Just some questions...

I apologize beforehand for the long read, but I have questions which I hope could be answered before my gf and I purchase and start GW.

As ex-WoW addicts, my questions will be comparing the two games. My questions will be directed mostly towards Prophecies since that is my planned starting chapter.

End-Game in WoW consists of gathering/organizing your guild together to learn and eventually farm end-game instances for drops of gear for your characters. Recently in the expansion, a good deal of focus went into PvP arenas as well. Those are the two options in WoW once you reach the maximum level of 70. I am curious as to what End-Game of GW is comprised of?

I had the fortune or misfortune depending on the circumstances, of starting a guild from scratch to one that farmed all end-game instances before the expansion in WoW. That being said, guilds are a “must”, as well as plenty of free time to experience end-game material regarding PvE since difficult dungeons require 20-40 people, and learning the tactics take coordination and plenty of trying/dying, as well as the stress of developing a system of loot to spread the wealth. Does GW require guilds for anyone to experience End-Game type of PvE, or is it possible to beat the end-game bosses and get the drops with just a few of your buddies?

Personally I enjoy PvP moreso than PvE regarding fun challenges. I’ve heard of plenty of PvP action in GW. In WoW, those in guilds whose farmed end-game dungeons possess far superior gear, and out-class those who are not able to participate in scheduled guild runs in instances. PvP requires skill, but in the end, superior gear = win. To attain this type of gear in WoW, you need to invest hundreds of hours into running the dungeons with a guild to earn your keep of weapons/armor, which eventually you’ll be as geared as other PvP contestants who farm end-game dungeons as well. How far off am I starting a new character to compete against more experienced players? Will it require hundreds of hours of investment to gain the gear to give more seasoned PvP’ers a challenge, or does gear not make as big of an impact like WoW?

In WoW, there are around 100 servers that you may choose to create characters on. Each server is its own replication of the warcraft world. You may not transfer/ communicate/ play with other characters across the realm, with the exception of the new PvP system in WoW. How are servers set up in GW? Is each server its own entity and you cannot travel across servers, or are they all connected like states with highways?

Thanks for all those that made it this far, and your replies are much appreciated.

Even in the end-game instances, party size is limited to 8. So, I guess it depends on what you count as a just a few of your buddies. While you can't bring hench into places like FoW and UW etc. You can bring heroes - customizable hench tied to your character, so if you or one of your buddies have Nightfall. You don't even need 8 for a little romp through these parts.

Gear does not play a terribly large impact. Max gear/armour is available relativly early on in the PvE game. If you don't care about skin, but go for the default crafter/collector skins, is cheap.
For PvP, you can create PvP only characters, that start at lvl 20 (max lvl in GW) and come equipped with max armour/weapons already.
To really compete, you do however need to unlock elite skills, runes, and mods for your PvP characters to use, either buy buying them for 'baltzar faction' a reward for playing PvP, or by unlocking them in PvE. Anything unlocked by any PvE character is automatically available by any PvP character you create.

There are regional districts, Europe, Americas, Japan, etc. But they are all connected in that you can talk to other players in any district and if you wish meet up in the international districts.
The only restriction is that some of the content, namely FoW and UW have some weird favour thing going on. Where your region have to have favour (determined in PvP) for you to be able to enter. So, meeting up with your mates from other regions for going into FoW or UW is not possible at this moment.

It depends on your point of view and on how you define "endgame". You will reach the level cap fairly quickly, long before you have finished the main story arch of the PvE part. And once you have finished with the story, there's still quite a lot of side-quests and exploring you can do. But after "you have done everything" it is basically the same. Either farm end-game areas or move on to PvP.

There are a few end-game areas that have some sort of restriction or just are so insanely hard that you will need a group of coordinated players for them, but those are the exception. Most content of the game is easily accessible with a group of buddies, or even solo (with computer controlled henchmen). Almost the whole of guildwars is designed for a party size of up to eight players (with two exceptions allowing 12 players).

Good gear is neccessary, too, but not as cruical as in WoW. Also, it is way easier to get the best possible gear. For PvP you can simply create gear with maximum stats yourself, by clicking some buttons. However, bonuses to apply to that gear have to be "unlocked" first, before you can use them, making the stuff really effective. This can be done by both PvE or PvP. I have no idea how long it would take to unlock enough stuff so that you can create a fully PvP capable character. There are no "über items" that are only availible to hardcore players. Those are mostly rewarded with vanity skins, not better stats.

In GW there are what is called "territories". That would be Europe, America, Korea, Japan, etc. You chose a territory when you create your account and may change it only a limited number of times. Those are more like an organization structure, however, because you can easily meet people from all territories. There are no seperate servers as such in Guildwars. Everything is heavily instanced, though, with the "international districts" being the place where you can meet people from other territories than your own. There are two end-game areas that are not accessible for international groups, though.

