Introducing the Guild Wars PvP Editions

exanimo · October 2006

Introducing the Guild Wars PvP Editions 23 October 2006

Here's great news for the PvP community: Starting today, you can purchase special competitive editions of our games through the Official Guild Wars Store! You'll find the Guild Wars PvP Edition, which offers access to six professions and every skill in Guild Wars Prophecies as well as the Guild Wars Factions PvP Edition, which offers eight professions and all Factions-only and core skills.

Guild Wars PvP Editions
The Guild Wars PvP Editions give players instant access to all the PvP action that a campaign has to offer. Available through the online Official Guild Wars store, the PvP editions allow you to create PvP characters from that campaign, and give you access to the full skill list for each profession.

Jump right into the competitive side of Guild Wars! No other Guild Wars purchase necessary. Everything you need for PvP play is included.

Immediately unlock the power and fury of all skills from Guild Wars Prophecies or Guild Wars Factions. No adventuring through the game to unlock the skills!

Create and play PvP-Only characters from the campaign you choose, with full access to all their skillseven elite skills! (Access to Roleplaying characters requires purchase of the Prophecies or Factions campaign.)

Even if you already own Prophecies or Factions, you can add the PvP Edition to unlock that campaign's skills onto your account for PvP play.

http://www.guildwars.com/support/gamecontents/pvpeditions.php

Nice add for those that only want to PVP in guildwars

QSatu · October 2006

Very good idea. A lot of ppl only pvp in GW.

Rayana · October 2006

They cost almost as much as the full version (only 9 euro less), and they only released Prophecies and Factions. As soon as Nightfall comes out, you still have to slug through PvE if you want to stay on top of things.

I really like going through the PvE campaign, but only once. Getting all the skills is a pain. I refuse to pay double however, just to get all the skills. So I am bound to grind the skills anyway, especially since there won't be any PvP edition of Nightfall any time soon.

exanimo · October 2006

Originally posted by Rayana

They cost almost as much as the full version (only 9 euro less), and they only released Prophecies and Factions. As soon as Nightfall comes out, you still have to slug through PvE if you want to stay on top of things.I really like going through the PvE campaign, but only once. Getting all the skills is a pain. I refuse to pay double however, just to get all the skills. So I am bound to grind the skills anyway, especially since there won't be any PvP edition of Nightfall any time soon.

yes , but if you see the unlock skills packs price , this is basacly cheper to get , then all profession skills packs , its a bonus if you want all.

about the nightfall pvp edition , i dont see why it wont come anytime soon , i think it will come after release.

Bent · October 2006

It is a way for new players to be able to quickly catch up.

Otherwise once NF comes out a "new player" that wanted to focus on PvP would have to buy prophocies, factions, and nightfall and play through and unlock skills for all of them. That is a lot of PvE (much of it in empty areas) for someone that just wants to PvP. Exspecially for a game that is geared for low grinding instant PvP action.

So now he can just buy the PvP-Ed of faction and prophocies and then play throughn normal NF with his buddies (that have been playing) and be on nearly "equal" ground unlock-wise.

So it costs about the same, but gives people the option to bypass playing through old, abandon areas just to get skill-unlocks. The downside is... it will make abandon areas even more abandon. But it seems Anet is happy as long as the "current" xpac is decently populated.

Unknown · October 2006

Ah so the trade off is PvE and PvP but you unlock skills through work or PvP only with all skills. I think that is fair. Although they should give the option to convert for older players.

exanimo · October 2006

old players can also buy a pvp edition and add to the actual acount to unlock all skills.

anyway at least in american territoy i dont find that many empty places as you are saying bent.
expecialy on weekends i find all towns in profecies and factions with lots of people. more people then at some times before factions was out.

Bent · October 2006

Yeah, numbers aren't that bad right now. A few places are empty in the morning and such. I consider <5 non-bots players "empty." Prophocies populations dropped a lot when Faction first came out. But worked their way back up as people finished Factions and came back, as most people consider prophocies a better PvE game.

When Nightfall releases it will happen again. Most people will move to Nightfall for a couple weeks and the old areas will become abandon. But who is to say people will come back or not? Reguardless, the more areas a game has the more spread out the population becomes.

