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    Guild Wars

    Game » consists of 7 releases. Released Apr 28, 2005

    Guild Wars is a 'competitive online role-playing game' developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft, notable for instanced, skilled play and for being one of the first games of its time without a subscription fee.

    Joining the Guild Wars party five years late.

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    Spiderpope

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    Edited By Spiderpope

    Fresh on the heels of my frustration with Star Trek Online, i've decided to give Guild Wars another shot. I bought the game upon its release just over five years ago, and whilst it was okay it didnt grab my attention- at least not enough to break my then burgeoning WoW addiction. Since then it sat on my shelf gathering dust, until i moved house at which point the physical copy was given away to a charity shop - if anyone bought a copy from the Bebington branch of 
    Oxfam, my apologies that the CD-key was already used.
     
    So finding myself colossally bored this weekend, largely due to the apparent closure of my local Games Workshop (yes i am a geek), i've been fumbling around trying to find a game to peak my interest. I tried 'Lords of Ultima', EA's answer to 'Evony' sans the boob ads, and whilst initially entertaining, i quickly grew bored watching endless timers counting down. It was at this point an ad for Guild Wars caught my eye and i figured what the heck, i'll give it another try.
     
    Day one of my re-entry into the world of Guild Wars consisted of downloading the latest version of the client followed by several hours of brainmelting frustration. You see in a bid to counter a wave of account stealing, NCSoft have added additional security to the game. This consists of the usual username and password with the new addition of entering the name of a character on your account. 
    Now i have difficulty remembering what i've had for breakfast several hours later, so to say i was stumped is putting it mildly. I asked friends who i'd played with back when i first tried it to no avail, they couldn't remember either. I did internet searches, looking for old gamefaq posts i may have made. Finally just when i was about ready to smash my skull through my laptops screen i made a breakthrough. I remembered watching 'Crusade', the 'Babylon 5 spin-off, and liking the name of the captain, Gideon, so i was fairly sure that was part of it. A bit of trial and error and i was finally back in the game.
     
     

     I spent most of friday looking at this screen.   
     I spent most of friday looking at this screen.   
     
     Day two was marginally more productive. Given i couldn't remember the names of my characters, let alone what quests i was doing and why, i decided to start again from scratch. I deleted all but one of my old characters, keeping all the fancy-pants birthday pets on that character, and ventured into the character creation screen.  First choice was whether to go PvE or PvP. From what i could remember Guild Wars PvP is largely arena based.
     Given my old school noobness i figured it would be best to avoid that side of the game for now, there is only so many insults my fragile ego can take before i give up and go and cry myself to sleep. So PvE it was. 
     
    Next was a screen to choose which part of the game i'd be playing, which raised the question - when the feth did the original Guild Wars storyline get named Prophecies? Anyway that confusion aside it was now time to choose my class, and customise my avatar.  
     
    Guild Wars' character creation is somewhere between WoW and Cryptics standard. You get a bit of choice, but not a lot really. The warrior, my chosen class, is a fairly standard meatheaded looking guy, the only real choice is how cross-eyed he is and what skin tone.I settled on the handsome devil below 
     Smouldering intensity 
     Smouldering intensity 
     The rest of Day two consisted of me running around the start area, trying not to be distracted by the various jumping, spinning new characters surrounding me, and cracking on with the story. Guild Wars boasts a rather in-depth story, closer to a single player RPG rather than the standard WoW influenced MMO fare. The graphics are also less nauseatingly cartoony than WoW and i must stay have held up well considering the massive gulf in time since i last played.   
     
    Day Three, today's adventures, continued my efforts to evolve beyond being a noob and to advance my character a tad. I figured i'd best join a guild too, since the games name kinda gives away their importance.  

    Thankfully a nice fellow named Defasco took pity on my and invited me to [TUFF], a fairly large guild with an alliance with several others. Guild Wars seems to still boast a sizable, active population which is surprising really given the length of time it's been around. Perhaps i am just pessimistic after the dismal spattering of players that Star Trek Online boasted. Either way [TUFF] have made me quite welcome, which i rather appreciate.   So thus ends my Guild Wars-ing so far, i'm endeavouring to battle my way through the original storyline before investing in one of the expansions.
     If anyone feels like joining me, just look for a warrior named Absalom Stern running into mid-sized rock piles as i forget yet again that you can't jump in GW. 
     What you can't see in this picture is my rather dashing cape.
     What you can't see in this picture is my rather dashing cape.
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    Spiderpope

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    #1  Edited By Spiderpope

    Fresh on the heels of my frustration with Star Trek Online, i've decided to give Guild Wars another shot. I bought the game upon its release just over five years ago, and whilst it was okay it didnt grab my attention- at least not enough to break my then burgeoning WoW addiction. Since then it sat on my shelf gathering dust, until i moved house at which point the physical copy was given away to a charity shop - if anyone bought a copy from the Bebington branch of 
    Oxfam, my apologies that the CD-key was already used.
     
