What will happen to Guild Wars when GW2 launches?

This is a question that many of us still playing Guild Wars are asking both ourselves and those ingame. There is a genuine concern for the possible drop in server population once Guild Wars 2 goes live. I don't think that the population will totally disappear, but I do think that saying that there will not be a noticeable difference is naive at best. Now they have come out and said that there will still be new content and events going on in the future for the original Guild Wars while they are still doing GW2. As one that can't afford to pick up any new game in the near future due to lack of available funds, it is nice to see that the game I'm currently playing does infact have a future.


A little bit to know about Guild Wars future:

The development team at ArenaNet realized, at the time they started work on the fourth Guild Wars campaign, that there were so many things they wanted to do but couldn't fit into the existing game. They decided that making Guild Wars 2 was the best way for them to do what they wanted to the game.

Can I keep on playing Guild Wars?

Yes. ArenaNet has stated that the Guild Wars servers will stay open after GW2 is released. There will continue to be special events and patches for players who stay playing Guild Wars.

Are there going to be any more expansions for Guild Wars?

ArenaNet has already released some small expansions that help bridge the gap in the story between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2; these do not require purchase to access. A third storyline has been plotted for development. Full, purchasable expansions haven't been entirely ruled out, but they seem unlikely. If they are created, it will not happen until after the release of Guild Wars 2

Can I transfer a Guild Wars character to Guild Wars 2?

No, character transfers between the games are not possible. However, you can reserve your existing Guild Wars character names for use in Guild Wars 2.

So at the very least, we do know that we will be able to enjoy our current incarnation, but the real concern is, will people come back to still play GW while still playing GW2. I think that the answer will be yes, and for a rather simple reason. Unlike many MMOs, there is no monthly fee to play, so you can freely play both games without any financial strain, which is why many people end up leaving a game in the first place. I will keep an update here as the game goes on after GW2s launch. So until then....Game On!

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Wizard 101: Is it really just for kids?

Put simply...no, it's not.  Although the game looks very child-like in appearance, the game does have quite a bit going for it. It take a lot of pieces from games and blends them in to an mmo that anyone can play and have fun with. The fighting style is that of a card game such as Pokemon.

Each person or enemy takes it's turn to attack or heal. You have a health and a mana globe that you have to watch carefully since you do not have an endless supply of either.  When you find yourself low on health or mana, you can either fund little sprites that will restore your levels slowly as you "capture" them or you can go to a fairgrounds like place and by playing mini games, you fill up your levels again. Simply put, the game is designed to be fun and not for the hardcore player at all. I was a bit hesitant to play when my 8yr old godson asked me to play with him.  But I downloaded it anyway and started running around with him. As he showed me more of the stuff, I saw first hand that this game actually has some depth to it. I still really only play the game with him, but if you are looking for a mmo style game that you can just play with very little pressure or stresses, this is your game. I recommend you try it, you might just be surprised to catch yourself enjoying it.

Until my next post....Game On!

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SWTOR: Will F2P have good features for the free players too?

So we have been given a little bit more information about what the limitations will be for F2P players that want to play SWTOR.



Story Content
Players can play their full class stories from levels 1 to 50.

Character Creation Choices
Some character creation options, such as species, are limited to subscribers.

Warzones
Free-to-Play members will have limited weekly access to Warzones.

Flashpoints
Free-to-Play members will have limited weekly access to Flashpoints.

Space Missions
Free-to-Play members will have a weekly cap on Space Missions.


Operations
Only subscription members can access Operations.


Travel Features
Subscription members have access to all travel functionality, making getting around the world easier.

Game Login
Subscription members will always be in login queues ahead of free players.

Galactic Trade Network
Subscription members can post up to 50 auctions for sale. (free player limitations not known yet)


Although I do agree with most of this as being a good idea, I don't agree with operations for paying players only. Operations should be available to ANY player....for a price. Make a key, much like the old WoW burning crusade heroic keys. Purchase 1 key at the F2P launch that will give you access to all of the past operations and from that point on, a purchasable key for every operation that comes out after that. I also think that those of us that might have stopped playing for awhile but have had very active subscriptions in the past, and are getting the coins for those past months, should be able to buy the key for those past operations for a VERY discounted price (coin price) as a "thank you for coming back" sort of thing.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out and what will really be in the game once November gets here and the F2P launches.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic - Is level 15 really high enough?

That is the question I keep asking myself over and over. At level 15, you are just barely getting in to your characters storyline. In my opinion, that's not really enough to really get a good feel for what the game really has to offer. You are just barely getting past selecting your advanced class spec.

