Battling in GW

Hello, I have seen a bunch of screen shots and a couple of clips of the game in action and I am very interested in picking this up. I just have a few questions to see if this a game I will enjoy playing. FYI - I am mostly a Console player and trying to expand my gaming horizons so most of my references will be to console games.

The battling is it action oriented like in say Zelda, or is it more in the lines of Final Fantasy Online? Please be as specific as possible.

If anyone has played Phantasy Star Online and has also played this game, how close is it as far as forming a party and exploring the world around you? Can you visit other towns and villages like a normal RPG or do you visit them when you actually accept a quest? When you are not in a Quest are you in a HUB town like in PSO?

Thank you for your time.

i haven't played it either but what i can gather it's like Zelda.

I played PSO and from what i've seen it's not quite like that basicly you are in a town and get in groups in town to do missions and such.

Actually, you can go off exploring for want of nothing else. Did a lot of that myself. Go off (on your own with henchmen..or in party) and just wander around the countryside killing enemies and finding towns and such...found 4 towns last beta that way. Not to mention the missions you can do that I managed to complete a couple of.
It is probably one of the more Free-Form games I have ever played. You can do all of that, or you can go straight for PvP if you so choose. The game won't punish you for either direction you go in with it.

Let's say I don't take on a quest... from what you are saying Davion, I can just leave any particular town either by myself or with AI controlled back up and travel around the world to locate other towns? While you are exploring you can fight enemies along the way? Then I can also take on quests which will exclude my party from the rest of the players in this game? This way it sounds familiar to Final Fantasy Online except for the questing part is this a true statement?

You actually have to make the journey to towns and cities like other RPGs.

I know this wasn't in your question, but here's a little bit of what you can expect:

When you create a new character, you start out in Pre-Seared Ascalon. It's basically like a training area.... don't get me wrong, the area is HUGE. You can have up to 2 members in your party at this time. There are a lot of quests and leveling to be done in there. Once you get to level 3 (I would recommend staying till you're level 6 or 7), you have the option of going to the Academy. This will take you to Post-Seared Ascalon (where the gaming takes place).

In post Asc, you're in a town, where you can either hire henchmen or get together with a group and go questing or go on missions. When you're on a mission, you HAVE to finish that mission to get to the next town. Once you have that town made available, then it's a matter of mapping in and out of towns.

For an idea of the vastness of the Guild Wars World, maps can be found HERE.

You don't have to take on any quests, those are optional. You do however have to do the missions, as those are the ones that get you to the next town ,and the next and the next. And when you're exploring, you'll be fighting all the enemies you encounter.

When you go on a quest or a mission with your party, you're the only people you see out in the world, no one else.

I too am more familiar with console games than online RPGs, but the differences melt away until you hit one big one: Online means socializing. ^_^

Never played FFO but I'd say it compares more to Zelda than to say, Final Fantasy X. It's not round combat, it's "target and destroy"-type combat. There are distinct advantages in higher numbers, especially with a balanced party, so in that way there's some of those FF elements. The henchmen you've heard about are basically idiot savants, if you know that term; they know how to attack and what to attack, but sometimes not when to attack. Live players are better, then you can enjoy/employ some tactics, plus it's more fun to share what you see with other people.

PSO is another game I'm not familiar with, but to address the questions: Forming a party is as simple (or as hard) as typing "Who wants to form a party?" I personally like to sociallize first, get to know people and how they like to play so we can adapt our playing skill and character abilities and form a working team, but that's just me. One place I (and you) could do such a thing is in a guild, which is in short terms a REALLY big team, one that persists even after you log off. When not partying (IF ya know what I mean ^_~) you have the option of hanging out in a hub town as you described it, or soloing in your own personal iteration of (a whoppin' huge chunk of) the (seriously whoppin' huge) world map where it's just you, and the people you brought with you. No campers, no snipers, no PKers, just you and the monsters. (Glee! ) You can wander around at your leisure and find all the towns, or you can follow all the missions (missions are a good idea, since they'll help you level and find cooler stuff), or stand there with your finger up your nose. It's all up to you.

Next time I get on I'm going to take a pilgramage to all the towns I can find. It's not a mission (that I know of), but it'll be fun just to see what all is out there. ^_^

Dave III

ONE THING

*HIRE* and i use the term myself should be clairified as asking them to join not actuall incuring a hiring fee

they do take a share of loot and exp but you dont have to save up gold to invite them into your party

ALSO

prior beta events they were labeled monk ranger warrior etc

now they have a name with a profession type discription after the name

example
xxxxxofxxxxx <healer>

you said your a console fan?

well guild wars reminds me completly of fable, if you liked fable, i almost garantee you will like this game, i have not heard a negative comment about the game yet, everybody is hooked...just go pre-order it and play the next BWE....you only have to put 5 dollars down, and trust me, you get ur 5 dollars worth out of the BWE's....if you don't like it then don't have to buy it,you only lost 5 bucks out of the deal, rather than actually buying it and figuring out you dont like it

I understand what you all have stated above, but i need 2 points clarified:

1. If I am in a town, not in a mission and not in a quest, can I just leave the town and explore at my leisure? OR Do I need to initiate a mission/quest and choose the type of gameplay meaning: solo, in a party, or PVP before I can even leave the town?

