Just bought the Guild Wars Complete Collection and I am lost - Guild Wars Forums

omniel · May 16, 2011, 06:38 PM // 18:38

Hi!

I just bought the collection and I am afraid I don't know where to begin. I read that leveling in Nightfalls is the place to start but I do have some questions.

1. If I decide to start in prophecies will I only be able to choose a secondary from that campaign even though I own them all?

2. If I start in Nightfall at what level would I be able to travel between campaigns?

3. If I would like to see all the content from all three campaigns, would you suggest starting a new character in each and taking the three up to max level?

4. Does GW1 stop as soon as GW2 begins or will us late comers have the opportunity to continue to work at GW1 before we switch over?

Thanks all!

Why? · May 16, 2011, 06:44 PM // 18:44

1. If you start in prophecies, you can eventually get any secondary, but not before you would ascend, or travel to another continent. I would strongly suggest starting in Nightfall, just to get a better, quicker start. You can go back and start another char in prophecies later.

2. It depends, but it happens pretty quick, the 3 mission allows access to the other campaigns.

3. No. Use 1 character to see everything. It just makes it easier, and more fun in my opinion. If you want to start new characters to see different professions before you decide which one you like best, you could do that too.

4. No. They've said they will keep the GW1 servers up as long as they possible can, well after GW2 comes out.

zeth006 · May 16, 2011, 06:46 PM // 18:46

1. No. In the Great Temple of Balthazar and elsewhere, you can change professions.

2. You gain the option to travel to other campaigns at Level 10.

3. No. You can see everything in all those campaigns using one character.

4. Not sure. I think one of the higher-ups at Arenanet said they'd continue supporting GW1. But my opinion is the support will start tapering off and waning as fewer people play it and more people go to GW2.

Bright Star Shine · May 16, 2011, 07:23 PM // 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Why?

1. If you start in prophecies, you can eventually get any secondary, but not before you would ascend, or travel to another continent. I would strongly suggest starting in Nightfall, just to get a better, quicker start. You can go back and start another char in prophecies later.

If you want a quicker start, I'd suggest starting in Factions, then traveling to NF and Eotn to get some heroes. NF has such a boring noob island where you have to grind your SS title and stuff like that. Whilst Factions does not. It's all personal preference though.

thejerk · May 16, 2011, 07:40 PM // 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bright Star Shine

If you want a quicker start, I'd suggest starting in Factions, then traveling to NF and Eotn to get some heroes. NF has such a boring noob island where you have to grind your SS title and stuff like that. Whilst Factions does not. It's all personal preference though.

Star shine is right...Proph takes the longestr to level up then NF is trhe second longest but u have to do that bullshit sunspear stuff. Factions is the fastest by far I might add, you can become level 20 in a couple of hours if you know what u are doing and be able to ascend by the time you are done with naphui...or closer to the stars quest.

Mr_Finesse · May 16, 2011, 07:42 PM // 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bright Star Shine

If you want a quicker start, I'd suggest starting in Factions, then traveling to NF and Eotn to get some heroes. NF has such a boring noob island where you have to grind your SS title and stuff like that. Whilst Factions does not. It's all personal preference though.

While Factions provides a "quicker start" (i.e. getting to level 20 and other content) if you want to get the most out of the lore of Guild Wars then I would start in Prophecies or Nightfall. Prophecies is by far the slowest ramp up, but the history there as well as the access to free skills as you progress is unmatched. Nightfall does start you off on "noob island" but for new players it's an excellent starting point and you can get to the other content at lvl 15-16ish. I would strongly advise against Factions due to the amount of quest griding and running around through a monotonous urban sprawl after you ascend to level 20. My own humble opinion though

wilebill · May 16, 2011, 07:47 PM // 19:47

My two cents, Nightfall. Sunspear title is not much trouble. Just check in with the priest at every shrine you see.