Thank you the responses. It sounds I won't have to be as "hard-core" and forced to invest years of my life to fully appreciate GW.

I guess I'll be seeing you all sometime soon.

Once again, thanks.

As a former EQ addict I can say it won't take too long to get used to the type of play in GW....just how easily it is to get good gear. My Necro went from 1 to 15 or 16 with only 3 upgrades in armor and technically only 2 that count....cuz when you emerge from tutorial area you pretty much have to upgrade armor to survive one fight. Once you have made your purchase though...you shoulld check out www.guildwiki.org incredibly useful site that should definately be used along with this one to give you an understanding of the game.

The aspect I appreciated most was how even though I didn't upgrade my armor for several levels....I was still very capable of dealing damage and staying alive even with only henchmen.

I do recommend one thing tho.....that you buy Nightfall very soon after. The upgrades and improvements are really desirable...even if only for the Heroes.

Hey Ex WoW Addict - In reference to your name Im assuming you've 'quit' WoW - mind saying why?

^^ i think its reasonably clear why he quit....100's of hours to stay competitive(spelling) and that end game items make a huge difference in WoW where as they don't in GW

Thanks for the extra info Necrotic.

@ BSSuperman

Full-time work and school along with running a guild of 80+ individuals is similar to working 3 jobs, haha. I quit to maintain my grades, and a few months later, am looking for a more relaxed MMO that allows my gf and I to see end-game material without the necessity of a set schedule (to show up and run instances with the guild). My total time spent in WoW clocked over 150 days (3600 Hrs) in the past 2 years. Way too much...

Got our copies today, guess we'll see what GW is about.

Thanks.

Welcome to GW. You and your gf can play the entire game pretty much without using any other players, which was the game's appeal to me at first.

Then our guild grew and I've made real friends and all that... and... I'm not sure but I think I've accidentally done over 3000 hours playing.... :P

You don't really need money to do anything in GW. Not even to compete in PvP. But every bit of xp you get, every skill/mod/rune you gain through questing or cashing in Balthazar (PvP) faction--kind of like "marks" in WoW?--will improve your game, and you will be able to see how, once you get into it.

It's better to think of starting out as: not having a disadvantage, but slowly gaining advantages... if that makes sense.

I'll try to cover everything I can. Servers are split up, first of all being with a Territory:America, Europe, Taiwan, Japan, a few others. Within that, you have cities, these are like "hotels" or whatever those we're called in WoW. You may only meet with other characters within a city. Once you go into an explorable area, your party is cut off from the rest of the world(besides guild and alliance chat). Each city has a few different districts, only a certian number of people in one district, so there may only be one district in a city, but up to hundreds for some cities during an event. End game(after level 20) usually involves farming(getting money for whatever you please) getting new armor(some looks better than others, same stats) different weapons(some skins are more desirable than others) and overall just enjoying the game and the scenery. You can also help out others :-) Guilds for End game areas are not needed. One can farm anywhere with the right build. DoA(Domain of Anguish) may be another story, as that is well, simply put, the hardest area. PvP is what makes GW shine more than WoW. You can create "PvP only characters." These characters may not go outside the battle isles(the area for PvP). Which consists of Random Arenas, Team Arenas, Heroes' Ascent, Great Temple of Balthazar, Hero Battles, and Zaishen Challenge. You can use Balthazar faction(you get this for killing others and winning PvP games) to unlock items for you PvP characters. So, unless your bringing a PvE character to PvP, everyone has the same equipment, generally. Hmmm, I believe that covers it. If you have anymore specific questions, PM me.

And I should point you to gw.gamewikis.org
Tis the wikis for Guild Wars, you can find specific information there.

Once again, my thanks for those that took the time to reply.

I find it relaxing to know that people work towards an aesthetic point for end-game gear rather than having an obvious advantage in PvP/Stats over those who cannot devote as much time daily to the game. It's relaxing to know people are on similar playing grounds PvP regarding gear, so there's less "work" and more fun.

Just one more question if people feel like answering. In WoW, the end-game "gear" are dropped off bosses in instances that require much practice, and time (my guild's schedule was 4 days a week, from 6pm-12am central). Thus it's natural to have people whine and cause drama over pixelated items for all the time invested to kill that boss. Instances are reset every few days, and we clear the same bosses over again as many times as it takes for everyone to get their complete gear set. What I am getting at is how drops are handled in GW? I hope it is not as stressful as trying to explain to a 35-yr old guy, that the sword he wanted is going to 27 yr-old who attended to a raid one more time than he did. It amazes me how an item on the monitor can cause adults to explode.

Thanks.

P.S. - It's refreshing to have helpful responses. Unfortunately, if anyone glances into WoW server forums, it's really a toss-up to get progressive responses vs. 12-yr old comments when you ask questions.