Jeff Strain on GW2

Guild Wars is NCSofts current no. 1 European and north American game... simple as!

Unless Tabula Rasa or Aion knock it off that perch in the next 18 months, then Guild Wars 2 is a dead cert from the outset!

How many games of Guild Wars do you own? Soon I'll own 4. That's 4 copies sold right there. Also, where does it say they sold 4 million copies? Cry more, fanboy.

I guess we'll have to see what this PvP Jr. stuff is all about. One of the things that irritate me currently is the impact of the rank system in HA. I kind of like playing as many different aspects of the game as I can and rank has been a real shut-out for HA. I'm hoping this doesn't mean that you have to play your "PvP character" daily for an hour just to be able too get into a group.

I'm optimistic though...

...and btw, in my field (mental health) what we try to do is ignore negative behavior since giving it attention feeds it. That philosophy works with other communities of people as well.

That was interesting when he stated after the fact you beat EotN you pretty much know who the big time enemies are for GW 2. So it’s not just the introduction to the new other races (including that of the Sylvari’s), but another evil?

I guess the end message will be:

You saved Tyria for now……..

Heh... why is everyone so intent on destroying Tyria? This is the fourth time!!

Hehe... that might actually be true, for a couple of reasons...

If they get advertising... (which guild wars didn't get much of)
They're new games... (Better graphics? etc?)

But.... I think they're subscriptions... so I'm not quite sure.

As for the discussion above... This is ANET's very first game... which I believe has made a great impact on the MMO market. You guys gotta realize that WoW was made by blizzard... which already had MILLIONS of gamers in their fanbase due to their great games...An example would be Starcraft 2... y'all know the second it comes out they'll automatically get like 10 million sold xD (Cough... Korea...)

I do think GW2 will be big, though

Why does everyone always give as reason for the big success of Wow the large fan base of blizzard... just accept it, blizzard makes quality games... that’s it.
I can’t wait until starcraft2 is released. Have u seen the site? Now that’s a site to be proud off.

THATS what I'm talking about. They HAVE a large fanbase because they MAKE quality games. Geez.

...which makes it different to most other MMOs which makes it innovative...

Thanks for helping me make my point.

Here.
http://www.guildwars.com/events/pres...2007-08-21.php

GW2 intrigues me at this point, but it'll be facing very stiff competition. Possibly even more so than GW is facing at current. Its a good thing though- GW2 will have to be excellent to survive, and if it isn't there are plenty of other options.

I don't think anyone here has ever said GW is the best game ever. But I have played just about every Online RPG out there, and I play Guild Wars because it's the one I enjoy most. Part of that is because it's free, it makes it a lot less stressful instead of something like WoW which very quickly ends up feeling like work. I have to play this because I'm paying for it, etc.

There are things I love about those other MMO's and of course there are things they do a lot better than GW, but all in all, I still find GW a more enjoyable game. That's not narrow mindedness, it's just personal preference.

You on the other hand, along with a lot of other WoW fans seem to feel threatened by GW and constantly seem to troll around posting all of the flaws, and things GW doesn't do as well. Have you ever tried playing games just to have fun? It doesn't have to be better than something else to be enjoyable.

And what's even worse, is the fact you're now complaining about a game, not due out until 2009 that we know very little about. They seem to be making a lot of very big changes that not everyone is happy about, it sounds more like a typical MMO, but with the one massive difference of being free. I'm not sure how you can say it will be outdated by then, especially because chances are games like WoW will still be going by then.

And perhaps you should have tried the Eye of the North preview, which felt very fresh and original, and easily one of the best games I've played this year. I'm very much looking forward to both Halo 3, Mass Effect and even Smash Brothers, but I can tell you that Eye of the North is on par with any of those titles. If you played it though, and really don't like it, that's fine. I understand GW is a game that not everyone will appreciate, but in that case you really don't need to be on these boards. There's a huge difference between giving your opinion and trolling.

