Guided Daggers

Should I try out Guild Wars if Guild Wars 2 is nearly out?

That's a question I've heard from a lot of friends - and on forums on the internet. It's a good question, yet a tough one to answer. If you're doubting whether or not you should, read on!

Guild Wars is a great game, that is not to be disputed. There's tons of fun to be had, even if Guild Wars 2 would come out next month and you would stop playing then. If your main goal is to prepare for Guild Wars 2, get the Platinum Edition. It consists of Guild Wars: Prophecies, the original campaign, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the only expansion. I'll explain why I picked these two later on.

Getting Guild Wars to get used to the gameplay isn't really a good preparation for Guild Wars 2. The game is a complete rehaul, nothing remains the same. The combat is more dynamic, the world is persistent instead of instanced, you can level up to 80 instead of 20, and perhaps one of the biggest changes, you can only pick a single profession in Guild Wars 2. Playing Guild Wars will not help you be better at Guild Wars 2 than beginning players, though experience with these kinds of games will probably help.

So why would you buy Guild Wars then? Good question. Most importantly, there's the Hall of Monuments. This wonderful part of the expansion pack Eye of the North is a personal museum, located at, well, the Eye of the North! It keeps track of your titles (which are essentially achievements), armor sets, heroes (companions who you can bring along), pets, minipets and weapons. Everything you earn in Guild Wars can potentially give you points that earn you special rewards in Guild Wars 2. Don't be alarmed though, these rewards are purely cosmetic and won't give Guild Wars veterans advantage over you if you decide not to buy the game!
On the other part, there is the lore. Guild Wars 2 continues the story of Prophecies and Eye of the North, though 250 years later. If you only want to spend a little money, these are the two you should get. If you can, buy all the games (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, Eye of the North). They're worth it. Just a note: you can't buy Eye of the North all by itself. You need either Prophecies, Factions or Nightfall, which are all standalone campaigns.

If you can, buy all games. Factions and Nightfall both have two exclusive professions. Factions has extra PvP options and Nightfall has the most heroes of the series. Nightfall has, in my opinion, also the best campaign. Just make sure you get Eye of the North if you want some rewards for Guild Wars 2!

For more information, I recommend the official Guild Wars Wiki. All you need to know is on there. For more information on Guild Wars 2, there is the official site, which is a great source of information on how the game will change the way we think of MMO games forever! If you think you will be a hopelessly lost noob in a world of hardcore Guild Wars players, read this awesome blog post by Fae.

One of my friends decided in 2009 not to buy Guild Wars, because Guild Wars 2 would be nearly out and he wouldn't have time to play it. He now regrets the decision. Another friend just downloaded the trial and we're having tons of fun together (though he was disappointed that Charr aren't really minotaurs, as he thought).

To conclude this blog post, which has dragged way longer than I thought it would, I can say this.
If you have too much money to spend, spend it on Guild Wars. It's still a great game with a helpful community, and you might reap some rewards for Guild Wars 2 while playing it. If you're unsure, watch some gameplay videos, or ask us some questions here at the GWOnline forums. Even if I don't see you in Guild Wars, I sure hope to run into you in Guild Wars 2!