You spectacularly captured the mindset and the fears of a newcommer/non-raid-player :) It's like you're talking to me personally.

"She'll just like, start murdering" This is why I like Lara so much.

Step 1, get ascended gear with appropriate stats. Step 2, get Proper runes abd sigils. Step 3, set up your spec. Step 4 try to join a raid. Step 5, Get told "You can't come unless you have the achievement.

14:20 dear gods yes. I'd LOVE to see a "90% good enough" breakdown of builds (like the power mechanists you just did) as that makes it just SO much easier to understand

Very aesthetically pleasing video :) I like the "title slides" of each role (healer, dps, boon/support) with their matching background.

just do the me tactic of "dont ever join any group bc of social anxiety, unless it specifically states 'everyone welcome just know mechs', then join and watch muks gttps as you progress thru the encounter' that's worked on 6 out of the 7 wings so far and that's only the case bc I haven't been feeling like doing w7 tho to be fair it's taken over a year to get here lmao

You brought me into my first raid a couple weeks ago, and I'm still hoping to get more into them. The legendary armor is so convenient, it's really the finding a group that's still intimidating. Having a known community makes things so much easier.

Laranity is the most entertaining GW2 streamer on the planet! Yes Lara we want more videos on gear and low intensity builds. As for learning rotations, I suggest that new players learn short parts of the rotations that do specific things, like what combinations give their class the best burst damage, which combinations give them the best stun breaks or remove immobilizing debuffs so they can escape a big attack, which combinations gives them the most burst healing for those “oh shit” moments, etc. I think it’s an easier way for new players to learn, instead of just memorizing a sequence of buttons to push.

8:55 I have to add to this that while Snowcrows is really popular, they are a speed clear guild. a lot of the builds there are geared for the minimum amount. good examples are most of the boon dps builds, and specifically Condi Virtuoso is minmaxed completely. this does not mean they aren't a good resource however, but if you aren't yet comfortable keeping up the boon the boon dps build gives. just switch some pieces to something with concentration (concentration is the stat that gives boon duration, for power most people go with the diviner's stat type, and for condi there is, correct me if im wrong, only ritualist.)

One way to get flexible ascended cheap weapons is doing the caladbolg sidequest. You can do it once per character and will get an ascended weapon of your choice out of a selection (shield, dagger, sword, greatsword, scepter... I might be forgetting something.) You will get a nice skin and you can change your pick later using some materials if you need a different weapon.

Lara, your Fashion Wars is top tier. You should 100% do a gearing video or series, just do it your way.

Always love new Lara videos! This is actually helpful for me as I am still learning a lot of basics with Guild Wars 2.

As someone that played Guild Wars 2 since launch (on and off) and only started raids in 2020, you got to the essence of what my issues were with starting raiding before then. It was spooky, I didn't understand a thing and felt lost. This video would have helped me lots and I firmly believe it helps lots of new (and more veteran) players to understand what raids are, what is needed and how to find a nice, comfy group to learn and get started. Nice work Lara and amazing video editing! ❤

How to GIT GUD fast series would be awesome - for DPS, Support and Healer eventually

This actually does help me as I've been incredibly scared to try raiding in this game. Appreciate the guide!

*Semi-short, good explanations with visual aid and easy to follow.* *Easily the best GW2 KZfaqr I've a seen so far!* *Please make more guides for Guild Wars 2.* 😃

Very well edited, I'm sure this will help out a lot of people :)

Best Guide on How to Get into Raids on YT, as someone who has Raided for 4 years at this point i'd say the key to getting a good raiding experience is to get a good group, a group of friends or a Guild. Personally i did the second one and after a month of trainings it quickly became my favorite content in the game and my fav boss in the game is still Dhuum(end boss of W5). Yes there is definently people who are Salty and Toxic in Raids( but i'd say PvP and WvW are worse for saltyness), and not all pugs are toxic ether but yes some are. But when i'v raided with Guilds 99% of the people there are nice people, any anyone who isn't tends to get "yeeted" eventually. Don't be afraid, once you get into Raids they are acually really fun and rewarding.

The editing in this video is god tier 🥺

yeee! you've chosen the character that looks more like you :D

AMAZING Video! Great info, great animations, good visualisations. Really outdid yourself this time around, Lara!

Probably worth mentioning on the "roles" section that just about every encounter has at least one mechanic that will require someone to perform a task, i.e. a role. Those may often be a DPS player. Y'know, stand on a button, hand kite, cc whoever Matthias is trying to sacrifice, down at range the far statues, tower Chrono, cannons, flack kite, etc. Most of these do not require a specific build but it is good to be aware that the roles exist; rarely is anyone *just* dps. That said, a few of those tend to have specific builds, notably tower Chrono needs boon duration, mass invis, blink, mimic, and portal, and should have ley line gliding as one example.

