User:Life Infusion/Unorthodox post-HoM beginner guide

=The significance of getting to 30/50= Getting to 30/50 allows you to obtain every item bonus for Guild Wars 2. This guide is currently in draft phase.

=Significance of a profession that works in Hard mode= 4 vanquisher 4 guardian all 6 reputation titles (norn, dwarf, Vanguard, asura, SS, LB) Master of the North which is 15 titles of 30

Kurzick/Luxon is fastest via vanquishing, so that's another 2

=Outline= Nightfall up to Consulate Docks and/or Hunted!, jump to Consulate Docks (Olias), EoTN (for skills + Xandra/Hayda/Livia/Vekk/Pyre), and Kaineng to buy skills. Grab Olias. Jump back to Nightfall. Do Nightfall, grab Razah...steamroll from there.

Why not start in Factions? Factions has little to no free skills to start off with. It also has the quickest level which is not a good idea for people that just started.

When Nightfall was brand new, even Factions and Prophecies characters needed to get Sunspear General to continue through And a Hero Shall Lead Them. You can start in Factions and jump over to Nightfall at Kourna. However, then you still need to level Koss, Dunkuro, Melonni, Jin/Sousuke, and Tahlkora which Nightfall characters had been leveling as they leveled.

=Jumpstart your funds with 55-65K worth of Zaishen keys= Make a PvP only character and talk to High Priest Zhang and then Tolkano in the Great Temple of Balthazar. From Tolkano get 10 Zaishen keys for the 50 Tournament Reward points he gives out. This has been available for every account since the February 19, 2010 update.

Sell the "Z-keys" for a reasonable 5.5-6.5K each (5platinum, 500gold or 6platinum 500gold).

Do not delete this PvP character before transferring the gold from selling these keys to other players.

Tip: Hold Alt to see NPC names. Ctrl to see enemies.

=Start in Nightfall= Prophecies is too long and tedious even for the most new of beginners, the extra few "free" skills aren't worth the time. If you feel lost in the Nightfall's Istan, skip this part of the guide and go to Prophecies character creation. Factions makes you level 20 before you are ready for it, unless you are familiar with Guild Wars via Prophecies. The key thing is the first 20 skills don't cost 1 platinum to buy so you need to buy skills that you can use all of the time (or at least some of the time). Your starting options are core (warrior, necromancer, monk, mesmer, ranger, elementalist), dervish, and paragon.

Based off Tohn (Kamadan), Pikin (Kamadan - hero skills), Shiloh (Sunspear Great Hall - hero skills),, Rohmen (Jokanur Diggings), Kanessa (Beknur Harbor), Medando (Yohlon Haven). By Kenohir and Libeh in Command Post you should have a decent build and be roughly level 16- 20 (max level) and have about 10-20 hours of play.

Starting off in Nightfall also allows you to get easy access to Tahlkora, Jin/Sousuke, Dunkuro, Koss, and Melonni.

Getting skills through "PvP" means using Zaishen Elite (~260 for each Flawless) or Alliance Battles for Balthazar faction. Get someone to help you (or use henchmen) if possible since your skillset will be rubbish at the beginning. Going through Random Arenas will cause headaches without skill unlocks.

Necromancer
The best class to start with is Necromancer in this case, since Ritualists cannot be made in Nightfall. The starting skills are Vampiric Gaze (Blood of the Aggressor is better), Animate Bone Minions, Strip Enchantment, Plague Touch, Life Siphon, Well of Blood, and Deathly Swarm. The first hero skill you should buy is Animate Bone Fiend from Pikin in Kamadan and Order of Pain from Eye of the North. From Tohn, you can buy Animate Shambling Horror, Blood of the Master, Death Nova, and Signet of Lost Souls.

In the long run, you have Order of Undeath, Jagged Bones, Corrupt Enchantment (PvP mainly), Animate Shambling Horror.

Barbs, Enfeebling Blood, Order of Pain, Mark of Pain (although hard to use without Assassin's Promise) are core.

Use Blessed or Tormentor's Insignias. Minion Master's if you run minions (with Bloodstained on hands or headpiece).

Paragon
Paragons get easy access to "There's Nothing to Fear!" and Wild Throw and Spear of Lightning aren't bad. The first skill to buy would be Signet of Return with "Go for the Eyes!", "Fall Back!", Vicious attack, Anthem of Envy, Blazing Spear (Yohlon Haven) once you leave Istan. If you want to run a half decent build before leaving Vabbi, you need to unlock "Stand Your Ground!", and via PvP so that you can buy them from Kamadan. A bonus is you can do Domain of Anguish at the end of Nightfall.

Use Centurion's Insignias.

Warrior
Warriors get easy access to "For Great Justice!", Cyclone axe (for adrenaline not damage), Executioner's strike, Power attack, Lion's Comfort, Steelfang Slash, and Whirlwind attack, but "Save Yourselves" is from Factions. Swords are garbage compared to axes in Nightfall. You can get Gash in Beknur Harbor though which is before you get Dismember. Bloodback Morrob (Mehtani Keys) has Enraging charge so cap it there. I'd suggest getting dismember, flail,via PvP faction and then unlocking it in Kamadan, it's worth it. Churrta the Rock (Jahai Bluffs) has flail though. Hammers without elites are tough to work with. At best you have Counter blow, mighty blow, Irresistible Blow, power attack. The best hammer skills are in Prophecies (Earthshaker, Crude Swing, Backbreaker, crushing blow) and Devastating Hammer/Magehunter Smash is not that great in PvE.

Use Dreadnought insignias or Sentry's with stances. Stonefist on hands if you run Brawling Headbutt or hammer builds.

Mesmer
Mesmers aren't as intuitive but their given skills are decent in Normal mode. Getting Signet of Clumsiness, Power Spike, Leech Signet, and Cry of Pain from the hero skill trainer in Kamadan should be a priority since Power Drain isn't available until Command Post (off Istan). Mistrust, Wastrel's Demise, and Clumsiness in Kamadan and Spiritual Pain in Yohlon Haven should augment the damage skillset. A bonus is you can do Domain of Anguish at the end of Nightfall.

Use Prodigy's or Survivor insignias, Blessed if you run enchantments for whatever reason. If you run a Keystone signet build, then run Artificer's. Prodigy's is hard to recommend now that Mesmers have reduced recharges in PvE.

Monk
Monks don't have access to Dwayna's Kiss, Gift of Health, Signet of Rejuvenation, Patient Spirit, Divine Healing/Heaven's Delight, Deny Hexes, Cure Hex, or elites (Word of Healing, Unyielding Aura, Healing Burst, Ray of Judgment) so the best you can pull off is Divine Boon + protection prayers like Reversal of Fortune and Guardian unless you want to be terrible and spam Orison of Healing, Words of Comfort (bought from Tohn), Protective Spirit (Tohn), Shield of Absorption (Medando), and Healing Breeze. This requires energy management through Leech signet or Energy Tap (Power Drain isn't available til Command Post).

A monk is a terrible choice for Nightfall since you get two hero monks close to the beginning and most of the best monk skills are in the other two campaigns (no, Zealous Benediction and Healer's Boon are not good elites and Dismiss Condition is unreliable without enchantments flying around via Orders or ether Renewal elementalists spamming protection prayers). To be a half decent choice over heroes, use Seed of Life and protection prayers proactively before impending damage (i.e. properly unlike heroes). Start monks in Factions. You don't want to be playing healer main with heroes anyway. You can get Aegis from Eye of the North. A bonus is you can do Domain of Anguish at the end of Nightfall.

Use Survivor's/Anchorite's or Blessed Insignias if running enchantments (protection prayers).

