How is Guild Wars 1?

[Shinobido Heart]

I started with Guild Wars 2 many years ago, played it on and off for roughly 3 or 4 years and I was there for the Heart of Thorns expansion.

It was a great time, probably one of the few MMORPG's that I actually spent a good amount of time on.

While I do miss the game, I remember through out my journey of people constantly talking about how good Guild Wars 1 is and how much better it was to GW2.

It reminded me of the old PC CD-ROM box sets of the Guild Wars 1 expansions I used to see at my local Wal-Mart in the electronics section.

Seeing them again, I forgot how freakin cool looking the characters on the box art were.

I'm looking for an MMORPG where I can play it how I want, I'm not fond of being tied down to pure roles like DPS, Tank, Healer but I don't mind it as long as there is a lot of variety. I don't like anything tied to gear score too.

Archeage had a cool system where you could take different skill sets to "create" a class, I liked that! Would Guild Wars 1 be for me?

 

[Mifec]

GW1 is a coorpg more than a MMO and it uses the trinity. That said you can play it completely with AI compations.

 

[astro]

It's a great game, more Phantasy Star than WoW though.

It's still going, it even got a visual update in 2018.

You can still find people to play with, or you can just use the AI.

It's a really fun game, wish more MMO/RPG types used the free form stat system. You can literally respec your stats to whatever you want any time outside of battle, just in the menu no need for an item or NPC or anything.

They also separated the skills between PvE and PvP fopr balancing purposes, so changes for PvP didn't render PvE skills lesser.

It was really foreard thinking when it launched, and it still feels that way in 2022.

Great game.

 

[Biestmann]

Guild Wars 1 is a masterpiece, but quite different from its successor. I think you will find the freedom of choice you want in spades.

 

[Griffith]

A great game that I thoroughly enjoyed for many hours but it became toxic to complete some of the end-game content with other players because of how elitist the "meta" became. If you were using ANYTHING that slightly deviated from the one or two builds for your class that were considered to be the "best" (even if the difference was minimal or non-existent) would mean that you'd be kicked from parties immediately.

My evenings in Guild Wars would revolve around me joining a party with a RL friend, trying to find other members to complete it and being kicked out for not having a 100% meta build, with my friend leaving said party and the search resuming once again.

That aside, it was a very fun game with a cool world and story. I was just left sour after the negative experience with the multiplayer.

 

[astro]

A great game that I thoroughly enjoyed for many hours but it became toxic to complete some of the end-game content with other players because of how elitist the "meta" became. If you were using ANYTHING that slightly deviated from the one or two builds for your class that were considered to be the "best" (even if the difference was minimal or non-existent) would mean that you'd be kicked from parties immediately.

My evenings in Guild Wars would revolve around me joining a party with a RL friend, trying to find other members to complete it and being kicked out for not having a 100% meta build, with my friend leaving said party and the search resuming once again.

That aside, it was a very fun game with a cool world and story. I was just left sour after the negative experience with the multiplayer.

Click to shrink...

Guilds/Alliances existed to get around this issue, there were tonnes of really good ones throughout its life.

 

[Holygriever]

No jump.

 

[Hoa]

Miss this game. Miss the competitive missions from Factions. You could play it completely by yourself if you wanted too. Even though I really hate the phrase "respects your time" but the low level cap really did make it reproachable if you bounce off the game for a bit.

Some days I'd just chill and do the random arena or competitive missions and see how long of a win streak I could get.

 

[swnny]

As much as I love the game (and I really, really do - have more than 5k hours on it, its still installed on my PC and I occasionally play it for an hour or two), I can't really recommend it for a new comer. It has a minor community still active, even some Anet devs spare their free time to patch it from time to time, but it's well past its prime. Yes, you can complete all the story and side missions with AI henchmen and heroes, but it will be kinda frustrating, as most of the missions were designed with cooperation between real players in mind. And its outposts/hubs, once a safe relief after a mission to meet new people, will be lifeless wastelands, brining you nothing but emptiness.
Plus, its professions ("classes") are balanced around the tank/dps/healer trinity. You can mix them a lot, but still need the pillars in the group.

