Guild Wars

Guild Wars

 
"Belief is the death of intelligence"

Developer: ArenaNet
Release Date(s):

• April 28, 2005 - Guild Wars: Prophecies (Stand Alone Campaign)
• April 28, 2006 - Guild Wars: Factions (Stand Alone Campaign)
• October 27, 2006 - Guild Wars: Nightfall (Stand Alone Campaign)
• August 31, 2007 - Guild Wars: Eye of The North (Expansion, one campaign required to play)

 
Distribution Method: Retail Locations - EBGames, Gamestop, etc
Price: $49.99 (Original 3 Games ) + $29.99 (Eye of The North) = $79.98
ERSB Rating: Teen (13+)
Website: http://www.guildwars.com/
 

Game Information:

Guild Warsis labeled as an MMO or MMOG, ArenaNet has explained that Guild Wars is a CORPG (Competitive Online Roleplaying Game). Guild Wars posses many similarities to Half-Life with it's release of each game (excluding Eye of The North) all of them being a stand-alone Episode / Game which is what attracted people to every. Guild Wars has many features PvP being a strong element in the game that you should pick up on just by going to the Website, the game has stood strong for over 4 years and development of Guild Wars 2 has already begun. Guild Wars has absolutely no monthly fee and the only payment you make is the original purchase amount which can be either split into four seperate purchases, or two by doing the preffered method and paying for all 3 original campaigns by themselves.

Gameplay:

Guild Wars is instanced in every part of the game but Town / Outposts, this is to provided each player with an experience that isn't effected by anyone other then the people that are in there parties, this is one of the great features of Guild Wars it provides a place where people can play without being disturbed by thousands of players farming the same monster or doing the same quest but still provide the "massive" feeling that most MMO's / MMOGs have, venturing into the Capital Cities / Outposts will provide you with a huge amount of players that you can Talk to, Trade with, Party with, etc. To combat overcrowding ArenaNet implemented a feature that splits towns into different "Districts" (Mirrors) each district essentially makes a copy of that city when the district before it gets full and trust me I've seen District counts on specific special events hit the 300 - 400 mark (namely in Lions Arch (Prophecies Capital City) and Kamadan (Nightfall Capital City), Factions is popular but not that popular.)

Guild Wars also offers a Dual-Profession field which provides for unique combinations of its 10 playable professions, the possibilites are endless for "builds" or variations of skills that are availible. the Dual-Profession skill is one of the key features of these games and is one of the reasons I purchased the game, imagine if you will (asuming you know what World of Warcraft is) the highest DPS build paired with the best healing / supportive build combined into a single character, Guild Wars lets you do that by combining up to two different professions the first being your "Main" profession providing a unique skill for whichever of the 10 professions you picked first and the second being whatever you want it to be because you can change it to whatever you want by going into the Temple of Balthazar and paying a one time fee of 100g to change to a selected second profession. My favorite combination is probably the W/Mo or Warrior / Monk, I can run in and tank while healing myself well enough to provided support for the other players in my party.

Guild Wars offers a full story / campaign per game / expansion.

Prophecies

In Prophies you play as a character that is helping the Ascalon Army (Prince Rurik mostly) defeat the evil Charr Empire that burned down your starting city (Ascalon aka Pre-Searing), in your ventures through Prophcies you will meet hundreds of non-player controlled (NPC) friends / allies and have around 20 or so "Main" missions that need to be completed in order to finish the campaign. Besides the main missions in prophecies I estimate there to be well over 2000 quests for players to complete whenever they like, each of them will reward players upon completion, most rewards are Experience and Gold or Experience and Items, a lot of the time doing these quests provides a better understanding of the backstories and Guild Wars lore. Guild Wars: Prophecies will take you through Countryside like villages through the frozen mountains of the shiverpeaks into the elonion deserts and finally making a stop in what looks hell, literally there is Lava everywhere, Big black mountains and it just seems Evil.

