Oh - one more question, how important is it to get the upgraded armor set from collector's pre-searing? Do you get better armor immediately following the searing?
I always got the collector's armor in Pre-Searing because it helped me stay in Pre-Searing a little longer and be competitive. That is to say, I usually stayed in Pre-Searing until level 7 or 8, which is when I had acquired all the skills I could get there. Plus I really like the look of Pre-Searing armor, and was overjoyed when I got Factions and found I could get it maxed-out in Kaineng Center! My Rangers all wear the "feather on the shoulder" Pre-Searing stuff, and one of my Necros wears it, too.
Of course, you'll get better armor from armorers after you leave Pre, but it just isn't as cool looking.
Stay in Pre as long as you can, at least until you've gotten every skill you can get there. Skills get expensive fast after you leave, though at least in Prophecies and EoTN, you can continue to earn them through quests.
P.S. No official forums, but plenty of fan sites. I hope A-Net will add an official forum when GW2 launches. Would love to be a beta tester for that one.
I find it ironic that I just logged off as someone in public said, "Dude grls don play GW." Much amusement from me and the girl in my party.
I'm sure Lady Sinaea, Jenna and the other girls from Guildcast and the GLU guild and our alliance would disagree too. We have a LOT of women in the group as a whole.
There are women in my guild (Sacrificing For Peace), in fact, the leader is woman. On top of that, a lot of us are in the ummm...over 25 age bracket.
................................ My current Guild Wars character:
Another question.... where are the official GW forums? Are there any? Maybe I'm blind but I couldnt find ANY on Guildwars.com. Oh - one more question, how important is it to get the upgraded armor set from collector's pre-searing? Do you get better armor immediately following the searing?
Im pretty sure there is no "official" forums for guild wars, but guildwarsguru.com is a great site with forums and auctions, and alot of guildwars people use it (including me :P)
regarding your second question: you dont need the collectors armor from the pre searing, it isnt amazing, but its a little better than your starter armor, but after you get out of the pre you will want to buy better armor, but you can definetily wait till you get to Lions Arch, then after that you will want (and need) new armor. in profacies max armor doesnt come till the crystal desert i think, maybe droks (pretty far) so you dont wanna wait till that.
Games Played: Guild Wars, Runescape, World of Warcraft, RF online, Silkroad online, Knight online, Lord of the Rings online. what a rip, i got a warning for having a link on this signiture....>:( Games Waiting for: Gods and Heroes, Aion, Chronicles of Spellborn
Another question.... where are the official GW forums? Are there any? Maybe I'm blind but I couldnt find ANY on Guildwars.com. Oh - one more question, how important is it to get the upgraded armor set from collector's pre-searing? Do you get better armor immediately following the searing?
Im pretty sure there is no "official" forums for guild wars, but guildwarsguru.com is a great site with forums and auctions, and alot of guildwars people use it (including me :P) regarding your second question: you dont need the collectors armor from the pre searing, it isnt amazing, but its a little better than your starter armor, but after you get out of the pre you will want to buy better armor, but you can definetily wait till you get to Lions Arch, then after that you will want (and need) new armor. in profacies max armor doesnt come till the crystal desert i think, maybe droks (pretty far) so you dont wanna wait till that.
Just expect there to be a ton of flaming and other immaturity on guildwarsguru. It is a good site for price checking item values, though.
................................ My current Guild Wars character:
Originally posted by tmr819 ... it is VERY solo friendly. One can complete all of the missions alone (with henches), but with a partner it is even better...
Yes, until you want Hard Mode.
To the OP - invest on skills not on armor, start capping elite skills in Desert missions. Don't give up, not always this is easy game, especialy if you play it first time. You can found many tips in wiki, but if you like challenge, don't use wiki often.
Originally posted by dmxkrew Oh - one more question, how important is it to get the upgraded armor set from collector's pre-searing? Do you get better armor immediately following the searing?
