Guild Wars

[xRyokenx]

Hey guys, is Guild Wars any good? My bro is finally thinking about quitting WoW and we're wondering if Guild Wars is better. Any and all opinions are welcome.

[Spawn-Inc]

Any and all opinions are welcome.


i like games.




never tried the game but it looks interesting, i like the cover haha. if it's similar to WOW i don't wanna touch it.

here (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/guildwars/review.html) is a review, though i would imagine you've seen it before.

[xRyokenx]

Nah, haven't seen enough reviews. I don't trust most of them anyway, people do too much **** for money... I like hearing things from people that play the game... not people that played it just to review it.

[Zephik]

I've never played it, but I keep hearing that its one of the if not the only alternative to a game like WoW.

I've actually been playing Dofus, which heavily resembles something you would play on an Nintendo DS but with much better artwork. Its nothing like WoW or most other online mmorpg's, but its uniqueness also makes it pretty fun since its a different experience. Its not a very large download either. It only took me half an hour to download the entire game. Bandwidth well spent! :up:

I'm only on my second day playing it by the way, but I have a good collective 4 hours on the Rosal server so far.

....still waiting for Wakfu, which is either a sequel or a prequel to Dofus.

Anyways, just mentioned that in case you want a change of scenery and gameplay, for free none-the-less. I know that after a year of playing and paying for WoW, I'm done for awhile. lol

[xRyokenx]

From that review it looks good. I've been into some RPG-ish games lately... It'll be especially nice since I'm moving a few states away from my brother now and we'll be able to play something online together if we like it.

[NightrainSrt4]

I've played it. Actually just started playing it again as my brother quit wow and went to it. Its a decent game. Getting to max level can be done in under 1 day played. After farming money I got bored as there really isn't a whole lot to do after.

Its less about gear and more about skill. Sure the high end armor will give you a slight advantage but not enough to make it a set win. The pvp was very fun when i played though.

You only have 8 skills you can take into battles, so there are plenty of different builds for diff situations. No cost to respec either, just go to a town.

Dont get Factions as your first game, as I found it to be a bit of a dissappointment. Its what caused me to stop playing actually.

Nightfall is supposed to be really good, although I haven't played it yet. It also introduced hero classes that are like really strong companions. You also get to use the same 6 classes from Prophecies but also get two more.

Prophecies is the first one. You can find that for like 20 bucks easy. Never have to pay to play so another plus. Although there are less people there, but the learning curve is also a lot more gentle then Factions.

Eye of the North is an endgame expansion so you don't want that one. Although they have one with prophecies and EoTN, so that might be a good deal.

I'd say go with Prophecies if you can find it cheap, or Nightfall. Both have their plusses.


EDIT: I will say one thing. It can be VERY frustrating. If you can't find a group or a good group, you have to take henchmen with you. Which although nice and allows you to complete content on your own, def is not as powerful as a coherent group. The missions are extremely hard nearing the end of the games and can take many tries to complete. Some of these missions can take about 1hr to complete.

Its tough, but decent for a game where you don't have to pay to play. The pvp is very fun. But to be competitive you need to complete pve to get skills.

[xRyokenx]

Would it be good for two people playing together or is it a five+ person group?

I'll make sure to get Prophecies or Nightfall, thanks for the heads up. So long as it doesn't take me my whole life to get somewhere like WoW was, hell, I never even got Burning Crusade, lol.

[NightrainSrt4]

No like I said, Prophecies getting to max level can be done in about 1 day played. A week or two of casually playing.

The groups vary, as you progress the amount of people increases from 2-8. Getting into an active guild would be a good start. Just about everything can be done with henchmen (NPC's) but takes a lot of patience and skill. Its tough, least later on. I warn you frustration can be an issue lol. But its good.

Its the type of game you can stop playing for a week and pick right back up. Might take a little while to relearn your skills and how to use them again, but it can all be done quite easily.

And if you get multiple campaigns you can take your toon from one land to the other via ship or whatnot. That way you can explore with your main toon and do the missions and get the skills and such.

Edit:

Prophecies: Nice learning curve but fewer people. Good storyline.
Factions: Avoid until you do atleast one of the other campaigns
Nightfall: More people, 2 extra classes, and Hero classes
Eye of the North: Need a level 20 toon. Endgame missions and such


I don't play often, just figured I'd chime in on what I do know. Its been a while since I've really played the game. Just started again like yesterday lol.

[xRyokenx]

Sounds like my kind of game, especially since there's no fee. Sweet! :D

[NightrainSrt4]

Ya, its cheap and decent. Just like I said it can be frustrating doing missions at times. Some can take up to 10 tries or more to learn the right strategy.

Its less about gear and more about skill and quick thinking during situations.

[xRyokenx]

Its less about gear and more about skill and quick thinking during situations.

Exactly what I want in a game. Being required to think... less grinding. If I wanted grinding I'd have a garden, lol... but at least then the rewards are usually pretty good.

My bro and I will have to play a little with you and your bro if/when we get the cash for this. Hell, it's better than him paying $50 to transfer my two high level characters to his account, lol. **** that ****.