 

[ChilliConCarnage]

Stellar soundtrack too

 

[Thorn]

One of the best.

 

[astro]

As much as I love the game (and I really, really do - have more than 5k hours on it, its still installed on my PC and I occasionally play it for an hour or two), I can't really recommend it for a new comer. It has a minor community still active, even some Anet devs spare their free time to patch it from time to time, but it's well past its prime. Yes, you can complete all the story and side missions with AI henchmen and heroes, but it will be kinda frustrating, as most of the missions were designed with cooperation between real players in mind. And its outposts/hubs, once a safe relief after a mission to meet new people, will be lifeless wastelands, brining you nothing but emptiness.
Plus, its professions ("classes") are balanced around the tank/dps/healer trinity. You can mix them a lot, but still need the pillars in the group.

Click to shrink...

You can complete all story content with AI and mcuh of the optional end game stuff too, and imo the gameplay is still very fun.

You also do not always need the trinity, you can create some crazy builds... solo, duo, etc...

 

[bounchfx]

Gw1 was an amazing and unique experience and I'm so bitter we don't really have anything like it. There's games that share some qualities but it's still pretty much one of a kind. Just really enjoyed going through each level, managing your skills kit, learning the level, doing it again better, and progressing through the world. Really neat mix of open world full mp and party based mostly linear missions

 

[Griffith]

Guilds/Alliances existed to get around this issue, there were tonnes of really good ones throughout its life.

Click to shrink...

I got kicked from one for using a slightly modified meta build.

 

[Happy Puppy]

GW1 is a coorpg more than a MMO and it uses the trinity. That said you can play it completely with AI compations.

Click to shrink...

+1
I remember the original website described the game as a Cooprpg, but it stll gets grouped up with mmos. The game is unique and you aren't tied to a build, very creative. Highly recommend it.
You get max level and weapons in like a few hours. The real "end" is skill collecting and costmetics, besides completing the campaign. Go for it!

 

[Pellaidh]

I can't be sure how well it still holds up today, but I can tell you that it was incredible in the past. As in, one of my favorite games ever.

The main draw is the really freeform build system. You pick two classes, and then pick 8 skills to use out of hundreds available, leading to basically infinite options. It's something the game does really well, and something that has never really been beaten even to this day.

Of course, with the games being old, the meta is pretty much solved, and everyone knows what the best builds are. The only way you'd really get to enjoy the build part of the game is to play it blind and try to figure stuff out yourself. Fortunately, the game does let you play it with a full party of customizable NPC allies, but at that point it's just a single player RPG. It does at least mean you can still play it even with a dead population.

For me the best part of the game was its PvP. Not just due to the build variety, but due to how impactful each skill felt. It also had the best implementation of healing classes I've seen, which were all really fun to play. Sadly, this part of the game is presumably dead or at least very inapproachable now.

And as far as it being better than Guild Wars 2, that's debatable I guess. I certainly think it was, but they are two very different games, so liking one isn't really indicative of liking the other. Honestly, there's just nothing else like GW1 out there, and that's probably the main reason why GW1 fans who play GW2 won't stop talking about it. And also why some still feel bitter about GW2 abandoning most of what made GW1 special.

As for the trinity, having a tank is kind of build dependent, but there's a very heavy focus on having support roles in your party. It's also not really an MMO. All of it is instanced, and there's no grinding to speak of other than for cosmetics.

To sum up, it was great in the past and probably still holds up really well as a single player game if you're into build customization, but I don't really see it being someones primary MMO, or even something you'd necessarily put a lot of time into past finishing the story.

This video might also be relevant to you. It's a big MMO Youtuber who played a lot of GW2 in the past trying out GW1 for the first time. For what it's worth, he really liked it.

 

[astro]

I got kicked from one for using a slightly modified meta build.

Click to shrink...

There were loads that wouldn't have done that, sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[MrNewVegas]

As a poor teenager when it came out during the boom of MMOs, I loved it!

 

[Happy Puppy]

This fucking song. It's really pretty.

