Guild Wars 2 has many different ways to level up your character. Weather it’s your first character or your 10th you’ll find that it is not as bad as you might think. There are elitists who level a character in a matter of hours, true. To my knowledge this is done using the Fractals of the Mists, since you adjusted to 80 when using a lower level character, or Edge of the Mists (EotM), finding the “zerg” and sticking with them as they compete in PvP battles or capture landmarks. Dungeon Adventures Guild is not focused on PvP (though we do participate once in a while) and so chose to level in PvE.
Our preferred method is a combination of map completion, personal story, and boss or champion runs. Map completion is a first choice as it will come in handy when working on your Personal Story or World Bosses by providing you the WP’s for that area. It is also helpful to your guild members since that way you will be able to go more places and do more with them. It won’t matter what level you are, your guildies are there to help….
Map Completion 
Start with the six major cities first. Divinity’s Reach, Black Citadel, Rata Sum, The Grove, Hoelbrak, and Lion’s Arch. This will provide you with Bank access, Merchants, Trade Post and Guild services.
After you have all the major cities, work your way from tier 1-15 maps up to the next tier 15-25 zone. When you are completing the maps often it can go much faster by sticking with WayPoint’s (WP), Vista‘s, Skill Challenges (SC), and Points of Interest (POI‘s). Leaving the Renown Hearts (RH) to do later as they can take longer to do. By getting the WP’s at the very minimum you will be able to WP from Renown to Renown and finish the Renown faster than if you just completed a single map at one time. Most guilds (as do we) complete maps in this fashion. This method is also beneficial in that you will gain access to more of the world faster while still gaining experience for finding new areas. You wont get the actual map completion rewards until you return and complete the renown. You will however level up and have all the access to the world you need in order to work on Personal Story, Living World, Boss runs, Champion Runs, Guild Missions, and Dungeons.
Alternate Map Completion | WP Collection
Alternatively you can “run” a map for just the WP’s. This was how I leveled my first character in the BWE’s (Beta Weekend Events). Start with the map you are in and run past everything except WP’s and events. Stop just long enough to complete an event if you alone or “Tag” the event and move to the next WP. Then go to the next map and continue the same process.
Often times you can do this to maps above your level using speed boosts and dodge tactics. even when slowed from enemy attack you can keep moving and eventually dodge out of being targeted. In this way you can collect WP’s for maps beyond your level solo, until you are doing nothing but dieing then grab some guild company to finish it off. Also that may be time to go back and do 100% map completion and then return for the maps that were defeating you.
Personal Story 
Is a fun and entertaining method of leveling! If you are using an alt character it is also a great way to see other story lines and how they tie into each other and the Living World. If it is your first (or main) its an engaging part of the PVE world that binds your story with events and locations building your immersion into the world of Tyria. Completing your personal story will help you level with large amounts of XP while also reward you with loot bags, gear, farming tools, materials and more….
As a tool for leveling you are awarded enough XP to level fast. However, too soon you are found heading to maps for your story that are beyond your level. This makes for a difficult time in completing your personal story. If you skipped Map completion now might be a good time to go back and do a few more maps & events before moving forward with your story.
Event Runs 
Our second favorite leveling method, they are everywhere and you would be hard pressed to find a map that you did not run into an event sooner or later! A down side to event runs for leveling is they do have diminishing returns (DR). That being said, it takes a while for DR to set in and can be avoided by not repeating the same events continuously or moving to a new map and completing events there.
This works exceptionally well for lower level characters from say 2-30 levels. After completing at least the cities and tier 1-15 zone maps there are a multitude of events you can run in each of the starter zones. Pay attention to them as you open your map so you can return to them later. For example the Queensdale Veteran Run (was originally a champion run) of the Boar, Troll, Fish, Oak, Wasp, and back to Boar. Still works and can still be run. Then later move to Kessex Hills for Champion Runs. Metrica Province has the Thaumanova Reactor (4 events in close proximity), Caledon Forest has Sleive’s Inlet (6 events with fairly fast spawn times). Wayfarer Foothills has Raven, Svanir (1 & 2), and Grawl events. Plains of Ashford with Agnos Gorge and Cadem Forest. Once you find your are getting DR, change to other events or another starter zone and resume event runs.
The point is not to avoid DR, but rather complete all events on a map and focus on the ones that spawn often. Or use them to pick up the down time between less frequent events.
Crafting 
I have not personally leveled a character solely from crafting. I do know that it is possible to do. It will cost a decent amount of coin in order to level from 2-80. Most of the guides for crafting to level 80 are outdated. The others are about leveling your crafting. The new UI for crafting is very helpful in guiding you to the next tier of crafting. A simple to follow, in my opinion, easy method of crafting is to craft 6 of every item available for that tier. For weapons and armor it provides full sets of armor and a variety of weapons. It also helps fill out your wardrobe. For Chef and Artificer you will help build your Nourishment & Utility Boosters used throughout the game. An advantage of the 6 item method is you don’t need to keep logs and documents or bookmarks of all the materials needed to craft. Another useful feature of it is that you do not waste materials by crafting 25 or 50 of an item you can only use 2 or 3 times.
Craft 6 of each available item to craft, more if needed. Move to next tier or craft. Reach level 400 on 4 different crafting professions to reach character level 80.
Consumables 
The absolute Fastest way to level a character from 0 to 80 is to use consumables. The Experience Scroll will get you to level 20 with a double click. Then 60 Tome of Knowledge will finish it up to level 80. However this is assuming you have acquired these items already. For a New account these items will not be available.
Experience Scrolls are obtained through Birthday Gifts (annual reward) and Achievement Chests. Tomes of Knowledge are earned from Daily, WvW, Living World, and Login reward chests. They also drop from various other Chest or reward items, such as Black Lion Chests, Mawdrey II Gifts, and Gratitude Gifts. PvP and WvW rewards frequently have them as awards also.
Boosters 
In any of the above cases you will want the help of some experience boosts. These can be used to increase the amount of experience (XP) you gain as you make kills, explore, or craft your way to level 80. Most of these are acquired through Black Lion Chests, Gem store, Personal Story Rewards, Laurel Vendor, Guild Boons, and Nourishment & Utility buffs.
A complete list of Boosters is available here –> Experience . In general, XP and Kill Streak boosters along with nourishment & Utility buffs are common leveling practices.
Final Thoughts
Completing maps, Fractals of the Mists or WvW/EotM prove to be the best methods for leveling a character from 0-80 in today’s Guild Wars 2 for a new account. This remains true for alts. Consumables earned from doing the maps, Fractals of the Mists or WvW/EotM, and playing the game will level those alts faster. However I cannot over look the importance of map completion especially now that you have a 50% chance to earn a Black Lion Chest Key . It not only helps you level, it opens the world up. This access is very helpful if you intend to do things with other players. Such as world dungeons, guild missions, world bosses…etc…etc. In the end it comes down to “just play the game” and enjoy the journey of growing you character and account from scratch to a Legendary Hero!
See you online 😀