    So finding myself colossally bored this weekend, largely due to the apparent closure of my local Games Workshop (yes i am a geek), i've been fumbling around trying to find a game to peak my interest. I tried 'Lords of Ultima', EA's answer to 'Evony' sans the boob ads, and whilst initially entertaining, i quickly grew bored watching endless timers counting down. It was at this point an ad for Guild Wars caught my eye and i figured what the heck, i'll give it another try.
     
    Day one of my re-entry into the world of Guild Wars consisted of downloading the latest version of the client followed by several hours of brainmelting frustration. You see in a bid to counter a wave of account stealing, NCSoft have added additional security to the game. This consists of the usual username and password with the new addition of entering the name of a character on your account. 
    Now i have difficulty remembering what i've had for breakfast several hours later, so to say i was stumped is putting it mildly. I asked friends who i'd played with back when i first tried it to no avail, they couldn't remember either. I did internet searches, looking for old gamefaq posts i may have made. Finally just when i was about ready to smash my skull through my laptops screen i made a breakthrough. I remembered watching 'Crusade', the 'Babylon 5 spin-off, and liking the name of the captain, Gideon, so i was fairly sure that was part of it. A bit of trial and error and i was finally back in the game.
     
     

     I spent most of friday looking at this screen.   
     I spent most of friday looking at this screen.   
     
     Day two was marginally more productive. Given i couldn't remember the names of my characters, let alone what quests i was doing and why, i decided to start again from scratch. I deleted all but one of my old characters, keeping all the fancy-pants birthday pets on that character, and ventured into the character creation screen.  First choice was whether to go PvE or PvP. From what i could remember Guild Wars PvP is largely arena based.
     Given my old school noobness i figured it would be best to avoid that side of the game for now, there is only so many insults my fragile ego can take before i give up and go and cry myself to sleep. So PvE it was. 
     
    Next was a screen to choose which part of the game i'd be playing, which raised the question - when the feth did the original Guild Wars storyline get named Prophecies? Anyway that confusion aside it was now time to choose my class, and customise my avatar.  
     
    Guild Wars' character creation is somewhere between WoW and Cryptics standard. You get a bit of choice, but not a lot really. The warrior, my chosen class, is a fairly standard meatheaded looking guy, the only real choice is how cross-eyed he is and what skin tone.I settled on the handsome devil below 
     Smouldering intensity 
     Smouldering intensity 
     The rest of Day two consisted of me running around the start area, trying not to be distracted by the various jumping, spinning new characters surrounding me, and cracking on with the story. Guild Wars boasts a rather in-depth story, closer to a single player RPG rather than the standard WoW influenced MMO fare. The graphics are also less nauseatingly cartoony than WoW and i must stay have held up well considering the massive gulf in time since i last played.   
     
    Day Three, today's adventures, continued my efforts to evolve beyond being a noob and to advance my character a tad. I figured i'd best join a guild too, since the games name kinda gives away their importance.  

    Thankfully a nice fellow named Defasco took pity on my and invited me to [TUFF], a fairly large guild with an alliance with several others. Guild Wars seems to still boast a sizable, active population which is surprising really given the length of time it's been around. Perhaps i am just pessimistic after the dismal spattering of players that Star Trek Online boasted. Either way [TUFF] have made me quite welcome, which i rather appreciate.   So thus ends my Guild Wars-ing so far, i'm endeavouring to battle my way through the original storyline before investing in one of the expansions.
     If anyone feels like joining me, just look for a warrior named Absalom Stern running into mid-sized rock piles as i forget yet again that you can't jump in GW. 
     What you can't see in this picture is my rather dashing cape.
     What you can't see in this picture is my rather dashing cape.
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    AhmadMetallic

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    #2  Edited By AhmadMetallic

    It's never too late. have fun ! 
     
    Wish i could play an MMO ..

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    BOOM

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    #3  Edited By BOOM

    I enjoyed reading this. I have always wondered about Guild Wars, but never tried it.

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    LordXavierBritish

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    #4  Edited By LordXavierBritish

    Guild Wars was a lot of really good ideas that didn't come together as cleanly as they could have. 
     