Prophecies is also the campaign that most of the hardcore players see as the "Farming" campaign. Prophecies was the first campaign and upon being released two areas really stood out, they're known as The "Gods' Realms", The first Gods Realm is

"The Underworld" (UW) the Underworld posseses the strongest monsters in the campaign and also the most overfarmed / profitable item the "Glob of Ectoplasm", during the good economy days Ectos pushed above 20 platinum (20000 gold) each, but like the real world Guild Wars has taken somewhat of a financial hit within it's economy driving the price of Ectos to as low as 3 platinum (3000 gold), this is due to the extremey popular "Perma Sin" build that was essentially unkillable by maintaining "Shadow Form" using 2 - 3 skills, combining this with the other 5 - 6 damage skills people brought this resulted in people being able to kill everything in the Underworld by themselves and because no other people where in their parties provided them with all of the loot that the monsters dropped which a lot of the time was Globs of Ectoplasm.

"Fissure of Woe" is the second realm of the gods, and is popular but not as popular as the Underworld, Fissure Of Woe is commonly farmed for it's "Shards" which like Ectos are very valuable but haven't really boomed to a lower drop rate and overall worthlessness within the economy. Fissure Of Woe posses equally powerful monsters when Compared to The Underworld but never provided the variation of monsters that are availible in the Underworld making it less popular among most Farmers / Hardcore Players.

Prophecies introduced six different professions to the Guild Wars universe upon it's release these classes are often referred to as the "Core" professions as they have been around since the creation of Guild Wars and will continue to be a part of the Guild Wars franchise as newer games are released, you can play these professions with any campaign.

1) Warrior

Warriors rely on stout hearts, brute strength, and melee weapons to subdue their enemies and protect their allies. They generally disdain long-range warfare, preferring instead to charge directly into the fray swinging their weapon of choice. They can take a beating unlike anyone else. Warriors are equally comfortable wielding axe, hammer, or sword, though many choose to master one weapon over all others. Many Warrior skills require adrenaline, which builds up during combat to enable those skills, and usually results in major damage. Defensive tactics help the Warrior to avoid damage and protect allies, but Strength is the Warrior’s biggest asset, allowing this hero to do more damage with every attack.

2) Ranger

Rangers are unique in their ability to succeed with the help of, or even in spite of, their environment. Nature rituals allow them to manipulate the environment to hinder their enemies, or borrow the very power of creation to heal and aid their allies. They favor long-range combat, the bow being their weapon of choice, and can be especially effective from elevated locations such as bridges and cliffs. They are the only profession with the ability to charm animals, which then accompany them on their travels and assist them in battle, gaining experience and levels over time. Rangers are also blessed with survival skills that help keep them alive.

3) Monk

Monks employ a direct conduit to the gods, and the answers to their prayers come in the form of healing and protection for their allies and damage to their enemies. Combined with any other profession, Monks can alternate between supporting their party and dealing damage to opponents. Monks enjoy Divine Favor, which provides extra healing power, while their healing and Protection Prayers help to keep their allies strong and healthy. Smiting Prayers, on the other hand, call down divine anger on enemies, exacting holy damage that ignores armor, though damage-dealing is not the Monk’s specialty. What Monks lack in firepower they make up for with their unparalleled gift for keeping their allies alive.

4) Necromancer

Necromancers are masters of the dark arts, calling on the spirits of the dead, and even death itself, to overpower enemies and assist allies. In sacrificing Health and taking curses and diseases upon themselves, they can deal large amounts of damage to those foolish enough to oppose them. Dead and dying enemies become unwilling allies in their hands. Necromancers have the singular ability to absorb Energy from an enemy’s death, and can raise a fighting force from the corpses of their foes. Curses, which often cost the Necromancer dearly, exact an even greater toll from enemies, who find that their Enchantments and healing skills are rendered useless. Due to the sacrificial nature of their methods, Necromancers must practice patience and self-discipline to survive.