**cosyfiep** · May 16, 2011, 07:52 PM // 19:52

if you are just starting out, prophecies--it helps you get your feet wet and learn the mechanics of the game--
though if you bought the complete collection, you can start more than one character and (yes even before level 10 zeth006 is wrong here--only eye of the north has the level requirement). you can make more than one character, try out different professions (unlock skills......).

dont limit yourself to starting in just one spot---you characters can move between chapters, once you get to the outpost that allows that, so have fun--enjoy just playing around.

oh yeah
and
welcome to guild wars!

gremlin · May 16, 2011, 07:52 PM // 19:52

Hi and welcome to guild wars.

Prophesies first game in series slow character progression can cross to the other games in the series when you reach the major port of Lions Arch.
These are quests in each game to open up the port and enable sea travel to the other games.

Factions oriental in style opens up Assassin and Ritualist classes for primary and secondary.
Faster character progression.

Nightfall North African style game, a little faster character progression than Factions opens up Paragon and Dervish classes also gives you heroes "customisable Ai companions".

You could start a character in each and see which game appeals to you, no matter which game you begin your adventures in you can eventually follow the storyline of all the games.
exception prophesies start area can only be visited by beginning in prophesies.

Apache215 · May 16, 2011, 07:54 PM // 19:54

1. If you start in ANY campaign, you are confined to start with those, yet you are able to switch campaigns later on once you complete the requirements (varies by campaign).

2. You can switch at a variety of levels, just beat the first 3 missions.

3. Honestly, no, I would make a main character who does ALL the campaigns one by one (in order if you wish to understand the content) and then make other characters who you can use for PvP or PvE ex.(Assassins are used in many quick completions(runs) through dungeons in PvE).

4. No, GW1 has its own team that work specifically on THAT game, so it will continue to run even as GW2 starts and continues. They have confirmed this.

yayowars · May 16, 2011, 08:17 PM // 20:17

I don't see how starting from nightfall or factions can let you witness the events of pre-searing. It was so nice back then. I'd say, If you want the full experience, start one toon from each campaign, until they get to the mainlands (or L.A., Kamadan & Kaineng Center), while picking popular campaign specific classes. IMO would those be Derv and Rit for Nightfall and factions respectively, and anything from Prophecies (except ranger, it's hard to get a team with them (Q_Q)).

Inn regards to your questions, others have already answered them perfectly. I just thought that what I wrote should be mentioned in order to get the best feel out of the game (IMO of course)

Crom The Pale · May 16, 2011, 08:33 PM // 20:33

I would like to echo what you have heard already about starting in Prophicies.

This is the best place to start for experiancing the full story as it was intended. It is also a great way to learn the game mechanics if you have no experiance. It will not take you long to move between chapters but I would suggest you not rush. Take your time and enjoy the journey as that is a big part of GW.

dudemonkey · May 16, 2011, 09:24 PM // 21:24

Also, don't forget to enjoy the game. It's very easy to get hung up on going after titles and completing objectives and forget that GW is a fun, beautiful game to play. Campaign travel, ascension, and that sort of thing will all come in time.

Lasai · May 16, 2011, 09:55 PM // 21:55

Starting the game new.. I would suggest Proph for the story, but at the same time would suggest making a Factions or NF character as a "take a break" option from a very long storyline.

I would make a NF character if just to loot inscribables for my Proph toon.

chuckles79 · May 16, 2011, 10:44 PM // 22:44

Assuming that you want to enjoy the game and are not in a major hurry to max everything out for GW2 (GW1 is supposed to continue and will be supported after the release of GW2. Probably with a much smaller player base however) you can start from any campaign and enjoy the game.

Nightfall has the richest plot-line and will keep your interest the best; Factions allows you to level your character(s) up very quickly; and while Prophecies takes the longest to progress, it's only with a prophecies character that you can explore pre-searing Ascalon.

The keys to your success in this game will be joining a helpful, PvE focused guild that will help you get oriented and moving along. I also recommend wiki.guildwars.com for information.

There's no wrong class or campaign; however the current conventional wisdom is that you'll have a harder time with elementalists and rangers; and more than one person has left the game due to the sometimes achingly slow pace of the Prophecies campaign.

Silmar Alech · May 17, 2011, 01:21 PM // 13:21

I really don't understand why everyone recommends starting in Prophecies for a completely new player. This chapter teaches everything in the slowest manner possible, and it is totally deserted. One word: it's totally boring, and its protagonists appear somewhat wooden. You will probably play it all alone only with henchmen.

