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Some advice please on best way to start with Guild Wars
guinness74
Member Posts: 4
in Guild Wars
Hey everyone!
I've heard great things about GW and have decided to give it a try. I know that each expansion is a stand-alone product, but I could really use all of your advice on the best way to get started. Could you guys please provide your perspective on the several questions I have?
- Even though GW's three expansions are stand-alone, do I really need to have all three to truly get the most out of the experience?
- If I only need to buy one, which one is the best one to buy to get started (i.e., will I miss out if I don't start with Prophecies? Should I get the latest installment nightfall - in order to get access to all the characters, if thats even possible at all?)
- Are there any fundamental gameplay differences between the three expansions? In other words, is one geared more toward PvP while another more toward PvE?
I am basically looking for an immersive PvE experience but with robust PvP once I level up my character. The last time I've had fun w/ PvP was when DAoC first launched, so I'm hoping that GW gives some of the same skill based fun.
Your thoughts would be appreciated!
Thx
Comments
- Well, each chapter has a set of "core" features plus its own peculiarities, along with a different continent to explore. From a competitive/cooperative point of view, you can usually do fine with just one chapter unless you're playing high-level PvP, at which point you need all the skills and classes.
- The basic recommendation is to start with one (people suggest either Nightfall or Prophecies): if you like the game, you'll end up buying the others. Prophecies is the original one and is my personal favourite, as it has a good plot and a very gentle learning curve. Nightfall is the latest installment, you'll find most of the players there and you get customizable AI heroes.
- Prophecies is the "core" campaign. Factions is more PvP oriented, while Nightfall is supposedly skewed towards PvE.
About the PvE part, it all depends on what you mean with "immersive". Guild Wars has awesome landscapes, involving plots, many side quests, and even though you play it with other people it has that single player RPG feeling to it. But if you're talking about mounts, trade skills, crafting, housing et cetera, you won't find any here.As for the PvP, GW's is easily the best available PvP in any online RPG. It's entirely based on skill and experience, loot has zero relevance because you can roll a max level toon with max equipment at any time. You won't find RvR or zerging (the biggest battles are Factions' Alliance Battles, 12v12) but rather small fights that are very intensive on the micro/macro management, and feel very "technical". Oh, and all PvP is based on matches and done on special areas, so no ganking or PK'ing.
Hope I've been of some help. I suggest you read some reviews around the net and/or try to get a free trial, this is a very unique game.
To you first question, I'd say... yes and no. It depends on what aspects you're considering. Let's say that if you have all 3 chapters (or at least take them chronologically) you will be able to understand a lot more.
First because you will have access to a wider array of skills (although you can also decide to get PvP packs from ArenaNet's online shop, which will unlock all skills of a given campaign for the PvP-only characters on your account). Having more skills to choose from won't make you more powerful, rather you'll be able to develop more strategies through skill setup.
Second, quite a few PvE elements, that are shared by all chapters, have a reference to former campaigns. For example henchmen include Ascalon's Chosen, whose background is tied to Prophecies. In the later maps of Nightfall you will encounter Factions specific monsters and so on. There is also an hilarious quest in Nightfall's main storyline which is a direct reference to the Prophecies campaign. And well if you haven't played Prophecies you will mostly likely thinking "Uh... Ok?"
So while choosing how many campaigns to own will not make or break your characters, having all 3 will definitely enhance your gaming experience. Maybe not at once though
On to your second question.
As a starter, most people (including me) will probably recommend either Prophecies or Nightfall, since they have a smoother and more developped PvE. Difficulty scales at a slower pace than in Factions, meaning you get to know all the ropes and ties in a very progressive way. After that, the choice is yours. The theme is a matter of taste. Prophecies has the 6 core professions and most skills can be gained through quests, Nightfall adds the Dervish and Paragon (more choices though more decisions) and introduces Heroes (customizable NPC teammates). Note that Assassin and Ritualist are Factions-only.
Question 3: although PvP is important in all campaigns, Factions is more PvP-oriented. Each chapter has its own twists in terms of gameplay PvE-wise.
Hope it helps, feel free to ask more if needed!
EDIT: Blast! I got beaten to it...
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Ever wondered what a hardcore WoW raider looked like?
R.I.P. Laura "Taera" Genender
Nice to hear that you decided to give GW a try. You probably won't regret it for the next months!
Basically the posters above me answered your questions. I can only say that they are right
From my own experience I would advice you to start with Prophecies. But, that is a very subjective advice, because I started with this game from the earliest moment possible in 2004. Therefore my judgement is heavily influenced by the early beta weekend experiences. All I can say is that I was completely immersed. That is PvE wise.
PvP is still very nice, but if you really want to be competitive, you need to have access to all skills from all campaigns.
Good luck with your choice!
Hate to say I told you so
I got all the GW and for now I would really say that you should go for Nightfall since it is crowded over there and you can fidn lots of parties to play the PvE and you should play Nightfall while you can. Then if you want more PvE experience and different items and experience from other games then you can play them for a cheaper price since their prices would fall a bit in time.
That is my opinion but don' take me wrong, there are still lots of players that are playing Prophecies and Factions too. Especially with Arena.Net s support on Factions with events and festivals on Cantha.
I agree with pretty much everyone above me, I just wanted to give you a quick example based upon my own recent experience. I just started playing GW again after about a year away from it. So I only have Prophecies and I have played through the PvE content a few different times so I am pretty much exclusively playing PvP. Being that I only have the original core characters, I have to make do with the skills available to me. I learned quick how people were using the builds from the new campaigns and adjusted my character accordingly. I have success with the skills I have available. Now that I have my computer up and running though, it is time to start picking up the other campaigns.
I think the the Pre-Seer Ascalon (in Prophecies) starting area is one of the best learning areas created for a game every...cool looking and fun.
"It is easier to be cruel than wise. The road to wisdom is long and difficult... so most people just turn out to be assholes" Feng (Christopher Walken)
Hate to say I told you so