Well, monsters have different strong and weak points, be it melee or certain spells. So do players / different professions. They also cast different skills / spells at you.
That means you have to adopt what skills you are using against specific monsters / players to not die basically .
You can also combo certain skills to make them more effective like Staggering Blow + Frenzy to maximize the damage while the Staggering Blow skill is in effect and so on.
In PvP the whole skills usage becomes even more important and everything is much faster. Just attacking someone with a melee weapon will end up very bad for you.
There's a lot of pre-game and in-game planning and strategy, proper skill usage and other factors, because of the different professions and different skill sets these professions bring with them.
Also, actual battle experience and skill of the player (skill as to how good the player is, not what skills he/she has) is critical for victory. That's what ArenaNet means when they say that skill of the player is important, not time invested into the game. In other MMORPGs the level 50 player will almost always win over a level 20 player.
In GW the difference between the low vs. high level chars will be for example higher actual in-game experience, slightly better armor/items, more health/mana, more ability points, access to more skills etc... But a level 20 char has a possibility (although the chance is rather small) if he really plays it smart, of defeating the level 50 char, because he has access to the same skills / spells.
I recommend you check out some of the skills on the official page. You'll get an idea as to how they work.
Thanks goes out to those that have had pleasant cooments to make. Thank you again and basically TrOn covered most of what I would have said and TrOn thanks for coming over and supporting the thread always good to have another TGH friend help out the cause.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
dont let these WoW fanatics bashing Guild Wars and every other MMORPG get to anyone, theyre just mad bcuz their paying $15 a month GW players wont be. ill see you guys, tron and sonicbrew, in alpha!
oh by the way, im in beta for WoW, and its a TREADMILL game. this is not a bad thing! i enjoy treadmill gaming to an extent. Guild Wars is just trying to stay away from it. WoW is going to be a great treadmill game, while Guild Wars is going to be a great non treadmill game. all you WoW fanatics, dont treat the word treadmill like its a bad thing... bcuz some of you take it like the end of the world....
I personally don't like comparing two different games and I think it's stupid and contra productive to have huge flame wars as to what game is better. It's also immature.
GW is just different. It's a competitive online RPG and there is no other game out there or in the making that could be compared to GW at this moment.
It has a great global story that all of the solo and co-op quests link together, it has solo training and hunt arenas, it features diverse solo and co-op missions, it has persistent towns and outposts for trading and economy, it has different PvP game modes and arenas, it will feature full GvG support with guild tournaments, guild halls, guild forums etc...
Skill of the player vs. time spent.
Instant fun vs. tedious leveling and preparing to have fun.
Smart spell / skill / weapon usage vs. point & click hack-and-slash.
Instanced solo and co-op maps vs. crowded persistent arenas with spawn killers, player killers and loot stealers.
On-the-fly streaming technology for instant game changes, updates, bug, exploit and cheat fixes vs. waiting for weeks for big game patches.
No monthly fee vs. monthly fee.
And the good part is, it actually works! I've seen it myself as did the other alpha testers.
But at the end you, the players, have the final decision where you wanna put your money.
There is one more point that I would like to highlight which most of the players seem to forget.
Why do you think developers of standard MMORPG games implement such tedious, treadmill systems into their games?
The answer may be strange but it's very simple and to the point. Because they earn a lot of money this way. The longer you play the more money they get.
ArenaNet on the other hand is the very opposite of that. They say, screw the milk cow fee system. They want players to have fun and if they like the game in general and the story, they will be able to buy additional expansion packs every 6 to 9 moths with lots of new content.
But ArenaNet is not forcing you to buy these expansion packs, because players without them will still be able to play with players that have bought the expansion packs, they just won't have access to the new material.
It's a win-win situation for the player and the company.
I think it's about time MMORPG developers rethink their business model. ArenaNet is doing the first step into this direction with their first title Guild Wars. Battle.net already proved it can be done, now let's see what others can come up with in the future.
Hey sonicBrew, I don't know if you can answer my questions because of the NDA but I want to give it a try. Have you played as either the necromance or a mesmer? Or at least seen enough to know how those two classes are turning out? Just wondering because some of their abilities sound very cool and I am interested in choosing one of them.
"No one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. You move that line as you see fit for yourself. No one else can. You'll understand soon... that the one that's insane is this world." - Vincent
Nice, thanks a lot for that info! We really apreciate it. I got some questions: 1) Have you experienced any lag? 2)Is there a lot of people testing it, as in ...200+? 3) Have the devs said when they are going to open a sign up page for other ppl? Thanks a lot for your time on answering this questions and for posting that info.