Zinger lol ... poor guy/ girl

Back to topic:
I might be one off the few. But I liked the system of GW connecting pve and pvp. I like to use the same skills in pve and pvp, I like to win Halls with my pve toons and I like farming for my stuff to make them gvg worthy... I know it had to change and I hope that there will be at least a bit cross community communication in those world battles...

p.s. Jon Wood ? wtf that guy needs a a few interview courses...

Cheers,
Timebandit

It says so in NCSoft's press release, go read it please.

Whether someone owns 1 copy or 10 is irrelevant, for GW the only metric that counts is actual sales.

Interesting point, now imagine that Blizzard never made a game before WoW, do you really believe they'd have even 100,000 subscribers now? No, they wouldnt, nor would they have had the 40 million dollars they spent on developing WoW.

Point is that a gaming company needs games and time to build a reputation (for better or worse, EA anyone?) and its much easier to generate interest, build a fan base and sell games just on the strength of that when you have a long history complete with established enviroment (Warcraft) and lore.

This is why GW is a resounding success, without the benefit of all of the above and with a new an untried business model they've been very successful.
Now that Anet has made a name and they are slowly becoming known they can use that to move to the next level with GW2. If they bungle it then Arenanet will be dead ofcourse.

That's kind of a dumb statement. Yeah it's difficult to balance between the 2, but ANet for quite a long time, seemed to choose to not keep some balance.

I was thinking the same thing. He mentions a player playing for a thousand (or thousands of, can't remember) hours but there is no HoM for time played.

I've done a TON of quests, but no recognition for that.

And from what I'm reading, almost every title has to be the max title. So no recognition for my completion of two campaigns without hard mode.

Seems only grinders and minipet lovers will get any recognition.

-Forjo

As many people said... they probably will update HoM by then... I mean... why worry now? Guild Wars 2 is still 2 years away... if they were to update HoM by wintersday, that'd still be okay.

Worry has nothing to do with it. My decision whether to purchase GW:EN is directly based on what linkage it provides to Guild Wars 2. Most of the other major features don't really mean much to me:

4 new regions to explore, including the continent-sprawling Depths
This is cool, but I have MUCH more area to explore in what I've moved to (LotRO)

18 multi-level dungeons rife with traps, puzzles, secret passages, and dangerous foes
My personal play preferences are for beautiful expansive regions. Dungeon-crawl does not appeal to me.

150 new skills to unlock and use
ANet likes aggregate numbers. It's only 15 per character when you break it down, and with some locked to reputation grind?

10 new Heroes to command from races old and new, including the fierce Norn, the magical Asura, and even a few surprises
Gwen herself is not much of a surprise anymore. And since heroes actually DO the same thing with the same skills, this is just cosmetic.

Your own personalized Hall of Monuments to preserve your achievements, trophies, and titles across all Guild Wars games, allowing descendants to reap the benefits of your character's fame in Guild Wars 2
I'm not a grinder, so this doesn't appear to be useful to me at the moment.

40 new armor sets, including rare, stand-alone pieces
Only 4 per profession. Again, aggregate numbers. Big deal.

The only thing that would compel me to purchase this would be a great story and great storytelling. And if reviews reveal this to be the case, I may at some point purchase GW:EN.

But with all of the things that have happened in the last 6 months to sour my opinion of Guild Wars (NO trade improvements, insane nerfs like armor stacking, threatening players instead of providing real solutions, Anet officials less than professional handling of player unrest in the forums, and the focus on grinding brought about by hard mode and all the new titles), I just doubt it'll be enough.

Still, I come here waiting to read the message that sways me and gives me that "must buy" sensation. But alas, nothing yet.

-Forjo

So wait.... you're talking about HoM right? Or like the storyline or something... because a little down in your post you say HoM doesn't appeal to you...

If ya played the preview, you would realize that not every "dungeon" is as you have imagined. The art in the dungeons are VERY different from what you would expect. It's actually one of my favorite places to enjoy scenery. In one particular dungeon (Frostmaw) you can see trees and (I think snow, can't remember) at the final level. Dungeons aren't those dark creepy places with rock walls surrounding you at all sides that yo might imagine.

