Guild Wars World Preview Event

[Sol Invictus]

Guild Wars is having a World Preview Event this weekend. It lasts for around 3 days and will give you a good idea of what the game is about e.g. it isn't a treadmill/EQ clone. It's free for download and you can preload the game before the event by getting this client:

http://www.guildwars.com/preview/wpe-cl ... nload.html

Create an account and you'll be able to play during October 29 through 31. Be sure to check out the various game modes, like Capture the Flag (which is TeamFortress), King of the Hill, Arena and Siege, besides playing in the regular missions.

I hope it's as fun as the E3 version was.

 

[Sol Invictus]

*bump*

 

[Otaku_Hanzo]

Yay! Another MMORPG! *throws confetti*

 

[Mendoza]

Well, admittedly it's not an RPG in the Fallout sense, but as a tactical battle game it looks like a lot of fun, and to have escaped the usual leveling treadmill.

I'll certainly be giving it a go this weekend.

 

[suibhne]

I actually picked up the pre-order box (yeah, I know - I'm a sucker), so I'm looking forward to this. I've really been getting into UT online, and I hope this will offer a similar team-based experience but with much more of an RPG angle (narrative, character development, mise en scene, etc.).

At the very least, the art direction is great, and it seems they're doing a good job of avoiding the things I absolutely loathe about MMORPGs (like spawn camping and level grinding).

 

[Sol Invictus]

It isn't an MMORPG, Otaku. The game bills itself as a CORPG (cooperative online RPG) and is most similar to Diablo II and Unreal Tournament 2004.

 

[Ortchel]

"Tactical battle game"? Come on, it's an RPG.

This 'it's not Fallout so it's not an RPG' mindset everyone carries around is just silly.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Yes, it's definitely an RPG with a touch of 'tournament' style gameplay. Most, if not all of the missions are story-based and have an RPG angle to them, so it's not about killing 20 rats, rinse and repeat. You actually move forwards during missions, as you would in Diablo II, by clearing areas, fighting mini-bosses, discovering a map, digging up buried treasure, fixing catapults to launch at an incoming enemy army, running when there's too many of them and reporting back to the fort to warn them of the impending attack and order an evacuation, and cover their retreat by fighting the monsters that come streaming through the gates.

Damn, it's definitely an experience.

 

[Mendoza]

Yes, it's definitely an RPG with a touch of 'tournament' style gameplay. Most, if not all of the missions are story-based and have an RPG angle to them, so it's not about killing 20 rats, rinse and repeat. You actually move forwards during missions, as you would in Diablo II, by clearing areas, fighting mini-bosses, discovering a map, digging up buried treasure, fixing catapults to launch at an incoming enemy army, running when there's too many of them and reporting back to the fort to warn them of the impending attack and order an evacuation, and cover their retreat by fighting the monsters that come streaming through the gates.

Damn, it's definitely an experience.

Would you count Diablo 2 as an RPG then? It has stats and a story, but I've always seen it as a hack 'n slash, albeit one that I had a lot of fun with. I thought Guild Wars was basically an updated Diablo 2, but expandable and with more tactical tournament play (and no level grind). If the RPG elements are played up, that's an added bonus.

 

[Surlent]

I've been waiting this game, this is great chance to test play it.
Not only for those pretty graphics, but the game has no monthly subscription makes this sound great. Mainly because I haven't gotten into MMOs just because they are "pay to play".

 

[Sol Invictus]

Diablo 2 is an RPG.

Guild Wars is an evolution of Diablo 2 in all aspects, and the tactical aspects are very, very attractive.

You have a main class and a subclass, each of which can accumulate up to 75 skills, but you can only choose 10 skills to use during any given mission. You can change your skill set up outside of the missions. You'll be able to acquire new skills by trading with other players, finding them in missions and purchasing them from NPCs.

What's also interesting is how you have an allocated amount of skill points to use to upgrade your character in various skills and abilities which are based on his class and subclass. A main fighter class would have access to "Aggressive", "Defensive" and "Constitution" or whatever in addition to various Weapon Masteries, whereas a subclass fighter would only have half of those skills available to him. It's interesting that a lot of the special abilities you can accumulate are oriented with the skills you choose, so if you're making a Lightning mage, you would be better off pumping up your Lightning Magic skill, and using lightning-related abilities with it. If you screw up or decide that you don't like your current build, you're given a lot of leeway to 'resell' your skill points.

