Anyone have or is able to write me up a little guide for level 80 play in GW2?

No joke - and no trolling/flaming please.

I just got back into the game, finished out my last two levels to get my Guardian up to 80.

Had some gold, decided to purchase some more via gems and bought myself a full armor + weapons set of Rare gear from the Vigil merchant.

So I'm kind of in the "what to do now?" mode.

I've been doing my dailies, getting my Laurels since the new patch. What order of importance should I place in buying stuff? Rings first? Accessories? etc.

What are the possible avenues of acquiring Exotic level gear besides grinding through dungeons?

People keep telling me you can get a "full set" of Exotics from Karma - but where?

Beyond that though - what do people really do at level 80?

I've got plenty of zones to finish for world completion, and I've got plenty of farming to do to get my crafting skills maxed out.

I've barely set foot in Orr, not really sure what I should be looking out for and trying to get down there.

I've got every single skill unlocked for my class except one elite, and am already like 10/30 skill points towards getting that.

And yes, I'm sure I could find answers out on the internet - but I'd like to here from you - fellow GW2 players, on kind of a "guide to level 80" so I can determine what kinds of things I want to do and what kinds of objectives.

I really am not interested in WvW or SPvP right now, nor am I interested in Dungeons really till the rest of the fixes are in.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe not a full guide, but tips perhaps... but first, welcome back and grats on the 80!

Laurels right now, for gear, will only get you amulets and rings, and by the time you have enough for the first piece (about a month?) you'll know which you still need, so let that play itself out.

Exotics - multiple avenues to obtain these. The easiest is of course buying them off the Trading Post. You'll find not only world drops there but also crafted exotics people made and are selling. This of course segways into crafting. For example you can choose armorsmith on your guardian, level that to 400 and craft your own set of exotic armor. If you add jewelcrafting you can level that and make your own exotic rings, trinkets and amulets. The other day, due to 400 tailoring on my mesmer and 400 JC on my ranger I got my new 80 necro a full set of exotics purely by crafting (save the back piece, can't craft those yet). So, for exotics there's dungeons, crafting, Trading Post, world drops and of course the Karma Vendors in Orr at the temples. They'll each have a specific set of exotics you can purchase with karma, including the elusive back pieces.

Now that you're 80 (and not looking for the dungeon run thing) there are still things to accomplish. Consider legendaries. You don't have to have a legendary as your ultimate goal, but the road to get them has many forks along the way that you can choose which will ultimately lead you towards one. First off, you'll need 100% map completion. Exploring the entire world will take you some time and there's no telling what you'll see along the way. There's also WvW if you want to get your inner rage on. (People love guardians there, btw). I don't recall... are you on Jade Quarry? If so, look up FIRE guild... it's a blast with a coordinated group. We've ruled out dungeons I think... but Fractals are a blast... (OK, just reread your post, saw the holding off on WvW and dungeon part but too lazy to delete what I typed...)

Sounds like at this stage I'd recommend two things... going for world completion (and gathering many many mats along the way as you do) and finishing the personal story, which will take you into Orr and get you a foothold there with waypoints and the like. The story does a good job covering the "what to expect" part for when you get there. 

Hope this resembles something almost useful...

You dont want dungeons u dont want pvp, well... hard...

*Play the market - buy cheap sell expensive.

*Help lower zones

*Mini-games

Orr

3 maps

1 temple in first map

2 in each of the others.

Uncontested Temple

Contested Temple

 

 

Dulfy.net has end game guide I used.

I know this is probably going to earn me the ire of MMORPG.com for saying so-

But I LIKE that I can *cheat* and spend some RL money on Gems to convert to Gold to speed up the grind process a bit.

Sounds like my next objectives are going to be to finish the personal story, do some exploring in Orr, and finish leveling up my crafting a bit while doing some more world exploration.

I would like to see and participate in all of the "major" world boss kind of events - I've done the Sunless one but can anyone point me towards the rest?

