Haven't bought the game yet.. I have some questions.

I'm really interested in checking this game out because of all the rave reviews I've read so far. But there's a few things I've read that are bothering me.

I keep hearing things about "single player" mode, what's the deal with that?

I heard in multiple places that the game actually .. ends? I've never played a MMORPG where the game ended.. you were allowed to continue leveling up your characters as much as you wanted, until the max level was achieved, of course. These types of games I want to continue playing for as long as I want.. is this game not like that?

Similarly, I heard the max level in this game is 20... that seems extremely low. One of the reviews I read, the guy said he had only been playing a few days and he was already at level 9, and there were only 20 levels. Sounds kind of short to me..

One last thing. I like being in a world where you can see lots of other players, watch them fight monsters amongst many other solo players, interact with them, sell items to them, buy items from them, upgrade, find random parties and join them to level up as a team.. etc. It seems like this game is 99% PvP oriented.. and not much of fighting monsters for exp. Am I right? Or did I read wrong?

I wasn't able to find any good answers to my questions, and this game has no demo, so I can't see for myself. All the movies on the site show small teams of like 8 players going after the same crowd of enemies. Can someone help me out with these questions please?

So far the reviews alone are almost enough to make me want to go buy the game. But I just want to make sure I'm not going to be disappointed.

Thanks

8 people in an instance is max at the moment.

pvp is only in arenas so there is no ganking
loot stealing
lines for missions/quests etc.

level 20 is made to get to in about 20-30 hours

i have put in over 800 hours so far and level 20 was long ago. i PVE only and like exploring.

it does end when you get tired of it and then you put it back on the shelf until the next chapter (not expansion) which will have at least the same ammount on NEW content as the original game.

after the next chapter comes out in first half of 06 they are planning twice a year chapters at about every 6 months (full price )

i think it is more PVE but that is my opinion.
if you like the grouping of a true MMORPG this will dissapoint you.

this is for casual players who can do something else for awhile and not play catch up in levels with their friends

you can meet people in towns or outposts to form groups if you want to.

there are no super power weapons in the game (expensive but not more powerful)

Thanks for the info, but one last question.. what is PVE?

Thanks

edit: Also I'm not quite sure what you mean by "the grouping of a true MMORPG". One thing I've always liked about MMORPGs, is for example, when you walk into a town and you see a hundred other players running around, talking to NPCs, setting up personal shops, etc. I like looking around for bargains on items, I like leaving the town to go fight some monsters by myself or with a friend, etc. Is that what you're talking about?

PVE = PLayer VS Elements

Basically fighting against the NPC Enemy

The best achievements in Guild Wars is by doing them yourself. By that I mean, do not get ran from Ascalon to Droknars Forge and get the top armour before starting Missions. Work your way through the game legitimately.

Fighting your way through a harsh environment just to get a special skill from a tough boss is what makes GW excellent. Your ability to "do as you please" makes GW a unique MMORPG. Obviously there are limits of what you can do.

Anyway, the game is not expensive, its easy to get hold of, so you might as well buy it from money you get from Xmas.

BTW: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

That is in Guild Wars...go around Ascalon, Lion's Arch ESPECIALLY, Augory Rock (international districts is if you want Korean Bots, lol), etc.

Except you don't set up your own personal shop, lol, you get that of Knight Online? ;x

Actually, yes and no.. I didn't care much for Knight Online, but I have played it. When I was describing what I like, I was remembering other free MMORPGs I've played and enjoyed. Games include KAL Online and Rose Online. Kal seems much more similar to GW based on the overall theme. Thanks for the info.


Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I don't get money for christmas, and haven't for about 8 years. I'm 24, people don't seem to like to give money to me anymore. lol

Anyway, that's interesting this game has bosses.. I've never seen that in an MMORPG.

