Armor/Item Sets?

I'm very new to this game, having just started my first character. I bought the Platinum Edition which is Prophecies and Eye of the North, and will likely add Nightfall to the collection as long as I continue to enjoy the game.

I was just wondering, because I read some posts regarding standard armor sets or something, are there many ways to obtain a variety of armor/weapon sets for the professions either through quests, drops, missions and/or dungeons? I ask because I enjoy "grinding" or running dungeons to improve my gear.

I see there are dyes and stuff, I know vendors sell some different items but not sure about the rest. Are there any good "Guide for gearing you <Insert Profession>" threads/websites?

Thanks in advance!

Armour is generally crafted from people in towns and outposts. The only thing you have to get hold of is the materials and money required to craft it. You cannot get armour through drops while on missions or quests in explorable areas.

As for a useful website, check the wiki page here: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Armor
If you select the profession of your character from the right hand side you'll see all the different armours available, and when you select one it will explain where to get it and what materials you need.


Dyes are available to change the colour of your armour/weapons after you buy the armour.

Yeah, armor doesn't drop on the ground. You have to get to the particular town where the armor crafter is depending on what armor you want. The only thing you will be grinding for is the money to pay for the armor. Also keep in mind that all armor has the same defense, etc. there is no uber armor that is stronger than all other sets. Only difference in armors are their appearances. They can all be personaly customized by you with runes and insignias based on your own preferences.

An important thing to remember is, that Guild Wars isn't a gear-focused game. Once you reach level 20, your weapons and armor won't improve unless you change it with upgrades, or swap it for another piece of equipment that functions or looks differently.

You can just do a forum search to find threads about this for your particular profession. There should be information in the profession stickies as well.

One thing to note is that armor and weapons work a bit differently in GW than in some other MMOs. Basically, in GW, once you get "max" armor and weapons, there is nothing "better" to get. The rest is just cosmetic.
There are mods you can put on weapons and armor to make them suit your build, etc., but those mods can be put on any armor or (inscribable) weapon.
So, basically, you could say you will be grinding to change your armor, not to improve it.

You can check the wiki (through the links above) to see where you can buy "max" weapons and armor, and what "max" is. (I think it's at Droknar's Forge in Prophecies.)

you can quest/do dungeons for better looking weapons though but like armor there is a max damage on weapons that once you get to a certin point most weapons will drop with.
but there are some rare skins that you can try to get if that is the kind of thing you like doing

Sjeng's Collector Finder will help since you said you might enjoy that.

Maybe I didn't see it but you can also get some cool collector armour in Prophecies that do not require as much time or money as others so you may want to also check those out. Generally they are a few trophy drops for each piece of armour and then depending on what you want to add for runes etc they can be fairly inexpensive for max armours. Just look on the wiki at the armour you like and plan for what you need. The same goes for weapons etc. Some collector weps have really good stats they just have a rather common skin so some people don't like them as much for appearance but performance is just as good. Good luck.

Looks like I need to start collecting Tanned Hide Squares

So when you get to 20, what are the motivators for dungeons? Sorry, just curious about "where I'm headed" I am really liking the game and finding it different in many ways to other mmos so I'm trying to understand what objectives I should be shooting for.

Thanks everyone that replied for all the great information, much appreciated!

Getting to 20 is basically the tutorial part of GWs and not the end like max level is in most games.
Most of the game is setup with lvl 20 content, missions/getting more skills/titles and generally just messing around having fun and seeing whats around the next corner.

First thing you should "shoot for" is go have fun, after that keep doing it.

Peace

Have you met the ettins?
salvage their armor!!!

Most people will say that getting to level 20 is the end of your character's development, but that isn't entirely correct, except perhaps, in Prophecies.

In Factions, you can accumulate Luxon and/or Kurzick points to use a couple of PvE skills.

In Nightfall, there's the Sunspear and Lightbringer points which are used to enable certain skills and "area effects".

In Eye of the North, there are the four kinds of "points" - Asuran, Delver, Norn, Vanguard - that you also build up and use for various skills and "area effects".

Overall, a character with high levels of those points, combined with the appropriate PvE skills, is a much more powerful character than one that is simply level 20. Basically, it's a way for ANet to give you more character development without breaking their (self-imposed) "level 20 max" rule.

You'll also find that, as you go forward in the game, that the enemies will get tougher and tougher and building up these other points will make things go easier.

What I discovered last night that I hadn't known before (showing my noobness) is what the collectors were. So now I understand better having actually done collecting last night to get an item from a collector. I just have to find the collectors for the items I want at this point.
I have to say the community in game is incredibly helpful. Seems when I ask a question in game the whole community jumps in to help without the "n00b go away" responses. People were even advertising helping new players with the game, running them around on quests, etc. All really cool and makes me like the game even more.
As a result I convinced my friend to buy a copy and start playing

To edit this comment a little: all max armour sets for each profession have the same defense. Since you only have Prophecies and Eye of the North, you'll be able to access this only at Droknar's Forge and/or Boreal Station. But no, you won't have to keep constantly running around trying to upgrade your armour; I personally found that the first set of armour was the hardest for me to obtain when I was new, and it got easier after that.

Alongside titles, there are certain drops that only turn up in end-dungeon reward chests. Some of these are very highly sought-after; they don't offer any particular additional damage or attribute, but people like them because of their unique look. Eye of the North has the Master Dungeon Guide as well, which gives you a reward when you trade it in depending on the number of pages completed - points for the appropriate title and gold, I believe. There's also the storyline books, of course, all of which give you points, xp and gold for completion. But generally, it helps in building up titles; you get the rest along the way.

Also, it must be stressed - Level 20 is just the beginning. Prophecies moves the slowest level-wise; it's got a more gradual learning curve. You'll be more than halfway through the game when you hit level 20. However, the other campaigns move significantly faster, and you're more or less expected to be Level 20 by the time you're off the tutorial islands. You also don't gain skills via level up, you gain them by buying them, especially in Factions or Nightfall and in EotN, or via skill quests, which Prophecies has, and you need to capture elite skills from bosses. In other words, even after you reach level 20 you'll probably have quite a few things to do that will help you play better.

Last, and not least, welcome (: