GW2 is Free-to-Play, Cash Shops, and Gold for Gems

Our last tip is a simple one, GW2 is free to play (after the initial box copy) and that’s the biggest difference between it and World of Warcraftright now. You can put GW2 down and go play other games and come back at any time, no subscription required. GW2 supports itself with a cash shop that lets you buy boosts and cosmetic weapons for gems. Gems can be purchased with real money or you can use ingame currency to buy gems. You can also buy gems with real money and sell them in game to get in game gold, if you so desire.

Random Tips

Here are some additional tips for transitioning WoW players.

• Dungeons are hard, I did one today and I had to repair once from the amount of times we wiped, and we all knew the strategy. Be prepared to wipe, it's perfectly normal.
• On that front, being downed isn't a bad thing. It's the normal rotation of combat. You will be downed a lot throughout the game, so don't fret. Wiping in a dungeon in WoW is generally "the end" of the group, but in GW2, wiping is common practice. You simply respawn at a waypoint inside of the dungeon.
• If you die during a personal story, you can respawn at a checkpoint. Again, don't worry too much about dying.
• Leveling is a static experience. Each event gives a percentage of experience for the level it is designed for. So doing content above your level gives you more XP and content below your level gives you less. The only exclusion is content that is between level 1-20, which is dramatically less XP than content 20-80.
• Skill points buys skills, so they're valuable, and you'll start really needing them after level 30 when it comes time to buy your elite skills.
• Gear is great! Be sure to put upgrades in your gear, it's like enchanting your low level stuff.
• PvP will make you instantly think that there is a lot of professions that are under or overpowered, but that's because each build is a direct counter to something. If a guardian is giving you trouble, consider adding boon removal into your build. If a necromancer is giving you trouble, make sure you have condition removal. You may think about building pure offensively, but understand that will make you a glass cannon.
• Save your money for trait books. You'll need 10 silver at level 10 and that'll be a lot when you're first starting out, so be sure to save it.
• The auction house is the trading post, it's accessible everywhere but you'll need to visit an NPC to pick up any money you've made or items you've bought.
• You can deposit collectibles anywhere in the world from your inventory into your unlimited  (up to 250 of each) collectable bank.
• As I said before, there are no mounts.
• Overflows are from every server, it works like the upcoming cross-server zones coming WoW except it's simply a map that funnels everyone extra from every server into it.
• There is no mana and energy is used for dodging. Most abilities are free, with the exception of some skills, like for the Warrior and Thief, that use special resources for some of their abilities.

Well that’s our top 10 tips for transition WoW players. Are you a WoW player who is giving GW2 a try? Let us know in the comments section below your thoughts on the game.