You're probably already in post-searing Ascalon but yes, immediately after arriving in town you'll find two armor crafters. Check the stats on each, one usually crafts a better set! You'll need to get the materials but the armor is significantly better than your pre-searing armor. As you progress, you'll find armor crafters that will progressively make better and better armor until you're at max armor rating.
Wow-- I am actually speechless at the amount of help, guild invites, PMs, and guidance you all have provided to my girlfriend and I. This community has been inviting and supportive, and is quite a difference to my experience in EQ and WoW.
We spent this week really getting accustomed to the game, crafting armor (For her leather, for me Charr-Hide), did a few missions around Ascalon, and a TON of quests. We are still learning the ropes, but we are having so much fun... It's really wonderful to be able to load up GW with my girlfriend when WE want to play (not on a raid schedule, or wait in line for a party or raid spot), play for two hours and get some skills, a new armor piece, and take part in an epic battle in a Mission, and then get to bed at a reasonable hour... I still cannot believe I never played this game before. We are so excited for also doing Nightfall, GWEN, and eventually GW2 !!
I still have a bunch of questions (more advanced in nature this time), so here they come!
- Customizing, Runes, Upgrade items... I know I can customize a weapon (locking it to my character forever so I cant trade it) to increase it's damage. I can also get runes from a vendor, as well as find objects like "hilts and pommels". Is there a limit to how many upgrades I can put on a weapon? It seems risky to "Experiment" with some of these upgrades because I can break the weapon with a salvage kit. Is it possible to upgrade armor in this way? When people on forums or in trade talk about "perfectly runed" or "perfect mods" what do they mean?
- Skills... In Prophecies a ton of skills are quest rewards. But I also noticed Im earning Skill Points as I level and from missions. I use these to "buy" skills from a vendor. Are these vendor skills vendor-only? Or can I find these out and about as well during quests? Obviously Im limited to how many skillpoints I can use, so this is very much like not being able to respec my skills once Ive "bought" them correct? How careful should I be here? Should I hold out til the end and then pick and choose? How does this work and how many skills are buyable vs findable?
- Weapons... Is there a "holy grail" of weapons in this game? I am beginning to understand the differences and the appeal of certain types (15-22 req9 with +dmg ^50% seems to be a hot sword, Icy Dragon Sword, etc)... but I heard a lot about finding the "skin" you like and then modding it to match the stats of popular swords with ugly skins, etc... How important is it for an item to be "GOLD" ?
- Bosses and Enemies... Can I look forward to BIG bosses? Like dragons? Giants? Will I be fighting some big bad mofos or are all bosses and named monsters more or less human-sized sentient beings?
- Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain...
I think that's it for now! YOU GUYS ROCK!
Oh, and my in-game name is "Isa Suspiria". Say hi sometime!
THANK YOU! Wow-- I am actually speechless at the amount of help, guild invites, PMs, and guidance you all have provided to my girlfriend and I. This community has been inviting and supportive, and is quite a difference to my experience in EQ and WoW. We spent this week really getting accustomed to the game, crafting armor (For her leather, for me Charr-Hide), did a few missions around Ascalon, and a TON of quests. We are still learning the ropes, but we are having so much fun... It's really wonderful to be able to load up GW with my girlfriend when WE want to play (not on a raid schedule, or wait in line for a party or raid spot), play for two hours and get some skills, a new armor piece, and take part in an epic battle in a Mission, and then get to bed at a reasonable hour... I still cannot believe I never played this game before. We are so excited for also doing Nightfall, GWEN, and eventually GW2 !! I still have a bunch of questions (more advanced in nature this time), so here they come! - Customizing, Runes, Upgrade items... I know I can customize a weapon (locking it to my character forever so I cant trade it) to increase it's damage. I can also get runes from a vendor, as well as find objects like "hilts and pommels". Is there a limit to how many upgrades I can put on a weapon? It seems risky to "Experiment" with some of these upgrades because I can break the weapon with a salvage kit. Is it possible to upgrade armor in this way? When people on