[Eclecticos]

Yea. I've played it. Its decent. . besides having to explore alone.
They have a free trial going on. 13 Day Free Trial. (http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/guildwars/factions_trial/)

[xRyokenx]

Yeah, but I don't subscribe to FilePlanet or anything... if I only need to make a username to do it then I guess it's not too bad.

[Eclecticos]

Yea, you just make a name. . skip past the subscription part, Login, and goto the Trial.

[NightrainSrt4]

Ya, try the free trial if you can. I don't think it has any restrictions as in things you can do, but I may be wrong. If you can do the three world trial or whatever, take advantage of that. That way you can try the 3 main campaigns. Don't be fooled by Factions original allure lol, as it pissed me off later on and made me quit the game.

The only thing I don't like about the Guild Wars 14 day trial is that it caps you at 10 hours played for it. :down:

But try it out, can't hurt!

[Spawn-Inc]

Yeah, but I don't subscribe to FilePlanet or anything... if I only need to make a username to do it then I guess it's not too bad.

ya thats all you do. i have one to alot of those download sites i don't get spam from them either, but if your worried you can always make a spam email and use that.

actually since i have the day off and i got my new razer sound card and head set i am going to try the trail.

[xRyokenx]

Alright, I'll get this downloading later... this game sounds like it's a lot more fun than WoW and maybe I can get another couple people I know to swap over too, lol.

[Spawn-Inc]

ok so this game blows, but not because its bad but because it's not my kinda game. i have no clue what to do in the game, i ended up in a field with a bunch of other people and tried attacking them but didn't know how to.

[xRyokenx]

Look up an online game manual? lol... according to that review it supposedly has a 30min learning curve. Which is better than the one for EVE Online because that game was difficult to learn to play... and was grinding hell too, lol.

[NightrainSrt4]

The basics of it really are simple, but if you haven't played a game like this I suppose it could be quite daunting.

To attack, either:

Double left click on a creature
or
Click on a creature to highlight and hit space bar

To swap targets:
You can do this by manually clicking
or
Hitting the [Tab] Key
note* Hitting the tab key doesn't guarantee you will get the target you want, much like other MMO type games. It simply cycles through all nearby targets



To use a spell/ability if you have any:

click on the cast bar
or
Hit the corresponding number key



To move:

Click on the point of land you would like to move to
or
WASD
or
Up, Down, Left, Right Keys



To command henchmen to attack the target you are attacking:

Ctrl + attack the target
or
Ctrl + spell/ability on target


I can help you with more if you need it. Which Campaign did you download for? As Profecies has a decent beginner section to get you into the groove. Factions does as well but at a much faster pace.

In the menu you can look up keybindings as well for different actions, but for the most part I gave you the lowdown above.

[xRyokenx]

Factions is the only download you can get unless you can pay... I"m not complaining though, I'm not planning on buying that particular expansion anyway.

Thanks for the quick guide to all the commands, by the way... and all the advice you've given. :)

[NightrainSrt4]

More hotkey commands for you: Assuming I am remembering correctly


[I]

This opens your inventory. Here you can look at the armor you are wearing. Equip weapons/offhand items. Attach upgrades. Check how much gold/plat you have. Etc


[K]

Brings up the skill menu. In towns you can swap out skills. Once you leave town you can not change your skills in battle. You have 8 and only 8 out in the field.

Here you can also add attribute points into the 4 different base attributes for your class/proffession. Ex: Adding points to Energy Storage as an Elementalist gives you more mana. Each class has one skill area that only can be used if it is your main profession. All other's can be used if you choose that profession as your secondary.

Ex: If I choose a ranger/elementalist. I can put points into all the ranger attributes (including the ranger only primary) and all three magic schools of elementalist. But because elementalist is my secondary, I can not use its primary attribute section (Energy Storage).


[H]

This menu brings up the experience bar, much like what is on the standard UI. But this also tells you how much you need to level and how much you have accumulated total throughout the career with that toon.

This menu also brings up the title section (which tells you the progress on the titles you can get. there are many more than what is in this section. These are the basic more common ones).

Also your points with different factions from pvp. Which you can spend to purchase runes and other little things.


[G]

This brings up the guild screen. Here you can see the guild message and who is in the guild. Officers and such can perform invites to others from this screen as well.


[N]

This menu brings up your friends list. Here you can add friends so you can see who is on and who is offline. You can also add people to ignore in this menu as well. Good for those people that annoy you or tick you off.




I'm sure there are others that could be useful but I think I have layed most of them out. Will throw more up if I can think of other useful ones. All these can be accessed by clicking on the little menu button as well. This will open a dropdown(or up I suppose) menu where you can access all these things and more.

[NightrainSrt4]

No problem Ryo. Just bored and in between classes. Not much else to do :D

Edit:

Woot! My first light green bar! I need to work on a nice sig lol. Keep putting it all off. Now I have my light green bar I almost feel obligated hehe.

[xRyokenx]

If you want me to make you a sig, I will... just lemme know what colors you want and whatever and I'll try to whip something up similar to mine.

