guild wars for my son

Hey All...Recently my son, bought the Guild Wars demo from gamestop and has requested a copy of the game for his birthday. That is fine, since I have no problem getting him something he will enjoy. However, with 3 games plus the expansion I'm not sure which one to get him. He seems to like all three and I would prefer to surprise him and since he said he doesn't care which one he gets, well let's just say I figured I would ask you all, for some advice. So fire away.

For a new player I would suggest the Prophecies + GW:EN Pack
I started out in Factions and thought it went quite nicely.

Prophecies, because its just the game, we all have begun with and its also story related the beginning of everything ...

well, don't get the expansion for him yet (GW: EoTN) because you need one of the other campaigns first unless you'll buy a campaign and the expansion.

The 3 other games have their own specialties. Since your son is just starting out, Prophecies may be good for him. It's slow and allows you to get familiar with the game and build your characters up. Factions is fast-paced and may not be so great for him starting off. Nightfall is a good balance though, it's both slow and fast.

Nightfall and Factions each have 2 classes special to their campaign. Factions has the Ritualist and assassin along with the core classes, Nightfall has the dervish and paragon with the core classes, and prophecies is only the core classes.

I suggest either Nightfall or Prophecies first. Believe me, I started out with Factions, and even though it was loads of fun, I found Prophecies and Nightfall better for its "newbie-friendly" gameplay.

agreed with the 3 people above me.

prophecies is always good for people who are new to the game.

Most people are going to recommend either the original Guild Wars for its more comfortable new player feel, or Nightfall for its ability to use customizable heroes.

Hmm well that would be a difficult choice, all 3 are good choices, but you should try and sneak some hints and get some info on the one he likes most.

The storyline and rich environment of the Original is what got many players hooked. But with each game they added new systems and new additions which he may find more enjoyable as a first game. So we should try and get into detail on that first.

The Original: has easy gameplay, replayability, the largest explorable world of the 3.

Factions: Adds the 2 new classes, a new setting and a new environment and some new features such as the first elite missions and end-game items.

Nightfall: Has a bit mroe difficult gameplay, but is the first actual Campaign to introduce "Heroes" into the mix. If he doesn't want to really deal with other people that much and just have fun playing the game, then that is always a good choice.

It is hard for me to try and work through each individual one, since I own all 3 and the expansion and they all mingle together to seem like 1 giant game.

But like i said, try and get some hints, if he has played all 3, try and sneak in some questions and find out which one he had the best time playing, or if his friends have the game try and find out which ones they have so they can play together, which is always a nice experience.

Well you cannot get the expansion pack unless you own a campaign since well...you need a character for the expansion to work.

So your choices off the bat really are Factions,Nightfall and Prophecies.


Although you shouldn't base decisions off my views, I'd go for factions simply because I like the classes in it and the environment.

However your son would probably be better off getting Nightfall or Prophecies.
Prophecies does not always have the name on the box though keep that in mind

Prophecies is a bigger game and will keep him busy for longer however well....it can drag on along and he may get bored of it do to that and well quit half way.
I hate prophecies but some love it.

In which case Factions and Nightfall are superior.

Choose Nightfall or Prophecies, go with factions after.

It's better to play the game in the correct order.

The best is gatting them all, but there is time for that... for now...

But soon will come the Canthan New year. So it could be better to get Factions to get that event... and getting him Prophecies if his grades are good.

Proph, simply because it gets you familiar with the game.
And its much bigger, as Ensoriki said - it will keep people busy!

Factions is for the most experienced players, its fast paced, and usually your second buy. It is mostly prized for the content of the game and ability to get max level characters very quickly. It also has the Assassin and Ritualist professions.

Prophecies is the beginner's campaign, its the slowest and easiest but players will find themselves reaping less material rewards through out the storyline as compared to other campaigns. It does how ever have the benefit of rewarding skills as quest rewards, which is unique to this campaign only. (Outside of GW:EN)

Nightfall is a great balance of the prior two. It has what Prophecies and Factions lacked and created an almost perfect equillibrium, personally I don't think ANYTHING is wrong with the campaign. Many people disagree, I simply believe by the time Nightfall was released the GW community was already dying down, thus the reception of it wasn't taken so nicely. Nightfall has a great beginner's area, gives heroes and some of the most popular skills in the game, has a lot of quests thus good material rewards, has the most variety of PvE gameplay, and has the Dervish and Paragon professions.

GW:EN story wise will only make sense to your son if he's played Prophecies. Factions and Nightfall are only sidebars when compared to Prophecies, for it contains the majority of the lore and story to the GW universe. GW:EN is a great buy for end game content.

My final verdict: If your sons an avid gamer get him Nightfall, he'll have no trouble picking up the learning curve and the difficulty is just right. If your son hasn't really played games like this before and is more casual about it, get him Prophecies, it'll be a slow and easy experience. GW:EN would be a good follow up for his birthday or something of the like.

Might I suggest never buying your son a strategy guide or anything like that either, those are rip offs. Instead direct him to this website if he is having trouble in the game. http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Main_Page

Prophecies (the original)

It's slower paced at the beginning and allows new players more time to learn the game before you get into more difficult areas.

Nightfall. Don't wanna call him a noob or anything but the heroes will help him thru the game faster.

How old is the boy in question? and how much is he into RPGs? If he isn't one to have patience then I can't see him sticking to any of the games very long. I think it takes certain level of interest and patience to play through the campaigns.

If you think he's ready for such a game then I would consider Prophencies, and hold off on others until he's shown more interest.

don't listen to this hero non-sense(as a reason for campaign purchase). unless he has multiple skills unlocked, for multiple classes, and has an understanding how to set skill bars up, they aren't going to help too much.

prophecies will keep him busy for quite awhile. it's more bang for your buck. it's cheap these days. once, and if, he chews thru the vast campaign that prophecies is, he'll be ready to tear thru the others.

-have fun.

GW is not that hard to learn. Nighfall, IMO, gets you the most bang for your buck, and heroes really do make a difference. I find Prophecies to be frustratingly slow, and the addition of 2 more professions in Nightfall gives you that many more options for play. Nightfall also has a branching storyline, so there's more replayability there.

Factions is the only campaign I wouldn't suggest as the 1st, since the ease-in period is much shorter...

Id say Nightfall.

Prophecies is too slow
Factions is too painful
And GW:EN is the anti climax.

majority of the good skills are in prophecies, so i would vote for that and for the heros i would get GWEN, cause that is where you can find the majority of the active players

A comment on Nightfall and heroes:

Heroes are great, if you know how to use them (setting up skill bars. etc) but for someone just starting, who knows nothing about the game, I think it's not such a good idea. They add complexity at a time when simplicity is better for someone just jumping into the game.

Keep it simple.

I'd say see if they had that cheap bundle at Wal-mart or Sam's Club.

And agreed with Quickmonty about heroes: They're only good as good as you are. Go with Proph.