How Many of you will be picking up the expansion.

So far I will not be, The grind is literraly soo long I barely have 1/7th of the total skills in the game not to mention runes.

With the coming expansion I will be buying another long list of skills I will look at and wish I had unlocked, and more PvE to bore myself with.

Not to mention from what I am guessing they will add like 1 new pvp area and hype it up.

Whats your take? You paying another 50$?

it depends on what's on it and if the current problems are fixed by then or not.

The grind isn't long at all, try playing FFXI where it takes more than a year to hit the cap. This game isnt hard at all, just grab some henchmen and quest, you can easily get 1-2 lvls a day if you play casually. I'm happy for the expansion because frankly, coming to this game froma huge game like FFXI this game is way too small.

They should add some stuff that's hard to get, and much more armor, i'd say at least quadrupile the amount of armor for each class to have more variation and stuff. I haven't ascended but from what I read they can add items that are hard to get, maybe armor you have to do quests and stuff for each piece for the crafter, without really upsetting the balance of the game too much. Having this gear wouldnt necessarilly make you better at PVP since it is supposed to depend on skill it could just be a small "present" to people who play harder so that they stay with the game for longer.

Personally, I think item content is stupid, Im not playing freaking barbie with my characters, I dont care if they have red or yellow armor, that is not fun to me.

I would prefer maybe, Housing? or Competitive PvE maps where you race against another team to win, etc. Maybe include it into WaW so you can time attack vrs Koreans or vrs Europeans for a cool reward. LITE pvp, aka It's PvP but more like DOTA where you have strategical objectives and one player can make a huge difference, maybe even upgrades contained within the instance that allow you to do amazing stuff, (which goes away once you leave), something like Used map settings games from starcraft, Defend the Hero, etc.

The potential is insane, its stupid it devolved into item grind.

They need more creativity imo.

It's nice with all the generic things allowing costumizability, but a little creativity and atmosphere in the game might be pretty cool.

games barely been in retail a month and they are planning an expansion this soon?

LOL have you read anything about guildwars?

If they're going to release expansions every 6 to 9 months, they had to start planning them a few months ago to be exact.

They stated expansion designs before it was even sold. Actually, multiple expansions. It's part of their business model, to have a MMO-esque game that's built on expansions instead of monthly fees.

Well I knew they'd release expansions, that'd be their income instead of monthly fees

My point is it's been less than 30 days since it's been retail, alot of guilds and teams are just now getting to their PvPing after having grinded the stuff they need, and hell alot of guilds are still without a guildhall.

$50, and then what another $20-30 less than a month later?....

6 months later, possibly longer. Anyone who says the expansion will be out this month, next or even the month after is wrong.

Well thats fine, I expected something along those timelines.

People in this thread, and others, make it seem like there is an expansion coming out within the next couple of weeks. I mean damn, we're still awaiting key issues to be addressed in the next patch, let alone a full expansion.

The next expansion.. Well, it will make A LOT less money since most of the players are 13-15 year old multiplayer guys. Sure, some of you think lvl20 is just fine, but personally, 10 of my friends got bored of the game fast.

This item system is crude and boring and just... COME ON. This game is young and we already have tons of 15k armored people with elite skills and are filthy rich. 3 weeks... THREE!

Oh yay, PvE is over. Now lets mindlessly join a guild, play pvp and get into bad parties. Woo freakin hoo.

I love this game, but there is just so much of this game thats gonna die out so fast.
*Everyone I know on this game, which is alot, has said more then once about raising the lvl 20 stuff and the items.

If this game doesnt improve, then no, I wont buy the expansion.

You see everyone says how they shouldnt change the lvl 20 cap, and I just cannot see this game lasting if they don't change it.

Sure, they can add stuff to the game for lvl 20 but theres only so much, I think they need to make requirments to wear armor, a higher cap, and a crapload more armor, the armor selection of this game is pathetic.

I'm not saying make a grind, it's non-existant, a grind is where you join a party and figh 30-40 of the same enemies for 2 hours for 1 lvl, in a game where you quest for XP I do not consider there to be any grind.

But adding some harder stuff in the game would make it more fun and last longer, once your ascended im sure PVP will only last so long. Theres got to be something they can add without upsetting balance.

my most anticipated game, Black and White 2 isn't even on shelves yet and there are teams working on updates and add-ons.

