that fit your requirements.

I was in several for PvE and didn't really find a good one I have to say. Now I have, but we are mainly a PvP guild.

	14-08-2005 23:16									#477
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quote: Originally posted by Sir Ralph I am not sure if I need to pick a second profession or not, )

You do - in order to leave the 'newbieworld' you need to have a secondary profession.

	14-08-2005 23:17									#478
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quote: Originally posted by Sir Ralph Found three vials of dye, green, orange and silver, but still don't know how to sell.

As for selling, do not worry too much about that until after Searing where you can find dye traders or attempt to sell those urself. I'm selling my stuff over rpgtraders.net

	14-08-2005 23:18									#479
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quote: Originally posted by Kassiopeia Generally a guild that invites people at random is not a guild you want to belong to.

Agreed!

	14-08-2005 23:24									#480
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I figure it's the same modus operandi email spammers use: even if only one out of ten random invitees join, and even if only one out of ten of those is of some use or benefit to your guild, it's still a good number of players if you keep spamming those invites in a busy place like LA or Droknar's.

I wouldn't mind joining a guild at this point, but I'm afraid I'm not good or devoted enough to belong to a guild I'd like.