Guild Wars: Are You Excited? ArenaNets Fee-Free Online RPG

[Mastermund 0]

In February 2005 ArenaNet will ship its Co-Operative Role Playing Game (CORPG) Guild Wars, the first fee free online RPG to be released by a major publisher (https://www.guildwars.com/en/). I'm pretty excited about this game. I participated in the Alpha during E3 in May (Electronic Entertainment Expo), and it was great then. I also took part in the World Preview Event in October, and I plan on taking part in the Beta Event on January 7. So far I have had a great time. What does everybody else think?

[wreslur 0]

Yes I played the first beta weekend they had (for free obviously) and put a good 10-15 hours into it considering it was only around for 3 days. Good graphics, good character classes, I like how the cutscenes go into the game extremely well. But it isnt put together wellIts an MMORPG when it doesnt have to be the town are the only mmo part of it youll grab 5 people and take them on a mission which just connects you to the leaders computer and puts the game there (liek a host in diablo 2)I never got a level up in 15 hours playing on higher levels with charcters much higher then me it felt stupid and boring.Thoguh there are amazingly cool moments and bosses such as...A warrior from my party and I moved ahead the rest of the team was a little back we got into and open area and the entrnce behind us closed up. A gigatnic monster popped out and the warrior and i had to take him down ourselves because the rest of our party was stuck in back, crazy, ingenuitive id say this game will turn out very well if they address more issues and gameplay mechanics

[redsox58 0]

I was pretty interested in this game as it doesn't have a monthly fee which was a huge downer for the other games to me. Does anyone know the specs on the the type of computer it takes to be able to run it?

[Xevian 0]

Its shown on the website itself... The website is https://www.guildwars.com/en/, and the release date has been delayed twice and now... its coming out in april 29th... Hope it does not delay anymore as i really really need something to play... Getting bored of beta-testing many different games... Makes me feel like I'm being tossed around... I wanted to join the alpha-testing but was moments too late... Argh!

[ariolander 0]

It actually only had 1 actual release date the rest of them were actually estimatated release dates FYI. And yes I am excited. I have palyed every beta event since WPE (World Previe Event) E3 and it ahs changed so much since then. The game tislef looks awsome... Beta weekend this saturday! :DI pre ordered 3 copies of the game myself and am really looking forward to it.

[Xevian 0]

It actually only had 1 actual release date the rest of them were actually estimatated release dates FYI. And yes I am excited. I have palyed every beta event since WPE (World Previe Event) E3 and it ahs changed so much since then. The game tislef looks awsome... Beta weekend this saturday!

 

I pre ordered 3 copies of the game myself and am really looking forward to it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Could you give me one of the friend's invite cd key? Haven't tried it out yet... I really want to give it a go...

[subasteve 0]

These are the kind of games I like you buy the game and don't have to pay to play online. I am getting it as soon as it comes out. The graphics look great. So does the game play.

[ariolander 0]

A warrior from my party and I moved ahead the rest of the team was a little back we got into and open area and the entrnce behind us closed up. A gigatnic monster popped out and the warrior and i had to take him down ourselves because the rest of our party was stuck in back, crazy, ingenuitive id say this game will turn out very well if they address more issues and gameplay mechanics

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The game has changed darasically since the E3 World Preview Event. What you saw there was barely 20% of what the full game had to offer. They actually unlocked all the skills in the PVP mode characters in teh last beta even and man it was crazy.

 

One of the thigns I like aboutt he game is how closely it relies on comunication, teamwork, & skills. no longer is it suficient to have a high level but rather how efectivly you can sue the limited skill combinations you bring with you beforehand. Its nigh imposible to solo missions anymore and because they upped the dificulty of opponents the agro & monster spawns you really have to realy on your team mates a lot. Wether thats good or bad I dunno but I like the comunity feel it makes and the psoibilitys it has for a community and a clan.

[Xevian 0]

The game has changed darasically since the E3 World Preview Event. What you saw there was barely 20% of what the full game had to offer. They actually unlocked all the skills in the PVP mode characters in teh last beta even and man it was crazy.
One of the thigns I like aboutt he game is how closely it relies on comunication, teamwork, & skills. no longer is it suficient to have a high level but rather how efectivly you can sue the limited skill combinations you bring with you beforehand. Its nigh imposible to solo missions anymore and because they upped the dificulty of opponents the agro & monster spawns you really have to realy on your team mates a lot. Wether thats good or bad I dunno but I like the comunity feel it makes and the psoibilitys it has for a community and a clan.

