How Big Will GW Be & How Does GW & PCs/Heroes Interface Between Chapters?

What is the basic outline of GW? Is there a total number of chapters to be developed before GW ends and we move on?

Are Chapters and Hero/PCs in chapters independent of each other or is there some interface where a character zones or teleports into a new chapter?

Thank you. I couldn't find any search info on this so please point if it exists more appropriately somewhere else.

[PS... I hate it when I write a long boring post that hiccups and does not post. I'm going to Ctrl-C before I post again--like this much shorter version. ]

There is no listed limit of chapters, so its open to speculation. atleast 4, though.

Chapters are designed to be independent for users with only one, but for people who choose to, chapters can be "linked", and behave the same as expansions in which all charachters can go anywhere on any chapter

Another truly brilliant choice GW gives us! Will this mean I will one day be level 40 on the other side of the world and I can teleport back to Tyria to beat the snot out of all those hydra that eat me in one mouth full now?

Even more technically...will this mean I can return to Tyria and improve on my approach to mapping out 100% of the land and get that "ultimate" reward title?

Thanks.

well i doubt that Anet will ever raise the Lvl cap, but yes you can go back and explore tyria at a later date, to get the explorer title,

Your saying that although I might be level 40 on the other side of the world that when I return to Tyria land I'll revert to level 20 and only four in the party when I go after those hydra in Dragon's Gullet? But I keep all my current professions, attributes, and skills--right? How will that have any affect on the hydra battle for instance? Will the only difference be lowered health and energy bars?

Thanks.

The level cap is just about certain to be 20 forever, including expansions.

There is no level 40, level 20 is the max and extremely unlikely to ever change. You can return to anywhere that you have been at any time, other than pre-searing, and things will be the same as when you left them, other than things like enemy spawns due to a quest.

So even if you do return to Dragon's Gullet at level 20 the henchies and party size of 4 will remain, although if you have Nightfall then you could have 4 level 20's along. A level 20 with the right build can solo them though.

The level cap as far as we are aware will stay at 20 for every game. Of course this could be changed but its unlikely as it will cause all sorts of balance issues as well as being totally pointless.

Beaten to it!

Hmmm...that's interesting about the level cap of 20 applying to all chapters. I thought it was only Chapter 1, but then I searched on Character Level and it seems okay. Looks like picking 8 skills out of tons of them will be the challenge and how else your character evolves. I just hope I don't meet up with 4 level 31 anythings. What is the higher baddie level anyone reading this has seen?

Hmmm....32?

Remember you don't solo the game, teams of 8 (also 12 or 16) can be built to handle anything.

I quote the developers:
"The level cap of 20 is a fundamental balance mechanism for Guild Wars, a game that revolves around player skill. The leveling system allows you to track your progress as you start a character. But by Level 20, your character is fully trained and is ready to experience the most exciting content in the game."

Mobs and NPCs have levels ranging from 0 to 31. As far as I know, only Glint and The-final-boss-in-Factions are level 31. The final bosses in Prophecies (the original Guild Wars) and Nightfall; as well as Kuunavang, Rotscale and Bosses in the Domain of Anguish are Level 30.
Fighting enemies above level 20 is not uncommon, but that doesn't mean they aren't pushovers most of the time

The highest level is 31, which is only held by specific bosses in the storyline. The highest level in a regular group of enemies is 28, and most enemies in areas designed for level 20 characters are only 24.

I'm not soloing but I am using hench exclusively. I've finished Beacon's Perch and have gone through Griffon's Mouth just into Scoundrel's Rise. Before continuing the main quest into Scoundrel's Rise I went in to Lornar's Pass to explore and map it out but found the baddies impossible to handle with my party of six. I can only suspect that I'm missing some important understanding or that Lornar's Pass and Dragon's Gullet were designed for some other purpose and to just stay away from them?

If I had 8 (or 12 or 16) hench or NPCs in a party I would try these areas again. How do I get those numbers in my hench party?

Thanks.

You don't. You can form larger groups in later areas, I think the Crystal Desert is where you start to have 8. 12 and 16 (technically 2 groups of 8) only occur in special places.

The Crystal Desert actually still only has 6 players per party. Dragon's Lair is where you start having 8.

edit: I know, Dragon's Lair technically is still in the Crystal Desert. So is ToPK. But technically you don't get to either one until you've ascended, which is after most of the CD events.