I'll likely buy the expansion when it comes out... it all depends though because to buy a game for me is a bit of a hassle. I'm in Korea and for whatever reason they haven't released the game in Korea yet (everyone here plays beta) so I have to first: change my korean money to Canadian, losing on exchange, second: wire the cash to my friend, paying a charge. Third: he picks up the game and mails it to me, I pick up the tab for mail costs... all included I pay about twice what you do for this game.

And by that time Black and White 2, The Movies and Fable for the PC will be out... so I'm sure they'll be keeping me plenty busy too.

As for what they add to the expansion, everyone has something different they enjoy out of the game so I figure they should give everyone just a few crumbs:

-level 25 or 30 cap
-new special items (I so want a spyglass)
-few new weapons, armors, runes, spells, skills for each class
-bunch of new bad guys and new areas to accomodate the extra levels
-new chapter storyline
-new maps for PvP and possibly new modes for PvP
-larger party cap (maybe 10 per party in new area?)
-allied parties/competing parties in the same quest...

I think if your friends feel the game is crude and boring, than shalow and selfish is a good descriptor for them. If 2D game worlds and easy kills are your forte', then a game like this isn't what you may enjoy. Strategy, patience, and thought are required to enjoy the game. Too many players spend more time dancing than playing, only to beg for quest items so they don't have to bother (bear skin in pre a perfect example) or constantly ask where is this and that because they don't EXPLORE the world.


The game may die out for you, but for the majority of us, we will be playing a long time.

I for one look forward to playiing any expansions that come out. I still stand by the opinion that this infamous "grind" that all the PvP folk complain about is a plroblem of their own making. How is it that in only 3 weeks or so, all of these "OTHER" guilds have mysteriously grinded out everything they could possibly ever want and all of our rather insistent complainers are having so much trouble?

They've all had the game the same length of time you all have. Did you ever for a second stop to think that maybe.. just maybe.. a lot of these folk have just actually PLAYED the damn game instead of insisting that they have to grind for eternity in order to get ready to play?

To say that you don't like the game and won't buy any expansions because of this mysterious grind is your choice. As someone else has already stated, poeple without all the Elites, Runes, and Upgrades have PvP'd and won. Why? Because they weren't relying on polishing material and just went with what they had and knew how to use it better than the next person.. ya know?.. That whole SKILL thing..

Any time I've done PvP I've done ok.. about as well as I expected to given the amount of time I work in that environment. I don't expect to beat the elite players who spend all of their waking moments going over builds and running drills and all that.. I play to have fun.. SO once I get tired or frustrated with the PvP.. I go back to PvE and maybe try a few different things there and when bored with that, return to the PvP arena. In that.. I'd say I'm competative with the majority of players.. but even don't even have the slightest thought that I should be hangin with the All Stars of GW.

It's a GAME.. Enjoy it for what it is. Oh and one other thing.. You never ever have to buy an expansion to keep playing with everyone else. ANet seems intent that whatever they happen to add classwise will fit in and stay balanced with what is already in the game.. So you would never have to grind through an expasion.. even in your own terms if you didn't want to.

Hey man, what you got against dancing? Everytime I finish a long grueling quest, I get into a safe zone and then off come the boots and pants and I dance my stress away.

It's a great way to just relax and forget the troubles of the dangerous Tyrian landscape.

Only problem is once I forgot to put my pants back on, I kept getting owned by all these low level creeps and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. We had finished the mission before I realized I was still in my knickers....

I will be more than happy to buy the expansion whatever it is. I have no problem with the game so far. Frankly, WHY must this issue of the 'grind' be dragged out of the dirt over and over and OVER again? As someone above stated, enjoy the game for what it is, a game. I have to do things repeatedly sure, but thats all for the fact of doing quests and missions and I unlock alot when I do it just the same as if Iwere actually hunting to unlock things, which I don't feel any need to do.

Guild Wars will be successful with the expansion because there are people that like to merely play for the story content and aren't completely focused on unlocking every little thing. Oh and the next/first expansion is due out early january next year from what I have heard...

I'll be picking it up simply because, though I've experienced the majority of this game so far, I'm still having fun running new PvE characters through and am looking forward to seeing the story continue.

