Choose online status when logging in (online, away, busy, offline)

I apologize if this has been brought up before, but I couldn't find anything when doing a search...

Anyway, I think it would be nice to be able to choose your status before you log into the game. Sometimes I just want to log in and play without any friends or guild mates knowing I was on at all. Friends may or may not see that you logged on, but the members of your guild can always see when you were last on.

take the extra 15 seconds and hit "n" to bring up your friends list and change your status. essentialyl what you are asking for we already have as long as you can spare 15 seconds to do it.

/unsigned

I agree. 15 seconds? More like 1.5 seconds.

/unsigned

some people might not load that fast :P

/signed

Sometimes I just want to be left alone.

/signed
Why not, we can win both ways

Maybe you can set a default everytime you log on
For example:
Say I want to be offline everytime I log on. I should be able to go to the options on the title screen and choose something like:
-Online
-Busy
-Offline
-Away
That way people who want to be online don't do anything while people who want to be offline just change the setting and it'll be the same until you change it to something else.

It doesn't affect the people who want to be online, only those who want to be offline.
It doesn't affect gameplay.
I don't really know why someone should say no to this.
This is one of the most ingenius suggestions I've ever heard. I like to be offline to

What he's asking for is like MSN/ICQ where you can sign in offline. The reason for this is because people might have their friends window open and it will show, even for only a few seconds, that you are there. Sometimes you just want to play quietly

yeah, it will show that you were online in your guild channel.

/signed

I don't mean to be snippy, but this shouldn't be an issue. So it shows you logged on, and once you change it to off-line status it no longer shows you logged on, and how many people leave their guild window open to see who logs on and off. Your guildmates would be guessing if you are still on or not. If they ask you something in guild chat, don't respond or turn it off. They can't whisper you because your listed as off-line, no harm, no foul, you're now free to play alone and quietly. I do this all the time.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I wish that the status of Busy or Away would also show in Guild screen, as it shows in Friends list.

As guild leader, if I'm online and helping someone out with a mission, it would be nice for my guildies to see that I'm Busy. That way they can see I'm online, but they know there is a good reason I'm not responding right away to any guild chat. (Yes, if they whisper me, they will see I'm Busy, but we all know so much goes on in guild chat!)

/Signed

/Signed

I had a guildie leave because he thought I was ignoring him...if only he could have seen my status was "Away" as I was on the phone.

It is really annoying when some guy says, "LFG" and I try to message him but nothing happens. "That's wierd," I think, "I must have misspelled his name." So I try every combation on his name. Is that an I, an L in his name? That letter looks off, perhaps there's a comma in there somewhere. Finally I post in ! open chat, "Hey, so and so, I'm trying to invite you but it's just not working for some reason, invite yourself."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that I set it so that I'm ofline."

That is so &^%* annoying. If you can see a person standing right in front of you, they shouldn't be considered offline. If a person is in the same instance that you're in, then they should be online to you, whatever they set their "actual" status to be.

/signed to the suggestion of Sofonisba, I want to see that status when I bring up the Guild list. My friend's list is long enough as it is, I'm for darn sure not going to enter everyone from the guild into my friend's list.

/not signed to the OP -- why do you want to hide from guildies/friends? Did you lie and say, "Sorry, but I'm going to ... um, go have dinner so I can't jump in with everyone else and do the whole guild thing..." instead of being a grown up and saying, "Sorry, but I'd rather do this other thing in game instead." I disagree with the whole "I can turn myself offline when I'm online" thing in general.

I would Like it to be automatic set on busy/ away when not in town, unless the player sets it otherwise in the controls (similar to the visual of the cloaks..)

It's not much of an issue like people have already said, considering you can do it on the friends window, but it would be nice if it showed in the guild window and also beside your name when someone clicks on you. And if you have set a status and someone messages you, it should say 'so and so may not reply because they are away/busy/appear to be offline/eating/will be right back'.

I somewhat like the idea, but it really only takes a moment to change one's status.

My suggestion is this: If my status is set to "offline" when I log off of Guild Wars, it should be set to "offline" when I come back. Sometimes I'm just doing my own thing and I'm set to "offline" and then I get kicked. I have to log back on and hide again.

And to whoever said that some people don't load that quickly: you're absolutely right. I usually have 2-4 whispers waiting for me as soon as my town has loaded and the screen stops jerking about. Sometimes, I log in with the intention of trying a new build but someone will ask me really nicely, "Laure, can you run me somewhere?" before I even hit the N. It's happened loads of times.

Ooooh! Maybe there could be a 10 second grace period: you log in and can see the people around you and can open your friend's list to change your status, but people can't see that you're logged on.

I understand the point the OP was trying to get across, but I think that it would have to be implemented different from what he suggested.

Not entirely related, but it'd be nice if a message came up showing you were watching a cutscene or even doing a mission in friends and Guild list.