Dervish
You can only start dervishes in Nightfall. Get Heart of Fury once you get to Yohlon Haven. Zealous Renewal in Sunspear Great Hall from the hero skill trainer isn't bad, Victorious Sweep can be capped by Marobeh Sharptail (Vehjin Mines).

Use Windwalker Insignias.


 * This section needs an update due to the Dervish update.

Ranger
Rangers aren't worth making in Nightfall. Fine Burning Arrow (PvP only...). Barrage is core. Can't really think of much to write here. You can conjure lightning/conjure frost+Barrage, Magebane shot (PvP only). Staple distracting shot to your skillbar though. Pets are garbage because of AI and traps/nature rituals aren't worth using for the most part.

So we have bows. They do less autoattacking than spears, which is why you see beastmasters running spears, swords, axes, daggers, scythes, hammers: anything but bows.

In general, you need Asuran Scan. It's what puts Rangers ahead of Elementalists, other than longer range (although Barrage has a smaller AoE than nearby spells), d-shot, expertise, physical damage triggering Barbs/Orders and the fact that +damage ignores armor.

Use Survivor's, there's blocking stances for physicals and 100 base elemental armor. You can use Scout's if you run a preparation since as long as the preparation is up you get +10 armor.

Why you should staple d-shot to your bar
Even with a mesmer on board, you should still bring distracting shot ("d-shot"). For mesmers, Leech signet/cry of frustration/cry of pain/complicate/tease/psychic instability/Web of Disruption are the only things that works on non-spell stuff and you can't rely on panic for a reliable interrupt. Leech signet can go past Vow of silence/Obsidian Flesh/Shadow Form but so can d-shot. Since none of them give +20 recharge, d-shot is a solid skill.

For example, if a mob is using Signet or Return, Resurrect, Renew Life, Flesh of My Flesh, or death pact signet, (or any skill with less than 20 recharge that you can reliably interrupt) you want to d-shot it rather than interrupt it with cry of frustration/etc. The shorter the recharge, the better d-shot gets. Healing signet? Heal party? Clumsiness? soothing images? Empathy? Diversion? Migraine? Backfire? Signet of Humility? Mistrust? Wandering eye? d-shot. If you're good you can get Blinding surge, dwayna's kiss, guardian.

There's no other ranger skill that is iconically ranger. In fact, d-shot is the only thing that stops Soul twisting ritualists.

Why you should pump Marks for Barrage to 14

 * Bow damage at 14 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 60 armor: 42.2 average damage
 * 27.2	Minimum Damage, 46.4	Maximum Damage, 63.6	Critical Hit Damage, 36.8	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 42.2	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +19 @14 marks = 61 average before buffs


 * Bow damage at 12 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 60 armor: 39 average damage
 * 25.7	Minimum Damage, 43.6	Maximum Damage, 59.6	Critical Hit Damage, 34.7	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 39	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +17@12 marks = 56 average before buffs

Compare this to 9 marks, 12 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 60 armor: 30.5 Average Damage
 * 21	Minimum Damage, 34.8	Maximum Damage, 47.1	Critical Hit Damage, 27.9	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 30.5	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +14@9 marks= 44.5 average before buffs


 * Bow damage at 14 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 100 armor: 23.6 average damage
 * 16.1	Minimum Damage, 25.7	Maximum Damage, 34.3	Critical Hit Damage, 20.9	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 23.6	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +19 @14 marks = 42.6 average before buffs


 * Bow damage at 12 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 100 armor: 22.1 average damage
 * 15.4	Minimum Damage, 24.3	Maximum Damage, 32.3	Critical Hit Damage, 19.9	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 22.1	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +17@12 marks = 39.1 average before buffs

Compare this to 9 marks, 9 marks, 15% damage bonus, customized bow with Vampiric vs 100 armor: 17.8 Average Damage
 * 13	Minimum Damage, 19.9	Maximum Damage, 26.1	Critical Hit Damage, 16.5	Average Damage (excluding critical hits)
 * 17.8	Average Damage (including critical hits)
 * barrage adds +14@9 marks= 31.8 average before buffs

Elementalist
Elementalists start best in Nightfall due to easy access to Earth and air magic and because Invoke Lightning, Searing Flames, and Mind Blast are all Nightfall skills. Blinding Flash is available early on, Ward against melee is free. Glowing Gaze (the backbone of Searing Flames) can be bought in Kamadan as well as Meteor and Lightning Orb. However, at this time Elementalists are severely underpowered in Hard mode and don't do damage once you hit higher level mobs (>level 24). The irony of it all is you don't get attunements until Command Post, making you worse off than Mesmers and Necromancers which receive energy management at the beginning. The first skill you should buy if you go elementalist is Glyph of Lesser energy (besides attunements) in Yohlon Haven.

Use Blessed Insignias (with attunements).
 * Attunements: why use them? Attunements return 2 out of 5, 4 out of 10, 6 out of 15, and 8 out of 25 energy. The sweet spot is 5-15 energy since it only reduces 32% of 25 energy due to rounding.
 * Elemental Attunement: not worth using most of the time. Since most of the skills are bounded by recharge, elemental attunement doesn't help much. The exception is Rodgort's Invocation and Lightning Hammer. Elemental Attunement returns 2 of 5, 5 of 10 (1 more than regular attunement), 7 of 15 (1 more), 12 of 25 (4 more). Usually it is used with the regular attunement as a "dual attunement" reduction. It's hard to recommend over Mind Blast, Ether Prism, Ether Prodigy, Ether Renewal due to heavy investment in energy storage and enchantments though.
 * Aura of Restoration + Attunement. With aura of Restoration, 5 to 10 energy skills become more attractive since it allows for 60% return on 5 energy, 50% on 10 energy, 47% on 15 energy, and 36% on 25 energy. There are few 5 energy skills in the elementalist repertoire worth using though.


 * Caveat: What's funny is a Barrager with 10 channeling can put out 159 armor ignoring (+ base damage+other buffs) in 1 second, every 5 seconds for <8 energy (12+1+1 Marksmanship, 8+1 expertise, 10 channeling). If the ranger has a Ritualist supporting him/her then there's no contest, as Splinter at 14-16 channeling put out 200+ damage. Splinter weapon is all about the 164-235 damage spike (12 and 14 channeling, respectively). You can get 265 with 16 channeling. There's no elementalist skill that comes close and can be done at longbow range. So the elementalist needs a big buff to be Hard Mode viable. If you choose to start with an elementalist, do it for Normal mode only. The most spammy AoE (Searing Flames) puts out 318 damage+98 burning (maximum) over the course of 4 casts but realistically you will get 159 to 220 (+98 burning) or so given armor reductions. Of course, in Normal mode zones with > 3 mobs in nearby range Searing Flames pull out ahead due to Splinter Weapon's 3 target cap (and Barrage's limit of adjacent range). With Great Dwarf Weapon+ Barrage, 6 targets can be hit. Ray of Judgment with 16 Smiting puts out 240(+112 from burning) and with Arcane echo it's effectively 10 recharge (Glyph of swiftness if you don't want to dump 15 energy, for 15 effective recharge). These are just ranged options.

12+1+1 Energy storage 12 Prot rest in heal
 * ER prot:


 * 1 Infuse Health
 * 2 Great Dwarf Weapon = +20
 * 3 Aura of Restoration
 * 4 Spirit Bond
 * 5 Shield Guardian
 * 6 Protective Spirit
 * 7 Ether Renewal
 * 8 Elemental Lord/Life attunement

Skills with 0 recharge
Some skills like Flare, Stone Daggers, or Ice Spear are 68Damage per second on paper. However, due to aftercast of 0.75seconds, they only do 40ish DPS (68)/(1+0.75)=38.8. That's why it's better to use skills with 3 to 10 recharge.