Lara raid introduction let's go! :D

For some reason this is the last video I expected from you but I love it! Enjoying the game and raiding didn't equate in my head since you're famous for enjoying the game x) maybe because raids are a pain for me personally. When I get coalescence and heavy leggy armor I am taking at least a half year break from raiding.

Thanks for the video, I am just getting back into the game after years of being away. This has given me some more confidence in taking the first step. Yes a gear guide would be good, also a video on current GW2 terms.

great and clear guide, thanks for explaining how to get into raids ! gonna try some

Loved this video! Reminds me why I love end game instanced content so much. Would love to see more videos in this style, even if I'm not the target audience xD

ohh myy gooood ty ty ty this video really helped me a lot, i am really scared of raids but thanks to you i will try to be envolved

My anxiety is so unreasonably bad I stare at an open training group with a pulse of 200 for a good 30 seconds before I eventually dare take the plunge. It turns out raids aren't as bad as they seemed once I figured them out, I already feel comfortable doing W1 and W2, and I've even successfully done cannons on W1, and mortars in W2. Overall my experiences have been good. You get the occasional person that joins a training group then leaves after first wipe or the occasional dps player that refuses to take a key utility skill because it's a dps loss. The absolute vast majority of players have been patient and helpful though.

Awesome video ! The editing made me blow through my nose many times For new raiders that are considering starting as healer and are a bit scared to start raiding with a healer, let me tell you it is very much possible and actually, and in my opinion, an even better option if you really wanna learn raids. You can easily get carried through the first wings in dps by not doing anything except attack the boss. But as a healer you need to learn the mechanics which make you better in the end. It is also very fun to twick your build to adapt to every fight in my opinion. And having the feeling to be in controle as Lara said. So fellow healers have fun and ask your commanders question and we'll see you to the top :D

