Were you a beta player?

1) Yes
2) WPE
3) Game: release, Community: beta - the hc pvp crowd really got increasingly whiny after release and it was bad from the start. Luckily the whiny rpg-"more levels" crowd has sort of shut up.
4) If you belive PR you are naive. It was roughly as I imagined it.
5) I'll probably play some GTA:SA and BF2 but that doesnt mean I'm leaving.

1. Yes.
2. 'E3 for everyone' (whenever that was)
3. Release. Sanctum Cay was getting kinda boring.
4. Yes, exactly the same.
5. I don't 'move' between games, I play quite a few games at the same time. Currently also playing: Gran Turismo 4, Pro Evo 4. Quit Eve-Online (again) recently.

over 170 hours of GW played, it's already been worth the £35 (damn pre-order, £18 from play.com) I paid. The new stuff looks great and I'm eagerly awaiting the next expansion, doing the high end PvE and more PvP while I wait.

Yes.

October 2004 (aka WPE)

Considering Beta consisted of only 3 days a month (unless you were one of a handful of lucky people in Alpha), whereas retail is permanent, I think it's extremely difficult to objectively compare the two (especially as no two BWEs were ever the same!!!). If I had played Beta for hundreds of hours (like I have the retail product) I'm sure it would prove to be inferior to the retail product. So my answer is retail.

Of course it wasn't. What things in life are EVER 'exactly as advertised'? Who is so naive as to believe advertising speak? The game is very close to how it was advertised. Do I feel hoodwinked? Lied to? Disillusioned? - (i.e. all the things you do) - No, I do not.

No I'm not thinking of moving on. Why would I? This game is improving all the time and I have faith in ANet (which is more than I can say of Blizzard when I joined that game in retail).

I have to say you're genuinely amusing. I read multiple posts from you here and at TGH saying you're bored and fed up and moving on, yet you keep starting new threads as part of your UAS/UAR crusade (in this case a clandestine one). Are you moving on, or not? And if so, when?

EDIT: and after posting this I surf on over to TGH and then read the same old rehashed crap from you. And I absolutely LOVE how everybody who disagrees with you is written off as a fanboy, PvE carebear or useless/crap player (read all the pages on that link). I also note that you are, as usual, thread hijacking to push your own agenda. Pathetic. Do you have any integrity at all? In fact - don't bother answering that.

1) Yes, I was a beta player.

2) WPE.

3) Release.

4) See number 5.

5) I do not believe in the mentality of "moving to another game", just because I don't like this or I didn't expect that. I play a game to have fun, so I just go with the flow. People have worked hard to make a game, so I think we should stop acting like a spoiled brat and get all whiney when something isn't goin the way you want it to be. Don't like a game, just get on with life.

Well, the E34E event consisted of (some form of) the Missions: Great Northern Wall, Fort Ranik, Ruins of Surmia, Nolani Academy, and Borlis Pass. (I couldn't put my finger on any true similarities between Borlis Pass and the final E3 mission, save the snow. Otherwise, I remember Griffons, HUGE Dolyaks, and some really nasty Stone Summit dwarves. And a bone dragon, or so it was said.)

The WPE involved the Missions: Gates of Kryta, D'Alessio Seaboard, Divinity Coast, Riverside Province, and Sanctum Cay. (I don't remember getting to Sanctum Cay, nor riding the boat. I remember being smitten with the Lagoon town, the name escapes me, and really getting kick out of the vine seeds.)

Otherwise, some major differences were that in E3, you were directly transported to each outpost after missions, picked up a new group, and entered again. The outposts were much smaller and only had the single NPC. There were no merchants/skill trainers unless you went to Ascalon, where they were all set up quite nicely. There were no levels, but I do remember dye and items. Ahh, yes, also, you began in a non-town zone and had to run your happy butt through monsters and into the first outpost. The first four missions were basically the same as those we know now, save some cut scenes, dialogue, bonuses, etc. PVP existed in a pretty basic form. You zone into the PVP Area (I forget the name) "Enter" the fight, join a random party, and along with a ghostly hero, try to take them down. A very basic map, with an elevated section and a depressed section. :P

In WPE, you started out in what I now believe is part of the Sanctum Cay mission, and you were able to pick up Oink, grab yourself a customized weapon, and headed on over to Lion's Arch, after which you began the missions. In WPE, there were merchants and skill trainers at outposts and the missions were much more alike the ones we know. Both events had explorable zones, but I remember that, seeing as the E3 event had no henchmen, they weren't that big and were hard to truly explore. (That could be just me, however.) I do remember though, henchmen in WPE, and I remember running around and continually dying outside of Lion's Arch.

So, in a bit more than a nutshell, there are some of the major differences between E3 and WPE. Now you know and it should be able to let you know which you played in. However, you're not missing out on anything, seeing as it's all pretty much in game now.

(I'm sure my memory isn't picture perfect and I could easily have flubbed here or there, so don't take my words as complete fact. :P)

Fun fact: In the Great Northern Wall mission in E3, there was no cutscene, and you could send someone running back to the beginning whenever you wished. (I remember just taking off as soon as we got to the Charr boss, being the chicken that I am of the rampaging horde.)

Also, in the Fort Ranik mission, SO many people got stuck because they couldn't use the Catapults right. Took me forever to finish that one, it was horrible.

Prince Rurik was even worse in E3, aggroing every damn Charr he could come across, making Nolani Academy absolute hell.