The games shelf life is just too small

It is a very casual rpg, which is a good thing. Means it will appeal to a broader audience and equal more profit for the game devs in the end.

However in that respect, players burn through the content quickly, especially with the low level cap.

In about 5 honest days of playing (actually playing, not just standing around town talking or trading) I've

- Explored 90% of the map, minus some the really far desert areas that have no town and are virtually the same as the areas with a town (and yes by explore I do mean all the little nooks and crannies that arent near a town or op)

- Gotten to level 20, well before "ascention"

- Ascended

- Beaten all post Ascention missions

- Pretty much gotten the skills I need for PvP (maybe get a few more to alter things in and out depending apon situation or need)

- Pretty much gotten the items I need for PvP (might try to get better stuff, maybe)


The only things left to do in GW are;

- Roll more characters either to unlock more skills for a different class in PvE or roll more characters to PvP with

- PvP, some more

- Pool the guilds entire gold and plat to maybe buy a Celestial Sigil


Probably the last two are the only things worth left doing. I've yet to see a guild hall or be in one, and none of us can afford one (people asking as much as 75k in ascalon...). And sure the PvP is fun but it just turns into which team, has the most/best equipped Monks and Warriors, the other classes are meer support. And those that disagree with that, just observe some PvP battles, the two most heavily used classes are Monks and tanking Warriors, which I'm sure can be fun in their own rights but when people throw out flames at your character class (necro in my case) brushing on an almost racist borderline (if you could actually be racist aganist a rpg character type...lord knows thered be plenty of them in GW) and you see how rangers, necros, and even mesmers at times are jus the redheaded step children of the game for PvP.

Honestly, they made the content too straight forward. the missions are fun, and even mind boggling difficult at times, but the instant warping to the next major town after each mission kinda takes the game and uber speeds it up x2 (as opposed to having to explore your way to each town which woulda been x10 more fun). Go to Op A, do mission, warp to Op B, once in Op B start the mission and warped to Op C. Rinse and repeat until Ops A-Z.

-shrug- Of course I'll buy the expansion. It's got more stuff.

Fun Game + More Stuff = More Fun.

Simple math.

I think of the Entire PvP part of the game as Counter-Strike in this game. Look how successful CS is when people play the same 4-6 maps over and over and over and over, and kill eachother over and over and plant the bomb and rescue hosties..and thats about it besides making gay little custom maps.

Even if you have done every mission and quest possible, unlocked all skills and captured all elites. you can still play PvP over and over just like CS. and apparently people dont mind doing PvP over and over, because that is exactly what they doing in CS.

Also many people misinterrpret the box. It says you don't have to grind, which is true. I haven't even considered grinding yet and I'm competitive in PvP and Tombs. What people miss is that, it doesn't say grinding won't help you. Sure grinding will make your avatar a little better but not that significantly better.

I'm going to buy it only for the fact that I don't want Arenanet to go out of business and the Guild Wars servers shutting down. If it's actually worth the money, then whoopdeedoo for me.

Definitely buying the expansion.

It's the best online game I've played that does not require monthly fees. It's beautiful. It's engaging. It has cutscenes and a backstory. It has exploration and hack and slash. I love it.

Only thing bothering me is the fact that my boyfriend won't play the post ring of fire missions with me... and I can't put together a stable group of 8 players to really have a grand time in Fissure of Woe/Underworld/HoH.

Woah. Woah. Wait a minute... they are going to be charging for expansions? What about the whole marching band press release and advertising campaign that said all content was 'free'?

(Going off to look up the relevant page)

Oh. Damn. I see what they did now...

"Chapters" are things you pay for... expansions.

Man, my partner is gonna be ticked at me.

Cindaire,

Did you expect that we would make one game, and then offer continued content forever, free online servers, customer service, technical support, and all for that $50 you paid back 11 years ago?

The new chapters of Guild Wars will be (1) larger than traditional "expansion packs," (2) fully optional, (3) not required to buy the next chapter, so you can "skip a chapter" and still continue to play, (4) fun.

And one more thing: We are currently working on the first large live update: Two huge new explorable regions called Grenth's Footprint and Sorrow's Furnace. There's a movie on www.guildwars.com that gives a sneak peek of this update. And yes, that update, with all the new goodies, is entirely free. So it's the best of all possible worlds, I think: Great game. Optional chapters. Free live updates. No subscription fees.

