Next up in our series of Guild Wars 2 area completion guides is Diessa Plateau, the second charr racial area, intended for players between levels 15-25. The area’s home of some interesting challenges, included three jumping puzzles, a cow-flinging catapult, and plenty of old, decrepit ruins waiting to be explored. To get there, travel to The Black Citadel, and head north through Memorial Quadrant and through the portal.

These completion guides are intended to help players achieve the completion series achievements. We’ll just be covering the more difficult-to-find Points of Interest, all of the Vista Points, all of the Skill Challenges, and the area’s jumping puzzles. Also included is a humungous map, with every major Point of Interest (PoI) and Waypoint (WP) labeled. Points of Interest have black-bordered text, Waypoints dark blue. Renown (heart) quests are also labeled with their suggested level. This should help you decide on a path of adventure, if you so choose.

I’ve also labeled nearby portals to other maps as well as the entrances to the map’s secret jumping puzzles. When reading my tips for completing the jumping puzzles, make sure to take a peek at the pictures that are linked at some of the tougher areas.

Diessa Plateau’s 100% Completion and Cheatsheet map (click to show full size version):

Jumping Puzzles

There are two on the map besides those required for Vistas/Skill Points, making three total:

Grendich Gamble: This one takes place at the largest rectangle building in The Blasted Moors. Basically, you need to get to the top of the building by going around and around it, jumping on stone blocks and little outcroppings of wood. It’s not too difficult, although enemies respawn pretty quickly, and as a charr/norn, you may experience some issues with the camera becoming randomly obstructed. At the top is the achievement, a Rich Silver node, and a Veteran mob.

Crimson Plateau: This one’s near the Redreave Mill Waypoint. Head to the location shown on the main map. Hop up the rocks as shown in the image to the right, run through the grass, up the broken stones, hopping across to the rocks, then keep climbing up to the next area with the ruins. Jump up the next pile of broken stones, then hop through the gap between the ruined wall. Your goal here is the next series of grassy hills, so keep hopping on the rocks to get there.

Now, when you get to this place, it’s hard to see with the trees, but your next destination is through the gap ahead, approximately outlined with the red circle. Taking a flying leap off the side of the hill should get you through. After running through, follow the grassy area south to the next set of broken stone pillars. Hop across to the grassy hill that has some Onions on it, then look down for another pair of pillars as shown here. Hop down on those, follow them, hop to the next tiny grassy area, then to the larger stone outcropping. Hop across one more time, and you’ll be able to hop down to face a Veteran mob, grab an achievement, and open a shiny chest. If you still need help, here is a video.

Wall Breach Blitz: This is the one to get the Breached Wall Vista and Skill Challenge. See below!

Vistas, Points of Interest, and Skill Challenges

Vista south of Town of Nageling:

Head east of the Vista point, hugging the mountain. You’ll run into a pile of boulders that can be climbed and hopped across.

Silex Castrum PoI:

This one’s to the west of Ruins of Oldgate. Enter a cave, fight some Flame Legion enemies.

Moorwatch Tower Skill Challenge:

South of Blasted Moors. Defeat the butcher in his goofy hat.

Vista in same area, Moorwatch Tower:

Go to merchant southeast of the tower, slightly northeast of Town of Nagelring. Right click on the cattlepult that’s next to the merchant, and you’ll end up right by the Vista. If the event’s going on, you won’t be able to access it. Also, as a warning, this one’s fairly buggy right now on many servers.

Vista in Village of Butcher’s Block:

Climb up in the peak-shaped hill inside the village that’s north of the Vista point. Hop across to the metal fencing. You don’t need to hop to the very top, the second level is fine. Run toward the Vista point.

Blasted Moors Skill Challenge:

This one’s underground, along with the Point of Interest in the area. You can hop down the well that’s in the center of Blasted Moors, or swim there through the aqueduct that leads directly to the nearby lake. The Skill Challenge itself is just a commune point, but there may be some enemies to clear out first. The oozes down here respawn pretty fast.

Rancher’s Wash Skill Challenge:

Kill the cub’s giant bull. The bull has quite a bit of health, but doesn’t hit too hard.

Redreave Mill Vista:

Southwest of Nemus Groves. Hop up the rocky hillside south of the Vista Point. Hop up the taller, grassier rock outcropping, hop across the gap, and grab the Vista.

The Breached Wall Vista and Skill Challenge, also known as Wall Breach Blitz:

This one’s a doozy. You’ll need to start at around the location marked on the main map. There’s a visible staircase to climb, shown to the left. This area has a lot of enemies that respawn very quickly.

Now, keep in mind your objective here. We need to cross the wall, basically. Head up the staircase. Where the first gap is, hop across to the platform that’s against the wall. Hugging the wall helps. Hop to the ridge and follow it. At some point you’ll come across a Veteran mob that may or may not pull. Kill it and continue along the ridge. There’s a gap to jump across it that leads to another ridge around the corner.

Follow this new ridge until it ends, then hop up the end piece. Hop up to the next ridge, then hop to the left piece, then back to the right– just like this. Keep heading right (west), ignoring the little outcropping of enemies.

At the very corner, you’ll see where to head up. Hop up, then resume heading east (to the left). Once on the gassy knoll, hop across the gap to the little pillar that’s sticking out. Hop across the smaller pillars. Here, the path seems to end.

Hop down and to the south, where the stone ledges continue. Continue to the east. Hug the outer edge of the stone when hopping to the next stone outcropping. Hop up the smaller outcroppings then go through the grassy area, around the building. On the other side is a staircase-looking wall that’s perfect for hopping up.

Climb up the staircase, head to the edge, and make a flying leap across. I found sticking to the right side helped, as it sticks out a little further. Keep heading west, ignoring the staircase for the moment. We can’t climb it until we go behind it. Here’s what it looks like. On the other side, there’s a convenient little rock staircase. Head up the stairs afterwards, and voila, Challenge Point, along with a Veteran mob!

To reach the Vista, take a flying leap off the very edge, and you should be able to make it. If you still need help, here is a video.

Bloodcliff Quarry Vista:

Run to the back of the quarry, run up the northeastern hill, and hop on the platform.

