Questions... :)

XionTawa

XionTawa

New Member
I have been dising this game since it came out and have played many trials and didn't like it all the much... Well...after playing MMORPGs for 11 years and getting sick of the bad groups and games with little or NO story, (or story that you are really involved in, or story that is there but unless you want to raid with 25 people 3 times a week you don't get to experience) lol...

I have decided to take a step back and look at Guild Wars...mainly because I am looking for a game that is cheap to play, and something my wife and I can get on at anytime and play together and enjoy no matter if there are people on or not...

My first question: After reading the above information, is GWs a good game for my wife and I?

Also, I tend to out level and spend a little more time playing than my wife, will me advancing ahead of her in quests and level, limit our ability to play with each other without it hindering our gameplay (getting little or no XP or gear)? (I seem to remember in one of the trials having a max level character helping me and I still got XP and gear and had a good time)

Those of you who have played games like WoW, Lotro, EQ2, Aion, Warhammer, and other popular MMOs, there seems to not be as much content in GWs as those games (I don't see mounts, I don't see world events, I don't see mini games, I don't see crafting, I don't see some of the other things that keep you occupied when quest burn out kicks in), now am I just missing something or if not, and what I am seeing is correct or mostly correct, what keeps you playing? I love to play long hours, but I am also not in the mood to be putting 10+ hours per week into another online game, so really a lack of content wouldn't be bad, I just wanna know...

Also, how active is the "guild"? Is there people always on wanting to play, or what?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope someone replys shortly :) And any other info on pros (or cons) to GWs would be greatly appreciated... (gotta talk my wife into too ;) )
 
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It does sound like a good game reading that info, you can party with AI team-mates if nobody is around, which you will need to do if there is no-one around as the areas are instanced and designed for parties, but luckily the AI is very capable.

The game has a story, that is the progression in the game, you can *finish* each campaigns story, but there are repeatable areas after that. More so in the later campaigns, as the original was designed for people to move to PvP, which is weird because it was very plot-driven. However, you can also wander around and randomly kill stuff too.

The reason we don't get bored is because the combat is very entertaining. The quests don't usually involve killing a lot of monsters to get a particular drop from them to turn in for a meagre reward, and their is no waiting for monsters to re-spawn due to the instanced nature of the game.

Out-levelling someone won't matter, nor will getting better equipment, as you progress rather quickly in strength in Guild Wars, and everyone still gets their share of XP and loot, and reach max level very early. (About 48 hours playtime in Prophecies, 15-ish in Factions and 30-ish in Nightfall) I would recommend starting in Prophecies, there is just one quest that takes you out of the beginning area there that you can't go back after you complete it, but it warns you beforehand, it is the one where they ask if you are ready to go to the academy. You have to go into that quest alone and it will randomly team you up for a quick PvP match and then a mission.

Other than the beginning area in Prophecies, you can visit any town/outpost in the game world that you have been to before, instantly. Those outposts are where you form parties.

I wouldn't consider mounts content, they are a means of travelling between the content, Guild Wars replaces this with map travel, (click a town, go there)

They are also adding new content at various intervals, like Halloween they added Dhuum as a new end-boss for the Underworld. And they are in the process of adding the War in Kryta, which will be available to you after you beat Prophecies' or Eye of the North's final mission ('Hell's Precipice' and 'A Time for Heroes' respectively)

The game has an anti-grind philosophy, so max weapons and armour are rather easy to come across, which negates the need for crafting.

There is a large variety of PvP formats as well.

Not sure how active SoE is since I'm in a different alliance, but if you do start playing look me up, my character name is "Me Orry Me". (Me is the abbreviation for Mesmer, not because I'm a narcissist) Also, you'd be welcome to join HOLY, although our activity is sporadic.(blatant attempt to poach you as a guild member)

Also, for more info, see the wiki.
 
Thanks for your thoughts and info OrryW, anyone else?

EDIT: My main trial character I am playing is Noix of Northern, if you see me on, and have a little time to help me learn the game a little and have some fun, please try to send me a tell...
 
I would add the long term value - in three ways.