On the other hand, with Nightfall as starting campaign you get a moderately paced tutorial section and an interesting and more mythical story. The story in Prophecies is not understandable for a first-timer. Suddenly the arch-enemy pops up after 2/3 of the storyline and nobody understands from where he comes and what role all the other enemies played that where encountered so far and were left behind.

I really recommend Nightfall. It is a much more understandable start. You are also introduced to heroes (henchmen you can equip yourself), and a well-equipped hero is much better than a pre-made henchman. In Prophecies and Factions you obtain no heroes - you only play with henchman, which can be somewhat difficult.

There are also more players playing the nightfall storyline and willing to group with other players than there are prophecies players. In Prophecies, everyone only rushes through but don't introduce new players into the game.

The nightfall storyline is moderately paced - not too slow as Prophecies and not too fast as Factions. Regarding Factions: This is much too fast for beginners. You meet higher-level enemies much too early when you are not yet prepared for it. Dying often leads to frustration here. Nightfall is the perfect balance between those two.

With Nightfall, you also have immediate access to the city Kamadan, which is still the biggest trading hub in the game - although the new Embark Beach is intended to take over this role. But this has not happened yet.

Don't get me wrong: some time in the future, you should of course have started at least one character in every chapter including Prophecies to experience its tutorial section yourself. And to experience the story lines completely from the start. But not necessarily Prophecies with your first character.

aspi · May 17, 2011, 01:34 PM // 13:34

Hmm my 2 cents, I would start in prophecies. Don't listen to the it's empty and/or boring and you dont get heroes that fast. That is actualy a good reason to start there. It's also slow and boring for people who have allready finished the game a couple of times and makes you think about your build a few times without those lvl 20 heroes.

Also it's a nice starter area if you are not in a hurry to finish the game, and why should you be in a hurry to do this anyway.

Quaker · May 17, 2011, 03:03 PM // 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by omniel

1. If I decide to start in prophecies will I only be able to choose a secondary from that campaign even though I own them all?

Initially you will only be able to choose a secondary from the campaign you start in. But, the secondary you have at the start is not important - it's best at the start to concentrate on your primary. Later on, when you have access to the other campaigns (and the Temple of Balthazar), you can change your secondary to whatever you want, whenever you want.

Quote:

2. If I start in Nightfall at what level would I be able to travel between campaigns?

It's not a matter of level, it's a matter of location. Once your character gets to Lion's Arch (Prophecies), or Consulate Docks (Nightfall), or Kaineng Center (Factions), you can unlock travel to the other campaigns and Balthazar.

Quote:

3. If I would like to see all the content from all three campaigns, would you suggest starting a new character in each and taking the three up to max level?

It's not necessary to start 3 characters. You can see all of the content, except for Pre-Searing and a few starter quests, with any character. You can only do pre-searing with a new Prophecies character, and there are some starter quests (but not locations) that are only available for new characters in the beginning areas of each campaign.

Quote:

4. Does GW1 stop as soon as GW2 begins or will us late comers have the opportunity to continue to work at GW1 before we switch over?

No, GW1 will not stop.

May 16, 2011, 06:38 PM // 18:38	#1
omniel Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2011	Just bought the Guild Wars Complete Collection and I am lost Hi! I just bought the collection and I am afraid I don't know where to begin. I read that leveling in Nightfalls is the place to start but I do have some questions. 1. If I decide to start in prophecies will I only be able to choose a secondary from that campaign even though I own them all? 2. If I start in Nightfall at what level would I be able to travel between campaigns? 3. If I would like to see all the content from all three campaigns, would you suggest starting a new character in each and taking the three up to max level? 4. Does GW1 stop as soon as GW2 begins or will us late comers have the opportunity to continue to work at GW1 before we switch over? Thanks all!

