Alright, alright, so You've hooked me but....

What is the best thing about guildwars what is everyones favorite thing!? B it scenery, environments, detail,skills,customization? Tell me I wanna know. And if you'd care to explain a bit about why you like this particular thing, that would be ever so lovely.

1. the looks I swear after playing all day and night the "real world look so drab and Plan.
2. the Poeple where else can you meet new and Interesting people AND KILL THEM
3. no monthly Fee.
4. did I mention the graphics....

Ren

the potential longevity of play, do you realize i actually go to school and scribble down what would be a good build??

I do the same at work

Ren

First for me it was the graphics that got me hooked. Someone told me about the first BWE. I went to the site and marveled at the screen shots. Then I did some snooping, talked to some of the pro-gamer warcraft III players who were friends of mine, many playing the wow open beta and found out at least the rumored background that later was for the most part confirmed by GuildWars website.

The people behind Guildwars are: Essentally the gurus of computer programming genius behind Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo, and the initial thinking of WOW for Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Vivendi-Universal (as in Universal Pictures), who left to pursue their vision, what they could forsee and a mass undertaking and programming challenge they wanted a chance to make a reality--Arena.net and GuildWars. It is my belief that GuildWars would have been WOW had Blizzard been good to the programming group that put them on the gaming map as a leader. (Corrections welcomed )

I downloaded the client ran it and from the moment I saw the login screen i knew this game was going to be like walking into the artist Moebius's mind! Once the event started there was no question this game was going to bring to life the fantasy art of Moebius and I would not be able to get enough. They graphica and animations have only become more incredible over the course of BWEs.

Then there are the missions, the icing on the cake for becoming a GuildWars addict. Take for example the mission to get to Lyon's Arch (LA but no smog! ). This remains a struggle even for many higher level characters. Maybe I and the groups I was with have noob builds and haven't really strategized well in character building. But the idea we have to do that to complete a mission that is about 1/3 of the course of the entire group of missions the game is supposed to have by releasehave all 6 of us level 13 or greater told me this game is never gonna put me to sleep playing it. Honestly, "boredom," not by me but by the creators of the game the idea of boredom, appears something they will not tolerate.

-The Graphics
-The Company
-The Missions

I have had little PVP or GVG, since the first BWE, and really have little interest in it. PVE for me. Too many incredible sceneries and masses of different people and configurations to explore these with.

Wow, those were definently incredible storys and what not! I would love to hear from more people. Honestly, I am thoroughly impressed.

For me the price and the graphics.
I've always hated the idea of a game that you buy and then pay to play, so GW scores very highly in those stakes.
The graphics are simply amazing! I haven't actually played the game since the E34E event but even then I was amazed.
Of course, being a big fan of action RPGs and having played Magic The Gathering back in highschool there's a lot of stuff in this game, gameplay wise, that really does it for me too.
The level cap is another great thing that I only recently realised I love. The biggest problem I had with Diablo 2 was the grind of constantly leveling and never really getting anywhere. I love that in GW you get to level 20 and then start playing based on your actual skill rather than just how much time you've put into your character.

not in any specific order:
-no monthly fee
-very well balanced
-minimal grind / doesn't rely on just hours played
-graphics

Price was got it started for me, and honestly it is still the price. As someone already stated paying a monthly charge for a game is absurd... I hold the same opinion of cell phone contracts with minutes. A friend of mine went to Europe and told me that over there they use cell phones like local phones and don't have the minute b.s. Anyways, I am opposed to anything that takes a monthly charge.. it racks up trust me. $165 a year for WoW? You paid for over FOUR games (with initial purchase of $50) in a year by playing only ONE! I don't get emotional often but sheesh people when do we stop supporting these games and let them know what we really want... has anyone noticed the move to Linux? I have, people want this enormous price nonsense to stop. We're supposed to have a competitve marketplace for busineses that make prices and quality the BEST. Unfortunately, they formed guilds, well sort of. Think of the outrageous prices of gas, health care, cell phones, the entire entertainment industry. Why? Because together they decided that their going to charge this much with a little tolerance. These are also some of the most "productive" businesses, meaning they have the highest profit margin on their products and the best company margins overall. Sorry, that turned into a rant, but I feel the need to spread the word. Take it to da' man!