Gw1 was an amazing and unique experience and I'm so bitter we don't really have anything like it. There's games that share some qualities but it's still pretty much one of a kind. Just really enjoyed going through each level, managing your skills kit, learning the level, doing it again better, and progressing through the world. Really neat mix of open world full mp and party based mostly linear missions

Click to shrink...

Add me to the bitter camp that nothing has been replicated. I do remember there was a game that tried to be a carbon copy, but can't remember the game. Maybe someone here knows.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

It's a great game, more Phantasy Star than WoW though.

It's still going, it even got a visual update in 2018.

You can still find people to play with, or you can just use the AI.

It's a really fun game, wish more MMO/RPG types used the free form stat system. You can literally respec your stats to whatever you want any time outside of battle, just in the menu no need for an item or NPC or anything.

They also separated the skills between PvE and PvP fopr balancing purposes, so changes for PvP didn't render PvE skills lesser.

It was really foreard thinking when it launched, and it still feels that way in 2022.

Great game.

Click to shrink...

Phantasy Star... I just so happen to LOVE Phantasy Star like PSO and Portable 2/Infinity. Not so much PSO2 or New Genesis though.

You mentioned I can respec anytime, I love it when games do that. It let's me experiment with stuff.

There's something about games made in the late 90's to the early 2000's that really grab me.

As you said, some games were really ahead of their time and forward thinking during this period when the internet was still expanding.

As much as I love the game (and I really, really do - have more than 5k hours on it, its still installed on my PC and I occasionally play it for an hour or two), I can't really recommend it for a new comer. It has a minor community still active, even some Anet devs spare their free time to patch it from time to time, but it's well past its prime. Yes, you can complete all the story and side missions with AI henchmen and heroes, but it will be kinda frustrating, as most of the missions were designed with cooperation between real players in mind. And its outposts/hubs, once a safe relief after a mission to meet new people, will be lifeless wastelands, brining you nothing but emptiness.
Plus, its professions ("classes") are balanced around the tank/dps/healer trinity. You can mix them a lot, but still need the pillars in the group.

Click to shrink...

I don't mind a lack of players, I'm used to playing old games. :)

I do have a question though, if it's not an MMORPG and it's considered a cooprpg, does this mean this game is offline with some kind of online matchmaking system?

Gw1 was an amazing and unique experience and I'm so bitter we don't really have anything like it. There's games that share some qualities but it's still pretty much one of a kind. Just really enjoyed going through each level, managing your skills kit, learning the level, doing it again better, and progressing through the world. Really neat mix of open world full mp and party based mostly linear missions

Click to shrink...

It sounds like I really missed a hidden gem.

I already have a GW2 account, I assume I can use it to play Guild Wars 1. I also noticed it's on Steam, maybe I should pick it up there?

 

[astro]

I do have a question though, if it's not an MMORPG and it's considered a cooprpg, does this mean this game is offline with some kind of online matchmaking system?

Click to shrink...

There are hubs where everyone meets (towns and outposts), with distritcs for different real world regions, where you can go to group up for missions which are all instanced.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

There are hubs where everyone meets (towns and outposts), with distritcs for different real world regions, where you can go to group up for missions which are all instanced.

Click to shrink...

Huh, yeah that sounds very Phantasy Star like, that also reminds me of another game I used to play.

I think it was called Vindictus.

+1
I remember the original website described the game as a Cooprpg, but it stll gets grouped up with mmos. The game is unique and you aren't tied to a build, very creative. Highly recommend it.
You get max level and weapons in like a few hours. The real "end" is skill collecting and costmetics, besides completing the campaign. Go for it!

Click to shrink...

Max level is 20 I hear?

I really like the sound of that, very obtainable and sounds like something with lots of replay-ability.

 

[Happy Puppy]

Huh, yeah that sounds very Phantasy Star like, that also reminds me of another game I used to play.

I think it was called Vindictus.



Max level is 20 I hear?

I really like the sound of that, very obtainable and sounds like something with lots of replay-ability.

Click to shrink...

Yeah mas level is 20. If you start in Prophecies (The first game) it's a bit "slower". It's super repayable.