I am afraid due to NDA I can say only so much folks also remember this game is in alpha state which is pre beta. Alpha is a greek word meaning the beginning so yes we do experience lag at times they are constantly building the game around us, constantly updating and adding terrain and other things. As far as the Necromancer, elementalist and Mesmer go i am again bound by a NDA. There are some very cool skills that all 3 of these class professions hold most definitley. I have tried them but I am honestly not the caster type role in games. I am the grunt and brunt meat shield I like being a tank/melee class.
Everything is in constant change all the time and things are added, removed, expanded upon etc. Right now we are testing 4 maps with lvl 15 characters if that gives you an idea. There is a ton of testing to be done and there will be alot of missions at time of release. I wish I could share alot more with you all but I have to choose my words wisely. As the game progress's there will be more information available to us to share with you all. It is good to watch the website for more info as well and I do believe Pc Gamer did a 4 page write up in their last issue on GW and that's pretty impressive as well.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
There are a lot of alphas playing on 55.6 modems without problems. They worked on the network code for almost 1 year, optimizing the packet flow to the most possible minimum. Sure, there is still stuff to be done and fixed as new content is added but in general the network and the streaming technology work like a charm. You have to see it in action to really admire it.
Sign-ups will probably happen with the beta. The closed beta will begin 3-4 months before the release and open beta will follow closed beta (that much was stated on various interviews with ArenaNet). Nothing has been stated about how or when beta selections will be made so your guess is as good as mine .
If you want to get into alpha you have to be an active, mature member of the GW fan community (have your own GW fan site, be active on various GW fan forums etc...). On invite and referral only.
As for the necromancer. At the moment I use a Warrior/Necromancer and I totally dig the combination. The Necromancer has some really cool and nasty skills / spells .
I see guys. Thanks a lot for the little info here. I understand how NDA stop you guys from talking, happens the same to me with City of Heroes. I am pretty interested in this game also, the game looks awesome and of what you guys have said, it also sounds awesome. I will see what I can do to get an invite . Thanks for the tips. And yeah, I read the PC Gamer 4 pages preview, neat preview. They said that servers have gone down less than an hour during the whole development of the game. They also said, that you wont get the whole game at the begining, but everytime you load into a new zone, you download the zone and keep playing. They said that in-game downloads are pretty fast. Are you both owners of a GW fan site? If so, wich one? Well thats it for now, if I come up with anyother question I will make sure to post it here if you guys dont mind .
I went to "The Guild Hall" nice site! I registered to the forums. Gonna be pretty active there, I hope so . If you guys refer, almost every time they pick does that you refered? Or sometimes only? Just wondering...thanks for refering me to that site, it is pretty cool.
Thanks sonicBrew for trying to answer, I know how those NDA's are but I'm glad that you at least replied. (I've had a few times were people just try to ignore the question) Also, Tr0n, is the Guild Hall your fansite or the one you are subscribed to? Oh, and how did you get in the Alpha? Was it just by being part of the fan community?
"No one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. You move that line as you see fit for yourself. No one else can. You'll understand soon... that the one that's insane is this world." - Vincent
I am a member of The Guild Hall as is TrOn. It is a great site with a great group of mature people on it. Guild Wars and arenaNet really wants fan participation and if you stay active in one of the sites and post mature thought provoking topics/replies not spam eventually you may be invited to signup for GW alpha.
Currently in testing we are doing max 8 player teams for PvP however again this is an alpha and testing certain areas/things corresponding to the Dev's agenda so anything is up for change and most likley will change. I am quite sure the numbers are going to go up much higher as guild V Guild is a big thing in the game for final release. Also have no idea what the server popualtion cap is again alot of questions being asked that I am afraid I can't answer it is too early of a stage honestly.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
At the moment we are testing some PvP tournament maps which require 8 members per team (or 5 minimum). There can also be more then 2 teams in one map, but it really depends on the PvP game mode / arena. GvG is not yet implemented so we'll see what awaits us when it goes live. I'm sure we're gonna see some big battles between guilds. It's called Guild Wars after all, isn't it?
As for server specifications. Only the developers know . In the recent PC Gamer preview the devs stated that the server was down less then an hour over the whole server development period (2 years since the server went online) so even at this early alpha stage it's very stable and since more and more people join the alpha on a regular basis it's being constantly tested and fixed.
I'll just copy & paste from the official GW FAQ about system requirements.
------------------- What are the system requirements for Guild Wars?