forums or in trade talk about "perfectly runed" or "perfect mods" what do they mean? - Skills... In Prophecies a ton of skills are quest rewards. But I also noticed Im earning Skill Points as I level and from missions. I use these to "buy" skills from a vendor. Are these vendor skills vendor-only? Or can I find these out and about as well during quests? Obviously Im limited to how many skillpoints I can use, so this is very much like not being able to respec my skills once Ive "bought" them correct? How careful should I be here? Should I hold out til the end and then pick and choose? How does this work and how many skills are buyable vs findable? - Weapons... Is there a "holy grail" of weapons in this game? I am beginning to understand the differences and the appeal of certain types (15-22 req9 with +dmg ^50% seems to be a hot sword, Icy Dragon Sword, etc)... but I heard a lot about finding the "skin" you like and then modding it to match the stats of popular swords with ugly skins, etc... How important is it for an item to be "GOLD" ? - Bosses and Enemies... Can I look forward to BIG bosses? Like dragons? Giants? Will I be fighting some big bad mofos or are all bosses and named monsters more or less human-sized sentient beings? - Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain... I think that's it for now! YOU GUYS ROCK! Oh, and my in-game name is "Isa Suspiria". Say hi sometime!
Welcome to Guild Wars, glad you like it and that it suits both your tastes and your "real life" (I hate that expression but sadly can't come up with anything better).
As to your questions:
Upgrades: yes there are limits, referred to as prefix and suffix. The syntax is as follows: *prefix* *weapon name/skin* of *suffix*
What upgrade component corresponds to which part depends on the kind of weapons. E.g. for a staff, Staff Heads add the prefix, and Staff Wrappings the suffix.
If you have Prophecies, I suggest you wait till you've done all quests before buying skills, so you're sure not to waste skill points and cash on skills you get "for free". Skill NPCs and quests are the only way for your Roleplay (PvE) characters to learn new skills. PvP characters have access to both those you unlocked on your PvE characters and when redeeming Blathazaar Faction points, which are earned during PvP matches.
Other than that, there is no need to be "careful" when learning new skills, quite the opposite, the more you have the more choices of templates you get.
There is no Doomblade of Massive Demonic Carnage +7 that one shots everyone on screen in GW. All "end game" weapons of the same type have the same max damage. Check the wikis, under "Green Weapons". Those are dropped by specific bosses and have perfect, static stats. With a few exceptions, the description on the wiki will have a "Counterpart" section that gives you the crafted equivalent. Again, having maxed out weapons helps, but it won't make or break our char (unless you go around at lvl 20 with your starter weapon that is )
Most bosses are slightly bigger versions of their sibblings, along with an distinctive aura that gives away their profession (e.g. dark green = necro, red = elementalist). Hoever some are truly unique, more so in GW:EN's dungeons. And no, I'm not giving out spoilers.
Birthday pets are random, some are rarer than others (the text colour of their name is an indication, and roughly follows the same scheme as weapons and runes: white are common, purple are fairly rare, gold are like... super hard to get, and green, be happy when you see one running around in an outpost ). The only predetermined thing is their series, some pets can only be obtained at the character's first birthday, others only at the 2:nd... Some pets are only available through events (e.g. in-game or in magazines).
The Black Moa Chick isn't too hard to obtain, though it does require that you own all 3 campaigns and GW:EN, that you have a fair amount of spare time and cash.
Ask away if you need more info! But I won't answer if it's in the Sticky
If you don't mind, I'll take a crack at this as well for the sake of another perspective. Secrom did great, but I love link-linking... just hope I don't mix them all up. <(@_@)>;
~~~~~
- Customizing, Runes, Upgrade items... I know I can customize a weapon (locking it to my character forever so I cant trade it) to increase it's damage. I can also get runes from a vendor, as well as find objects like "hilts and pommels". Is there a limit to how many upgrades I can put on a weapon? It seems risky to "Experiment" with some of these upgrades because I can break the weapon with a salvage kit. Is it possible to upgrade armor in this way? When people on forums or in trade talk about "perfectly runed" or "perfect mods" what do they mean?