Challenge Point north of Gram Hills:

Summons three scorpions, including a Veteran. Try and clear out the area before summoning. Also, watch for the poison and tail launches.

Burntfur’s Pool PoI:

Swim under the Breachwater Lake bridge, toward the PoI, dive down deep where the lake’s heavy with plant life, and you’ll find an underwater cave. Swim through to fetch the PoI.

Vista north of Breachwater Lake:

Hop up the piles of boulders directly to the north of the Vista.

Challenge Point on island directly north of “Blackblade Lake” text:

Summons a group of Skales.

Incedio Templum Vista:

Head deep into Incendio Templum, climb up the stack of blocky-looking stones.

Flame Temple Tombs Vista:

Head to the north side of the pool, pass where the Vista is, and hop up on the small rock that’s not quite against the cliff. From there, hop onto the pile of larger rocks. This rock path is shown to the right. Afterwards, make your way to the very top of the dome, where you can drop down and grab the Vista.

Spider Nest Cavern Skill Challenge:

There are two ways to enter the spider cave, both north of Manbane’s Outcrop. Make your way through the cave, and eventually you’ll come across a Veteran ooze and an NPC to talk to who gives you some meat to eat, which grants the Skill Point.

Ah, Metrica Province– home of tiny asura, cool floating staircases, cube-shaped elevating objects, some weird frog dudes, and lots and lots of exploration to be had. While running around, it’s pretty easy to lose track of a Vista Point or get stuck on how to find the way to that Point of Interest. Look no further– we’ve got all your answers.

For these condensed-style guides, we’ll just be covering the more difficult-to-find Points of Interest, all of the Vista Points, and all of the Skill Challenges. Also included is a humungous map, showing all the pockets of the map, with every major Point of Interest (PoI) and Waypoint (WP) labeled. Points of Interest have black-bordered text, Waypoints dark blue. Renown (heart) quests are also labeled with their suggested level. This should help you decide on a path of adventure, if you so choose.

I’ve also labeled nearby portals to other maps as well as the entrance to the map’s secret jumping puzzle area. Stay tuned for additional 100% completion maps, as well as detailed guides for the more difficult jumping puzzles.

Metrica Province’s 100% Completion and Cheatsheet map (click to show full size version):

Now, let’s dive into some of the more difficult Vistas, Points of Interest, and Skill Challenges, shall we?

Wildflame Caverns Vista, south of Soren Draa:

This one actually doesn’t appear on the map until you begin looking for it. To do that, head to the location shown by the giant yellow dot on the screenshot to the right, which is in the actual Soren Draa hub area, east of the trading post/repair vendors. Keep to the south wall, and you’ll run into a cave. The cave’s entrance is also shown in the screenshot. Once in the cave, the Vista’s an easy climb up a small hill amidst the lava.

West Hinterlabs Vista:

Head north a bit from the entrance to Incinergen Labs, run up the moss-covered slope that makes up the building’s edge, then hop up the floating rock staircase at the peak.

East Hinterlabs Vista Point:

Head to either side of the Splorge Metamystics Lab’s entrance, then hop up the staircase. Scale the peaked stone pillar (from the back worked well for me).

Skill Challenge south of Loch Jezt, at Durotl Grounds:

Kill the Hylek.

The Funhouse Skill Challenge:

Enter and follow the second passage. Kill the trio of enemies, including a veteran golem.

Vista north of Sunshade Caves:

Go through the cave. Entrance starts at the yellow dot shown in the screenshot below. Hang a right on the way through, and the Vista is right outside. Alternatively, entering from the Parnna’s Gate side works too.

Oola Skill Challenge:

North of Akk Wilds, talk to the knob on the door to activate a little reading comprehension quiz. It’s quite easy, but if you’re lazy, here are the answers:

1) Oola, lab genius. 2) I am not in charge. 3. Necromancy and golemancy. 4) We embody magic.

Inside, is the Old Oola Lab PoI.

Desider Atum Vista:

In the middle of the crafting NPCs, there is a set of floating stairs. Head up them, run to the Jeweler NPC, hop off the edge, then jump down to the stone peak where the Vista is.

Voloxian Passage Vista:

Head to the southeast corner of the eastern building of Brill Alliance Labs. Head up the floating staircases, then toward the other end of the top level, through the grassy area.

Michoan Marsh Skill Challenge:

Click the box on the pillar to activate three enemies. They reset if you kite them, which makes it possible to solo.

Old Flamen Lab PoI:

Here’s a trick for this one– simply go to where the mark is in the swamp area, run up against the clear wall. You’ll get credit.

Biocauldron Alchemical PoI:

This is in the swamp area too. Directly west of the Skill Challenge is the entrance. You only have to step in a few steps to unlock the PoI.

Arterium Haven Vista:

Head south of Artergon Woods. Go inside the courtyard, and up the southwest tower. Climb the second tower in the same area. Then hop on top of the barrel stack. The screenshot to the left has a pretty good view of the barrels and the next couple steps. Next, hop to the little ridge (that’s the spot my asura is on in the picture), the hanging top of the doorway, then on the wooden planks. Hop all the way up. At some point you’ll have to scoot on the edge then hop to make the next perpendicular plank.

Cuatl Morass Skill Challenge:

Clear the area, get the goo, open your inventory, and use it.

Luminates Plant Skill Challenge:

Contrary to the map, this one’s actually underneath the main structure. Head out as if you’re leaving, then jump underground where there’s a cube moving up and down. Follow the passage, kill any enemies in the way, and commune away.

Vista south of Muridian Uplands, in C.L.E.A.N. Station:

Approach from the eastern side of the station, where the little blocks form two steps. On the second step, jump across to the blue floating overhangs. Hop to the top overhang, then on the hill. The steepest hill is scalable to the east side.

Vista right outside Inquest Outer Complex:

This one’s actually outside the complex. Run to the icon following the river’s shore– you’ll eventually run right to it.

Inquest Outer Complex Skill Challenge:

This one’s in the thick of the complex, and summons a golem to defeat.

