User:Wizardboy777/Newbie Guide/Game Mechanics

Guild Wars can be complex at times, so when posting builds on the wiki, make sure you understand how things interact and what the environment is, the context of the situation, etc. This goes for all users, not just users new to GW.

This will not be a full walkthrough of the inner workings of Guild Wars, you can find that on Guildwiki.

If you do not understand some of the words that are being used, learn the lingo of Guild Wars.


 * 1) Guild Wars is somewhat complex in terms of damage. In terms of build making, there four types that are important: Physical, Elemental, Miscellaneous, and Armor-Ignoring.
 * 2) Physical damage is usually caused by physical weapons. These are:Axes, Swords, Hammers, Scythes, Daggers, Spears, and Bows. Their auto-attack always deals damage in a set amount. This damage is then reduced/increased based on the armor level of the enemy. Kinds of Physical damage are Piercing damage, Blunt damage, and Slashing damage. Piercing damage is commonly dealt by Spears, Bows, and Daggers. Slashing damage is commonly dealt by Swords, Axes, and Scythes, and Blunt damage is dealt by Hammers. Warriors have +20 armor towards Physical damage.
 * 3) Elemental damage is caused by many staves and wands, as well as the majority of damage-dealing spells. The kinds of elemental damage are Fire, Cold, Lightning, and Earth. Fire damage is dealt by the Elementalist attribute of Fire Magic. Cold damage is dealt by the Elementalist attribute of Water Magic, and some Necromancer skills. Lightning damage is from the Air Magic line of Elementalists and is also the primary damage of the Ritualist attribute, Channeling Magic. Earth damage is dealt by Earth Magic, another Elementalist attribute. Physical weapons can also be modded to deal elemental damage, such as a Shocking Axe, which deals Lightning damage, or an Icy Spear, doing Cold damage. Rangers have +30 armor towards Elemental damage.
 * 4) Miscellaneous damage, while not a damage type, is a category for damage that doesn't fit anywhere else. These three types are Chaos damage, Holy damage, and Shadow damage. Chaos damage is affected by armor but no professions are resistant to Chaos damage. Holy damage and Shadow damage are usually armor-ignoring when skills cause them, but weapons that do Holy damage are not armor-ignoring.
 * 5) Typeless Damage, also known as Armor-Ignoring damage, is probably the most useful type on the wiki. It is commonly used for spikes as the enemy Armor level does not have to be taken into account. Shadow damage is always armor-ignoring, and Holy damage-causing skills are armor-ignoring.
 * 6) Learning about Armor is also important. All you need to know are five things:
 * 7) Caster armor (which includes Ritualists, Elementalists, Monks, Mesmers, and Necromancers) is 60. 60AL(or Armor Level) targets always take the amount of damage stated in a skill description. For example, a skill that does 55 Fire damage will deal 55 Fire damage to the caster target. These are commonly referred to as "Squishies" due to their low AL.
 * 8) Dervish and Assassin armor is at 70, making them a bit tougher. They take about 15% less damage than a squishy target, due to armor, making them more suited as frontliners.
 * 9) Paragons have 80 armor, making them much tougher. They take around 30% less damage than squishies.
 * 10) Warriors, the stereotypical frontliners, have 80 armor and an additional 20 armor against Physical damage. They take 30% less non-physical non-armor-ignoring damage than squishies and they take half the damage that squishies take when getting hit by physical damage. This is also the root of the term, "Tank", meaning that Warriors can take many hits before going down.
 * 11) Rangers have 70 armor but +30 armor against Elemental damage. Ergo, they take half damage from Elemental damage and take about 15% less damage from physical attacks. This makes them less suited to tanking than warriors, as physical damage is more common in the frontline. They stay back with their bow, and can hold up against Nuking comparably well.