Curse

GloryFox · Oct 19, 2006, 11:50 PM // 23:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cunning
I didn't even bother unlocking any of the skills for the Ritualist profession because it's a useless profession and is not fun to play.

How very brave of you to state. However you should add the letters IMO.

Fact is the Ritualist is the Jack-of-all-trades class. Part nuker, summoner, healer, and tank all rolled up into one. Out of 8 fully UAS (unlocked all skills) characters the Ritualist is my favorite because of its versatility and can adapt to any situation in any PvE environment. However the Ritualist has one major drawback. It’s a Factions only character class meaning you must purchase Factions to play it.

Overall I would recommend to you that you get Nightfall and begin playing with us next Friday. Once you get the feel of the game world then pick up Factions and prophecies if the skills in those areas interest you.

saphir · Oct 20, 2006, 12:12 AM // 00:12

don't know why no one has mentioned it yet..

you should get a copy of the nightfall prerelease/bonus/preorder/whatever they call it pack for $5-$10 US. It may not only get you a credit discount when you purchase the full NF game on the 27th, but you get 2 trial keys total - for both factions and prophecies. I think it's something like 10 hours or 2wks, I forget. So not only do you get to try out prophecies, and factions, you'll be all set for nightfall as well =)

or to save a bit of money, maybe see if someone can hook you up w/ a free trial phrophecies key

Cacheelma · Oct 20, 2006, 12:24 AM // 00:24

If you ask me. From PvE skill standpoint, Prophecies would be a much better choice to buy. Why? Because there're so many Prophecies-only skills that you will need in order to play in some areas of both Tyria and Cantha.

For example, as a necro, you will need Spiteful Spirit in order to go dual UW with 55-monk. Certain places like The Deep in Factions will also be a lot easier with SS. And you will also need Blood is Power as well.

As an elementalist, Meteor Shower is very useful when you play as a Pyromancer. Well, maybe Rodgort Invocation too but you don't "need" it.

Oink The Pig · Oct 20, 2006, 12:33 AM // 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphir

you should get a copy of the nightfall prerelease/bonus/preorder/whatever they call it pack for $5-$10 US. It may not only get you a credit discount when you purchase the full NF game on the 27th, but you get 2 trial keys total - for both factions and prophecies. I think it's something like 10 hours or 2wks, I forget. So not only do you get to try out prophecies, and factions, you'll be all set for nightfall as well =)

Good call. I agree 100%. Besides which, the prerelease pack also unlocks an extra character slot when you add Nightfall (i.e. buy the new chapter) to your account and provides 2 bonus weapons for use with the 2 new professions.

If you go this route, you may want to download the client, load it up, and leave it on the login screen for a few hours or even overnight to download the content (it automatically streams the content whenever it's on--there's no specific download button). This will save you some time on your trial when you actually sit down to play the game, as the game client will otherwise stream and decompress content while you're loading new areas (which all of them will be for you).

With respect to which of the first two chapters to buy, Prophecies and Factions really do play differently, particularly in skill progression. In Prophecies, a lot of early quests provided skills as rewards. In Factions, the quests tended to reward skill points and some gold so that you could buy whatever skill you wanted. Each chapter also provides different chapter-specific areas with different PvE rewards. If you find yourself enjoying the game, they're both worthwhile, and both provide skills found in high-level PvP.

As for whether they still update previous chapters, the answer is rarely outside of skill balances. However, ArenaNet surprised everyone with a whole new explorable area (Sorrow's Furnace) a few months after the Prophecies release, and later turned a PvP Area into a very tough PvE dungeon (moving the old PvP area to a location accessible by both chapters). More recently, they've redone some monster encounters in Prophecies and added some more unique items. So while each chapter may seem set in stone, they can always go back and change things up a bit.

King Flevance · Oct 20, 2006, 05:18 AM // 05:18

Gah! you guys are hyping me up. ><

I did not buy it today and talked myself down to try and make a good decision. You all have been awesome to me thus far and I appreciate you answering these dinky questions about the game. So thank you for all this info.

I did do more research on it and I also realized that it is alot smarter to get the orignal. I went looking to see what I could find and found a copy of prophecies for 30-40 bucks(I forget which) but most places was 50. But in the end I decided to hold off before I bought anything with Nightfall so close. And there it was everywhere I went, with a pre-order right beside prophecies and factions. I think it was that that made me not buy today. lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cunning

If you want to be capable in all areas of PvP you will need to get all three chapters, however there's no point getting them all until you're ready for PvP, which will take a while.

That makes sense and I know what you mean. I am hoping to find a good PvP org. I am waiting for Warhammer Online to come out next year and want something to play while I wait. From the looks of it, I will be playing both.

Quote:

but in the end I play this game for PvP.

To know its system is good enough to keep someone soley in the game for it makes me want to try it out even more. That is what I am looking for myself.

Quote:

If I were you I would skip Factions and grab Prophecies (original) first, then get Nightfall (upcoming) if you intend to stay around. You probably won't want to get into PvP at the beginning because of the highly competitive challenge, and the only reason you would get Factions is if you need some of the exclusive skills.