Hmm. If they wanted to aggregate numbers... they would've just said "Alot more skills"... as anyone can realize that its only 15 skills per character. I don't believe they're even locked to reputation grind... as you can just do quests normally and get lots of great skills.

More choices the better... They can really do away with heroes in GW:EN... but putting them in makes for more choices and such. I have nothing to complain about.

Lol. Are you telling me that LOTRO doesn't have grind? Blasphemy! And +, no one is forcing you to do titles... and even when you get them and use them with GW2 it really isn't gonna be gamebreaking.

Again... I welcome more armor instead of no armor

I'm guessing the party search improvement isn't a trade improvement. Ah well... The armor nerf isn't that "insane" at all. I thought it was, like you did, but realized that PvE was still fine (Remember this nerf was for the fricking paras in HA which were uber). If I understand correctly, you're talking about everyone complaining about HoM? We can... once the game itself is released. All we did see was a preview, y'know. There is no focus on grinding b/c of HM + titles, no one is forcing you. Now... grinding to beat the game itself is a bit lame, but I don't believe they do that in GW:EN. I only remember that in Factions where ya had to rack up an easy 10k points.

I myself haven't gotten any actaul gameplay the past few weeks... as I've been bored of Guild Wars. After playing the EOTN preview all weekend long, its renewed my urge to play and now I'm sitting here browsing the forums until GW:EN comes out. I do believe GW:EN is gonna be the first campaign where I've actually done all the quests SUMMON MURSAAT!

While the Hall of Monuments is the linkage I'm talking about, currently, there is no information on what that linkage will do. All we know is some of the titles (mostly maxed ones) that will be recorded. We do not know what benefit this will have to GW2 characters. Thus far, the only titles that are not grind related that I saw are the protector titles. Where is the recognition for time played or quests completed or collectors editions?


I was hoping someone would comment on that. I'd be delighted to be wrong. But I just don't see it comparing to the wide-open expanses of Breeland or the majesty of the Misty Mountains.

Yet most of these skills are tied to reputation points instead of attributes (like the faction and sunspear skills). So if you want to use them with any effectiveness you have to grind reputation.


In general, true. But if you don't like chocolate, 10 flavor variations of it is not going to be enough to make you buy the box.


I didn't say it doesn't have grind. But there is a VAST difference in degree.

You posted a quote about LOTRO titles. But what you don't post is that the title comes FIRST after a relatively low number of kills (usually less than 100) which you end up getting almost ALWAYS in the course of playing. After you get the titles you get a second tier of the deed that awards you with traits which can improve your health/power regeneration, add armor, unlock skills, increase running speed, change skill activation times and cooldowns, and a lot of other benefits.

For example, the "Spider Foe" title you mention is bestowed by completing the deed "Spider Slayer", which requires you to kill only 30 spiders. Once complete you open the follow-up deed "Spider Slayer (Advanced)". This deed required you to kill 60 spiders and rewards you with a +1 to your Honor trait. Honor increases poison and shadow resistance as well as increases vitality. So after killing 90 spiders (which you'll be doing anyway as various quests require it) you'll get a title AND an increase to a usable trait.

In LOTRO it's the management of these traits that is considered a character's "BUILD" since all skills are available at any time without slotting.


Yes, party search is next to worthless for parties and especially for trade. There are countless threads and posts here about that.

The armor nerf made it impossible for me to farm with my earth ele. So there went one thing I enjoyed. And there appears to be a lot to complain about as far as the HoM goes, but I spoke to that earlier.

As for grinding, yes, no one is "forcing me". But there is no denying that there a a lot of areas of this game that are focused on grinding. Reputation skills and the HoM, two of the major new features that have been repeated touted by Anet are grind focused. Hard mode is totally grind focused. And new titles are being added all the time to reward grind. The only Anet favorite these days that is not grind related is minipets (or is that just a Gaile Gray favorite). But those also took a big hit recently with the HoM customization requirement.

