Once upon a time it would have been extremely easy to recommend a path through challenges of Tyria and get you leveled up to the max in as short a time as possible.

However with Guild Wars 2, the whole dynamic of the game makes such a suggestion impossible. Instead, you need to look out not for particular missions and quests, but particular types. Missions, quests and other activities will give you XP than can be leveled up, and it is by choosing the right ones to complete that you will level up the fastest.

This isn't all, of course. There are three main strategies for leveling, each of which can allow you to reach Level 80 relatively quickly:

1. Play in World vs World.
2. Embrace Player vs Environment; explore and complete Dynamic Events.
3. Spend time completing Daily Events.
4. Crafting.

We'll take a look at each of these options below.

World vs World Leveling
There are many different ways to gain large amounts of XP in the game. One of the most popular is to start off by heading straight into the World vs World game mode. This Player vs Player mode pits players from multiple game servers against each other and features a wealth of dynamic events. You should complete as many of these as possible to gain the XP, gold and karma necessary to level up and purchase the best weapons and armor.

Eventually, the WvW objectives will run out; at this stage, return to the starter zone and purchase gathering tools. Spend a bit of time in the PvE world before heading back into WvW mode, collecting more XP as you complete the objectives with your party.

There are various reasons why WvW is not necessarily the best method for efficient leveling, however. If you're not in a guild or you have joined WvW at the wrong time, you'll find that leveling can be very difficult.

Why is this? Well, it depends on how well organized the friendly party is, and the strength of the opposing forces. If you're part of a massive free-for-all in the various WvW scenarios, a consistent attack can be difficult to maintain. On the other hand if you're part of a guild and enter WvW with your fellow guild members, the chances of success are far greater. With a small guild party unsuited to large combat, meanwhile, you can take advantage of smaller objectives in WvW, such as uncovering special items.

In WvW, success results in a good deal of XP being awarded. Without consistent success, WvW isn't worth the time. To make leveling a success in WvW, make sure you have joined a guild or have a regular party to play alongside.

Player vs Environment Leveling
Although WvW is a popular route for many players for fast leveling, the reasons given above are enough for many to avoid it for anything other than a change of pace within the game.

On the map you will spot various gold hearts - travel to these to complete the quests, gathering crafting materials as you proceed. Again, as you travel, look out for the orange circles that denote dynamic events that your character can take part in for additional XP. These will almost always take place around the hearts, and if you find that there is a choice between a heart and a circle, take the latter choice as these dynamic events offer XP, gold and karma.

As you proceed across the map you will no doubt come across a lot of armor and weapons that you don't really need. Rather than carry all of this around Tyria, you should take advantage of salvage kits to break down any armor and weapons that you would otherwise sell into their component parts, and use your bank regular to keep your inventory bags empty.

When you take your character back to settlements, use gold and karma to purchase materials. These should be used for crafting - the optimum crafting disciplines for each profession are explained in the next chapter, but if you're not too bothered about crafting you should definitely choose the armor crafting skill for your class. Whenever the opportunity arises, consider purchasing boosts, which can increase XP by 50% per hour.

Not many people know about (or are interested in) the gems currency, which can be purchased in game with real-world money. They can be used to purchase different items in the game, such as boosts. These cost around 150 gems (equating to around $1.875) and offer 60 minute boosts of 50% not only to XP but also to karma and the amount of magic items found.

Is this a "pay to win" system? Not really; it can save time, and not everyone playing Guild Wars 2 will be interested in spending any additional money - one of the game's attractions is that it is free to play after the initial purchase.

Insofar as finding a path through the game of optimum missions and quests, the best strategy is to follow the storyline, explore as much as possible and take part in the Dynamic Events, local multiplayer tasks that appear regularly throughout the PvE world. Rewards for these are good, they're fun to play and a key part of the Guild Wars 2 experience.

However, while there might be 80 levels in Guild Wars 2, maxing out might take around as long as it might take to hit Level 40 in a different game. More importantly, there is no end-game content to take part in, meaning that finding a super-fast route through the game will only result in you missing various multiplayer events.

Instead, stick to the tips above and use this walkthrough to master combat, PvP, multiplayer co-op events and dungeons, and keep the following in mind:

Explore! Completing quests, experiencing vistas and uncovering every corner of an area will not only give you a surprising amount of XP, it will also reward your character with some pretty cool gear, better than anything you might loot.

Gather! While you might be busy on a skill challenge or general traveling, keep an eye out for gatherables on your map. Gathering will give your character a surprising amount of XP, and the results can be crafted or sold. Certain areas of the map can give great resources to be gathered. For instance, masses of XP can be gained by farming lettuces at the Beetlehun Farms - as much as 500 per minute! Using the Hall of Monuments stone (obtained from the vendor known as Scornheart in Hooligans Route at Lion's Arch) you can transport to the Hall of Monuments and then straight back to Beetlehun Farms (or whatever your favored gathering area) and your resource of choice will respawn!

Sell! You don't have to keep hold of everything that you gather, just like you don't need to horde old weapons that you have leveled up from. Use your access to the trading posts to list your items from anywhere on the map (gold can only be collected from an actual trading post) - while not leveling, this will give you more gold, which means better equipment! More information on buying and selling can be found later in this guide.

Buy! Take advantage of the XP boost gems, as well as the Crafting Boost, Karma Boost, Magic Find Boost, XP Kill Streak Boost and even the (slightly more expensive) Multi Boost Packs. This is particularly vital if you intend to get ahead of your friends in the game. These mulipliers are an excellent way to level quickly, and you might even find them occasionally as rewards.

Craft! Unlike other MMORPGs, crafting rewards high amounts of XP. We're talking something in the region of 700-900 XP per item crafted - with a flat leveling curve, that equates to at least one XP bar per crafted item!

Daily and Monthly Quests
Considerable XP can be gained from completing Daily Quests - most of which can be completed several times!

To check which Daily Quests are available in your character's current area, open the Hero panel and check on the second-last tab (Achievements) where you will find the Daily and Monthly achievements listed. Progress bars for the current daily or monthly achievements are displayed, giving you an idea of how much more you will need to do to complete them.

Once these have been done, they should add at least a full bar of XP to your character's score - and of course the beauty is you can return to these missions the following day!

Leveling Through Crafting
Details on crafting can be found in the next chapter, but be aware that this is truly a powerful way to hit your target level and it generates plenty of gold when you sell your crafted items.

Arguably most effective is the Chef discipline, both because the creations are in high demand for their combat buffs and because karma and coins can be spent on the ingredients and recipes from a Master Chef who is always situated close to the crafting station.

Whichever crafting discipline you choose to learn, if you're looking for fast leveling, cooking is the key!