A few questions before I buy GW

Hi, I started the trial version of Prophecies a few days ago and I can say this is the game I should have been playing all this time. I like the polished gameplay, something you don't find in f2p MMO's, and the fact that there is no monthly subscription so I can play on my own time.

However, before I buy Guild Wars, I would like to confirm a few things -

How does Guild Wars handle DRM? Does NCSoft use the Steam method of "one account active at a time, but unlimited copies of the game" or is it all locked to one computer?

Should I wait for GW2? It's not really about the cost for me, but would it be worthwhile to sink time on a character on the old game when everyone is playing the new one? If GW2 was to come out before the end of the year, I would wait for it. However, if it comes out around this time next year, 12 months of game play isn't too bad.

I better make a decision quick because I have under 4 hours worth of gameplay on my trial accout left.

You make an account, that is your form of log-in. You can download the game on every PC you want from guildwars.com and you can play using your account login. Nothing is locked.

GW2 hasn't even been given a release date yet, so you should be fine in the amount of time you have to play GW.

I'd say too "buy the game".. When you buy, do a comparison.. How much you for 3+1 different retails (proph, fact, nf + eotn) or should you buy them all in Guild Wars Complete pack.. I'd say that the last choice comes a lot cheaper than to buy all different times..

About the lifetime of GW, it's about more than that 12 months you said. Can't see any logical reason to announce GW2 dates before second half next year. They like to sink some time on that game, and if this speed keeps up, we'll get our hands in GW2 no sooner than 2012. There's something big going on tho. They've added some teasers in Prophecies so we had a thought about it inside our guild.

With that said, welcome to the community and feel free to ask whatever is shrouded to you. Here is people who surely answers those questions. =)

(and get the multipack, btw)


-Aikiko Kuwahari [ZoS] / Tjanz Wychwood [UNO]

You can have many accounts active at one time. Typically you only have one Guild Wars client running at a time per computer, but there is a third party program (which of course is not official or supported by Anet) that will allow you to play multiple accounts simultaneously on one computer. Of course that may have been fixed...

If you really enjoy the game, buy the full thing. However, know that gameplay changes in Cantha, Elona, and EoTN if you were already considering the other games. Prophecies is different in many ways. You'd really have to want to buy the full thing for pure entertainment, because trying to play the full game to fill out the HoM for GW2 benefits while starting from scratch simply isn't worth it.

Although nothing is confirmed, The earliest you'll be seeing GW2 is the end of this year or the beginning of next.

Personally, though, I'd go out and try to find a very cheap version of prophecies. If you can get it as a stand alone without the other expansions or EoTN, it should come quite cheap seeing as how the game is nearly 5 years old. Look in offname computer stores in the discount areas.

Oh that is so nice to know. At least I won't be restricted to one computer.

I think I'm going to buy the multipack. IIRC, it's $40 for a physical copy on amazon and the digital download via NCsoft. IMO that is a very good price for an entire MMORPG with no subscription fee.

I should be making this purchase soon and I hope to see you guys on the servers soon. Thanks for the help.

Expect more noobish questions in the months to come.

I don't know if you're aware of this, but this is a very good website. It has a lot of basic information many people commonly look for. I advise putting it into favourites/bookmarks.

"DRM" is a bad term here. Online games don't limit the number of installs. They already know the login you're trying to use, so they have a built in verfication process with every login.

In fact, you can download the client at no charge from guildwars.com

Yes. There's alot of GW that the trial version doesn't show. After you get out of Pre (the starting area), which is very active for a very specialized reason, the game will be entirely deserted until you hit the high end content at level 20.

Let me tell you right off the bat that you won't last that long. You'll get bored around week 2.5 and stop playing like the rest of them.

Save your time and money.

FYI it's actually better to start with Nightfall IMO, because with NF you get heroes right off the bat...and considering how difficult it is for a new player with no Guild connections to form groups for missions, you are really going to need heroes.

@OP: Ignore this. If you're someone who MUST always play with other people no matter what you're doing, then GW isn't for you (people don't play the lower end areas much anymore, nor do they play with new players much because they slow them down for the most part). If you're happy to do most of the content with AI, you'll have tons to do. Tbh, I've spent the last 4 years of PvEing with just AI and have been perfectly happy. Main content such as missions often have people in them, and if you join a decent guild there will probably be someone who'll help if you need it (or just play along for fun).

Disagreed. I found the start of NF significantly harder than the start of the other 2, even with heroes and pretty much every skill I'll ever use unlocked. Some of the side quests are actually quite tough at the time you get them. Prophecies allows you do play solo for a bit (so you don't need to worry about getting 3 heroes ready in addition to yourself) and gives you a lot of space to make mistakes.

You can install the Guild Wars game client on as many machines as you like and log in to each installation with your account login, one at a time. It is not possible to log on simultaneously with the same account on different machines.

Actually, you already have the game client on your machine, since you created a trial account and downloaded the client from the official website. You install nothing different from a game DVD. You only download less data if you enter an area for the first time, since the DVD installs a preloaded cache file.

When you buy the full version, you can simply add the game code to your trial account. Don't create a new account. The trial account turns into a a full account and you can continue with your trial characters as full characters. You also don't need to reinstall the game from the DVD. Just log in and continue playing.

GW2 is probably 1 year ahead, so you have up to 1 year of GW1 to play - and you are not forced to abandon GW1 when GW2 is released. That's longer than many (if not most) players spend on a game. While there is no release date known, I believe the community estimates GW2 released Q1 or Q2 2011.

I'd say go for it.

As said, the low-end area's will be fairly quiet, but the storyline (especially in NF/prophecies) is great IMO, which will keep you entertained if you don't skip cutscenes, and there are still the wandering people that are either

1) Levelling a new character, and willing to come along with you

2) Working on the title to complete each and every mission with bonus rewards. These people will likely be level 20, so will help make the mission a breeze, although at the cost that you won't be learning as much

3) Helping a friend, and have space to help you too.


As many have said, you can download it on as many computers as you like, but the account can only be logged in to one character at any given time.

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page is a great helping hand for a new player, gives help on quests and missions, weapon details etc, and its sister site, http://pvx.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page will give a great deal of information on what builds (Sets of 8 skills/party members) are good, although I would actually suggest ignoring PvX until you are level 20 and looking to get into hard mode content, and instead take the normal mode at your own pace for each campaign.


If you need any more info, feel free to drop me a whisper in-game Just add 'Robin Hood UK' to your friends, and you should be able to see me regardless of what character im on as.