I wasn't trying to suggest Guild Wars is losing players... Only that a newbie that bought Guild Wars 3months from now and wanted to be able to play high-lvl PvP would have to do a lot of work to catch up. Complting, or nearly completing 3 games - or grinding faction for an obsene amount of time. The PvP-ed lets them catch up quickly. They can ignore the older areas (where there will be less people then the new areas) and just play through Nightfall with everyone else.

exanimo · October 2006

dont forget a lot of people are buying profecies still , the population is not stuck.
i was just know doing abandom with a guildie , and more then 50 people there. most of them first timers , and people doing bonus for title.

plejer · October 2006

plz guys i only want to pvp and so i'm thinking about getting the PvP Edition but i don't get it, what is this GW online store? is it the NCsoft online store? or in game? or in a normal store? plz answer tnx in advance

cointerm · October 2006

Originally posted by plejer
plz guys i only want to pvp and so i'm thinking about getting the PvP Edition but i don't get it, what is this GW online store? is it the NCsoft online store? or in game? or in a normal store? plz answer tnx in advance

This pvp edition is brand-spanking new. I don't think they've fully thought it out yet. You access the online store through the login screen of the game, and I'm not sure if you can access it without an account. Which kind of defeats the purpose for people that want to start with the pvp edition.

-edit-

Just checked. You need a GW account to even access the store.

VGJustice · October 2006

So, let me get this straight. Person buys a PvP edition of the game, they don't have any PvE content but they have all the skills for that campaign unlocked from the get-go, they don't have to buy anything else, and they have access to all the PvP content from that game (P/F/NF)?

Good idea. Go A.Net. My only question is whether or not the game is upgradable later on if they decide they want to give the PvE game a go.

QSatu · October 2006

You need at least one chapter to buy pvp chapters.
Very good idea imo.

JelloB2000 · October 2006

Originally posted by VGJustice
So, let me get this straight. Person buys a PvP edition of the game, they don't have any PvE content but they have all the skills for that campaign unlocked from the get-go, they don't have to buy anything else, and they have access to all the PvP content from that game (P/F/NF)?Good idea. Go A.Net. My only question is whether or not the game is upgradable later on if they decide they want to give the PvE game a go.

You can always link more keys to your GuildWars account. People seem to have missed that you only have the skills unlocked not runes & weapon modifiers, so you would need to use the points from pvp or unlock some in PvE (since it requires that you have one chapter first).

Bent · October 2006

WoW... Galie said Anet is going to release the Nightfall PvP-Ed Fri along with the normal verison.

I am a bit surprised at this.

So, now the PvP-Ed also serves the purpose of letting new and current players completely avoid the PvE game.

IMO a number of hardcore players will buy both on release day. Another bunch of people will just get the PvP-ed and others the normal. A mild downside could be, now the self called "PvP players" and "PvE players" can completely avoid one another. No more playing through the PvE game for two weeks for unlocks. So overall the number of people in PvE areas may be lower, since it can now be avoided. Galie also said PvP-only chars will be able to use 4 item sets and be able to re-select their gear without having to delete and remake. So as far as I know their will be no downside to using purely PvP-only chars once NF comes out. Assuming you could get money to buy a few items you may want from selling sigils or from a friend.

In the immediate future - AKA NightFall's release I don't expect anything but good things. But Guild Wars is the first game to take this route (PvP and normal editions) so it will interesting to see what happens to both games.

At first I thought the PvP-Edition was just a good boon to let new players catch up to the current expansion. Now it is a way for people to avoid PvE nearly completely if they wish too (without having to face a long faction grind). So it is a little bit of a gamble. How many people will choose to PvE. As a completely unperfect example. Consider if you had the choice to buy a lvl 1 DAoC char for $50, or a lvl 50 "pvp-ready" char for $40. In DAoC "most" people simply grind through the PvE stuff so they can PvP. But they don't have any other choice. I can say almost for a fact if DAoC gave people the option to start "pvp-ready" DAoC PvE would die even more then it already has.

Reguardless, the new options in Guild Wars really makes the game about as casual friendly as it could ever be without destroying the PvE game or having UAS from the get go. I have no doubt it will make Anet more money and bring some new players into Guild Wars.

Unknown · October 2006

Originally posted by Bent
WoW... Galie said Anet is going to release the Nightfall PvP-Ed Fri along with the normal verison.

I am a bit surprised at this.

So, now the PvP-Ed also serves the purpose of letting new and current players completely avoid the PvE game.

IMO a number of hardcore players will buy both on release day. Another bunch up people will just get the PvP-ed and others the normal. A mild downside could be, now the self called "PvP players" and "PvE players" can completely avoid one another. No more playing through the PvE game for two weeks for unlocks. So overall the number of people in PvE areas may be lower, since it can now be avoided. Galie also said PvP-only chars will be able to use 4 item sets and be able to re-select their gear without having to delete and remake.

In the immediate future - AKA NightFall's release I don't expect anything but good things. But Guild Wars is the first game to take this route (PvP and normal editions) so it will interesting to see what happens to both games.

I am not surprised in fact it is what I was expecting. Why? Because the whole point is to bring people into the PvP game as quickly and deeply as possible.

As to its effects on PvE, I have no idea.

