In this section of our Beginner’s Guide, we will cover everything that happens in character creation. There is often a tendency for people to just rush through and make random decisions here, because in other MMOs doing so doesn’t really have that much of an impact on the game. Guild Wars 2 wants your decisions to matter, however, and the story told by these choices clearly reflects this design philosophy.
Races
In the original Guild Wars, you could only play as a Human, really at the height of their power in Tyria. While many other races existed and you interacted with them, their backstories weren’t well fleshed out. In Guild Wars 2, we have a wide variety of races to choose from with rich and well developed backgrounds and personal stories for each of them.
Human
Destiny’s Edge has every race represented by its members.
Humans are relative newcomers to the world of Tyria. They were brought here, from somewhere we don’t know about, by the Six Gods of Tyria, who themselves only pre-date humans by a small margin of time. Once on Tyria, they spread rapidly and as they spread, they pushed out the current residents of the land: the Charr. This conflict was a major setting in the original game.
In modern day, the humans find themselves weakened, fighting multiple enemies and no longer in the favor of the Six Gods. Though fallen from their previous heights, they are enduring and faithful. You will find the story of the humans immediately engaging and exciting.
You can read more about the Human Lore in the original Guild Wars Wiki as well as the Guild Wars 2 Wiki, and check out the New Krewe article Meet the Humans.
Charr
The Charr originally lived in the area known as Ascalon before the arrival of the Humans to Tyria. A highly militaristic people, they divided themselves into four legions, though infighting between those legions quickly began to take its toll. While the actions of human King Adelbern created a zero-sum game for the Charr, essentially meaning they could never truly take the area of Ascalon City, they have re-conquered the rest of the territory, save for the one Human stronghold of Ebonhawke.
The Four Legions of the Charr are:
- The Blood Legion: The ground-pounder and the infantry, the Blood Legion is made up of those Charr that fight on the front lines.
- The Ash Legion: Infiltrators and assassins, the Ash Legion specializes in covert tactics.
- The Iron Legion: The engineers and builder of the Charr warmachines, this legion is the creator and ‘ruler’ of the Black Citadel.
- The Flame Legion:The Flame Legion has been since cast aside by the other three legions. They continue to have the greatest number and best quality shamans of all the Charr legions. They worship Gaheron Baelfire as a new god.
Norn
The Norn look a bit like large humans with an alcohol problem. They would most likely argue it was only a problem if they ran out. They are a race of Nordic-like hunters who have strong connections with the Animal Spirits of the Wild. The Norn existed in the original Guild Wars but were not a playable race. Currently, they are in exile from their homelands due to the Elder Dragon, Jourmag, awakening in the Northern Shiverpeaks.
They still live for the glory of hunting, but now they are determined to find a champion capable of killing Jourmag and reclaiming their home. And did I mention they can turn into half-man half-animal creatures with special abilities? Yeah, they are that cool.
Jeff Grubb, one of the lead Lore Writers for Guild Wars 2, claims he loves the Norn race. To read more about this amazing race of extra tall humans check out the New Krewe article Meet the Norn.
Asura
While the Asura may appear as though they are the obligate miniature race for comedic effect, I can assure you they are not. Asurans are amazing engineers and architects. During the original Guild Wars, they were forced to the surface from their natural underground habitat. They not only adapted to this life but thrived. Their presence and their technology spread throughout all Tyria. They live to research and experiment – this can even been seen in their racial skills, which include the ability to summon Golems to fight alongside them.
You can find a more exhaustive history of the Asura in the Guild Wars Wiki and the current Guild Wars 2 Wiki articles. You can also go to our New Krewe article on the Asura here.
Sylvari
It’s the attack of the Pod People! Oddly, this is a close description. The Sylvari are a new race to Tyria that look a lot like humans but are made from plants. When I say new, I don’t mean they didn’t exist in previous lore. I mean the entire race is only 25 years old. They are born from a massive sentient tree called The Pale Tree. The Sylvari, before they are born, exist in a dream realm called the Dream of Dreams, which shows them a number of visions that will have an impact on their life. The dream has been invaded by a shadow, which the Sylvari interpret as the awakening of the dragons. They view it as their duty to kill and gather other races to kill them as well.
The Dream Realm gives each new Sylvari a kind of basic education, allowing them to speak and obtain a working knowledge of the world. Once out in the world, each Sylvari’s experience is sent back to the Pale Tree to influence the Dream of Dreams and teach the next generation about the world.
When the first few Sylvari were released into the world, the first sentient race they happened upon were the Asura, who promptly captured and experimented on them. Once the Asura realized they were sentient, they profusely apologized and released them, but this has left a mark on the Sylvari as a whole when dealing with the Asura.