First - you can buy the game and add ons for way less than $100 - and there is no paying every month - so there is no sense of "I've got to be in game because I am paying for this." This is part of what drew me to Guild Wars over some other games out there. I just won't pay a monthly fee to play a game.

Second - I've been playing for three years and still have not gotten tired of Guild Wars. You finish a campaign and there are three others to do - each with variations that make them appealing. Then, when you have finished all four campaigns, you can vanquish - killing everything in each area. you have to do this in Hard Mode - which is a whole other world from Normal Mode - actually, same world but the difficulty and skills required differ. Then you can do the missions and quests in Hard Mode - working on titles. Then you can go back and take a different character through the whole process - which is interesting - playing a Monk is real different from playing a Warrior which is different from playing an Elementalist.

Third - I've met some very nice people in Guild Wars. Sure - when you have millions playing all over the world there will be a fair share of jerks. But once I found a Christian guild most of that became a non-issue. I came on like you are now - looking for the most active guild and most helpful guild I could find. That was the Spirit of Elijah/Spirit of Elisha combo guild. I find someone on almost any time I go on - and I find people who are willing to help. I needed a ton of help when I first started - I was relatively new to online gaming.

I'd suggest you join a guild - especially a guild in an alliance. It is easy enough to change guilds if you wanted to later. SoE/SOE is the one most of us in this forum are in. The process is simple - join Tribe of Judah then request an invite to SoE/SOE.

I'll look for you in game - but you'll have to get past the intro area for me to help. I don't have a character that can access that area right now.
 
I've been playing for a little over three years and still enjoying it. I've been doing some Aion lately but I'm not sure if I want to keep paying the $14.99/month to play. GW doesn't cost anything once you have the game, although I did spend some money to expand my storage and get a second account.

I have two characters in pre-searing Ascalon that I can help you with. Pre-searing is pretty easy, though. Look for the NPC folks with exclamation points over their heads, they'll have information or quests for you. The active quest will show up on your map and guide you. If you haven't joined the guild yet, feel free to add me to your firend's list and whisper if/when you need help.
 
I currently have a level 4 E/Me, and having a lot of fun...unfortunently it won't let trial accounts play together, so my wife and I cannot group up...and she is getting a little frustrated that she can't jump or go over rocks :p...
 
I think you'll enjoy the game. I'd recommend buying 2 copies of the Trilogy. If you shop around you should be able to find a copy for around $30. The trilogy will come with all 3 campaigns and then you can add Eye of the North separately.

As far as playing together is concerned, how about this? If you find that you're out-distancing your wife then create 2 characters for yourself in 2 different campaigns. For example, if your wife creates a Prophecies Ranger then you can create a Prophecies Elementalist to play alongside her and a Factions Warrior that you'll play when she isn't online. Make it a rule that you only play the Ele with her and the Warrior is your time. That way you won't get separated in the storyline. Once you both hit level 20 it won't matter as much anymore.

It's a fun game and a nice storyline. The game has been out now for 5 years though and so that does make it harder to find people to group with. Folks are sitting back and waiting for GW2, but you shouldn't have a problem since you'll be playing with your wife mainly.
 
Just so you all know, I am still really enjoying the game, but I will most likely wait for another big sale to pick it up...My trial ends June 4th I believe...
 
Aleron said:
Guild Wars Trilogy: $27.98 ($26.86 if you go through Bing)
Click to expand...

Good deals...I am looking into them...but I might wait a little...because when Steam puts it on sale, they put the trilogy at $19.99 with no tax, and no shipping because it is a download...but I don't know...I will have to look at my finances as well, so I might be able to just order it today...we will see :)
 
I played Guild Wars since its inception and the game had me hooked for 3+ years.

As others have stated, the game is free to play and the story is very well written. If you buy the add-ons (Factions, Nightfall, & Eye of the North), you would see a common theme throughout all stories. Originally Guild Wars was created to minimize "grinding" within a game. Thus to reach the max level 20, it does not take much time to do as compared to other games.