I'm so going to get this game... I hope its not another "haha, noob" prejudice game system again...

[dzine 0]

The UI looks very ugly, The gameplay is mediocre, A friend invited me into the beta... it's really just another EQ2.

[ariolander 0]

I tend to disagree. It is not just another MMO actually the Devs don't like it being called a MMO despite the similaritys. They insist on the term DORPG (Competitive Online Role Playing Game). First of its genre and a pioneer in the online gaming field.

I disagree and will state it is unlike any other MMO I have ever have had the experience of playing. Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Lineage 2, Ragnarok Online, Ultima Online, Everquest, Anarchy Online, Priston Tale, Rush On Seven Episodes, Maple Story, Runescape, + a host of smaller korean and beta games most of which I can't think of off hand...

Guild Wars is unique in that it is not the '"haha, noob" prejudice game system' again. The game is not based around levels, the game is not based on mindless repitition. Toy do not become stronger by spending 'x' hours of repetative mining, 'x' hours partying at 'hell spawn', 'x' hours hunting rats or similar creatures so that you are that much closer to becoming elite and you inherant right to brag and look down upon the 'foolish newbies'.

Guild Wars is different in that it is based around skills. Not just those of your character but that of you the player aswell. More often than not it is the skill and skills of both the player and the player character that will be the deciding factor in a battle rather than levels. Evidence in this is the level cap beign set at 20. Something easily achived in 15-20 hours according to the dev team but a closer estimate would put it at 35.

The skill over level emphasis is not the only thing that sets this CORPG appart from other MMOs is its heavy emphasis and the social aspects of teamwork. Though the begining missions could easily be completed by ones self there is a point after lvl 6-8 that the difficulty is upped and probably the most efficient way is to party up with other players. While this may not all seem unusual you must first understand the nature of this game and the world of Guild Wars.

Guild Wars is the story, thats right story for this game actually has a plot. If do not know this games is rooted in soem ex-Blizzard employees and finds heavy rooting to the Diablo series and thus if you were to compare it to another game Diablo II would probably be the closest comparison (rather than Everquest 2) While there are litterally over a dozen quests to be completed in each area and even more to be found while exploring the wilderness much emphasis will be put in the main line of mission quests where you will discover the world of Guild Wars as the story slowly unfolds. Before each mission is sort of assembling area where as depending at what point in the game you are partys of 1-6 people can be formed. After formation you enter the mission quest and a world is instanced specifically for you and your party.

In these instanced worlds especially later in the game you will often times find yourself at a vast disadvantage and grossly outnumbered. It is only through a combination of teamwork, preperation and skill can one survive. Heavy emphasis is put into the teamwork aspect. For example if your team is unbalanced or poorly built without monks your mean will fall, without elementalists you willb e mobbed, without warriors you willb e ripped apart, stretch yourself to far you each will be picked off and killed. Team work is a vital in this game and especially in the diffrent PvP events from the Hall of Heroes to guild wars not only will each of your individual skills and strength be tested but also your ability to work as a team.




If I may quote a discussion of MMOs over at the Freeport4 Forums
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/?showtopic=21&st=0

Again enough about Guild Wars let me talk about MMOs in general. I myself am a vetran of many titles. Of hand I can name Everquest, Anarchy Online, Ultima Online, Planetside, Lineage 2, Ragnarok Online, World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, Priston Tale, Rush On Seven Episodes, Maple Story, Runescape, + a host of smaller korean and beta games most of which I can't think of off hand (if Ragnarok.Ogaming were up maybe...
My main qualm about MMOs is that goal of being elite. The idea that the whole goal of your existance is to become strogner. By spending 'x' hours of repetative mining, 'x' hours partying at 'hell spawn', 'x' hours hunting rats or similar creatures you are that much closer to becoming elite and you inherant right to brag and look down upon the 'foolish newbies'. The sad fact is there will always be that guy with less of a life than you who will always ahve more time than you and alway be stronger. Then when you finnaly become strong starting all over again with a 'diffent build' or 'ultimate strategy' with what you have learned and repeting the process.