As I already said, the one chance that I see so far that might make be buy this thing is a great storyline and great quests. I've not read anything to that effect yet. But I remain open to other opinions.

Thanks for your reply!

-Forjo

Actually, it does matter. That's my BIG problem with their "4 million copies sold" figure. So my copy of NF, Phrophecies, and Factions is 3 copies.
It massively inflates the number of people who actually play this game. The size of the player community has a huge impact on the ability of the game (how easy it is to find a group for a specific task, etc).

When WoW says they've sold 10 million copies, that actually means 10 million copies. When GW says 4 million, they actually mean like 1.5-2 million.

What that means is of that ~1.5-2 million repeat customers are going to buy GW2, not 4 million. Which means in the future when a.net switches to an all campaign + expansion buisness model, it will hurt sales figures.

That's why that matters, because it will affect sales figures in the future.

PS LoneSamari, yeah Tabula Rasa could topple GW. I know I'm buying it. We'll have to wait and see.

PPS And give Zinger a break. He's not actually trolling now. Everybody is just flaming him because they don't like to hear the voice of a pessimist/realist.

zinger is a role model

I believe WoW has 8 million active paying customers. By active it means people still paying subscription and online within one month.

On the first day of release WoW TBC sold like 3 million copies or something.

Now GW has sold 4 million copies. How many of those copies are still active I would say a hell of a lot less.

On numbers alone WoW > GW

Maybe then this game is not for you.

Seriously...People complaining that guild wars has much grind ?
The only grind you need to do is to get 15k armor or titles which both are not neccassary to complete the game.
Just go see some other free MMO like rappelz,there's MUCH more grind than gw.

It's actually 9 million active paying customers. :P

First off, you will be hard pressed to compare GW's storyline to a storyline from a novel voted one of readers' top 100 of ALL TIME(look it up). Not gonna happen.

As we have seen with the game release, there is grind in EotN. You could get Kurzick or Luxon armor just for having most of your faction in that group. Hell, spend a few sessions in Ft Aspenwood with a good Mesmer/Necro build, and you can have the Friend of the Luxons/Kurzicks title in no-time. You make it to certain stages in Nightfall and you can get Vabbi, Ancient, or Primeval armors. If you like the way Norn armor looks, too bad. You HAVE to grind the 56k points just to have access to the armor crafter. Playing through the whole story thread five times will not get you that. Of course, the game just came out. If enough people are raising a ruckus, they may change that. After all, the game has only been out a weekend.

I do like what Jeff had to say about the separation of PvP and PvE. The biggest whine and bitch from everyone(and I've seen many in this thread do so, including me) is the fact that when they nerf a skill in pvp it makes it useless in pve. Well guess what? They are listening, and are going to do what everyone supposedly wanted, which is to have one world not affect what happens in the other. So quit crying about the separation, f'ing Nancys. You asked for it, so suck it up. It will allow for true fair combat based solely on player skill/experience in the pvp world, since everyone will have access to all the same skills (according to Jeff Strain), while all the c-space crowd can SS/SF to their heart's content in the pve world. And if you are feeling froggy, you can go into the world vs world arena and duke it out. Sounds like an immense AB/Ft Aspenwood with armies of players. "Naruto sin squad! SF Eles! Attack!"

Thus far, sadly, it isn't. I want it to be as I've enjoyed the first three campaigns so much. But I just feel so constrained every time I load it up. There are so many things I can do in LotRO that are impossible in Guild Wars.

I'm starting to see some posts about how cool the quests and story are, so maybe all is not lost. But considering that we have a baby on the way and really don't have enough time as it is, I think the best choice will be for me to just focus on one game.

Anyway, thanks for your post, and I hope you enjoy GW:EN. Maybe I'll post a few more times here, but this will probably be it for awhile.

Good luck to all of you, and if you try LotRO (there's a 7-day free trial available), look for me on the Arkenstone server.