Bent · October 2006

I was expecting them to keep it one xpac behind... I remember when the PvP packs first launched Galie said Factions pack would become available when Nightfall released and wwhen someone asked Galie if a nightfall one would release when nightfall did. She said "It would be very gutsy of us."

I see nothing wrong with "forcing" people to play through the "current" normal version. It helps to populate the game and to ensure your distributors and retailers make good box sales. I also agree with making both versions available on release day is "gutsy." As some people have said online the "ball and chain connecting PvE to PvP is now broken," I can't say whether that is good or bad for the game. Also, having an "online only" PvP-Ed for a cheaper price than the normal boxed version could effectively undercut retail sales. As in less people will buy boxed copies. This could hurt Anets relations with it's retail sellers.

But yeah, it seems like a rushed decision. Galie said yesterday "... based on feedback form the community..." as it wasn't 100% planned. But *shrug* I don't think it is a bad thing... but as I first said "unexpected."

I'm really not sure what I'll end up doing now... I was planning on just buying every normal xpac and playing through, but now the PvP-ed or getting both are real options. I don't play a ton... but enough that so within 6months I can unlock everything I'd want to. But now I have the option to be UAS on day 1. That is a toughy. Because for about the first 2 months I am scraping buy skill point to skill point pretty much trying to get the unlocks I want.

Bent · October 2006

Let me just say the purchase price of the PvP-ed is a moot point for many people. So, all I really see the PvP-Ed as is a UAS option available at any time.

So when I say unexpected... I basicaly wan't expecting Anet to put an UAS option in the game.

I enjoy playing the PvE game, but it will be somewhat hard for me to resist clicking UAS. I could easily see my guild posting a certain build up and me getting UAS on a the fly to be able to play the build we're using that night. That is I plan to get the normal edition. I wouldn't be surprise if I end up getting the UAS pack a day or two later. This is probably what Anet is hoping for. Not a bad thing. I just never thought there would be UAS in the game.

Unknown · October 2006

Originally posted by Bent
I was expecting them to keep it one xpac behind... I remember when the PvP packs first launched Galie said Factions pack would become available when Nightfall released and wwhen someone asked Galie if a nightfall one would release when nightfall did. She said "It would be very gutsy of us."

I see nothing wrong with "forcing" people to play through the "current" normal version. It helps to populate the game and to ensure your distributors and retailers make good box sales. I also agree with making both versions available on release day is "gutsy." As some people have said online the "ball and chain connecting PvE to PvP is now broken," I can't say whether that is good or bad for the game. Also, having an "online only" PvP-Ed for a cheaper price than the normal boxed version could effectively undercut retail sales. As in less people will buy boxed copies. This could hurt Anets relations with it's retail sellers.

But yeah, it seems like a rushed decision. Galie said yesterday "... based on feedback form the community..." as it wasn't 100% planned. But *shrug* I don't think it is a bad thing... but as I first said "unexpected."

I'm really not sure what I'll end up doing now... I was planning on just buying every normal xpac and playing through, but now the PvP-ed or getting both are real options. I don't play a ton... but enough that so within 6months I can unlock everything I'd want to. But now I have the option to be UAS on day 1. That is a toughy. Because for about the first 2 months I am scraping buy skill point to skill point pretty much trying to get the unlocks I want.

Mmmmm I disagree. I think that it is generally a bad idea to try to force players into doing something they aren't interested in doing.

I understand the ideas behind forced grouping(which this isn't exactly) and certainly population is important for such things.

But all in all I think it is generally for the best to follow my above rule. This is different than say travel times in Eve, because while those can be arduous and a barrier in various ways, you are not actually forced to travel.

The key difference is that, for games, I do not believe that holding carrot to make the mule move is a great idea. If they aren't moving of their own volition you simply have something wrong. If PvE is not populated then make it attractive. Barriers are fine if they are there for a reason. But putting in pointless barriers or barriers that are emant to help others while punishing others make people angry and frustrated.

Fact is some people will never want to do PvE even if its the best out there. GW is an elegant enough system that people don't need to be beaten into certain behaviors. I think its fine that some groups just won't mix, because that is what they want and forcing them to mix causes more harm than good IMO.

Unknown · October 2006

Originally posted by Bent
Let me just say the purchase price of the PvP-ed is a moot point for many people. So, all I really see the PvP-Ed as is a UAS option available at any time.

So when I say unexpected... I basicaly wan't expecting Anet to put an UAS option in the game.

I enjoy playing the PvE game, but it will be somewhat hard for me to resist clicking UAS. I could easily see my guild posting a certain build up and me getting UAS on a the fly to be able to play the build we're using that night. That is I plan to get the normal edition. I wouldn't be surprise if I end up getting the UAS pack a day or two later. This is probably what Anet is hoping for. Not a bad thing. I just never thought there would be UAS in the game.