Sword/axe on autoattack do 40DPS for 0 energy and hammer does 45DPS.

Lava arrows has a similar problem, but AoE helps it a bit. You put out 27 if you manage to spam it, x3 60 armor targets = 81 damage/sec. You just won't be doing anything else while spamming it.

Unorthodox: Make multiple characters and delete them
Make any character and get it through to Sunspear Great Hall (~level 5 or 6). Buy all skills you can form hero skill trainers, delete the character and remake a new character. It's cheaper than buying skills on a main character and for skills from a primary attribute that you need for a hero, it's best to not waste gold on buying them. This also gives you more battle commendations.

You can also make a Ritualist and run it through Shing Jea Island. It gives most of the useful spirits.

Unorthodox: Get max armor a.s.a.p.
Get a ferry to Consulate Docks and drop 5 platinum + materials for a set of Istan or Sunspear armor, using Colector armor at all points before you are able to afford the max armor. It's a sound investment that will last until you get prestige armor, which is something that you should get for +2 points in the Hall of Monuments. An alternative.

Vabbi tour (skipping Kourna)
Vabbi Tour consists of running from Sunspear Sanctuary to Gate of Desolation, allowing players to skip Kourna altogether to get to Kodash Bazaar.

A note on heroes
Heroes gain 15 additional attribute points at level 10 and at level 15.
 * Dunkuro is required for Consulate Docks (Istan), Moddok Crevice (Kourna), and Gate of Pain (Realm of Torment).
 * Melonni is required for Jokanur Diggings (Istan) and Nundu Bay (Kourna).
 * Koss is required for Chahbek Village (Istan), Venta Cemetery (Kourna), and Jennur's Horde (Vabbi).
 * Tahlkora is required for Blacktide Den (Istan) and Grand Court of Sebelkeh (Vabbi).
 * Zhed is required for Kodonur Crossroads (Kourna) and Gate of Desolation (Desolation).
 * Margrid is required for Pogahn Passage (Kourna) and Dasha Vestibule (Vabbi).
 * Master of Whispers is required for Rilohn Refuge (Kourna) and Dzagonur Bastion (Vabbi).

Jin/Sousuke are obtained at the end since they are mutually exclusive. Goren/Norgu are as well. Margrid/Master of Whispers are also.

Ideally, you want Jin, Norgu, and Master of Whispers since: Sousuke is not very useful when you have Zhed and his fire magic build is terrible (Flare + Inferno+Liquid Flame+Ward against melee is outdone just by d-shot on Jin). He comes as level 11 if you did not pick him at the beginning. Goren isn't all that useful when you have Koss. He come as level 18. Margrid is not very useful when you have Jin. She comes as level 18.

All heroes before General Morgahn are not level 20; Zhed is the first hero you get that is above level 15 at the start.

By ~22 hours I had gotten up to Gate of Torment which every non-elite Nightfall skill is available at (test account with Nightfall campaign only) and I'm sure if you had Olias and EoTN heroes you would get there faster.

By ~28 hours I had Gate of Anguish (for Razah).

Razah the easy way (unorthodox)
Bring high single target damage since you need to take out Torment creatures with Call of Torment active. A minion master can be used to draw Razah out, skipping the need to kill more mobs.

The best way is to bring a hero with Gaze of Fury (Nightfall hero skill trainer in Kodash Bazaar has it) and flag the hero within an aggro bubble away from the binding guardians (which spam Glimmer of Light) and then microing gaze of fury. Keeping out of activation of the mobs is important.

When nearing Razah don't talk to him, flag the minion master near him and he will walk to heal them (due to AI). When he walks out, flag the minion master even further out until he is off the red areas. When he is off the red areas talk to him and it will skip to "get quest reward", i.e. get Razah.

Leveling heroes without the headache
Save your quest rewards that have rewards given at towns and NPCs close to towns. When you get a new hero, don't cash in the reward until you switch out a level 20 hero for a low level one (11 to 19).

Nightfall henchmen

 * Gehraz would get first pick if your Melonni hero is not kitted out with a decent skillbar. Granted melee AI is horrific but in most of the game aggro control isn't as necessary. Reaper's Sweep gives knockdown. (Once you get General Morgahn, slap "Fall Back!" "Stand Your Ground!" and "Go For the Eyes!" on him and bring Gehraz for big damage. Scythes hit for high damage on critical.) Eremite's attack, Dust Cloak, Victorious Sweep are solid skills as well although Reap Impurities may take off blind (in Consulate Docks only).
 * Eve is a must if you bring healer henchmen since she has Blood ritual (which is ironic since it is a Prophecies-only skill). Deathly Swarm is a waste of time as is Shadow strike, but basically all she does is blood ritual and steal a low amount of health back to heal herself (or use Signet of Lost Souls to the same effect). Ravenous Gaze is more or less inferior to Desecrate Enchantments since it does ~60 damage in nearby range. Shadow Strike is ~80 to 90 if the condition is met.
 * Devona is a choice for areas with caster hate. Magehunter's Smash and counter blow are solid knockdowns, although Devona is better with Earthshaker and lacks an IAS.
 * Odurra is a very good henchman because she has damage mitigation (Cry of Frustration, Leech Signet, Empathy, and Mistrust). However, her elite is lame most of the time and in Realm of Torment Shatter Hex is much too expensive on her skillbar.
 * Mhenlo is only going to spike heal. He has no "pressure" heals to counter low autoattack damage and such, and Watchful Healing and Healing Breeze don't do enough.
 * Kihm loves to spam Zealous Benediction (ZB) and that empties her energy. However, in consulate Docks she has a solid skillbar, much like a word of Healing Hybrid. However, she still has Orison of Healing, which is terrible, and for some reason loses remove hex permanently in between Istan and Kourna.
 * Sogolon makes up for the others but he doesn't have a solid reliable heal other than Signet of Synergy, which is on 10 recharge, and doesn't heal for much (88 or so, less in Kourna and Istan). His Hexbreaker aria will help you get through hexes since the other henches don't have reliable hex removal and ballad of Restoration is a decent party wide damage heal. Spear of Lightning is a solid skill as well.
 * Cynn is only decent when mob levels are low and there are mobs clumped in nearby range. When mob levels are higher, Searing Flames can do 70 instead of 100. Since she has no utility skills, if Searing Flame isn't pumping out big AoE damage she isn't worth bringing.


 * To make up for their deficiencies, bring a hex removal on your heroes.

=Get access to Temple of the Ages= To get to Tyria, take Terror in Tyria from Deras Tenderlin in Kamadan. You need to have gotten to Consulate Docks and completed The Time is Nigh. To access Temple of the Ages' elite areas (Fissure of Woe and the Underworld) you need to have done Hunted!.

However, the above information for starting in Nightfall goes up to Hunted! for a reason (you are "ascended").

From Lion's Arch you may choose to navigate the jungle or get a run to "ToA". The prophecies' missions up until the Crystal Desert are geared towards players that have not reached level 20.

You may choose to backtrack towards Ascalon to get easy missions, before going forward through the Maguuma jungle, Crystal Desert, the Southern Shiverpeaks, and the Ring of Fire.

Olias
When you get to Consulate Docks, also grab Olias.

Prophecies running
Only a few missions are required for beating the campaign: Thunderhead Keep, Ring of Fire, Abaddon's Mouth, Hell's Precipice since you can get a run from Beacon's Perch to Camp Rankor.