 

[YoungGunsII]

God damn… Guild Wars. Only MMO I ever liked, I have 2,5k hours in it. I never got around to try the sequal, it was too much another thing.

 

[Griffith]

There were loads that wouldn't have done that, sorry you had a bad experience.

Click to shrink...

The short of the story was that I quit for a while, returned, my friend invited me to a guild he was helping manage, they kicked me from a party for having a slightly altered meta build, he got upset with them and left and we made a small guild for us but it was very hard to get enough players for a party online at the same time. Eventually we both got tired with that and stopped playing.

Not everyone can have a good experience in a multiplayer game, that's normal, but thank you for your consideration for what it's worth.

 

[Okabe]

GW1 so good

I really do wonder if my log in still works

My Candy Cane sword and shield were the GOAT

 

[Happy Puppy]

My Candy Cane sword and shield were the GOAT

Click to shrink...

lol best starter equipment, it was OP OP.

There was nothing like the Mesmer, haven't found a class in gaming that matches the sheer shutdown of a strategy, I guess what matches it is the blue color from Magic the Gathering.
Mesmer's be like :

 

[aevanhoe]

Loved GW, it surely was one of my favorite games at the time. I'm glad it's still going.

 

[waterpuppy]

I've only ever heard great things about GW1 but I never actually tried it. Been a GW2 player for the last 5-ish years though and really love it.

From what I've heard there are still people around that play GW1 but it's, understandably, kind of hard to just jump in and really get the same experience as originally intended unless you have other people to play with.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I've only ever heard great things about GW1 but I never actually tried it. Been a GW2 player for the last 5-ish years though and really love it.

From what I've heard there are still people around that play GW1 but it's, understandably, kind of hard to just jump in and really get the same experience as originally intended unless you have other people to play with.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I still think about Guild Wars 2, what's nice is that I think you can earn rewards in GW2 for playing GW1.

It seems my options to get GW1 is to either buy the Complete Collection on the arenanet store for $40, or buy the GW1 Trilogy off Steam, but it's missing one of the expansions. So the Trilogy $30 + Missing expansion $20 comes out to $50 total.

I do plan on getting a Steam Deck in the future, so I think being able to play Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2 on it would be pretty cool.

This fucking song. It's really pretty.


Add me to the bitter camp that nothing has been replicated. I do remember there was a game that tried to be a carbon copy, but can't remember the game. Maybe someone here knows.

Click to shrink...

This sounds really familiar, I've heard this somewhere before.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

I mean damn, at the price you can get the entire trilogy these days, it's a massive deep RPG with challenging systems and so much content. Also, the enemies are really tactical, making it more engaging. They play their role on the field, but so do your companions.

I mean, the only thing I can knock it for is that it isn't very attractive these days, with the terrain looking rather bland and a few other early 2000s effects that kind of suck. If you can get past it not being a looker, you've got a stellar game.

 

[Clear]

Guild wars 1 was absolutely fantastic and while gw2 is great in it's own right I would of loved a remastered/improved gw1.

Thread alone makes me want to redownload.

 

[Okabe]

Holy shit I remembered my Account Info oh god this is like going back in time.

 

[bounchfx]

Guild wars 1 was absolutely fantastic and while gw2 is great in it's own right I would of loved a remastered/improved gw1.

Click to shrink...

yeah man i think one of my few 'realistic but maybe not' game wishlist items is for A.Net to remaster/re-release GW. Just to give it a breath of fresh life, not unlike what bliz did with WoW Classic. Get out there and restart it. Just doing everything fresh even if it was the same fucking game, if they marketed it, could still be a success I feel like. So many people at this point haven't played it because they were simply too young or hell not even alive lmao.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I can't be sure how well it still holds up today, but I can tell you that it was incredible in the past. As in, one of my favorite games ever.

The main draw is the really freeform build system. You pick two classes, and then pick 8 skills to use out of hundreds available, leading to basically infinite options. It's something the game does really well, and something that has never really been beaten even to this day.