Lansing Kai Don

P.S. My views are based on that I don't support these products whenever possible. If you fully support these products and feel their worth the money, then that is your right to have those beliefs.

Thank you all for posting after my last post, at least this way I will not make a posting policy error

People in battle.net used to laugh at me, tell me that not my principle of not being willing to pay a monthly fee to play a game (WOW) is stupid and ridiculous because "that's the only way to keep the hackers out!" I felt so vindicated when they had some sort of major hack thing in WOW about last month or so that took out half of their servers I believe it was 2 days to get everything back up and running too.

There is another post here about somene who is about to cancel their WOW subscription because the battle arena, WOW'S "end game" (What a coincidence!) isn't finished yet.

P.S. I didn't bring up the monthly fee in my previous post because it seemed the poster of this thread was looking more for things about the game itself and not the Arena.net's business practices (Just stating a fact, not tryin to offend anyone by saying this.).

Well, I am looking for things about the game, but if your playing because its free monthly is good too. This is just a way for me to find out more of the games strong points.

This game just flat out amazes me. Everytime I play I become engulfed by the whole experience and I honestly feel like I'm in a different world. I mostly think that's so for two reasons:

First of all, the graphics are HOTT(oh and you know I meant there to be two t's ).

Secondly, this game is AMAZINGLY thorough and dense with minisculities. That is partly due to such incredible graphics with the entire game mapped out so well. Also, everything has a story behind it so you never feel like you're lost at some midpoint between two plots of the game.

Guild Wars is what a computer game should be.

I dunno, I'm probably just too accustomed to 'traditional' RPGs. You know, the kind where once you've reached the peak level, there's nothing else left to do but finish the game and be done with it? PvP doesn't do it for me; I've found that more often than not it brings out the worst in people. Sore losers, gloating winners and whatnot. I can't stand that, so I prefer to avoid such things. No challenge or insult intended toward those whose opinions differ, of course. Anyway, back to the original point... I'm simply unable to grasp what there is to do for those of us not interested in PvP play once we've hit level 20. This is the only thing that makes me hesitate about this game. If anyone can set me straight on this, feel free to speak up.

If you goal is just leveling, then you've got nothing more to do.
If your goal is to finish the other half of the PvE content then you've got plenty to do.

I'm a little short on time, and this is my least favorite question, mostly because it's been asked to death. No offense to you, Lothian. It's a valid concern.

This thread addresses pretty much the same points, with some very good answers. Sin especially has some very good replies. Hope this helps.

Lothian, based on the last BWE you reach level 20 around about the current final mission. I understand that this is, in all reality to what is planned of the game by release about 2/3 of the actual course of the missions. This getting to level 20 and passing through the missions isn't some easy task for most players. Understand the missions do not include the explorable areas, where you find other adventures, items, sometimes connecting in another way to the mission course.

Of course the items collected in your travels can be traded and there is too the task of finding, and being able to purchase, the 100+ skills for both your professions. Then there's learning what skills are best for what missions since you only get 8 at a time.

Oh and if you happen to make 4 characters to play, 2 of each profession, that's alot of skills to figure out and alot of different styles of play to master, even if only for PVE. I've been in a mission struggling in a 20 minute battle against a computer opponent and it wasn't even a "hero" type. I was sure we lost but we started asking why it didn't die, etc. figured out our weakness, adjusted, overcome the challenge and resurrected the rest of our team to finish the mission.

First: Allow me to humbly apologize if my voicing of my concerns upset anyone. Such was not my intent. Obviously I'm not the only one who's had these concerns, and I admit I should've scoured the forums to see if a related topic already existed.
Second: I thank all of you who have indeed set me straight. I'm still not quite able to wrap my mind around the concept of a game that doesn't start getting fun until after you've maxed out your levels, but I'm keeping an open mind and will simply wait until the game's release to see for myself how things will turn out.