A more common alternative is Lion's Arch → Temple of the Ages → Sanctum Cay → Amnoon Oasis (which is the Crystal Desert).

Once in the Crystal Desert, Dunes of Despair and Thirsty River and Elona Reach are all required to do Augury Rock. From there, The Dragon's Lair sends you to Ice Caves of Sorrow, which leads to Iron Mines of Moladune and Thunderhead Keep.

If you do not want to completely ruin the story, don't run anywhere. Backtrack to Ascalon and start from The Great Northern Wall.

=Jump over to Eye of the North=
 * You want Xandra as a Ritualist hero since Razah is at the end of Nightfall.


 * Norgu isn't available til Vabbi, so Gwen is a good filler, since she comes with a decent build. Norgu has Conjure Phantasm, Mantra of Persistence, and Mistrust. Conjure Phantasm is terrible, Mistrust is of marginal usefulness with no points in Domination Magic since you can just slot Power spike, power lock, or something that has low recharge to interrupt with. Mantra of Persistence adds 1 second to Clumsiness so you can ditch it.


 * Hayda is useful in normal mode. Just swap out motivation and pump command. Slot Stand Your Ground, Fall Back!, Go for the eyes, vicious attack (or keep Spear of Lightning),
 * 11 Spear Mastery, 12 Leadership, 6 Motivation --> make 9+1 spear, 9+1 leadership, 12+1+1 command or 10 spear, 10 leadership, 11 command if you are rune-less (leadership at an even number)


 * Anthem of Flame - swap for "Fall Back!" (Anthem of Flame is best used to trigger Aggressive refrain)
 * Barbed Spear - swap for Spear of Redemption/Holy Spear (bleeding is useless without Gash)
 * Hexbreaker Aria - keep (disable and micro), switch this for an elite once you get one (Soldier's Fury is a good choice)
 * Signet of Return - keep
 * Spear of Lightning - swap for vicious attack if you are so inclined (more so if you don't have any source of deep wound)
 * Wild Throw - keep
 * blank - add "Stand Your Ground!" -- best with caster parties
 * blank - add "Go for the eyes" -- necessary


 * Ogden Stonehealer is superfluous when you have two monk heroes. He also has a terrible skillbar akin to Dunkuro.


 * Vekk comes stock as air elementalist. That's kind of useless in normal mode. Most people use him to pump out the Searing Flames+Glowing Gaze combo in Normal mode.

=Continue in Factions= By the time you get to Consulate Docks in Nightfall you can get to Factions or Prophecies. Doing so is advantageous since you can get access to Factions' PvE skills. This includes "Save Yourselves!",Spear of Fury, Aura of Holy Might and other skills. For Ritualists, Summon Spirits is essential.

Plague in Cantha from Funwa Shento in Kamadan gets you to Cantha. It is not advisable to be lower than level 20 at this point.

There's only 2 missions before Vizunah Square (where Elonian and Tyrian characters join the Canthan ones). This means completion of Faction is more or less done if you follow along (you need to do Minister Cho's Estate and Zen Daijun afterwards).

Factions is home to assassins so beware of shadow stepping mobs if you are going for zero deaths (Survivor). Kaineng Center is home to powerful spiking mobs, such as Jade Brotherhood with Dragon Stomp (~100 damage), Ancestors' Rage (armor ignoring ~110 damage), and Triple Chop (+38 to 40 on top of base damage) in the same group. Channeled Strike isn't AoE but it is a good 130 damage or so. The monk henchmen don't help much since they load up on 10 energy spells that don't have quick enough cast times and Dragon's Stomp results in an AoE knockdown of the party.

Am Fah mobs explode on death due to Death Nova an Afflicted mobs have Afflicted Soul Explosion.

Due to recent buffs, Ray of Judgement from Afflicted Monks is rather brutal also so you need t step out of the AoE or take 40+ damage per second over 5 seconds (plus burning which is 14 damage per second). Afflicted Necromancers remove enchantments in bulk via Order of Apostasy and Afflicted Elementalists hit hard with Lightning Orb (due to the PvE version of Lightning Orb's Cracked armor).

Like in Nightfall, all bosses do double damage (on top of this, they also get a level bonus that means 1.3 to 1.6x the damage for all damage that is armor-reduced, see Damage multiplier on http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Level). This means elemental damage and physical damage hits even more.

=(Optional) Make a character in Prophecies = Prophecies is the absolute best place to learn to play. Whereas you get your first character to Sunspear Sanctuary in about 10-20 hours, Prophecies will get you to Crystal Desert in about 30 to 50+ hours, due to the need to complete 17 missions til "ascension" and the tendency for players to dawdle in presearing.

The skills you get at the beginning ("presearing") are totally useless for the most part. Orison of Healing+Healing Breeze for monks, Power shot for Rangers, Flare for elementalists. For Warriors, Prophecies is a close contender to Nightfall as you get Executioner's Strike, Cyclone Axe, Sever Artery+ Gash. Frenzy, while useful, cannot be used properly until you get a "cancel stance" to stop incoming damage from overwhelming you. As usual, the necromancer skillset excels in presearing, with animate Bone Horror, Vampiric Gaze, Faintheartedness, Life Siphon, Deathly Swarm, Soul Barbs. Simply picking monk secondary, orison allows you to pump out minions and keep them alive. Mesmers get Empathy, Backfire, Ether Feast, and the utterly bad Conjure Phantasm. Imagined Burden is situational and in presearing Shatter Delusions is of little use. Elementalists get only Blinding Flash as a usable skill. Glyph of Lesser energy doesn't do damage,so it doesn't count. Flare, Fire storm, Lightning javelin aren't impressive. The fire skills *used* to be decent at the release of prophecies since monsters didn't run away. The fact that you need to spam Flare or Lightning Javelin to heal with Aura of Restoration means you need to get out of presearing a.s.a.p.

A quick look at http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_skill_quests

Warriors get Power attack in post-searing as well as dismember and Swift Chop. For Great Justice!, Crushing Blow (although without elites you can only use with the given Hammer Bash), To the Limit!, Bull's strike (PvP) are given as well.

Necromancers get Insidious Parasite, Mark of Pain. Weaken Armor, Strip enchantment, and Blood Ritual, Blood of the Master, Dark Bond, Death Nova, Animate Bone minions, animate bone fiend, price of failure are all solid.

Mesmers get Power Spike, Diversion, and Fragility. Shatter Hex is also given, Inspired Hex, Leech Signet.

Monks get Strength of Honor and Infuse Health which are both solid skills. Heal party shouldn't be used without Healer's Boon, remove hex is mediocre. Dwayna's Kiss is given as well as Holy Veil. Smite Hex, Rebirth, Protective Spirit, Mend condition.

Eles don't get much: Lightning Orb, Meteor, Air Attunement, Gale (only for PvP), Ice Spikes, Eruption, Deep Freeze, Fire attunement.

Rangers get Savage shot, Lightning reflexes, antidote signet, Edge of extinction, Winter, Pin down.

By ascension you aren't much better off. Skills given compared to good skills given is a different thing.

=(Optional) Make a character in Factions=

Factions is abysmal in design. It's the fastest campaign, with exploding mobs that punish melees for playing aggressively (i.e. well) rather than tanking. Frenzy might as well not exist in Guild Wars on Factions.

The skills given are less than in Nightfall and also the point at which Nightfall characters join is rather early.

That said, you may want to make an Assassin or Ritualist. In that case, Factions character creation is your only option.

Jump over to Kourna once you get to Kaineng Center so you may get a monk hero. The Factions' monks are heavy on 10 energy skills and like to spam them. Even Danika (Healing Burst) has lame skills like Healing Breeze and Orison of Healing is bad.

