Late Start...Should I just wait for GW2?

Hello! To make my story short, I've always heard how great Guild Wars is, but I never actually got around to playing it. I've been hooked on WoW and other games for a long time. Anyway, is it worth purchasing and playing now or should I just wait for Guild Wars 2? I just want some opinions from people. I know if I start playing now, I will be waaaaaaayyyy behind everyone else, but I guess I'll have to work for it. What does everyone think? Thanks for your honest answers.

People ask this pretty much every week, if not more frequently. Here are the most recent threads:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/w...t10502499.html
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/g...t10502199.html
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/b...t10501878.html

Start there and if you have any more specific questions ask away.

Hiya, I started playing around October-ish. I thought it might be too late also, but im doing really well and already have a lot and have done much of what other players have.

Guild wars is basically my first game to seriously play ever, as gaming is a brand new experience for me. Considering you are an experianced player of games, specifically MMO's. Then I can imagine that in a couple of months you could have done even more than what I have.

Gaining things and titles for Hall of Monuments(Guild Wars2 goodies) is not hard at all! Not only that but you would get to experience the lore of Guild Wars in preperation for gw2. So yes I think it would be well worth you getting it. It doesn't cost much and is a heck of a lot of fun to play.

Goodluck if you do purchase the game

I think having GW1 will help you learn the storyline yes, but I don't think however it's needed.

Heck yes! It's pretty inexpensive now to get started and NO monthly fees so have fun with it until (and even after) GW2 comes out. Nobody will beat up on you as quests and missions (and loot) are instanced. Kinda fun to have a little background lore as Life alludes to as well.

I've just picked it up myself for €10 a couple of days ago and am really enjoying it. Most of the areas seem rather quiet and there isn't much chatter (I'm on the Europe/English/District 1 server), but the game itself is rather fun, even if you spend most of it on your own.

yeah it is fun indeed. i bought all the games to get the game played and get some HoM :P.

That's because everybody is in the american districts these days (been so for at least the last 3 years), so join them if you want to see people. I'm from europe and I rarely have lag that disrupt my playing experience.

As for the OP, yes, you won't be able to play gw2 for at least 2-3 months, you'll be able to do the story and possibly fill 30/50 in your hom, depending on how much you play.

Hell Yea,
This is a great game, the art is wonderful; the settings amazing, and I very like the Dual Class system that allows you to make a very unique character. I think you'll have a great time. BB.

We get this question a lot. The short answer is - yes.

The long answer - In reality, GW2 is so much different from GW1 that it may as well be a whole other game. True, there is some "lore" that carries over from 1 to 2, but that won't affect gameplay at all. The bonuses that you get from the Hall of Monuments are merely cosmetic and won't give any advantage in GW2. If you are interested in lore, you can just read it all on-line.

But, while waiting for GW2 you may want to play something, and GW1 turns out to be a very good and in-expensive way to fill the gap until GW2 arrives. Play GW1 for it's own merits and don't obsess over lore and trinkets for GW2.

I have been asking myself the EXACT same question for the last couple of months. I'm an experienced gamer all the way back from Diablo 2, Neverwinter Nights (pvp oriented persistent world), WoW, and mostly from Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). However I've lost interest in my current gaming experience since LOTRO seriously is going downhill due to the shortterm greed and lack of developer dedication from Turbine, especially in the PVP aspect (which is important to me). It's definately time to move on to something more fun and interesting.

After watching the GW2 manifesto video online I freaking got a tear in my eye! These guys really understand us as gamers, they've been through the same struggles, they care about us and have the insight, guts and ability to make a game with innovations. For that reason alone I want to give the original Guild Wars a try. I've just got the GW trilogy today (for 199 swedish crowns, roughly 20 euros) and so far I'm loving it. I love the lore, the wide range of skills and personal experimenting options possible (I really like the idea of personal builds and dualclassing like in old Neverwinter Nights, no more boring sterotypic classes like in WoW and LOTRO where every warrior have the exact same skills and basicly plays in the same way). Suffice to say:

I don't care if GW2 will be a totally different game from GW1, I want to get involved in the story and the lore, both for myself and as a tribute to the cool & intelligentent developers behind it. I don't care if the only rewards in GW2 for finishing GW will be purely aesthetics, the rewards in background story & enjoyment will be more than enough for me. Also I definitely want to know what the people behind the game have been up to so far. I don't care if I will finish GW a couple of months after GW2 is released, I will finish it none-the-less, because I want to experience Tyria my way and because I know it will be rewarding in its own resepct.

The only thing I am missing atm is some cool friends to play Guild Wars with, so until I convince my stubborn WoW and LOTRO-friends to move on, if you know of any guild who might want a dedicated new member, or if you just want to team up for some challenging dungeons, feel free to let me know.

Hails & Respect!