There is a limit to how many bonuses you can attach to a weapon or piece of armour. For weapons it one prefix and one suffix, the details of which you can find here. In Nightfall though, they introduced "inscribable" items which is only a part of weapons that originate in the Nightfall campaign. You can buy them pretty easy in Lion's Arch though. A page on inscriptions is here. For amour, you can attach one "rune" and one "insignia," the details of which you can find here (runes) and here (insignias). When they talk about perfect upgrades on weapons, it's when the upgrade bonus is at the maximum available within the game. A chart on the range of said upgrades can be viewed by scrolling down on the weapon upgrade page. When it comes to attaching runes to your armour, you really have to take into account your own style of play. If you use a lot of skills, you may need something that grants energy. If you run low on health alot, you may have to avoid the higher level stat runes that give a health penalty, ect., ect... Also, if you're worried about breakage, just a pitch a player of GW:EN to get a "Perfect Salvage Kit." I might even be able to hook you up. I'm not there myself, but a bunch of guild mates are. They're a bit more expensive to make, but if you're working with valuable stuff, it's worth it.
- Skills... In Prophecies a ton of skills are quest rewards. But I also noticed Im earning Skill Points as I level and from missions. I use these to "buy" skills from a vendor. Are these vendor skills vendor-only? Or can I find these out and about as well during quests? Obviously Im limited to how many skillpoints I can use, so this is very much like not being able to respec my skills once Ive "bought" them correct? How careful should I be here? Should I hold out til the end and then pick and choose? How does this work and how many skills are buyable vs findable?
Trust me, you'll only start counting your skills points when you're in GW: EN when you burn skill points to make consumables. Honestly, I didn't tend buy skills all that often. What it comes down to again is your play style. If you read the skill description and decide you'd make really good use of it, go for it. Even if you attain it for a quest later, it's worth it having it when you want it to make your life easier. If you're hardcore about conserving points though, here's a list of quests with skill rewards.
- Weapons... Is there a "holy grail" of weapons in this game? I am beginning to understand the differences and the appeal of certain types (15-22 req9 with +dmg ^50% seems to be a hot sword, Icy Dragon Sword, etc)... but I heard a lot about finding the "skin" you like and then modding it to match the stats of popular swords with ugly skins, etc... How important is it for an item to be "GOLD" ?
Everybody loves good looks. But you sometimes have to pay big for them. I personally prefer green Unique items over gold because only the early obtained ones tend to not be max and there are enough of them that you're bound to find one for your character. Plus, people have farmed them so much that you tend to be able to get great Uniques for cheaper then building a topped off weapon from scratch. The reason "Golds" are so important is because, as shown on the charts from that Weapon upgrade page, the maximum's are only found on gold items. Like Secrom said, there is no one weapon that trumps them all, it again comes down... yeeeeah, style of play.
The biggest thing that will influence your weapon choice is what skill is needed to fill the requirement. I play a Necromancer "Minion Master" build, so I need a weapon focused on Death Magic. Right now I have a "Woe Spreader" with stats - Energy + 10, Dark Damage: 11-22 (Requires 9 Death Magic), Halves Casting Time of Spells 20% chance, Halves skill recharge of spells 20% chance, +60 health (It's actually two +30ties), and Damage +20% (From customization). Building that bit by bit would break a person. As it was, this unique item was given to me by a member of the alliance because, "Dear gawd I have 6 of them and need to free up inventory space." Just make sure you have enough slack space to change your stats around. I found some nice gold daggers that would NEVER sell because the Requirement was 11... make more money just salvaging and selling parts. Being able to change your stats means you can adapt to new areas better if you plan well before leaving town.
- Bosses and Enemies... Can I look forward to BIG bosses? Like dragons? Giants? Will I be fighting some big bad mofos or are all bosses and named monsters more or less human-sized sentient beings?
- Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain...
Secrom covered it really well, but you can also know that minipets are not tied to the account exclusively... people are MORE then willing to sell them. There's even a price guide started on them here. And the Black Moa Chick a pain in the butt to get and does indeed need all the campaigns, but is SO CUTE. If that's your thing, go for it. I don't have all the campaigns myself, but I got a chick for my birthday and now I just can't do without my darling Fweepers.
~~~~~
Now I hope I didn't get all that too mixed up. XD
~ A Girl Disappearing
~~~~~ "Big surprise... there was no protection by this urban light..."
- Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain... Secrom covered it really well [...]
No I didn't, forgot to mention the ones that drop from chest at the end of some elite missions...
One note about weapon and armor upgrades: feel free to mod and re-mod your favorite gear as many times as you like. You have probably already noticed, but you don't have to remove a mod to install a new one.
Also, in addition to skills, Prophecies quests often reward you with weapons and other items. Some are likely better than drops you may be finding in Ascalon and Kryta. No shame in using free stuff. Along those same lines, gear you can obtain from collectors throughout Tyria is perfectly usable. They won't have mods, but the base stats (damage, energy, AL, etc) are always quite good for the area where they're available. And from the Crystal Desert on, collector's gear is all max base stats. A well-modded Desert collector's weapon is just as good in practice as Victo's gear. Once you get to the Crystal Desert, the Desert Collector's page on wiki will be a terrific resource for you going forward - especially once you start to outfit heroes.
Good luck!
Charr: Outta my way. Human: What's your problem? Charr: Your thin skin.
Comments
I always got the collector's armor in Pre-Searing because it helped me stay in Pre-Searing a little longer and be competitive. That is to say, I usually stayed in Pre-Searing until level 7 or 8, which is when I had acquired all the skills I could get there. Plus I really like the look of Pre-Searing armor, and was overjoyed when I got Factions and found I could get it maxed-out in Kaineng Center! My Rangers all wear the "feather on the shoulder" Pre-Searing stuff, and one of my Necros wears it, too.
Of course, you'll get better armor from armorers after you leave Pre, but it just isn't as cool looking.
Stay in Pre as long as you can, at least until you've gotten every skill you can get there. Skills get expensive fast after you leave, though at least in Prophecies and EoTN, you can continue to earn them through quests.
P.S. No official forums, but plenty of fan sites. I hope A-Net will add an official forum when GW2 launches. Would love to be a beta tester for that one.
I'm sure Lady Sinaea, Jenna and the other girls from Guildcast and the GLU guild and our alliance would disagree too. We have a LOT of women in the group as a whole.
There are women in my guild (Sacrificing For Peace), in fact, the leader is woman. On top of that, a lot of us are in the ummm...over 25 age bracket.
................................
My current Guild Wars character:
Dauthix The Avenger (Paragon/Ranger)
Im pretty sure there is no "official" forums for guild wars, but guildwarsguru.com is a great site with forums and auctions, and alot of guildwars people use it (including me :P)
regarding your second question: you dont need the collectors armor from the pre searing, it isnt amazing, but its a little better than your starter armor, but after you get out of the pre you will want to buy better armor, but you can definetily wait till you get to Lions Arch, then after that you will want (and need) new armor. in profacies max armor doesnt come till the crystal desert i think, maybe droks (pretty far) so you dont wanna wait till that.
Games Played: Guild Wars, Runescape, World of Warcraft, RF online, Silkroad online, Knight online, Lord of the Rings online.
what a rip, i got a warning for having a link on this signiture....>:(
Games Waiting for: Gods and Heroes, Aion, Chronicles of Spellborn
Just expect there to be a ton of flaming and other immaturity on guildwarsguru. It is a good site for price checking item values, though.
................................
My current Guild Wars character:
Dauthix The Avenger (Paragon/Ranger)
Yes, until you want Hard Mode.