Assassin
Playing melee is pretty suicidal once you get to Kaineng. Shadow Refuge, Death's Charge, Shroud of Distress are all you are given along with Way of Perfection and Caltrops. None of these save you from exploding mobs. By design assassins kill quickly, so fast kills in succession will lead to many Afflicted Soul Explosions.

Many people opt to go A/R critical barrage for this reason.

Ritualist
Spirit Rift,Union,Pain, Dissonance, Shadowsong, Weapon of warding, Resilient weapon, Painful bond are all useful skills.

Other
N: Enfeebling Blood, Strip Enchantment, Animate Bone Fiend, Animate Bone Minions, Death Nova. Me: Empathy, Clumsiness, Power Spike Mo: Mend Ailment, Reversal of Fortune, Draw conditions W: Cyclone Axe, Mighty Blow, Power Attack E: Ward Against Melee, Glyph of Lesser Energy, Lightning Orb, Ice Spikes, Deep Freeze, Gale R: distracting shot, Pin down

=Skills to get ASAP=

Core

 * E: Air attunement, Fire attunement, Earth attunement, Water attunement, glyph of lesser energy are all required regardless of build ... Aura of Restoration, Blinding Flash, Blurred Vision, Conjure Lightning, Deep Freeze, Gale, Fireball, Ice Spikes, Lightning Orb, Meteor, Obsidian Flesh, rust, Ward Against Melee


 * Mo:Aegis, Blessed Signet, Convert Hexes, Draw Conditions, Guardian, Heal Party, Holy Veil, Infuse Health, Mend Ailment, Protective Spirit, Rebirth, Reversal of Fortune, Smite Hex, Strength of Honor, Word of Healing


 * Me:Arcane Conundrum, Arcane Echo, Arcane Mimicry, Clumsiness, Cry of Frustration, Diversion, Drain Enchantment, Echo, Empathy, Energy Surge, Epidemic, Ether Feast, Fragility, Leech Signet, Mantra of Inscriptions, Mind Wrack, Power Drain, Power Spike, Signet of Humility --> basically almost everything


 * N:Animate Bone Fiend, Animate Bone Minions, Barbs, Blood is Power, Blood of the Master, Dark Bond, Death Nova, Enfeebling Blood, Mark of Pain, Order of Pain, Strip Enchantment, Weaken Armor


 * R:Antidote Signet, Apply Poison, Barrage, Distracting Shot, Savage Shot, Lightning Reflexes, Pin Down


 * W:"For Great Justice!", Balanced Stance,Bull's Strike, Counter Blow, Cyclone axe, Dismember, Executioner's Strike, Gash, Power Attack,Wild Blow

Prophecies

 * E: Chain Lightning, Earthquake, Eruption, Ether Renewal, Glyph of Energy, Glyph of renewal, Glyph of Sacrifice, Mark of Rodgort, Meteor Shower, Rodgort's Invocation


 * Mo:Divine Healing, Balthazar's Spirit, Dwayna's Kiss, Unyielding Aura, Vigorous Spirit


 * Me:Channeling, Fevered Dreams, Illusion of Weakness, Ineptitude, Inspired Enchantment, Inspired Hex, Keystone Signet, Migraine, Panic, Power Block, Shatter Delusions, Wastrel's Worry


 * N:Animate Bone Horror, Aura of the Lich, Awaken the Blood, Blood Ritual, Order of the Vampire, Spiteful Spirit


 * R:Crippling Shot, Edge of Extinction, Frozen Soil, Incendiary Arrows, Winter


 * W:Eviscerate,"To the Limit!",Backbreaker, Bonetti's Defense, Crude Swing, Crushing Blow, Dwarven Battle Stance, Earthshaker, Rush, Warrior's Endurance

Factions

 * A: Asssasin's Promise, Critical Eye, Dark Escape, Dash, Death's Charge, Death Blossom, Falling Spider, Flashing Blades, Fox Fangs, Golden Phoenix Strike, Horns of the Ox, Moebius Strike, Return, Shroud of Distress, Shadow Form, Twisting Fangs, Wild Strike


 * E: Burning Speed, Churning Earth, Sliver Armor, Unsteady Ground, ward of Stability


 * Mo:Deny Hexes, Empathic Removal, Gift of Health, Healing Burst, Heaven's Delight, Ray of Judgment, Resurrection Chant, Signet of Rejuvenation, Spirit Bond


 * Me:Accumulated Pain, Auspicious Incantation, Complicate, Expel Hexes, Hex Eater Signet, Overload, Psychic Instability, Revealed Enchantment, Revealed Hex, Unnatural Signet


 * N:Animate Flesh Golem, Animate Vampiric Horror, Blood Bond, Discord, Gaze of Contempt, Reckless Haste, Spoil Victor


 * R:Broad Head Arrow, Glass Arrows, Triple Shot


 * Rt:Ancestor's Rage, Armor of Unfeeling, Bloodsong, Boon of Creation, Channeled Strike, Disenchantment, Displacement, Dissonance, Flesh of My Flesh, Life, Mend Body and Soul, Nightmare Weapon, Pain, Painful Bond, Preservation, Protective Was Kaolai, Resilient Weapon, Ritual Lord, Shadowsong, Shelter, Signet of Creation, Signet of Spirits,

Soothing Memories, Soul Twisting, Spirit Channeling, Spirit Light, Spirit Light Weapon, Spirit Rift, Spirit Siphon, Spirit to Flesh, Splinter Weapon, Summon Spirits, Union, Vengeful Weapon, Wanderlust, Weapon of Shadow, Weapon of Warding, Wielder's Boon


 * W:"Coward!", "Save Yourselves!", Dragon Slash, Furious Axe, Standing Slash, Sun and Moon Slash, Yeti Smash

Nightfall

 * A:Critical Agility, Death's Retreat, Golden Fox Strike, Malicious Strike, Wastrel's Collapse, Way of the Assassin


 * D:Armor of Sanctity,Attacker's Insight,Avatar of Grenth, Conviction, Ebon Dust Aura, Eremite's Attack, Eternal Aura, Faithful Intervention, Featherfoot Grace, Fleeting Stability, Harrier's Haste, Heart of Fury, Heart of Holy Flame, Lyssa's Assault, Mystic Regeneration, Meditation, Mystic Healing, Mystic Sweep, Mystic Vigor, Natural Healing, Onslaught, Pious Restoration,Reaper's Sweep, Sand Shards,Signet of Pious Light, Victorious Sweep, Vital Boon, Vow of Strength, Watchful Intervention, Whirling Charge, Wounding Strike, Zealous Renewal, Zealous Vow


 * E: Blinding Surge, Ether Prism, Invoke Lightning, Flame Djinn's Haste, Glyph of Restoration, Glowing Gaze, Liquid Flame, Lightning Bolt, Mind Blast, Savannah Heat, Searing Flames, Stone Striker, Stoneflesh Aura, Storm Djinn's Haste


 * Mo:Defender's Zeal,Dismiss Condition, Healer's Boon, Reversal of Damage, Seed of Life, Shield of Absorption, Words of Comfort, Zealous Benediction


 * Me:Cry of Pain, Mirror of Disenchantment, Mistrust, Signet of Clumsiness, Signet of Illusions, Spiritual Pain, Symbolic Celerity, Tease, Visions of Regret, Wastrel's Demise


 * N:Blood of the Aggressor, Corrupt Enchantment, Mark of Fury, Order of Undeath, Signet of Lost Souls,


