Okay.

I bought the 3 pack on special at Steam, downloaded, installed and started.... This is definitely NOT noob-friendly.

For starters, the map is ATROCIOUS! I got someone to team up with me, and the mini map does not keep the person in there - if I click on a NPC then partner goes out of range it's frustration itself trying to find the person.

I'm currently a lvl 4 Elementalist / Ranger.

One other really stupid thing is I can't drop stuff for the first 24 hours of setting up my account or trade... Does this ALSO extend to the stuff I have that is worth 0 gold? I NEED to be able to drop that crap ffs!!!!!

Are there any good mods / addons like Carbonite for WoW? I just want to be able to keep track of my team if I have one - or does that get better as you level up?

Any other stuff greatly appreciated.

Guild Wars has a massive community built around it. I'm sure someone here can help you, but you might check for a Guild Wars wiki or other community. I know DDO Wiki saved me countless hours of frustration and in game questions.

I don't know about mods but I highly doubt anything you want to do is impossible. Guild Wars seems very highly rated by any of it's fans (and I'll be honest, I am kind of excited for GW2, it looks pretty neat, even though I haven't played GW).

1. Yes, the map is just that bad. Try pressing 'U' for a more detailed 'minimap' that you can drag around.

2. You can drag stuff worth 0 gold to a small trashcan right under your character paperdoll to dispose of it. I would recommend saving as much as you can until you can get a salvage kit, though, since you might need some materials for crafting later.

3. Ideally, you'd be using some teamwork. This isn't a sarcasm. You should definitely start with Prophecies, even if you don't plan on continuing a character you play there. Just getting used to the game is hard enough, and until you have, you aren't going to be good at keeping track of your partners too.

3b. If you're referring to your 'Heroes' in Nightfall, please don't try Nightfall right away. That can be your first campaign, but it has a terrible tutorial area and you're far better off going through all of Presearing Ascalon in Prophecies before you attempt Nightfall. Controlling your heroes is simple enough, though - each has a button under your minimap that you can click, then choose an area on the main screen or on the minimap and send your heroes on their way. You can also open small panels to direct their tactics. It adds an entirely new, confusing element to battle since you can individually control their targets and skill activation. Hence, you should probably wait to play Nightfall.

Addons? None to my knowledge, but I'm sure they exist. I'm just not sure if ArenaNet approves them.

Elementalist/Ranger is a great choice. You'll be fine. Try the wiki for all sorts of great information.

No mods as far as I know. Your build sounds...awkward to me. I never liked the elementalist as a class, but the ranger is very deadly. I soloed pretty much every part of the game with my Ranger/Necromancer build. There should be a chest in town where you can store the useless crap and the 24 hours thing is for all new account to prevent macroing of gold sellers and items and the such. You'll like it, it's very hardcore. =)

I dunno, if he's going bows and spells it'll be odd, but sacrificing a skill slot to keep a pet as a light tank for him while he's casting doesn't sound like a bad idea :D

And yes, forgot about the chest - if you're starting in the second or third campaign you can access a storage facility right away. The 'Xunlai' Storage facility.

Add my character Rohan The Raven and when I get on eventually I can help you.

Guild Wars vet here, I'll help how I can with a point by point.

-U brings up a detailed minimap which is what I keep open all the time.

-Elementist/ranger is a bad combination in terms of power-gaming (you will find a lot of it in the community, just a friendly warning). I would focus on one element depending on the role within your group: fire for damage, earth for knockdown and stuns (pair this with a hammer warrior and they will love you), and water for snares. They are also one of the best healers in the game with a certain elite which is what you will probably be speccing for end game stuff like Dhuum. The ranger portion gives you some nice defense and heal over time spells if you level up wilderness survival.

-Do not destroy anything, you can salvage the materials for new armor or weapons.

-The game keeps a close check on mods and regularly bans botters so you aren't going to find any mods.

-You can't directly control the henchmen but you can tell them where to move. Heroes added in nightfall (henchmen you can unlock and totally customize) though you can control what they use. Currently you can only add 3 to the party but they are changing it to 7 soon so you will have complete control over the party then.

-Don't rush! People think this is an MMO and rush through the game when the game is about the journey. In prophecies you hit the level cap half way through while in Factions and Nightfall you hit the level cap within a few hours of leaving the newb island.

-Don't be afraid to try new characters. I've probably tried every class twice and love how each one is unique.

-Learn to solo, despite this being a game that forces partying it is mainly expected that you solo 99% of the content until you want to jump into the end game content which will rip you a new one if you don't know what you are doing.

PvX wiki will have all your cookie cutter builds for heroes or players.

This guy I like.

It's often useful to join a helpful guild that can help you out each step of the way.

You can ask people you play with to ping their map (you can do that by clicking on the minimap). That will often be a good way to find someone.

I found GW hard to play about last year or so b/c of the number of people not playing. It used to be easy to get a party, but I had a hard time with it as I progressed. Joining a guild will help with that a lot.

I personally wouldn't listen to "this is a good class, this isn't". Each class has strengths and weaknesses. I agree with Whiteblade that you can play it and focus on an element and use the wilderness skills. But you also may find other useful purposes. I've seen some E/R's kick some serious butt. And when you play a class that isn't often seen, sometimes people have a tough time to figure out what you're about (when you PvP, that is -- which is really just a small component of the game).

Enjoy the game. I'm sure you'll have a blast if you can find some friends and play it with them.

Yepyep.

I'll add a few things. I think the best 2nd class for Ele is Mesmer or Monk. But if you have chosen Ranger, do not forget that you will be able to change that "later" in game. When is "later" depends on campaign in which you have started. That is because the game is considered "old". Now it is harder to get party in every outpost. This situation could change when Arena Net releases new update with single outpost with connection to every mission outpost in the game. Such update was already announced and is still anticipated.

Guild Wars does have good gameplay and a strong, friendly community. I think you'll enjoy it - I did, I just tend to grow bored easily and haven't played in a while.

It is true, but also it is true that it is hard to find good guild for beginner. Most players are experienced and are not (unfortunately) interested in "babysitting". But it is still possible to find one and I wish OP that.