-Forjo

As I understand it... there is a possibility at No level cap for this reason... the level will be representative of the Exp of the character. OK great. but as to the stats. nothing much will change beyond lev 20. or maybe 30 which has been the speculation of the stat increase...

so say you reach lev 30 and have
(below is just a example)
250 attrib points to spend,
and 500 health base,
and 50 energy
ability to get max armor class 100

{note that if you use a companion of some kind, the extra 50 attrib stats would get distributed towards that pet or champion.}

OK great so you level up to lev 50... but your stats per say remain the same... You may get more storage or something as you level higher, or maybe some new armor skins available to you (expected). Something like that, but for all intents and purposes your base abilities are no different from any other lev 30. but being a lev 50 shows you are more experienced in the game. kinda like Rank is suppose too; (I said suppose too folks don't freak out on me); show you are more experienced in HoH...

Essentially as I understand it GW2 will not be a WoW grind clone... I highly doubt that. because that will go too far from the people that seem to be a vast majority of players today. the casual player that does not want to be REQUIRED to grind for countless hours to achieve a basic game element. IE Missions, and Quest acquisition.

As we stand here now yes there is some required grind for some things. yes... the titles did that... and I expect similar titles will continue to do that. HOWEVER, most titles are not required at all. and I fully expect that to remain true. Sure you may get something for achieving them, but it does not mean its impossible to play out the game to completion without them.

I think this is a good vision for GW2. Making PvE have somewhat less restriction and allowing more advancement without regard to balance issues to PvP, but not making it a grind fest is a great and wondrous thing to strive for PvE. BUT allowing a separate but no less equal PvP experience with an UAS option that will be very balanced and structure solely for PvP alone. Bringing the game back to the core PvP values of the original charter for GuildWars. Its not about grind. its about skill.

You're totally missing the point, NOBODY has given any number of actual players, not Arenanet, not NCSoft so whether 1, 2 or 3 million people play GW is neither known nor relevant in this context. There cannot BE any inflation if there are no numbers given, the business model for GW does not revolve around player numbers, why is that so hard to understand?

Sales figures in the future will be decided by many more factors then the number of players of GW, Arenanet has now garnered interest from the gaming press, its also now built a history of making games that have done well both critically and financially, GW2 will decide if they can turn it into a franchise.

PS: Tabula Rasa is an MMO FPS, never even heard of the other one but again, not very relevant to GW2 or GW itself, dont know LoneSamari but I do know Tabula Rasa is a subscription game.

PPS: Zinger was invited to actually discuss points and has been missing in action since then.

It is possible (and consistent) to believe that guild wars is the best game ever, while also acknowledging that it has borrowed from other games, and that other games due to come out soon may be better. I think GW's innovations of a huge skillset with 8 skills on your bar, non-gear dependent PvP, and lack of tedium (insta-travel, no repair bills, potions, buffs that have to be cast all the time and cost a third of your mana), are very commendable.

I've spent a lot of time in both GW and WoW (separately; I only have time for one or the other, although my characters are decked out in both games), and although I enjoyed my time in both, I have fonder memories of GW overall.

Out of the games coming out, I am really looking forward to WAR, even though it really isn't especially innovative.

I don't know enough about GW2, although I'm hoping they take the best parts of GW and the best parts of WAR/WoW/typical mmorpg and put them together.

HT Ingram

You mention how the vast majority of players do not want grind and therefore GW2 being similar to WoW would not be a good idea. Well, how come WoW has 9 million ACTIVE players while GW has only 4 million sales? It seems WoW is more popular and the casual players are in fact in the minority.

BINGO!
The truth that most of GW fanbase still deny it or can't understand it...

I think it's more that everyone sees their preferences as the fanbase's preferences, but really...

* We have PVE players who play through a campaign and stop
* We have PVE players who explore
* We have PVE players who farm for gold to get high-end armor and rare weapon skins + perfect mods
* We have PVE players who grind titles

And of course we have PVP players, who have their own preferences and priorities.

It looks to me like in GW2 they're trying to offer something for everyone, not turn it into some farming-crazy version of WoW.

