Factions vs Original Guild Wars

Hello y'all.

Bear in mind that I downloaded the trial game a few hours ago and am really a mmorpg newbie..I've played diablo 2 in the past but that's the only real mmorpg game I've played before.


I played the game for a few hours and really enjoyed myself. Now I decided to buy the game but I have this question.

Is the expansion ''Factions'' really just that, an ''expansion'', meaning that it's only a few more quests, items and characters, or is it really a big game that could be played without the original guild wars games?

I'm asking this because I would only like to buy one game for now, either the original or factions. Factions because I would like to be able to play with the assassin class. But If I Only buy Factions and not Guild Wars, will I still be able to enjoy the game and play with other players with the original game or will my playtime be really shortened by that?

Thanks alot.


EDIT : I should really read the stickies before making new threads I appologize...A question still remains..Are all the items in prophecies avaiable in Factions?

There are some items from prophecies that aren't accessible directly from the factions campaign, but you can buy these items from other players who own both prophecies and factions.

Same goes for items from nightfall and EOTN.

Once you start playing, youll end up buying other campaigns sooner or later, trust me . Factions has the best storyline IMO, and is much more fun to play. Prophecies is longer, but I often fall asleep during it's missions .
Oh, and if you want to play assassin, Factions is the way to go. About 80% of assassin skills are in Factions (rest being in Nightfall and a few in EotN), so youll have no problems getting a decent character build with just this 1 campaign. In prophecies you have only the basic 6 professions, and their skills are spread all over the campaigns .

Prophecies (Aka the original GW), Factions and Nightfall are all stand alone games or chapters of the GuildWars world. You can buy one of them and not need the other two. Eye of the North requires at least one full campaign to be able to play as it's an expansion, primarily a follow on of the Original game.

If you like the idea of Factions and indeed the Assassin class then get that one first. It's better to start with a positive experience first time around then a horrible one and then struggling to get further into the game.
Personally I would suggest to get Factions and then if you feel you want more, also attain Nightfall - which is the third campaign - which give you access to Heros (like your own personal henchmen but better) and more skills/armor for your assassin. In the original there isn't really anything for a character unless it is of the six core proffessions.

But as KiLLi4N said you will end up getting them all sooner or later

Hope this helps

If you think you will really like the game, then i would suggest picking up either the Trilogy + EOTN or the Complete Collection (depends on your location). In NZ the complete collection is the same cost as buying two campaigns. I along with alot of other members of these forums would recommend getting either of those packages, as they are great value and will give you access to all the games. As the others have said, wou will probably want to buy the majority of the game anyway.

Like others have said their all stand alone games - You get a full game for each one, but they can be linked later one.

The assassin class is only avalible in factions though, along with the ritualist. If you create an assassin and enjoy it I suggest you look at NF next, the original GW has nothing at all for assassins (no skills, no armor).

Meh I personally hate that sticky, its obviously written by a biased person. I mean how can you even measure "Storyline".

Anyway, yes you can use items from proph. Items in GW arn't quite like those in other games, because they're all the same.

There are no items in proph that can't be made in factions, except it might have a different skin.

So it's all down to looks. Anyway, welcome to GW! If you ever need anything just gimmie a call IGN on the left.

buy the 3 in one pack(prophecies+factions +nightfall), will save u money and effort in the long run

Just don't forget to go into Account Options and link your CD Keys, don't make separate accounts for each campaign.

As suggested by above poeters getting the entire trilogy and EotN expansion pack is the best way to go about Guild wars.. Its relatively cheap considering no monthly fee and etc...

But just to be sure research abit more about the game and see if you will have your mind completely set up before purchasing.

Personally, I enjoy playing through factions far more than I do Prophecies... but Factions does get a lot of hate from people for various reasons. As a new player, prophecies has a much smoother learning curve, to the point of it being almost too slow in fact. Places in the middle tend to really drag on (at least for me... Jungle says hi). Factions on the other hand is reasonably short, with a quick progression. In factions, players often don't have the time to develop the skills/money/equipment they need to be successful, at least if they barrel straight through the storyline.

As far as equipment goes, equipment from Prophecies vs Factions is pretty comparable. It is not quite as customizable as equipment from Eye of the North and Nightfall, but should still suffice to get you through. Faction has some of the nicer skins in the game in my opinion, for both weapons and armor. Factions also offers some fairly stimulating PvP experiences such as Alliance battles, Jade Quarry, etc. which prophecies does not... which will only matter if you're interested in the more competitive aspects of the game.

Either way, you'll be able to play with other players, get equipment, farm cash/loot and have fun, though remember you'll ONLY be able to do stuff with other players in the same campaign. You can't travel to areas in the other campaigns/expansions until you own them. Good luck, and have fun!

Just want to mention that our Campfire section has an Assassin subforum. Go there and read the stickied basic thread. Please remember that assassin does not equate to ninja. A GW assassin is a hit and run specialist that is great fun to play if you learn it correctly.

Hope you enjoy the game, and as said, you can't stick with just one campaign, eventually you will buy all the others. This game is addictive.

So if I decide to buy factions what will happen to my ranger on prophecies? Can I not use him ?

Factions is a stand-alone campaign, with referances to Prophecies, but imo Factions has a better storyline, more skills, better armor, more weapons, and the gameplay is better. But it's all because I've been playing there for a long time. If you get the trilogy, you will appreciate it. I started with Factions, and bought the Plat edition (EotN+
Proph) then Nf.

So can I still play my ranger on factions or I need to start again?

If you have a Prophecies-born Ranger and add a Factions key to your account, that Ranger can play in Factions. S/he'll need a quest from Lion's Arch.

See this page for how to get characters between campaigns.
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Campaign_travel

Just bought the trilogy