GuildWars Wiki
Advertisement

{This page is no longer required to be reliably maintained and has changed to Fan Fiction. For guaranteed up-to-date actual documentation of Getting started (Nightfall), please see this page on GuildWiki.org.} Welcome to Guild Wars Nightfall and welcome to the slaughter house of fan fiction, known as Guild Wars Wikia!

You're a new player and need somebody to show you the ropes of Guild Wars? [Guild Wiki is the largest resource for Guild Wars-related knowledge on the internet, and it will provide you with any information you need. But let's start with the fan fiction. Read on!

Familiarize yourself with your new character

Let's assume you have just created a roleplaying character for the Nightfall campaign. After creation of the character and an introductory cinematic, you'll see Kormir, Koss, and several others as well as a Weapons Locker.

If you are not familiar with the game basics, be prepared as Kormir teaches you all about the tortures and bloody vial murders that you're to commit in this game and the rewards that you would receive after each task. You should follow the request of Kormir for a basic introduction and accept her first trial test to see if you're worthy.

Note: If you are familiar with the game basics, then you know your tasks of what is to be accomplished in this campaign. You will still receive your free skills and XP as knowledge is power. It will effectively raise your character to level 2 upon entering Chahbek Village. However, this comes at a price as you have to find your own path to this village.

Once you have completed Kormir's quest, you may talk to Jahdugar at the gate and accept his quest. Don't worry, he's use to the damage that new players get and the stern look is not out of disgust, but annoyance at his own job. This next quest will take you to the village.

Chahbek Village

Upon entering Chahbek Village, a short cinematic will play, where you will end up in your first outpost. There might be a number of other players here, but don't worry as most are over at Kamadan spamming. Talk with Jahdugar and he will give you the reward for his quest and give you another task. Note that when you accepted the reward for the quest, you hired help in the name of Koss. Koss is now a member of your hero party, and can be added to your party whenever you are in a town or outpost.

Primary Training

After the cinematic has played, you will be in the Fields. Dehvad will have a quest for you. You only need to speak to one of the experts for your profession, as Dehvad will grant you the remainder when you finish the quest. Once you have spoken with the experts in your field, speak to Dehvad again, and he will reward you with Sunspear Promotion Point. These points serve to indicate how far through the ranks of the sunspears you have risen. He will also direct you to Binah to allow you entry into Kamadan (known to some as Spamadan) and ask you to return to him once you are level 5 to begin training in a secondary profession.

Kamadan, being a major city, will have a large number of trolls known as both players and NPCs. Most of the NPCs have professions of their own, such as Merchant, Skills Trainer or Rune Trader. To find out about the services they offer, talk to them. Like other NPC's, many of them will also offer you quests. You should be able to find 6 quests while in the city. When you're ready, leave town to explore the Plains of Jarin.

Most explorable areas in Elona will have a Resurrection Shrine by any portals to neighboring regions, along with a scout or priest, who will bless you or give you a bounty to complete. Speak with the Sunspear scout to your east, who will give you a bounty to hunt plant-life. These bounties will increase you through the Sunspear Ranks faster, as they provide you with both extra experience (XP) and Sunspear Promotion Points for each monster of the appropriate type that is slain.

You are now free to explore Istan, either simply wandering around, or more conventionally by following quests. The quest Armored Transport should be just ahead, and Dengo will lead you to the Sunspear Great Hall as part of it. There will be more NPC's with quests just outside. You can press U to display the Mission Map to show the area you are currently in, as well as the path you have travelled. Enter the Sunspear Great Hall once the Armored Transport quest has updated.

Sunspear Great Hall

Note that when you enter the great hall, your mission map will clear the path, and any blessings upon you will be removed.

Again, there are a number of quests to undertake within the great hall. Runduk will have a quest Rising in the Ranks: Master Sergeant. This quest will provide you with extra attribute points once completed. It is based on the number of Sunspear Promotion Points you have, which increase from quests and bounties. You can find out how many Promotion Points you have by Pressing 'H' and choosing the titles tab. This screen tells you how your character is progressing through the Guild Wars world.

Pressing 'M' will allow you to map travel back to Kamadan to claim any rewards, and accept any new quests that may be available.

Continue exploring Istan, completing quests, and collecting loot from slain enemies, until you have reached level 5.

Secondary Training

Once you have reached level 5, return to Kamadan, and speak with First Spear Dehvad again, he will give you two quests, Secondary Training, and Command Training. Speak with Second Spear Binah again to return to the Sunspear Encampment. Speak with as many experts as you feel necessary to in order to gain an understanding of the skills available to the other professions, and then return to First Spear Dehvad to choose your secondary profession, and to obtain a new Primary Quest, Leaving a Legacy.

Bear in mind that there is no right or wrong choice of which profession to choose - each will have its own merits for the primary profession you already have.

While in the Sunspear Encampment you may also seek out Tactician Haj for the command training quest, to learn a little more on how to control your Heroes.

Note: If you happen to change your mind later on in the game about your secondary profession, you will be able to change your secondary profession. Before making your choice, consider talking to all experts, even if you don't intend to pick these professions, as it will unlock extra skills for your heroes to use.

Getting Basic Equipment

As soon as you can afford it, which can be anytime after you have first reached Kamadan, you should consider improving your equipment, which will make it easier and faster for you to level up.

Get Xunlai Storage Space

You should by now already have a Storage account for your new Nightfall character. This allows you to transfer gold and items from your other characters to your new character, and vice versa, which should make it much easier for a new character to obtain new equipment. You should also purchase a storage account upgrade so you can store your crafting materials there without taking up valuable storage space!