[Luke122]

I played Guild Wars before I got into WoW.. the henchmen were a definite plus for me, as PUG's (Pick up groups) generally suck ass. The henchmen saved me from having to deal with stupid people who join, play for 10 mins, then wipe the whole party and quit out of frustration.

I could take a bunch of henchmen, and go run missions on my own. They can be a bit tough to control, but once you get them figured out, and get your skills sorted, you can destroy missions by yourself. :D

My main was a Necromancer/Mesmer. My build was a melee-mancer.. get in close, and it's all life steal, death touch, corpse explosions, etc. I always had two goons with me, and a healer and blaster hanging back.

[xRyokenx]

I screwed up on the account registration for the trial and it fudged my password and questions, lol. I'll **** with that later when I'm not feeling so pissed off at it and at other stuff in my life.

Can you take henchmen with if you've got two people in the group?

[Luke122]

When you first start, you are limited to a group of 2. Once you get into the next set of missions, I believe you are limited to 4, then 5 later on.

You can take any mix of henchmen and other players. :)

This is a huge bonus if you are leveling a healer, and dont do much damage so you need protection. Take a brawler with you (melee hench) or blaster, and you just hang back and keep them alive while they do all the killing for you. :)

[xRyokenx]

That's awesome... if I had the cash I'd go pick it up right now instead of waiting for this trial crap to download and messing around with that account again.

[Luke122]

I love the fact that it's free to play after you buy it... that was awesome. :)

I like the interface way more than WoW also.. you can easily resize windows and drag them around, etc. I also liked that you can buy/find dyes to customize the appearance of your items. Want all blue? Red? Black? Buy the colors, apply to your equipment (armor, weapons, bag, etc) and you are good to go.

[Spawn-Inc]

i guess i wasn't in a place where attacking takes place. either way not my cup of tea, hell i don't even like tea in general!

but it's cool that its free like you said, that would make me want to play it if i liked those games.

[NightrainSrt4]

I just got Nightfall as my brother wanted to try it.

It has the same feeling that I felt when I played the first one for the first time. So that is a very good thing for it. Makes me realize how much Factions was a letdown for me. Eventually I will go back through Factions with a toon and complete everything though.

As for Nightfall, having a Hero is very nice. They are much more commandable then the henchmen. Each also can have a skill set, just like yours. Also you can click on their skills just like yours to force them to use a skill. Great if you get them some healing skills and they are ignoring them. Also you can equip weapons and offhands/shields on them. Which is very nice. Their armor auto scales so you don't need to worry about that.

Overall I think Nightfall really brings some life back to a game I stopped playing.

[DZ469]

Yeah man if you havent already gotten GW yet you should. I think it is a lot
better than Wow (but thats my opinion so dont yell) and you dont have to pay
every month. Plus it looks a lot better. I've played all the expansions and they
are good. Like Nightrain said Factions sucked, but thats ok if you play the others
and then go back to it. definitely give it a try.

[NightrainSrt4]

Ya, so far I am liking Nightfall. Leveling is fast, but not rushed like Factions. Having heroes is very nice.

For anyone looking to get into the series I would def go Nightfall first then go to whichever they choose. You get 2 extra classes over Prophecies, and Heroes. Can't go wrong.

Also there are a lot of people still playing Nightfall, so if you do need a group that shouldn't be an issue.

[Vertigo]

Really it's too bad they don't have a better trial system. I'm getting out of WoW and looking for something more casual, and this looks like a great game. However, this limited trial (they're out of trial keys) is kinda annoying, add to that the 14 hour limit and the hoops you have to jump thru to get a key in the first place. All adds up to me being less interested in it. Which is a shame, Nightfall looks pretty promising though, so maybe I'll snag a copy of it this week while I'm off work.

[NightrainSrt4]

Ya, Nightfall is pretty nice. I haven't played in a week since i hit 20. Lots of college work and such (but not totally as Ive been playing TF2 a bit).

I know the game is based around being lvl 20, but I always have a hard time going on once i hit it. The higher armor doesn't give any more protection, just looks cooler. I'm not an epeen stroker so I could care less for the "cooler" armors.

When I have time ill go back to it and get more skills for pvp or something.

[Vertigo]

Installing Nightfall now. I think first I'm going to try a Paragon.

[B1Gtime]

I liked it alot when i first got it.

I have Phrophices,Factions and Night fall didnt buy Eye of the North.

After having like 6 lvl 20's it got alittle boring eithier know i only beat the first one, but i would say its a good game, i might buy Eye of the North but i been playing Team Fortress 2.

I like the First one the best,then night fall, and probably Eye of the north is better than factions, didnt really like factions( not bad tho).

Havent played in a long time, but ill start again.

My main guy is bigtimekill if you want to add me.

[Vertigo]

After a day of playing, my Paragon Kiril is level 11. And I have to say I like the game, there are a few nitpicking issues I have with the game, but overall it's just what I needed to fill the wowSlump. Oh, and 2 of my wow accounts sold today. So ... the Animus project will be finished MUCH sooner than originally anticipated.