prophecies or factions?

I'm going to buy Guild Wars, but I'm wondering if i should get Prophecies or Factions. I've read up on builds and I think I'll be the E/Me Heavy Nuker, which version is best for that?

Well if you're starting Guildwars for the first time, it would be the best for you to buy Prophecies.

For the heavy nuker build on guildwiki you need Prophecies, it uses core and Prophecies skills, no skills from Factions.

If you do a search for other threads asking the same question (ie. Prophecies or Factions) you'll see that at least 19/20 recommend Prophecies to begin with. Be warned though, Nightfall is out in a months time and players will flock to the new continent leaving both Prophecies and Factions dry for the first weeks of Nightfall.

Nightfall!! Really! In a time like this, you won't find other players on P and F

I've never played an Elementalist RP character, but I'll try to help where I can. If you already know what build you're gonna run, then check www.guildwiki.org and see which campaign those skills ship with. Are you gonna use fire magic with Arcane Echo and Meteor Shower? E/Me nukers started with Prophecies so I'm sure you could get that game and have a good Ele build.

The build you'll use in PvE is usually quite different then something you'll use in PvP. You probably know this but I just want to be sure you know not to get too attached to a single build.

If I were new to Guild Wars I wouldn't choose which game based on which build I wanted to run, because I might end up not liking how the build plays. I think you should consider more which game fits your style. With Factions levelling is very fast and 90% of the game is end-game level 20 content, but you'll get more PvP with access to Alliance Battles and random 8 vs. 8 PvP arenas along with the Battle Isles. With Prophecies only about 40% of the game is level 20 content, and the world is bigger if you like exploring and getting lost.

Prophecies is better for those new to GW hands down. Better learning curve, story line is better, explorable/mission areas are much more pleasant to play in. And you still have access to the Battle Islands for PvP. You won't be able to play Alliance Battles without Factions, but I've got a feeling that that particular form of PvP is going to dry up quite a bit when Nightfall comes out next month.

Prophecies: Better learning curve (as stated by Kook), better story, more PvE

Factions: PvP...blarg!

If you have a choice, though, get both. But definitely play Prophecies first. Oh, or even better, wait until Nightfall comes out and get all three!

I think you technically need Prophecies if you're going to play online. Therefore, there's only one real choice.

No, the games are stand-along, meaning you can have Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, two of them or all three. You'll get a much broader skillset if you have all three of course, but you only need one of them to play.

If you like RPG

then return Factions
else print factions

Well Nightfall is up now, and someone recommended me if you're looking for a connected storyline to not go Faction -> Nightfall, you should definately get prophecies first. Finish it, get factions, finish it, get nightfall. Just play em in order.

You know this was posted in 2006, right? I think his question was answered between then and now

His second profession IS a necro...