To the OP - invest on skills not on armor, start capping elite skills in Desert missions. Don't give up, not always this is easy game, especialy if you play it first time. You can found many tips in wiki, but if you like challenge, don't use wiki often.
Massive Multiplayer Online Industry
You're probably already in post-searing Ascalon but yes, immediately after arriving in town you'll find two armor crafters. Check the stats on each, one usually crafts a better set! You'll need to get the materials but the armor is significantly better than your pre-searing armor. As you progress, you'll find armor crafters that will progressively make better and better armor until you're at max armor rating.
THANK YOU!
Wow-- I am actually speechless at the amount of help, guild invites, PMs, and guidance you all have provided to my girlfriend and I. This community has been inviting and supportive, and is quite a difference to my experience in EQ and WoW.
We spent this week really getting accustomed to the game, crafting armor (For her leather, for me Charr-Hide), did a few missions around Ascalon, and a TON of quests. We are still learning the ropes, but we are having so much fun... It's really wonderful to be able to load up GW with my girlfriend when WE want to play (not on a raid schedule, or wait in line for a party or raid spot), play for two hours and get some skills, a new armor piece, and take part in an epic battle in a Mission, and then get to bed at a reasonable hour... I still cannot believe I never played this game before. We are so excited for also doing Nightfall, GWEN, and eventually GW2 !!
I still have a bunch of questions (more advanced in nature this time), so here they come!
- Customizing, Runes, Upgrade items... I know I can customize a weapon (locking it to my character forever so I cant trade it) to increase it's damage. I can also get runes from a vendor, as well as find objects like "hilts and pommels". Is there a limit to how many upgrades I can put on a weapon? It seems risky to "Experiment" with some of these upgrades because I can break the weapon with a salvage kit. Is it possible to upgrade armor in this way? When people on forums or in trade talk about "perfectly runed" or "perfect mods" what do they mean?
- Skills... In Prophecies a ton of skills are quest rewards. But I also noticed Im earning Skill Points as I level and from missions. I use these to "buy" skills from a vendor. Are these vendor skills vendor-only? Or can I find these out and about as well during quests? Obviously Im limited to how many skillpoints I can use, so this is very much like not being able to respec my skills once Ive "bought" them correct? How careful should I be here? Should I hold out til the end and then pick and choose? How does this work and how many skills are buyable vs findable?
- Weapons... Is there a "holy grail" of weapons in this game? I am beginning to understand the differences and the appeal of certain types (15-22 req9 with +dmg ^50% seems to be a hot sword, Icy Dragon Sword, etc)... but I heard a lot about finding the "skin" you like and then modding it to match the stats of popular swords with ugly skins, etc... How important is it for an item to be "GOLD" ?
- Bosses and Enemies... Can I look forward to BIG bosses? Like dragons? Giants? Will I be fighting some big bad mofos or are all bosses and named monsters more or less human-sized sentient beings?
- Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain...
I think that's it for now! YOU GUYS ROCK!
Oh, and my in-game name is "Isa Suspiria". Say hi sometime!
Welcome to Guild Wars, glad you like it and that it suits both your tastes and your "real life" (I hate that expression but sadly can't come up with anything better).
As to your questions:
- Upgrades: yes there are limits, referred to as prefix and suffix. The syntax is as follows: *prefix* *weapon name/skin* of *suffix*
- If you have Prophecies, I suggest you wait till you've done all quests before buying skills, so you're sure not to waste skill points and cash on skills you get "for free". Skill NPCs and quests are the only way for your Roleplay (PvE) characters to learn new skills. PvP characters have access to both those you unlocked on your PvE characters and when redeeming Blathazaar Faction points, which are earned during PvP matches.