Maximize Inventory Space

As soon as you can afford it you should maximize your inventory space.

A Belt Pouch will increase your inventory space by 5 slots. You can get a belt pouch via any of these methods:

A Bag will increase your inventory space by 5 slots. You can have two bags. You can get a bag via any of these methods:

A Rune of Holding increases the capacity of a bag by 5 slots. You can apply one per bag, but they cannot be applied on your belt pouch. You can get a Rune of Holding via any of these methods:

Improve your Armor

Your initial armor is very weak and does not offer much protection. As soon as you have collected the necessary materials and gold you should get some better armor from one of the Armor Crafters in Kamadan, Jewel of Istan. Prioritize chest armor and then leg armor before the others, as they receive more hits than the other pieces (though they also cost more to craft).

As an alternative, you can obtain armor from the various armor collectors around Istan, which have the same armor rating as the ones you can buy in the cities, but be aware that some of these collectors are far away from the cities, and you'll have to defeat many foes for the necessary trading items, and run through a large amount of land to reach them.

One other option is to delay armor crafting until you reach Consulate Docks (either by getting a Ferry from another player or completing the quest The Time is Nigh), where max level armor can be crafted. Although it is possible to go through all of Istan without gaining new armor, it will be much more difficult to complete missions and you will die much more often. Generally, the expensive armor is more than a fair trade for the vastly increased durability.

When you have spare funds, buy Minor Runes for the attributes of your primary profession from the Rune Trader in Kamadan and apply them to your armor. Minor runes are usually fairly cheap and have no downside, so there is no reason not to use them. Often Major Runes will be cheaper than Minor Runes, but they carry with them a -35 penalty to your hit points. At low levels this penalty can make advancement very difficult, but for a character that can afford the hit point penalty, this is sometimes a cheaper, more potent option to consider.

Improve your Weapons

The weapons you start out with won't do much damage. As you kill foes on the island you will find better weapons in the drops. Some weapons you may find require a certain level for an attribute of either your primary or secondary profession. Most high-end weapons require at least 9 levels invested in the linked attribute to do their maximum damage potential.

There are several other ways to obtain better weapons besides finding them in the drops of beaten foes. On the island there are collectors who offer weapons in exchange for collectors items. In major cities you will also find weapon smiths who will craft you a weapon in exchange for some materials and gold. Finally you can trade with fellow players for gold or items to obtain better weapons to use. The weapon smiths can also customize your weapons to increase their efficiency, however these are then useless to other players, so don't use this feature if you plan on selling your weapons! (You won't need to worry about this too much until you find weapons that are appealing to other players - generally the ones with maximum or near-max stats and not the ones you will find in your first 10 or so levels).

Obtain new Skills

Skills can be purchased from Skill Trainers throughout Elona, however the cost of each skill costs more gold than the previous skill purchased for the character in question. Skills also cost skill points, which are awarded for completing missions, advancing a level, or for obtaining a new "level" past level 20. Hero skills can also be "purchased", costing Hero skill points, allowing Heroes to use skills that your account has not yet unlocked. If you purchase a "hero" skill that matches your primary or secondary profession, you learn it as well, so check the Hero Skill Trainers before spending your own hard-earned skill points!

You must have already selected a secondary profession before a Hero Skill Trainer will allow you to spend Hero skill points. This requirement closes an exploit that allowed players with one profession to learn skills from multiple secondary professions and add those skills on their skill bar.

Exploring Istan

Exploring Areas

At any time during your time in Istan, you are free to explore the area and fight foes to gain experience and collect drops (also known as loot). This way you can increase your character level and thus your attribute points as well as collecting money and materials that you will need to buy better equipment.

See Istan for a list of locations and maps. Be aware that some gates remain closed to you until after you have completed certain Primary Quests, so you cannot enter certain locations immediately.

Additional Quests

Whenever you see a green exclamation mark above the head of an NPC, talk to him/her to check for quests offered. Be aware that some quests are not available until you have finished certain Primary Quests (read below). There are many quests to be found in Istan. It is advisable to complete a few of them to get your character to a higher level before leaving the island.

Further Missions

Once you have finalized your secondary profession, you will be issued with a new Primary Quest (Leaving a Legacy). Completing Primary Quests will advance the storyline, but remember that you can complete these at a pace you are comfortable with. It is often advisable to complete other, secondary quests, to level up your character. Some NPC's will also have a Green Battle Symbol above their heads, indicating a mission is available. Again, some missions are not available until after you have completed a plot element in the Primary Quests.

Attribute Point Quests

On Istan, the two attribute point quests which give you 15 attribute points each, are both found in the Sunspear Great Hall, require you to obtain Sunspear Promotion Points. They are achieved at Master Sergeant (100 points) and First Spear (300 points).

Leaving Istan

After completing the third mission, you will be able to take a ship from the Sun Docks to the Consulate Docks Mission arriving on the mainland of Elona in Gandara, the Moon Fortress. This is where the real challenge begins.

As with Factions, you can always return to Istan after going to the mainland if you need to finish any missed objectives.

If you complete every quest on Istan before you leave, and complete all three missions with Master's reward, you should be at least level 18 when you reach the mainland. This means you only need to do a couple of easy quests in order to reach level 20 and get your 200 attribute points. Additional skill points can be found in other quests.

Good luck, and have fun!
Advertisement