The Art of Leveling
stargrace 
Last I left my mesmer she was level 43, and I was working through my story quests to get caught up. I leveled to 43 mainly through crafting, which I mentioned in a previous post. I picked up a set of tailored gear, a new weapon, and some new trinkets and accessories, ready to face the world.
One thing I really appreciate about Guild Wars 2 is that no matter where you’re leveling, the experience gained equals out. So lets say you’re playing in a lower level area and you’ve auto mentored down (the entire game works this way) so that you’re level 16. Whether you’re playing in that level 16 area or a level 40 area, the experience you gain balances out, so you don’t feel as though you’re wasting your time in that lower level zone. By working on catching my story up to my actually level I managed to ding 47, and all I did was work the story quests which ranged from level 10 to 40, I didn’t go out of my way to do anything else. It was refreshing to know that I could still gain a healthy amount of experience this way and I believe I’ve just started on the level 40 story quests, so I still have a ways to go before I’m completely caught up.
I had a thought to get into some WvWvW but I have absolutely no idea where to start or how things are working in that regard. I think I’ll give it a bit more time before I start to pvp. I had done some way back when on my other account but it has been ages. I’m hopping to gain a level or two a day until I hit 80, and continue working my way through the story quests that are available to me. I know at 80 a whole slew of things opens up and I don’t have the faintest idea where I should begin, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless. I bought a few things from the gem store this week too, of course. I picked up the spring kitten that trails after you (non combat pet), an extra row of bank slots, allowing my items to stack to 500 rather than 250, a package of dye (I got a black, very pleased), an item that lets me salvage, and I think that was the end of my spending spree.
It’s nice to be able to log in for a few minutes here and there and feel as though I’ve accomplished something. I may not be running dungeons yet (I really want to) but seeing the experience creep up is nice. I also like the daily incentives to logging in, I haven’t been playing in the proper zones in order to get the dailies completed, but there’s always a little bag of ‘stuff’ waiting for me at least. It feels a bit like a loot pinata, but I’m not complaining.
As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!