In general, the Sylvari are somewhat naive about the world when they are first “born”. The way they view their world is starkly different from their human counterparts. For instance, it tends to baffle them that humans find the job of a grave digger as undesirable, to them it’s like planting a seed they know will never bloom.
More information about the Sylvari can be found on The Guild Wars 2 wiki and an in depth interview with Ree Soesbee on the GWI Podcast. We also have a New Krewe post covering them, which can be located here.
Professions
Necromancer
The Necromancer has its roots in the original Guild Wars. You have access to minions created from the flesh of the dead, but they are not a simple pet class. Necromancers fight using heavy condition damage, spells that are imbued with the undead realm, and finally they have access to a unique resource: Life Force. Life Force allows you to access Death Shroud, which transforms you into a specter of Death with unique abilities such as draining the life from those around you.
Warrior
The Warrior is the classic master of arms. They are able to use a mind-boggling 19 possible weapon sets, including several ranged weapons. The Warrior is a lethal opponent but is also capable of defending their allies as well as enhancing their abilities through the use of banners. The Warrior’s special mechanic is Adrenaline, which builds up through attacks to release a burst ability that is unique to each weapon.
Guardian
The Guardian is a Soldier profession, similar to the Warrior, but with a focus on magic instead of pure martial skill. The core mechanic of the Guardian are the three Virtues – Resolve, Courage and Justice. Each of these provide powerful passive buffs to the Guardian, which can be sacrificed in order to share those same buffs with his allies. While considered a support class by many, the Guardian is still a capable offensive threat. While it has the lowest health of almost any profession, it compensates this with mitigation abilities like Aegis, which automatically negate an incoming attack and responds with several means of health regeneration, condition removal and healing.
Elementalist
Elementalists
are able to use their weapons as mediums to wield each element: fire,
water, air (lightning), or earth. You have access to only one element
at a time by attuning yourself to it. Once in an attunement, you gain
access to a skill set unique to that element. You can switch to
different attunements in the middle of combat, giving you the widest
range of potential abilities in the game. With these attunements, you
are able to be a jack of all trades, filling in to support your allies,
control enemies, and do damage.Thief
The Thief focuses on mobility, high single target damage, stealth, condition damage and hit-and-run tactics. Unlike other versions of Assassins or Rogues, the Thief does not have access to long-duration stealths, though the Profession does have access to a number of ways to apply stealth to themselves and others nearby. The class’s signature ability is Steal, which allows you to Shadowstep (essentially teleport) to an enemy and steal a random, useful item from them. They also have access to an ability known as Shadowstep, which allows them to teleport around the battlefield quickly.
Ranger
At first glance, the Ranger looks like the obligate pet class. However, they are a strong and diverse class that doesn’t rely solely on their pets and long range attacks to do their damage. Dual wield axe Rangers are some of the most feared players in sPvP. The Ranger utilizes a number of traps to slow, cripple, or put a number of other conditions on enemies, and they have access to spirit beasts that create powerful passive buffs to your allies as well as a secondary set of spells each beast has.
Mesmer
The Mesmer is a scholar profession dating back the original Guild Wars. They specialize in deceiving the minds of their enemies. They create powerful illusions of themselves that deal devastating damage or clones that are exact copies of themselves to confuse the enemy. Mesmers also can create Mantras, which basically ques up a long-cast spell and prepares it for use before a battle. Once charged, Mantras can even be used in the middle of casting another spell.
Engineer
Master
of machines, elixirs and explosives, the Engineer is one of the more
unique professions. The Engineer, wearing medium armor, has one of most
limited number of weapons with access to only pistols, shields, and
rifles. However, Engineers have access to a series of powerful toolkits
that open up more Engineer-only weapons, such as a flamethrower.
Engineers are amazing at group support and control, and they are
especially adept at holding on to control points in sPvP.Personal Story Choices
The final sections of character creation are a series of questions that deal with your past, ways you handle situations and an assortment of information from which God you worship to which spirit beast do you feel a calling from.
You may be tempted to quickly skip over this or make random choices here, as it appears like meaningless roleplaying flavor text, but I can assure you that’s not the case. These are the elements that make up your Personal Story in the world of Tyria. Each choice has an impact on the path your Personal Story takes, so resist the urge to randomly click on a choice. Spend the time to read the descriptions and make a choice that fits you or your character the best. I assure you, you will be well rewarded for your diligence in this leg of character creation.
If you ever want to replay a race, you can choose different options and take a completely different path in the game, and that’s only for each race. With five races, the possibilities within the Personal Story are seemingly limitless.
The next guide section will cover your characters entrance into the world of Tyria. We will cover all of your “firsts” in Guild Wars 2 on your journey throughout the world.
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