Misconceptions

I think it's kind of funny how many posts there are about what GW is and what WOW is. And how %99 of them are wrong.

I like that there are more and more posts lately that truly reflect what GW is.

I have been reading the forums and ratings of this site for at least 6 months now. But this is the first time I have posted anything.

I would like to state a few things, or restate a few things that have already been posted.

GW is in a different catagory than WOW or EQ or EVE or whatever other game you want to put in there. And for the most part all games of this calliber are different.

If there was a game that was the "Best" MMO or whatever out there, then there wouldn't be so many MMO's. Just take a few mins to look around this site. I bet you could spend an hour on the "game list" section of this site and still need more time to really explore what half the games where about.

So what if WOW has 5 million "active accounts". Which if you read the fine print also includes trial accounts, or free accounts, as well as paying customers. And if you cut that number in half, it would still be a lot of people. One of the major things that I have yet to see any posts about is how many people will buy a new game and play it before they really know anything about it. Especially if it's from a company that you like, or have liked thier games before. It's the same as movies. How many of you have been disapointed in a sequel of a movie that you loved. I know I have. It happens all the time. But you still went to see it, or at least rented it when it came out. Probably even if you heard bad things about it. It's just the way people are.

Now I don't really know a whole lot about how other MMO's play, because WOW was my first. (I tried EQ when it first came out, but was so disapointed in the gameplay and graphics that I returned it that day. I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting, but I never gave it the chance so I don't count it). And I do know how to do a little math. And on this reason alone I choose not to play WOW.

Lets be conservative and say that half of the 5 million "active accounts" are paying customers. So take 2.5 million and multiply that by $13 (wich is the least it would cost you per month, if you bought in 6 month blocks). You get (using calculator ) $32.5 million dollars. Per month. Of money. Now I'm not saying that there isn't opperating costs and such, but GW seems to be able to do constant updates and put out a new game (factions) with just the sales of thier game. With no monthly fee.

So the only reason left is greed. Blizzard is owned by a european company that is money hungry. And that's what most corporations are structured to do. Drain the public of it's cash. But so what.

So what is that any chump that bought WOW a year ago got half a game. And has been playing half a game for a year now. What happened is what usually happens with games, but just usually not this blatently. Blizzard pushed out an unfinished game because either A: they ran out of the funding they borrowed to make the game or B: they new that if they took another year to put the game out that they would be past thier time to enter that kind of game into the market.

And I'm one of those chumps. So what, it was my choice. The biggest difference is that I don't go around making short lame statements about "WOW kicks ass" or just put someone down because they like game x.

Like others have said here... WOW is for a certain type of gamer, and so is GW, or EQ, or whatever.

Oh, and for the people that say GW isn't an MMO...

WOW

-You start your character on a specific server. There it stays, unless your server is too full, then they open up transfers to specific servers only. Each server can only handle a specific amount of people. I'm guessing it's around 170,000 people. That estimate is based on 5 million "active accounts" and the 30 or so servers they list on thier web site. Wich by the way, One server is actually a network of zoned servers.

-You don't actually get to play "with" that many people. You will actually be lucky if 50 people don't make your frame rate drop to frustrating levels. And if there is a scripted event your trying to catch... Good luck. So many major nodes of social commerce (eg. IF) really suck to go through. It's really choppy and I fall in that damn pit (I would love to personally punch the face(s) of the person(s) responsible for that stupid trench around the outter ring)

-So if you meet someone in real life that also plays WOW, chances are he/she might play on a different server. And if you want to play with them you either get lucky that there is transfers or start a new character, or I guess do nothing.

GW

-You start a character without server selection because there is none. You randomly get assigned a zone to play in. These zones are assigned a specific amount of people then the servers start filling up the next numbered zone. Hard to figure how many people per zone, and the zones might be major city dependant. But either way my point is that you can select wich zone you want to move to. So theoretically you can always play with whoever you want. Even internationally.

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And WOW is the "new" standard of the same old style of connection for MMO's.

So i'm sure I don't have to really point it out, but the term MMO does not apply to all the people activly playing the game at that time, it is broken up. But in GW's case you at least get the option of what zone to be in. And you can change that at will.

This has turned out to be a comparison of WOW vs. GW I guess. Didn't mean it that way. I'm sure this kind of thing happens all the time. But I won't get into my real dislikes for WOW. That would be unfair here, and really long. Let's just say niether game is for everyone, but each if for whoever.

Now for the RPG aspect of GW. I was actually refreshed by the way they had it set up. I'm not sure what so many people are talking about when they talk trash about the RPG aspects of GW. You get quests from NPC's just like any other RPG I've ever played. And definately among the standard for MMO's. But what I found nice was the compass arrows and stars on the large map that show you where you are needing to go, or who to talk to. Anyone that has played WOW knows that a lot of your time can be spent "alt-tabing" to thottbot.com just to find out where NPC X is, or area Y is. It is really frustrating to have little time to spend on a hobby and then use up half your time trying to find someone, something, or somewhere. GW really fixed that for me. Or how about how if you hold down alt (or ctrl, can't remember) the NPC's names in the area you are in all pop up whether you can see them or not, as long as they are in front of the camera. So then all you have to do is "click" on the name of the person/merchant, and the game's pathfinding runs you there. Thank you A'net. Just nice little touches that help get back to the action quicker.