    Hopefully they'll remedy that with Guild Wars 2. 
     
    Also you can play as Charr, so. That's cool.

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    CharkeeFarlee

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    #5  Edited By CharkeeFarlee

    Oh man i've spent so much time on Guild Wars. I really loved that game. I  beta tested the game and all of it's expansions. Hope you enjoy it dude.

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    Teirdome

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    #6  Edited By Teirdome

    I just got back into GW after many... many years away.  I'm a bit overwhelming with all the new skill depth, but it's good to be back.

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    mrfizzy

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    #7  Edited By mrfizzy
    @Spiderpope: Hey! just started today, never played an MMO before this so if you see a warrior named Disco Historian running around not doing much have a chat! 
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    Mr_Skeleton

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    #8  Edited By Mr_Skeleton

    I played Guild Wars for about a year, if you find a good guild this game can be amazing. And yes the capes are awesome.

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    WinterSnowblind

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    #9  Edited By WinterSnowblind

    One of my favourite aspects of Guild Wars has always been the festivals.  They add a lot of great minigames, add in new items and drops to collect and the finale events give you access to special hats that are unique each year.  I'd really recommend you don't miss these.
     

     Wintersday 2009
     Wintersday 2009
     
    I'm sure your guild will fill you in, but I believe the next event will be happening within the next few weeks, although you'll need access to Factions if you want to take part.  The game is definitely winding down at this stage, but the events really still bring in the players.
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    Nasos100

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    #10  Edited By Nasos100

    i have it too, bought it some months ago didnt bother to check it out

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    ajamafalous

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    #11  Edited By ajamafalous

    I had a few friends that used to play it when it came out, and I was always a little intrigued by the game. Picked it up on Steam a few weeks ago when it was on sale. Created a character, but logged out right afterward. Maybe someday I'll decide I have the patience to learn a new MMO.

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    offeringofpie

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    #12  Edited By offeringofpie
    @ajamafalous:  Well, Guild Wars is an MMO that can be seen in very different perspectives:
    • Since 2 of the developers worked behind Diablo 2 in Blizzard, you can say it's sort of a Diablo MMO, based on the creatures and similar Lore.
    • The way you pick and use the skills can be compared to a trading card game, like Magic the Gathering. You're limited to 8 skills, and you can choose from and array of thousands of different skills.
    • PVP is way more skill-based instead of gear-based. Being hardcore in Guild Wars isn't the same as having a high GearScore.

     This is why I like Guild Wars, and of course it's my opinion only, experience may differ from one to another:
    • Awesome Award-winning artwork
    • Awesome Award-winning soundtrack
    • Immersive PVE storyline
    • Selective PVP, there are dozens of different modes for all tastes.
    • More than 10 million subscribers still play the game, you're bound to find someone you like :)
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    samfo

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    #13  Edited By samfo


    I never got into any MMO Style games, guild wars is not an MMO, but it's similair and I loved it. 
     
    ive probably got about 20 unopened birthday presents sitting in my inventory! 
     
    I'd recommend that if you really enjoy it, that you pick up the Eye of the North expansion. It will allow you to bring some of your achievements into guild wars 2.

     

     

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    SlasherMan

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    #14  Edited By SlasherMan

    Entertaining read, I must say.
     
    I have the Trilogy but haven't had time to really delve into it. I've tried a couple of pvp matches and enjoyed them thoroughly, and played a part of Prophecies which seemed a bit less enjoyable. The instancing kind of takes away a bit since you'll never run into anyone in the adventure areas (though to be honest, even in an MMO like WoW it was almost rare that you ran into anyone while leveling so I guess this shouldn't be much of an issue). The controls also need some getting used to if you're coming from regular MMOs with a higher freedom of movement.
     
    I'll need to really sit down and play it right when I have the time, but from what so far I've seen, it was very good. Joined a guild in my first 5 minutes, too. :)

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    Mariorules85

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    #15  Edited By Mariorules85

    I bought this game on Steam quite a few months ago. Played it for a bit then went back to TF2 after that.

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    phrosnite

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    #17  Edited By phrosnite
    @offeringofpie said:

    ...

    • More than 10 million subscribers still play the game, you're bound to find someone you like :)
    "
    Arenanet said that the Guild Wars(plus all expansions) has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. I bought only the first 3 because GWEN it's a f-ing waste of money. I played the game for 3 months and got bored but it's a great game and imo it has the best PvP system of all MMOs.
    So... many people left the game and some other came... there is no way the game has 10 million players. It's probably 2-4 million.
     