I think that level20 or 25 would be better at getting more people to buy the full version account, and here's why I think that...

•  By level 25 you are now getting deeper in to your characters storyline to the point of wanting to know what is next for that character. Much like watching a suspense movie and 1/2 way through, you have to decide if you wanna watch the rest of the movie.

•  At level 25, the game gets a bigger boost to it's fun factor because you don't have to walk everywhere anymore, you get your first speeder. Anyone that has ever played an mmo in the past can tell you that it really changes the game when it doesn't take forever to walk somewhere.

• By level 20 and 25, you not only have your ship, but you have unlocked some of the space missions. This is yet another aspect of the game you really don't get a good chance to check out in the current level 15 limit.

• By level 20 and 25, if you enjoy PvP, you get a big boost to the enjoyment of the warzones. You can get your first PvP set at level 20 and by level 25, you have some nice abilities to match your PvP gear to allow for a good deal more fun.

Now, I do understand that there are people that do not care about character storyline or plots. But by level 25, you have given those players enough of a taste of EVERY aspect of the game (warzones, speeders, more planets to quest on via personal starship, PvP gear, ect.) to really get them hook to the point of getting a full subscription to the game.

Remember, this is just my opinion. Although I do always welcome comments about my posts, whether they are pro or con my point, but please remember that this is not fact when commenting.  Until my next post....Game On!


UPDATE: This just released by Activision...

STAR WARS®: The Old Republic™ will move to a more accessible two-tiered pricing
model in November. Players can chose between a $14.99 premium monthly
subscription and a free-to-play model with some restrictions on content and advanced
features. Players will be able to purchase upgrades with in-game currency.

So this does somewhat prove my point, although I am among though that are saddened by the fact that it didn't even last a year before it went free-to-play.

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Living in BC times again!

So lately, WoW has just been missing something to me. It took me awhile to figure it out, but I finally did. I miss the REAL challenge that you had but in the Burning Crusade. I miss the attunments you needed to do in order to actually be able to get in to a raid. I miss the real risk of being killed by mobs that were only 4 levels higher than you were. I miss the real need to work together in a dungeon or raid group. The fact that you couldn't really carry people through stuff like you can now. It has just become a little bit.....boring.  Well, after a lot of searching, I have found the answer to all of my problems...private servers. I now play on a private server that only goes up to patch 2.4.3. So the best you can hope for in content is to get in to Sunwell Plateau, which is still an amazing place in my book.

It's also amazing to see the fact that the server has that sense of community that you actually had back then too. There are no cross server BGs, raids, dungeons, nothing. You use the old LFG where you say what you are looking to run and people looking to fill spots see you and invite you to their group, or you ask in chat about a run you want to do. One advantage that the server does have though is cross faction stuff. You can run dungeons and raids with members of the opposing faction. This I think is amazing and actually brings the server a little bit closer together, there by making the game a bit more fun.

And unlike a lot of private servers, there are no HUGE XP, honor, reputation or gold buffs. you get about what you would have gotten back when BC was current content. I'm telling you, if you long for those days again, there is nothing better then seeing in chat "LFM 1healer, 2dps for SSC then g2g".

And until my next post...Game on!

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Who is this guy?

I thought I'd start off my first post on this new blog with a little background about myself as a gamer. I have been playing RPGs since the mid 1980s with Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior on the original Nintendo. I've always loved games, but RPGs were my favorite by far. Then my life started down a path that would change the way I game forever. While I was dating my now wife, she introduced me to Warcraft 2. I instantly went crazy for it. Although it was move of a strategy game, I loved the characters in it. With my eyes open to Warcraft, I saw a game in a Best Buy while I was buying some CD or something....World of Warcraft! I went home that day and looked it up and "OMG...THERE'S A FREE TRIAL!!!"  2 days in to my 14 day free trial, my wife and I decided we needed to buy this game. 2 WoW accounts later and life has never been the same, lol. I've played and/or still do play serveral other MMORPGs including Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Star Trek Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Although I do enjoy other MMOs, I seem to always come back to World of Warcraft. I had played it since just before Burning Crusade launched. I lead a guild and a raid team that from Karazhan to Blackwing Decent and everything in between.

After over 6 years of playing, the change in players mentality and play styles caused me to decide to leave WoW. I moved on to Star Wars: The Old Republic, which I stated playing during the beta. Very good game and yet, after only about 6 months, I found myself going back to play WoW as well. My wife and I still enjoy playing SW:TOR and WoW mainly and I have even got my godson in to MMOs.  So that is just a little bit about me and my gaming background. I'm sure there will be more insights in coming posts, lol. So until my next post....game on!

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