This is a really good guide and I do hope, it helps people to get into this complex content. Even though, the raids in GW2 are quite easy and are, like most parts of the game, made for people, that want to have fun, rather than people, that want to grind to exhaustion, it still is endgame content. It looks very scary at first, because people are preparing so meticulously and have these criteria, which you usually don't meet, if you are getting started. Don't get yourself discouraged. This game - from the very beginning - wasn't made for sweaty hardcore players, it was always for the people with passion, that want to enjoy this game to their fullest. Even the raids have mercy on you, as soon, as you understood everything roughly. I started raiding years ago and I had no friends, no guild, no gear and no clue what to do. I joined a big guild with the release of PoF and was overwhelmed with everything, that was now open to me with all these people. I joined their training raids and when I asked them, how I can prepare for this, they pretty much told me: >Get a class, you feel comfortable with, get yourself some snacks and something to drink, because it takes some hours and have fun!< And when the day came, we began, I had so much fun. At first, it was frustrating, to get down so easily and to not understand, what happend, but they explained the bosses and what they do phase for phase and mechanic for mechanic and I got more comfortable with it. After we were done, I had actually enjoyed, what we did, very much. You don't need to know everything or prepare yourself too much. Of course, having the right gear is important and makes it easier for your whole team to get through the bosses. Even though, in this game, few people can carry the entire group, it gets less punishing and less frustrating for everyone, if you can care for yourself a little bit. But the most important part here is: Do never ever do this for the loot or out of boredom. This game offers you so much if you have the right mindset and raids are nothing different. If you go at it with some love, raids can offer you limitless fun for years. If you don't know what to do, just go to the Aerodrome (in Lions Arch at the very south, were all the raids begin) and ask for help in the map chat. Even though, over the last couple of years, some very toxic and annoying people have joined this game, GW2 still has one of the friendliest communities you will encounter in a game. Keep in mind, especially in the Aerodrome, most people are afk, because they prepared for their raids and now wait for their group. If they aren't answering, don't be sad, but if you ask something, people will usually help you, even if you get one or two stupid comments. Just a few small hints from my side: - Take a class you actually know something about. I saw too many people playing something, because it was asked of them or because they felt they have to play it. It didn't work most of the time. In the raids, it is very important, that you know, what your class does, because sometimes, your group is missing something and no one knows, what to do. Happens even on experienced groups. It can help, if you know your class and can offer to change something. Put some CC on or more damage, cover some buffs or debuffs or get some mobility. It saves your group from suffering for hours because no one knows whats wrong, even though they are logging. - Do the mechanics, some bosses have. Really! At first, they seem very hard and no one wants to do them, which discourages you even more, but trust me, some of them are funnier than just hitting the boss. The developers did so well with these special things you have to do and it makes these fights so much more interesting. When I started, I was kinda forced into some of these roles, because the whole group rotated through these mechanics and eventually, everyone had to do them. And nothing better could have happened to me. By being forced to play them, I saw how funny they are. Cannons on Sabetha or Mushrooms on Slothasaur feel so cool, if you can enjoy these things. Of course, if you are more the focused type of player, it will tear you out of your rotation and this might shatter your concentration, but on the other hand, you learn how to read the boss and get into it again, after you had to leave it for a mechanic. My understanding of the bosses became so much better, after I actively took the mechanics and learned, how to read the behaviour of some bosses. - Do not become lazy, if you do this. At first, you are afraid and you will eventually feel bad, because you get no progress, but don't push yourself too hard. Everyone had to start at some point and only, because many people have the advantage of time on their side, it doesn't mean, they weren't as bad as you, at the beginning. But as soon, as you understood everything, please, do not stop learning. I saw way too many people just sitting on a single character the entire raid, not changing class or build and even though, they offer few to the group, they still make some harsh comments and are shitty towards other members of the group or even randoms that just offer to help. Experienced players can take pretty much every class and pretty much every role, because they never stop learning and always try something new. You don't need to have this as your goal, but at least, don't stay too much in your comfortzone, because as much as you like playing DPS for example, maybe, the healer wants to play DPS for once too, but can't because there is no other healer. Offer your team some variety, so everyone can have fun. - And of course, don't be mean, especially if people are new to something. Of course, the healer is supposed to keep you alive, but if you come from other games and then start healing in GW2 it is very different and you have to get into it. The DPS might not hit as hard, as the guide says they should? Who cares, it's a game and they might be learning something new. When I started raiding, my main class was Necro, before that it was Thief. I started raiding with Guardian, because it seemed a good class for a group for me. I had to understand the entire class and it was tough for me, but I did it and I had fun. Learning something can be pretty cool, if you enjoy, what you do. This might take some weeks or even months. And I will end this wall of text with a story of mine: When I had some raiding experience, I once had a pretty bad day and wasn't really focused. We did a boss, that tended to cast Fear on the group pretty often and usually, you have no problem with that, but I got Feared very often, because I was lacking the concentration. This made me angry, but I didn't want to show that to the group. Eventually, I didn't get Feared anymore and I was wondering why. After looking at my buff bar, I saw, that whenever the Fear came it was instantly removed from me each time. I looked out for who was doing that and I spotted one of the supporters removing the Fear every time, I got it. Despite having so much to watch out for that person still was keeping an eye on me in particular and was keeping that debuff away from me for the entire rest of the raid. After that evening, I sent that person a small message with some Gold and chocolate cookies. That person sent me a message back, including my Gold, but kept the cookies, even though they are trash buff food, that no one uses anymore. Since then, I always have self crafted chocolate cookies in my inventory to give it to people, I want to thank for their kindness. What I want to say with this is: This community has grown so well, because we are all watching out for each other. We are all having some love for the people next to us and we all do this with passion. There may be some people, that don't care for anything, but if you ignore these and just be a cool person, you will have loads of fun, just like the players around you. This is our hobby and we all can enjoy it, because we all put as much love into it, as the creators of this game do and thus, it remains a cool place to come to for everyone. Keep in mind, that you decide, to a certain degree, how old this game will become and how nice this community will be in the presence and in the future.

Thanks for the awesome video Lara! WING 8 HYPE!

I also recommend having a look at Mukluk’s low intensity 20k+ DPS which is just 1 button = many damages From what I understood, 20k will also get you over most damage checks in the game

I have just joined a Guild as a quite new player and am excited to try this content of the game.

Thank you for this video, Lara. Looks amazing. I really like how you put it all together and yes, you got me. You totally captured my fears and problems with the whole raiding thing. XD I'm now waiting for the gearing guide (yes, I wantsssss it!!!) and the git gud videos. :D I'll probably watch this one a few more times. :D so much info to take in.

super worthwile video! ^.^ I've been playing on and off since release (of eye of the north :P ) and do t4 fractals, but I just can't get myself to find a group for raids or even strikes. I feel like there are so so many curious and talented players out there, that would have a blast with raids, but never tried it. More videos like this would be super amazing! :3

Pretty much my experience from way back when (1 year and a bit, but that doesn't sound as dramatic :P ). Originally joined raiding to get that sweet, sweet max mastery rank and stayed for all the reasons listed in your "Why?" section. Mostly legendary armor. INFINITE FASHION!!!