And that's just how character development works. There's tons of equipment customizability. You can salvage loot you find during missions for raw materials which you can go to a Blacksmith to create new items, or even upgrades for your current items. You can also find special upgrades during missions to apply onto your items via the Blacksmith, like a hilt or pommel for a sword, or an axe-blade. Finding some magical feathers for instance might allow you to put a plume on your helmet that changes how it looks, while granting you bonuses.

Even the dyes are fun, as they allow you to dye specific equipment, and some dyes are rarer than others. You can also combine dyes to produce rarer colors. Dyes are a good way of showing other players how experienced you are, and guilds would probably be interested in colorizing their soldiers. For guilds, there's supposedly a ton of stuff, but that wasn't revealed during the E3 demo. There are tabards, though, which you can create your own designed images for, I believe.

Oh yeah, there's no monthly subscription, either.

 

[Ortchel]

It doesn't look like there are specific races, at least I can't find any documentation detailing them if they do exist.

Basically I wanna know if I can play a Goblinoid.

If I can; I'm sold.

 

[Mendoza]

It doesn't look like there are specific races, at least I can't find any documentation detailing them if they do exist.

Basically I wanna know if I can play a Goblinoid.

If I can; I'm sold.

I'm pretty sure it's all humans. Either way, I doubt goblinoids are playable. I'm not even sure Guild Wars has goblinoids as monsters.

 

[suibhne]

What the hell is up with them still not allowing you to register? They want to start this World Preview event in 3 days, yet their registration system isn't even live yet....

I'm hoping someone can make me eat my words by pointing out the vital page I'm missing. :D

EDIT: Ah, now I see the instructions:

Account Creation: Simply launch the game during the Event, Oct 29-31. You will be prompted to provide an email address and to create a password. (The email address will only be used only for password retrieval.) With your login complete, the game will start. Enjoy Guild Wars!

No worries, then. And yes, I expect I will enjoy Guild Wars.

I'm pretty high on this title, actually, for all the reasons Exitium has outlined. My only concern is finding likeminded folks to hook up with on a regular basis, as I don't think many in my UT order are going to be interested.

 

[Sol Invictus]

If you want your gameplay to be smooth just keep the client up now until the little lightning bolt dissapears, so you won't have to stream any more data during the event.

 

[DamnElfGirl]

DamnElfHusband and I will be getting together with our buddies to play this weekend. We had a great time at the E3 event, and are looking forward to seeing how the game evolves.

I recommend playing it with a small group of friends. It's a lot of fun that way.

 

[Mendoza]

If you want your gameplay to be smooth just keep the client up now until the little lightning bolt dissapears, so you won't have to stream any more data during the event.

They're drip feeding it at the moment though, you need to keep loading the client periodically to get the latest data. I'd definitely run it tomorrow night, so you're close to up to date when you can finally register.

 

[Mendoza]

We had a great time at the E3 event, and are looking forward to seeing how the game evolves.

Out of interest, is there much of a click fest, frantically trying to use your skills faster than your opponents? Or do you have enough time that the rate of using skills doesn't really come into it, as long as you're using them intelligently?

 

[Mr. Hand]

Are there uB3R |337 iT4mZ to be collected ala Diablo 2?
Ie. uniques rares etc?

 

[Human Shield]

Thanks for the update. Hope they improved the male Mesmer clothes (worse looking).

 

[Sol Invictus]

There are ub3r l33t items to be found and collected. Most of them come in the form of 'materials' which you can use to upgrade the equipment you're wearing, while others are Diablo-esque phat loot.

It'll likely be a bit frantic the first time you get into the game but as you figure out what skills you like to use, you will likely develop your own play strategy. There are a ton of different skills, as I previously mentioned, so some people will undoubtedly prefer flurry-style attacks, while others might go for big, destructive ones.

If anyone of you wants to get together and play with me, please post here.

 

[Otaku_Hanzo]

I'll stick with UT2004, Tribes:Vengeance, and the occasional bout of Rune when I want to slash instead of shoot. And, yes, I play Rune multiplayer. Sue me. :D

 

[Ortchel]

So, Rex, are there multiple races or what?

/humans blow

 

[Surlent]

What playable races are there in Guild Wars? NEW!

In the first chapter you will be able to play characters from the human race. In subsequent chapters of Guild Wars, you may be able to play members of other races.

I wonder what those races might be ? Hope more than the basic elves and dwarves.

 

[Sirus]

Nah. I'm pretty sure it's just humans. That's the way it was last time they did this.