I will also buy the normal edition and will probably initially try to go the normal unlock route, but I can certainly see myself tempted to fork over for the easy unlock. I have a job and enough money that its no big deal. I doubt I will do it, but I will be tempted.

But I do think it fits in fine the GW philsophy. You really can't buy power, just versatility(well to a good degree, there are some nice synergies that pop up that you can't have without bothy campaigns). I'm pretty much a free-market kinda guy and I think all the gold buying stuff that plagues MMOs is because of this sorta of thing. MMOs put in artificial barriers and people find a a way around it.

Gold buying is a symptom not the disease.

Now look at GW what kinda mental feeb pays IGE to level a GW char now that these packs are out?

I think Anet is going the right way. If you want the normal experience then buy it. If you want a super ultra, I have the best money can buy char, then buy that fine great. But I will still own them with my level 12 A/Mo farming Ice imps and Pine souls in Lornar pass even in PvE because I know what I am doing and they don't.

Fact is I coudl buy a Jedi in old SWG, I could buy a epiced char in WoW. You can't stop this kind of thing and the fact taht people were paying sometime $1000 for a Jedi should really make game devs stop and think about just what they are incentivizing.

But the only thing that makes you as uber as a Jedi in GW is knowing what you are doing. If you are an idiot with the best money can buy in GW, you can easily get owned by a level 10 with even just a few hours of PvE unlocks who is smart. That isn't the case in most MMOs. I know for a fact that almost any level 60 can one shot a level 10 with one button press in WoW.

There is no real uber in GW, its one of the things that make it great. People want options? Fine that great let them have options. I still have a tape player in my car

But it still gets me to work.

Or I guess in other words, I have no problem with people being able to pay for convience. I say make the game as convient as possible. I think its great. The more the merrier. And because there is no uber in GW they don't have to worry about all the other crap and baggage other MMOs do.

The PvP-ed vs. the normal-ed is great because it offers two styles for similar prices. And the other unlocks are fine too because they give PvPers great options and make it richer. And do not impinge on PvE. A PvE char has to accumlate real stuff not unlocks so who cares (well except for heroes I guess, that is pretty big)? And PvP progress is all about beating others not in game rewards like unlocks. Screw fame farming, PvP progress is things like getting a good place on the ladder.

The more strategies the PvP populace at large has avaialbe the richer the PvP. That is a good thing. No matter how many skills I have unlocked on my account, when i make a new PvE char I will still need to do skill hunting so i can actually obtain them.

I think its a good thing. And I think the parts that seem bad maybe due top s false dichotomy. Freedom is good. Give the players freedom without impinging on others. Give people what they want in a reasonably fair manner. Get a keg lets have a party.

plejer · October 2006

tnx guys but i kinda find it dum that you need an account to get the PvP-ed if you're a new player and just want to PvP thus i'll have to spend 80 dollars if i want the PvP-ed...anyway tnx guys

VGJustice · October 2006

Originally posted by plejer
tnx guys but i kinda find it dum that you need an account to get the PvP-ed if you're a new player and just want to PvP thus i'll have to spend 80 dollars if i want the PvP-ed...anyway tnx guys

No, I don't think that's right, actually.

Check out this link.

Jump right into the competitive side of Guild Wars! No other Guild Wars purchase necessary. Everything you need for PvP play is included.

Seems pretty cut and dry to me. The PvP Editions are like a stand alone PvP Only version of the game. Unlocks all of the skills right off the bat, but no Runes/Weapon modifiers. But still, the skills alone make it worth while. It gives you a chance to make some good builds, or if you're in with some people that already play the game if lets you make whatever build they need you to make.

And like I said, I'm in favor of this.

Semiel · October 2006

Can anyone please answer how to get this PvP edition without having already a running GW account?
I would like to give this game a try, thanks all.

jak_o · October 2006

You download the client from the website: www.guildwars.com That client will download the game and put you at the login screen. If you don't have an account allready you can create an account even without buying anything. Thus if you only want to buy the pvp edition of a chapter, you can just create a new account without paying anything, and then use that account to buy the pvp edition.

Unknown · October 2006

An account does not imply character slots. You need a key of some kind attached to an account to get char slots. Therefore Anet doesn't care if you make one without paying, because you can't play until you get a key. Once you have a GW account and link it to a PlayNC(NCSoft) account you can access the GW Online Store and buy a Key for whatever you need.

That way you can DL client get the two account, make purchase(which automatically attaches your key) and bam you are ready.

plejer · October 2006

k tnx guys it's more clear to me now

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Introducing the Guild Wars PvP Editions

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Introducing the Guild Wars PvP Editions

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