I Need Level 400 Soup of Healing

I'm sick. Ugh. Have a nasty cold and it's dragging me down. :(
But I've still had some time to play GW2 while I'm hacking up Globs of Globby Goo. I actually really enjoyed playing on Griseldaj in the Norn newbie zone and doing her personal story. It's strange to see the lower zones so empty though. I'd be jogging about in the snow, slaughtering innocent wildlife, and then realize that I hadn't seen another real player since I left Hoelbrak. Quite a contrast to opening weekend, to be certain.
But alas, Griseldaj is nor more. She was deleted quite unceremoniously when she reached Level 10 in her storyline and I got a Black Lion Key. Figured it was time to move forward...to an Ele! Heh heh. Yeah, I made a little human Ele dude and started doing lowbie quests again, just for kicks, and also partially because I think I don't have the energy for much more than helping Farmer Jeb.
There was an ulterior motive though. I saw a screenshot of this strange place in Divinity's Reach and I was confused cuz I had never been there. It was a big crystal eagle thingy covering a hole. Then my brain clicked in and I went, "Oh, they fixed the Great Collapse!!" I was super excited to go see, so I took my newbie toon over to check it out.

Crown Pavilion at night.

It was so awesome to be back in D.R. That city is goddamn beautiful. I kinda wish it was the main hub of the game, because I just love the ways the buildings rise above you and the streets undulate and the cool secret corners you can find. And the Royal Garden. Oh, and the fish tanks near the bank! And the big music-making carnival thing. And ... everything. Love that city.
And it was even more awesome to see the Crown Pavilion. So beautiful. The virtual architects did a great job, although I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't find a way down into the hole. (Um, that's what he said? Nyuk nyuk!)
It's back into the game for my sorry soul. I have been bolstered by pea soup, hot chocolate, and pseudoephedrine! Time to play. :)

Video -- How to Get Started in Guild Wars 2

Seems like many new (or returning) players of GW2 are feeling overwhelmed, so the lovely team at ArenaNet has made a 27 minute video to help with the basics. I'm watching it now!

I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

So lost. So confused. So overwhelmed with stuff to learn and relearn!
Spent several hours in Tyria this weekend. I'd forgotten how times flies when you're adventuring. :)
I have a sticky note full of, well, notes (big surprise, although I suppose it's better than having a sticky note full of sticky!). Things to look up on the Wiki. Things to blog about. Things that I enjoyed being back in the game. Let's see if I can get it all down here.

First thing that bugged me: my new wallet. Sheesh. Why do we need all these different types of currency? It's absolutely mind-spinning. Sure, they put a lot of info in the mouse-over tips, but I really don't understand the need for them all. Whatever happened to good ol' good? Buy you everything from a pair of leather boots to a Level 80 Awesome-infused Greatsword of Magnificence +20. Simple.

I went to one special currency vendor in LA, the Laurel Charr, and the stuff you can buy from him is pretty cool. And by cool I mean Unidentified Dyes. Surely, you remember my dye obsession. :D
Speaking of which, can't believe there are new dyes and I don't have them! I'm talking about the Frost and Fire sets that were limited time only. *sniffle*

Griseldaj the Busty

Anyhoo, it just seems to be that there is too much to keep track off now. I felt boggled. So I just decided to make a new toon and spend some time being a true noob, not a noob in level 80 gear, and remind myself why I loved this game.

May I present: Griseldaj!

Okay, so the name is goofy. I was showing my friend the character creation screen and offered to let him name her. He said Griselda, but my finger slipped as I was pressing Enter and the "j" got added. Meh. Why not? She's just gonna get deleted in a few days anyway.
She's a Norn Mesmer. Norn cuz that zone is awesome. Mesmer cuz I needed to relearn my Mesmer skills. I enteretained myself doing the noob quests and listening to the glorious music of Hoelbrak. Remembered how to dodge. Remembered how to strafe and dodge. Remembered (belatedly) to keybind my heal skill to my third mouse button.

Once I got a feel for things, I got back on Spiral and puttered around doing some Hallowe'en events for a while. Went into Gendarran Fields to find a Mad King Door and noticed that I was missing a POI. Huh? Since when??? Well, apparently since the Sky Pirates update, so says the Wiki. Stood on some jumping buttons and whirling launch gears and made it to the Second Aetherblade Site. Continued through a fake wall, thanks to a tip from Logan the Huge, and murdered some Sky Pirates. Pretty cool. Found some strange chests that gave me stuff I don't know what to do with. But it was really exciting to find something new in a region I thought I had fully explored.

Some sort of pipe malfunction here!

After that, I went back to L.A. and went to the cooking station, really just with the intention of seeing if I could get rid of some mats. Well, turns out there are new recipes to be discovered. I had the ingredients to make some sort of Walnut Crumble Topping, but I forced myself to not try for the other new recipes. My backpack and bank are both stuffed with strange rewards that I don't know if I should be keeping or chucking. No room for food!

So to be honest, I'm not quite sure if I really had fun or not. I was absorbed in what I was doing, sure, but there was this niggling irritation. Maybe it was just that horrible noob feeling, that furrowed-brow-ache that you get when you know you're in over your head. Don't like that! I want to go back to feeling confident and powerful. RAWR!

I'm off to sleep, but here are some of my unanswered questions for another day:
What are the new recipes?
What are finishers?
What are scraps?
When and how do I unlock Guild Quests?
What are Arena Points?
Is there anyone I know still playing this game?

Do Not Adjust Your TV Set

This is not a test. This is an actual post by the one and only, Spiral!

Spiral & Dezi Reunited

Just a quick note before I drag my butt off to bed: I was back in Tyria today! OMG, when the music started up on the char select screen, I nearly wept. It brought back so many fond memories. I loaded into The Grove and was overwhelmed with gifts and information and updates and heralds and a big feeling of noobishness.

Of course, who did I whisper first? Dezi, my girl! She almost immediately hopped on an alt and came to the Grove to dance with me. :)

I'm hoping to have some time to game this weekend. I've missed the game, but even more so I've missed my friends. It's gonna take some time for me to get up to speed though. I can't even remember how to teleport, or what karma is for, and then there's the new wallet thing, and I guess Magic Find is no longer a stat, and my bags are full of Xmas stuff and ice cream, and I just KNOW I haven't a clue how to mesmer anymore! But it will be fun to relearn, of that I'm certain.
Hope to see you again soon, fellow Tyrians. Spiral out!