May 16, 2011, 07:52 PM // 19:52	#8
cosyfiep are we there yet? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: in a land far far away Guild: guild? I am supposed to have a guild? Profession: Rt/	if you are just starting out, prophecies--it helps you get your feet wet and learn the mechanics of the game-- though if you bought the complete collection, you can start more than one character and (yes even before level 10 zeth006 is wrong here--only eye of the north has the level requirement). you can make more than one character, try out different professions (unlock skills......). dont limit yourself to starting in just one spot---you characters can move between chapters, once you get to the outpost that allows that, so have fun--enjoy just playing around. oh yeah and welcome to guild wars! __________________ where is the 'all you can eat' cookie bar?

May 17, 2011, 01:21 PM // 13:21	#16
Silmar Alech Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Europe Guild: Tom Son [TS] Profession: E/	I really don't understand why everyone recommends starting in Prophecies for a completely new player. This chapter teaches everything in the slowest manner possible, and it is totally deserted. One word: it's totally boring, and its protagonists appear somewhat wooden. You will probably play it all alone only with henchmen. On the other hand, with Nightfall as starting campaign you get a moderately paced tutorial section and an interesting and more mythical story. The story in Prophecies is not understandable for a first-timer. Suddenly the arch-enemy pops up after 2/3 of the storyline and nobody understands from where he comes and what role all the other enemies played that where encountered so far and were left behind. I really recommend Nightfall. It is a much more understandable start. You are also introduced to heroes (henchmen you can equip yourself), and a well-equipped hero is much better than a pre-made henchman. In Prophecies and Factions you obtain no heroes - you only play with henchman, which can be somewhat difficult. There are also more players playing the nightfall storyline and willing to group with other players than there are prophecies players. In Prophecies, everyone only rushes through but don't introduce new players into the game. The nightfall storyline is moderately paced - not too slow as Prophecies and not too fast as Factions. Regarding Factions: This is much too fast for beginners. You meet higher-level enemies much too early when you are not yet prepared for it. Dying often leads to frustration here. Nightfall is the perfect balance between those two. With Nightfall, you also have immediate access to the city Kamadan, which is still the biggest trading hub in the game - although the new Embark Beach is intended to take over this role. But this has not happened yet. Don't get me wrong: some time in the future, you should of course have started at least one character in every chapter including Prophecies to experience its tutorial section yourself. And to experience the story lines completely from the start. But not necessarily Prophecies with your first character. Last edited by Silmar Alech; May 17, 2011 at 01:24 PM // 13:24..

May 16, 2011, 06:44 PM // 18:44	#2
Why? Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Oct 2006 Guild: Society Of Souls [Argh] Profession: N/Me	1. If you start in prophecies, you can eventually get any secondary, but not before you would ascend, or travel to another continent. I would strongly suggest starting in Nightfall, just to get a better, quicker start. You can go back and start another char in prophecies later. 2. It depends, but it happens pretty quick, the 3 mission allows access to the other campaigns. 3. No. Use 1 character to see everything. It just makes it easier, and more fun in my opinion. If you want to start new characters to see different professions before you decide which one you like best, you could do that too. 4. No. They've said they will keep the GW1 servers up as long as they possible can, well after GW2 comes out.

May 16, 2011, 06:46 PM // 18:46	#3
zeth006 Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Apr 2008 Guild: N/A	1. No. In the Great Temple of Balthazar and elsewhere, you can change professions. 2. You gain the option to travel to other campaigns at Level 10. 3. No. You can see everything in all those campaigns using one character. 4. Not sure. I think one of the higher-ups at Arenanet said they'd continue supporting GW1. But my opinion is the support will start tapering off and waning as fewer people play it and more people go to GW2.

May 16, 2011, 07:47 PM // 19:47	#7
wilebill Desert Nomad Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mt Vernon, Ohio Guild: Band of the Hawk Profession: W/Mo	My two cents, Nightfall. Sunspear title is not much trouble. Just check in with the priest at every shrine you see.

May 16, 2011, 07:52 PM // 19:52	#9
gremlin Furnace Stoker Join Date: Oct 2006 Guild: GWAR Profession: Me/Mo	Hi and welcome to guild wars. Prophesies first game in series slow character progression can cross to the other games in the series when you reach the major port of Lions Arch. These are quests in each game to open up the port and enable sea travel to the other games. Factions oriental in style opens up Assassin and Ritualist classes for primary and secondary. Faster character progression. Nightfall North African style game, a little faster character progression than Factions opens up Paragon and Dervish classes also gives you heroes "customisable Ai companions". You could start a character in each and see which game appeals to you, no matter which game you begin your adventures in you can eventually follow the storyline of all the games. exception prophesies start area can only be visited by beginning in prophesies.