The final system requirements have not yet been determined, but currently we are have set the following as minimum system specifications for those involved in our Guild Wars Alpha Test:
- Windows 98/ME/2000/XP - 800 MHz Pentium 3 or equivalent - 256 MB RAM - GeForce 2 class video card with 32MB RAM (Recommend: GeForce 3 class video card with 64MB RAM) - 250 MB hard drive space - Internet connection -------------------
No, TGH is not my fansite, I'm just a member there .
Your review of this game "sounds" really good. Excuse me for being skeptical, because I am well aware of the fact that developers love to use gaming forums as advertisements for their upcoming games. I am certainly not accusing you guys of being undercover game developers disguised as gamers, but your out and out glee for this game kinda sends up a red flag in my head.
That being said, I really hope that this game is as good as it sounds to be. I too am sick of the poin-click-wait based combat in virtually all MMORPG's, so this skill based combat sounds great. The screenies look great, and the no monthly fee sounds enticing.
I am just a cautious person, and when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is...hopefully this game will be an exception to that rule (or is it acception)...Xaldor
Originally posted by Xaldor Your review of this game "sounds" really good. Excuse me for being skeptical, because I am well aware of the fact that developers love to use gaming forums as advertisements for their upcoming games. I am certainly not accusing you guys of being undercover game developers disguised as gamers, but your out and out glee for this game kinda sends up a red flag in my head. That being said, I really hope that this game is as good as it sounds to be. I too am sick of the poin-click-wait based combat in virtually all MMORPG's, so this skill based combat sounds great. The screenies look great, and the no monthly fee sounds enticing. I am just a cautious person, and when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is...hopefully this game will be an exception to that rule (or is it acception)...Xaldor
Xaldor,
Feel free to visit The Guild Hall and talk to as many alpha testers as you like. You'll be hard pressed to find any who do not love the game .
Thank you for your very informative and interesting post Sonicbrew. It's to bad there are jerks out there to just come to flame posts. I for one found it very interesting. Apparently they can't handle the fact this really could be the best upcoming MMORPG. To busy drooling over WoW no doubt.
_______________________________________________
"Getting it is easy. Filling it with illegal substances and sending accross the border is not." -Ignignokt
Thank you Mcygee I appreciate that. There are folks that have been a tester alot longer than me that could answer more but I try to do what I am able to. Always enjoyed the forums here more than most and like to contribute to help and maybe try to give some people some answers about the game from my viewpoint. I truly hope that anyone interested also find one of the fansites to be a part of and become involved.
I personally am a member of The Guild Hall as well as a few others you have seen post here and it is a great site dedicated to the game and very informative and just a very friendly community as a whole.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
Sonic, I have a question, how good is the actual combat physics?
Do the weapons look like they are actually hitting there targets? And if so does it look like they are actually doing damage when they hit, as in does it look like the weapon is hitting the target hard or does it just touch it? Honestly.
Thanks a lot for your info, awesome topic you started here by the way.
Comments
Well, monsters have different strong and weak points, be it melee or certain spells. So do players / different professions. They also cast different skills / spells at you.
That means you have to adopt what skills you are using against specific monsters / players to not die basically
.
You can also combo certain skills to make them more effective like Staggering Blow + Frenzy to maximize the damage while the Staggering Blow skill is in effect and so on.
In PvP the whole skills usage becomes even more important and everything is much faster. Just attacking someone with a melee weapon will end up very bad for you.
There's a lot of pre-game and in-game planning and strategy, proper skill usage and other factors, because of the different professions and different skill sets these professions bring with them.
Also, actual battle experience and skill of the player (skill as to how good the player is, not what skills he/she has) is critical for victory. That's what ArenaNet means when they say that skill of the player is important, not time invested into the game. In other MMORPGs the level 50 player will almost always win over a level 20 player.
In GW the difference between the low vs. high level chars will be for example higher actual in-game experience, slightly better armor/items, more health/mana, more ability points, access to more skills etc... But a level 20 char has a possibility (although the chance is rather small) if he really plays it smart, of defeating the level 50 char, because he has access to the same skills / spells.
I recommend you check out some of the skills on the official page. You'll get an idea as to how they work.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
Guild Wars Closed Alpha Tester
Lineage 2 Closed Beta Tester
Everquest 2 Closed Beta Tester
Risk Your Life Closed Beta Tester
Seriphos Seraphim
Elite Gathering Guild Leader
http://www.freewebs.com/elitegathering/
Guild Wars Closed Alpha Tester
Lineage 2 Closed Beta Tester
Everquest 2 Closed Beta Tester
Risk Your Life Closed Beta Tester
I personally don't like comparing two different games and I think it's stupid and contra productive to have huge flame wars as to what game is better. It's also immature.
