To buy or not to buy

Quite a while ago I took an interest in buying Guild Wars, as I am very much into becoming immersed in a video game. However, for more then one reason, I never took the leap. With gw2 hopefully around the corner my interest has once again been kindled.

My question to you is, would it STILL be worth it to buy the games now. Is the playerbase still intact? Are there guilds out there who remain active to this day looking for new members? I realize the price of the games is relatively low, but I would hate to be disappointed.. Should I just wait for the release of 2?

And if it is still worth buying, what would be your recommended route?

I'm playing through Nightfall and it is fun. I'm not grouping with anybody, just using bots. Game is pretty cheap. Worth splashing out on. Should you really like it then pick up another campaign pack, play it through, etc.

The cheapest way is to buy all four at the same time. I'd still say that it's worth buying gw1, gw2 is still atleast a couple of months away. Plenty of time to experience at least the story of gw1 as well as getting some hom points if that interests you.

Definitely worth it.

As stated above, the best way of buying them would be the trilogy or the complete collection(if they sell those)

there's reasons to buy it, but i dont like to see people spend their money on a game they may not like, due to inactivity of lots of people so:

with GW, you can fill your HoM to gain more in GW2
you can probably find some guilds still alive, but its rare

dont expect that much of this community anymore, and thats not about them being bad, more that most people who were playing, are mostly gone now
but hey, look at how old GW is, almost 7 years old now

if you're good at playing just with heroes, looking at guildwars wiki alot and barely having chats, it's a great game for you

also: maybe you would find some nice people, so dont take my words seriously for 100%, as i have searched for friends/guilds some time ago, and couldnt find any normal ones, and normal ones are (to me) guilds which just help you for free and have enough time to help with either easy things, but also hard stuff

problems i've seen:
- they have done something you may need help with, so they wont join you, as they have done it too many times (you know, the "again? no thx" attitude)
- people are rather busy with their own stuff, instead of helping you out
- people become inactive, and even if they get on, they barely show themselves, as they have done everything they wanted in GW anyway
- people leaving not long after i met them, as they (again) have done everything, and think GW isnt worth their time, instead they wait for GW2

in short: as far as i've seen it, people are waiting for GW2, and dont bother to do much in GW anymore

sidenotes: i'm not saying everyone is like that, just most people i happen to meet (which is no offense)
so there may be some active guilds around, but you never know for how long

i'm not counting the elitism in GW, as all MMO's have it, some MMO's even worse

so imo it'd be: dont mind playing alone for some time? (maybe a long time, depends on how fast you find friends/guilds) and dont mind to meet up with people who dont play GW that much anymore?
if you dont mind these points, you could buy it
and as someone said: you better buy em all, like trilogy pack + eotn, as that way you have everything, which gives you alot more to do, and that way you can find friends/guilds easier (weird but true)

my tip: if you have it all, start playing in every campaign (the ones from the trilogy pack) and see where you like it most, and find out your best profession
then once you know some of the basics, you can start finding people to play GW with

and important: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Scam
with this page, you can find out about scams, so they wont get your money in no time
and in all MMO's there's 1 rule: never give your account info (or reallife info for that matter) to anyone even if they say they are a GM (game master)

ps. click on the shield of that page to return to the main page of the wiki, and use it as your guide

also, ask for advice and/or help on these forums in the right sections, cuz even with a small amount of players left, you can get help

good luck with choosing, and if you buy it: also good luck with GW

oh yea, about me: i play this game for more than 6 years, so i kinda know whats going on

If you're the kind of person who doesn't like inactivity in MMOs then don't buy it. I bought all the expansions and personally am playing every day and enjoy it very much but I bought the same for my gf and she won't play PvE because she says there's no one around so it's boring.


Anyway, take that with a grain of salt

It's impossible to find a group to do a mission or quest. You'll be mostly playing through this single player with bots. If you're find with that, then go ahead and buy it.

My 2 cents worth

Yes its worth buying I see a lot of negative comments but....some are untrue in a sense as

I know a few guilds that take new guys and learn them and assist.

So find a helpful Guild.... with regard to being empty I was in pre with an alt and many guys are in there wether it be for LDOA or making a toon

its all about time zone also, this goes with other areas as a lot do international there are many places where its not crowded but pugs are still doing Missions.

Yes the games getting old but a lot of flak comes from guys who are now bored because they have finished what they wanted and they are bored.

for to-days cost its worth getting as servers as quoted bt Anet servers will stay up as long as guys are still playing

the choice is yours and yours alone wether to buy or not but, if you want some fun and have a game that once you get into it you will enjoythe game old or not as quoted by guys

God forbid playing it with bots. With heroes/henchmen on the other hands, it's quite fun. If you don't mind playing it like a single player game, I recommend buying it 100%.

I truly appreciate all of your comments!
So far it still leaves me a bit undecided.. but as someone pointed out, with gw2 still a bit of time away, and considering I can pick up the trilogy for 20$, I feel that for all popularity the game has gotten, I almost owe it to it to try it out.
A few more questions however, it seems everyone's main points alluded to the PvE side of things, how is the PvP community? Is it uncommon for someone to get right into PvP without learning the ropes of the game in a PvE setting?
Thank you all!

There are a lot of people who are playing GW pretty much for the first time for the same reason (GW2) that would be interested in the same things (not doing this alone). The secret is to find them. You do and no reason to go solo...if you dont want to.

Well, it depends on the PvP you are trying. There are many types of low end pvp that is very populated and rather easy to get the hang of. However, many of the high end, organized pvp battles are difficult to just join up and go because the majority of the people still playing them want experienced members.

Overall, the pvp is still populated, just not as much as it used to be. Just like PvE.

One last thing, if you want to buy gw in anticipation for gw2, and are doing it for the HoM rewards exclusively, Don't Bother. But if you are willing to take the time to play it through, be a noob for a bit, and enjoy the game, then I would definitely suggest buying it. It is an amazing game that has held my interest for 4 years.

Thanks for your help everyone! I just picked up the trilogy off Amazon for 20 dollars. I've taken the leap! Hopefully the good times will roll from here!!

Yeah for $20 you don't really need to ask,just buy
I bought all the games last month after being away for 5 or 6 years and i'm enjoying them.
I think gw2 is going to be way better but its nice to play through the old games and get interested in the game again.

The game is worth the price just to learn the lore from the storylines alone.