New people still get this game!

Hey folks, I bought this game back way when it first released and I have only recently mustered up the time to really delve into it. Level 10 so far at the Ruins of Surmia and I'm enjoying the bits of lore I've been able to pick up thus far. I wanted to play GW1 so that I had more of a background on the world before diving headfirst into GW2. I made a Mesmer/Necro, though I've found myself sticking mostly to Mesmer skills; it's proven to be a bit of a challenge, but I'm enjoying it and finally getting the hang of it!

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that there are still new people filtering into this game every so often. If you're ever bored and feel like saying hello or offering friendly advice, feel free to shoot me a tell in-game at Elios Mindraven. I promise to figure out how to respond and to create entertaining conversation

Ah welcome to GW, wish I could help but I am waiting on a new power supply to handle my new video card, unfortunately I can't play any games right now

GW1 and GW2, while sharing the same name, are really two different games. The characters and lore are named the same too, but game play is pretty much completely different in GW2. Both are great games, but GW2 isn't necessarily the next step up from GW1 (as I original thought). It's so different that there's a new game learning curve. For me, I still enjoy GW1 (more than GW2 actually), so I'll stick around as long as they keep running it.

There are still some new people, thing is they don't hang around in districts nor talk much, they just play the game. You could always try finding some guild, newbies usually do recruit a lot.
Also, GW 2 has nothing to do with this game. If you want to get ready for GW 2 you should play WoW.

Is there a carry over in the lore? I've played the GW2 beta so I know that mechanically they are two very different games, but I was more hoping for some additional background information on the lore and the world of Guild Wars.

Yes, they take place in the same world, specifically on the same continent as Prophecies, the first GW campaign. 250 years have passed and the actions of your players and their contemporaries laid groundwork for the world of GW2.

All campaigns have some form of relevance in the new game, but Prophecies and EotN will have the most immediate impact. Nightfall and Factions have a more limited impact as the related continents are sealed off.

To hash up on the lore, Prophecies, EotN, and War in Kryta are the main points for the first GW2 release. If you want to avoid some major spoilers, hit up Nightfall if you can. Factions is lower on the lore totem pole at the moment and its story lacked any major reveals.

Barring disaster, though, they should revisit Cantha and Elona eventually in GW2, so the lore background from Factions and Nightfall should be relevant at some point.

Agreed, GW2 is very, very different in a lot of ways. Melee classes are both harder and easier to play since you now have to dodge and move to keep on the enemy, but you no longer rely on healing from teammates. Dynamic events, well, they're just not dynamic really, which makes them a schlep compared to quests and having to be in range of an event to know it's happening is painful.

It's also either ridiculously easy, or stupidly hard running around the map depending on whether you happen to be in a group of other players or not.

Which leads me to instancing, or the lack thereof. I was in overflow the entire beta, just lucky my brother was too because an MMO I can't play with my friends and family because we're all on different shards... well, that's pretty frigging shit, to be frank. Weird as this is to say, instancing and outpost districts in GW1 made grouping with people easier. I can honestly see people who start GW2 a year from launch being totally alone on maps, which leads back to my earlier point about groups and balance.

Overall, my impressions of GW2 are actually positive, but I can't see it holding my attention the way GW1 has in the long term. The trade system is totally boss though, seriously GW1 needs that, like, yesterday.

Welcome to GW1 and Welcome to GW Guru
Can't rly give u a lot of advices right here... but if u got any questions or need any help, feel free to pm me here or just pm me ingame (even if im not online more than once a week anymore) ;-)
enjoy the game!
cheers

Yes, welcome!
I believe for a while there will still be new people around (just check out the Q&A forum for 'I am new....' threads from the last few months---)
Its nice to see that others have found such a wonderful game to play--7+ years is a good amount of time for an online game, and this one is still going!

There will be quite a few people that will be playing both gw and gw2, while there will be others who stay with one or the other---so I forsee gw being around for a bit more, so enjoy your time and if you need questions answered, or advice, we will be here

I bought the game today ( + factions + Nightfall ), and have a level 5 Ele/Monk so far. The name is ''Lorelai Gilmored'' if you want to speak to me

I'm probably gonna get the game today myself, as you can get the trilogy + Eye of the North really cheap in a store over here (an equivalent of about 17$ for the whole set). Even though I enjoy GW2 more, due to its action-oriented combat, I'm pretty interested in the lore, and hell, it's still a nice game. Plus I need something to do for the next month, derp.

This is definitely a driving force for me as well! Good way to kill time between games.

This was my motivation aswell I can't wait till GW2, and since I never really played GW1 actively I decided to play that for a month. Really cheap around here.

And even if GW's playerbase dwindles to a minimum some day, it's viable to turn it into one of those F2P games with something like the Gems in GW2, after some changes here and there to keep gem costs on check.

GW's system requirements are so low, that most people can paly it smoothly. So those who can't get a system that would play GW2, will always have GW1.

Compared with games like Spiral Knights with less visual appeal but still higher more requirements, GW1 would be a killer as a F2P.

Just regarding the overflow thing, if your party member happens to be on overflow, you can right click their name in the party menu and click "join on overflow" or something similar to join them.

As for GW, I'm hoping you'll still be able to earn the rewards from completing Hall of Monuments in GW2 after the game launches. For now I'm just shooting to complete all three campaigns, but some of the stuff you can get from HoM looks really cool and I doubt I'll be able to get far in less than a month

So yes, I got the game, level 6 Ele/Necro and enjoying it so far. If anyone wants to help a noob, name's Cyanide In Your Tea.

I just about lost my lunch when I read that...wtf

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Elios, I added you to my friends list, so when I see you on we'll get together and raise some hell. I been around since the prehistoric times of GW lol, so I got nothing left to do except help new people through the game now. My main's name is the same as here on the forums, hit me up sometime if you see me first.

There are little easter eggs and locations you will recognize.

For example, in the Godslost Swamp (where the Shadow Behemoth appears, in south Queensdale) you can see the sunken Temple of Ages,

Logan Thackeray, the Destiny's Edge human character, is the descendant of Gwen (the little girl in pre and eye of the north) and Keiran Thackeray, there are several books in GW2 cities mentioning GW1 characters lime "Firebrand: Tales of Cynn" or "Torn Between Two Gods: The Story of Mhenlo".

The lvl 30 dungeon, Ascalonian catacombs contains several characters from GW1.

From what I've seen you don't need to know the story of GW1 to enjoy GW2, but it is always nice to see those nostalgic references.

@Improvavel: I'm probably just super-sensitive to spoilers, and everyone else would be like, "Who cares?" but in a newbie-friendly thread such as this, I would put spoiler tags around that paragraph that basically summarizes the life of a character that unfolds across various campaigns and expansion content.