Just purchased: One First Class ticket to the continent of Cantha via Guild Wars: Factions. This is the latest release from NCSoft in the MMORPG market.
Guild Wars is unique because it does not charge a monthly fee to access the game. Just purchase the retail version, and hook-up. The original game, known as Prophecies, was a definite mold breaker. When Prophecies was released, it was, and still is, a popular game. The first expansion for Guild Wars offers a large variety of new content to explore. I predict that Factions will follow in the same footsteps as the original.
What can I expect as a new player?
For a new player interested in trying out Guild Wars, the Factions expansion may not be a good place to start. There are a few benefits and drawbacks to purchasing Factions instead of the original Guild Wars game. A definite benefit for new players is the improved training area. For any players new to this genre of gaming, it may be a bit overwhelming at first. Even though Guild Wars does not have in-depth options like some other popular MMO’s, it still has a steep learning curve. The Factions expansion addresses this curve by offering a very detailed training area. The area is almost too in-depth for experienced Guild Wars players. For anyone who has played the Prophecies campaign for a minimal amount of time will find this re-training to be very tedious. For new players, the amount of actual game information presented is significantly greater than the original.
The training area serves as a ‘level-up’ area for gamers starting new characters in the Factions setting. The training area is designed to allow characters to quickly level up to the level cap (20) before starting on the new Factions content. The reason that you must hit the level maximum before continuing on the real content is because this expansion was originally designed for established high level characters from the Prophecies campaign. Instead of thirty or more hours to reach the level cap, as in the original game, it can be done in significantly less time, therefore allowing access to the new content quicker. Those that enjoy the progressive “level up” as part of the campaign may be disappointed by this.
What do we get for $50.00? Those old Prophecies players will have new character professions and an entire new world to explore. For the new players you have a full stand-alone game that is not a true expansion pack (which usually requires you to buy their old product).
More Character Slots!
An anticipated addition with the Factions campaign is the inclusion of two new characters and two additional character save slots. The new addition brings you up to a total of six available slots. With the original campaign, you have your choice of six primary professions but you only have four available save slots. This means you can only have, at any one time, four out of the six primary professions to play. With the latest addition previous Guild Wars: Prophecies owners receive two bonus character slots so they can save all their old characters, and create two new ones.
The Drawbacks
The two additional bonus slots only take effect if you were a previous purchaser of Guild Wars: Prophecies (and have activated your account). I would consider this a major drawback to anyone looking to purchase Factions as a stand alone game.
Any characters you create in the Factions game will not have access the Prophecies world if you purchased and activated Factions first. However, if you have a Prophecies campaign account, and create a character in the Factions campaign, eventually you will be able to “cross back over” into the original campaign world.
Character Content
Factions does offer a much expanded range of content for both new and old Guild Wars fans. All the old professions have region specific looks to the armor and weapons they use. Factions has an Oriental design, and the costumes and weapons reflect this. Many established Guild Wars players take a certain enjoyment in procuring specific armor and weapons for their characters and Factions now offers more options in this department.
The new character classes, The Ritualist and Assassin, are well thought out, and each one offers many benefits to suit individual play styles. The Ritualist is more of a support character. This character uses spells to summon spirits that buff your attributes, heal players, or cause damage. The Assassin character is more of a melee fighter, using combo attacks, and teleportation attacks to deal damage.
Not only did the expansion add new armor, weapons, and characters, but it also added new skills to existing character professions, and “tie-in” quests in the original campaign to entice players to try the new content. The added skills will allow players that have finished the original campaign to re-explore areas to complete the “tie-in” quests, and acquire the new skills. Having only played the new content for the release weekend, I have not progressed far into the new content, but at first glance, the new campaign is massive.
Alliances and Factions
The alliance and faction features are new to this campaign setting. The alliance feature allows you’re guild to join or ally with another guild so that you can both participate in Guild vs. Guild (GvG) or Player vs. Player (PvP) action. This alliance also allows joined guilds to access each other’s Guild Halls and coordinate activities.
The factions feature allows your guild to permanently join one of the two warring factions. Once your guild chooses a faction you can unlock and participate in quests specific to your faction. This includes faction vs. faction for control of certain territory. By acquiring and possessing certain territory, your faction can receive bonuses, quests, and items specific to that territory. Recent NCSoft press releases have hinted at large scale Faction battles which will no doubt offer some unique game play for players interested in this aspect.
Missions and Side Quests
Missions have been re-designed in the Factions expansion. In Prophecies, missions were essential to progress the main story. Side quests were offered to entice players to explore, and to reward them with items, gold, or skills for completion. In Factions, you now can participate in missions that range from normal to elite difficulty levels. Naturally, elite missions offer better rewards for completion. Missions now include a new rating system. In the Prophecies campaign, you were awarded experience points based on your completion of the level. You were able to complete a bonus objective within the mission to receive added experience points. In Factions, there are no bonus objectives. You now receive additional experience and gold based on the time taken to complete the mission. You can receive a standard, excellent, or master ranking. Accomplishing certain objectives in the game can earn you titles. Identify one hundred rare items and you will earn the Wisdom title. The title system is very similar to Xbox 360 Achievements.
As an experienced Guild Wars player, I have invested many hours into the original campaign. The Factions expansion has been highly anticipated by myself and other players. For established players, I would definitely recommend purchasing Factions. The added content and the additional character slots definitely make the $50.00 expenditure worth it. For new players, I would suggest purchasing the Prophecies Campaign to acclimate yourself to the game before going for the new content. Let me remind everyone that Guild Wars does not charge a monthly fee for access to the game. This in itself makes the money well spent. You won’t have to fork over a monthly fee for a game that is already dated and you won’t be compelled to play just because you’re being charged each month.