I think some of the replies you've been getting are a little vague, so I think I'll try to clarify things a bit. GW doesn't have a single player mode. It has PvE (player(s) versus environment) and PvP (player versus player). PvE characters level from 1 to 20, fight monsters and do quests to gain experience, make money, etc., and play through the main game storyline. There are certain areas in the game (arenas, the tombs, guild battles) where PvE characters can PvP. You can also make a PvP character, who will start at level 20 with basically the best equipment available, so you can jump right into high-end PvP without having to worry about levelling. His skills will be limited however, by the skills you have "unlocked." Basically, the first time you get a skill with a PvE character, that skill then becomes available for use for your PvP characters for all time. So, initially, your PvP characters will be limited to a very basic skillset, but they will eventually become more competitive as your PvE characters progress.

You can, technically, play through the game entirely on your own with virtually no interaction to other players. Unlike most other MMORPGs, guild wars does not have a single world. When you enter a PvE area (towns excepted), only you and the members of your party will be there, you will never other players than those in your party, only monsters and NPCs. Since you can recruit NPCs to travel with you, you could, theoretically, complete the entire PvE storyline without ever questing with another player. I don't recommend this type of play, generally, but it can be done.

Well, in GW, the main storyline advances via what are called "mission" areas. They're basically special PvE areas that tend to be a little more difficult than normal quests or other PvE areas, and will require you to do various tasks to advance the story. Once you complete the entire storyline, you have effectively "beaten" the game. That's not to say that there isn't more to do, after this point, there are still a fair number of very challenging PvE areas left to explore, and of course, the holy quest for finding that perfect godly weapon, unlocking more skills for your PvP characters, as well as venturing into the PvP content of the game. Since the storyline is relatively short, many people play multiple characters through the game, to get a feel for the different classes.

The max level is 20. If you are playing PvE normally (that is, doing most of the missions and quests, not being run ahead by other players), you should reach level 20 well before the end of the game. The reason for this is simple: it gives everyone a more or less level playing field for PvP. Unlike other MMORPGs, where PvP is very difficult to start because if you jump in at level 12, you may be facing a level 50 opponent who will clobber you no matter what you do, in GW, everyone is at level 20, and it is easy enough to get to, that there is no unfair advantage in that regard.

As I mentioned earlier, the difference here is the issue of instanced worlds. You will have, at most a party of 8 people when you travel, and will never encounter any other players, until you reach a town. Towns can have (I think) up to 100 people in them at once, then another instance of the town is created. So, a town could have 1000 people in it; there would be 10 unique instances of the town, each with 100 people. Towns allow you to move between these instances, so if you can't find a party or sell a particular item in one, you can move to another and try again.

I'm guessing you're feeling that this game is 99% PvP oriented from reading these forums. That is a bit misleading. Since the PvE storyline is relatively short, and the game has been out for a while, most people who post here have probably completed it a couple of times by now, so most of their attention is focussed on PvP, or on the few very challenging PvE areas that I mentioned earlier. However, there are still many people who PvE, I would say many more than PvP still. They just don't come here as much.[/QUOTE]

As I said, the maximum party size in GW is 8. Once again, I suspect that this has mostly to do with PvP issues, or possibly latency ones. Or maybe to keep your healers sane. There are plenty of monsters to face, but you will probably have a harder time finding videos of more varied content. This isn't a reflection on the game, more a reflection of the mentality of the players who come here.

If it helps any, it's probably best to think of this game less as a classic MMORPG like world of warcraft or everquest, and more like an online version of one of the Baldur's Gate games.

Rico

Based from your first post i think this game is not for you.....but hey it never hurts to try

Wow, thanks for all that information Rico. That definately cleared everything up for me. I'm starting to see now what this game is really like.. It looks like a lot of fun, and sounds like it could be pretty fun, but I don't really think that style of game is for me. The things that make this game different from typical mmorpgs are the things I actually LIKE about other mmorpgs.

Thanks again.

I'm not shooting it down yet.. I still may try it one day. Just not now.