09-05-2005, 02:10 AM
Roland, it might not be the game for you. That doesn't make it a bad game. The PvE segment is much shallower than in a game like WoW. If you want to load up your skill bar with every skill--again very much like in WoW--you'll not like this game. If you want to spend time crafting the highest, most uberest items, you'll not like this game. End game armor is fairly cheaply available by Droknar's Forge, about 2/3 through the game. Anything else is more distinctive-looking, but carries the same stats. It's not a good game for people who want to "develop" their characters via gaining rare items. If you liked farming in D2, you'll hate playing GW. That's not saying that one game is good and the other isn't, but it is saying that maybe GW isn't consistent with your own gaming temperment.
Pathing is on par with Neverwinter Nights. I don't notice it as being particularly poor. It's not like WoW, where you can fall over cliffs or off towers. It's also not like D2, which really doesn't have pathing, given that the entire game is played in a fairly open field with only a few narrower openings.
You can be blocked, however, and that's part of the PvP dimension. Bodies take up space, and you need to develop not only the situational awareness to avoid being blocked or develop the awareness to do the blocking. Blocking, in fact, is crucial in PvP where the only way to take down the pesky runner is to use blocking, or in that last 30 seconds of the HoH battle to keep the other side's Ghostly Hero from capping the altar.
While it is true that you will have over 150 skills per profession yet can take only 8 into a mission or battle, that's really where the game comes alive. No character is strong enough to go it alone. Every character is designed to play in a team. The henchie team is not going to be as good a team as human players, but if you can find one or two humans on your team, then you're likely to breeze through the missions.
ergates suggests you check out The Basin. AB has some strong PvE proponents. There are also some regular gatherings, if you look at the calendar. Just mention that you're with the LL. Hopefully there will be enough D2 players to know what LL means. ;) Some of the gatherings may be somewhat disorganized as a result of school. However, AB has close to 300 people playing in its in-game guild divisions. PvP is growing, and a lot of Basiners like to hop from guild division to guild division, depending on where the action is.
I would also strongly recommend United Legit Gaming Guilds of Guild Wars, which plays all aspects of Guild Wars and is allied with several guilds who've pledged to a mature level of behavior, including Spirit of War, a PvP guild that is about as classy a group as it's possible to find.
Generally speaking, the larger the guild you join, the better a time you'll have as you can find people playing the same time you do. The only time it's advantageous to play with a small guild is if you are playing with people who commit to the same times each week and plan to play competitive PvP. The game favors the small guild in terms of competitive success, but in terms of social success, the larger the better.
--ceolstan
Pathing is on par with Neverwinter Nights. I don't notice it as being particularly poor. It's not like WoW, where you can fall over cliffs or off towers. It's also not like D2, which really doesn't have pathing, given that the entire game is played in a fairly open field with only a few narrower openings.
You can be blocked, however, and that's part of the PvP dimension. Bodies take up space, and you need to develop not only the situational awareness to avoid being blocked or develop the awareness to do the blocking. Blocking, in fact, is crucial in PvP where the only way to take down the pesky runner is to use blocking, or in that last 30 seconds of the HoH battle to keep the other side's Ghostly Hero from capping the altar.
While it is true that you will have over 150 skills per profession yet can take only 8 into a mission or battle, that's really where the game comes alive. No character is strong enough to go it alone. Every character is designed to play in a team. The henchie team is not going to be as good a team as human players, but if you can find one or two humans on your team, then you're likely to breeze through the missions.
ergates suggests you check out The Basin. AB has some strong PvE proponents. There are also some regular gatherings, if you look at the calendar. Just mention that you're with the LL. Hopefully there will be enough D2 players to know what LL means. ;) Some of the gatherings may be somewhat disorganized as a result of school. However, AB has close to 300 people playing in its in-game guild divisions. PvP is growing, and a lot of Basiners like to hop from guild division to guild division, depending on where the action is.
I would also strongly recommend United Legit Gaming Guilds of Guild Wars, which plays all aspects of Guild Wars and is allied with several guilds who've pledged to a mature level of behavior, including Spirit of War, a PvP guild that is about as classy a group as it's possible to find.
Generally speaking, the larger the guild you join, the better a time you'll have as you can find people playing the same time you do. The only time it's advantageous to play with a small guild is if you are playing with people who commit to the same times each week and plan to play competitive PvP. The game favors the small guild in terms of competitive success, but in terms of social success, the larger the better.
--ceolstan
In worlde we ware kast for to kare
To we be broght to wende
Til wele or wa, an of tha twa,
To won withouten ende.
To we be broght to wende
Til wele or wa, an of tha twa,
To won withouten ende.