I will definitely be a frequent visitor to the new continent of Cantha.
Rythmdevl
What can I expect as a new player?
For a new player interested in trying out Guild Wars, the Factions expansion may not be a good place to start. There are a few benefits and drawbacks to purchasing Factions instead of the original Guild Wars game. A definite benefit for new players is the improved training area. For any players new to this genre of gaming, it may be a bit overwhelming at first. Even though Guild Wars does not have in-depth options like some other popular MMO’s, it still has a steep learning curve. The Factions expansion addresses this curve by offering a very detailed training area. The area is almost too in-depth for experienced Guild Wars players. For anyone who has played the Prophecies campaign for a minimal amount of time will find this re-training to be very tedious. For new players, the amount of actual game information presented is significantly greater than the original.
The training area serves as a ‘level-up’ area for gamers starting new characters in the Factions setting. The training area is designed to allow characters to quickly level up to the level cap (20) before starting on the new Factions content. The reason that you must hit the level maximum before continuing on the real content is because this expansion was originally designed for established high level characters from the Prophecies campaign. Instead of thirty or more hours to reach the level cap, as in the original game, it can be done in significantly less time, therefore allowing access to the new content quicker. Those that enjoy the progressive “level up” as part of the campaign may be disappointed by this.
What do we get for $50.00? Those old Prophecies players will have new character professions and an entire new world to explore. For the new players you have a full stand-alone game that is not a true expansion pack (which usually requires you to buy their old product).
More Character Slots!
An anticipated addition with the Factions campaign is the inclusion of two new characters and two additional character save slots. The new addition brings you up to a total of six available slots. With the original campaign, you have your choice of six primary professions but you only have four available save slots. This means you can only have, at any one time, four out of the six primary professions to play. With the latest addition previous Guild Wars: Prophecies owners receive two bonus character slots so they can save all their old characters, and create two new ones.
The Drawbacks
The two additional bonus slots only take effect if you were a previous purchaser of Guild Wars: Prophecies (and have activated your account). I would consider this a major drawback to anyone looking to purchase Factions as a stand alone game.
Any characters you create in the Factions game will not have access the Prophecies world if you purchased and activated Factions first. However, if you have a Prophecies campaign account, and create a character in the Factions campaign, eventually you will be able to “cross back over” into the original campaign world.
Character Content
Factions does offer a much expanded range of content for both new and old Guild Wars fans. All the old professions have region specific looks to the armor and weapons they use. Factions has an Oriental design, and the costumes and weapons reflect this. Many established Guild Wars players take a certain enjoyment in procuring specific armor and weapons for their characters and Factions now offers more options in this department.
The new character classes, The Ritualist and Assassin, are well thought out, and each one offers many benefits to suit individual play styles. The Ritualist is more of a support character. This character uses spells to summon spirits that buff your attributes, heal players, or cause damage. The Assassin character is more of a melee fighter, using combo attacks, and teleportation attacks to deal damage.
Not only did the expansion add new armor, weapons, and characters, but it also added new skills to existing character professions, and “tie-in” quests in the original campaign to entice players to try the new content. The added skills will allow players that have finished the original campaign to re-explore areas to complete the “tie-in” quests, and acquire the new skills. Having only played the new content for the release weekend, I have not progressed far into the new content, but at first glance, the new campaign is massive.
Alliances and Factions
The alliance and faction features are new to this campaign setting. The alliance feature allows you’re guild to join or ally with another guild so that you can both participate in Guild vs. Guild (GvG) or Player vs. Player (PvP) action. This alliance also allows joined guilds to access each other’s Guild Halls and coordinate activities.
The factions feature allows your guild to permanently join one of the two warring factions. Once your guild chooses a faction you can unlock and participate in quests specific to your faction. This includes faction vs. faction for control of certain territory. By acquiring and possessing certain territory, your faction can receive bonuses, quests, and items specific to that territory. Recent NCSoft press releases have hinted at large scale Faction battles which will no doubt offer some unique game play for players interested in this aspect.
Missions and Side Quests
Missions have been re-designed in the Factions expansion. In Prophecies, missions were essential to progress the main story. Side quests were offered to entice players to explore, and to reward them with items, gold, or skills for completion. In Factions, you now can participate in missions that range from normal to elite difficulty levels. Naturally, elite missions offer better rewards for completion. Missions now include a new rating system. In the Prophecies campaign, you were awarded experience points based on your completion of the level. You were able to complete a bonus objective within the mission to receive added experience points. In Factions, there are no bonus objectives. You now receive additional experience and gold based on the time taken to complete the mission. You can receive a standard, excellent, or master ranking. Accomplishing certain objectives in the game can earn you titles. Identify one hundred rare items and you will earn the Wisdom title. The title system is very similar to Xbox 360 Achievements.
As an experienced Guild Wars player, I have invested many hours into the original campaign. The Factions expansion has been highly anticipated by myself and other players. For established players, I would definitely recommend purchasing Factions. The added content and the additional character slots definitely make the $50.00 expenditure worth it. For new players, I would suggest purchasing the Prophecies Campaign to acclimate yourself to the game before going for the new content. Let me remind everyone that Guild Wars does not charge a monthly fee for access to the game. This in itself makes the money well spent. You won’t have to fork over a monthly fee for a game that is already dated and you won’t be compelled to play just because you’re being charged each month.
I will definitely be a frequent visitor to the new continent of Cantha.
Rythmdevl