5) Mesmer

Mesmers are masters of illusion and control, subverting the enemy’s Energy for their own use, and that of their allies. Combined with any other profession, their skills provide excellent support, turning enemies’ powers against them and changing the very fabric of reality to hinder foes and help allies. Mesmers have the ability to cast spells quickly, which can make all the difference in the heat of battle. Their powers of domination allow them to take control of enemy skills and Energy. Their unique illusionary talents can slow or even halt enemy movement and skill casting, or cause imaginary illnesses that drain Health and Energy from foes while healing and energizing allies. While Mesmers are not known for brute strength, their ability to confuse, distract, and drain the enemy’s resources more than compensates.

6) Elementalist

Elementalists summon the powers of earth, air, fire, and water and command them at will. They can inflict more damage in a single strike than any other profession. Earth Magic summons quakes and eruptions, encases enemies in stone, or protects allies. Air Magic harnesses the power of tempests to strike foes down with lightning or enable allies to run like the wind. Fire Magic manifests flames, fireballs, molten lava, and even meteors to burn enemies to a crisp. Water Magic conjures mist and ice to slow enemy movement and attacks, blur vision, protect allies against magic, and inflict cold damage on enemies. Elementalists have access to Energy regenerating skills, and when chosen as a primary character, they can increase their maximum Energy over time. The wise Elementalist avoids becoming surrounded, but keeps a local area-of-effect spell on hand just in case.

Class Descriptions / Information provided by the Guild Wars Gameplay Manual

 
 

Factions

Factions like prophecies introduced another "chapter" or "campaign" to the Guild Wars saga which you could play through using either your original prophecies characters or a new factions character (which could go back and repeat Prophecies if they wanted to). Factions ties itself to prophecies by taking you to a territory where the emperor is corrupt and numerous monsters and enemies are appearing in the continent of Cantha. The main problem you face throughout the campaign is fighting a "Superhuman Like" enemy who is trying to destroy Cantha.

Factions is often referred to as the "PvP" campaign, and this is because Factions introduced something known as "Factions" into Guild Wars these two factions are known as the Kurzick and Luxons joining either of them has no pluses or minuses but joining one limits you to your selected factions storyline / PvP territory. These factions are essentially in a war and once you join a Guild that is allied with one of them you must defend or attack the opposite faction through various PvP battles such as "Alliance Battles" these "Alliance Battles" pits the Kurzicks against the Luxons (and vice versa) in varying "Maps" based on how well one faction is doing, if your faction is doing well you're fighting in the enemy factions territory trying to push them off of the continent of Cantha and reign supreme over each other, currently the map is evenly split between Kurzicks and Luxons and going with either doesn't limit you in any way.

Factions is also not as popular with most hardcore players for it's campaign / story because of the huge amounts of experience rewarded for completing goals within Factions, as an example a normal quest in Prophecies would give 500 - 2000 experience, in factions people where given 2000 - 5000 experience per normal quest causing people to level up faster then they should and essentially making it hard to tell who is "skilled" and who is not because everyone reachs the maximum level of 20 faster.

Factions introduced a numerous amount of new content to Guild Wars including new Skills, Armor sets, Professions, the professions that where introduced in Factions are the Assassin and Ritualist, each are unique and provided a new type of gameplay to Guild Wars.

1) Assassin

The Assassin walks the shadows, a deadly viper ready to strike at the heart when the enemy least expects it, nowhere and everywhere all at once. Assassins are masters of their chosen weapon, the dagger, and are expert at inflicting Critical Strikes that cause massive damage. The Assassin is trained to efficiently link attacks together in a chain that does not give the enemy a chance to hit back. They have mastered the ability to move as shadows—Assassins wear only lightweight armor and prefer to avoid damage by not being there when the enemy’s strike lands. Their other magical skills include Hexes that lower the target’s defenses and protect the Assassin from harm.

