Character Creating in Guild wars 2 - Sylvari Ranger

Level 18 Guardian

Creating a character in Guild wars 2 is not just a case of maximising your attributes.  It is a ten step process and creates a more personalised character with their own storyline for the first twenty levels.




Above is my Guardian at lvl 18 and she made many different background choices during character creation to give her, her own personal storyline to follow in game.

Sylvari

For the purposes of this post I went through the character creation and created this character.  We will call her 'Dreamer' as I deleted her afterwards (having enough alt's as it is).  The purpose of creating her was to take details of each step in order to guide you through the character creation.

Dreamer

Dreamer is of the race Sylvari.  The Sylvari are awakened souls from beneath the pale tree.  During their lives the live in a dream state called the pre-life dream and they awaken when they summoned to serve their purpose.

She has the profession (class) of Ranger which is a pet class within Guild Wars 2, her weapon choice is the bow.  All rangers have a keen eye and steady hand for precision shots along with the use of nature to help them defeat the enemy.  Her favoured pet is the Fern Hound who stands by her even when she is faced with the toughest of opponents.  the fern Hound is basically your tank pet as it has the most vitality and toughness.

Her background consists of choices I made (words in bold below) during the following questions:

1. "Trouble may follow me but I use my" Dignity "to overcome it".

Dignity shows a thoughtful personality which gains respect.  Sylvari using dignity believe that this thoughtful demeanour is their route to success.

2. "I dreamed of a quest that calls me to action.  It was a vision of the" Moon.

The shield of the moon symbolises healing and fortitude along with faith are said to protect any who dream of this symbol..

3. "I believe that the most important of Ventori's teaching is" All things have a right to grow.

This means that 'Dreamer' will stand up for the rights of others and not condemn them for just being different.

4. "The pale tree awakened me during the cycle of the" Dawn".

The cycle of the dawn represents deep thinkers, talkers, diplomats and those that are intimately connected with their surroundings.  they are also very empathic towards all  including all other races.

The final step is to choose your name.  at this point I will add that the great thing about guild wars naming system is that you can choose a surname too so getting a character name is not as difficult as you would think.

This is just a simple mock up of a Sylvari ranger with pet and background but I will be posting all other options available throughout character creation to help you build any race or profession/class.

Bibliography / References

Guild wars 2 official wiki

In game text and pictures

All courtesy of Guild wars and Arena net

Everquest - New life

I always log back into Everquest 2 at Christmas time for their annual frost fell event.  This year was some what different though.  Frost fell looked completely different with ice statues of Bears, wolves and deer everywhere.  The fairies were frozen too which gave you a brand new quest line to do in frost fell.  It was a fairly easy quest but new and fun.

Of course when you log back in for one thing you discover other new things too.  An option to upgrade characters to level 85 heroic for instance.  I knew there was a new expansion 'Tears of Veeshan' although I did not realise how popular it would be.  I logged in and chat was busy and still is.  The broker is not so stagnant any more either.  Tears of Veeshan has been out since early November and the game has never been stronger.  This new expansion along with major updated improvements on graphics and new quest lines really seems to have done the trick and Everquest 2 seems to be back on track.


Picture Courtesy of Sony on-line entertainment and taken form in game footage. 

Places in Tyria - Kryton Freeholds

Kryton Freeholds

Kryton Freeholds Questing begins in the Vineyards.  there are grubs to pull up and defeat and there is an event that spawns once you follow the quest lines.  

There is also a vista point here and I managed to get some screen shots of the whole area as I unlocked the Vista point.

As the weeks go on I am hoping to put up several character builds that will suit a casual player wishing to solo the game so keep checking by because I will keep updating as I myself discover new things in Guild Wars 2.

A Quick Guide to Map Reading in Guild Wars 2

When you log into guild Wars for the first time it can be a little overwhelming.

First off, you have some fantastic graphics to look at as you play through the game, I will advise my graphics are optimised for a mid range pc and even they are great.

You also have to get used to not running around looking for quest givers as per standard MMO's.


The First time I opened up the map I was a little confused as all I could see were symbols everywhere it slowed me down while playing as I had no idea what I was heading towards so here are some quick guidelines on what the icons mean on the map.

Starting at the top of the Map you have an incomplete Questing Area.  this is an area you may not have ventured into as yet or you may have started questing here but left to do something else and forgot about finishing the quest.  If you hover over these whilst in Map mode it tells you what level the area is so you know whether to try that area out or not.

Way-point in Game

Underneath that you have a Way-point that has been unlocked.  If the way-point was locked to you it would not be filled in blue but you would still see an empty,uncoloured, way-point.  You can use way-points for quick travel to any point on the map as long as you have unlocked them by previously visiting so these are really handy.

You then have the Skill point icons.  These are Quests that gain you skill points and can vary in difficulty.  If these are in filled blue, this means you have completed them, if they are however, only blue outlines, this means you can complete it.  to gauge the level check the closest heart symbol to the skill point icon.

Current live events happen in specific areas throughout the day you can join in if you happen to pass through but you don't have to.  They normally don't last overly long however if the event fails, another is set up to correct the failed event.  If there is a Way-point within the area of this symbol it will show as contested (showing two swords crossed over it) and you will not be able to use that way-point until the event is successfully completed.

Vista's are represented by two triangular symbols outlined in red if you have not discovered them as yet.  Once discovered they are in filled with red too.
These are always up high and often complicated to get too using calculated jumps and climbs to reach them.