Inquest Outer Complex PoI:

This one’s a little confusing. It’s not actually reachable via the Complex entrance, and must be reached by a portal. The portal’s way on the other side of the map, where the Transfer Gate PoI is, which is west of Greyfern Expanses and north of The Anthill. Pictured below is where to find the portal exactly, which is also shown on the full size Metrica Province map.

Thaumanova Reactor Skill Challenge:

This one’s outside the reactor. Summons three Embers to defeat.

The following guide will bring you from newbie chef to Master in mere hours, and it’s pretty easy to do. You’re going to have to do some Trading Post shopping if you haven’t collected many ingredients, but the guide keeps gathered material to a minimum.

There are simple ingredients that you can find from the Chef Vendor for karma and copper. These items are Water, Flour, Butter, Sugar, Egg, Chocolate Bar, Oil, Vinegar, Buttermilk, Bell Pepper, Black Peppercorn, Salt and Soy Sauce.

One thing to note: The karma vendor ingredients require you to complete hearts to access. The highest level heart required in this guide is level 69. Obviously, there are other alternatives if you have access to other ingredients.

Harathi Hinterlands – Cherries

Gendarren Fields –
Vanilla Beans and Chili Peppers

Fireheart Rise – Peaches

Mount Maelstrom – Eggplants

Caledon Forest – Lemons

Bloodtide Coast – Oranges

Levels 0-25
Balls of Dough – Water + Flour + Butter

Note: Keep Balls of Dough for later recipe.

Levels 25-50
20x Piles of Salt and Pepper – Black Peppercorn + Salt
Bottle of Simple Dressing – Vegetable Oil + Vinegar + Piles of Salt and Pepper

Note: Make Salt and Pepper that allows you to make enough Bottles of Simple Dressing.

Levels 50-75
Cookie Dough – Butter + Flour + Egg + Sugar

Note: Save Cookie Dough for later.

Levels 75-100
Bowl of White Frosting – Butter + Vanilla Bean + Water + Sugar
20x Bowl of Roux – Flour + Butter

Note: Save Roux for later. The Vanilla Bean is a Karma Vendor item. See Map above.

Levels 100-125
Paprika – Bell Pepper + Chili Pepper

Note: Chili Peppers are purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 125-150
Bowl of Chocolate Frosting – Bowl of White Frosting + Chocolate Bar

Levels 150-175
Chocolate Cherry – Cherry + Chocolate Bar

Note: Chocolate Cherry recipe must be discovered first. Cherries can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 175-200
Cherry Tarts – Butter + Sugar + Balls of Dough + Cherry

Note: Cherries can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 225-250
Chocolate Orange – Orange + Chocolate Bar

Note: Oranges can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 250-275
Jar of Orange Sauce – Sugar + Vinegar + Starch + Orange

Note: Oranges can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 275-300
Jars of Citrus Cream Sauce – Buttermilk, Lemons, Ball of Roux, Orange

Note: Lemons and Oranges can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 300-325
Eggplant Fritter – Flour + Egg + Black Peppercorn + Eggplant

Note: Eggplant can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

Levels 325-350
Option 1: Bowl of Eggplant Stirfry – Soy Sauce + Pile of Stirfry Spice Mix + Eggplant + Green Onion
Option 2: Plate of Steak & Asparagus – Butter + Garlic + Lemon + Artichoke
Option 3: Roasted Artichoke- Butter + Garlic + Lemon + Artichoke

Note: Eggplants and Lemons can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above. Garlic, Green Onion, and Artichokes must be gathered or purchased on the Trading Post.

Levels 350-375
Peach Tart- Butter + Sugar + Balls of Dough + Peach

Note: Peaches can be purchased from a Karma Vendor. See Map above.

One of the most enjoyable things about crafting in Guild Wars 2 is the fact that if a recipe calls for materials in a lower level area, farming those materials isn’t necessarily a waste of time. Experience, gold, karma, dynamic events, and map completion all come attached with your crafting goodies. Exploration at any level is encouraged and rewarding.

So, where are some good crafting material farming hotspots? Need help remembering what mobs drop Bone Shards or Vials of Thick Blood? GW2Guru has a pretty awesome list that’s currently a work in progress. Here’s a sample:

Format: Material — Zone / Area — Monster Type — Monster Level — [Area Level]

Vial of Thin Blood — Kessex Hills / Manfire Hills — Skales — XX — [YY]
– Gendarran Fields / Lake Gendarr — Skales — XX — [YY]
Bone Shard — Diessa Plateau / Holystone Caves — Grawl — 25 — [26]
Small Claw — Harathi Hinterlands / Guardian Lake – River Drake — 34 — [34]
Pile of Shimmering Dust – Gendarran Fields / Lawen Ponds — Risen — 28/29 — [27]
Small Fang Diessa Plateau / Holystone Caves — Grubs — 25 — [26]
Small Scale — Gendarran Fields / Lake Gendarr — Barracuda — XX — [YY]
— Harathi Hinterlands / Guardian Lake – River Drake — 34 — [34]
Small Totem — Diessa Plateau / Holystone Caves — Grawl — 25 — [26]
Small Venom Sack — Diessa Plateau / Holystone Caves — Grubs — 25 — [26]
— Kessex Hills / Overlord’s Greatcamp — Fireflies — XX — [YY]
— Gendarran Fields / Cornucopian Fields (east) — Wurm Hatchlings — XX — [YY]
— Gendarran Fields / Vigilant Hills — Fireflies — XX — [YY]
— Gendarran Fields / Overlook Caverns (vista) — 28 — [YY]

Head on over to the complete thread to see the full list.

There are a lot of places in the game where you can follow an event train from beginning to end for multiple rewards and it then cycles back to the beginning. The biggest one we’ve found is in Kessex Hills on the western side of the map. This is an efficient way to level (if efficient leveling is your goal) up through the 40s.

The start point is the bridge at the northwest corner of the lake. Once finished you won’t have to wait very long for the event to start over again. There are also two nearby events (marked off in purple) that might randomly show up that you can diverge and complete during your cycle.

