Is it worth just buying the original?

So i really want to play guild wars but when i rang EB games they said they only have the original guild wars.. no expansions or anything, so do you think its worth getting it? As soon as they get the 2 expansions in stock i will probably get them but that could be in a while.

Thnx in advance.

if you like the skills, armor, weapons, and i guess titles.

The problem you have is due to the fact that Guild Wars has no expansions. What it does have is 3 different games.

If you plan on doing competitive PvP in Guild Wars, then owning all campaigns is a must.

Might be better to start in Nightfall first, since Prophecies can be somewhat deserted at certain points. But... EB games isn't the only place carrying GW, is it?

Personally, if you want to play PvE, I think Prophecies is the best. It's less tedious and less frustrating than the other two.

If you want to play PvP you probably need to get them all, or buy one and then buy the skill unlocks at the online store.

Wellp, depends on what you are looking for in Guild Wars. If you are looking for a long story, and lots of missions, go with Prophecies. It gives you the 5 base professions, all the core skills and some exclusive ones. The armor there is just as functional as any other chapter. If you get the GOTY edition (or purchase the 5$ upgrade after you buy the game), you can get some pretty nice weapons and off-hands too. It's a fairly nice balance of PvE and PvP content. Factions gave a lot more content to the PvP side, and NightFall added a whole lot to the PvE side. I feel it bears mentioning that many sources (including IGN) have said that NightFall is the best release so far, and quite possibly the best place to jump in. Don't let that, however, discourage you from diving into Prophecies. A lot of people still play it.

Citnarf, I take it your coming from the asia-pacific area, talking about EB.
GW doesn't have expansions because the games are called stand alone chapters.
And EB can get the newer chapters in. (I know from experience).

But on to the real question. You can buy the latest chapter and miss the first two, But in all honesty it would be like watch the last Lord of the rings movie with out seeing the first two.

Lol if you haven't seen lord of the rings yet, replace it with one of the Harry Potter films, or even star wars.

You can play the game just fine, but there will be elements that you missing out on.

Ok thanks for all your replies i will go and pick it up, and i do love PvE probably as much as PvP so will i get to do like ANY pvp at all or will i have to go buy the expansions before i can really PvP?

There are 6 core professions

If you plan on doing serious PvP, then it can be very frustrating tying to play against people with all the campaigns, when you only have one. However, there are probably people who manage to PvP with only one campaign, maybe.

Theres actually 6 base professions =p

Woot EB just rang me back and said that they have nightfall in there back room and they put them both away for me only one i will need to get now will be factions but EB games doesnt sell that anymore.

Still, you should play prophecies first. The pace is MUCH slower, and really gives you lots of time to learn.

Nightfall and Factions were designed with the idea that most people who buy them will already be experienced players who have been playing prophecies. Thus, the end-game areas are much more challenging, and a first time player will probably have extreme difficulty with the end-game areas in Nightfall, without the help of a competant and experienced team, but with the introduction of Heroes, this becomes more difficult to find. So it would be a good idea to find a decent guild, which may take some time, but it will be worth it once you get one.

So, I suggest you play prophecies first. Try out some different professions, at least get to Droknar's forge, and try to absorb as much as you can from other players, and even maybe the AI monsters. If you notice a particular monster is very challanging, pay attention to the skills it uses.

One more thing, http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Main_Page is a players best friend. Bookmark it and use it often.

I can't believe people are recommending getting Prophesies as the first to the series...

Nightfall offers the most polished content, along with providing the longest replayability factor and allowing the best synergy with the previous chapters.
The PRIMARY reason to get Nightfall first is because of the heroes.

The Primary reason to get Prophs first according to most of you is because its slower?... um ok. Prophesies is larger sure... but that doesnt mean the content is better compared to the current line.

The only reason to get prophesies right now is for general completion, and comparably moderate elites. Getting Factions first though, would be the biggest mistake since you will be absolutely alone by the last 5 missions.

Funny, I just completed factions on my ele today. I saw groups forming in Raisu, imperial sanctum, and even pugged The Eternal Grove myself...

Knowing what you're talking about FTW.

Not that many, really depends on the time of day.

Your EB store lied to you about Factions, they still sell it.
They may not have it and are just too lazy to do anything about it.

How is that stand-alone?

"Chapter" is not the official, preferred term any more. ArenaNet wants to avoid the impression that the campaigns are in any sequential order. However, if you play through Nightfall, you'll see that they are in a specific order. They're not really stand-alone... We just like to pretend they are.

And yeah... Factions is usually dead towards the later missions. It's a great game, and if you don't mind using Henchies then you'll be fine.

Hmm... let me think...

If I get Nightfall, I can only play as a Paragon or Dervish.

But if I get Prophecies, I can play as a Warrior, Ranger, Monk, Necromancer, Elementalist or Mesmer.

There are many other factors, but Prophecies will really give you more value for your money. And it's the best campaign to 'start' with, IMO.

I never really saw the three GW games as stand-alone, but then again I have all 3 of them linked together and so I just see them as one big game.

Anyways to answer the OP, considering Chapter 1 is so cheap now, I'd recommend getting the Game of the Year Edition and going with that.

Huh? No, the Prophecies six are core professions. You can be any of those with Nightfall only, along with the Paragon or Dervish. 8 options. Prophecies just happens to only have the 6 core professions.