Curse

Just4Ever · Aug 15, 2006, 08:01 PM // 20:01

The question pretty much explains it all. I just bought Factions but I feel like everything is so over my head and I don't really like the whole Asian theme. Is Prophecies much different?

Also, I hear that you can't get all the skills unless you get Prophecies. In addition, a lot more is know about it and it seems like it has more info for a newbie like me.

So what do you think? Is it worth it to go get Prophecies first?

Thanks.

P.S. I already searched on this but didn't find much. Can anyone tell me a good secondary profession to complement the Necromancer. I'll be doing PvE only and I want to be able to solo as much as possible.

xiaotsu · Aug 15, 2006, 09:11 PM // 21:11

Get Prophecies, it's a much better game, and a lot more user-friendly. It actually lets you learn to use the class before pushing you into the real action.

LumpOfCole · Aug 15, 2006, 09:48 PM // 21:48

Proph is the overall more encompassing experience. It's a cruising pace instead of a speedboat pace. If you're looking into Guild Wars as a strictly PvP affair because you just want to PvP >90% of the time, then Factions is a better buy because it gets you through PvE a lot faster, and if you just think of PvE as purely the means to the PvP end, then Factions is a better starter choice. However, nothing in Cantha or Post-Searing Proph matches the beauty and feeling of Pre-Searing Proph. DEFINITELY, definitely add Proph to your game account.

Evilsod · Aug 15, 2006, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Prophecies missions > Canthan missions. Thats all there is to it.

Therlun · Aug 16, 2006, 01:42 AM // 01:42

Judgeing by you post I would say Prophecies is indeed the better chapter for you.

Factions greatly reduced the boring chore of PvE... which is a bad thing if you like that kind of thing I guess. :P

bigwig · Aug 16, 2006, 06:29 AM // 06:29

cantha isn't kind to newbies with the speed it moves you into tough areas. by comparison prophecies takes for-freaking-ever

Cebe · Aug 16, 2006, 09:45 AM // 09:45

Yeah, I bought Factions first - then bought Prophecies. to start off with I really hated Prophecies. It's growing on me a bit now, but I only really use it for the Prophecies-only skills etc... The first thing I noticed after moving my Canthan Elementalist to Tyria from Cantha is the harshness of the enemies. Unlike Cantha, where the enemies reach lvl 20 really fast, in Tyria the game developpers evidently thought "how many enemies can we possible pack into this tiny area?"

But like I say, I'm slowly getting used to Prophecies now, one of the worst enemies, I find, are the Jade Scarabs which pop out of the desert. You walk towards one, and four more pop up out of the sand...as you kill the last one another 2 or 3 pop up and another 4 come wandering over from elsewhere, then as you're killing them the devourers pop up as well - sometimes the sheer amount of enemies takes the piss. At least you know when you're about to attack the Jade Brotherhood, that they might be lvl 20, but you're not going to get another 8 of them popping up through the floor. Granted, the Am Fah occaisonally fall from the ceilings and Onis spawn in the Jade Sea/Echivold Forest, but it's obvious when it's going to happen, because it only ever happens in a dead-end or a narrow passage entrance, in Tyria, they pop up E V E R Y W H E R E!

I started another elementalist in Tyria and when I finally got her to lvl 4 I thought "sod this" and deleted her. I think when I get more patience I might start a ranger in Tyria - it's just SO slow over there. The bonus is that you do get spells for free.

Just4Ever · Aug 16, 2006, 06:24 PM // 18:24

Ok, so I just bought Proph the other day after work and I can't tell you how much more I like it. For one, the Asian theme is ok but it was kind of weird to start out there. And like you guys had mentioned, it feels much easier to get used to and I'm not facing high level guys after half an hour.

So far I have no complaints against Proph whatsoever although that may change. I don't think that it was a great idea for them to publish Factions as a stand alone due to the fact that you have no idea what is going on (especially with all the skills). I am by no means a newbie to RPGs but I gotta say that Factions is just a little much to be pushed into right away.

Thanks for the advice guys. You have made my playing experience so much better!

Riotgear · Aug 18, 2006, 05:18 PM // 17:18

I got Factions first, I'm not regretting it, levelling in Tyria is sloooow. Wanna do the PVE stuff? You can do that anyway, I hopped to Lion's Arch then backtracked to Ascalon. You still have to do a large amount of it if you're hoping to cap the badass elites in Ring of Fire.

