I'm new and, stereotypically, have a few questions...

I just bought GW: NightFall and it seems really cool. It is definitely a nice departure from the standard MMORPG fare. I have a few questions for some of you who are more experienced with how GW works.

1.) I'm at lvl 5 and I'm still running little delivery quests. I really enjoyed the first mission (the one where you sink the ships), even though it was easy, and I was hoping more of the game would be in mission form like that.

2.) As I already mentioned, I'm already lvl 5 and, as I understand, the top lvl is 20. Seems like it might be a short game if things continue to progress at this pace. Any insight on that front?

3.) Is there any downside to using heroes and henchmen? Less xp/loot or anything?

4.) Does the presence of healing heroes and henchmen make support classes like monks and paragons any less in-demand? I always like playing support characters, but not if I can be replaced by a NPC.

Any other advice/tips you can think of would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

much of the game starts when you reach level 20. for now, focus on gaining sunspear points to get your two 15 attribute quests. you can do that fairly easily by talking to sunspear scouts outside of towns. they'll give you a type of monster to kill, and you'll gain double exp and sunspear points for every kill.

as for heros and henchies, yes, they'll suck up exp and drops just like regular players. however, support characters will always be in demand, because frankly, the henchies are not terribly efficient.

1) Missions got a really nice break from the typical "Go from point A to point B. Kill boss 1 2 and 3. Proceed to point C" crap in Nightfall. There are a lot of really unique missions that are nothing like most quests. Quests however, are almost always just your standard delivery boy crap. Either that or it's just kill everything in sight and eventually kill X.

2)Reaching level 20 is supposed to be easy. You'll play through 80% of the game as a level 20. You'll soon find yourself constanty facing hordes of monsters 4-8 levels above you, so don't worry. It won't be easy as you think.

3) Both. Less loot and less xp. You'll get plenty of exp from quests and missions though.

4) Monks are ALWAYS in demand, however heros have drastically - if not completely - reduced the need for human monks. Simply because before you had no real control over henchman so if you needed certain skills you needed a person. Now, you can control everything about heros, so there really should never be an absolute need for a human monk. I myself did every quest and mission in Elona with AI.

Tips: Have fun

There is a thread for common questions, but here's my two cents ...

1. They are more missions to come ....

2. Lv 20 is really only a health/magic/attribute point cap, you will still have to "level" many times over to get skill points, to puchase/capture better/elite skills

3. Yes heroes and henchies take their share of xp/loot, you get less xp than with a PUG I believe, but you get to play immediately (not waiting on parties)

4. Monks are still in demand, and I suspect will always be, especially since some missions require you to keep allies alive, which your henchies won't do.

the way the drops and XP works is that they are divided evenly amongst the party -- even if you have henchies or heroes. If you play with other people, you will see their drops. With the henchies or heroes, you will not see their drops, but you still only get your share.

The drops are assigned randomly so that sometimes you may kill a few monsters and all the drops will go to others, while other times, you'll get more than you expect.

1) Nightfall has 20 missions, and is actually a fairly long game if you're not powering through it. You're not required to do the little fedex quests, so if you're itching for another mission you can just do the primary quest and move on.

2) Unlike most games, GW isn't about levelling up and character building in the traditional sense. Most experienced players will tell you that the real game doesn't actually start until you reach max level. You will likely reach level 20 before you are even 1/4th of the way through the game.

3) Drops and XP are split between all party members, regardless of whether they are players or CPU-controlled. Since your heroes can't pick up their loot for you, it simply isn't dropped, and you get a smaller share as a result. There is no XP penalty for partying with heroes/henchmen rather than human players.

4) Support classes are less in-demand, but the demand does exist. I still notice "group 7/8 LF monk to go" in many mission towns, so I doubt that monks will have a hard time finding parties even with the new hero system.

Arghhh when I started typing this there was no replies and by the time I finished it there were tons .... Dang you guys are fast.

Here's a few basic answers to your questions.

1.) There are a reasonable variety of quests. Delivery, escort, kill, etc. It's not the best, but it is bearable as each has its own story and many quests lead to others. The missions are far more interesting, with multiple objectives, bonus objectives, some with time limits, etc. They are the ones that really advance the storyline. However there are only twenty of those, and you often have to complete several quests to get into mission locations. Don't worry, like others have said.