I am guessing chapters are going to be like whole new maps? You can only make monsters SO hard. Lvl 20 cap is fine but there is going to have to be something that changes the gamplay to make the game interesting. If the chapters are going to be just new areas with a new story, same monsters with different graphics, then I don't think it will be worth playing. Don't get me wrong, I love the game but I don't see how it is logistically going to work.

Hopefully the tapestry gwen thing will be fixed by the time the next chapter comes out

Yes and Yes... dunno when it is coming out though.

As for the gentleman above me, you don' tneed the expansions to play, they just give you more fun stuff and more story. Plus, the cost of these expansions is no where near a WoW account for a year.

And as Grenth's Footprint and Sorrows Furnace (the new expansion in the build available for GW players) is out today, you won't have to pay anything for it!

I'm very excited about the future expansion sets.
I have no clue what they will provide, but I trust anet to surprise me

They must have thought about what to provide in these expansion packs - because they set tight restrictions on what they can contain...

And if the expansion packs don't suck very hard i'll buy them - just for supporting the idea behind GuildWars. I would like to see more games in the spirit of GuildWars.

I've had this game for over a week and a half now, and I'm only on level 13. People are complaining about reaching level 20 within a matter of days. Do you people ever go outside or do... anything other than play games?! I'm fine with the content in this game, it'll keep me occupied for weeks. It's a great game, lots of fun, and the PvE aspect is a lot more entertaining than I though it would be. If an expansion adds even more, hell, I'll buy it. Depending on the frequency expansion packs are released, Guild Wars could end up becoming my staple game for months.

The first expansion isn't slated for release until Q1 of 2006, so everyone has plenty of time to make a decision.

That said, I thoroughly enjoy the game and like the no-monthly fee model, so yes, it's likely I would pick up the expansion. £17.99 every 9 months is a total bargain as far as I'm concerned, and they have said you do NOT have to buy expansions to still do PvP and remain competitive. The expansion will just open up new maps (and, I think, professions).

I'll get the expansions. I like the game a lot and so do most of the people I run into.

I know it's hard to believe but GW boards have WAY fewer complainers than any other online RPG that I've been around. Even the ones that do complain are usually just threatening to quit if they don't get what they want.

They aren't actually planning on quitting until they have to pay again.

Sure, there will be some that will quit but I doubt they'll outnumber the newcomers that will come in.

I plan on getting the expansions! I have been playing since release and have loved the time I've been able to play. For myself, I'm just taking things nice a slow, and completing as many of the "side quests" as I can. I've also enjoyed starting new characters and playing with different builds. The PvP is also a lot of fun and challenging.
The big draw for me was the no monthly charge, and if buying a new expansion every 6-9 months will help keep the game alive, then I'm happy to support it

That is the exquisite irony of 'quitting this game' - there is really nothing to 'quit' from as there is no monthly fee. You can pick up again months and months (years in fact) - down the line, and it will be like you've never left. And as it follows the model of Magic: The Gathering, then your 'deck' will have just stayed the same, whilst some others will have new (but not by implication, 'better') 'cards' to choose from.

I really like this concept.

How do you think they would make the money to keep runing the servers, paying for the bandwith and paying the staff if they did'nt charge for expansions?

I really enjoy the PvE and the storyline. Sure, it gets a bit tedious when I have to fight monsters on a quest that i should have done 5 level earlier... and I'm getting ubpkiss for exp.


And I'm running 2 characters concurrently and have 2 more waiting in the wings. I'm no where near Ascension with my highest lvl PC.

I'm looking foward to new environments to poke around in. New goodies to put on my paper doll... its fun for me.

so, yes, unless I hear horrible reviews, I will buy the expansion.

Sure I plan to spend another 50 on an exansion that I won't see within a year from now or maybe longer.

I will definitely be getting whatever expansion they grace us with, and I know at least 5 or 6 other people that will be as well. We are addicted.

for the chap who was shocked, I do believe it said "free updates BETWEEN the chapters." and even if it wasn't added that this will be bigger than a usual expansion (ie. maybe a company will finally start making sequels that add to the game instead of replace the game), it is an expansion and an expansion is a far cry larger than an add-on.