GW is just different. It's a competitive online RPG and there is no other game out there or in the making that could be compared to GW at this moment.
It has a great global story that all of the solo and co-op quests link together, it has solo training and hunt arenas, it features diverse solo and co-op missions, it has persistent towns and outposts for trading and economy, it has different PvP game modes and arenas, it will feature full GvG support with guild tournaments, guild halls, guild forums etc...
Skill of the player vs. time spent.
Instant fun vs. tedious leveling and preparing to have fun.
Smart spell / skill / weapon usage vs. point & click hack-and-slash.
Instanced solo and co-op maps vs. crowded persistent arenas with spawn killers, player killers and loot stealers.
On-the-fly streaming technology for instant game changes, updates, bug, exploit and cheat fixes vs. waiting for weeks for big game patches.
No monthly fee vs. monthly fee.
And the good part is, it actually works! I've seen it myself as did the other alpha testers.
But at the end you, the players, have the final decision where you wanna put your money.
There is one more point that I would like to highlight which most of the players seem to forget.
Why do you think developers of standard MMORPG games implement such tedious, treadmill systems into their games?
The answer may be strange but it's very simple and to the point. Because they earn a lot of money this way. The longer you play the more money they get.
ArenaNet on the other hand is the very opposite of that. They say, screw the milk cow fee system. They want players to have fun and if they like the game in general and the story, they will be able to buy additional expansion packs every 6 to 9 moths with lots of new content.
But ArenaNet is not forcing you to buy these expansion packs, because players without them will still be able to play with players that have bought the expansion packs, they just won't have access to the new material.
It's a win-win situation for the player and the company.
I think it's about time MMORPG developers rethink their business model. ArenaNet is doing the first step into this direction with their first title Guild Wars. Battle.net already proved it can be done, now let's see what others can come up with in the future.
"No one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. You move that line as you see fit for yourself. No one else can. You'll understand soon... that the one that's insane is this world." - Vincent
Currently:
Playing: WOW & GW
Nice, thanks a lot for that info! We really apreciate it. I got some questions: 1) Have you experienced any lag? 2)Is there a lot of people testing it, as in ...200+? 3) Have the devs said when they are going to open a sign up page for other ppl? Thanks a lot for your time on answering this questions and for posting that info.
Best Regards,
yeyeman.
Hi again ,
I am afraid due to NDA I can say only so much folks also remember this game is in alpha state which is pre beta. Alpha is a greek word meaning the beginning so yes we do experience lag at times they are constantly building the game around us, constantly updating and adding terrain and other things. As far as the Necromancer, elementalist and Mesmer go i am again bound by a NDA. There are some very cool skills that all 3 of these class professions hold most definitley. I have tried them but I am honestly not the caster type role in games. I am the grunt and brunt meat shield I like being a tank/melee class.
Everything is in constant change all the time and things are added, removed, expanded upon etc. Right now we are testing 4 maps with lvl 15 characters if that gives you an idea. There is a ton of testing to be done and there will be alot of missions at time of release. I wish I could share alot more with you all but I have to choose my words wisely. As the game progress's there will be more information available to us to share with you all. It is good to watch the website for more info as well and I do believe Pc Gamer did a 4 page write up in their last issue on GW and that's pretty impressive as well.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
ArenaNet has a very talented and experienced team [ http://www.arena.net/about/team.html ] so I have no doubt about GW network performance.
There are a lot of alphas playing on 55.6 modems without problems. They worked on the network code for almost 1 year, optimizing the packet flow to the most possible minimum. Sure, there is still stuff to be done and fixed as new content is added but in general the network and the streaming technology work like a charm. You have to see it in action to really admire it.
Sign-ups will probably happen with the beta. The closed beta will begin 3-4 months before the release and open beta will follow closed beta (that much was stated on various interviews with ArenaNet). Nothing has been stated about how or when beta selections will be made so your guess is as good as mine
.
If you want to get into alpha you have to be an active, mature member of the GW fan community (have your own GW fan site, be active on various GW fan forums etc...). On invite and referral only.
As for the necromancer. At the moment I use a Warrior/Necromancer and I totally dig the combination. The Necromancer has some really cool and nasty skills / spells
.
You can get a more detailed info on all the current skills on the Guild Hall fan site @ http://theguildhall.itwasgg.com/.