It is this repetative-ness that bores, that drives me away from every MMO I have played (other than Guild Wars). I play videogames as an escapist trying to evade this mundane existance of mine. Rather than playing to have fun it seems to MMOs you seem to adopt yet another mundane but virtual life or repetativness and chores. So I escape life by entering another where I have even more jobs and chores to do? All for the sake of being stronger? No, no that is not my thing. I enjoy the simple pleasures such as that UT/Doom voice shouting phrases like 'headshot', 'godlike' or 'unsopable' as I runa round with mygun blasting away. I enjoy making elaborate traps and lairs as I play a bad guy trying to save the world, I enjoy leading a party of fellow teenagers/kids as we embark on our quest to save the world, I anjoy adopting a role and exploring the story and the background sof my fellow part members as a deep plot slowly unfolds, I enjoy being an prince of hell on my quest to be overlord... I enjoy many things in my games but sadly MMOs offer none of it.

Sure they are all so great at first but soon the novelty will wear and I will grow tired. Then there is always that one thing that drives me away. Wether it be an unwildy interface, the prospect of spending the next 16 hours killing the same monet over and over for a level, or some sort of dead end quest where it is impossible to do. Normally its only small things, things I would normally overlook but the sad fact is most MMOs do not offer much content besides the prospect of becoming strogner. Without anything else around in such an empty game, even with huge worlds MMOs can feel suprisingly hollow, I can not help but stare at these flaws and eventually after being bored long enough, after repeting the same action enough time and staring at it long enough it begins to drive me away to the point where I can not, will not, and refuse to play...

Well I don't have enough willpower to restrain myself and I can not think of a proper conclusion to an MMO post other than to mention my latest obsession Guild Wars. What makes it different from most MMOs? The way it is diffrent form other MMOs. Not just that there is no monthly fee, I would never pay someone else to give me a game that makes me do repetative work & chores, but that it is not based around the standard level to become stronger forumala. Though granted leveling is still involved you no logner have the stats like agility, dexterity, luck or anything like that. Granted you do have strength but it is totally diffrent than in mosr RPGs MMO or otherwise. Instead I like rather than being based around your level and stats the game centers on skills, not just that of your character but you the palyer aswell. Guild Wars also has a very social aspect to the game. Parties play a bigger role and teamwork is key, not just in PvP or GvG but in standard quests aswell. If your team fails to have tanks you get ripped apart, if you fail to defend your mages damage deals much slower and you loose mob control, and if you fail to defend your healers you leave yourself vunrable. Not only is the build of the party vital but how you interact. If you mvoe to fast and stretch yourselves out you might find yourself alone, mobbed or simply beign picked off, not only in PvP but against monsters aswell.

Action, strategy, teamwork and the other social aspects combine to give me an MMO where I can overlook its flaws and have fun. no longer will I have to spend a repetative 'x' hours fishing or 'x' hours hunting. Those are obsilite. you simply raid your enemies and salvage their equipment or dismantle them for parts to make your own via NPC crafters. You won't find bats that drop axes or rats with hundreds of coins but relative drops aswell. While you are raiding, partying, or exploring you are doing this together with a party and progressing through a complex story where you make a difference in the world and its dynamic enviroments. As you progress kingdoms, fall armies battle as a new evil spreads through the world. allt he while you, your party and your guild are in the middle of it and it is where you can save the human world...

... I love the save the world thing... makes it trully feel liek an RPG rather than a life simulator

[il-cs-clan 0]

guildwar was awesome it has awesome graphics and storylinei cant wait till it comes out too :Pim willing to pay for this gamewell btw knight online is an ok gameits also free... good graphic but guildwar has better graphicif anyone wanna try out knight online the website is http://www.knightonlineworld.com/

[Jedi5400 0]

I don't know if I wanna go over to Guild Wars for WoW. The gameplay that i experienced in the beta weekends just didn't compare. Sure, the pvp was fun, but the part about it being a world lost it's touch with the instant travel methods...and the graphics didn't look nearly as good.

[kevlar557 0]

I can't wait until this game comes out. I'm sick and tred of having to pay for our mmorpg's. It looks cool, and hopefully my computer will be able to run it. The only problem is, is that my dial-up won't be the best for online play. Does anyone know if there is going to be a linux version released?

[Ouroboros1405241493 0]

A friend and I powered to 20 over the weekend, I'm afraid I've found the quests uninteresting and uninvolved, so far the pvp has been the only enjoyable side, I hope this changes soon.