i want to buy the game....but i'm confused

hi i am not sure about two thing before i buy the game

1.whats the difference between the expansion packs and do i need original guild wars to add an expansion pack. i have no idea what to buy, i want to play the latest guild wars but i am confused about what to buy.

2. if i buy the game from the website, will i be able to download the game and be given a key or will the game be sent by mail?

help

The campaigns (Prophecies, Factions & Nightfall), you could have any of the three to start off. You can travel to any of the continents that each campaign takes place in pretty much whenever you want (obviously you'd have to buy each campaign to travel between.)

Eye of the North is the most recent, but it's only an expansion (I bought the Prophecies/EotN double pack, my first GW purchase lol), Nightfall is the most recent other than that. I found Prophecies more fun than Nightfall, but with Nightfall you'll get heroes and extra character choices so probably best to go with that.

I bought Factions online and got an email with a Key, added the key and that was it, it'll probably be something similar for you.

Paraphrasing and expanding on the answer you already have above:

1. There are three GW chapters and one expansion.

The expansion, Eye of the North, is the latest GW addition but it has to be added to one of the three chapters, it can't be played on its own. You'll get heroes with this. The storyline completes that begun in the original game.

Prophecies is the original Guild Wars game. It's the longest and slowest of the three chapters but it's a good introduction to the game IMO. You get access to the six core professions here: warrior, ranger, elementalist, mesmer, necromancer, monk.

Factions is the second chapter. It's the shortest of the three and goes incredibly fast, but it can be quite a challenge for a new player because of this. Fun if you like lots of very fast very large potentially lethal combats. Six core professions again, plus assassin and ritualist. Storyline isn't really linked to the original.

Nightfall is the most recent standalone chapter. Length and pace is in between the other two. Has the added benefit of heroes - controllable henchmen with fully customisable skillbars - but you will need to unlock skills across a variety of professions to make them really useful. Six core professions again, plus dervish and paragon this time. Storyline ties in a little with the first two, so if you care about that then you might want to do those first.

2. You won't be given a hard copy of the game if you buy it online (definite). You'll need to download it and will be given a key (I assume).

First some basics.

1. Guild Wars Prophicies (The first game), full campaign
2. Factions, full campaign
3. Nightfall, full campaign (has heroes)
4. Eye of The North, expansion (has heroes)
5. Bonus mission pack

You can buy 1,2, or 3 first, it does not matter, but you must have 1,2, or 3 (any will allow access) to have access to 4. I do not have 5 so I can't say for sure what you need, however I would not worry with it because 1-4 will keep you busy for a long time.

If you ask the guru forum what to buy first you will get several different opinions. As far as what to buy will be your own decision based on what you like. If you are very interested in the story line then I would purchase them in order from 1-5. If that is not too important the I would purchase Nightfall first and Eye of the North second. My main reason for that is you will have access to heroes, otherwise you will have to play with other people or henchmen. The henchmen generally suck and you run a 50/50 chance of getting in a crappy group of human players.

I bought all of my games from http://www.plaync.com/us/
Downloading the game is free, but you will not be able to play without a key. The key is really what you are paying for. Its a very easy process, its a pretty fast download, and they will email you a key as Zeb said. They are also running a buy one get on 1/2 off special right now, so its a good time to buy. I have also seen some post about amazon.com having the games very cheap.

Take a few minutes and browse the following websites:

http://www.guildwars.com/
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

There are tons of useful information on these sites, especially the wiki site.


One other quick note. If you buy online you will not get a hardcopy like Smartypants said, but not to worry. If your computer ever crashes all you have to do is download the game again (free) and then use your account log on. You will not loose anything.

thank you all !!!!!!! everything makes much more sense now.

For the most part, you are buying the keys, you do not need the hard copy. In fact, I've had to reinstall the game several times because of reformatting, getting new equipment, etc. and I just downloaded the client from the GW site. I didn't bother with the CD's. Also, once I registered, I didn't need to resubmit my key.

Too bad you didn't think of this a couple of weeks ago. Amazon was selling the campaigns for $5 for Black Friday. Cheapest place to buy is E-Bay. You can pick up the Trilogy for around $40. The Trilogy doesn't include the expansion. Look for the best deal on the whole shot, whether it be buying individuallly or together because you probably will want access to the whole game. Each campaign has its' advantages.

If I was buying, now, and couldn't get the whole thing, I would buy Prophesies and Nightfall, then the expansion, and lastly Factions. Having said that, Factions ended up being my favorite campaign.