Apologies for the complete train-wreck derailment of topic.

1)Yes

2)February

3)Beta (No offense to the nice people out there, but there are too many butt-holes out there now. That and the immature behavior of a lot of folks. I just have to remind myself school is out for summer.)

4)Yes, it was the same game only improved. Less bugs, more content etc.

5)I have no intentions of moving right now. I've ascended and beat the game with my primary character but I still intend to visit underworld and other area's I've yet to see. Once I'm fininshed with my primary I intend to start playing my R/Me more.

1 Yes
2 from the first beta, i've did all
3 mmmh beta
4 I like the retail, i was expecting more but i'm pretty satisfied
5 nah, i already play many games along with GW

1. Yes.
2. In January.
3. Beta Posthumously
4. No. The game is somewhat different then both expected, and / or was told it would be.
Beta Testing was somewhat more satisfying. was about what worked, and what didn't. Not semantics of equality.
5. Not my primary game any longer, but I still play on occasion.

If GuildWars would have had a monthly fee I doubt I would have ever picked it up... The no monthly fee is the sole reason, in my view, it is a hit, and will remain so...

1) Yes.

2) WPE.

3)Release. I missed April's Beta event, unfortunately. On top of that, I have managed to pretty much unlock most of the skills and runes I want. Wish I had been more patient, but I have not been irrevokably burnt out on the game.

4) No, but that can be fixed. ANet is doing something pretty ambitious, getting off to a bumpy and slow start is forgivable.

5) No. I've dealt with slower and more apathetic game companies. Anet is owning up and correcting their mistakes, not every company does that.

1. Yes.

2. WPE

3. All changes in the game mechanics before and after release have been for the better. But I do miss some of the event spirit.

4. As advertised, better than I imagined.

1) Yes

2) January

3) Release

4) Yes

5) No

1) Were you a beta player. If your answer is "no", you can stop reading.

Indeed I was and had a blast!


2) Which beta did you join at? WPE? November, December, January, February, April?

WPE

3) Do you like release or beta more?

It's hard to say because I can hardly compare really. During Beta each
weekend was fresh and new and only allowed me 3 days to enjoy after a
month waiting to play. I played mostly PvP during the betas because it
rocked and I wanted to save the PvE for release. In that aspect, I'm enjoying
myself more because the Missions were new to me and now I get to help my
friends and guildmates with them, which is a great feeling. Over-all I'd say
that Beta and Release we're both different experiences that I have a hard
time comparing. I enjoyed both and I'm still enjoying the game and the
wonderful people I've met. ( I still enjoy PvP and do so a lot. Though there
seems to be more elitism and nastiness involved...same with PvE however. )

4) When Guild Wars was finally released, was the game exactly as advertised/ as you imagined it?

I feel they advertised without lying. Nobody NEEDS every skill or the BEST
items to be competetive. I can't say it was exactly as I thought it would be,
but I don't lay blame on anyone as that is certainly a matter of one's own
imagination and most things don't turn out exactly as one hopes or
imagines they will.

5) If not, are you thinking of moving on to other games?

I'm staying, though I still play and will play other games. GuildWars still fits
me perfectly (Someone who loves to kick butt competetively and be
able to chill out with friends/guildies in cooperative adventures). It's a game
where I feel I can have time for other games and stuff. Which rocks and is a
huge reason I even tried it out.

1. Yes.
2. Last one in April
3. Beta, less morons around
4. At first... now maybe not
5. Moved on a month ago. I still pop in... but after around 10 minutes I'm bored as hell. And my main char has only gotten to infusion runs (not even attempted it yet)

oh and to those asking why you'd be posting here having moved on, well i doubt anyone is gonna give up on this game forever who is still here. I visit regularly to see what has been changed and to see if anything new sparks my interest again. And I'll certainly buy the first new chapter when it arrives. So I need to look out for info about that

1) Yes
2) WPE
3) Aspects of each
4) No. I remember the fuss that was made in beta about "unlock all skills", and I still think it should be optional to unlock all skills/items for use in PvP once you've finished the game. I would settle for unlocking all skills/items for your professions even. I am one of those who believes strongly in "Skill, not time played, and they are evolving gradually toward that again.
5) I'll be around. I enjoy PvE and PvP gameplay, so while I am disappointed by some of their choices, I still enjoy both aspects - I think that separating them a bit more may be what is best for the game.

Yes
E3fE in May 2004
Release obviously, since I can actually play the game when I want to.
It was almost exactly how I imagined it, since I was able to play in all the beta events.
What the hell are you still doing posting on these forums? Go find some other community to take away from.

1) Yes, I've played every public beta since the...
2) E3 for Everyone event. I miss my Necro/Ranger. Order of Pain used to be good.
3) I try not to whinge, but beta. Easily.
4) It's practically a different game. Still fun, but it's hard to fit time to play into my schedule. It's no longer the pick up and play it once was. I'm also a self-confessed build *****, and making Guild builds has lost all flair, since I can't expect every Guild member to put up with the atrocious skill collection.
5) No. But I hate myself for not doing so.

1) Yes, a co-worker alpha tester told me about it. I should thank him.
2) E3 for Everyone Preview (First)
3) Release, though i enjoy PvP I'm first and formost a PvE guy - more PvE areas = better.
4) The only thing I am disappointed in is the lack of guild features, right now the Hall is for GvG battles and thats it. Huge wasted resource right now I think.
5) Guild wars is still my drug of choice. I think it will be for a very long time.