- There is no Doomblade of Massive Demonic Carnage +7 that one shots everyone on screen in GW. All "end game" weapons of the same type have the same max damage. Check the wikis, under "Green Weapons". Those are dropped by specific bosses and have perfect, static stats. With a few exceptions, the description on the wiki will have a "Counterpart" section that gives you the crafted equivalent. Again, having maxed out weapons helps, but it won't make or break our char (unless you go around at lvl 20 with your starter weapon that is
)
- Most bosses are slightly bigger versions of their sibblings, along with an distinctive aura that gives away their profession (e.g. dark green = necro, red = elementalist). Hoever some are truly unique, more so in GW:EN's dungeons. And no, I'm not giving out spoilers.
- Birthday pets are random, some are rarer than others (the text colour of their name is an indication, and roughly follows the same scheme as weapons and runes: white are common, purple are fairly rare, gold are like... super hard to get, and green, be happy when you see one running around in an outpost
). The only predetermined thing is their series, some pets can only be obtained at the character's first birthday, others only at the 2:nd... Some pets are only available through events (e.g. in-game or in magazines).
Ask away if you need more info! But I won't answer if it's in the StickyWhat upgrade component corresponds to which part depends on the kind of weapons. E.g. for a staff, Staff Heads add the prefix, and Staff Wrappings the suffix.
Other than that, there is no need to be "careful" when learning new skills, quite the opposite, the more you have the more choices of templates you get.
The Black Moa Chick isn't too hard to obtain, though it does require that you own all 3 campaigns and GW:EN, that you have a fair amount of spare time and cash.
__________
Ever wondered what a hardcore WoW raider looked like?
R.I.P. Laura "Taera" Genender
If you don't mind, I'll take a crack at this as well for the sake of another perspective. Secrom did great, but I love link-linking... just hope I don't mix them all up. <(@_@)>;
~~~~~
- Customizing, Runes, Upgrade items... I know I can customize a weapon (locking it to my character forever so I cant trade it) to increase it's damage. I can also get runes from a vendor, as well as find objects like "hilts and pommels". Is there a limit to how many upgrades I can put on a weapon? It seems risky to "Experiment" with some of these upgrades because I can break the weapon with a salvage kit. Is it possible to upgrade armor in this way? When people on forums or in trade talk about "perfectly runed" or "perfect mods" what do they mean?
There is a limit to how many bonuses you can attach to a weapon or piece of armour. For weapons it one prefix and one suffix, the details of which you can find here. In Nightfall though, they introduced "inscribable" items which is only a part of weapons that originate in the Nightfall campaign. You can buy them pretty easy in Lion's Arch though. A page on inscriptions is here. For amour, you can attach one "rune" and one "insignia," the details of which you can find here (runes) and here (insignias). When they talk about perfect upgrades on weapons, it's when the upgrade bonus is at the maximum available within the game. A chart on the range of said upgrades can be viewed by scrolling down on the weapon upgrade page. When it comes to attaching runes to your armour, you really have to take into account your own style of play. If you use a lot of skills, you may need something that grants energy. If you run low on health alot, you may have to avoid the higher level stat runes that give a health penalty, ect., ect... Also, if you're worried about breakage, just a pitch a player of GW:EN to get a "Perfect Salvage Kit." I might even be able to hook you up. I'm not there myself, but a bunch of guild mates are. They're a bit more expensive to make, but if you're working with valuable stuff, it's worth it.
- Skills... In Prophecies a ton of skills are quest rewards. But I also noticed Im earning Skill Points as I level and from missions. I use these to "buy" skills from a vendor. Are these vendor skills vendor-only? Or can I find these out and about as well during quests? Obviously Im limited to how many skillpoints I can use, so this is very much like not being able to respec my skills once Ive "bought" them correct? How careful should I be here? Should I hold out til the end and then pick and choose? How does this work and how many skills are buyable vs findable?
Trust me, you'll only start counting your skills points when you're in GW: EN when you burn skill points to make consumables. Honestly, I didn't tend buy skills all that often. What it comes down to again is your play style. If you read the skill description and decide you'd make really good use of it, go for it. Even if you attain it for a quest later, it's worth it having it when you want it to make your life easier. If you're hardcore about conserving points though, here's a list of quests with skill rewards.
