Curious about PvP characters

I've only made roleplaying characters so far but I understand that there is no way to change your skills or equipment and you are prohibited from entering non-pvp areas. Is there anything I'm not aware of about the premade pvp chars? I ask because a friend of mine is interested only in pvp and this game doesn't seem to appeal to that crowd at all.

only for beta

there may or may not be pre made characters in the retail

if so they will not be allowed out of pvp

however if you create a character and take it level 20 or whatever along the way you are free to do all the things the premade cant

pvp or pve your choice
change skills your choice
reshuffel skill points your choice

does that help?

EDIT

the PVP people are fanatic about it and this beta weekend coming up promises more of a look at the pvp aspect

you are kidding right? this game is all about PvP.

as far as the pre-mades go. there are some bugs/features that allow them to change their skills. they are restricted to PvP areas for the most part but again some bugs/features was letting them get to ascalon.

the way i view the pvp only prebuilds is that they are a great way to try out a class combo before you go through all the trouble of leveling one.

they are also a great way to get into the pvp and have fun for those of us who can only handle about 45min-1hour of pve without getting bored out of our skulls.

lol, Hi Aedra!

It is true that if you make a PvP character you can only go to PvP areas such as tombs, Arena, and guild hall. As of last BWE, on the other hand, I was able to give my premade skill charms/necklaces to learn new skills (this may be an exploit though, I was under the impression you weren't supposed to be able to do that. ). You can also give them weapons too I hear; you just can't customize them.


Edit: wow, everyone posted at exactly the same minute.

Also, as a side note, this game really was made specifically for PvP (I think they even made the PvP before the PvE). And, yes, the current information says pre-mades will be in retail.

Wow talk about quick response! Hi Cleo

lol What I meant was the pvp only crowd in the literal sense. You know those people that want to spend exactly zero seconds killing things controlled by AI or else this game is a total waste of time? I'm exaggerating a little but you know those people are out there!

That's what the people above meant. The game has an arena where only players fight. You can create a pre-made level 20 character and go fight in the pit.

[QUOTE=Augmento]you are kidding right? this game is all about PvP.
QUOTE]

actually not kidding

compare the amount of real estate devoted to exploring and missions to the PVP areas (PVE by orders of magnatude)

check out the amount of effort and time building each component (AGAIN PVE BY ORDERS OF MAGNATUDE)

when they add a new chapter with as much content as the original it will probably be in the same ratio

which does not mean that pvp is being slighted

it seems they are making something nice for both

i thank them for it

I was assuming that PvP only characters couldn't change equipment at all but I guess that assumption was wrong. Still, they need to earn that equipment (and new skills) through PvE so my concern still remains. After reading The Importance of Items I'm rather convinced PvE was required for competitive play in GvG and tomb battles in the state Guild Wars was in last BWE and that just isn't acceptable for my friend. I guess I'll tell him to go back to his FPS games for now

it does not seem to be the game he is dying for

There are currently 20 pre-made for PvP characters. They *will* be available for release. But your friend should know something before he decides that he will skip everything and go strait to PvP: he's going to get pwned by people that invested time for the best skills and items while he just decided that a crappy pre-made build and a test bow would suffice. While he will probably do very well for the first few days, when all the people that went strait for the PvE part of it catch up, he's screwed.

I really wish it weren't like that. If that's truly the case, I think the pre-made characters need to be given better stuff. I'm not saying they should get all sorts of incredible equipment for free, but they shouldn't be reduced to nothing but test characters who are going to get mowed down in the end. They should be a viable option for people who don't want to PvE at all. RP characters should be better because they have more choices, not because they can become more buff. At least, that's my view. Since the devs keep saying equipment isn't supposed to make that big of a deal anyway, and they can never get new stuff, I don't see why they shouldn't get a bit of an upgrade.

PvP characters are never going to be viable outside the early rounds of a tournament. Why? Inflexibility. They aren't going to have the different options, the different equipment sets to swap between that a full RP character will have. They aren't going to have as much internal synergy as a custom character. They won't fit into a team, and fill in weaknesses as well as one custom made for the job. They just won't fit the player of the character as well as one that the player has tailored around his own strengths.

They're a nice option, for someone who just wants to jump in and take a peek. But long term? They aren't going to even smell the top tiers of competition. There's just too much planning before the match, the strategy and synergies that go into individual characters and teams, for a bunch of premades to even dream of matching up.

Peace,
-CxE

Probably unavoidable. It's too bad, really, but I guess you can't have everything. I wonder if ArenaNet even counted on having people who don't want to PvE at all in order to remain competitive.

I'm sure that Anet is well aware that there are players who just want to plug in, design a top notch character with all the bells and whistles, and go PvP with it.

Just like there are players on the other end of the spectrum who are likely complaining profusely that they have to PvP to advance the plot, and want to grind until they're level 250 and can turn into an Arch-Lich.

You can't make everyone happy, so they've figured out where they want to go with the game, what they want to make it, and are going to run with that. The people on the extremes will find the game lacking, while the people who appreciate the blend will (hopefully) love the game.

It's just part of the business.

Peace,
-CxE

There are things going on right now that I can't talk about, however I am fairly certain we will have premades in release, but I believe you will have to still do PvE to aquire your skills, armor, weapons, etc...

So those aren't like the premades we know of, but rather like the normal RPG characters, starting at lvl 20, right ?

wishful thinking

and he mentioned a NDA so dont bother trying for what he cant/wont tell

its less than 2 months away which is right around the corner

Perhaps there will be some way for pre-made characters to improve themselves through PvP, just as roleplaying characters do through PvE. If pre-mades could earn skill points, and some way to buy armor and weapons it might even things up a bit. Merchants and trainers could offer them special skill and equipment lists, available only to pre-mades, that would allow them to spend some sort of points earned through PvP matches to upgrade their arsenals. All of the equipment could be flagged untradeable.