 * P:"Fall Back!", "Go for the Eyes!", "Help Me!", "Incoming!", "It's Just a Flesh Wound.", "Stand Your Ground!", "There's Nothing to Fear!","We Shall Return!", Aggressive Refrain, Anthem of Envy,Ballad of Restoration,Blazing Spear, Cautery Signet, Cruel Spear, Defensive Anthem, Focused Anger, Hexbreaker Aria, Signet of Return, Signet of Synergy, Soldier's Fury, Song of Purification, Song of Restoration, Spear of Lightning, Stunning Strike,, Vicious Attack, Wild Throw


 * R:Burning Arrow, Natural Stride,Rampage as One ,


 * Rt:Anguish, Death Pact Signet, Destructive Was Glaive, Recovery, Signet of Ghostly Might, Spirit's Strength, Vampirism, Warmonger's Weapon, Wielder's Remedy. Xinrae's Weapon


 * W:Enraging Charge, Flail, "You're All Alone!", Agonizing Chop,Burst of Aggression, Crippling Slash, Counterattack, Soldier's Stance, Soldier's Strike, Steelfang Slash, Whirlwind attack

Eye of the North

 * A:Falling Lotus Strike, Trampling Ox, Way of the Master


 * D:Signet of Mystic Speed, Zealous Sweep


 * E: Energy Blast, Glowing Ice, Glyph of Swiftness, Shell Shock, Winter's Embrace


 * Mo:Cure Hex, Patient Spirit, Smite Condition, Smiter's Boon, Purifying Veil


 * Me:Calculated Risk, Confusing Images, Power Lock, Signet of Distraction, Wandering Eye, Waste not Want not


 * N:Angorodon's Gaze, Foul Feast, Masochism, Putrid Bile


 * P:Holy Spear, Spear of Redemption


 * R:Sloth Hunter's Shot, Volley, Poison Tip Signet


 * Rt:Pure Was Li Ming, Rejuvenation, Spiritleech Aura


 * W:Body Blow, Disarm

=Save up collector trophies that are useful= There's a few reasons for this:
 * festivals such as the Canthan New Year's festival, Halloween or Wintersday require collector's drops or trophies
 * collector weapons are sometimes decent (not wands though)
 * collector weapon trophies can be sold to other players if you don't use them
 * collector armor for all armor before max armor
 * free salvage kits and identification kits (also alcohol and sweets but they are so cheap now that collector's trophies are a waste of space)

In general casters have always benefited most since inscriptions are cheap for martial weapons.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_necromancer_collector_weapons http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_ritualist_collector_weapons http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_mesmer_collector_weapons http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_monk_collector_weapons http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_of_elementalist_collector_weapons

=ID almost everything and sell it to the merchant= Identify all weapons you don't use and sell them to the merchant. Until you reach mainland Elona, the drops aren't worth salvaging for the most part. Granite, Feathers, Iron, Plant fibers, and Dust are worth salvaging. Cloth, Bones, and Tanned Hide are not.

2 Juvenile Termite Legs give you a Belt Pouch. 3 Sentient Seeds give you a bag and 3 battle Commendations from quests give you a Rune of Holding. Don't bother buying Small Equipment Packs til later on (2.5 platinum is a lot to waste on Istan).

Use Expert Salvage only for mods and Rubies/sapphires/Diamonds. Steel isn't exactly expensive, the iron used to make it is worth more so don't bother making it. Leather Squares are also dirt cheap.

=Don't be afraid to use non-max mods=
 * 19% skill recharge versus 20%, 19% halves cast time versus 20% halves cast time, +29 HP versus 30HP is not a big deal for shields isn't big enough a difference. For the former, I suggest just using collector's focii/staves/wands and saving yourself the trouble. For wands, there's no excuse to run 19% memory mods as they aren't that expensive.
 * You may opt for 20% enchanting on a sword instead of a spear. However, a spear can be used to trigger Splinter Weapon.
 * -5 damage (20%) for shield should never be used. Period. Sell these to people that think otherwise, along with sundering mods.

However, don't buy nonmax mods for yourself. For heroes, it doesn't matter as long as you get them super cheap <1K. For "real" PvP you won't be using them.

=Play well, do well= Run +5 defense on sword/axe/spear. Choose armor over health, with a spear with +5 defense and a shield that has +30HP for when you aren't casting. Armor is always active, health only helps when you reach critically low (<60HP, <100HP with Survivor's insignias).

Running around with a staff or wand+focus while not casting is foolish unless you are a necromancer with lots of dying mobs (soul reaping kicks in and you need a big pool of energy for it to not overflow while you use skills). There's no advantage to running around with less defense and health (i.e. not using a shield and spear with + 5 defense).

+energy armor is superfluous when you have energy swaps on weapons. You are better off with defense. +2 energy from an attunement rune or +10 Health? Vitae runes win out most of the time.

For a monk not using patient spirit, you want to run +20% enchanting on a spear or sword, with a shield. Energy hidden from mesmers with energy tap/energy drain/shame/shatter delusions/etc is energy that cannot be removed.

The only reason to use a wand + focus combination is for 36% chance of half recharge on a single attribute (20% from wand and 20% from focus is multiplicative) unless you have some odd Prophecies items that can't be replicated. A staff gives 20% halves recharge of all spells and can be modded up to have 36% halves cast time of one attribute (Adept staff head + aptitude not attitude).

Casters

 * 1a: Defense (+15% damage -5 energy spear with +5 defense, shield with +30HP and +10 vs piercing, fire,... later slashing/lightning/earth/cold/blunt also)
 * 1b: Enchanting (+5 energy spear with 20% enchanting, shield with +30HP and +10 vs piercing, fire,... later slashing/lightning/earth/cold/blunt also)
 * 2: Cast (20/20 wand + focus where each has Halves cast time and halves skill recharge 20%) --> normal casting
 * 3: High energy set +42 energy (+15 energy,-1 energy regen "Live for today" on wand+ focus) --> when you run low on energy in set 2...don't stay in this set, cast and get back to set 1
 * 4a: "Normal" high energy set +17 or +20 energy (+5 energy spear with +5 defense and +12 energy focus or +15 energy staff with +5 energy>50%HP)
 * 4b: Enchanting (+5 energy spear with 20% enchanting, +12 energy focus with Halves skill recharge)


 * for monks and elementalists you want 20% enchanting for protection prayers enchantments (Protective Spirit, Shield of Absorption) and attunements or Earth Magic defensive enchantments
 * for elementalists you want 10% halves cast time or 10% skill recharge on your spear


 * Ritualist binding rituals are not spells.

Paragons

 * 1: Pulling bow (longbow with +30HP so that swapping between this and shield sets don't kill you, or alternatively just +5 defense)
 * 2: Adrenaline: Furious spear of Defense (+5 energy), shield with +30HP and -20% blind
 * 3: Energy: Zealous spear of Defense (+5 energy), shield with +30HP and -20% blind
 * 4: Raw Damage: Vampiric spear of defense (15>50 or 15% stanced), shield with +30HP and -20% blind

Warriors

 * 1: Pulling bow (longbow with +30HP so that swapping between this and shield sets don't kill you, or alternatively just +5 defense)
 * 2: Adrenaline: Furious axe of Defense (15>50 or 15% stanced), shield with +30HP and -20% blind or -20% cripple
 * 3: Energy: Zealous axe of Defense (15>50 or 15% stanced), shield with +30HP and -20% blind or -20% cripple
 * 4: Raw Damage: Vampiric axe of defense (15>50 or 15% stanced), shield with +30HP and -20% blind or -20% cripple

Run a clarity rune with -20% blind on your shield and you won't have to worry about monks that don't have condition removal for the most part. The only conditions really harmful to warriors are blind, cripple, and weakness. Weakness is potentially deadly if you run on breakpoints for Sentinel's Insignias and shields (Enraging charge as well) since it will reduce your damage by 66% and defense (if you run Sentinel's). Cracked armor doesn't mean much if your team has protection like protective spirit, shield of absorption, and "save Yourselves!".