For those looking into raids I recommend trying out strikes if you haven't already. They're an excellent gateway into raids. 10 man groups with similar roles to raids. Also much easier to find LFG squads for strikes than raids on NA.

Wow, great job with the editing on this video!

Thank you very much. Don't give up

dat Dramatic Prairie Dog reference on Braham was perfect!

I would most definitely love a gear video cause im so confused with all the possibilities and for some reason all the videos just give you the instances where you can get them but I’d love some more ‘evident’ starter goals as I’m just starting to gear up really

you convinced me, I'll try it

Thanks for your video ^^ I've never tried raids because I don't usually have much time to play, but mostly because it looked complicated and because I never knew what class/spec to go with... Now, I'm thinking about doing it because I am working on my legendaries (weapons and armor) so it's quite mandatory for most of what I need. But yeah, I've tried strikes missions, and even if most people are nice, I found a lot of groups being harsh on others... It kinda curbed my wish to go in raids ^^' So your video will probably help me getting started in all this mess x)

This video was very good and very easy to understand what has kept me from trying raids is not the scary bosses.. is the scary players

Yes gear plz !! Love the vids !!!

Great work Lara =)

The water bottles had me cackling lol.

Thanks!! I just started raiding with a new guild, but eventually, i wanna gather my friends and make my own pve focused guild.

thank you very much this helped me a lot love ya stream

HAHAHA I was listening to this in the background and started laughing when u mentioned the mech rifle build. I just came back to the game after a long time and needed to do some map completion in Elona Maps. I just slapped that build on my engi - whom I never played in my life before tbh. And it was a faceroll xD great build!

Watching this 'cause I fell in love with GW2 after 6 years

Much needed video

I watched this video and now I'm able to do Harvest temple CM* *Both facts might be unrelated. Also quick low intensity "here, this is how you press some buttons, now you can play" build videos would be really really cool, specially if it includes support builds!

I love the style of ur character with the green screen

What a lovely video! But i think you forgot "might" uptime what is like most important boon and fury is also super important if there is especially power dps classes. but i understand if plan is keep video easy to understand ^^ Really well done video and also cute ^^

Top-tier GW2 video \o/

@0:22 LOVE IT :D

Well, time to build up the courage to go into lfg

More get good fast videos pleeeeeease! :) Also a gear video would be nice for new players!

I love how excited she gets when she says "INFINITE FASHION!!!!"

How I started to raid back then 1. Try to get into raids but ppl kick you because you have no LI 2. Buy commander tag 3. Make my own squads and ask for 250Li even tho I had only 20 Li myself 4. Profit lol (I perfectly learned and knew raid mechanics tho)

can confirm that watching rotation videos and vaguely copying them works fine. i've cleared ALL raid content, and that's basically my approach lol

This game needs gear inspect. Or the ability to know how stocked someone's legy armory is. Great video

I wanna say something, if you still feel intimidated, i reccomend berserkers(zojja) build on a ranger soulbeast with red moa( insane dps) Weapons are straight forward you want a long bow just in case and most time you can use double axe/great sword Also with this build i got just fine untill t2 with 0 agony Did without any prior knowlage w2, 3 and 6 of all things😅 And if you cant get ascended atall yet strikes is the way, they are mostly easy as hell(eod ones aswell but they do require dying once or twice untill u learn whats happening)

If you are not confident in your ability to properly hit your dps rotation and dont want the responsibility of being a healer i would recommend quickness herald. You can easily achieve 100% quickness uptime with like 2 buttons and can just sword Auto attack and sword 2 for the rest of the fight. You also have easy access to stability, big cc dmg and so on. Its extremely new player friendly while also being just all around incredably good.

the rotation being scary is legit, but if playing the game and knows your class, it's actually way easier than it looks. I find the best thing is not look at the details of the 40 steps, but look at overall why you want to activate a skill before another skill. fir example on qdps herald (as of Aug 2023), the key is to have -6 upkeep in order to maintain quickness. that means other glint skills can activate and consume immediately, but maintain the utilities that you want to maintain on party (usually fury and protect). the details of when to press such and such button is less important than understanding the why. or power reaper, you want to use you're all weakling to give yourself might, then put your 2 wells down which pulses chill and vulnerability, all right before going in reaper shroud and 4 spin to win. it makes perfect logical sense to essentially buff urself, debuff the boss, then use ur hardest hitter. I find figuring out the "why" for a rotation the most useful thing (aside from just playing it and getting some muscle memory in place). conversely when I tried classes that I just didn't understand why a skill has to be used in that order, it just became really hard for me to get into. it's like the lack of understanding prevent me from enjoying even playing that class or build. all that is to say, if you understand the why, it'll help to reduce the long 40 steps down into something that just felt intuitive and logical, and made me forget that there are 40 steps to it XD

Yes, a gear guide, please.

