10 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Pre-Searing Ascalon
You have just created a character in the Prophecies Campaign of Guild Wars.
You now find yourself in the tutorial area called Pre-Searing Ascalon, a serene land beloved by many for its sheer simplicity.
In the storyline, Pre-Searing Ascalon takes place two years before the Prophecies Campaign actually begins.
It is this warp in time that makes it unique in that, once you leave there, you can never return.
Whether you are new to Guild Wars or a Veteran Player, this area will prove to be quite different from any other in the game.
You will find the answers to many of your FAQs about this unique area below.
1. Q: How Do I Make Money to Purchase the Things That I Need?
A. The simplest way to earn money in PreSearing is by going out into the explorable areas and slaying monsters (foes.)
Note: The added benefit of this method is the accumulation of experience points after each kill, allowing your character to level up.
1. Foes will drop random amounts of gold and various other items which can be sold to the merchants in each outpost.
Do not forget to identify blue or purple items, since the sale price may increase dramatically when you do.
Note: Do NOT Sell dyes to the merchant. Merchants pay only 1g for every color of dye.
Traders will purchase dyes ranging from 25g for the rainbow, up to up 1K for White and 18K for Black.
2. Foes will also drop what are known as Trophy Items.
These items are stackable, so they are easily collectible.
Each day 25 of a predetermined trophy item can be traded to Nicholas Sanford (AKA The Huntsman) for 5 Gifts in the Secret Garden.
Note: There is a limit of 5 gifts per day per account.
The Secret Garden is located in Regent Valley outside of Fort Ranik. See: The Secret Garden
3. Other methods of making money can be through trade in Ascalon City.
Many players farm extra Trophy Items daily to sell to other players,
or sell the gifts that they collect on their own accounts.
Prices for many PreSearing Items including Mini Pets, can be found in the Price Checks Board,
or by clicking the quick links on the navigation bar at the top of the page, just below the banner.
2. Q: Is There Storage In Any of The PreSearing Outposts?
A: No, there are no Xunlai Storage Chests in PreSearing Ascalon. If you read the story line, you will find that
This is because the Xunlai Banking Guild did not begin operating in the Tyrian Outposts until after the searing.
*This was most likely designed by the GW creators to ensure that, as a tutorial area set apart in time,
Items from other parts of the game could not be transferred into PreSearing Ascalon.
Note: Players do have access to 20 additional storage slots on their characters, as follows:
1. One 5 slot Belt Pouch can be acquired by exchanging the following:
5 Worn Belts to Humphreys, outside of Ashford Abbey, in Ashford Village.
5 Scale Fins to Brownlow, outside of Ascalon City in Lakeside county.
2. Two 10 slot Charr Bags can be equipped on each character.
These can be obtained by purchasing from other players,
Or, by killing the Charr Bosses in the Northlands, where they are random drops.
3. One 5 slot Equipment Pack can be acquired by exchanging the following:
50 Red Iris Flowers to Professer Yakkington in the Secret Garden.
Note: The Equipment Pack will only store customized armor or weapons.
3. Q: How Do You Get Mini Pets in PreSearing?
A: The variety of Mini Pets available in PreSearing will be less due to PostSearing Event Minis,
which are not available in PreSearing. One example are the Celestial Mini Pets acquired in Post.
Otherwise, Mini Pets are acquired in PreSearing in the same way that they are acquired in PostSearing.
1. Each Year on the anniversary of your character’s creation, you will receive a Birthday Present.
These presents, from the 1st to 7th years contain Mini Pets, with the exception of the 6th year.
This Birthday Present yields an Everlasting Tonic.
2. By purchasing a Mini Pet from another player.
3. By Purchasing The Collector’s Edition of Factions or NightFall.
4. Through Promotional Magazine Give Aways.
5. Through participation in Official Contests.
4. Q: What is a TM and Why Should I Use One?
A: Most simply put, a TM is a middleman used to ensure a safe and efficient trade transaction.
So, what does a TM actually do?
In Pre to Post Transactions someone will normally have to "go first" in a trade,
and whoever does that is taking a risk that the other person will run with their items.
Remember: Once you transfer your items, they're gone for good, therefore this is a substantial risk.
To mitigate this risk, a middleman will be of help.