I highly discourage getting Factions for newcomers, I found the missions excruciatingly dull, unrewarding and as a result I've never bothered trying to finish it. I didn't even bother unlocking any of the skills for the Ritualist profession because it's a useless profession and is not fun to play.

Sums up alot of what I learned about it today. You weren't the only one to see things this way as well. I may make a PvE charactor to blast off with and try doing everything but while I am power leveling 1 guy be starting out a PvP guy as I begin to understand it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kook~NBK~

If you don't want to wait, get Prophecies. factions is not a good place or beginners to learn and it's far inferior in many, many ways to Prophecies in general. Each chapter has its own continent and story-line. They can be played independent of each other or can be linked on the same account. Linking them gives you the ability to take characters from one continent to the others.

That is something I didn't know/understand how it worked. That is a pretty cool system though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steehl

Something people need to understand is that this game weighs heavily on HOW you play your character, not WHAT your character is.

Is this true for PvP as well? SOme games are like this for PvE and not so in PvP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Age

I would suggest getting the latest version for now Nightfall and then Prophecies and Factions later it is like haveing series of books.

lol. This game is crazy. Crazy cool that is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphire

you should get a copy of the nightfall prerelease/bonus/preorder/whatever they call it pack for $5-$10 US. It may not only get you a credit discount when you purchase the full NF game on the 27th, but you get 2 trial keys total - for both factions and prophecies. I think it's something like 10 hours or 2wks, I forget. So not only do you get to try out prophecies, and factions, you'll be all set for nightfall as well =)

Excellent. Thanks for the information.

This will probably be the the route I take and will most likely pick up prophecies sometime in the near future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink The Pig

Good call. I agree 100%. Besides which, the prerelease pack also unlocks an extra character slot when you add Nightfall (i.e. buy the new chapter) to your account and provides 2 bonus weapons for use with the 2 new professions.

Will I get 3 charactors if I get Nightfall or 5 as my first issue? Is Prophecies 4 slots or the first one you buy gets 4 slots? (Instead of 2)

Quote:

As for whether they still update previous chapters, the answer is rarely outside of skill balances. However, ArenaNet surprised everyone with a whole new explorable area (Sorrow's Furnace) a few months after the Prophecies release, and later turned a PvP Area into a very tough PvE dungeon (moving the old PvP area to a location accessible by both chapters). More recently, they've redone some monster encounters in Prophecies and added some more unique items. So while each chapter may seem set in stone, they can always go back and change things up a bit.

This is very good news to hear. How often is there server downtime for bug fixes and such, out of curiosity?

EDIT: Also, would anyone have a spare key for me to play on prophecies this week while I wait for Nightfall? That would be gnarly. XD

Kook~NBK~ · Oct 20, 2006, 05:49 AM // 05:49

[QUOTE=King Flevance]Will I get 3 charactors if I get Nightfall or 5 as my first issue? Is Prophecies 4 slots or the first one you buy gets 4 slots? (Instead of 2)[quote]
The first chapter you get (doesn't matter which) will give you 4 character slots, each additional chapter you add to your account will give you 2 new slots. With Nightfall pre-order, you'll get an extra slot, regardless of whether it's the first on the account or an add-on.

Quote:

This is very good news to hear. How often is there server downtime for bug fixes and such, out of curiosity?

I can think of a total of 2 times in the 1-1/2 years I've been playing. Once for a game reset that lasted about 3 hours, and another one they did for an emergency situation - but it was done in the wee hours of the morning, here in the US, anyway.

Tobias Funke · Oct 20, 2006, 06:12 AM // 06:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Flevance

This is very good news to hear. How often is there server downtime for bug fixes and such, out of curiosity?

EDIT: Also, would anyone have a spare key for me to play on prophecies this week while I wait for Nightfall? That would be gnarly. XD

To question 1, almost never. The server was down only twice. Once because they got new equipment (which was a good thing) and the other time to save the game economy due to a glitch. So all in all they've never had a bona fide hardware problem.

Second I'll send you my Nightfall pre-order key for the Prophesies/factions trial. It's good for 10 hours or 2 weeks, which ever comes first.

prism2525 · Oct 20, 2006, 06:19 AM // 06:19

I won't mind much if factions goes empty, if i need to do a mission (like unwaking waters) i'll just grab a guildie and do 2+heroes and some other guildies on the other side.

although we managed to do that mission with just 1 group as well.

King Flevance · Oct 20, 2006, 06:21 AM // 06:21

Wow. A game that servers stay up. lol. I didn't think they existed. I played Silkroad Online for a bit before looking deeper into Guild Wars. They had pretty low downtime but it was once a night for like 5-15 mins. I can't wait to get this game.

As to your key Tobias, if it is the one you will recieve when you get Nightfall - don't worry about it. I am going to pre-order if it is still available. So I will receive a key as well I think. I do appreciate the offer though for sure.

