Thinking about buying...

Hello, I had a few questions I wanted to ask... I've been playing WoW for a while now and I'm just starting to lose intrest in the game and decided to download the trial for Guild Wars.

Now, Prophecies didn't really appeal to me (Graphics wise and the click to move seems a bit buggy) however if I read the sticky correctly, Nightfall is a standalone expansion to the game right? I'm not really a fan of the Medieval like content in the original.

Which leads me to ask, are the graphics a bit better on the Nightfall expansion in comparison to the original?

The last question I wanted to ask since the sticky doesn't cover it, what is "Eye of the North"? I noticed on the trial that it doesn't show it as an expansion.

Thanks!

*Correct. Nightfall is independant from Prophecies. You can play NF without having to worry about any Prophecies stuff at all. If you add the NF key to your Prophecies account you'll be able to move your characters between the campaigns as much as you like.
*There isn't anything buggy about click to move. Perhaps you would prefer to use the WASD keys.

Not really, no. If you're looking for big flashy cartoony graphics like there are in WoW you won't find what you're looking for. The graphics were designed so that it wasn't necessary to have a particularly powerful computer to play. GW2 will almost definitely have improved graphics. IMO GW graphics look better anyway.

It's just that: an expansion (it's not stand alone like Prophecies/Factions/NF so you can't start a character there). When you get to level 10 you'll be able to move on to the EotN content. It's designed as higher level content to start explaining what happens after the three campaigns finish and how it leads to GW2. Due to the difficulty I recommend you finish at least one campaign before starting it.

I agree to most Marty is saying.

Nightfall is graphical slightly better then prophecy's, but don't expect a great difference.

I don't agree with Marty on marking Eye of the north difficult as far that you should finish a campaign first. Personally I think the main storyline is easier to finish then nightfall. Nightfall has some challenging (but very nice) missions, making it harder then the main storyline of eye of the north. But eye of the north has some very challenging dungeons (witch are not part of the main storyline).

So let me get this straight.... you come from WoW, and then you complain about gw's graphics?.... Sorry but I don't follow, and no this is not jsut a fanboy talking since I play both, but gw is better looking.

Anyway.... I think in nightfall, that they maybe use their graphic engine a bit better, but its still the same engine.

While the graphics engine is the same for all campaigns, the later the campaign came out, the more detailed the landscapes are. So, while Prophecies looks a bit plain, EotN is much more detailed.

EotN is an expansion - ie. it's not a standalone product. You NEED another standalone to attach EotN to. Apart from that, it's mostly like a campaign.

If you are looking for a strong story line, go to prophecies. It takes a fair amount of time to go through (if you don’t get run everywhere) and if you are new to the game, it can be quite challenging.

GW graphics are pretty much the same throughout. If you only played in Presearing on a trial then you will have experienced some of the nice graphics. If you of course went into Post searing then it wont have looked as good as it is meant to be in Ruin.
As the game develops the scenery obviously changes. Some areas in Tyria are great to look at, some of the desert and jungle areas can be a bit dull.

A lot of people seem to not realise that their GW exp makes EoTN a lot easier than it would for someone who hasn't played the game before.

If you’re looking for longetivity or you really want to experience what GW has to offer you can pick up the entire collection for relatively cheap

Medieval content as in like Swords and Shields? That's pretty much all of GW :]

I highly suggest getting them all because

a) Prophecies has the best story line but is slow to get a char fully developed.
b) Factions has 2 new professions is pretty easy to get a character fully developed and can move across to the other campaigns.
c) Nightfall can have a slow beginning with some quests that can require a bit of grinding to continue on the campaign.
d) EoTN, after you are more experienced has dungeons and title tracks which help out a great deal.

The combination of the 4, their skills professions and content really does bring out GW. If your looking to be involved in the End game content such as The Underworld/Fissure Of Woe Domain Of Anguish The Deep/Urgoz Warren (I know these names will mean little to you) but you will have a hard time getting into groups for some of the more fun and more elite missions without a wide range of skills.
(Assuming you’re a WoW player and enjoyed Raids etc.)

Played both WoW and GW since they were released. I call GW home these days. WoW is a much easier game all around, and a delightful game too! No WoW knocking from me! Great game! I just find GW has plenty to keep me busy.

And Bon3zz1001, your post made me smile. Because I had the same reaction to the GW graphics, and the maps when starting out in GW.

The GW graphics are "lighter weight" but more crisp. People look like people on a decent computer. Textures are better as well. But it is different from WoW and if you have been playing WoW it takes some time to get used to.

As do the maps, here is a six inch barrier you cannot jump over; but neither can anything else and you can use this to your advantage. You have to go around places where in WoW you could just hop down. But that again is something you can take advantage of.

WoW is solo character versus solo targets for the most part and all you need to do is control aggro when it happens. Here is a bear, whack whack whack. Next bear please! In GW, here is a full party of enemies, with a healer, casters of annoying spells, and melee who want to plant an axe in your head. So going solo is only possible much much later on in the game when you can make what is called a "farming build." Even then, you can only go out by yourself in limited areas. In WoW, you and the monsters are on an equal footing. In GW, the targets are noticeably meaner than you are and it takes a party of players or heroes and henchmen to survive out there. GW is also more complex, more geek. There are a lot of skills and how you combine them makes all the difference in the world. Be prepared to use the wiki a lot and pvxwiki for example builds.

Just me, recommend Nightfall first and complete it. This gives you a bunch of heroes and the experience and skills that will make Eye of the North a lot easier. GW 2 will be out in less than a year. The Hall of Monuments in Eye of the North will earn you some points to get veteran items to show off in GW 2. HoM does not grant any items, weapons, or armor that grant a game play advantage in GW 2. They are just for show.

Best starting character, Ranger or Warrior; take your pick.