The middleman is a third party who is trusted to hold items during an exchange.
If both parties do not trust the other enough to go first, then both agree to trust someone else to hold the items.
This is common for very high value trades. In short, the following steps will be completed in order:
1. Purchaser and Seller mutually agree on a middleman they can both trust.
2. Seller trades items to middleman to hold.
3. While middleman is holding item/s, Purchaser trades payment to middleman.
4. Middleman trades items from step #2 to Purchaser, and from step #3 to Seller.
Please refer to our "Request a TM Board" at the bottom of The PSC Community Market.
If you are unsure who to choose or trust as a TM, simply request a member of our staff to act as a TM for you.
5. Q: Where Do I Get New Armor In PreSearing?
A: Armor is acquired from collectors in PreSearing, just as it is in Post.
There are however no Armor Crafters in PreSearing, as there are in Post.
There are several Collectors in PreSearing who will give you a piece of armor in exchange for
Collectible Trophy Items.
The 5 Collectors with the easiest access for Upgrade of Armor Pieces are as follows:
1. Karleen – Boots for 5 Gargoyle Skulls – Located in the Catacombs North of The Barradin Estate.
Note: She will not appear if a party member has the Necro quest “The Power Of Blood” active.
2. Hatcher- Tunic for 5 Unnatural Seeds – Located in Fort Ranik, in the lower area.
3. Varris – Pants/Skirt for 3 Spider Legs – Located in Fort Ranik, near merchant.
4. Jacobs- Gloves for 3 Baked Husks – Located outside Ashford Abbey near the merchant.
5. Yakkington – Headgear for 50 Iris Flowers – Located in The Secret Garden.
6. Q: How Does Experience Work?
A: You may only gain experience from foes that are no more than 5 levels below you.
The same thing will apply to any foe that gains experience from killing you.
* Note: There is NO Death Penalty in PreSearing.
Levels Exp gained
6 below 0 exp
5 below 16 exp
4 below 32 exp
3 below 48 exp
2 below 64 exp
1 below 80 exp
Same level 100 exp
1 above 120 exp
2 above 136 exp
3 above 152 exp
4 above 168 exp
5 above 184 exp
6 above 200 exp
Experience (Total) required to reach each level.
Level Exp needed
2 2,000
3 4,600
4 7,800
5 11,600
6 16,000
7 21,000
8 26,600
9 32,800
10 39,600
11 47,000
12 55,000
13 63,600
14 72,800
15 82,600
16 93,000
17 104,000
18 115,600
19 127,800
20 140,600
Level Xp Needed Total Xp Earned Benefits of Earning Level Total Benefits Earned
1 - - 100 Health 100 Health, 0 Attribute Points, 0 Skill Points
2 2,000 2,000 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 120 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point
3 2,600 4,600 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 140 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 2 Skill Points
4 3,200 7,800 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 160 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 3 Skill Points
5 3,800 11,600 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 180 Health, 20 Attribute Points, 4 Skill Points
6 4,400 16,000 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 200 Health, 25 Attribute Points, 5 Skill Points
7 5,000 21,000 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 220 Health, 30 Attribute Points, 6 Skill Points
8 5,600 26,600 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 240 Health, 35 Attribute Points, 7 Skill Points
9 6,200 32,800 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 260 Health, 40 Attribute Points, 8 Skill Points
10 6,800 39,600 20 Health, 5 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 280 Health, 45 Attribute Points, 9 Skill Points
11 7,400 47,000 20 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 300 Health, 55 Attribute Points, 10 Skill Points
12 8,000 55,000 20 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 320 Health, 65 Attribute Points, 11 Skill Points
13 8,600 63,600 20 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 340 Health, 75 Attribute Points, 12 Skill Points
14 9,200 72,800 20 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 360 Health, 85 Attribute Points, 13 Skill Points
15 9,800 82,600 20 Health, 10 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 380 Health, 95 Attribute Points, 14 Skill Points
16 10,400 93,000 20 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 400 Health, 110 Attribute Points, 15 Skill Points
17 11,000 104,000 20 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 420 Health, 125 Attribute Points, 16 Skill Points
18 11,600 115,600 20 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 440 Health, 140 Attribute Points, 17 Skill Points
19 12,200 127,800 20 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 460 Health, 155 Attribute Points, 18 Skill Points
20 12,800 140,600 20 Health, 15 Attribute Points, 1 Skill Point 480 Health, 170 Attribute Points, 19 Skill Points
7. Q: What Exactly Are the Vanguard Quests?
A: Any character that achieves level 10 in PreSearing may help the Ascalon Vanguard by taking quests given by Lieutenant Langmar.