This rotation works extremely well at all level ranges. The experience starts to lag down after level 30, but is still completely viable. It’s a very good way to earn karma and gold as well.
 
 

 
Here is what to expect at each step:
 

• Point 1: Break centaur worker morale to prevent bridge repairs. Reduce morale to 0%.
• Point 2: Dispatch the Harathi Lieutenants. Kill all three.
• Point 3: Kill the Harathi Overlord.
• Point 4: Stop the Risen Krait from building their army. Kill all four, not labeled on map.
• Point 5: The END point has it’s own rotation of events:
• END 1: Destroy the bandit cannons before the ore shipment is ready. Kill five canons.
• END 2: Stop bandits from collecting ore for a centaur supply shipment. Kill all the miners.
• END 3: Defeat the champion bandit foreman before he finishes collecting ore for centaurs. He has two forms: Mech and Human.

There are a few other places where you have a system like this after level 40. We’ll bring those to you as soon as we can.

If you’re a Ranger and looking for a specific pet, go no further, here is a full list of all the Ranger pets and where you can find them. Continue reading for the full list.

Mesmers are a tricky profession; they were one of the last to be introduced and almost universally thought of as underpowered through the vast majority of BWEs. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Mesmer is a very fun profession to play and actually quite powerful if you understand the fundamentals. With the buffs they received just prior to the launch they achieve parity with other DPS classes by the time you achieve level 80, or jump on one in sPVP.

Mesmers are extremely dependent on traits, much more than any other class. For example, using arbitrary, made up numbers, an Elementalist starts off with 80% of its full potential and gain the last 20% of its power via traits as he or she levels up to 80. The Mesmer, on the other hand, probably starts off at 40% of its full potential and their traits give it 60% of its strength. Because a bulk of a Mesmer’s damage is based off of illusions one way or another, there are a series of traits and skills that make them do more damage and survive longer that are essential to almost every build.

Let’s assume you know how Mesmers work; and if you don’t there are a ton of videos out there explaining what the difference between clones and phantasms are. The Mesmer has two styles of play currently: Shatter Builds and Phantasm builds. Shatter builds provide high, spike damage while Phantasms provide high sustained damage. For the sake of leveling, it is highly recommended that you develop a shatter build as most NPCs don’t live long enough for your Phantasms to be efficient. Phantasm builds really don’t become effective until level 50 or higher once you can slot Phantasm Haste and other damage enhancing traits.

The Build:

10 Domination, 10 Chaos, 10 Illusions

Build Order: Domination +10, Illusions +10, Chaos +10
Weapons: Greatsword, Staff
Stat Priority: Power, Precision, Crit Damage
Utility Skills: Feedback, X, Signet of Illusions

Why Greatsword and Staff?
In the early levels, Mesmers are incredibly squishy: They have Light Armor and no real defenses and you are speccing glass (power, precision with no toughness or vitality). The solution to this is to keep all of your targets at range which means the Greatsword and Staff are perfect combinations. The MH Sword is an excellent weapon, but since Sword #2 roots you in place, it’s not a very mobile weapon and detrimental to you early on.

The most asked question is “Why not the scepter?” Two major reasons: 1) The damage is quite pitiful; it’s single target, and its defensive capabilities ask you to sit still and block something to do damage. 2) Even though in a Shatter build, you want clones to shatter, you have to remember Mind Wrack has a 15 second cooldown and Cry of Frustration is even longer. You have plenty of time with your Staff and Greatsword to pump out enough illusions to shatter them and while you wait for Shatter cooldowns, you’re doing more damage.

Ultimately, the Greatsword and the Staff allow you full mobility (except Mindstab, GS #3), defense, and strong offensive capabilities. The Greatsword #2 attack pumps out clones every 6 seconds while doing great AOE “bouncing” projectile damage. The Phantasmal Berserker does great damage and also hits multiple targets and Greatsword #5 is a very useful knockback ability that adds to your defense. The Staff is equally attractive with it’s #2 and #3 which produces illusions and a fast rate. Ability #2 offers some defensive blinking, while Chaos Armor and Chaos Storm are some of the best abilities a Mesmer currently has.

Utility Skills
There are two must have utility skills: Signet of Illusions which increases your illusion health by 50% so they are now not one-shotted, and Feedback. Feedback essentially creates a bubble around a target reflecting all ranged attacks back at them. If the target does not move, often they nearly kill themselves. If they target does move, you just bought your self a second or two of them not attacking. The second Utility Skill slot can be used for whatever skill you find yourself comfortable with. Phantasmal Defender and Mirrored Image both offer extra illusions, while Null Field gives you fantastic utility in PVP.

Protip: Use Feedback on siege weapons.

Combat Strategies:
As we’ve mentioned, the Mesmer is incredibly squishy so your combat strategy has to reflect that. The first rule is to never stay still, keep moving around your target so they can not hit you. While you’re moving around, your objective is to pump out one or two illusions so you can shatter them; don’t wait until you have three up. More often than not, your first illusion will be dead before your third is ready to go and sometimes you want to save up those skill cooldowns for your second or third target.

When you put out a phantasm, make sure it actually attacks at least once. Most phantasms have a 4-8 second delay between attacks and you can usually kill a target before it attacks again. Shatter them before they get killed so you don’t waste a damage opportunity.

Get used to swapping between your weapons so you can access Chaos Storm on your staff, drop your clone and phantasm, shatter them and get back to your Greatsword. Use Greatsword #2 as often as possible as it’s your main damage attack. Use Greatsword #5 to put targets at range so your auto attack does more damage.

Use Feedback on those pesky Centaur Sharpshooters and keep them busy.

If you’re going to be using a Shatter build, get used to pressing your F1-F4 keys as often as you can. Don’t be afraid to use them, even if it’s at the beginning of combat. Earlier on, you may want to keep your clones up longer so your target doesn’t focus on you as much, but as you get better at playing a Mesmer you’ll learn that you can stay alive easy enough without your illusions.