2) Ritualist

Ritualists channel other-worldly energies that summon allies from the void and employ mystic binding rituals that bend those allies to the Ritualist's will. They hood their eyes to better commune with spirits that grant great power and protection to Ritualists and their comrades. The energy they channel drives Ritualist skills which enhance the deadliness of an ally's weapon and wreak havoc on an enemy's health. The Ritualist can also use the remains of the dead to defend the living-not by reanimating corpses as a Necromancer would, but through the ritual use of urns and ashes. Where the Ranger lives as one with the spirit world, the Ritualist can and will be its master.

Class Descriptions / Information provided by the Guild Wars Gameplay Manual
 
 

Nightfall

Nightfall is often referred to as the "Story" campaign, in Nightfall you're essentially a new member of the Sunspear Army, the Sunspears are fighting to take control of Elona after various enemies appeared throughout the continent and reigned terror over the civilians. Nightfall takes you through mostly Desert like wastelands and reminded older players of the Elonian Deserts of Tyria (Prophecies). Nightfall again like Factions allows the player to either use an Older character to stop the "Nightfall" that is coming or using a new character that they made for the campaign. Nightfalls storyline is somewhat long and is much more exciting than the prophecies and factions storylines and is considered to be the best story out of all three of the campaigns this is evident from the start as there are a lot more cutscene throughout the campaign and overall the voice acting was much better then the previous titles.

Nightfall also introduced "Heroes" to Guild Wars, heroes are basically NPC henchmen that can be in your party but what makes them different is that they can be completely customized their Skills can be changed to your liking, the attributes can be adjusted even there items and armor can be modified whenever you like. Heroes also introduced a new type of PvP option known as "Hero Battles" where a human controlled player and 3 heroes of his choice are pitted to fight and capture shrines against another team of four in hopes of winning and earning some experience, money and items.

Nightfall like Factions introduced two new classes, these classes are the Dervish and the Paragon, each of which have the strong armor like a warrior but posses supportive qualities of monks and mesmers.
 

1) Dervish

 
Serving the gods as holy warriors, dervishes stand confidently in the whirlwind of conflict. Martial techniques perfected in the deserts of Elona allow a Dervish’s scythe to lash out quickly at multiple opponents, surrounding the holy warrior with a swath of destruction. Initiates often learn spells of self-protection, prayers that rush a combatant into battle, and invocations that empower attacks with elemental fury. Masters of the profession can assume the form of a god, enacting divine will with holy blessings. Keenly aware of the conditions of a fight, a Dervish can reap great benefits by using multiple Enchantments. Wandering the savannahs and deserts of Elona, the faithful Dervish chants prayers to the earth and wind... and the fury of the sandstorm answers in response.

2) Paragon

Paragons are the guardian angels of Elona, humanity’s champions against malefic threats. They rally the valiant with Shouts and Chants, aiding heroes, henchmen, and other adventurers through inspiration and motivation. A Paragon’s best weapons rely on an insightful mind, a courageous spirit, and a charismatic voice. Many Paragons also arm themselves with a spear and shield, striking from a distance as they shout their battle cries. Through insight, they help others resist Hexes and Conditions, echoing their commands across the field of battle (in fact, some “ Echo” abilities renew themselves each time a Chant or Shout ends). When all hell breaks loose, a commanding Paragon shines as a beacon of light, driving back the forces of darkness.

Achievements: Guild Wars offers achievements in the form of "titles" each of these titles are different from each other and most of them require some sort of hard to extreme task to be completed. This isn't a major seller for the series but it does attract certain people to the game, in total Guild Wars offers 32 different titles, a lot of them are very hard to do if you're not rich as a lot of them are paid for by buying various services or items and using them.Read more about the titles here
 

Ratings

My Rating: 8.9
Prophecies - 9 out of 10
Factions - 8 out of 10
Nightfall - 10 out of 10
 

Pictures

My Warrior (turning 5 years old on the 5th birthday of Guild Wars)

Prophecies

 

Factions

Nightfall

Note: I will not review Eye of The North because it is the newest Guild Wars game and is still somewhat new to many players.