2.) The game only really starts when you are level 20. The cool thing about Guild Wars is there is no "grind" to level up. Basically the entire period before you are level 20 (at least in nightfall and factions) is a tutorial - once you are lvl 20, the real fun begins. Because of this, it's not how much time you have spent levelling up that decides how good you are, but your actual skill. Expect to be level 20 soon after you leave Istan (the island).

3.) Yes, henchmen and heroes take their share of experience and loot. However its not more than a real player would take. That's only fair.

4.) Most players would choose a real player over a henchie any day. Real people are in most cases much smarter than henchies and missions are MUCH easier with a team of all real people (of course, some missions require you to have heroes for the storyline). There are a few people who don't enjoy working with others - they will probably hench the entire game. But don't worry, most people would love to have real players on their team, especially if you have reasonable skill.

If you have any questions on ingame stuff like how to complete a quest or what the bonus is for a mission or anything go to http://www.guildwiki.org. (It's kinda slow right now cause of all the traffic its getting though).

Hey Bob,

I am still fairly new to the game (only had GW for two months now) and I just recently got nightfall as well. I'll try to answer your questions for you though.

1) There are 20 missions in nightfall, however, you will only complete 3-4 before you go to the mainland (not sure on this, my char is only level 11 and i've only done 2 missions so far). the missions progress the story of the game, but the quests that you have to do lead you to the next mission.

2) The game doesn't really "Start" until you reach level 20. All the levelling before that is just training to teach you how to play and get used to your character. You will definately not be close to the end of the game by the time you reach lvl 20

3) using heroes and henchmen is just like teaming up with a party of real people, they get their share of drops and gold. AFAIK each person gets xp based on their level compared to the level of monster killed and not how many ppl are in the party, but i'm not sure on that.

4) a real person playing a support class is always > ai playing a support class (except maybe for interrupts as i read the ai is GODLY with those). Therefore, if you're looking for a group as a monk, you will probably have no problems and more than likely have 5 different groups invite you to join (there's never enough monks to go around).

EDIT:

wow, no posts when i started and now many before i actually posted....

Welcome to Guild Wars

1.) There are 20 missions in the game like the one you experienced when you started the game, and a lot of the primary quests play out like mini-missions. Overall I'd same the gameplay on quests and missions is a step up from Prophecies and Factions. A lot of those delivery quests in the start are just to get you out of town and exploring as easy as possible.

2.) After you hit level 20 it'll still take you a while to get the best weapons, armor, runes, insignias, etc... for you and your Heroes. And if you want extra recognition and a little extra power there are titles to get.

3.) You share loot and gold with your heroes and henchman the same way you would with other players in your party. The difference is that heroes and henchman take their share of drops without you seeing what dropped.

4.) Good question but I'm not sure anyone could give you an accurate answer at this point. In Prophecies and Factions monks and healers were in HUGE demand. Only time will tell if people come up with hero monk builds that are superior to most player monks. I'm gonna guess that player monks will still be in high demand in the elite missions.

guildwiki.org is the best source of information about Guild Wars, and I can find answers to most of my questions on that site. Although don't read it too much before you finish the game or you'll come across story spoilers.

By the way this thread will get moved to the Questions & Answers forum soon.

Welcome to GW enjoy your stay!

1.) I'm at lvl 5 and I'm still running little delivery quests. I really enjoyed the first mission (the one where you sink the ships), even though it was easy, and I was hoping more of the game would be in mission form like that.

Missions are throughout the game and advance the story line. They will progressively get more difficult. If a mission seems to difficult to complete see www.Guildwiki.com or come here for questions. Both are your friends (Notice they both contain spoilers to the game!)

2.) As I already mentioned, I'm already lvl 5 and, as I understand, the top lvl is 20. Seems like it might be a short game if things continue to progress at this pace. Any insight on that front?

Level 20 is the max level you can make, but it is by no means the end of progression. You can collect skills, treasure, wisdom, change secondary classes, explore the map, get drunk ETC… all sorts of things. Forgot to mention special weekend events. So much to do and so little time. Monsters get harder as you go, so you may find them easy now they get a little harder 

3.) Is there any downside to using heroes and henchmen? Less xp/loot or anything?

