Guild Wars...

[Strati]

As some may have read in my other post, I need a new game, and I got my eyes sighted at Guild Wars.

I got an account I got for free by working at a shop, so I got the game, just a matter of getting into it.

I'd like to hear you people's oppinions on the game.

What are you mostly doing? What's the game like till you hit the level cap, and what's the game like when you've hit it?

I got a Ranger/Monk up to level 7, but I never realised what I was doing...this system...it works like a real single player game, which it partly is of course. Doing a quest and get transferred to another world..for me that's abit Woah!

It's a new system for me, I need some explanation on it, as I can't get that from the GW site.

Is it a game good enough to serve as a main-game in 1-2 months? (considering after such a large scale game as WoW is, which I'm tkaing a break from after 13 months)

How's the community like? Good, bad, mixed up in different parties (roleplaying (don't think GW is so much RP though), pvp, pve) ?

And plainly, is it a fun game? Why is it fun, or why is it bad/boring? Is there certain aspects of it that makes it boring for a person that likes to PvE/Questing?

Could use some answers, really. Just wanna hear some well-based oppinions on the game.

[DemonMage]

Is there certain aspects of it that makes it boring for a person that likes to PvE/Questing?

It's mostly a PvP focused game, and there isn't much to do end game PvE wise except farm some stuff that's a marginal upgrade or make an alt. If you don't want to PvP, I don't see a lot for you to do in guild wars unless you play it in small amounts here and there and it takes you awhile to level. Though the Missions can be pretty fun, so it may last you awhile while you do those.

[Raya]

I thoroughly enjoyed the game until I got to level 18 (cap is level 20). The storyline is fun, the quests are not too hard, and best of all for me (my playing time is sporadic and unpredictable), I could solo because you can hire mercenaries who have pretty good AI, including a healer.

You don't get transferred to another world...at around level 4 or 5 you have the option to finish a certain quest. When you complete it, you get transported into the future, after the war with the Chars has taken place. It is better if you don't do that particular quest (I don't remember the name of it, but it is the one where you go into an arena for real pvp and either win or lose (it doesn't matter - that is just to give you a taste of the pvp involved in the game, which is totally voluntary). So before this quest, you are in the idyllic world - after it, you are in the blasted world. Same places but they look different because of the war. If you wait until level 7 or 8, you have more time to build your character and get some things that you can't get in the post-war world.

It's a new system for me, I need some explanation on it, as I can't get that from the GW site.
I'm not sure what you need explanation on. Could you be more specific? I loved the game. It was fun and different. There are so many combinations and it is fun finding out what each can do. Take your time and explore - don't go rushing to the level cap because once you get up there, unless you group constantly it is too difficult to solo, even with your hired mercenaries.

I will probably keep it after Vanguard starts, but only because there are no server fees. If they start charging server fees, I will keep WoW and drop Guild Wars.

I found the community quite immature and I didn't bother much with them. It was okay coming into the cities and towns (the only place where you have contact with them), but I preferred going out with my mercenaries to solo - or at best play with another friend and some mercenaries. I don't like pvp, so I didn't take that option (which you can take at any time). However, I know from the chat that some people love it and do the pvp constantly. Since I didn't get involved with any of the community other than my own friends who joined just to play with me, I can't give you any definitive answer. I know a couple of times I needed another person to help me out in a quest and there was no problem with that. Some of the people are quite helpful. There is not much RP, since you are part of their world and following their storyline. There is a definite storyline.

I found it an intensely fun game. First of all, the graphics are just beautiful in the pre-war episodes. The characters are well defined and charming. You can customize them to some extent which is also fun. After the charring of the war, the graphics are very intense and dramatic. I had to admit I got a little tired of death and destruction...however, GW even manages that...the further out you go, the more beautiful things start to become again. But the danger is constant.

I actually do like the way they handle death. If you die, you and your entire mercenary party go to the bind spot, which is near the entrance/exit of each zone (and yes, there is loading when you enter a zone). Every time you die, you lose some of your armor class. If you die too often, the mob just has to look at you and you fall over dead. So there is plenty of incentive to not die. If you do, it means you can't play as well as you did before a death.

The gameplay for pve is pretty much the same as most other games...cut and slash, etc. You have a nice range of class choices, since you get to combine two of the available classes and you can do different things, be a healer-warrior for instance, or the other way around. The classes are distinct enough that it makes it different and a challenge to work with, but still fun.

The merchants are enjoyable, different, and some of them are real characters. You do have dialogue options with the NPCs, and that makes it fun as well.

You do have to figure things out, but there are plenty of people there willing to share their experience (in the cities), or there are also spoiler or fansites that have some pretty good information.

I didn't actually find it boring at all. The storyline, quests and adventures are great. I also loved the way, as you explored, you revealed more of the map (which is huge!!). And you can travel between city centers just from the map (like the book at PoK but not so stylized). You come to value that immensely, since the way between some sites is very dangerous. Every time you leave a zone, all the mobs respawn and you have to fight your way through them.

What I did find was that the quests just got too hard for me to solo at level 18. I continued to die a lot - and even with another level 18 friend, it was impossible. You really do need a group. However, that wasn't part of my options, so I pretty much quit playing. I don't think it is the game's fault...more mine for not having a schedule where I wanted to arrange a group. The people in the cities seem immature and I don't like playing with people I don't know...so that didn't seem to be a choice. You might have a whole different experience than me.

I tried every combination there is, and each one was fun and different. I preferred my warrior-healer. She had some awesome moves and was a fair healer as well. However, I always chose the healer in my mercenary group, along with another warrior, the ranger, and the mage.

The AI is pretty good. They know what they should be doing and do it pretty well. Sometimes the healer doesn't look after herself and dies when she doesn't need to...and the mage gets killed very frequently, but all things considered, they do a good job.

I really recommend that you go to some spoiler or fansites and get some information that I can't provide you on how to make the different combinations work, and what to look out for. Just talking about the game makes me think I am going to have another go at it this weekend during my breaks :) I hope you enjoy it.

[Strati]

Hmm...thanks for the information. Will check out some sites for Guild Wars.

[55litheRR!!]

ya got guildwarsguru.com . Also, if anyone here plays this game, I'd love to get some help with Ruins of Surmia... I die... EVERYTIME either just before the temple or right at the temple when you get bum-rushed while Prince Rurik works to get the gate open. ~ I only made it to the temple once in the last 4 tries... might be because I changed my Hero stats to only include what I use in battle. As a ranger/mesmer, I really should use a bow, but I find that my character progresses much faster and battles are much quicker if I use an axe.


bah, forgot to add my char name : Mai Tzu 11 R/Me

[Allanon754]

You guys have to get factions, really awsome. I've been playing since beta of november '05. Personally I love Guild Wars, the PvE is awsome if you have a good group of friends to play with, so much more to do then you'd think. I'm party of a really close, family type PvE/PvP guild (www.kveritas.game-host.org).

Here are my toons

Lauranel Majere; 20 Mo/Me
Brona Darkwalker; 20 N/Me
Sturv Tanandross; 18 E/Me
Allanon Book; 13 Rt/N