2. If I can leave the town without initiating a Mission/Quest first does this mean that enemies and other players will be out in the field as well? And if so can you interact with those players and see them fighting other enemies while you are exploring?

Yes, you can leave as often as you want. In the missions, you'll actually have to click the Enter Mission button, but that doens't mean you have to do the mission. We've wandered around just taking screenshots and mapping before.

You don't have to physically choose the gameplay. If you're in a party, the leader clicks enter mission and if you're not in a party, then it's all YOU.

Nope. You don't see any other players once you're out of town. You only see your own party members, and if you're alone, then it's just a big party for you and the monsters.

That sounds great!! Maybe I will try the BWE

Also I would like to thank DAVE III and Joysze for your time in answering my questions I have a much better grasp on what this game is and sounds amazing! Can't wait to try it. Hope to see you all on it maybe we can party a few quests or missions

No worries. Glad to have been able to help. Hope you'll enjoy the next BWE. We're addicted to it!!

Gald to be of service. To be honest, I only really started here two weeks ago, so I am by no means an expert, but any help I can give is available for the asking.

I look forward to meeting you in game! ^_^

Dave III

Fable has Beat-'Em-All controls and is an action RPG whereas Guild Wars is a tactical RPG. I disagree with your comparison.
In GW you click on the enemy, you attack him. However you have 8 skills and you click on the skills in order to use them on the current target. I'd say it's a lot like Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption.

So are you saying it uses an auto attack function... meaning, I click on the enemy select attack and my character will go back and forth until one is dead? While u are in attack mode you can select from the list of spells or skills which would interrupt the attack cycle while skill is being performed then return to auto attack mode?

Or

Is it a button masher... meaning, everytime you want to attack you have to click an attack button on your keybaord/mouse?

Unlike Diablo, you don't click every time you want to fire a shot. However after you cast a spell, you do have to re-initiate the attack, though then you still have the foe selected and pressing "space" once will make your character attack.

Let me get this straight:

1st select enemy and press space bar to start auto attack (continues attacking w/out having to press space bar again) sequence? Y/N

2nd While auto attacking enemy if you want to use a skill or spell you click on it but once skill or spell is complete must click space bar again to start the auto attack or you will be standing there doing nothing? Y/N

That sum it up?

Yes.

1. You select an enemy. Either you use a hotkey to cycle through hostiles and then press Space or you click on him. If you click on him you don't need to press Space.
2. You cast a spell on him either pressing 1-8 or clicking on the icon on your spell belt.
3. You press "Space" or you click on the enemy/you cast another spell.

Thanks!! I have a much better grasp on the battle system. It was what I was hoping for. I like a good action but having to click or tap for every attack while trying to type something to a teammate just doesn't make sense. Stills semms very action oriented more so than FFXI Online.

You don't have to press space to continue attacking after casting a spell, only if you want to attack a different target.

Ah, thanks, Bear. I was a little confused myself: Couldn't remember as I usually was casting Necromancer reanimation spells .

A better alternative to typing during combat weither in PvP or PvM is voice chat with one of the free tools such as Ventrilo or Teamspeak.

- Iczer

Completly confuse me why don't you :P... Ventrilo what??... Teamspeak who??... Are you saying I could just bark my orders to my character intstead of typing? If that the case sounds interesting Could you elaborate?

Ohh and not having to hit space bar to continue attacking after a skill is finished... Priceless... The wait for this game keeps getting longer and longer.

Although TeamSpeak is just an alternative to chat (it is Voice Chat), there was a thinggy called Game Commander once. I don't know nor care if it still exists but you might look into it if you want to control the character with your voice.

only for use to talk to teammates to coordinate strategy instead of trying to type chat and control character at same time

people talk only not character control

So does that only work if someone else is using the device or does it come out from the PC speakers with the rest of the sound in the game?

I would be interested especially since my typing skills are not where they should be

Where could I find one of these devices? Circut City?

could be speakers and microphone

or could be a headset with microphone attached

only members of the guild who have the physival equipment and the guild pays for the server setup (or owns one themselves)

Too much to think about... i'll stick to typing