When you have started the game for the first time, you will be presented with five different types of character. First of all is the animalistic Charr, who are strong in close combat and have an unquenchable desire for the wars that plague the land. The relatively peaceful Asura prefer to use their minds rather than their attacks to defeat their enemies, whilst the Humans are trying to regain the glory that was stolen from them many years before.

The dominating Norn are especially fond of the hunt, and are aided in these ventures by their large figures. The final race are the Sylvari, a magical race that form out of the magic beneath the Pale Tree, and travel the land in search of knowledge and adventures. Although you can create as many characters as you choose, you can only save a limited number of them to your account, depending on how many slots you have purchased or received by default.

Each playable race in Guild Wars 2 is given a starting area that is either significant to their history, or part of the wider narrative. For example, the Charr begin in the Village of Smokestead defending the Black Citadel from the ghost of a former nobleman, whilst the Humans are trying to save Queensdale from a group of angry centaurs.

It is highly advised that you undertake these starter missions to build up your strength, and any of the Heart Quests that you find within the starting area. Each mission or quest tells you what level you should be at before you attempt it, so if you are several levels below its recommended number, I would suggest you leave the area immediately and return to one that is more suited to your current level of power.

The free to play version of the game does not allow you to leave a race’s starting area until you have reached level 10 to help prevent eager players from biting off more than they can chew. It is also worth noting that if you are over-levelled, some areas of the game will adjust the levels of the monsters and quests to give you more challenges.

The land of Tyria is a vast place, and has many different areas to explore such as the snowy wastes of Hoelbrak to the lush green fields that fill up the Gendarran Fields. In each area, you can find specific quests to help the NPC’s that live there, as well as unlock the power of Waypoints so you can travel quickly from place to place, and floating map shaped items known as Vistas.

Each new place, Vista or waypoint that you find along your journey will earn you a certain amount of experience points, so if you are tired of doing battle and simply want to see the vast world on offer, you will be rewarded for the virtual footsteps you want to take. If you are a bit of a compleitionist, each area has the amount of exploration points contained within on the map, so you can be sure that you have found every inch of your new virtual world.

Although it is tempting to try and defeat everything without asking for help, there are some missions which depend on you doing so. I would highly recommend you decide to co-operate in these events, as even participating right at the climax will grant you a small piece of the rewards that are bequeathed to you upon completion. If you do happen to miss out on a group event, then it will automatically respawn after a certain amount of time has passed.

If you are planning on playing Guild Wars 2 with a group of friends, I highly recommend that you all choose the same game server when you create your first character, as the cost from permanently changing to another one requires you to pay five hundred gems, which can be obtained through in game achievements or using real world money options such as a credit card or PayPal. Anyone who is not a free to play user can guest onto any other server whenever they choose, but if you are regularly playing with a select group, it is definitely easier to be on their server.

When you have designed your character and equipped them with the clothes and armour that takes your fancy, the next step is to see what abilities you have. Each race can have one of nine unique professions, ranging from the illusion casting Mesmers to the defense focused Guardians and the weapon wielding Warrior. When you begin, you will only have three main abilities and two support abilities. For example, the Elementalist will only have basic fire spells at the start, but as you level up, you can gain the other elements and all new magic to work with.

A general rule with most of the abilities is that the more powerful it is, the longer it will take to recharge so you can use it once more. This is especially important to remember in battle, as using a high damage attack multiple times may seem like a good idea at first, but the delay in waiting for it become active is often better spent using several low-powered attacks to decrease the enemy’s defenses.

Now that you have read this list, do you have any tips that will aid first time players of Guild Wars 2? Let us know what you think in the comments below.