Preview of Guild Wars update
by Steve Parsons 
{ May 17th 2005 at 10:03AM }
Guild Wars is selling like water in the desert, it seems. So many folk playing it. Or at least a lot of folk I know.
Interestingly, unlike other MMOG launches, I've not heard any true tales of woe regarding this one.
To whet your appetite for what to expect down the line, NCSoft have some concept art up for the upcoming free update
for the title. It will have to keep you going until Wednesday, when a movie will be available to pimp the update. On
top of that, the movie will also be screened at E3.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karmakin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
Well the servers went down for two hours on the opening weekend...that's about it however.
There are some balancing issues as well, between allowing for pure PvP players, but limiting their strength so PvE characters can compete as well, have things to earn/so on. I'm not sure how that's going to be dealt with..
The other problem is the lack of an auction house which I think is always a bad thing. Other than that, the game's great. Spent last night with my guild going through the PvP tournament with the Ventrilo voice chat going. Worked really well.
Jason Rist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
I agree on the auction house bit. Other than that, I've had almost no problems, and the game is a blast.
Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
I still have an unopened copy of World of Warcraft I haven't installed and played yet.
There's not enough time in the day to play all these great games.
I'll take two please.
Jason
http://www.xboxsoftmods.com
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
Oh no woe. Please let me enlighten then. Beautiful characters. And I love that you can travel city to city with just a click and its great that you can draw stratergies on the mini map. Now the bad. Boring environments. Everything outside these cities and outpost are instances so you have to wait around in a city twiddling your thumbs till someone parties with you?? If you go out by your self and realize you need help. Guess what go back and get it cuz no one will ever walk by. Plus you cant go over a two foot ledge you have to walk five miles down and around by following a road. And although the mini map is cool the regular map is about worthless. It looks like a satellite photo of the world with very hard to read roads. Not all mind you but you get into some areas and its like can I make a left up ahead Oh wait thats another of those two foot ledges AAARRRGGGHH. But het why am I complaining right its free!! ^_^ Oh dual class is cool. Quests are blah and look haphazzardly thrown in there with nothing really playing out. And seeing how this is like there fourth MMORPG, I really expected more. Seriously I'll pay to play WoW rather than this free one. At least I can jump off a two foot ledge.
Paul W @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
Ahem, just a little correction to #4 "And seeing how this is like there fourth MMORPG, I really expected more." Actually, its their first, NCSoft is the publisher, it's developed by ArenaNet
Brian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
So is it worth buying this game seeing as it is on sale this week at my work for 40$??? So far the only problems I'm hearing about are bland environments and not being able to jump down a ledge... that's weird!?!? So yeah... what I'm getting at, is it worth the 40$ (but no free weapon like @ EB or Gamestop) seeing as there is no subscription fee???
Ted @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM
Possibly the best MMORPG out there, ever. The detail of the environments is simply breathtaking – get ready to start using the “screen capture” button until it breaks. The characters are fun and also quite beautifully detailed. The items and equipment are cool and versatile, combining a balance of functionality with style. True, there are not too many different types [of eq] as of now, but don’t forget that Guild Wars has only been around for a short while (comparatively speaking). In its first (free) update many new items were added, so you can just imagine what further paid installments will bring. The mini-map with its interactive plotting navigation is a great addition as well. Some people have said that they don’t like the fact that at higher levels you need to party with other people because the missions are too hard. To these people I say; move over noobie, you are seriously lacking skills. At level 2 (yes, level *2*) I paid a runner to get me to Forge, where I solo-ran (with the NPCs as decoys) to Ice Caves of Sorrow and completed the mission using nothing but NPCs. After that, (having gained a whole level, so I was 3! OOOoooo) I completed Iron Mines of Moladune, and thusly found my way to Thunderhead Keep. From there I was able to once again run my way (using those wonderful NPCs as decoys) to Marhan’s Grotto. If you take your time and know the game, you won’t die. Running between cities was the trickiest part but I got through the missions on my first attempt each. I will admit that it is a bit annoying not being able to jump, so you have to run around a 500 mile obstacle track to get down a 2 foot cliff, but them’s the breaks. Also, being able to minimize your screen as a built in feature without any hassle or fretting disconnection is super sweet. The fact that Guild Wars is free to play is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you don’t have to pay – which is good! On the other hand, you have to deal with hoards of idiotic 12 year olds with nothing better to do with their time then sit around swearing and bothering people – which is bad. However, Guild Wars has a great togglable language filter and “ignore” feature – which is good. I’ll stop that now. All in all, I give Guild Wars 2 thumbs waaaaay up!