SOMEBODY did not explain clearly if that was the impression you got

THIS GAME IS FUN FROM THE STARTING TUTORIAL AREA

i am 100 per cent non pvp

you can spend weeks exploring the tutorial area which is beautiful(i will keep 1 of my 4 character slots in that area for vacations) before moving to the main game

the fun STARTS and CONTINUES up to level 20 and then you continue on with your level 20 character picking up better skills and armor and weapons

AND EXPLORING FOR ME

for the NON PVP

there are 25 missions to start (more content to be streamed in)

60-70+ explorable areas which are not small to start (again more to be streamed in)

all level 20 gives you is your maximum health and attribute points

the game does not end after you reach max the game goes on

just as real life does not stop after you reach your top physical strength this game continues on the same way

Great replys from everyone.

This is gonna be long... Just a warning!

Chapter One- What got me interested in Guild Wars!

I am what you would call a "Power Gamer"! Beyond just the enjoyment of playing PC Games it's actually my day job. Not that I earn money from playing games. More like I earn money from researching games. So the day Arena.net announced Guild Wars I was immediately interested as it's my job to be. I was eager to see what Jeff Strain and company where going to unleash on the world as I was already fixated on the hot news of them leaving Blizzard.

When I first took a peak at some of the In-Game screenshots I was very impressed. However, in today’s competitive market that's what developer released screenshots are supposed to do. My first and very early concerns with Guild Wars were the storyline, background or lore. Most developers of MMORPG's live and die by the storyline. If I asked you to name me how many released mmorpg's are available today? Most people would name the following: World of Warcraft, Everquest, EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, Final Fantasy, Matrix Online, Ultima Online, City of Hero's.

That's 7, when in fact the number is more like 144 that I know of anyway. This is because 4 of the 7 afore mentioned titles already had a large fan base due to success in the theatre or other game genre's. Technically Ultima Online and Everquest where two of the very first to start this genre and so there success was a lot more to do with discovering a genre then there storyline. There's only about 2 very successful MMORPG's that did not have a well established storyline and or where not among the first in the genre. Those 2 where Dark Age of Camelot, City of Heroes.

So with that said, could Guild Wars deliver a new and epic storyline? The answer for was a resounding YES. Not only is the background/lore very intriguing and well thought but the characters and world is something that can only be described as perfect.

Chapter 2- My first Impression of the gameplay

When I first logged into Guild Wars I was very excited. However, my first impression was that my male Mesmer ran like a fairy! I can say to you know that since that first impression I have never had a another negative thought about this great game. I am first and foremost a PvP gamer when it comes to MMORPG's.

I could never understand why people would sign up on PvE servers only when given the option in other titles. Guild Wars quick and fast paced yet simple and complex missions/questing system is far better then any other MMORPG to date. So good in fact that I can say now that I am as interested in the PvE side as much as the PvP side of Guild Wars.

Chapter 3- Gameplay: PvP/GvG

When it comes to MMORPG's and PvP, I can say there has not been a MMORPG that I have played where it felt like strategy in comparison to who has better items/weapons/armor! Until now that is, Guild Wars sets MMORPG PvP to a new industry standard. Any Developer that wishes to compete in a MMORPG PvP based game in the future would be fools if they did not heavily research Guild Wars.

Character view and smoothness is great. Full 3d landscaping is like turning your head. Not like "turn 2 degrees south *chop* *chop* *lag* turn back". The instance missions and areas is pure brilliance as it eliminates about 25% of all player complaints from other MMORPGS. e.g. "I hate getting grifed", "I hate spawn killers", "I hate loot stealers" which have plauged every MMORPG to date.

Chapter 4- End Game

Best way to describe Guild Wars end game would be to ask a simple question. What end game? Guild Wars end game is non existent as the focus is on competition rather then reaching a final level. When you level cap and have a un balanced PvP and unbalanced items then end game is boring and monotonous.

