We can always Friend each other anyway. What's a good way to find a guild? I want to make sure I get into one I'll enjoy. Like you guys, but more into the game.

Lemme know if you know anyone who wants a copy...see sig

PM incoming

How's it work, Smials? I might be curious to know should I ever need to transfer my account to a new puter. I was under the impression you couldn't install a CD on more than one computer, like the system had a way of keeping track of the computer from which you've first logged on.

Oh. Neat.

Hey, anyone try to use this new skill unlocking aspect they threw in, where you can buy any skill you've unlocked from any trainer? Does that mean if you're re-making your Elementalist or something you can buy all the skills you've ever earned in PvE from the first skill trainer?

I think maybe I've just been playing this game wrong. Someone ran my necro through to Yak's Whatever so I thought I was way too weak to play there and back near Ascalon I never got any XP or gold and nothing cool ever dropped. But it turns out that I can handle myself pretty well up there. I gained two levels last night. For the first 25 hours of gameplay, I found three purple items, all in chests. During the two hours I played last night, I found about 5 purple items (4 dropped, 1 in a chest), and unlocked 2 runes and 1 sword hilt.

I guess it pays to push yourself.

Anyone have any good combos for a necro/ranger? I shift around most of my skills looking for something effective but so far I generally only keep Mark of Pain (hex/curse, when target enemy takes physical damage all nearby enemies take 20 shadow damage) and my charm animal and animal healing/res spell. I have a bow that does 11-17 damage with +15% when my health is above 50%, +20% for being customized, and +25% against Charr (I might add a Vampiric Bowstring to it, too... should I?). So right now my biggest trouble is against strong solos. I'd like a skill that can help me attack faster. In generally I'll target a guy in the middle of a group and plink away for 7-12 damage or so while everyone around him gets torn to shreds by the Mark of Pain. It's kind of funny to attack a group and after a few seconds the only guy left is the only one I've been directly shooting at.

If you have an Area of Effect attack, try casting it on the same guy you have cast mark of pain on. My buddy (Kilgorin) was an elementalist and after I cast mark of pain on a target (I was a warrior/necro), he would firestorm the group. The group would take damage from firestorm and mark of pain. Easy way to clear alot of mobs.

I'm pretty sure I must be playing the game wrong as well, Lobster. I hit level 12 and can't get anywhere without several hirelings or a friend, and I haven't seen a GWJer for some time. I've read that trying a mesmer first might have been a mistake, but I, too, am stuck near Ascalon getting zero XP.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if you only buy the standalone expansion, will you be limited to a ritualist/assasin or assasin/ritualist character? Im glad that arena.net is on the side of providing new classes in expansions, but that does seem a bit limited. I know you cant visit lands in the other's continent if you only have the original game or the expansion.

Yes, while you can do parts of Ascalon alone or with only 1-2 henchies, you will need a full group for ALL areas after that. Dont worry about XP, you will be 20 LONG before you finish the campaign.

From Jaks Bench on, you get 2 Warriors (Stefan and Thom) which may help you with Mark of Pain, because they are doing physical damage. Your pet does physical damage too.

And if you like doing the damage yourself, there are some different kind of bows with different attack and arrow-travel speed. Bow speeds go from 2 to 2,7 secs, a shortbow has a 2 sec. refire rate, while a longbow has 2,7 but a longer range. You have to look up the exact values at some info-sites, because there are a lot of different bows with different names.

And there are some skills to increase your attack speed and arrow speed.
"Read the wind" is a fairly low level skill which doubles travel speed of your arrows. Dual shot
can be bought in Ascalon and fires 2 arrows at once, so perhaps that could proc Mark two times.
The only ranger-skill to increase your attack speed is Tigers Fury, but that comes late in the game.

Buying skills at traders allows you to get some uncommon ones and you may buy some skills where
you missed the quest where you could have got them without cost. The money cost is cheap, but
each skill costs a skillponit and those are limited. But you still have a XP bar when maxed out at 20 and
you get a Skillpoint each time you "level" in this way which is fairly often.

Thanks for the advice Grim. I did pick up Dual Shot and have been using that with some pretty good results, though I still have trouble taking out a single enemy. I think I might get Bone Fiends with Death Nova eventually so I can summon me some nice walking bombs.

I put my Vampiric Bowstring on my Ascalon Bow last night and I wish I hadn't. I thought the -1 health regeneration would make me heal slower, not actually drain life. Good thing Ascalon Bows are easy to have made.

Yeah, I'm definitely not going to throw it out. I've got an expert salvage kit so I'll try to remove it. What's your name in-game Smials?

That Wiki link is great. It actually includes pictures of just about every weapon or armor from Prophecies and Factions and detailed notes on every skill, including suggestions for use.

@Lobster: Dont remove that bowstring... just open another weapon slot with a bow without a special string, then switch to that slot when running around, and switch to your vampiric bow only when youre fighting.

My in-game main is called Smials Hedges. My alt is Sista Blista.

And what's this about a spider...?