I see guys. Thanks a lot for the little info here. I understand how NDA stop you guys from talking, happens the same to me with City of Heroes. I am pretty interested in this game also, the game looks awesome and of what you guys have said, it also sounds awesome. I will see what I can do to get an invite
. Thanks for the tips. And yeah, I read the PC Gamer 4 pages preview, neat preview. They said that servers have gone down less than an hour during the whole development of the game. They also said, that you wont get the whole game at the begining, but everytime you load into a new zone, you download the zone and keep playing. They said that in-game downloads are pretty fast. Are you both owners of a GW fan site? If so, wich one? Well thats it for now, if I come up with anyother question I will make sure to post it here if you guys dont mind 
.
Thanks a lot once again,
yeyeman
Ok,question:
1)Does the PvP allow up to hundreds(thousands)players at once in 1 HUGE war?Or is it kinda like Diablo 2?
2)How many people on a server at once?
3)What are the system reqs?What CPU u use and/or reccomend?
Thanx!
**Like to talk about Video Games?Go to Veiwers Pick Forums...
http://viewerspick.proboards35.com/index.cgi?
*
"No one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. You move that line as you see fit for yourself. No one else can. You'll understand soon... that the one that's insane is this world." - Vincent
Currently:
Playing: WOW & GW
I am a member of The Guild Hall as is TrOn. It is a great site with a great group of mature people on it. Guild Wars and arenaNet really wants fan participation and if you stay active in one of the sites and post mature thought provoking topics/replies not spam eventually you may be invited to signup for GW alpha.
Currently in testing we are doing max 8 player teams for PvP however again this is an alpha and testing certain areas/things corresponding to the Dev's agenda so anything is up for change and most likley will change. I am quite sure the numbers are going to go up much higher as guild V Guild is a big thing in the game for final release. Also have no idea what the server popualtion cap is again alot of questions being asked that I am afraid I can't answer it is too early of a stage honestly.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
At the moment we are testing some PvP tournament maps which require 8 members per team (or 5 minimum). There can also be more then 2 teams in one map, but it really depends on the PvP game mode / arena. GvG is not yet implemented so we'll see what awaits us when it goes live. I'm sure we're gonna see some big battles between guilds. It's called Guild Wars after all, isn't it?
As for server specifications. Only the developers know
. In the recent PC Gamer preview the devs stated that the server was down less then an hour over the whole server development period (2 years since the server went online) so even at this early alpha stage it's very stable and since more and more people join the alpha on a regular basis it's being constantly tested and fixed.
I'll just copy & paste from the official GW FAQ about system requirements.
-------------------
What are the system requirements for Guild Wars?
The final system requirements have not yet been determined, but currently we are have set the following as minimum system specifications for those involved in our Guild Wars Alpha Test:
- Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
- 800 MHz Pentium 3 or equivalent
- 256 MB RAM
- GeForce 2 class video card with 32MB RAM (Recommend: GeForce 3 class video card with 64MB RAM)
- 250 MB hard drive space
- Internet connection
-------------------
No, TGH is not my fansite, I'm just a member there
.
Cool,nice low system reqs,but since its beta,them specs will be way ^ later on most likly.
**Like to talk about Video Games?Go to Veiwers Pick Forums...
http://viewerspick.proboards35.com/index.cgi?
*
Your review of this game "sounds" really good. Excuse me for being skeptical, because I am well aware of the fact that developers love to use gaming forums as advertisements for their upcoming games. I am certainly not accusing you guys of being undercover game developers disguised as gamers, but your out and out glee for this game kinda sends up a red flag in my head.
That being said, I really hope that this game is as good as it sounds to be. I too am sick of the poin-click-wait based combat in virtually all MMORPG's, so this skill based combat sounds great. The screenies look great, and the no monthly fee sounds enticing.
I am just a cautious person, and when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is...hopefully this game will be an exception to that rule (or is it acception)...Xaldor
Xaldor,
Feel free to visit The Guild Hall and talk to as many alpha testers as you like. You'll be hard pressed to find any who do not love the game
.
_______________________________________________
"Getting it is easy. Filling it with illegal substances and sending accross the border is not."
-Ignignokt
---Playing---
Asheron's Call
Thank you Mcygee I appreciate that. There are folks that have been a tester alot longer than me that could answer more but I try to do what I am able to. Always enjoyed the forums here more than most and like to contribute to help and maybe try to give some people some answers about the game from my viewpoint. I truly hope that anyone interested also find one of the fansites to be a part of and become involved.
I personally am a member of The Guild Hall as well as a few others you have seen post here and it is a great site dedicated to the game and very informative and just a very friendly community as a whole.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
Sonic, I have a question, how good is the actual combat physics?
Do the weapons look like they are actually hitting there targets? And if so does it look like they are actually doing damage when they hit, as in does it look like the weapon is hitting the target hard or does it just touch it? Honestly.
Thanks a lot for your info, awesome topic you started here by the way.