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Never played GW, but I should have!
Jaymenicus
Member Posts: 29
Hey GW people, I've come to the realization that I wasted YEARS on other games, wasted a lot of money on monthly fees, too.
But, I'd always heard that GW is all about PvP, and in the games I've played, I disliked PvP.
Now, I get a chance in a few days to try GW, because they have that 14-day Trial available for only a couple bucks. Impressive gimmick, selling a disc for a couple dollars that allows a couple weeks to try out ALL 3 Chapters. I'd rather the trial was free, but hey, since there's no monthly fee, the only income is from sales of the software.
Right? They don't sell "enhancements" on the side, do they? Like a lot of these silly "free forever" games... I haven't seen any of them that I liked well enough to pay for any 'enhancements' anyway.
But, the real reason for this post is the MUSIC! Freaking FABULOUS music! I stumbled across the Guild Wars official website this morning, saw that Direct Song link, and went and checked it out, and it's just AMAZING! I've heard nice music in quite a few games, but NOTHING like this. Oh, Lineage 2 has a nice bit of music, but... man! Jeremy Soules has a GIFT! And GW is full of this music???
But, I gotta ask... the soundtrack recording, is that the same recording as the in-game music? Or did they do a special build for the soundtrack that's better quality than the same composition in-game?
Well, obviously I like classical music, this music is certainly slanted toward that, better instrumental-type compositions that the LotR movies, probably. I sure am looking forward to getting that trial and coming to play, to see what I've been missing, and hear this music as it's applied to the game.
Hey, post here and let me know more about the game. I'll probably regret that I passed over GW for so long... Are the graphics in game really like those screenshots on the official website? Characters really look like that? Or are those artists renderings, stylized imagery, of what everyone wishes it looked like?
Post here! PM me! Just let me know what I've been missing.
Jaymenicus the Regretful
Kalmenicus made MMORPG.com sit up and take notice.
Comments
The only thing they sell on the side is PvP versions of the game (with skills etc unlocked) but you have to buy the game to do PvE.... basically...... just start unlocking them yourself
oh and the millionth selling thing, that costs like £2.99 and you get some pretty weapons in any character you create.
Music is awesome. Graphics do look as nice as the screenshots even on an average machine. Scenery is lovely, on all 3 guildwars games although i still really love the starting area of the first one.
Guild Wars makes for an okay game PvE wise but with a level cap of 20, and each game basically is standalone (until the next one which is catered for level 20's). Don't expect too much in this department.
PvP wise, there's a lot of builds that become favour of the month, although you see fewer and fewer without an "E" in their profession.
personlly i love my Paragon/Ranger
Warrior/Dervish
and Necro/Elementalist
Haven't gotten the Trial yet... I had forgotten it was 14-days, maximum 10 hours play time.
Anyway, I could order from Fry's, but apparently it'll be June 12th before it's available anywhere else. Except maybe the official site is selling the key... have to go back and look.
10 hours? Man, I play 10 hours a day. And on a new game, I'll be standing around looking at everything... but maybe that'll induce me to put up the real cash, altho the accountant frowns whenever I mention new games. We'll see. I really want to get a look inside GW, asap.
Jaymenicus the "Heinz 51 commercial music"
Kalmenicus rules! MMORPG.com knows all about that.
To quickly answer your questions: YES, the soundtrack is exactly what the in-game music sounds like, and YES, the screenshots you see on the website is the actual graphical quality of the game (well, depending a little on your graphics card, but GeForce 4 and up should do just fine).
Jeremy Soule does a lot of composing for RPG games (Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege 2, etc.), so it comes as no surprise. So no matter which GW campaign you choose, it'll be a good sonic experience. Musically, I would recommend the Prophecies campaign, though, just because I personally enjoy the music there the most.
With regards to enhancements, it certainly isn't a free-to-play-with-item-mall kind of setup. There's an option to buy an additional character slot, but I think that's about it. A lot of the good stuff here, you have to work hard for to get, and even then, it doesn't make you uber-1337, which is good for game balance. A lot of the end-game stuff is for show (expensive prestige armor) and recognition (PVP rank and fame).
There's no monthly fees, which ups the replay value. You can leave it for a year, and then come back (which I did).
Thanks for the input.
