is guild wars for me?

now i understand it seems like a no-brainer what the answer for me would be on a gw forum, but i thought i would ask

i enjoy games that can be fully immersive (meaning i can do tons of research on items and weapons and etc...)

i pefer having tons of different armor choices and weapon choices in the game, and i don't know if gw has that.

based on these things, is guild wars for me. i can't download the trial so its buy or don't

thanks in advance

It is more then worth it. Most of the fun in GW is researching what you want. I still sometimes open up the wiki looking for new armor for one of my characters, trying to figure out which skills i should use or not use, what weapons look good with my armor, the lore is good too. Sometimes when i'm just trying to kill time ill read the wiki on different things.

As for tons of different armor choices, there are a lot, and you can mix and match. You have like a basic set that gives one look, then you can use the gloves or leggings or chest piece or boots or helm from a different set, just for a new look, and still have all the max things you need.

You can also add runes and insignia's to your armor that gives them different things. Like extra energy, health, armor rating, decreased damage recieved, and it goes on and on.

As for weapons, you can pick out tons of different types. Some people perfer the "real look" of long swords for warriors or just a basic bow for a ranger, or you can go extravagant and get a sword of fire or a bow that has lightning all around it.

As choices go, its just amazing. I came from playing Diablo II to GW and was amazed by all the different character looks. I say try and find a cheap copy of one of the campaigns and try it for a while. You'll have lots of fun!

You can get information on Weapons and Armour types on the Wiki:
http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Although there are quite a few different styles for both, I have a feeling that GW may not have the depth you are looking for.

At first Guild Wars will seem casual and simple and especially PvE compared to PvP.

Guild Wars is much more of a skill game than power in some ways. Builds (set of 8 skills) do more than armor and weapons. You have strong single builds and a lot of synergy stuff with other players and AI (Guild Wars is a co-op game).

Professions can sometimes do things other professions can as well, roughly as well, or comparable. You won't be standing around doing the same thing unless you want to.

If you are looking for a game that is always changing then this game may not be for you. Unlike WoW where new content is released all the time that never seems to happen in Guild Wars. Once you did the story and side quests there isn't much draw to keep you going except maybe trying PvP. The Lvl cap is only at 20, all weapons will max out at a certain point, so there no hope on finding a very powerful weapon that kills anything in one hit.

With Guild Wars 2 so close to being released my personal opinion is you may be getting into the game a little to late.

Just like how my friend got Hellgate London just to have the servers shut down in less than 2 weeks.

Funny how Guild Wars 2 isn't much like Guild Wars 1, so he/she isn't late for anything.

Pretty sure we arent nearly close enough to the servers shutting down and if i remember correctly anet has stated they will support servers if players keep on them

yeah, i do enjoy a lot of depth into the game.

if i do get the trilogy set, how long might it take me to solo the entire thing. just wondering if its worth the $50.

thanks

yeah let me tell you i do a lot of research on items,armors,missions,extra. and as for long it will take you to beat the campains depends on your time scedule. as i am not working or school i can beat i campain in a day or two but if you only have a few hours a day then maybe 2-5 days.

really, only a few days, so in reality i would be spending maybe a month on the game?

Gw isn't as centered on armor and weapons as some other MMO's. There are basically different looks to different armor and weapons, but max armor and max weapons are quite easy to obtain. Weapons and armor can be modified with upgrades to get slightly different stats, but there isn't variation at the base level of armor and weapons. Certain armor and weapon types are prefered souly for how they look and how rare they are, can be for asthetics, for status, or a mixture of both.

GW is alot bigger on the variations of spell combinations than other MMO's. There are alot of spells in guild wars, and unlike other games, you can only have 8 spells equiped at a time (you set them before entering an instance). IMO guild wars is more about how creative and intelligent you are with your spells than how powerful your armor and weapons are.

I have spent 4 years playing this game. Does that help answer your question. Finishing all the campaigns is not hard; finishing the game can take forever. GW is unlike other RPG games whether standalone or online. It's focus is on skills and bringing the best eight you can for each situation in both PvE or PvP. You have different mods on weapons to enhance those skills. You can have different mods (insigna and runes) on your armor to enhance different skill builds.

If you buy the trilogy, you will have eight character slots. You can fill these up fairly quickly trying different professions, but there is no penalty for deleting a character and starting over. Each character's specs (attributes) can be reset anytime you are in a town, outpost or guildhall without penalties.

And lastly, this game is great for casual play. Log on for a few hours a week or 8 hours a day; spend your time getting a character a maxed title or all your characters through all the campaigns. Join a guild and an alliance and have people to play with or grab heroes or henchmen and go it alone.

If you ask for how long you play:

As a total newbie with perhaps 2-4 hours a day, it took me 1 month to play through my first campaign (Nightfall). This was my very first walkthrough. Then I played the other campaigns and it took perhaps 2 weeks each. I am someone who explores a lot and does every single quest. I don't rush only through the main story. I do the other way round: I do everything else and after nothing else is left, I continue with the main story.

That was 2 years ago, and currently I have played 7 different character classes through all of the campaigns and did much grinding to get many maxed titles (titles are not necessary to beat the game, most of them are purely cosmetic).

With my current experience and wallet I could create a new character, provide him with best weapons from my private storage in 5 minutes, buy him maximum armor from my already earned money and play him through all of the campaigns in perhaps a week. What playing through a campaign means, depends on your own point of view. For some people it means to skip everything that is not essential to reach the final mission of the campaign. For me, it is playing through each mission of a campaign and also do each mission with the master bonus.

There is much to do. The game is not finished after you reach the max lvl 20 - you just left the tutorial area. After you beat one campaign with one character, beat the other campaigns. To reach and successfully survive the endgame areas, develop your character by providing him with a larger skill set. For some skills you have to complete skill quests or you have to capture it by slaying certain boss enemies. Buy him nice looking (expensive) elite armor.

Then create more characters with different primary classes and explore the totally changed play style with the other classes. A warrior is totally different from a necromant, which is totally different from a class which does healing such as a monk.

In my guild, there are quite some people who play for some years. This should tell you something about the entertainment value and depth of the game.

i find that Guild wars is a nice immersive experience, though after you go through everything there isn't much left. try playing through prophecies, after going through the entire campaign you won't have had to explore 50% of the continent, or completed many of the side quests.

plenty of different armor sets in Guild wars, colours can be mixed and matched however you want. weapons also vary a lot.

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based on these things, is guild wars for me. i can't download the trial so its buy or don't

i'd say so, if you can't download the free trial from NCsoft try the starter packs or just buy the game, it's not too expenive in mot places
thanks in advance

I'd say each campaign for a new player on his first char would be anywhere from 15-30 hours for factions, nightfall, and eye of the north. Prophecies would most likely be closer 30-45, assuming you didn't get run at all. Of course, when you get more experienced and know the game you can blow through the game in just a few hours.

But if you want to "beat PvE" (aka getting the title "God Walking Amongst mere mortals"), you're looking at hundreds, maybe thousands of hours of playtime.