How does GW compare to WoW?

Greetings, Guild Warians!

Having dropped the WoW habit a bit ago, I feel myself pulled back into the MMORPG realm again - but sans the childish griefing players and membership fees. Guild Wars looks just the thing, but I am a game player that can play in brief spurts of time.

I have done my best to read up on GW, but one can only learn so much without playing the game - which I have yet to do. It looks quite good, but I was hoping to glean a little knowledge from those in the know - you guys.

Now, this post is just a jumping off question for me, and I hope that some of you can give me your opinions on the title of this thread, since I have only played WoW as far as MMORPGs go.

What I'm hoping to discover are answers to questions like:

How short can a game session be and still be rewarding? A few minutes?

What happens when you log out? Do you warp back to a town? How does this impart your adventuring?

I hated WoW because I had no chance to get any decent gear without hours and hours of continuous playing. Does GW fix this situation?

So, any other interesting facts or opinons about GW, whether they pertain to WoW or not, would be much appreciated!

Thanks for reading my lengthy first post!

-Iron Grip

Well i havent played WoW. But regarding things:

Gaming session can last from about 5-10 minutes (a short random arena fight) to anything between 30-120 minutes (a quest or mission).

Equipment isnt an issue in GW, since max level equipment (compared to your level) is easy to get. Difference is mostly in looks, skins, etc. For example a max damage long sword is obtainable without effort, while a little better sword with some bonuses is still easy to get from collector npcs. The same sword with a rare skin can cost you a fortune. But no difference in power.

When you log out, next time you start in the last town/outpost you were in, nothing detrimental happens to you regarding your character.

hope, i helped,
Cheers,
Opal

Hard to compare really, they are very different games. I'd say give it a try, after all, you get to play online without a monthly fee, s as long as you have a few months of fun you got your money's worth - you may even love it and end up playing a lot.

Basically it becomes pretty easy to get top end gear, and while it has it's forms of grind they are overall less onerous than most RPGs. It has been called lonely compared to most RPGs, in that the instances are just you and your party, but on the plus side the henchmen available (free) at every outpost allow you to play without needing to find other adventurers, or if you may have to hop off without finishing a quets/mission (you don't inconvenience anyone, great for parents who may have to deal with sudden changes at home). It's certainly worth playing to try it out, and few people would say they haven't had their money's worth in entertainment I suspect.

GW is a really fun game but don't look for getting the same thing you get out of games like Lineage, WoW, etc. I would suggest just playing the game for what it is and enjoy it. I've played regular MMORPGs and they do provide a certain satisfaction that isn't really in GW. The fun of uber item collection and massive leveling aren't really part of this game. However GW provides some types of satisfaction that other games of the grind type don't give you. So this is why I say just start playing and find out what you like. As the Opal pointed out you can play as little or as long as you want. If I'm short on time I might go out and farm for 20 minutes and thats it, or if I have several hours I might go on a guild hunt to a high level hunting area. PvP is also a really different option here and can be a lot of fun once you get a few of the basics down.

Play a little then search for a good guild where you have some common interests. This is what makes the most fun out of the game for sure.

True-True!

The salt & pepper of this game is a good guild, with like-minded people. Me for example have mostly finished PvE content of the game, but since having a small number of very nice and active people on the guild, doing missions or quests with them just to help, or going for a non-explored area is much fun. Not to mention just sitting on the beach, in our guild hall, looking at the seagulls and chatting time away....sigh

Well aint we a pair.
Im just about to drop GW and buy WoW.
Been playing this game for 6 months and it is time to move on.
Was thinking of waiting till february and buying D+D.

Anyway, please buy this game. It has been amazingly entertaining.
I spend hours talking to my guild budies in Austalia and Ireland.
The game itself (PVE) is brilliant. Your first time through with your first character is wild. Lots of exploring, experimenting, and learning.
Later on comes PVP. Wild stuff 4v4 and 8v8.

This game is a bargain for the money.

400 + opinions on WoW by GWGuru forumites...
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=73258

I play both WOW and GW, I like both.

In GW when you hit the quit x in the upper right of your screen your character autowarps back to the last town he left from, even if you are in the midst of a battle. No tedious running back to an inn, and its even much quicker than hearthstoning.

If I only have ten or fifteen minutes to play, sure, at least I can jump out a city gate with the AI henchmen and massacre stuff for a bit. Mission attempts take probably half an hour on average, quests can take half an hour, 45 minutes.

Equipment is not an issue, like in WOW. You can get perfectly adequate armor and weapons from collectors. You can find or buy purple or gold grade items, but they do not make very much difference, really. GW is about skill selection and usage, and your own personal skill. You do not have to find the epic weapon, or rare armor to really power up.

Oh ... and you can adjust GW's equivalent of the talent tree whenever you are in a town as often as you want for free and as often as you like. Wheee!

Only warning for you, really, is the lower level of this game is much simpler and easier than Teldrassil or Dun Morrogh, or whatever. You just have to hang in there a bit and the game does get very good presently.

simple answer - they dont compare. they are 2 different games and 2 different feels and styles to them. i played wow for a total of about 3 hours at a good buddys house. i hated it. looked way too cartoony to me. GW has a more realistic feel to it and i didnt have to grind for the best stuff to be competitive in GW, the collectors had everything i ever needed until i could afford to be competitive for the things that i wanted to spend my gold on.

Man, that's a lot of replies in a short time! Thanks to those that have answered.

I am not looking for uber item collection, mostly looking for a good looking game with a fun combat mechanic and tactics. I hated that I could spend a good amount of time in WoW but because I couldn't get into large groups for any length of time that I was cut out of a lot of the content.

I don't mind the lonely aspect mentioned, as I really enjoyed just levelling my character, finding new equipment, and beating down on monsters.

I want to experience all the game has to offer on my own time. If I want to fight others I want to fight others that are of the same mind.

The GW skills idea sounds really cool, and I like the idea of experimenting with them and the attribute points and professions.

if anyone else has any good points or aspects that they like about GW over other RPGs they've played, please drop a line.

ok in guildwars henchmen > half of GW population, which intern = you being able to explore at your own pace.

Guildwars is by far one of the most impressive free online games ive played graphically, and depending on your character class you decide to play, youll have no problem getting into a good group really fast. Good monks are in high demand, so they usually get more than their fair share of invites, even some people offering to pay for monks to join them.

you,cant compare wow and gw,nor any other games to other games...its all different,wow's world is huge,while gw is sorta small,gw looks more realistic,while wow has the "cartoon look"(not saying the cartoon look sucks,pretty cool)...