I know there is another one in the 70-80 Norn snow/ice zone in the north (can't remember the name.)

Also I could use some help on a build...

I'm obviously looking to solo a lot on my Guardian, but I want to be useful for groups on the battlefield.

At this point my biggest thing would be efficient mob killing.

Right now I'm like 30/30/10 Power, Condition damage, Virtues and am using Sword+Shield and Greatsword.

It's a playstyle I enjoy - had some fun yesterday soloing a Champion to loot a chest and finish a Heart AND complete an Event.

Took a good 4-5 minutes of intense combat, was fun!

// Outfit yourself with Exotic Gear

You can bring (if not already done so) your armor (fitting) profession up to 400 and craft exotic armor for roughly 2gold10Silver (Leather Armor) - 2Gold80silver (Heavy Armor) per piece yourself.

Getting 0 > 400 crafting will net between +9 - +11 levels for twinks (doesn't matter what level are your twinks). Bringing up Leatherworker costs roughly 5 Gold, Armor 8 Gold (depending on how much crafting materials you got yourself already).

Same goes for Weapons.
http://www.guildwars2-crafting.com/

// Earn + Spend 50 Skill Points to craft an exotic Mystic Weapon (Unique Weapon skins some are the same as dungeon skins)

You don't even need any crafting profession for that - because you can buy any other component at the Trading Post - components cost roughly 6 Gold > you can sell those weapons for ~ 8-10 Gold. (Unless you want the skin, you can take 50 SP + 6 Gold and make 2 - 4 Gold in trade for the SP)
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mystic_weapons

// Farm 100+ Gold for Racial T3 Armor skins

// Do 100% World completion

// Do the three Dragonevents (but beware they are really not good) spawn window guide -
http://guildwarstemple.com/dragontimer/

// Try your luck with dropped Rare and Exotic gear lvl69+ with salvaging and getting up to 3 Ecto (~28 Silver each) - or nothing, recommended: Black lion salvage kit (don't use lower ones).

// Farm Materials in Orr (ori run, see timer above) for all the gold you need for Racial Armor / Crafting

I use the same weapons as you with this build..

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8elUgqC33RLEfIFRuAbBYPwI8741DKKRGC

also i got all my exotics with karma from Contested Temples  in Orr a mix of pow/prec/vit/toughness with superior runes of the pack or soldier..

Originally posted by Dietengu

I use the same weapons as you with this build..

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8elUgqC33RLEfIFRuAbBYPwI8741DKKRGC

also i got all my exotics with karma from Contested Temples  in Orr a mix of pow/prec/vit/toughness with superior runes of the pack or soldier..

Hmmm.

Do you feel like you can kill at a fast enough/efficient rate?

Cause I tell you, it really feels like the power+condition dmg build with the +5% damage traits for sword/gs makes me hit like a truck.

Granted though - I have mostly been playing in downleveled areas - do you need the added survivability and such in Orr? Like I said, I've barely played around in Orr thus far - like I've barely even gone across the little bridge and such in the Straits.

Guardian for group play isn't about killing power, but support.

That will be its cousin, the warrior.

For the world, a shout build that can put virtues to good use will do fine.

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Dietengu

I use the same weapons as you with this build..

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8elUgqC33RLEfIFRuAbBYPwI8741DKKRGC

also i got all my exotics with karma from Contested Temples  in Orr a mix of pow/prec/vit/toughness with superior runes of the pack or soldier..

Hmmm.

Do you feel like you can kill at a fast enough/efficient rate?

Cause I tell you, it really feels like the power+condition dmg build with the +5% damage traits for sword/gs makes me hit like a truck.

Granted though - I have mostly been playing in downleveled areas - do you need the added survivability and such in Orr? Like I said, I've barely played around in Orr thus far - like I've barely even gone across the little bridge and such in the Straits.