    P.S. - I don't think you can't say subscribers because the game has no monthly fees...
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    deejrandom

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    #18  Edited By deejrandom
    @Spiderpope: I just posted something similar, but different: I'm wanting to get back in to it as well, yet i have many characters there.  Only one level 19...  Hmm.
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    immike

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    #19  Edited By immike

    I liked Guild Wars, because it's not an MMO. You don't see people everywhere you go, yet it still feels massive. However, I love that I can do almost everything by myself or with just a buddy and the bots. That alone made it my fav 'MMO' and you just reminded me of that. I might get back into it as well now :)

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    offeringofpie

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    #20  Edited By offeringofpie
    @phrosnite said:
    I bought only the first 3 because GWEN it's a f-ing waste of money.
     
    GWEN has 80% of the dungeons and more heroes, how can that be a waste of money?
     
    P.S.: You're right about the amount of subscribers, i must have pulled that number out of somewhere.
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    Kung_Fu_Viking

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    #21  Edited By Kung_Fu_Viking

    Dunno why people keep saying it's "not an MMO". It's set in a massive world, it's multiplayer and it's online. Which one of those are people getting confused with here?

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    71Ranchero

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    #22  Edited By 71Ranchero
    @Kung_Fu_Viking said:

    " Dunno why people keep saying it's "not an MMO". It's set in a massive world, it's multiplayer and it's online. Which one of those are people getting confused with here? "

    Because although the world is massive, its nearly all instanced so it plays more like a FPS or something when you move out of the city. You do not run into adventures once you leave the City hubs, just your party. An MMO is a game were everyone or at least a large amount of players are in the world with you. For me, this was what made me not able to get into Guild Wars. I had my friends I played with but I always felt it lacked any real community and it felt hollow in comparison.
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    empfeix

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    #23  Edited By empfeix
    @Atramentous said:
    " @Kung_Fu_Viking said:

    " Dunno why people keep saying it's "not an MMO". It's set in a massive world, it's multiplayer and it's online. Which one of those are people getting confused with here? "

    Because although the world is massive, its nearly all instanced so it plays more like a FPS or something when you move out of the city. You do not run into adventures once you leave the City hubs, just your party. An MMO is a game were everyone or at least a large amount of players are in the world with you. For me, this was what made me not able to get into Guild Wars. I had my friends I played with but I always felt it lacked any real community and it felt hollow in comparison. "
    Because its more like diablo 2 - it has massive worlds, multiplayer, and its online.  Not only that but the whole population can meet up in one spot (battle.net chat rooms :D) before going to their instanced game.
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    71Ranchero

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    #24  Edited By 71Ranchero
    @empfeix said:
    " @Atramentous said:
    " @Kung_Fu_Viking said:

    " Dunno why people keep saying it's "not an MMO". It's set in a massive world, it's multiplayer and it's online. Which one of those are people getting confused with here? "

    Because although the world is massive, its nearly all instanced so it plays more like a FPS or something when you move out of the city. You do not run into adventures once you leave the City hubs, just your party. An MMO is a game were everyone or at least a large amount of players are in the world with you. For me, this was what made me not able to get into Guild Wars. I had my friends I played with but I always felt it lacked any real community and it felt hollow in comparison. "
    Because its more like diablo 2 - it has massive worlds, multiplayer, and its online.  Not only that but the whole population can meet up in one spot (battle.net chat rooms :D) before going to their instanced game. "
    Your correct in bringing up Diablo 2 because thats not an MMO either. Its just an online game.
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    RVonE

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    #25  Edited By RVonE
    @Spiderpope:
    It's been three months. Are you still playing GW? If so, or if not, what has your experience been like?
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    Kung_Fu_Viking

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    #26  Edited By Kung_Fu_Viking

    I see your point although I do find it strange that people choose to define "Massively multiplayer" as "I can see a bunch of other people that I probably won't interact with no or ever". In most cases when you go out in an MMORPG to raid or something you're doing it in a predetermined group you've made up anyway (Granted that Guild Wars only always a very limited number of people in your party) so I don't understand why people feel that such a thing defines the experience for them (Except for the "social" aspect although that's not a great argument either.) 
     
    EDIT: As a side note I am also trying to get back into Guild Wars but have run into the same "security" barrier as the OP. Currently waiting on customer support to get me the name of one of my characters to I can login. I maintain that this is a rather dumb system. If you've gone to the trouble of getting someone account name and password from them surely you would know at least on of the associated characters?

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