As you level beyond level 40, you’ll see your Shatters become more powerful as your illusions will begin applying random conditions and confusion every time. As you unlock the next tier of Master traits, you’ll want to prioritize Illusions as your main trait line. The Grand Master trait, Illusionary Persona, counts you as a clone so you can use your shatter abilities without have any clones available to you. Here is an example of a Shatter build that you can build towards. Before you jump into the comment section to blast the build, we acknowledge there are a variety of different variations. You can use a variation that strengthens illusions so you can have a combination Shatter/Phantasm build or you can have illusions cause cripple or vulnerability with shatter. This build focuses on taking advantage of adding additional bounces to the Staff autoattack and Greatsword #2, reducing the cooldown of Chaos Storm and Armor as well as all the Greatsword attacks.

During the final Beta Weekend Event, I got a chance to play among the trees and frolic in the leaves as a sylvari. While doing so, I explored the sylvari starting area– Caledon Forest. The area is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in the game so far. If you choose to explore Caledon Forest, you’ll find plenty of lush foliage, underwater treasures, and forts gleaming in the sun along with dangerous enemies, sharp terrain, and swamp creatures. As a bonus, most of the events and storylines are quite enjoyable. I highly recommend a scenic tour– just, uh, be sure to take a few weapons or spells along on the journey.

Now, Guild Wars 2 isn’t really a game where walkthroughs are needed, and in fact exploration and running off the beaten paths is sometimes encouraged and extremely rewarding, but I do think there are times when a rough guideline of sorts can come in handy, especially for players new to GW2 and many of its unique mechanics. With that philosophy in mind, I have created a guide of sorts for the Caledon Forest area. Its emphasis is on the renown heart quests, and suggests a path that branches them together. Players are free, of course, to follow whatever patch they choose– that’s the beauty of GW2– paths can vary quite considerably. I’ve also included a nifty map of the entire area, showcasing points of interest.

Part 1: Tutorial and Introduction

The sylvari tutorial is quick, extremely linear, and basically just an introduction to many of the game’s mechanics. Get a feel for the quest tracking system, the controls, combat and follow the main road, fighting enemies as you run into them. At the end, you’ll face a super-huge dragon enemy, similar to the enemy bosses in the other races’ tutorials.

Following the tutorial, you’ll get an introduction to the sylvari story and Caledon Forest. Make sure and talk to the NPC that has your class outfit, since sylvari are born fresh from the dream in petal-shaped underwear, apparently. Also, make sure and talk to the Scout as you make your way through the beginning area. Scouts are important to chat with, since they reveal portions of the map, and pinpoint Renown quests. They’re easy to distinguish from other NPCs since they have little telescope icons above their heads and on the map. Also, if you have a desire to explore The Grove– the sylvari main city– run back the way you entered, and step through the portal.

As we begin, here are some other broad tips to keep in mind while leveling in the sylvari area and throughout Guild Wars 2:

• Many of us in BWE3 wondered where the iconic sylvari “plant-looking” armor was. It’s actually purchasable in-game, as are all racial armors. For the sylvari armor, it’s found in The Grove, at the location marked above on the map. There are light, medium, and heavy versions available for sale from the three armorsmiths. The first set requires level 35, but it’s possible to buy the armor then use a Black Lion Trading Company Transformation Stone to give your current armor the same appearance.
• As you complete renown heart quests, make sure and take a peek at the original NPC with the heart above their head. They’ll each have goods available for purchase using karma, and it’s possible to grab some excellent upgrades through karma.
• Consider grabbing some mining picks, logging axes, and harvesting sickles before journeying too far into the world. No matter which crafting disciplines you end up choosing, gathering grants experience, crafting ingredients, and gems that can be inserted into gear. Most of the basic merchants sell these.
• Make sure and try out all the weapon styles as you level. Some combinations will provide additional damage, utility, crowd control, mobility options, and healing powers, and you’ll quickly find that having multiple weapon options in Guild Wars 2 is very useful. Having trouble with a group of enemies? Switch up your weapon, and try a different approach.
• Do as many dynamic events as you can. This will help bridge the gap between the suggested levels that accompany renown heart quests and story quests.
• Some of the story quests are the most difficult quests in the game, so be prepared to do some questing and events in between story portions.
• That said, if you find yourself below the curve, explore a bit, find some additional renown heart quests in the area, participate in dynamic events, or try exploring other areas of the world. Simply grinding out mobs isn’t overly beneficial in GW2.
• Also, make sure and keep your gear as updated as possible. Karma vendors and even normal armor and weapon vendors can provide useful upgrades. Loot everything you can, because upgrades are often found as drops, as well. Don’t forget the autoloot function in the Options menu!
• Grab every waypoint possible. Quick travel options are awesome. Also, if you want to explore other areas of the world, simply go to The Grove (or the nearest major city), until you find the purple asura gate. This will lead you to Lion’s Arch– Guild Wars 2′s central city and travel hub.
• Keep a look out for skill point challenges and vista points as you explore. Some will require you to defeat a powerful monster, others will rely on your jumping and exploration skills. Skill point challenges grant skill points, and vista points show off a little cutscene and grant experience.
• Speaking to NPCs with giant, orange suns above their heads will begin new dynamic events in the area (shown above in the screenshot, to the right of the map).

Part 2: Renown Heart Quest Guide

Remember I mentioned a nifty map? Here it is in its rather hugely-sized glory (click for the full size version):

Shown on the map are most major points of interest, including renown heart areas (yellow heart icons), skill point challenges (aqua arrows), waypoints (diamonds), vista points (red mountains), location names, and point of interest markers (tiny orange squares). I’ve customized the map and numbered all of the renown heart quests in a suggested order of completion. You’re free, of course, to choose whatever order you’d like– my suggestions are merely that– suggestions. They’re kind of aimed toward players who generally stay right around the suggested level for quests. If you find yourself ahead of the curve, by all means– explore the more dangerous areas ahead of time.

I’ve also included basic quest description text on the map, along with the game’s suggested level for completion (marked as (3), etc.). Also included are some basic navigation marks, including the starting point for all sylvari (the red ‘X’) and arrows showing the entrances to other map locations, the location’s name, and approximate level in the immediate zoning area.