Why do we want to compare Guild Wars to World of Warcraft? The communities have very different gaming expectations. I put down guild wars for 5 months to focus on work and now I picked it up for some causal PvE. If I get loads of free time I can get rid of some rust and start PvPing regularly again. The game is fun, sophisticated and enduring. You can play it as a competitive PvP game, a casual PvE game, a casual PvP game or a grind game. While the depth is arguably in the competitive PvP, there are some pretty hardcore dungeons even before GW:EN. The game plays equally well as a team game, a solo game and or partnered with a friend. Mini-games are fun and are often designed to build player skill.

Guild Wars has a lot to offer, but it isn't the top hardcore grind game. Thats ok. With ~$160 million+ in sales (4 mil*$40) over 2.5 years (+3 years development), A-net can consider their product a success. Most MMOs target niche markets since markets are saturated. The fact that Anet has done this well targeting casual gamers, pure pvpers and cheap people is a success. Magic the gathering will never be texas holdem', but they continue to make Magic. Likewise, the market for people who want a casual but well designed online RPG will not go away. Guild Wars relies on the competitive PvPers to provide crediblity to its game design, so the community will probably remain strong.

WoW's brain numbing grind will always need a smarter faster cousin. I think guild wars 2 is the natural canidate to replace guild wars in that role.

This is a Guildwars Fan site; I could give a flying fig for WoW and what anyone thinks of it and what it is better then GW or GW2 because they want to grind up to some uber level to make fun of people lower then them and stalk them and rob from them at every opportunity. or worse yet kill them for their siege weapons that they earned and leave them laying there, while some high level idiot loots your wares.

Sorry I don't feel like having to Pay a subscription to be treated like a F_ing Ass because I can't spend every waking moment for a month in a game to grind just so I can complete it. And if I dare walk away from the game for something else not only do I have to keep up my extortion fees for the game I am left so far behind I will have no choice but to find new people to play with again...

this will Never be the case in a GW game. They learned from their mistakes there blizzard and made a far superior game at arenanet. If anything part of the reason for the sales WoW , being so grind heavy that those in it have little to no option but to play that and ONLY that game just so they can do a siege here or there on occasion...

So if someone LOVES WoW so much, then go play it. facts are facts. I play GW, and guess what? I'll have more money in my pocket at the end of the month and am much happier for it. And all the while being able to enjoy more and more games and REAL LIFE, with less worry about the dredging grind requirements that are NOT REQUIRED in a GW title in order to complete it.

You can't fairly compare Guild Wars with Tabula Rosa, Guild Wars, LoTR, Everquest, Eve, or any other game with a monthly fee.

All these games should be better because they make more money than Guild Wars. Hell, WoW makes 9 million X $15 a MONTH.

No, Guild Wars is not perfect. Neither will GW2 be perfect. WoW is not perfect, and neither will be Tabula Rosa.

But, as long as Jeff Strain keeps trying new things and seeing what works and what doesn't work, I have high hopes for GW2. And, worse case scenario, it costs me money one time, then I can play it until the servers shut down....

I have played WoW 10 months, have level 70 characters, epic flying mounts, epic gears, lots of gold. This all can be done with zero skill. Consume tons of time and repeat same things over and over again. Before that I played Guild Wars from the release and stopped when Nightfall came.

Raids require memorizing certain patterns bosses do. When each member from the party understand these patterns and learn to behave correctly when these happen, everything will be fine. You need more power from your gear than from your brains. Powerful gear requires time. Nothing else.

The thing what WoW community will not accept is that they gain satisfaction by owning people and insulting others because of their better gear and unfair situations rather than faster brain activity and adaption. Especially raiding people who are in end-game zone, are really annoying, selfish people who think they are superior compared to others. Now I have to wonder, what kind of people really play WoW and like it so much?

Although I have to admit that I really enjoy playing Rogue and killing people through stealth and they never can revenge me if I kill them first. It is really strange feeling that I actually enjoy ruining others playing. Still, I have to say that getting gear advantage over others seems to be the thing what people love in WoW. The game itself is so simple and require nothing more than time, there can't be any other reason. It is a bit same thing that in real life "I have better car", "I have more money", "I have prettier wife/girlfriend", etc.