Maybe it's the mesmer in me, but I don't really take how fast I kill things into account anymore... with this combat system I don't really note the time, things are too active. The more mobile I let myself become the more the system really began to flow. If you're standing at the end and enjoyed doing it I see that as what counts. As such I'm happy to keep looking around, cast a Feedback bubble on a ranged attacker over there, a Null Field around allies over here, send in the clones, just whatever the situation demands. It took a bit to shake the DPS mindset from my WoW hunter, but it really helps once you do  so. 

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Dietengu

I use the same weapons as you with this build..

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8elUgqC33RLEfIFRuAbBYPwI8741DKKRGC

also i got all my exotics with karma from Contested Temples  in Orr a mix of pow/prec/vit/toughness with superior runes of the pack or soldier..

Hmmm.

Do you feel like you can kill at a fast enough/efficient rate?

Cause I tell you, it really feels like the power+condition dmg build with the +5% damage traits for sword/gs makes me hit like a truck.

Granted though - I have mostly been playing in downleveled areas - do you need the added survivability and such in Orr? Like I said, I've barely played around in Orr thus far - like I've barely even gone across the little bridge and such in the Straits.

well i have 3k power & armor 50% critical chance & damage..and i cant die..also this build works well for me and my team in WvW and dungeons i just switch the sword with scepter..as for downleveled areas u can use whatever u want..but even if you put 30 points in zeal & radiance tree i dont think so you will have better stats..

Originally posted by Gaia_Hunter

Guardian for group play isn't about killing power, but support.

That will be its cousin, the warrior.

For the world, a shout build that can put virtues to good use will do fine.

Ya, I play a full boon support guardian, and I'm almost always picking up the DPS guards in a group :) Good for solo I guess.

For Badspock, if you like the look of your Vigil gear you'll be able to get some Fine Transmutation stones from world exploration/black lion chests and keep that look for Karma Exotics (or whatever route you go), since I presonally think most of the Vigil pieces are rather nice looking.

If you're ruling out dungeons atm, does that include FoTM? They updated them to be far more user friendly. Also great route for globs of ectoplasm from rare drops. Get exotic drops in there etc.

What do people do at lvl 80? Lots of people do FoTM and WvW, Dungeons, PvP, and of course level an alt. Some people pursue the legendary weapons. Full Map 100% and jumping puzzles and the often unknown Mini-Dungeons (listed in exploration, some are quite fun, and may be best off with a friend) are also out there. Once you get one 80, lots of people start crafting on alts and master it that way, helps with lvling them all up.

Originally posted by Eluldor

Originally posted by Gaia_Hunter

Guardian for group play isn't about killing power, but support.

That will be its cousin, the warrior.

For the world, a shout build that can put virtues to good use will do fine.

Ya, I play a full boon support guardian, and I'm almost always picking up the DPS guards in a group :) Good for solo I guess.

For Badspock, if you like the look of your Vigil gear you'll be able to get some Fine Transmutation stones from world exploration/black lion chests and keep that look for Karma Exotics (or whatever route you go), since I presonally think most of the Vigil pieces are rather nice looking.

If you're ruling out dungeons atm, does that include FoTM? They updated them to be far more user friendly. Also great route for globs of ectoplasm from rare drops. Get exotic drops in there etc.

What do people do at lvl 80? Lots of people do FoTM and WvW, Dungeons, PvP, and of course level an alt. Some people pursue the legendary weapons. Full Map 100% and jumping puzzles and the often unknown Mini-Dungeons (listed in exploration, some are quite fun, and may be best off with a friend) are also out there. Once you get one 80, lots of people start crafting on alts and master it that way, helps with lvling them all up.

Appreciate the responses all.

What kind of build would that be then?

I like the healing and defense Guardian can spec into, as well as group utility but I just... I get so bored without having a bit of killing power!

This is a hair off topic, but have you tried the hammer yet on your guardian? I have an 80 that I really haven't played much as of late, but when I was I found the hammer to be incredibly fun in WvW. 

Especially on that poor bugger in a downed state at the edge of a cliff... he did get some nice hang time however.