You had me at infinite fashion

I been playing since 2013, thousands of hours, and I still haven't raided yet. Right when raids came out I was trying raiding in FF14, and had a bad experience, and just decided I never wanted that negativity again. I been trying to muster up the courage to get into raiding in GW2 because I want all the goodies.

I would LOVE more git gud fast videos!!

As a new player I'm very interested in that "get gud fast" video (series?)

Of course we all truly doing legy armory Just for endless Fashion. Fashion wars is the truly hard endgame content !

YES

I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of raids and screwing up on raids. I keep pushing it back "well I gotta do the story, well I gotta get seasons of dragons done, well I gotta try fractals first" one day I hope I pull the courage together.

Scampi or Shrimp I see in this Legendary Armor? :3 Good work, Lara :D

Bring on those short videos Laranity!

Getting ascended trinkets and back items from season 3, my humble opinion: bloodstone fen is faster (and gives resettable stat gear?, However, it requires masteries to navigate and many mobs there are ranged and will kill a lvl 20 toon. Bitterfrost can be managed with fewer masteries and low level toons if you are careful. If you have a mature account yet are working on ascendeds, Bloodstone Fen would be my recommendation. If you want easy farming with alt toons, bitterfrost.

I love this game, the combat is so amazing. I love the style of the game, I love raiding strikes fractals, and when alliances go live ima be in wvw all day erryday!

aww I learnt raids the wrong way then😫 I never did the training tab, i just joined an lfg experienced that was looking to run all the HOTS raids, no one asked if i done it or understood the mechanics, i just followed the crowd an focused more on enviroment than dmg. Trial by fire, the true masochist way 🔥 🥳 haha

Lara what Druid heal build do you run? I heal in earlier tier fractals at a Druid and keep the group up but feel I am smashing buttons constantly. Healbrand seems a lot less intense and I feel I am doing Druid wrong.

I use the Bad Catalyst build for openworld

I almost expected a sponsorship of RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS.

i can't stop staring at the dot on your sleeve

5:31 - fashion I am absolutely stealing...

I'm still too scared ;_; i really want to experience raids because the bosses and environments looks so cool.

Did you use jade in Dragon's End as an ingame green screen?

Waiting for a gear guide video

Hi hi, I wondered if elementalist healer is respected/wanted in groups? I like elementalist due to the complexity and always having buttons to press but I also love healing in games :D

Yeah but how you know or chose wath raid boss you or your group is gona do?? 🤔

Ive played GW2 since 2012 and never cleared a raid boss (except vale guardian to unlock the mastery track - that cost me 250 ecto or so), with EoD I was determined to try and get into strikes and raiding, but I found such hostile toxic people that i just gave up. GW2 community as a whole is very friendly, but I found that the most toxic people hang around in pvp and lfg strikes. I didnt see the split between learning groups and normal groups either, is that a recent addition?

I want a gear video :)

not having tank is bretty big reason for me to not try raids yet i almost always playy tank in mmos sometimes healer but still oof

LFG is full of a lot of toxic bully players. Not sure what that's about but it's not worth the effort. I'm going to try to make a static raid group tho cause LFG is a mixed bag i personally don't like taking chances with

5:23 what chest armor is that?

I might try raids if my LFG was like yours.......mine is just full of people selling raids.....

Want easy build for Raids? I recommend getting Power build and Condi build. For power 🤔 Mech Li and Virtuosa are great power range Herald, Vindicator Li, Reaper and Spellbreaker Li are great power melee For condi 🤔 Mech Li, Virtuosa, Scourge, Specter and Tempestare Li are great condi range Ofc these are just my opinions about easy to play builds. Reaper and Scourge from Necromancer are few of the simplest builds to play but both Li Mechanists builds are even easier to play 😅 There are more builds which would be considered to be "easy" but the easiest build you can play is Mechanist Li variants as both variants use only 5 buttons to deal good dmg the Condin being much better than the Power 👍 Condi mech takes 1-1-3 on mech traits and drop all kits for flame turret and superconducting signet 👍 drop flame turret and press superconducting signet off cooldown for higher dps, commands on auto-cast and download perhaps illegal dps meter to boast about your high dps compared to others 😂 only people who actually know how to deal high dps can out dps you. You will notice your dps as Condi Li Mech is higher than most PUG 😂

I am playing from Japan and my ping is usually at about 250ms. I would love to go raiding but it feels like that going to be a problem...

Oh how time changed from last time I raiided...now the healer literally has to tank too?! 🤣 I'll gladly give it to some toughness guy thank you