Guild Wars?

[Godly Paladin]

So what do I need to get into Guild Wars at this point (clients, expansion packs), and is it worth it? Does anyone here play?

Just thought I'd clarify - I'm not sure what I'm supposed to buy to get playing. Do you have to get Guild Wars + Factions + Nightfall + Eye of the North, or do some include the previous editions or what? Or do you just pick one?

[Godly Paladin]

Think I answered my own question. Although if anyone wants to give their input on the game...

[Omega Amen]

So what do I need to get into Guild Wars at this point (clients, expansion packs), and is it worth it? Does anyone here play?

Well, I just made a thread asking for other Guild Wars players here.... Only Tarnish responded so I guess it is not that popular on CAA. But if you want our character names PM us.

As for actually considering whether it is worth it, you can go to a local Gamestop/EB Games and pick up the Guild Wars Trilogy Trial DVD for around $2. It will give you up to 10 hours of playtime for each of the three main games over a 14 day period. You will have to create a master NCSoft account and Guild Wars account to try this out. One nice thing is there is no subscription fee. Pay for the game, and that is it.

A few clarifications on Guild Wars. Although you will see it referred as an MMORPG, it really an online action RPG. The developer, ArenaNet, used to be a part of the original Diablo and Diablo 2 games. So the combat is very quick, and it emphasizes strategic choices of skills for your character. I actually think it is more similar in some sense to an online FPS co-op (cooperative player missions) and FPS deathmatch (PvP combat). In fact, as far I can tell, the game has taken measures to let you play the campaign by yourself if you want to.

Also, there are three full games of Guild Wars (which have independent storylines) and one expansion pack (which requires one of the three full games). The three full games are: the original Guild Wars (referred as Guild Wars: Prophecies), Guild Wars: Factions, and Guild Wars: Nightfall. The expansion pack is Guild Wars: Eye of the North, which continues the storyline of Guild Wars: Prophecies.

Guild Wars: Prophecies has the typical European-inspired setting. Factions is Asian-inspired, while Nightfall is Egyptian/North African-inspired. Eye of the North holds some importance for the planned sequel Guild Wars 2 next year. Characters in Eye of the North will have "descendants" in Guild Wars 2, essentially a type of transporting characters and guilds for the sequel.

So there you go. I am really liking Guild Wars: Prophecies (the original and the cheapest). If I keep liking it, I might go straight to the expansion pack.

[Godly Paladin]

Now I must have it. I dislike traditional grinding RPGs and LIVE for old-school action RPGs. I'm getting Prophecies from a friend tomorrow, and I simply cannot wait. I've always wanted a free to play RPG to sink some time in when I can, and this sounds like my best ticket. Factions sounds tempting, though, for its Japanese styling.

[Omega Amen]

Now I must have it. I dislike traditional grinding RPGs and LIVE for old-school action RPGs.

That is one note I would like to elaborate on. You really get experience points from completing quests, not from killing enemies. This can actually put you in a severe disadvantage if you skip sub-quests (which are many). This also means simple grinding is not really encouraged. That being said, I am experiencing a couple of long treks to complete some quests, but I have felt I made some progress in improving my character, completing quests, or moving the storyline in 1-hour to 2-hour playing sessions.

Of course, this might change later in the game, but so far I like the hack-and-slash gameplay being rewarded in relatively small playing sessions.

There is also a very sophisticated PvP section that I have yet to explore. One could just create a character just for PvP and just play against other people. Or you can spectate matches including ranked guild matches all over the world.

[Godly Paladin]

Recently I've been disappointed by games not even running on my laptop. I'm used to lowest graphics settings and undesirable framerates, but like I said it seems like the last four or five games I've tried to play haven't even worked.

Windows XP
1 GB DDRII RAM
Intel Integrated 950 Graphics Chipset (256 MB, shared)
Core Duo (1.6 GHz)

Will it run, do you think?

[Omega Amen]

First let me address with Guild Wars running on your laptop according to your specs.

Windows XP
1 GB DDRII RAM
Intel Integrated 950 Graphics Chipset (256 MB, shared)
Core Duo (1.6 GHz)

Will it run, do you think?

You have the right operating system. Your RAM and CPU are above the stated minimum system specification according to the Guild Wars information. In fact, it seems like these particular components are close to their recommended system requirements.

I had to look at Intel's website on information about your integrated graphics chipset. It seems it should be able to handle the graphics of Guild Wars just fine according to the Guild Wars minimum system specification. Just do not be surprised if you cannot comfortably play at the highest resolution with every single special graphic effect turned on.

Guild Wars was originally released at Fall 2005, I believe. It is definitely not a polygon pusher that requires bleeding-edge hardware. Like many other MMORPGs, Guild Wars wants to attain a very large worldwide online PC community. So it is not going to demand the latest hardware.

I believe Guild Wars will be playable on your laptop if you have been maintaining your laptop properly. I would not worry about it.

Now, about your PC playing games in general.

Recently I've been disappointed by games not even running on my laptop. I'm used to lowest graphics settings and undesirable framerates, but like I said it seems like the last four or five games I've tried to play haven't even worked.

If you are serious about PC gaming, I strongly suggest you have at least 2 GB of system RAM with Windows XP, and at least 4GB of system RAM if you go to Windows Vista.

An Intel Core 2 Duo processor is a very good choice in today's market, but for gaming I would recommend you get one with a frequency that is at least above 2 GHz.

Finally, your graphics chipset is your most important component for PC gaming, and Intel's integrated graphics chipsets simply do not cut it for serious PC gaming... not even close. The two quality graphics hardware manufacturers are ATI and Nvidia. I am familiar with Nvidia's hardware lineup, and I would suggest looking at their 7000 family as a minimum with at least 256 MB of video RAM.

My suggestions here will not make your PC a super machine that can play the latest games with the latest graphical effects, but it will be able to play a lot of them and look nice.

[Godly Paladin]

Thanks for the tips, but I'm thankful I have a computer of my own at all. I'm going to go to 2 GBs here soon, but I'm not really 'serious' about PC gaming until I'm out of college and have a good savings account built up. At that point I do plan on getting a good upgradeable desktop rig.

Relieved to hear it will run, however.

[Godly Paladin]

For those interested, after I got an extra gigabyte of RAM, my weakling comp runs Guild Wars at max settings PERFECTLY. It looks gorgeous.

[Omega Amen]

For those interested, after I got an extra gigabyte of RAM, my weakling comp runs Guild Wars at max settings PERFECTLY. It looks gorgeous.

Just curious, is Guild Wars the game you hope it would be?

[Godly Paladin]

Yeah, it's great fun. The lack of other players in the 'instanced' quest zones isn't a problem, and I've already had fun with pick-up parties. The best thing is how fast I can get on and off - it fits into my schedule perfectly. There's a LOT of stuff out there I don't understand and too many options for me to wrap my head around, but I see no reason why I won't be playing this game for a long, long time.