The following list contains detailed information on the renown heart quests, organized by the number system shown on the map. The nearest map location is listed, as well as the detailed version of the description text and my own comments, including tips, suggested courses, nearby points of interest, and some random commentary.

1. Wardenhurst Waypoint: Help Gemai support the wardens of Wardenhurst. (2)
Clear any undead from around Wardenhurst, replenish withered territory markers, and spar with local Wardens.

2. The Verdence: Help Danador manage his kennel by becoming a hound. (3)
Talk to Danador to become a hound. Then help lost hound, investigate strange smells with your super-sniffer, play with pups and fight pests.

• The sylvari hounds are pretty adorable. It’s also possible to complete this without turning into a hound, but why would you not want to?

3. Grenbrack Delves: Help Elain clear the spider cave. (3)
Find and destroy spiders in their hiding places, gather edible mushrooms for Elain, tear down spiderwebs, and destroy toxic mushrooms.

• Experimenting with the mushrooms grants nifty size buffs.

4. Sleive’s Waypoint: Assist Wyld Hunt Valiant Caillech with the undead. (4)
Burn undead corpses, smash noxious plants, protect Wardens, and battle the Risen in Sleive’s Inlet.

5. Spiral Waypoint: Help Warden Brulians destory undead and crush any plague-spreading plants. (5)
Defeat undead, clear corrupted grub holes, and destroy Orrian artifacts around Morgan’s Spiral.

• There’s a skill point challenge nearby at Morgan’s Spiral, and yep, it concerns the floating stones. You’ll need to jump and make your way up and across. It’s quite involved as a warning, and besides the skill point, Rangers can grab a new spider pet at the very end. Here’s a Youtube video of the jumping course.

6. Dreamdark Enclave (right of): Disrupt the Nightmare Court at Briarthorn Den. (6)
Speak to Warden Spy Alarin to gain access to Briarthorn Den. Once inside, defeat Nightmare duelists, reassure hounds, clear thorn barriers, and help captives.

• Talking to the various NPCs helps quite a bit here. Also, head north up the tunnels for a skill point challenge that requires killing a trio of wolves.

7. Village of Astora (north of): Help defend Caer Astorea from the Nightmare Court. (6)
Clear Nightmare Court spider webs, test organic weapons on practice targets, activate mortar pods, and fight the Nightmare court.

• Plenty of Nightmare Court to slay in the area. Alternatively, the flowers open up to form neat ranged weaponry.

8. Ogham Wilds (south of): Assist Arias in maintaining his garden. (7)
Speak to Arias to become a keeper of nature. Clear Stranglethorn, heal the wilting garden, clear groups, and bring new life to the region.

• Speak to the NPC to become a slow-moving keeper creature. Hobble around and shake your fairydust-spewing behind to cause pretty flowers to grow. I’d recommend avoiding combat altogether as a keeper, and just concentrating on growing flowers. At least during beta, the keeper’s combat moves were extremely underwhelming.
• After you’re done here, there’s a skill point challenge at a waterfall to the northwest. To get there, go through the trail of spiders, and hop up the green rock directly next to the waterfall.

9. Gleaner’s Cove Waypoint: Help Harvester Mavad manage the kelp harvest. (7)
Help gather lavender, search sand piles, build scarecrows, feed tamed siamoths, and protect harvesters from nearby threats.

• Kill, gather, and use the random shovel at piles. Directly to the north, is a Scout NPC.
• While in the area, there’s a mysterious patch of ground that’s actually a skill point challenge near Brigid’s Overlook Waypoint (east of Sandycove Beach). Three wurms spawn. I found this to be soloable as a level-appropriate melee thief. The largest wurm can be reset if you kite the smaller wurms away from it, which gives you plenty of time to kill the little guys, heal up, and tackle the big guy.

10. The Weeping Isle: Help the Soundless deal with the Nightmare Court. (8)
Repair fishing nets and traps, cull the wave rider population, help divers, and fend off Nightmare Court raids.

• Fiddle with traps, kill the hermit crabs that come out, and slay wave riders. There’s a nearby Scout.

11. Below Hemlock Coil: Help Tovar harass the Nightmare Court. (9)
Kill courtiers and their pets, free prisoners, destroy turrets, and generally wreck havoc in Hemlock Coil.

• Directly west from Town of Cathal Waypoint is the portal to the next area which is level 13+, Metrica Province.

12. East of Ventry Bay: Help the Atzintli and Zopatl tribes battle the krait. (10)
Assist the Atzintli by battling the krait, rescuing captive hylek, and repairing territory markers.

• Heading north afterwards will bring you to the Dominion of Winds Swift Arrow skill point challenge. Cross the bridge and Kill the bird guy.

13. The Rootangles: Help Zippti study the hyper-aggressive skritt. (11)
Help Zippti’s golems with their experiments, fight the skritt, knock over their shinies, and activate tracking devices to monitor their response.

• Keeping the golems entertained is, well, pretty entertaining if you take a moment to read some of the dialog options.

14. Titan’s Staircase: Help Yoal weaken the krait and recover kidnapped hylek. (11)
Defeat krait, bring her Hylek Armor, and rescue hylek slaves.

• This one’s underwater, and respawns can be pretty quick down here, so be cautious if your underwater combat isn’t quite up to snuff yet.
• As you head north afterwards, you’ll see a vista point– head into Hanto Trading Post then jump down the cliff to get to it.

15. Quetzal Bay: Help Fisher Leudap support the fishers of Soggorsort. (12)
Light fishing lanterns, check quaggan traps, destroy krait blood idols, and defend quaggan villagers from marauding krait.

• More underwater fun! Interact with the lantern balls, kill the blood idols and nearby enemies, and watch out for poison balls. They’re kind of painful.
• There’s a Scout north on an island.

16. Kraitbane Haven Waypoint: Assist Lionguard Hester in recovering slaves from Slaver’s Deeps. (13)
Defeat krait, rescue slaves, and put slave remains to rest.

• Plenty of underwater action in this area. There’s a skill point challenge in the area, too. You’ll have to dive down fairly deep and release a champion krait that must be killed. A couple nearby players comes in handy for this one.
• The north road leads to a portal to Kessex Hills (20+ area).

