Originally Posted by the savage nornbear

1. Lag isn't too bad. Also, I run max specs on my mid level laptop.

2. Assassin's are good. They do much damage. The proper terminology is a shitton.

3. PvP varies on levels. RA has lots of games going. HA has less.

4. PVP characters can be made right from the start, and begin at max level and stats.

5. Eye of the North has dungeons, new skills (non elite), heroes, armor, as well as PvE only skills.

6. Its a different game. I've only played the trial for WoW, so others will be better suited to answer. I will say that is a game that allows itself to be put down. I am in the midst of a break right now.

Originally Posted by crazybanshee

1. It's not really all one server per se, I assume it's more than that. There's districts, like american, european etc. but you can freely switch between them. I often find that switching around if I'm lagging I can find a server that is less laggy. However, having played other mmorpgs the lag in gw isn't as terrible, since you basically load up your instance and go. I'm on dsl with a pretty decent computer and only have lag on very busy weekends.

2. Assassin isn't usually the best if you're just learning the game, but that being said it's not impossible. If you want to start an assassin, you'd have to start in factions which has the steepest learning curve of any of the gw games. You might want to start in a different game since the others have better beginner areas (prophecies has the best albeit longest, nightfall gives you heroes early on which are usually better than the henchmen available in towns) which means you'd have to pick something other than assassin. Other melee classes are warrior (available in all games) or dervish (available in nightfall only) If you want to stick with assassin, elementalist secondary is popular.

3. There's always pvp going on. If you're just starting, do pve first. This will unlock more skills for you and let you learn the game. If you start off in pvp you'll only have a set build that isn't very good. You can pretty much pick any kind of pvp any time of the day or night and do it.

4. The level cap in gw is 20. Pve characters start out at level 1 and go up. pvp characters start at level 20, but can't access any pve areas. But you can make one immediately, delete it, remake it, they'll always be level 20.

5. Eye of the north brought a fairly small (content-wise) expansion with lots of repeatable dungeons (most of which you will have little desire to repeat, some of which you will repeat ad nauseum) It brought some rehashed armor, some brand new cool looking weapons, and some wickedly overpowered pve only skills. It also has some of the best farming areas and skills, so I'd highly recommend it.

6. Everyone will have an opinion on this. Gw does not equal wow or lotro. It's somewhat smaller (5 million-ish people instead of 10 million-ish) content wise smaller, slightly less grindy (not to say it's not grindy, but slightly less) And more time friendly. There are no 40 man raids. Most areas will use up to 8 people, a couple use 12 people. And for some of them you can fill in with your heroes if you don't have enough people, so no spending hours and hours just forming a group. Plus no 10 hour raids or anything. It's just as addictive in a different way, but the best part about gw is that you don't have that "guilt" that forces you to play since you're paying for it. If life gets busy, stop playing for a while. You can pick up right where you left off, without worrying that you've paid for 2 months and not played. That's just my opinion.

Originally Posted by crazybanshee

>>SNIP<<

Originally Posted by HotPocket

OK, so what is a good pair with an assassin?

And what is an elite skill?

Originally Posted by HotPocket

And what is an elite skill?

Originally Posted by HotPocket

1) If it is all one server, is the server laggy?

Originally Posted by Haxor

Just to clarify on this; the skill system in GW is pretty unique in MMO's. For example, you are limited to a number of 8 total skills at any given time, forcing you to focus on strategic elements to maximize your potential.

There are 3 types of skills, generally speaking.
1. Elite skills
These skills are limited to one per bar (= set of skills you have equipped). This skill is (or should be, some of them really aren't good) basically supercharged, and highly powerful. It's usually the focus of a build.


2. Regular skills
These skills are standard skills, which usually comprise the majority of a bar. They generally grow more effective as you invest more in the attribute they belong to. Most of these skills are the same wherever you go, however not all of them. Some skills have what is called a PvP version, which will be indicated by the (PvP) behind the skill name once you enter a PvP area.

2.1 PvP version
Certain skills have PvP versions, which alter the effect or effectiveness of that skill. This is so it is still usable in PvE with a good portion of effectiveness, but isn't ridiculously overpowered in PvP. This is usually done by affecting the damage scale of a skill, but it can also mean a complete rework of the skill.


3. PvE only skills
These skills, which are usable in the Player versus Environment aspect of the game only, are highly powerful. They are limited to 3 per bar, and are often a staple in PvE builds. Most of the PvE only skills have been introduced in Eye of the North, although some are present in Factions and Nightfall. Their level of effect is determined by rank in certain allegiance titles, and they become more powerful as your rank in that title grows.



Also, on the difference between GW and other MMO's. It's far less focussed on dedication than most other MMO's. Maxed out gear is reasonably easy to find. "Perfect" weapons are for sale everywhere, and can be crafted for as little as 5k, although buying a green (unique - drops only from a certain boss) can be far, far cheaper.

It thus lacks the strong trading, mining, fishing and so on elements that some other games like WoW have. It has trading, obviously, but at a smaller scale. In this game, it's not about the stats on your stuff - it's about how shiny it is.


As for PvP, it's something I would strongly recommend against getting in to if you're a new player. You will be insulted, criticized, and highly likely utterly decimated in most places. It's a far better idea to start off in PvE (possibly with a somewhat sturdier profession than an assassin, which can have a steep learning curve), so you can learn the basics of the game. It will also help you unlock skills, which you can use to make better builds for your character, so you can be more effective.


Last, but not least, here are some resources that should come in handy:
PvXwiki - a wikipedia which has a lot of builds for Guild Wars, both in PvP and PvE.
GuildWiki - A community maintained unofficial wiki about everything Guild Wars. If you have a question, it most likely has an answer.
Guild Wars Wiki - The official Guild Wars wiki. It has skill updates, and several ArenaNet employees have blogs here which elaborate on new and upcoming changes.



PS.
The community in this game can be quite hostile, I suppose you should be warned for that before you buy the game. They will often insult you, your skill, your family or even your recently-deceased dog. It is by no means completely shit, but a large portion of the people (especially in PvP and 'high-end' PvE) can become quite hostile if they feel you've wronged them somehow - which is usually not difficult to accomplish.