Arena.net in my opinion took an alternate angle on MMORPG PvP. Rather then going with the thrill of a raid or the thrill of 1v1 PvP. Guild Wars reminds me of an RTS (Real Time Strategy) game. RTS is a huge and well established genre, as people love competition. However, to make a game competitive things need to be balanced. Guild Wars so far has made me believe they are the first MMORPG that could be considered perfectly balanced. (IMO)

Arena.net has made GvG like Age of Empires. People forming guilds, get grouped in a waiting area. Then hit lunch and are brought to a map where both teams compete on a level playing field with the thrill of victory which leads to a better player or guild rate.

Player ratings (Fame) and Guild Ranking (the Ladder) is what will fuel this game for years to come. Just as it did with the age of series and any other RTS.

La Finn

i think i can honestly answer that question in one word

GRIEFERS

btw i an totally PVE and thank GW for providing such a good game

why they even reserved a small area for the people who enjoy pvp

however i do not begrudge it to them as there is room for all here

I think I can speak for at least a few of us that hate you for having the greatest 'job' if you can call it that.. in the world. (tongue in cheek)

LOL

This game had me hooked the first BWE I played. Which was the one just before this last one. This will make it 3 BWE's that I will be in before the release.

I honestly thought the 'traning' area was simply what we got out of the beta event. The next time I got to play (this last BWE). And I found out that there is simply MUCH more to the game then I thought, Its very comparable to the size of the first EQ. I simply couldnt believe it. With the help of people who invited me into thier guild-- I made it all the way to the end game. ( I say end game because it was the end of the chaptre .. I had seen I think all of the cutscenes) Keep in mind I think we skipped a few missions and simply walked thru the exporable areas of some. Also not all of the areas were released in the beta so .. this game is just huge. I love this game. The cut scenes are awsome. The gameplay is smooth. I played littarly 14 hours straight a few times ... what can I say .. I'm totally addicted.

I hope you enjoy playing it too.

now you must excuse me while I go work on some monkley skillz

Hi, I'm new here and oviously at first, I thought of GW as any other MMORPGs. But when I saw first post about lv cap at only 20, I said to myself, 'is this a joke?'. Well, I play MMORPG for lv grind(some might hate it but that's what got me into MMORPGs) and to b stronger than others, not as much as role-playing and doing missions. To me, most of MMORPGs I have played lacked in story-line so I play non-online rpg to be awed by the twists in story-line. Anyway, my question would be that in order to b exceptionaly stronger than others, would this game lie heavily on how you fight and what strategy you take on? I didn't understand when people said 'it all depends on skills.' Are some of the skills really rare or did I fully misunderstood it and 'the skills' meant as in tactics?

they have worked extremely hard to prevent a so called uber build that will be unbeatable

every build is a compromise

with 75 skills/profession and 2 professions there is VARIETY

you can only bring 8 skills (mix and match for your professions) and you can either find out you clober the opposition or they clober you or a draw

you make what is fun to play for you and if you choose poor skills for the circumstances switch them out in any town or outpost and try with something else

I can't complain! But it's not what you think. It's stressful and there's no job security. A lot of my time is spent reasrching and playing shitty games and or games I don't like.

And just think! Soon after you go through all the missions and all the explorable area's is the same time they will be releasing an expansion!

You could never be exceptionaly stronger then others in this game by way of Armor, weapons or items. The focus is on strategy! Picking the right skills to use and when to use them is the name of the game. Each profession has 75 skills and you can have up to 2 professions. When you start a competition or a PvP battle you are only allowed to bring 8 skills. So basically you have to pick 8 skills out of all 150 to use per battle. The skills you choose will depend on the situation. In order to learn a skill you will need to quest and do missions.

Well if you play first person shooters then you would probably enjoy it. They have the classic king of the hill and ctf and good stuff like that. Not only does it require skill you need stratigy and team work.

Oh god I knew it king of hte hill and CTF I am so going to GvG and PvP now.

I guess ill tell you the reasons i decided to join teh partay.

