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Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 Character Creation: Race, Profession, Server, and First Choices

Learn which GW2 character creation choices are permanent, how to pick a main, and why keeping your first character matters.

The MMO Codex editorial deskEditorial desk
5 min read

Character creation choices that are permanent

Do not treat every early build choice like a lock-in. The character you create still matters, but the early fear of picking the wrong training path is much bigger than the actual long-term risk. Choose the race and profession you want to see and play, then let the flexible build system handle the rest later.

Can you change builds after character creation?

FAQ

FAQ

Can you change builds after character creation in Guild Wars 2? Yes. By max level, you can train everything in your core class, and you can change builds whenever you are out of combat.

Are beginner build choices permanent? No. Your race and profession are the permanent character creation choices, but your core class training and build setup become flexible as you progress.

Pick one character to move the account forward

steps

  • Pick one character as your main while you progress.
  • Use that character to complete the story.
  • Take that character through each expansion you play.
  • Use that character as the one that moves your account forward.
  • Log in and make visible progress before making more alts.
  • Try alts later, after your main has already carried progress forward.

A single main character prevents your progress from being split across several partial starts. If you keep stopping at character select, you can spend 35 minutes deciding what class to play instead of moving anything forward. Focus on one class and one character first, then use alts as side projects.

What is the best character in GW2?

FAQ

FAQ

What is the best character in GW2 for a beginner? Pick the character you actually want to play, then log in and make progress. Every profession can look appealing, and chasing the next interesting class can leave you with several characters at different levels instead of one account moving forward.

Should I restart if another profession looks better? Not immediately. Seeing another profession in action can trigger FOMO, but your first goal should be to keep one character progressing rather than rerolling every time another class looks exciting.

Alts without losing momentum

A character walking through a grassy landscape in a game environment.

Screenshot: Bigbillygames

You can try a different race or profession without treating the earlier character as wasted time. The risk is not making an alt, it is making so many partial characters that none of them advances the account in a visible way.

Why keeping your first character matters

If birthday rewards matter to you, preserve the oldest character even if you stop using it as your main. You can still move forward on a different main character while keeping the older one for its yearly rewards.

Free account content before buying expansions

The free vanilla version of Guild Wars 2 has a lot of content. For some players, vanilla Guild Wars 2 can reach thousands of hours, and for others it can still be a couple hundred hours of content.

Play through the free game, learn what you enjoy, and decide what to buy after you understand the game better. You do not need to make an expansion decision before you have spent time with the base game.

Raptor trial and permanent mount unlock

Do not assume the account is broken if the raptor disappears after the trial. The permanent unlock is tied to owning an expansion.

Settings after character creation

steps

  • Spend time in the settings after you make your character.
  • Get familiar with the different options available in Guild Wars 2.
  • Adjust the game until it feels comfortable to play.

Guild Wars 2 has a lot of settings, so the first character creation session should not be the last time you customize the game.

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