The only time you want to run +30HP on your weapons is when you face areas with no elemental or physical damage. Even wand damage (auto-attacking by casters) takes into account armor and in Hard mode it could be easily 20+ armor-reduced damage.

In PvP the pulling bow is often substituted for a Furious spear of Defense to build adrenaline before going in with a melee weapon.

Rangers

 * Crippling Longbow of Defense (+15% damage, -5 energy) - for pulling
 * Silencing Recurve bow of Defense (+5 energy) - for interrupts
 * Crippling Spear of Defense, Shield of Fortitude - defensive set
 * Staff with +5 defense, +20 energy (+10, +5energy 50% HP inscription, +5 energy staff head)- high energy set

Use a zealous or Vampiric flatbow for Barrage, since flatbows have maximum firing rate and maximum firing range. In this case, you want to run 15>50 since you will be a damage dealer. For interrupts and condition spreading you want +5 energy. A recurve bow is for interrupts (distracting shot or "d-shot"), since it has the shortest flight time for arrows.

You can swap out the bow prefixes for Furious if you run a Warrior secondary with "Save Yourselves!".

Dervishes

 * Spear of Defense, Shield of Fortitude - defensive set
 * Vampiric/Furious Scythe of Enchanting (+15% enchanted)
 * Zealous Scythe of Enchanting (+15% enchanted)
 * Longbow of Defense (+15% damage,-5 energy) - Pulling Bow
 * Staff with +20% enchanting, +20 energy (+10, +5energy 50% HP inscription, +5 energy staff head)- high energy set

If you use Vampiric, swap to Defensive set when not hitting things.

Furious is used on D/W with "Save Yourselves!" since it charges in about 3 hits (5.3 seconds) or less (Mystic Sweep + Eremite's Attack).

The staff set is extra for stuff like Avatar of Melandru or spells you need energy to cast.

Assassins
same as Dervish unless you are not running A/D crit-scythe. (http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:A/D_Critical_Scythe_Assassin) You should use Zealous and Vampiric Daggers of Defense with +5 energy, since dagger base damage is low and +15% damage only affects the base damage of a weapon.

Pulling
"Pulling" a mob is when you engage a mob with your weapon or enter it in your "aggro circle" or "danger zone radius". To pull a mob well is essential, since it ensures you do not engage multiple groups at once. NOte that on some maps there are patrols and you should be aware of their routes before engaging any mobs.

Don't tank
"Tanking" is an antiquated way of playing that is typically seen in other games. Typically it involves pumping health and armor to high levels and engaging all the monsters, at the expensive of damage. It doesn't work in Guild Wars because there are no "taunts". The monsters go after who has the least armor and/or health. Died once? With 15% death penalty that reduces your maximum health by 15% you are a juicier target.

A better tactic than tanking is to run defensive spells on the "midline" (Guide to PvE) with "utility" such as Enfeebling Blood, Reckless Haste, "Stand Your Ground!"/"Watch Yourself!" on a Paragon (better to use "Save Yourselves!" with Spear of Fury, Aegis, Shelter, Union, Displacement. The "frontline" warriors, dervishes, and assassins can bring "Save Yourselves!" to make them the priority target. The backline monks and restoration ritualists can bring protection such as Protective Spirit, Weapon of Warding, or Shield of Absorption. Sometimes an Ether Renewal Elementalist-Monk (E/Mo) is used to fuel Protection prayers (http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:E/Mo_ER_Prot_Hero or http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:E/Mo_ER_Infuse_Bonder).

Shelter, Union, Displacement are best used with Soul Twisting.

Damage mitigation via Protection Prayers, Spirits, and "Save Yourselves!" is especially important in Hard Mode and in Elite areas.

Don't stand in AoE, "kite"
Don't stand in AoEs like Firestorm, Churning Earth, Eruption, Searing Heat/Teinai's Heat, and especially not Savannah's Heat. This also applies to delayed spells such as Spirit Rift.

If a warrior is wailing on you, don't stand there, move! Moving with your mouse is preferable ("mousewalk") since it always chooses the shortest path.

=Don't buy greens that suck= Green wands and focii that aren't 20 halves recharge and 20 halves cast time are generally not worth using. In general a wand without 20% recharge of it's skill type is not worth using since max staves give 20% skill recharge of all spells.

Don't buy swords, axes, daggers, spears or anything that is martial. They drop fairly often and mods are easy to come by. Vampiric is cheap (Sundering is terrible and expensive). Zealous is cheap. Furious is cheap.

A gold or blue inscribable req9 max item is always better than a green that can be replicated because you can swap out the mods. Check http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User:Life_Infusion/Important_wiki_information#Items

An example for mesmers would be the Rose Focus.

Endgame
It is advisable to get Forgotten Shield (strength, command, or motivation one) as a swap against elemental damage once you finish the campaign (for a Book of Secrets that you get for completing it).

In Factions, if you opt for a caster item, go for a Focus. Why? Because the "Forget me not" inscription (Halves skill recharge 20%) is ridiculously expensive. +5energy>50% and wand wrappings of memory are fairly easy to come by. I wouldn't recommend a caster item, since collectors have 20/20 focii as do.

In Prophecies, don't bother.

In Eye of the North, horde your Droknar's Keys. 20/20 focii and 20/20 wands are available.

=Zaishen Missions, Zaishen Bounties, Zaishen Combat= Zaishen Combat gives Copper Zaishen coins for Fort Aspenwood, Jade Quarry, and Alliance Battles. Since 100 copper coins (50= 1 silver and you need 2 silver zaishen coins) = 1 flame of balthazar, you could gain Balthazar faction quickly (due to more people playing these missions during Zaishen combat) and cash in these zaishen coins for even more Balthazar faction. Zaishen Missions/Bounties may give you something to kill that may be well worth the effort. Some things you might have along the way anyway: Korshek the Immolated, Commander Wahli, and Droajam, Mage of the Sands. After you do Hunted! you can access Fissure of Woe or Underworld (which is accessed from Zin Ku Corridor, Chantry of Secrets, or Temple of the Ages... although almost all groups start out in Temple of the Ages). Examples include Charged Blackness (~10-15 minutes to get there), Dragon Lich, Priest of Menzies, Lord Khobay. Four Horsemen is not recommended for people starting out.

=PvE skills are your friend= At a minimum of level 10 you can reach Eye of the North.

= Survivor = Don't bother attempting this on anything but a Paragon or Ranger if it's your first character. Monks are doable as are Necromancers, Ritualists and Mesmers (sort of). Trying to start off with a Warrior or Dervish (lol) frontline character and not die for 1337.5K experience is a tall order. Elementalists' best skills have 2 second casts and attunements are a liability due to their cast time and shatter enchantment/strip enchantment. If you want to get survivor with no risk do Dwarven Brawling Kilroy Stonekin's Punch-Out Extravaganza!) or with low risk, kill cap after level 20 with Protective Spirit and/or Shelter in the party. Hammers of Kathandrax cost too much for a beginner.
 * Now that survivor has been changed this advice no longer stands. You can just do whatever and whenyou decide to go for the title, just be careful.

= Protector of (continent) = Try to do the bonus as you do the missions, especially for Factions and Nightfall, which require mission completion for the bonus/master's to count. For Prophecies it doesn't matter as much.