Of course, with the games being old, the meta is pretty much solved, and everyone knows what the best builds are. The only way you'd really get to enjoy the build part of the game is to play it blind and try to figure stuff out yourself. Fortunately, the game does let you play it with a full party of customizable NPC allies, but at that point it's just a single player RPG. It does at least mean you can still play it even with a dead population.

For me the best part of the game was its PvP. Not just due to the build variety, but due to how impactful each skill felt. It also had the best implementation of healing classes I've seen, which were all really fun to play. Sadly, this part of the game is presumably dead or at least very inapproachable now.

And as far as it being better than Guild Wars 2, that's debatable I guess. I certainly think it was, but they are two very different games, so liking one isn't really indicative of liking the other. Honestly, there's just nothing else like GW1 out there, and that's probably the main reason why GW1 fans who play GW2 won't stop talking about it. And also why some still feel bitter about GW2 abandoning most of what made GW1 special.

As for the trinity, having a tank is kind of build dependent, but there's a very heavy focus on having support roles in your party. It's also not really an MMO. All of it is instanced, and there's no grinding to speak of other than for cosmetics.

To sum up, it was great in the past and probably still holds up really well as a single player game if you're into build customization, but I don't really see it being someones primary MMO, or even something you'd necessarily put a lot of time into past finishing the story.

This video might also be relevant to you. It's a big MMO Youtuber who played a lot of GW2 in the past trying out GW1 for the first time. For what it's worth, he really liked it.

Click to shrink...

That was a great video to watch, he pretty much shares the same views I have. Thanks for sharing, it was very informative.

It seems there are some missables though, I'll need to make sure I don't miss anything! :)

I mean damn, at the price you can get the entire trilogy these days, it's a massive deep RPG with challenging systems and so much content. Also, the enemies are really tactical, making it more engaging. They play their role on the field, but so do your companions.

I mean, the only thing I can knock it for is that it isn't very attractive these days, with the terrain looking rather bland and a few other early 2000s effects that kind of suck. If you can get past it not being a looker, you've got a stellar game.

Click to shrink...

I think I'll pick up the Trilogy off Steam, and if I end up loving it, I'll pick up the Eye of the North expansion.

 

[Taco_Human]

Better than GW2, I miss the prime days. I was playing this game over Runescape, I had it good.

 

[Dlent]

Even as somebody who basically played it entirely singleplayer, I'll echo that I thought it was great and a truly unique experience. It definitely felt like some of the campaigns dragged a little, but you're definitely getting your money's worth even if you never co-op.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Are there any guides or useful tips I should know before playing?

I found a Pre-Searing check list to help me make sure I don't miss anything before the point of no return.

Pre-Searing checklist

You are unable to return to Pre-Searing Ascalon after entering the Academy. Use of this checklist will make sure you get all that is needed, before you leave. Almost everything can be obtained later, but it usually is more expensive. Belt Pouch traded from Brownlow or Humphreys Tapestry Shred...

guildwars.fandom.com

 

[VorpalNonsense]

I got excited about the then upcoming release of Guild Wars 2 which looked pretty cool and decided to buy Guild Wars 1 in the meantime
I think I actually ended up liking GW1 more, funny how that worked out
I just redownloaded it right now for kicks to log in and see my old character but it seems my account is locked for reasons unknown to me

 

[Shinobido Heart]

I got excited about the then upcoming release of Guild Wars 2 which looked pretty cool and decided to buy Guild Wars 1 in the meantime
I think I actually ended up liking GW1 more, funny how that worked out
I just redownloaded it right now for kicks to log in and see my old character but it seems my account is locked for reasons unknown to me

Click to shrink...

Ah, your account must have gotten deactivated due to inactivity.

They did that to my Guild Wars 2 account at one point because I took a break from the game before the Heart of Thorns expansion came out.

I had to talk to customer support and provide my CD Key, I remember supplying some of my character names just in case but I think just the CD Key is enough.

They reactivated my account soon after.

 

[m_shortpants]

I can't be sure how well it still holds up today, but I can tell you that it was incredible in the past. As in, one of my favorite games ever.

