Guild Wars (April Release)

[Escape]

Will definately play this on release, the open-beta event showed some potential.
The few arena fights I had during the beta were fast and fun. Having everyone play on the same server-cluster is the way forward for MMORPGs, specially those with PvP!

No subscription charge =




Has anyone seen pre-order boxes in UK stores? release date shows as 29th April for GAME.

[Aada]

Ive played all the Beta Weekends and yes the game is great but its not a game i'd play every day. You will need the good items for pvp because the uber guilds will farm them and pwn the shit guilds, and about the no subs charge? they will just release expansion packs every 6-9 months and make you pay £30 instead.

Content wise the game isn't that great but for what it is it's nice, the cookie cutter class is warrior/monk and it gets boring when all you're fighting is groups of Warrior/monk combos all the time. personally i played a Ranger/Warrior combo really enjoyed the nice pets as they really pissed players such as mages off.

Quests aint that great either just kill x mob/boss.

I'll stick with WoW.

[old.Tohtori]

4 million asians can't be wrong

Because it's from the same studio that made Lineage series(though might be the us branch of it), so there should be some elements in there worth the boxprice.

The main catch is, it's a great sidegame for WoW, daoc, whatnot.

Being free of monthly fees, i'll be sure to grab it from the shelf and play it from time to time.

[Custodian]

I am an Alpha Tester for GW
It is a very good game. Have been playng everyday for months (not just the monthly betas) and I aint bored of it yet. That alone makes it worth the price, as even if I never buy an expansion and never get into PvP - I prefer the co-op play of the story based missions and quests - I will get my moneys worth. Better value than any similar standard single player game with a bit of multiplayer tagged on.

The PvE has a long story driven plot that can be played co-op, or just take some NPC henchmen along if you have no friends This is the kind of thing we are expecting will be added to with expansion packs, so if ya want to follow a new story you can.

The PvP has team deathmatch style arenas (random teams) and guild v guild battles (with ladder rankings). Characters are very well balanced (ignore what Aada says ) and a team needs a good balance to do well - a team of 8 warrior/monks will die in seconds. They have done much work to make sure all teams have equal chance, and farming is not a requirement of success.

Should not be compared to WoW, or EQ, or similar - as they are intentionally trying to make something different. And they have.

Unfortunately the remaining "open" beta weekend is quite restricted I think, mostly folks that have pre-ordered the game. You might find some keys on some of the fan sites though.

You can pre-order from gameplay and play (was £18 there last time I looked), among other webby shops.

If you like the RPG type, and especially like playing it co-op rather than against the PC, then it is worth a look.

[Sh33p]

Originally Posted by old.Tohtori

4 million asians can't be wrong

Because it's from the same studio that made Lineage series(though might be the us branch of it), so there should be some elements in there worth the boxprice.

The main catch is, it's a great sidegame for WoW, daoc, whatnot.

Being free of monthly fees, i'll be sure to grab it from the shelf and play it from time to time.

Huh? Arena net are mostly ex-blizzard employee's afaik GW is their first game.

It's PvP with purpose and skill and with minimal amounts of forced PvE.

It's a far better alternative to the zerg/queuealot crap that WoW will be, the reward is so stupid too; omg you get a new suit of armour that just made your 500 odd hours of running incredibly boring instances until you feel physically sick completely pointless, gg you.

Unfortunately I get the feeling that people are so addicted to WoW that GW won't do so well, not for a few more months at least.

[Aada]

Classes aint balanced one damn bit a group of warrior/monks will tear through most groups, and a group of warrior/monks with good items are unstoppable.

I remember a couple of weekends ago did a pickup group for the fun of it and our first fight we met a group of warrior/monks you could tell from the look of them their armour was shithot we didn't stand a chance.

Wouldn't suprise me if you played a Warrior/monk combo tbh

Farming not a requirement to sucess? yeah whatever mate the guilds who farm the uber items will own the arenas its always been this way in mmorpgs uber itemz= ownage and GW doesn't change that mold.

I'm not saying GW is crap it's not it just needs alot more work on the balance side of things.

[Custodian]

Originally Posted by Sh33p

Huh? Arena net are mostly ex-blizzard employee's afaik GW is their first game.

I think he might have meant the publisher, NCSoft, who are responsible for games like Lineage and City of Heroes as well as Guild Wars.
The fact that AreneNet have a lot of ex-Blizzard folks is another plus point

Aada, I aint gunna get into an argument with ya, as everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just didn't want folks to read your review, based on your limited exposure to an unfinished game, and assume it was a definitive description of what to expect. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, no game is, but is certainly a lot better than you suggest.