As you're finding out, you can add attribute points as you level then you can redistribute them as you wish. Your skill bar is unique. Instead of having to use hundreds of skills/spells every time, you only get to choose 8. Within those 8 skill slots, can be a combination of your primary and secondary profession plus other PVE-only skills/spells can be added if you buy the game add-ons. Every profession has elite skills which you can only use 1 in your skill bar. Since there are over 1000 total skills/spells in the game (including add-ons) and you can only use 8 at a time, there are endless amounts of opportunities for creativity. Plus if you don't like your mesmer secondary, you will be able to change it later in the game.



Once you reach level 20, you can acquire the max armor and weapon stats. Don't have enough gold to afford those nice looking armor sets or weapons, there's collectors scattered throughout every region. Bring them what they're looking for and they will craft armor for you.

As you can see reaching level 20 is not difficult to do and once you're there, you are equal to other players in terms of attributes and armor. So what makes your character unique? Well there's the attributes distribution and your skill bar. You may be thinking, "That's it then?" Not really, Guild Wars, imo is also about aesthetics or what's pleasing to the eye. There are great looking armors and weapons, every emote is unique to the gender and profession. When Guild Wars first came out, there were a number of music videos of the variety of unique dances. Look them up on Youtube.

When you're in town or players with others, you may see this little tiny animal or person by their side. Those are called mini-pets and there are a number of ways to acquire one. But usually they are given as a birthday present. Every year when your character gets a year older, you will receive a mini-pet birthday present in your inventory. Unsure how old your character is, type "/age" ... Thus there are toys in the game as well.

You may also see a title under other people's names such as "Kind of a Big Deal" or "Legendary Cartographer" or "Survivor." When Guild Wars first came out, titles didn't exist; it was added as a feature later on. Titles are goals or achievements in the game. If you haven't died yet, you are currently being tracked for the Survivor title. Every mission you complete along with its bonus will add to the tracking of the Protector title. Titles aren't really a part of the game per se. And people whose goal is to acquire titles are known as "title hunters." There still exists debate over the pros and cons of titles. I will not go further into it :)

Speaking of towns or outposts, this is where you can put together your team. Since you would be playing with your wife, the rest of your team would consist of henchies (slang for henchmen). However, the Nightfall add-on allows for players to bring along heroes. Also teleporting to other towns or outpost can be accomplished easily. There's no scrolls or spells you need to do that.

Your storage is made available to all characters on your account. So if you find a nice weapon that your elementalist can't use, you can put it in your storage for another character to use.

Those are details I can remember off the top of my head. Oh another thing, the makers of the game, Anet (short for Arena Net), go all out during holidays throughout the year via events. Thus you would see the main towns decorated with unique quests, drops, and even masks.

I don't play much anymore. I usually just log in to check for birthday presents or play in spurts. I've been planning to log in when I return from California which would be in mid-June. You can add me if you want. My primary character is: Star Munchkin. I'd love to help out. I am not a part of SoE but have been thinking of requesting to join them for awhile.
 
Nice summary, Naafiysh - and you are welcome to join us at SoE/SOE anytime.
 
Thanks Abba San, I'm still considering it. I logged in last week and checked my ranger's 5th year birthday present. I had no desire to play. I'm afraid if I joined SoE, I would just park my account in the guild :(
 
Well...just know that we are here if and when you feel like playing again.
 
Thanks. Well it's a step in the right direction: I applied to Tribe of Judah. Maybe in July I can work on vanquishing again.
 
Vanquishing is a ton of fun - way more challenging and more rewarding than normal mode quests.
 
If you're watching for a sale, don't forget to keep checking on the Sale thread where people report in good deals. (I've found Amazon.com to be pretty good).

Also, one of the things that adds to replayability for me is the ability to take your character in a completely different direction later in the game at no cost or loss. Ex: Switching an Ele from fire to earth is a totally different kind of game.

I hope you keep enjoying it. If you do join one of our guilds, keep in mind that it's a good idea to keep an eye on alliance chat. Because of guild limits, SOE is spread over two guilds... I sometimes find that my side will be offline, but there's a party going on in alliance chat.
 
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