Your Personal Quest line Takes you through to level 20 based on your choices of background during character creation and the Green star on the map is where you are due to go next.

I hope that covers things for you, there will be more on Guild Wars 2 over the coming weeks so please feel free to pop back and check out some more quick guides for beginners and Casual players.

Rift - Places Stonefield

 When you play a defiant (who, by the way are the better faction, kidding!),  don’t rant at me yet heh heh.  Anyway, the second zone a Defiant is sent too after finishing all the quest lines in Freemarch is Stonefield.

I decided to write a post to help a new player get to Stonefield and then to Quarrystone Basin which is your first main questing hub in Stonefield.  If you are a new player Stonefield can be a little confusing as it is surrounded by mountains and mountain passes so if you take a wrong turn you can end up in part of Stonefield you are not quite ready for.

On the map you will see two paths leading around a mountain and a blue triangle on the map.  The blue triangle is me in Quarrystone basin.  You can take either road to get there but if you are not in the mood to battle your way all the way there you would be best to take the road at the top as you only have to battle little rock dudes and rams (which you need for a quest anyway)  The other path is more crowded with mobs and is a longer route.  

In picture one you can see the bridge over the Arc leading to Kings Retreat; if you go in the opposite direction and follow the bridge to the side I my character is standing on, yup, she’s the one in the green standing beside her loyal boar, this takes you to Stonefield.  By the way, keep your eyes open for shiny objects (Shiny's)  they are hidden up high or in little corners you would never think to look, see them in the pictures, they sparkle like little gems.  They are collectible and you get some great rewards for handing in completed collections.  I digress though.

The first thing you see upon entering Stonefield is the Wardstone.  This particular wardstone is always one of the first to be attacked during an invasion.  The Coterie Camp Wardstone is the one that normally falls during an invasion. 

I digress again,  When you speak to the two NPC’s their they will give you quests to kill the rams and collect ore from the little rock dudes.  This is where it is better to turn into the mountain pass if you want to avoid battling all the way their (it takes you along the top path in the map)rather than go straight ahead. 

Once you reach the Basin you can then bind to the porticulim there or just click on the porticulim master to open that one up to you for future use.  In the pictures around form the Basin camp you can see a little lone tent, this is your first quest area in the Basin zone…Hope this helps and good luck with the giants there!

A little more about Everquest II - Writs in Freeport

You may notice that the first post was about Neriak Writs which is a city from the ‘Evil faction’  So I am now going to give you some advice on how to find Writs in Freeport… Another ‘Evil faction’.  What?  I can’t help it, I am just drawn to the dark side; chuckle.

Writs for Neriak are here, also a little tiny intro about the game.

Everquest is a MORPG that does exactly what it says on the tin, Quests are forever, you never run out of quests in this game and there is always something to do.

You can log on and quest, craft, design your very own house (or in my case my very own 15 houses) or you can level and play the dungeons as you go.  It is a well established MMO with loads to do and regular expansions out every year or two. 

Writs are quests that gain you faction points within certain factions, you can then use their vendors to buy things with your faction status points.   Freeport is also one of the evil factions along with Neriak.  It is a city built along the coast and its kind of rough but still looks awesome with many winding streets and back alleys.  If you are new to the game it’s easy to become lost in freport so here are your Writ NPC’s to help you on your way.

You can get writs from the following NPC’s in Freeport:

Freeport Militia - West Freeport

Trooper Boneshaw and Liege Helvanica

Dismal Rage - North Freeport  (Opposite Library)

Convert Y’Ral and Occultist Leuonicus

Academy of Arcane science - North Freeport  (In the Library)

Neophyte Jhanor and Archivist Jindefog

Seafury Buccaneers - South Freeport (On the Docks)

Squab Kalina and Boatswan Fomas

So now you know who to look for lets go go go and start killing the real evil in the land of Norrath

EverQuest 2 - The Return of the Light

The Return of the Light is a Heritage Quest which has a series of Quests before the final battle of the Quest.  Here are some guidelines to help you get through this Heritage Quest.

You can pick up this quest at level 18 however it is recommended that you be level 20 before entering the last few quests of this Heritage line. 

You start the quest by Examining the Burned out Lightstone dropped from the lightbringer wisp.  You can find this North of the Ring of Nature (Druid Rings) in the Commonlands.  Waypoint destination is around 800,- 60,- 200

Once you have examined the item find ‘Connix’ and he will send you to find the following:

The Mourned at  -590,-48,-629

The Forgotten at 172,-45,260

Rama’nai at 878,-58,11

Rama’nai is a lion you must kill before returning to ‘Connix’ who will then send you to kill the following Orcs:

Captain Geary at -855,-48,668

Captain Ogaf at -645,-48,461

You must return, again, to Connix and he will send you to kill more Orcs at the following locations:

High Priest of Valmar at the top of the tower at 382,-47,230

General Drull in the instance - Blood Skull Valley.  Go to 215,-48,667 first and then to -4,-48,729

General Drull is a Heroic and comes with 3 massive mobs so you will need a group to complete this part of the quest.

After completing this instance return to Connix and begin speaking to him.  He will be attacked but you need to let him die and re-spawn before finishing the quest or the quest will not complete.

So there you have it.  If you decide to jump into the land of Norrath and go adventuring and happen to come across the Light bringer wisp then you’ll be on your merry way to completing this Heritage Quest.   The reward for this quest suits a wizard or a necromancer well as it boosts stats for intelligence and wisdom.

Thanks for reading and have fun !!