Is GW1 a good choice for me?

Hi,
I am new here and hoping to get a little insight into GW1. I have played the trial and loved it. I know that it is an older game but it installed and runs perfectly on my linux machine. I like the controls also. I am new to online gaming but my husband plays lotro and neverwinter. I prefer GW1 as my screen is not littered with shortcuts and buttons. I also prefer to play solo. A bunch of the new games have quests that require large groups...not my style. Can GW1 be played solo? I would also hate to buy the trilogy only to have the game terminated in a few months because of lack of players. What are your thoughts? Should I try GW2 instead? I read that it doesn't play the same as GW1.

Thanks,
Penny

First off welcome to guru, it is always nice to have more people in the community. To answer your question directly Guildwars will not be terminated in a matter of months and in my opinion could stay up for another decade. There are still quite a few people who play it and even more who come back once in a while just to check things out. I actually left gw for Gw2 and was disappointed they are totally different games and to my experience gw2 is full of broken promises of change. I do recommend trying gw2 if you can find a free trial however because it may fit your style, its not a bad game, just not the game it said it was. Guild wars can be played completely solo. There is never a time when you absolutely need people but they can make things much easier. guild wars has henchmen that you can bring with you in every outpost and in nightfall and eye of the north they introduced heroes which are basically customize able henchmen where you control their skills and to a lesser extent their behavior. Guild wars is a very fun game in my opinion and it very much requires strategy and especially when you play alone you may have to think about things to overcome obstacles or tricky situations but there are many mature great people playing that are very willing to help new players. wow thats wordy sorry I didn't mean to sound like a sales person
Hope this helped

they game wont be terminated in that short amount of time, and if anet does well (which they have done mostly with GW) it prolly exists years after today

GW can be soloed mostly (not all areas), but you would need trilogy and eotn to enjoy it on its fullest

you'll have to learn about heroes and their builds, cuz they will do most work if you give them working builds
you can play around with many skills, and do most stuff solo, just not solo as in your char only, you'll need heroes (npc's in your team)

GW was my very first MMO i ever had, and its still the only MMO i really enjoy these days i play for almost 8 years, and nearly never could take a break, cuz i have so many goals and ideas of builds (bought many char slots and such) to still enjoy the game

it was really easier than most MMO's i played after GW, so GW could be seen (for me) as great help to learn about MMO's... its just that its 1 of a kind, as there's nothing like GW anywhere

GW2 is more like other MMO's, so if you dont like any other MMO, you better stick with GW, and learn about it, and all its features ingame

when hard mode was new, i hd no chance of doing it alone, now i did it with my own heroes in kessex peak with war in kryta spawns on (way harder than normal)
i used some death penalty removers (rainbow candy canes and honeycombs), but those also give sweet tooth title points, so thats 2 flies with 1 consumables

i'd say: buy the whole thing, as its cheap (i paid like 50(?) euro for each campaign back then), and you will be able to play without monthly fees, so you can take breaks anytime

then we have a forum right here, where there's many people who'd love to help people who are new

shot about GW back then and GW now:
GW was way more populated at 1 point, but most people have done what they want, and moved on
i keep making own goals, so i got enough to do

and i see many newbies joining GW everyday (i dont see em everyday, unless i'm in starter areas)
join people here, and if you find a nice guild, you can get lots of help and you'll learn how to play alone with heroes, so you can also try to solo alot with those in your team

if you buy it: dont complete eotn and prophecies unless you can get help with war in kryta, or else you'll keep getting stronger enemies spawns
but with a nice guild, you most likely will find people who can help you

just try to focus on learning about the game, then worry about other things (if you even need to)
again: use these forums to get help with stuff

also, enjoy all events we get, as some may give you money, and others give you lots of stuff to do

when noone can help you at a certain time, try this site to see if it helps you:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
it takes some before you know how to search for stuff (i think), but once you know, you can learn alot about GW's basics already

welcome to the forums (and i hope to GW too)
ps. i wont buy GW2 as its not my kinda game, just like many othr MMO's i played

You can surely solo most of the game, except some high-end areas. We're still talking months of experience depending on how often you play.

Heroes are certainly a big help, but only once you unlocked enough skills to make decent builds for them. Until then, henchmen are ok.

If you run into any situation where your party wipes or can't seem to get past some nasty foes, you usually just need a change of tactics. Perhaps interrupting more, perhaps spread out or move your team away from AE damage, or more careful pulling. Part of the fun with GW is figuring out and overcome those obstacles. Going with full hero builds with most optimal builds will make you breeze through the game, but it will also bore you quickly as you'll lack good challenges.

Following what the others have said, there are some missions which can be difficult for a new player to get past solo. These are usually towards the middle/end of each campaign though. I won't spoil it for you, but the wiki is a good place to look for strategies if you're stuck. Alternatively, there are a number of us on here that are currently playing through Prophecies together on a casual basis and would be happy to help out wherever you're up to.

As for GW2, the leveling experience is fun, but the number of other players around to do events dwindles when you move beyond the first few areas. You might prefer that though. Once you reach max level, much of the remaining PvE content is group-based, though you could try your hand at some of the new fortnightly content which seems oriented more towards casual play. In terms of starting new characters, personally I prefer GW1 because progression is less about reaching the max level or 'gearing up' and more about playing through the story, unlocking skills and achieving whatever other goals you set yourself. Also, playing a new profession provides a more different experience than it does in GW2 in my opinion.

Thanks everyone. I will get the trilogy later today. I am looking forward to playing.

Penny

Sounds like your perfect match, GW1 is great for solo players and groupers alike. You can stick a few henchmen NPCs in your party to fill the void or just go all henchmen. Heroes are superior henchmen which can be customized to your liking with builds and equipment.

The entire game can be done with them, but there are always snags new players are going to hit so welcome and throw me a PM if you ever need help.

Don't forget that later on if you felt like spending the extra cash, mercenaries are also available to you to customize.

Thank you all. I bought the trilogy and so far I am really enjoying it. I think I will be playing this for a long time. I did notice several players in the newb zone so it looks like it still holds interest.

Thanks,

Penny

GW1 has entered automation and will not get any new content/patches so GW2 is a far more maintained game at the moment. I don't really see it as likely Anet will start to develop on GW1 again. That said, GW1 is really solid and enjoyable with all campaigns, and you can solo most content maybe not the final elite missions "at the end" although hero-build aficinados will be able to tweak their heroes to accomplish amazing feats

Enjoy your time - those new players you're seeing are either veterans re-rolling alts or people in same boat as you.