RPG-Con't- I love how there is actual interaction with NPC's in the instances. NPC's may lead you or follow you. And not just for a few of the quests, but many of them. There are scripted events that help tell a story or imerse you in the game world just a little more. As well as the instanced world. I love it. (start WOW) Nothing makes me feel less like a "Hero" than seeing several other "Hero's" doing the same thing I am . Or even worse, traveling for ever and finding that whatever it was you needed to kill is in short supply because someone else just did that same thing. So you wait around for respawns, blah, blah, blah. I would love someone to explain to me how that is "Epic"( end WOW). In GW I get my own personal copy of the game world. And as long as I stay in a specific intance I will never see the enemies respawn. Which you may think "what if I need to kill x amount of monster x" well I have never had a problem at all ever collecting or killing what I needed to complete my quests. Side note- GW also has NPC's about called "collectors". They collect certain things that monsters drop and trade you stuff for a certain amount of them. Some things are good, some not so much. It really depends on your level and equipment. Just a nice touch I thought.- end side note- Also I love having the option of the henchmen. It may cost you a little as far as loot and exp goes, but so does a group of real people grouping. And they may not be the strongest or the brightest, but at least you have the option. You can even just use them to fill out a group. In WOW I have spent a lot of time (depending on the time of day) just trying to get a group together to do an instance. And then half the time a couple people will leave in the middle because they need to or are done with thier quests. Wich I understand, but 3 - 6 hours that you have to dedicate to an instance or do it all over (which you will anyways ) is pretty lame. And that becomes the standard in the end game stuff, but with 20 - 40 man raids.

RPG-Con't- Travel has been dramaticaly reduced. Once you visit a major town in GW you can teleport directly there at anytime. I will repeat this ANYTIME. Thank you again. I really hate traveling forever (whether or not you use flight paths or mounts in WOW) to do a part of a quest chain that leads you half way across the world again to do the next part, and rarely are they worth the time invested vs experience. I mean you can travel on foot if you would like, but at least you have the option. -Side Note- Wich leads me to repeate something I read here earlier today. The reason WOW has so many little things that take forever is because it drags the game out, wich in turn makes you have to pay for another month to get to the next level or grind the same place over and over and over to get that one more epic Item to be ultimately badass.-End Side Note-

-RPG-Con't- You have "main" quests wich involve you in the story line (really cool, makes you feel more a part of what is happening), also should be noted that the envirionment actually changes with the story line. Granted it happens not far into the game (around lvl 6 - 8, if you don't rush it, but it can be done even sooner, though I wouldn't reccomend it cause the enemies in the next part of the story are much harder.) And with the new expansion it will happen again. Plus as many side quests as you should ever care to do, unless you are some kind of quest junkie. -Side note- I just had a funny thought of how many times I "rescued" or "healed" or "cured" some NPC in WOW and when I was done he/she/it was doing the same thing it was doing as before, hehe (eg. lying wounded, etc). I noticed that when I killed an enemy NPC leader in GW that the next time I went through there he was indeed dead, or if you complete a quest that had an NPC involved (like rescuing or returning) if it was completed then the next time you go through that area, he/she/it is not there anymore. Love it. I'm sure that if you completed a quest, then joined a group where at least one person who had yet to complete it, then he/she/it would probably still be there. But that would just make sense.

-RPG-Con't- The game is not based around Items. Wich also means no side professions like tailoring, leatherworking, etc, but I will gladly take that tradeoff. Especially if it means I don't have to play the same part of the game, over and over and over again, to get a small chance that I will get the piece of armor or weapon I want. But still there are items and enough other junk to keep you occupied. And you also "craft" items, or rather have them crafted if you bring the NPC enough of x item(s). You can also dye your armor/weapon different colors so that you are a little more unique. Not that you will look different than anyone else with the same armor or anything, just a nice little touch.

Anyways I quess that is a lot of stuff about everything. And to tell the truth I'm getting kind of tired of typing/thinking..Plus I'm kind of hungry.

Well for close I would like to say that GW is very unique and has a lot to offer the casual player as well as the hard core player. What you will not get from GW is a years worth of RPGing. Or even several months if you play it regularly. But there is a fantastic PVP aspect that is really exciting whether you win or loose in my opionion. And GW has the usual downfalls that Plaque every online game. There is always going to be someone out there that is better than you unless you play all the time every day. Just like everything else, if you do it more you will be better at it. So what. Do what you can to have fun with what is there. Like anything else. (not that i'm great at that all the time either )

And if you want to wait a month for factions, do it. It is going to take GW up a couple of notches and bring in a lot more people

-Cym

PS: Poster boys, please don't flame. It is really lame.