The main draw is the really freeform build system. You pick two classes, and then pick 8 skills to use out of hundreds available, leading to basically infinite options. It's something the game does really well, and something that has never really been beaten even to this day.

Of course, with the games being old, the meta is pretty much solved, and everyone knows what the best builds are. The only way you'd really get to enjoy the build part of the game is to play it blind and try to figure stuff out yourself. Fortunately, the game does let you play it with a full party of customizable NPC allies, but at that point it's just a single player RPG. It does at least mean you can still play it even with a dead population.

For me the best part of the game was its PvP. Not just due to the build variety, but due to how impactful each skill felt. It also had the best implementation of healing classes I've seen, which were all really fun to play. Sadly, this part of the game is presumably dead or at least very inapproachable now.

And as far as it being better than Guild Wars 2, that's debatable I guess. I certainly think it was, but they are two very different games, so liking one isn't really indicative of liking the other. Honestly, there's just nothing else like GW1 out there, and that's probably the main reason why GW1 fans who play GW2 won't stop talking about it. And also why some still feel bitter about GW2 abandoning most of what made GW1 special.

As for the trinity, having a tank is kind of build dependent, but there's a very heavy focus on having support roles in your party. It's also not really an MMO. All of it is instanced, and there's no grinding to speak of other than for cosmetics.

To sum up, it was great in the past and probably still holds up really well as a single player game if you're into build customization, but I don't really see it being someones primary MMO, or even something you'd necessarily put a lot of time into past finishing the story.

This video might also be relevant to you. It's a big MMO Youtuber who played a lot of GW2 in the past trying out GW1 for the first time. For what it's worth, he really liked it.

Click to shrink...

100%

I loved that game so much. It had so much...atmosphere. and the soundtrack! It's absolutely incredible! The pre-searing Ascalon music takes me back to the summer me and my friends first got the game and played it nonstop.

 

[J-Wood]

I still remember when I played the beta for this. I was online when that was shutting down and they had meteors fall from the sky and kill everyone lol.

Had every expansion, loved this game

 

[Grudy]

It was great at the time but I hesitate to recommend it now. It aged poorly.

 

[AaronMT]

I had no idea anyone is still playing it. wow.

 

[Happy Puppy]

yeah man i think one of my few 'realistic but maybe not' game wishlist items is for A.Net to remaster/re-release GW. Just to give it a breath of fresh life, not unlike what bliz did with WoW Classic. Get out there and restart it. Just doing everything fresh even if it was the same fucking game, if they marketed it, could still be a success I feel like. So many people at this point haven't played it because they were simply too young or hell not even alive lmao.

Click to shrink...

If I become a billionaire that would be my mission, and over buff mesmers cause fuck it I have money.

 

[Shadow Walker]

So many great memories. I love GW1 spent thousands of hours in it.

Winning the hall of heroes the first time was such an incredible feeling. Playing with my guild mates late at nights and just hanging out I miss those days.

<3

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Finally made my first character on Guild Wars 1, went with a Ranger.

Decided to start with Prophecies first, heard it's the slowest out of the campaigns but for a newcomer like myself this is probably the best place to start from a lore perspective.

I read that some people recommend starting Nightfall to unlock Heroes first, I just wouldn't know what to do with them once I got them because they need skills.

 

[Endymion]

I wish this would go on sale on Steam (or anywhere else for that matter) sometime. I did own it back in the day (boxed copy!), but don't have access to the login anymore.

 

[Real]

I wish this would go on sale on Steam (or anywhere else for that matter) sometime. I did own it back in the day (boxed copy!), but don't have access to the login anymore.

Click to shrink...

CheapPunk sells the Trilogy + Eye of the North for $21 all together.

 

[Wulfric]

I got excited about the then upcoming release of Guild Wars 2 which looked pretty cool and decided to buy Guild Wars 1 in the meantime
I think I actually ended up liking GW1 more, funny how that worked out
I just redownloaded it right now for kicks to log in and see my old character but it seems my account is locked for reasons unknown to me

Click to shrink...

Yeah just submit a ticket to CS. They're pretty good about things if you still have any of the keys associated with the account and a character name.