Tark Alkerk · Oct 20, 2006, 06:34 AM // 06:34

oh the servers do go down some times but that only happens about once or twice every 6 months, and usually it isn't A-nets fault, server downtime is mainly due to the people who provide the servers for A-net doing emergancy work, and we have only ever had a roll back once.

so on the whole guild wars is pretty stable.

Tobias Funke · Oct 20, 2006, 06:36 AM // 06:36

Use it. I have no use for it and no one else to give it to.

King Flevance · Oct 20, 2006, 06:45 AM // 06:45

Okie dokie. Thanks again Tobias.

Now that I have a key to play... what does this mean exactly?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink The Pig

If you go this route, you may want to download the client, load it up, and leave it on the login screen for a few hours or even overnight to download the content (it automatically streams the content whenever it's on--there's no specific download button). This will save you some time on your trial when you actually sit down to play the game, as the game client will otherwise stream and decompress content while you're loading new areas (which all of them will be for you).

I should download the client now (which is free?) and use this key to make an account. Then load up the client to the login screen, and just leave it there for a few hours? This way my gametime is sped up some right?

I won't be able to play until Monday I think. I may get to play Sunday though, not sure. SHould I let the log-in hang for a bit and start playing or would it be cool to restart before I actually log-in? I will probably do all of this over the weekend sometime. Just want to make sure that is all right and I dont end up losing time, it is a valuable 10 hours. ;P

EDIT: Oh yeah, is it possible to loot PKs at all?

Jodie O · Oct 20, 2006, 07:31 AM // 07:31

You might want to take a look at this thread re: Downloading game files etc.
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ghlight=-image

Buzzer · Oct 20, 2006, 07:35 AM // 07:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Flevance

Now that I have a key to play... what does this mean exactly?
I should download the client now (which is free?) and use this key to make an account. Then load up the client to the login screen, and just leave it there for a few hours? This way my gametime is sped up some right?

EDIT: Oh yeah, is it possible to loot PKs at all?

Yeah I'd do exactly as you described. Waiting at the login screen should help your loading times later on.

PK's? As in loot from other players? No, loot is not dropped in PvP. In PvE, loot is randomly assigned to a party member upon dropping. After a certain amount of time unclaimed (15 mins or something) it becomes available to all.

King Flevance · Oct 20, 2006, 07:47 AM // 07:47

Cool cool. Thanks again.

Hehe I noticed I kinda flubbed my words. But its all good, we all knew what we were talking about. XD

You have all been a huge help.

Tark Alkerk · Oct 20, 2006, 07:52 AM // 07:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Flevance

Cool cool. Thanks again.

Hehe I noticed I kinda flubbed my words. But its all good, we all knew what we were talking about. XD

You have all been a huge help.

well have fun playing

Divinus Stella · Oct 20, 2006, 09:31 AM // 09:31

Well, if i were you i'd buy an account off ebay, just a cheap one for £10 or less with factions and prophecies, chances are ittl have some unlocks already but if you wanna start fresh delete all the characters off it and start playing. i know its against the EULA but im not saying buy any uber r9 account with millions of cash on it, its the cheapest way of getting both chapters as they will both be empty soon anyway.

Zakarr · Oct 20, 2006, 09:42 AM // 09:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divinus Stella

Well, if i were you i'd buy an account off ebay, just a cheap one for £10 or less with factions and prophecies, chances are ittl have some unlocks already but if you wanna start fresh delete all the characters off it and start playing. i know its against the EULA but im not saying buy any uber r9 account with millions of cash on it, its the cheapest way of getting both chapters as they will both be empty soon anyway.

NO! Don't buy accounts from eBay. They can scam you and there is no way to be sure. If Anet ever finds out that you have bought an account from someone else, THEY WILL BAN YOU! That would be a reckless risk.

*Darcy* · Oct 20, 2006, 10:20 AM // 10:20

1. Check out guildwiki.org for all info on game play. Our wiki is amazing.

2. To link chapters, you must add the new account key on the log-in page of your existing account. If you activate new chapter separately you cannot change your mind afterwards.

3. You can purchase extra character slots in on-line store for $10 each. Also you can purchase new chapters (Nightfall will be available there on Oct. 27th.) Store link is on log-in page.

4. At this time, if you own Prophecies, for PvP only you can purchase a skill pack containing all of the skills for all of the professions.

5. Once in game, don't start your own guild. If you want to do PvP, you will need to shop for a guild that does it. Once past the basic PvP, you need to be part of a team and they are mostly guild teams.

Bowman Artemis · Oct 20, 2006, 11:28 AM // 11:28

The character slot system works like this:

For the first "chapter" that you buy, you get 4 character slots.
For each subsequent "chapter" that you add to that account, you get an additional 2 character slots.
You can buy additional character slots for your account from the store for $10 each.
Occasionally there will be promotions that will give bonus slots, the prerelease bonus pack for nightfall is a good example.

The chapter system works like this:

For each chapter, there is a new "continent". No chapter requires another chapter to function, however you can "merge" chapters, in which case your character(s) can "sail" between continents to experience the full content.