May 16, 2011, 07:54 PM // 19:54	#10
Apache215 Academy Page Join Date: Feb 2011 Profession: A/E	1. If you start in ANY campaign, you are confined to start with those, yet you are able to switch campaigns later on once you complete the requirements (varies by campaign). 2. You can switch at a variety of levels, just beat the first 3 missions. 3. Honestly, no, I would make a main character who does ALL the campaigns one by one (in order if you wish to understand the content) and then make other characters who you can use for PvP or PvE ex.(Assassins are used in many quick completions(runs) through dungeons in PvE). 4. No, GW1 has its own team that work specifically on THAT game, so it will continue to run even as GW2 starts and continues. They have confirmed this.

May 16, 2011, 08:17 PM // 20:17	#11
yayowars Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Oct 2010	I don't see how starting from nightfall or factions can let you witness the events of pre-searing. It was so nice back then. I'd say, If you want the full experience, start one toon from each campaign, until they get to the mainlands (or L.A., Kamadan & Kaineng Center), while picking popular campaign specific classes. IMO would those be Derv and Rit for Nightfall and factions respectively, and anything from Prophecies (except ranger, it's hard to get a team with them (Q_Q)). Inn regards to your questions, others have already answered them perfectly. I just thought that what I wrote should be mentioned in order to get the best feel out of the game (IMO of course)

May 16, 2011, 08:33 PM // 20:33	#12
Crom The Pale Furnace Stoker Join Date: Nov 2006 Guild: Ageis Ascending Profession: W/	I would like to echo what you have heard already about starting in Prophicies. This is the best place to start for experiancing the full story as it was intended. It is also a great way to learn the game mechanics if you have no experiance. It will not take you long to move between chapters but I would suggest you not rush. Take your time and enjoy the journey as that is a big part of GW.

May 16, 2011, 09:24 PM // 21:24	#13
dudemonkey Academy Page Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NYC Guild: DOTR Profession: W/	Also, don't forget to enjoy the game. It's very easy to get hung up on going after titles and completing objectives and forget that GW is a fun, beautiful game to play. Campaign travel, ascension, and that sort of thing will all come in time.

May 16, 2011, 09:55 PM // 21:55	#14
Lasai Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Apr 2009 Profession: R/	Starting the game new.. I would suggest Proph for the story, but at the same time would suggest making a Factions or NF character as a "take a break" option from a very long storyline. I would make a NF character if just to loot inscribables for my Proph toon.

May 16, 2011, 10:44 PM // 22:44	#15
chuckles79 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Mar 2009 Guild: FILA Profession: P/	Assuming that you want to enjoy the game and are not in a major hurry to max everything out for GW2 (GW1 is supposed to continue and will be supported after the release of GW2. Probably with a much smaller player base however) you can start from any campaign and enjoy the game. Nightfall has the richest plot-line and will keep your interest the best; Factions allows you to level your character(s) up very quickly; and while Prophecies takes the longest to progress, it's only with a prophecies character that you can explore pre-searing Ascalon. The keys to your success in this game will be joining a helpful, PvE focused guild that will help you get oriented and moving along. I also recommend wiki.guildwars.com for information. There's no wrong class or campaign; however the current conventional wisdom is that you'll have a harder time with elementalists and rangers; and more than one person has left the game due to the sometimes achingly slow pace of the Prophecies campaign.

May 17, 2011, 01:34 PM // 13:34	#17
aspi Desert Nomad Join Date: Jan 2010 Guild: eeew Profession: N/Rt	Hmm my 2 cents, I would start in prophecies. Don't listen to the it's empty and/or boring and you dont get heroes that fast. That is actualy a good reason to start there. It's also slow and boring for people who have allready finished the game a couple of times and makes you think about your build a few times without those lvl 20 heroes. Also it's a nice starter area if you are not in a hurry to finish the game, and why should you be in a hurry to do this anyway.