These quests were designed to aid the character in his/her effort to reach Level 20 in the PreSearing area.
Prior to 2011, the only way to reach L20 or LDoA (Legendary Defender of Ascalon) was by Death Leveling foes to a higher level,
and then killing them to gain more experience. This process is explained more thoroughly in the Guides section of our forum.
1. Lieutenant Langmar offers a rotating cycle of nine daily quests, at a rate of 1 quest per day.
2. The Vanguard Quests change daily at 8:01 AM PST (16:01 UTC ).
3. The reward for each quest is 1000 experience points & 50 gold pieces.
4. Each character may have only one Vanguard Quest active at a time.
5. Characters with an active Vanguard Quest will receive an armor boost while in any explorable area.
* This is explained in greater detail at the very bottom of our Armor Guide located at: (This link is inactive...Armor page to follow at a later date.)
6. Characters traveling with quest takers will not have that bonus unless they too have the quest.
7. Vanguard foes will only spawn if both members of the party are at least Level 10.
* You must be Level 10 to acquire these quests.
8. The spawned foe level is based on the lowest level of the party members, regardless of which party member took the quest.
9. The spawned foes do not drop any gold or loot.
10. If you attain level 14 or 17 while in an explorable area, you will have to rezone to spawn the higher-level foes.
* This will render your quest incomplete and you will have to re-kill all foes.
11. These quests are often used for power-leveling by leaving them incomplete and rezoning as explained above.
* For Quests & Further Information See : Lieutenant Langmar
8. Q: What is a Guild and Why Should I Join One?
A: A guild is a formal social group, usually consisting of like minded individuals.
Players are not required to join a guild, but it does have benefits.
Players in a guild often help each other complete in-game objectives.
Joining a guild is account wide. You can only be in one guild at a time.
If one character on your account is in a guild, then all of your characters are in that same guild.
Note: In PreSearing you do NOT have access to a Guild Hall.
Only Characters on your account that are in Post Searing, and other GW Campaigns will have Guild Hall Privileges.
In Post Searing Guild Halls are a Home Base with a large variety of services conveniently located in one area.
*Again, as noted above in question 2 regarding storage chests in Presearing:
This was most likely designed to ensure that, as a tutorial area and set apart in time,
Items could not be transferred into PreSearing Ascalon from any other part of the game.
PreSearing Ascalon does have a Guild Registrar, should you wish to form you own Guild.
If you form your own guild then you will be the Guild Leader.
The decisions about who you wish to have as members and officers are then your own.
Further information on Guilds, their benefits and how to create your own can be located at: Guilds
9. Q: What is PSCGO?
A: PSCGO stands for PreSearing Community Gate Opener.
It was designed by players to find gate openers without cost.
1. Stand somewhere near the portal in Ascalon City.
2. Type one of the following, PSCGO, LF PSCGO, or LFG PSCGO in All Chat.
3. When the PSCGO self invites click accept to add them to your party.
4. Run out of the portal - they will simply pull the lever and map out.
***Since the June 2018 Update, the duration time has been extended for the gate to stay open
once the lever is pulled. This has rendered PSCGO & GM's unnecessary.
10. Q: Are PostSearing Items OK To Have in PreSearing?
A: No, this is why there are no Xunlai Storage Chests or Guild Hall access in PreSearing.
The GW Policy is that PostSearing Items, Skills etc. do not have an impact on PreSearing Ascalon.
In the past there have been glitches that allowed some players to bring PostSearing items Into PreSearing.
Most of those items were tracked down and removed via actions against those Players accounts.
*Whenever a player is discovered to have Skills, Runes, Weapons or other items from
PostSearing on their PreSearing characters, those players are required to move the item and/or
Character to PostSearing, no matter where or how those items were acquired.
The Guild Wars Creators feel it is important to keep Presearing “Pure” in order to maintain
It’s Special Role in the entirety of All of the Guild Wars Community Campaigns.