Guardian of (continent)
Do Pogahn Passage yourself since there is no Zaishen Mission for it. Then try to do the other ones with players during ZM (Zaishen Mission) days. Make sure you get a decent group with damage mitigation (Save Yourselves!, Shelter, Protective Spirit) instead of 2 backliners (2 monks with pure healing bars leads to failure).

= Legendary skill hunter = This is the best title hands down. This augments your character, rather than wasting time on reputation grind.

=Hero armors and pets= A Black Widow Spider gives +2 points since it is a pet (obviously) and a rare pet. MOX, Black Moa, Imperial Phoenix, are the other free statues.

=Weapons= Oppressor's and Destroyer weapons are expensive and Tormented weapons are best earned (you did start in Nightfall right?) instead of bought.

=Minis= Don't buy things you can't afford. Invest in your character first (skills, armor, weapons) and then worry about minis.

=Non title statues=

Sorrow's Furnace
A balanced build can deal with this.

Fissure of Woe
The only part that is difficult for a beginner is the fact that Rastigan the Eternal must not die at the beginning and the griffons in the Gift of Griffons must not be triggered by someone that is going to charge into battle. Popups/spawns come when you trigger the griffon quest.

the Underworld
Bring protective Spirit and/or shelter. Aatxes hit for 300ish otherwise. Four Horseman, Servants of Grenth, and Imprisoned Spirits can wreak havoc on a team that is unprepared since they require splitting up to counter the waves. Unwanted Guests should be done after Vale and Ice Wastes; Escort of Souls should be done after Vale.

the Deep
The deep is more gimmicky than Urgoz because there's an entire zone you must aggro that you cannot cast spells in. To get past this, simply have everyone that cast spells stand in the door before this room before you aggro anything.

The first section limits you to 3 people per room, a problem mitigated by hero pathing (i.e. you can have all your 3-7 heroes in your room).

There's another section with "pads" that recall helps with.

The Kanaxai battle is much more easy with recall. Without recall and Inspired enchantment (0 recharge due to monster enchantment), it's hard to damage Kanaxai enough.

Urgoz
If you go the "tank and spank" route a bonder with Life Barrier and Life Bond is typically used, with Balthazar's Spirit and Blessed Signet to manage energy.

If you're running consume corpse, there's 2 gate locks to be opened in room 3. After that you can just use the teleporter in blue.

room 6 there's thorn wolf pops that can be stopped by having someone in room 5.

room 10 the door shuts if everyone walks in. Do NOT let everyone walk in.

http://www.guildwiki.org/Urgoz%27s_Warren http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Urgoz%27s_Warren

Edge of extinction (due to dying Explosive Growths) helps with Urgoz as well as Vanguard assassin support.

=The difference between "money" and wealth= A common mistake people make when trying to save up for armor and weapons is that "money" is not wealth. You want to build wealth not money (platinum, gold, globs of ectoplasm). Wealth is the stuff that isn't liquid. We can't spend wealth. The rare weapons you have, the Wintergreen weapons that cannot be gotten anymore, raw materials such as Deldrimor steel ingots, the -2/-2 shields you have...those are wealth. Things that are usable and that people want. You can have wealth without money. You want wealth. Money in this game does almost nothing. You get to pay for Underworld entry fees or salvage and identification kits. Good for you. Why do we want lots of money? You can't trade that -2/-2 shield to someone that needs a stack of granite for their destroyer weapons. It's useless to them. Monry is a medium of exchange. It's easier to make things (assuming the materials aren't ridiculously rare) than it is to gather money and then buy those things. Why? Because if you need to buy something then chance are you will be sitting in town spamming "WTB" for hours on end. The caveat is if you happen to be in town and the buyer/seller is in partysearch and isn't AFK. Another way to get around this is to go on Guild Wars Guru auctions for weapon modifiers and non-weapon items. The Sell forums tend to be for high end stuff and generally are a pain to search unless you have a specific skin in mind. Nothing gets sorted by stats. Another thing is that an item is only worth how much people are willing to pay for it. Sure that R9 Eternal/gloom shield is attractive, but it's not functionally better than a collector shield or any gold "rare" shield with an inscription slot. If you're just starting out, don't be going for prestige/vanity items. Focus on getting better as a player, worry about prestige items later. At the end of the day if your goal is FoW armor and you suck at playing people are just going to laugh and call you an EBayer...

Mistakes

 * Treasurehunter is not a viable way to make money. Opening chests in high end areas never gets you R8 max items.
 * Instead of farming for items that you want, if the item you want is cheap or not astronomically rare just play through the high end areas. You'll likely get drops that are more expensive than what you wanted to buy. For example if you wanted a R9 inscribable Gemstone Axe. It's about 3-5 platinum in value so if you do Fissure of Woe and get a Obsidian Shard to drop (or do the entire zone for the end Chest of Woe) you're set, which is better than trying to open chests in Vabbi and getting lucky.
 * Fissure of Woe and other prestige armors do not have better stats than Istani/Sunspear/Shing Jea/Ascalon armors from Consulate Docks and Kaineng Center. Therefore it is best to save up for those.
 * Collector weapons save tons of money. Staves come loaded with 20% Halves cast time (Aptitude not attitude) and focii come with 20% Halves skill recharge (Forget me not). Seeing how people have 27 heroes at their disposal there's a large money sink if you start trying to equip them with inscribables.
 * Powertrading without knowing prices. If you buy something to resell it for higher make sure you know the price. Sometimes people make 2 accounts and put WTS and WTb in the same party search so it looks like you can buy junk for X amount of money and resell it for a quick buck.
 * Wealth is not fixed. Every time gold drops in the game, things inflate because there is more gold in the game. That devalues gold. This is similar to if your government starts printing money in bulk ala world War II, currency is devalued and you'll need a suitcase full to buy bread.
 * Save, even if you are just starting. If you make 5platinum an hour, save 1 platinum every time you make 5 platinum. If you make 50 platinum an hour, save 10 platinum every hour. Don't buy things (rare-skinned) that are hyped up, they're overpriced and once the hype dies down they will be normal priced again. We saw this with Dwarven axes. People were paying 100K+ectos for them and when Eye of the north came anyoen could get a max dwarven axe with an inscription slot for 5 platinum + materials.
 * Get max armor as soon as possible, don't buy weapons. Max armor is pretty much the only thing in this game that nevers changes in price (except FoW and Vabbian since those use rare materials...but those are prestige armors anyway).

=Future / Further Reading=
 * Skye Marin's quick and dirty 30/50 http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/quick-and-dirty-30-50-t10454314.html?t=10454314&highlight=Quick+Guide+30%2F50


 * Moloch Vein's necro guide. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/death-our-job-create-and-t10241271.html
 * Marty's excellent Warrior PvE guide. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/warriors-in-pve-how-guide-t10326347.html
 * Snow Bunny's Paragon guide. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/how-amazing-pve-all-cool-t10313323.html


 * Cebe's Mesmer guide. (slightly outdated) http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/basic-guide-playing-mesmer-t10274166.html
 * Cebe's Dervish guide. (slightly outdated) http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/basic-guide-playing-dervish-t10244740.html
 * Cebe's Ranger guide. (slightly outdated) http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/basic-guide-playing-ranger-t10261054.html
 * Cebe's Elementalist guide. (slightly outdated) http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/basic-guide-playing-elementalist-t10314574.html
 * Jeydra's elementalist guide. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/advanced-guide-playing-elementalist-t10419956.html


 * Damage calculator (Evidence for Vampiric over Sundering) http://www.oildrip.com/calc/index.php


 * How to make money http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/how-make-money-t10438248.html


 * Hall of monuments tips http://www.guildwars2guru.com/forum/hall-monuments-clarifications-tips-t9586.html