17. Wychmire Swamp: Help the wardens in Wychmire Swamp. (14)
Destroy corrupted plants, husks, and thorns; fight the Nightmare Court and their minions; and free prisoners.

• There’s a skill point challenge in this area. Kill the Nightmare Court member that spawns. There’s also a Waypoint and dungeon entrance for later nearby.
• One of the area’s large dynamic events– The Battle for Wychmire Swamp– is in this area. It’s a multi-phase dynamic event that ends in a giant wurm battle that divvies out some decent loot (everyone gets to loot the chest!). A fairly large group is needed for this one, but it’s definitely rewarding.

18. North of Wychmire Swamp: Help Lionguard Cern safeguard the road. (15)
Repair signs, light torches, and keep the road free of dangers. Destroy skull monuments, poison troll food, and drive the trolls away.

• The northeast corner leads to Brisban Wildlands (16+). There’s also a level 15 troll champion dynamic event in this area.

And that’s it! Now it’s time to pick another zone to explore, or go back and finish up your personal story or hunt after any missing discoveries.

If you’d like to see similar maps and/or guides for other leveling areas of Guild Wars 2, drop me a line in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to have some others up ASAP after headstart begins!

Part 1: Tutorial and Introduction

Regardless of your choice of your personal story, as a human, your tutorial level will start you with a quest to protect the people of Shaemoor. Directly in front of you as you start out is Corporal Beirne, he has a green quest icon, and is calling out for your assistance. He will request that you head to the Inn, which is a simple enough beginner task. Just continue south and run to the large green star on your mini map.

I don’t recommend deviating from this goal, because there’s not a lot of value in Guild Wars 2 to grinding mobs. There are plenty of level 1 centaurs that are attacking the village, however they yield approximately 2 exp per kill, and you need 2,000 exp to hit level 2. Also, because you’re in the tutorial level, they do not count as kills towards your achievements. Along the way, however, do be sure to talk to villagers and tell them to go to the inn for their safety. You will be rewarded with 2 Karma points for each villager that you send to the inn.

Upon your arrival at the inn, you will be requested to speak with Sergeant Walters, who will ask you to go to the garrison. Upon reaching the garrison, you’ll be asked to hold off attackers until the garrison doors open. This is another example of a quest that you’ll be seeing frequently in your travels in Guild Wars 2. Once that’s complete, head into the Garrison and you’ll be asked to hold off attackers from the other side. The last attacker is the leader of these centaurs, Champion Modniir High Sage, and he will eventually start to run away, and summon the final boss for the tutorial level.

The Earth Elemental Hands is one of the more difficult of the tutorial bosses. The trick to being successful is to stay out of the red circles on the ground, as the boss attacks will do massive damage if you’re caught in one of those. Also, be sure to take advantage of the fact that there is an NPC healer nearby that will give you substantial HP regeneration while standing near him.

Defeating the hands will take you out to the actual game world, and should give you enough experience to get you to level 2. Once out in the game world, speak with Watchman Rebec to get the next piece of your quest.

Part 2: Let’s Get Started!

Watchman Rebec is a Scout NPC which means that he will show you part of the game world, and unlock portions of your map to assist you in finding people who require your assistance. In this case, he will uncover a portion of your map and show you 5 residents of Shaemoor who need your help. Doing tasks for these citizens, filling hearts, gaining karma, whatever you want to call it, is the core of the PvE experience in Guild Wars 2. This supplemented by random world events which will pop up from time to time and should always be done, as they provide excellent experience and additional karma.

Don’t worry if you miss out on scouts in the game, as you have this awesome map here to help guide you through Queensdale. (Click for the full size version):

The numbers on the map represent my recommended path through the renown heart quests. Feel free to adjust your route as you see fit. As I indicated earlier, I recommend that you do all dynamic events that appear in your area, and that will help you from being underleveled.

1. Farmer Diah should be your first stop, as this is the level 2 karma NPC. You can help her out by watering her corn, feeding cattle, or defending her fields from wurms. Like all karma NPC’s you can assist them by doing any combination of their tasks. Personally, for Farmer Diah I like to feed her cows, but if you get bored with that, by all means go ahead and stomp wurm mounds or water the corn, the choice is yours.

Completing that first heart will unlock the first unique piece of your story quest, and from here the choice is yours whether to stay out and complete more hearts or to get right into the story quest. I like to stay out in the field and complete the 5 hearts out in Shaemoor fields before heading to Divinity’s Reach for the story quest.

2. Fishermen Travis and Justin. These two pretty much would like you to do battle with the drakes and skales in the area, and there’s nothing too difficult here. Unlike Farmer Diah, these two will want you to do more combat related activities. Even checking the traps will typically spawn a mob for you to kill.

3. Head north across the river to assist Foreman Flannum. Here you again have a pretty wide variety of tasks. I find it easiest to run back and forth plugging leaks and killing elementals.

4. Heading west from here, you’ll stumble across Farmer Eda, who’s having a bit of trouble with some spiders and bats in her orchard. One note about Farmer Eda before you leave, she sells a unique Chef recipe for those of you working on your cooking skill, and also sells cooking ingredients. Many cooking ingredients are found on karma vendors all across the world, so it’s vitally important as a chef to complete as many of these hearts as you can.

5. Head south to Cassie who’s having a bit of bandit trouble. Once you reach Cassie, it’s best to continue south and into the Bandithaunt Caverns. These caverns provide the best area for completing her tasks.
Once those are complete, it’s time to use a waypoint back closer to Divinity’s Reach to wrap up some loose ends with the story quest. You should be somewhere around level 5. Working on the class quest will get you to right around level 6.

6. Once back out in Queensdale, head to Shaemoor Garrison, to assist the Seraph. Run through the garrison to the back door. Head up the steps to pick up the vista for some easy exp, and then continue south out to the field with the centaurs. The easiest way to complete this heart is to just kill the centaurs. While the catapults are annoying, they take a while to kill unless you’re in a pack of people. Also be sure to commune with the place of power for an easy skill point, and some quick experience.