- Weapons... Is there a "holy grail" of weapons in this game? I am beginning to understand the differences and the appeal of certain types (15-22 req9 with +dmg ^50% seems to be a hot sword, Icy Dragon Sword, etc)... but I heard a lot about finding the "skin" you like and then modding it to match the stats of popular swords with ugly skins, etc... How important is it for an item to be "GOLD" ?
Everybody loves good looks. But you sometimes have to pay big for them. I personally prefer green Unique items over gold because only the early obtained ones tend to not be max and there are enough of them that you're bound to find one for your character. Plus, people have farmed them so much that you tend to be able to get great Uniques for cheaper then building a topped off weapon from scratch. The reason "Golds" are so important is because, as shown on the charts from that Weapon upgrade page, the maximum's are only found on gold items. Like Secrom said, there is no one weapon that trumps them all, it again comes down... yeeeeah, style of play.
The biggest thing that will influence your weapon choice is what skill is needed to fill the requirement. I play a Necromancer "Minion Master" build, so I need a weapon focused on Death Magic. Right now I have a "Woe Spreader" with stats - Energy + 10, Dark Damage: 11-22 (Requires 9 Death Magic), Halves Casting Time of Spells 20% chance, Halves skill recharge of spells 20% chance, +60 health (It's actually two +30ties), and Damage +20% (From customization). Building that bit by bit would break a person. As it was, this unique item was given to me by a member of the alliance because, "Dear gawd I have 6 of them and need to free up inventory space." Just make sure you have enough slack space to change your stats around. I found some nice gold daggers that would NEVER sell because the Requirement was 11... make more money just salvaging and selling parts. Being able to change your stats means you can adapt to new areas better if you plan well before leaving town.
- Bosses and Enemies... Can I look forward to BIG bosses? Like dragons? Giants? Will I be fighting some big bad mofos or are all bosses and named monsters more or less human-sized sentient beings?
The vast majority of critters that qualify as bosses aren't that big, but if you wanna be impressed by size and the like, go dance with and be wiped out by Abaddon.
- Minipets... Got to wait a year I guess? Is it pre-decided which birthday mini you get or is it random? How difficult is it to get the Baby Black Moa? I understand that is a quest drop which requires all three campaigns to obtain...
Secrom covered it really well, but you can also know that minipets are not tied to the account exclusively... people are MORE then willing to sell them. There's even a price guide started on them here. And the Black Moa Chick a pain in the butt to get and does indeed need all the campaigns, but is SO CUTE. If that's your thing, go for it. I don't have all the campaigns myself, but I got a chick for my birthday and now I just can't do without my darling Fweepers.
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Now I hope I didn't get all that too mixed up. XD
~ A Girl Disappearing
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"Big surprise... there was no protection by this urban light..."
No I didn't, forgot to mention the ones that drop from chest at the end of some elite missions...
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Ever wondered what a hardcore WoW raider looked like?
R.I.P. Laura "Taera" Genender
One note about weapon and armor upgrades: feel free to mod and re-mod your favorite gear as many times as you like. You have probably already noticed, but you don't have to remove a mod to install a new one.
Also, in addition to skills, Prophecies quests often reward you with weapons and other items. Some are likely better than drops you may be finding in Ascalon and Kryta. No shame in using free stuff.
Along those same lines, gear you can obtain from collectors throughout Tyria is perfectly usable. They won't have mods, but the base stats (damage, energy, AL, etc) are always quite good for the area where they're available. And from the Crystal Desert on, collector's gear is all max base stats. A well-modded Desert collector's weapon is just as good in practice as Victo's gear. Once you get to the Crystal Desert, the Desert Collector's page on wiki will be a terrific resource for you going forward - especially once you start to outfit heroes.
Good luck!
Charr: Outta my way.
Human: What's your problem?
Charr: Your thin skin.