- No monthly fees
- Scenery, i will not play an RPG with borring scenery, but this game has exceptainal scenery, many landscapes ive seen in screen shots and video ive never seen those done before in other games. (Like that gwen scene in MesmerHai video)
- Originality, My favorite games have there own game style never been done before, or atleast not much.
- That ranger chick, (yes that really is one of the reasons i decided to get this game)

As I've already stated in my first post... I have absolutely *zero* interest in the PvP side of the game. I'm more than happy to leave that to the players who can appreciate it more than I can. My time playing will be spent exploring the land with friends, squashing wicked ugly beasties and collecting nifty treasures. But I've been thinking about the concept of a game that revolves around skills as opposed to levels... and it has caused me to ponder a question; wouldn't it be more sensible to do away with the whole level-gaining part entirely, if the focus of the game is on skills anyway? If the success of your character revolves around your skills rather than your levels, then it seems to me that the time you spend climbing up to level 20 has no real point. Yes, I realize that it's way too late to do anything about this now, this close to release time. It was just a stray thought that occured to me in my contemplations. Feel free to ignore my lunacy.

I guess its just to make you work for something? I dunno

-Balanced
-Original
-Great Graphics
-No Monthly Fees
-No Patches
-Tons of content
-Instancing
-Tactical Skills Required
-Fast Paced

... it's an endless list.

oh and

-I Forget to Eat During Betas

Wow, people like to talk about why like the GW...but it's simple really.

The lack of monthly fees gets us interested, the evil 'tasting' (the bwe's) then makes us want more, the great community and fan base keeps us together, the better-than-the-rest gameplay, graphics, story, technology (among about a few million other things) gets us obsessed. Sprinkle in a little emotion (the videos, screenshots, and special Gwen-roasting-everyone moments) and a dash of euphoria and this game will feel perfect for a looooooong time.

My first post was rather short so I'M back... I have never been much of a MMO player because I always thought the idea of P2P(pay to Play) was Tantamount to Extortion. Just my Opinion so no offence to any wow,EQ2.ect players out there. But the way I see it if I buy a game it is MINE I should be able to play it as much or as less at I want. When you P2P you do not own the game you "rent" it. You have to fork over more money each month for the right to play a game you spent $50 on in the first place.

So when I heard of Guild Wars being free every month I said why not and spent the ten dollars to preorder. I thought at the time (before Feb's BWE) If it sucks I am only out $10. That's like trying out a new Restaurant. So I played the Feb BWE. I did not have much time to play and only played on Saturday night. But the little time I spent playing GW Was like no other game I had played in a long time. I went back and played Sunday till I was kicked off by the server. Now this may sound Really lame but I was auctally sad when I could not play any more. That has never happened. It was the idea that I had to wait a whole month before I could play again. I was 3:00 am EST And I would have played longer if they let me, never mind that I had to be at work the next day a 9am. The landscape was soooooo!! real looking. And The game was so fun from the very start. I had played a little of EQ on a friend's account and thought This is boring. Here I am killing rats and spiders till I could kill bigger things. I spent maby two days total playing before I gave the game back to him and said "no thanks" And deleted all parts of EQ from my hard drive. So to play GW and have it be so fun from the start and so easy to "get the hang of" was like a Revelation.

When March BWE came around I was ready. I had the whole weekend off (it was the one weekend a month I get off ) and I set out to play. I made it past the searing and joined a group. They did not treat my like a Newbie even thought I was one and showed my some great missions. The wall was and is one of my Favorites. Then I heard obout PvP and GvG and how it was a big part of the game. That was when I formed my own Guild. My main reason was to get the cool cape but I also wanted to always have cool people to play with. (I had spent a while shoutiing out Who needs a ranger to party or stuff to that Extent ).

So to make a long story short (I get too longwinded sometimes I bet you are thinking right? ) At first it was the money, Then I saw the way it looked and was hooked. Then I meet all the cool players, Now it is all of the above plus more. This game will never get old because the more you play it the more you see that there is more to do. I have not even Scratched the surface to use the old tired Cliché and I have not even played PvP and GvG yet. Assuming you are still reading this thanks for your time, and sorry about the long post.

Ren

Absofrigginglutely! But hey, Battle.net has to turn a profit now as a division/subsidiary of universal pictures since the merger, WOW is battle.net's paying customer

Man I thought I was the only one who felt sad when the BWE's end. Everthing you just sad I couldn't agree with more.

Less than 2 weeks!