7. Continue south to the Altar Brook Trading Post, there you’ll get the Level 7 heart quest. Inside the trading post are rolled up papers near barrels, straighten these for some easy credit towards completing this heart. Also, kill any rats that you see in the vicinity. Instead of waiting for rats to respawn, head south to complete the rest of the heart quest. Destroying stakes and death markers on the road is the fastest way to complete this heart quest.

8. Head south to Claypool. The heart quest in Claypool is extremely easy. You have the choice of training with militia in swords, rifles, or shields. The rifle training is the easiest, simply grab a rifle, wait for the order to fire, and then fire your weapon. The sword and shield each require a bit more timing, but fill the heart faster in exchange. The shield is probably the best combination of time/skill, if you want to try your hand at this, grab a shield and stand in near the drill sergeant. When he faces you and starts his movement, put up your shield and block the strike. If you’re having difficulty, feel free to jump back over on the rifle and fire on command.

9. East of Claypool is a heart quest to help the Seraph protect the town from centaurs. The easiest way to do this is to travel from camp to camp killing the centaurs and destroying the centaur items at each specific camp. Be mindful of wandering bands of centaurs, as you can easily have 6 or 7 on you in a hurry.

10. I take the waypoint back to the garrison and head east to the lumber mill. In this area there are quite a few wasps, kill these and destroy nearby nests to complete Laborer Cardy’s heart quest. If you run out of wasps, head south to the caves and kill skritt.

By this point I was well into level 9 and decided that it would be good to go work on some more of my class quest, which took me up to level 10.

11. If you took a break to work on your class quest, take the waypoint back to Ojon’s Lumber mill, and head east towards the hunting lodge. If you have a group, check inside the lodge for Lodgemaster Carthage, he will occasionally be up with a dynamic event quest, but it will require a group of people to complete. Working on the dynamic event will also complete the heart quest for you. If you’re solo then just work on Hunter Block’s heart quest. The easiest way to complete this is to focus on killing all of the Forest Boars that you see, while taking care to avoid the Veteran Dire Boars, which are killable, but really not worth the effort. Also take the time to reset traps and resurrect fallen hunters as you come across them.

12. Northeast of the lodge is a heart quest to Assist Fisherman Will and the fishermen of Beetletun. Head that way and be prepared to do some of your first underwater adventuring. The easiest way to do this is to aggro Hard Shelled Crabs, then run to a crab trap and trap the crab. Killing skale and aggressive fish will also fill the heart quest, and when there are no crabs nearby, feel free to kill them, but bear in mind that at this point in the game our underwater skills are seriously lacking, and while it may be a good idea to at least unlock a few skills for your underwater weapon, you will be killing at a fairly slow rate.

13. Head Southeast to the Shire of Beetletun. This is a pretty easy heart quest, run around the town killing rats, and cleaning graffiti off of the walls. Also be sure to look under trees for wasp nests, as destroying those will also help to complete the heart quest. Also within the Shire is an easy vista for some extra experience, and a fairly easy skill quest.

14. After completing this heart quest, head south to aid the Beetletun farmers. If the Battle for Beetletun dynamic event is going on, it is a good time to kill two birds with one stone. If it’s not going on, then you may have to head south to the other side of the road to find enough centaurs to kill to complete the heart quest.

15. After completing this heart quest, head east to help the monastery brewers. I find that the easiest way to do this is to go and sample the brew, and while that is on cool down, run out to the fields within the monastery and kill grubs.
If you’re not level 14 at this point, the remaining heart quests are going to be difficult. All remaining heart quests are level 14+. If you have a bit of a level gap here, there are a few things that you can do to get you through this gap.

• Find someone to group with to knock out the remaining heart quests.
• You can go walking around looking for dynamic events around your level, such as the Battle for Beetletun.
• You can explore Divinity’s Reach, discovering waypoints and points of interest, then take the Lion’s Arch portal and repeat, and then portal to another city and do the same until you’ve gained enough experience from discovery.
• Take up a trade skill since you get experience for leveling a tradeskill.
• PvP.

For me, I decided that leveling a tradeskill would probably be the easiest, since I hadn’t sold any of my materials that I had gotten since level 1. Leveling my cooking to just 51, I was able to complete nearly all of level 13.

Once you hit level 14, use the Krytan Waypoint (just north of the monastery). If Charice is up, you will see her when you port in, it may be worth doing her escort quest if you’re short on experience, even though she takes you all the way back to Beetletun. If you decide not to do her quest, or she’s not up, head south to the west exit of the monastery. There you may find Sister Brenda, if you do, take her escort quest, as she requests to be escorted into the swamp, and that is where we’re headed.

16. If you picked up the escort quest, you’ll travel all the way through the swamp to the exit of the zone in the south. Be sure to pick up the waypoint while you’re there, and then head back north to help Historian Garrod investigate Godslost Swamp. The easiest way to complete this quest is to find the glowing green portals to the underworld, kill the minions and then destroy the portal. Be careful for Veteran Aataxe’s which will sometimes spawn after a portal is destroyed, their charge attack can kill you very quickly if you’re not careful. The Tortured Spirits can be spoken to as you’re heading to and from portals.

17. From there head east past the Orlaf Escarpments and then south to the final heart quest in the zone, where you will help Krug unite the Ettins. To the east of Veteran Krug is a camp of centaurs. There are several spawns near the edge of the camp, and then a band of centaurs that run around the center of the camp. The easiest way is to start with those on the edge, and then try to pull stragglers from that group that run around the center. If you’ve got some friends in the area, you’ll be able to handle that group that runs around the center, and should be able to commune with the place of power for your skill point.

That completes my guide to Queensdale, there are way too many variables to say specifically what level you’ll be, but I would expect that you should be at least level 15, and possibly as high as 17 or 18. If you’re at the low end of the level spectrum, feel free to go back and complete any missing waypoints, vistas, and points of interest in this area. Because of the automatic de-leveling of characters, feel free to visit any other starting zone to complete other heart quests. Assuming you’re comfortable with your level, at this point, I’d recommend finishing up your class quest in this area, and then taking the waypoint to Swamplost Haven, and heading south into Kessex Hills.