[Aada]

Well class balance is a major issue none the less and if you disagree you're biased

[Sh33p]

Originally Posted by Aada

Classes aint balanced one damn bit a group of warrior/monks will tear through most groups, and a group of warrior/monks with good items are unstoppable.

I remember a couple of weekends ago did a pickup group for the fun of it and our first fight we met a group of warrior/monks you could tell from the look of them their armour was shithot we didn't stand a chance.

Wouldn't suprise me if you played a Warrior/monk combo tbh

Farming not a requirement to sucess? yeah whatever mate the guilds who farm the uber items will own the arenas its always been this way in mmorpgs uber itemz= ownage and GW doesn't change that mold.

I'm not saying GW is crap it's not it just needs alot more work on the balance side of things.

You have no idea what you're talking about tbh, you need to go back, make a 20 PvP char, find a guild and try the game again.

Nearly all of what you've said is either no longer true of the current build of the game or completely false to begin with.

[Aada]

got a 20 pvp char, cheers though.

[Sh33p]

Originally Posted by Aada

got a 20 pvp char, cheers though.

Ok well why talk about armour? There's no "uber" armour, all the pvp pre-mades and customs have access to the full lot and they're all pretty much equal with some better for certain situations vs certain builds etc.

There are no "uber items" that require farmage and the game isn't all that item dependent anyway, runes make a big difference but you can unlock most runes/skills in the 30-40 hours it takes you to get to max level and do all the missions with your RP char.

Once that's done it's unlocked forever and all your new PvP chars have access to those.

You're trying to think of GW in MMORPG terms that just don't apply, it's not a MMOG, they don't get any money off you by making you play month after month so there's no need for huge timesinks.

Edit: And 8 W/M's would get absolutely destroyed, just 1 monk would be able to outheal their damage all day.

[Aada]

The game does have uber armour though because you get that off the boss's such as a dragon (can't remember the name but its in the instance with all the undead stuff).

I aint arguing ive said my opinion and i respect others too.

[Sh33p]

Originally Posted by Aada

The game does have uber armour though because you get that off the boss's such as a dragon (can't remember the name but its in the instance with all the undead stuff).

I aint arguing ive said my opinion and i respect others too.

I'm not sure about that, as far as I'm aware the armour you see in the pvp pre-made area is basically the high end stuff.

Taking the Ele's armour for example http://www.guild-hall.net/elem-armor.php it wouldn't make any sense to have an uber armour that replaces all those when the whole point is the strategic choice of wearing pyro vs a fire build opponent etc.

The whole point is that GW breaks the traditional MMOG mold because it's not a MMOG.

And you really need to experience organised GvG to have any grasp on the game balance to start with.

I just don't really understand why you flamed it without playing it enough to see these things.

[Aada]

Don't get me wrong i have played with a few good groups (made it to the last arena) and the game is very good that side of things, i just think the game is geared to the casual gamer and people who just want a quick fight.

Nothing wrong with this but i think anyone looking for something with abit more depth is better off at trying WoW/DAOC etc.

Don't get me wrong GW is a decent game beats most things out there but people go with an illusion that no monthly fee = great.

They don't however think about the £30 they are going to have to fork out every 6-9 months for the inevitable expansion packs because lets face it they are in it for the money. How are they going to pay the devs/support staff without no income?

[Sorgrind]

I'm interested in buying this game...Seems to be v. good, I've enjoyed DAoC for 2 1/2 years and I'd like to play something a little less demanding, where you do not have to have to very best and spend hours camping spots just to stand a chance. I just have a few questions maybe some of you could answer:

In the actual guild vs guild battles:
1. Is there a limit to how many people on each team and do they have to be equal?

2. Is it just a massive battle with doznes of people on each side?

3. Do the enemies you kill drop loot or money?

4. Do you get experience for winning a battle?

In the actual game:

1. Is it as hard, at the higher levels, to level as in DAoC? e.g. DAoC equilavent of the last three levels

2. When you die, do you lose most of your stuff except the most valuable?

3. What is the money system?

4. Are there any mounts?

5. As the game comes out on 28th/4, surely they have decided whether humas are the only race or not, but I cannot find any articles related?

I'd also love some help on class/speccs etc. Ones I've considered so far: Monk or Ranger...I like the fact that monks can heal and buff, instantly making them popular for groups. However, I like archer classes and they have a pet too

Any answers/help would be greatly appreciated