Guild Wars is more equal with character abilities and what one can reach. Unfortunately it is not so popular. You know what people want. They want competition and super powers. If they are too dumb for it, they can at least compensate it with better gear and items. You can't do that in GW and it probably just piss off so many people.

Woah Ht Ingram.

No need to totally freak out. You stated something which I proved wrong. You stated the vast majority of players want a casual MMORPG when in fact the vast majority of players are playing MMORPGs which required considerable time devoted to them when in fact very few people play GW.

If GW is so superior to WoW then why does WoW absolutely anihilate GW in sales figures.

And its not just WoW.

Lineage 2 has 14 million sales and I have seen figures of 1-4 million subscribers.

Runescape 5 million active players and 1 million paying subscribers.

Maplestory 50 million users, 3 million active players.

An interesting website regarding sales and users: -
http://mmogchart.com/

If Guild Wars' forumla is so great then why does it only have 4 million sales? If there is such a huge demand for non grind, casual games then why does it have only 4 million sales?

The numbers speak for themselves.

You can have the most amazing product ever but if it doesnt sell as well as its competitors then it is not more successful than they are.

WoW TBC sold nearly 3 million copies I believe it was in the first day alone. Thats nearly as much as GW has sold ever.

You can live in your own little world where GW is the best and most successful MMORPG but when you compare to WoW the numbers say otherwise.

O wow £8 a month for a WoW subscription. Thats what, £2 per week. I could pick up that amount off of the floor per week just going about my daily life. It is such a miniscule amount of money the argument on fees is pretty much void. A child could even afford it, sell a few old toys which they no longer use or something.

If anything Blizzard have the better format because they have achived more active users than GW will ever have. Businesses are meant to make money and the most successful business is the one which makes the most. Which is Blizzard not Anet.

And yah I love WoW. Hence why I am reactivating my account to power trade only on. Ill still play GW as its an okay game.

I cant say ive known any players who quit WoW to play GW. But I know dozens and dozens of GW players quiting to play WoW.

I am stating facts which GW fan boys cant seem to understand. WoW has higher sales and more active players than GW. Therefore WoW is the more successful game as it has achieved those sales and active players. Therefore the majority of players prefer grind based games to casual games. If players preferred casual games over grind based games GW would have higher sales. Casual players are in the minority. Cold hard facts.

Guild Wars also has the same kind of "like to own people" mentality, what with the highend armor, /rank, max titles and superdupergold weapons. It is a PvP game, after all.

Also, all the people that I know of get good gear so they can progress through the game, not to be above others. To make such a swooping generalization is pretty strange.

Maybe they actually just like getting cool gear period, or maybe they like to experience the content, or like to brave and kill big monsters, etc. etc.

In the US it's $15 a month, which is just 50 cents a day. That's...not a whole lot.

Sounds to me like PvE will have a higher cap than PvP. I think PvP will still be that you make a max lvl character and unlock skills though PvE. I hope that is how it will be. The huge war sounds like fun.

I quit WoW and picked up guildwars again.

I left behind a level 60 character with Marshal rank under the old system with 100 days played in little less then one year real time. The system where there could only be one grand marshal per server. I was the #4 or so PVP player of the server.

WoW has no depth and no skill. There's only one choice. The class you play. The rest is linear progression based on items, and items require time, not skill. Duels depend on items and class, not skill. During my time on WoW, a warrior could NEVER beat any other class one on one due to Armor not reducing spell damage or resisting kiting effects, so a warrior could never reach a caster or hurt a rogue or ranger due to being slowed/stunned/polymorphed/feared/deathcoiled/scattershotted and you name it. That's flawed game design. They probably fixed it, but still, combat is just pushing your buttons in a predetermined sequence based on the enemies you're facing. There's nothing you can change about your character, as there's always one talent build that's the most effective for the task and there hardly is room for experimentation. The rest is just a grind for items to grind for better items to grind for even more items.