Question: Which Guild Wars version to get?
I'd like to get Guild Wars for my PC but I wonder, which one to get, there are like three different ones. What does each one mean, are they like some bonus content or what? Some explanation appreciated.
P.S.: I'm looking to buy from Steam.
Answer:
I bought the 2nd one and an expansion a while ago, dont buy it, you can only become lvl 20 and if you're not in a party or city it's offline :o , there are way cooler mmorpgs
Thomas did a good job explaining the different content to you, so I'll go at this from a slightly different point of view:
The Guild Wars 1 series basically consists of 3 major areas ("campaigns", each with its own story) and 1 expansion pack.
The 3 campaigns are Prophecies (=the original "Guild Wars"), Factions and Nightfall. Prophecies is set in the land of Tyria, the same lands that will also be the setting for Guild Wars 2, and it tells the story of the Human and the Charr races. Factions is set in a land with a more Asian theme, and Nightfall has a more African setting.
You can play each of these campaigns individually, or you can link them all on the same account and play through them all with the same character - there are easy travel options between the 3 lands.
The Eye of the North expansion requires at least 1 of the campaigns and is also accessible from each of these 3 campaigns. It is basically a crossover story between Prophecies and Guild Wars 2 (and it introduces the new races Norn and Asura), and it has a 'Hall of Monuments' in which you can unlock some (purely cosmetic) item rewards for Guild Wars 2 based on your achievements throughout the GW1 series.
It's important to note that Guild Wars 2 (which is currently in closed beta testing and will be released later this year) is a completely separate game with completely different gameplay, so if you want to play GW2 you will have to start from scratch again in that game!
If you don't know if you will like Guild Wars, then I highly recommend doing the free trial first (see the first link below)
If you already know that you will like GW, then you have several options:
- you can buy the whole series on Steam, ie. the Guild Wars Trilogy (all 3 campaigns) and the Eye of the North campaign
- if you want to prepare for Guild Wars 2 and are interested in the game's story and lore, but don't want to buy the whole set, then I recommend the Prophecies campaign (for example the "Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition" on Steam) and the Eye of the North campaign.
- if you don't really care about Guild Wars 2 and just want to play one Guild Wars campaign, then I recommend the Nightfall campaign, as it has a pretty good story, a good tutorial (Prophecies doesn't have a very newbie friendly tutorial) and it has heroes (customizable companions that make it a lot easier for you to solo content)
Note that you can always add other campaigns/expansions to your existing account (and for your existing characters) at a later time, so if you only buy Prophecies and later decide that you also want to try Factions, Nightfall and/or EotN, then that's all possible too.
The Guild Wars series is actually three different games; each of which occurs on the same world, but with a different region and storyline. If you assign more than one game to your account you can have characters cross from one campaign to another after a certain point. Each game has a different theme and many of them have exclusive content. There is also one expansion pack, which requires a high level character to play.
The level cap in GW is very low, only 20, but this was because the games were designed to be PvP as much as PvP. It is in fact, possible to start a character at level 20 as a PvP-exclusive character, but those characters cannot leave the PvP arena.
Prophecies: The first game released. It has the longest tutorial of the batch, it also takes the longest to reach the level cap. You also earn more gear and skills directly through questing than in the others. It has a European fantasy theme, but does not have any exclusive classes. It also has one of the longest PvE storylines.
Factions: The second game. This GW game specializes in PvP. Has an Asian theme. Is supposed to be the fastest in reaching the level cap. It has the Assassin and Ritualist as exclusive classes.
Nightfall: The last full game. Tends to be more PvE than the others. Runs about in the middle for leveling speed. It has semi-exclusive access to AI-controlled companions called Heroes who, unlike the henchmen in the other games, can be customized to suit your needs.. The unique classes are the Dervish and the Paragon.
Eyes of the North: The expansion pack that requires at least one other game of the series. Only high level characters can reach it's content. It grants characters from Prophecies or Factions access to it's exclusive Heroes. It also has the crossover elements with Guild Wars 2, where high-end accomplishments in any of the GW games can be posted here for points. Earn enough points and you unlock armor and item skins in GW2, along with some titles. Has a mostly European fantasy theme.
If i were you I would wait for Guild Wars 2. Most of the Guild Wars 1 fans have been waiting around 4-5 years for this. Guild wars 2 will be quite different to 1, GW1 wasnt really mmorpg, it was more like cooperative rpg as the world is instanced, you can only see other players in cities.
GW2 will be an mmorpg and it will have alot of new stuff that current mmorpgs dont have. Its the most anticipated mmorpg. Its coming out later this year. You might as well wait for this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfCf9R0Ph…
^ that trailer explains it pretty well.
I hope to see you in game :)
The game is in three stand-alone chapters; Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall which can be played completely stand-alone, and you do not need any other to play the one you want. There is one expansion, the Eye of the North. You need one of the other three in order to use the expansion.
If you ware talking about the original game leading up to the sequel Guild Wars 2 (which is not out yet) I would say that the story of Prophecies and Eye of the North, which depicts the struggle of the humans during the war with the Charr, the Searing and the involvement of other races in the rise of the Destroyers, leading up to the War in Kryta, is the best one.
Of course, Guild Wars 2 will be even better.