One other thing, is 1st person view available? I was browsing thru the GW Wiki, and the official website, and didn't notice anything about points-of-view, or player perspective. One of the immersive qualities I like is 1st person view, but I also spend time in a 3rd person view, above-behind view, it all depends on the game.
Jaymenicus
Kalmenicus was right. MMORPG.com wasn't.
I agree with you 100& about the music. It's absolutely amazing. Sadly, I'm usually on the phone, via Skype so I can't really listen to it too much.
The graphics are some of the best I've seen. Unbelievable. If you look at the screenshots section on the main site those are ones actually taken in game.
We're all Geniuses. Most of us just don't know it.
Hey guys! I really appreciate the comments and information. I've been waiting until that Trilogy Trial CD hits the streets around here (No Fry's). Unfortunately, due to some unfortunate circumstances, I may not be able to wait until then.
So, if someone has one of the "buddy keys" from your box purchase, and would be willing to PM it to me with any instructions necessary to use it, I'd be infinitely grateful, and happy as heck to boot.
I'd prefer a Prophecies or Nightfall, but Factions will work for the purposes of convincing me I should've gotten into GW earlier. Yes, I almost certainly waited too long.
Thanks, in advance.
Kalmenicus > MMORPG.com
Jaymenicus the Done Too Soon
Downloading now, thanks for the key. Lost 2 days due to circumstances beyond my control, but I got home 20 minutes ago, and checked here first thing.
I'll report back in awhile with my first impressions.
Kalmenicus was a great constructive critic of MMORPG.com.
Jaymenicus the Impatient Downloader
-Kzar-
Firstly, when you get your trial account going, its your account, add the full keys to that account if and when you get them, then you can carry on with your trial characters if and when you want to
second, don't think of Guild Wars as an MMO, its not, yes you can interact with others, yes there are upto 100 people in a town and outpost, but the game is 100% instanced, the entire way through, you won't meet up with people whilst out hunting bosses, you won't get ganked by some lame rogue out to steal your stuff, it's not even in the game...
third, get into a guild ASAP, but look around, speak to people, check the guilds details and even have a look on the official Guild Wars Wiki @ http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page and have a damn good read through the professions and what they do... Think of guild wars as a co-operative action adventure game, cos thats what it is...
fourth, don't think about that high end loot... it doesn't exist, a sword is a sword is a sword (even when some are shaped like a spade), a Requirement 9 max damage weapon from a collector (which would be a Common, blue item) is exactly the same as a Gold rare requirement 9 sword armed from a high end area of the game
fifth, the max level is 20, this is due to game balance as the game is revolved around PvP as a game mechanic... even if you don't PvP (like myself), try some, especially with groups, as a good way to learn the game mechanics and how it works... Guild wars is built to play more like an FPS for PvP, as it was originally made as a competitive PvP game from Mike gills and the team that worked on the first starcraft... if you learn the basics of PvP, you can play the PvE component without any hassles...
if you need anymore help, PM me and i'll help anyway i can... i spend most of my time in Guild Wars helping and teaching new guild members and new people in the community as I'm not really into PvP, however i do enjoy watching my guild doing GvG's and always get that sense of pride when i see my guild on the guild ladder
*EDIT*
Oh quick little game client tutorial for goodness and gamespeed
When you install the game, make a copy of the game icon on your desktop, when you have, rename this copy as Guild Wars image, then right click on it and goto Properties... In the Target bar, you should see:
"C:Program FilesGuild WarsGw.exe"
or similar (depending on where you installed to, now, in the copy, add -image at the end after the quotes, so you should have this:
"C:Program FilesGuild WarsGw.exe" -image
again depending on where you installed to of course, now apply that change and double click that new icon to start the full update and decompression that the client can do for itself, when this is finished, the game will have only the most recent information, along with being totally decompressed and ready to go (and all still only 2.8Gig, for whats in it, its bloody tiny)... doing this will aid loading times and wait times for any groups your in...
one extra lil tip on that, i also have that image icon in the Start Up folder in my windows Start menu, this makes the client check briefly for any updates i may have missed whilst I was asleep/at work/away from the computer and keeps me totally up to date and uses slim to no resources when you load up your system
Hope this has all helped
~Lonesamurai
PS. Add 2000 hours to my Xfire sig, i only started using Xfire a year after i got Guild wars