I honestly like the Cantha mentality much better, it feels much less like the grindfest of most other heavy-levelling MMOs: Get up to level 20 in the noob zone, that way everything later on can be based on actual difficulty instead of a level cockblock.

Quote:

Unlike Cantha, where the enemies reach lvl 20 really fast, in Tyria the game developpers evidently thought "how many enemies can we possible pack into this tiny area?"

Ever notice how Meteor Shower, Incendiary Bonds, and Rodgort's Invocation are Prophecies-only? That's why.

Quote:

The bonus is that you do get spells for free.

The bonus of Canthan missions is that you get commendations that are worth significantly more, and all you have to do to afford skill purchases is go do ABs or Aspenwood for a while and sell jade/amber.

pug_ster · Aug 18, 2006, 07:49 PM // 19:49

For those who brought factions, the developers want to make you buy prophecies because you are missing certain things. Many bread and butter elite skills like, Shield of Judgement, Healing Hands, Spiteful Spirit, and glyph of energy as well as a many non elite skills are not available in factions.

For many people who just brought factions, I really think they are being more 'cheated' than those who got prophecies because its low replay value. You can create a new character in factions and probably finish the game in about 3 days. Whereas it will probably take at least 2 weeks to start a new char, do all the missions till titan's source.

Despite of that, NCsoft want put its resources to speed up development of Nightfall and not to put any more resources to create any additional quests or missions after the defeat of shiro.

Cymmina · Aug 19, 2006, 02:17 AM // 02:17

Factions has the better tutorials by far (the first mission teaches you about agro, etc.), but Prophecies is better for getting to know your character better since the missions aren't as challenging. Those of us who've had Proph for a long time can appreciate the faster leveling track of Factions because there's more missions that are designed for our maxed out characters.

I would recommend up through the first mission of Factions for new players, but everything else from Prophecies (minus runs) for a first time through for PvE'ers.

Horseman Of War · Aug 19, 2006, 08:56 PM // 20:56

i wonder how the levelling in nightfall will compare-> yes, after the grinding levelling in prophecies, it was kind of nice to be able to get a character to level 15 in one night.... but when i bought my 7th character slot, i created a primary Ele---- IN TYRIA!!! WOOT!!!

I think the biggest reason why assassins all suck (supposedly) is because people get their skillset, and ti doesnt change at all... meaning you become used to using a certain style which becomes useless against harder monster-types... apply poison+sharpen daggers??? Yeah I thought I was BAD MAMMA JAMMA... but now im surfing the jade, and the -8 degen just aint what it used to be...

Once I get the pre0order character slot with nightfall, i will be able to make a primary ranger for once--> hopefully Ill be able to run it in Nightfall- otherwise its tyria just like my new Ele... i really cant wait to have one of each profession!!

mez- gw1
war- gw1
necro-gw1
sin - gwF
rit - gwF
monk-gwF
ele - gw1

(paragon)
(devish) <gwN
(ranger)

sometimes i just keep typing even if i dont know why lol. hopefully something i said will inspire someone.

kyeo138 · Aug 29, 2006, 08:38 PM // 20:38

To me prophesies is GuildWars, and Factions is just an add-on. A well done add-on, but still just that.

Former Ruling · Aug 29, 2006, 09:11 PM // 21:11

Chapter 1 beats Factions in just about every contest you pit them in...

1) Its got a better Learning Curve because of the lvls of the monsters better evolves with your lvl. In factions is like...Your beating up monsters that aren't even lvl10 then get thorwn on a continent where all the monsters are lvl20 and you are expected to handle it.

2) Its PvE side is much longer and more satisfying. You'll actually feel like you did something by completing a part of the game, and theres much more content. Theres also the option of bypassing alot of content, if its your 3rd or 4th time through you might not want to do every boring quest and mission like in Factions - just go to the sweet spot.

3) Most of the skills people rely on for each of the first 6 classes is Chapter 1 specific. Go to the skills section and read how many "WHERE CAN I GET [This skill] IN FACTIONS?!@?@!!" threads there are. Thats because alot of the popular skills and builds rely on Chapter 1.

llsektorll · Aug 29, 2006, 11:19 PM // 23:19

prophesies being the core game is probably going to be larger than any of the expansion you should get it first.

MelechRic · Aug 30, 2006, 01:29 AM // 01:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

prophesies being the core game is probably going to be larger than any of the expansion you should get it first.

Ahh, but you see... Factions isn't an "expansion" it's a "stand-alone" game. At least that's what marketing tells me.

*whistles* *walks out of room* *hopes nobody flames*