A. The more people in you party including other Human players / henchmen / hero’s the less likely to get a loot drop assigned to you. You do not see loot drops when they drop for henchmen or hero’s, so you think that they drop less when infact they are still being calculated. (If this weekends event for Double Dye interests you go out exploring alone, and kill as many low level critters as you can find. Cross your fingers and hope for a black or white dye.)

B. Experience earned is calculated by your level and the level of monster and the amount of people in your party

4.) Does the presence of healing heroes and henchmen make support classes like monks and paragons any less in-demand? I always like playing support characters, but not if I can be replaced by a NPC.

Human players are usually smarter with when, what, where, and how to use the skills. NPC Henchmen are quicker, but sometimes use wrong skills at the wrong time. If you are a solo play alone type person you want to have a healer at all times in your group. Then you can focus on firepower rather then keeping your Hench team alive. If you play with real people then heal away my friend.

Welcome and good luck

Here's my 2 cents:

Don't be in a hurry to get off of noob island. This is where you will learn your profession and secondary profession. This is where you can try out different builds and see what works for you and what you enjoy.

Too many people rush around to first, get off the island and second, to finish the game.....then complain that they are bored. Take your time and have fun. It's only a game.

i'm a noob too and i learned alot just by reading this thread! you guys are awesome!!

WHAT?!?! you are telling me there is another big island? the one where the Kamadan is not the only island? so i thought the other big island that there is when you open the Map is involved with Factions and Pro WOW!! more places to explore!!! WOW!!

Welcome to Guild Wars!!

1. Not only are there more missions but there are two more games complete with quests and mission.

2. It took me a while to realize that the level 20 cap is for your own good. Many skills and spells in GW rely on your level for duration and power. If my Necromancer/Mesmer could get to level 100 I could possibly do all sorts of 1 hit kills and the minions I could make would be on par in level with actual players. Anything over 20 would make PvP(player versus player) insane and unbalanced. Plus all the bosses and monsters in PvE would be nigh unkillable at higher levels.

3. The biggest downside to using heros and henchies is that you have only your own experience to rely on. Additionally, henchmen are stuck with whatever skills they've had since the beginning of the game and tend to attack when you don't want them to. To make heros really effective you have to have skills from every profession so you won't be stuck with just one or two secondary profession options. Also, they only suck up the drops human players would.

4. Healer NPCs are useful when you need to fill a spot or you need additional support. Some Monks specialize in Smite or Protection Prayers and if you can't find a dedicated healer an NPC is ok. But nothing beats an actual player. Especially when you need a specific skill set.

Tips:
-Take the time to learn alternate ways of doing things. I've been playing 2 months and just found out you can use 1-8 to active the corresponding skill!!
-Go with your gut and you'll be rewarded sometime. I knelt at a resurrection shrine in Cantha(the setting of Factions) dedicated to the god of Necromancers, Grenth, on a whim and a spirit popped out to offer me various blessings.
-Put gold in storage whenever you can spare it.
-Take advantage of collectors. Its tempting to simply sell your drops and get gold but getting armor for stuff you have no use for rocks and saves time and money.
-Don't buy any unidentified weapons.
-When in doubt or when you need help use GuildWiki.
-The map section on Guild War Guru is the best online.
-If you're having trouble with a mission skip it if you can and come back later.
-A mission isn't considered complete until you complete the primary objective AND the bonus.

A quick note on #2: one of the big selling points of Guild Wars is that it's based on how skilled you are, not on how many hours you log grinding to get to a super-high level or find teh uber lewt. The idea behind getting to the max level quickly is that everyone will be on an even playing field and it's up to your skills at building a character and playing that build that determine how well you do. The same applies to items you find around the game; just about every rediculously expensive super-rare item has an infinitely cheaper Collector counterpart (usually about 300-500 gold, depending on what they're collecting), so even with very little cash you can be competitive with the big dogs.

hehe. If you get bored of playing support, you can always swap to smite monk. the skill Reversal of Damage makes it a viable build now.