Random writing I've done, mostly horrible. Critism will not be apreciated.
Essay[ | ]
Guild Wars
by Zerris
Guild Wars is an MMORPG (or CORPG) created by ArenaNet. It allows one to explore and experience a wide variety of landscapes while playing an "Avatar" and while interacting with other people's Avatars. These Avatars are representations of players, and are entirely directed through player controls. This can provide a challenge, requires some skill, and can be a way to make new friends.
Guild Wars promotes skill and style, as seen in this quote from ArenaNet: "The game is designed to reward player skill and teamwork, not time spent playing..."[1]. One of the ways this is done is by giving players the freedom to create their own builds and change them whenever they wish. It is also promoted through the use of a Level Cap.
One of the main options in Guild Wars is PvP, or Player versus Player combat. This involves teams of entirely (or nearly entirely) player-controlled characters fighting each other in various locations. These teams are made up of players with many different abilities who may not always get along. Co-ordinating these vast arrays of builds to focus on a common goal takes skill, as does making the builds one would use to play in these locations.
A build is a set of Skills and Attributes that one could use to achieving a specific or general goal. Whether in PvE (Player versus Environment) or PvP, builds are essential to progress of any kind. In PvP, one assembles different builds to form a team. This team must then complete a wide variety of tasks, without knowing in advance which ones will be required. In PvE, one must have a build to proceed through the story line. Creating these builds takes a great deal of skill and style.
As with most MMORPGs, Guild Wars has a Level Cap. Unlike most of them, however, it has a very low Level Cap. The Level Cap is 20, and can be reached in a day or two, unlike the months to years of grinding normally needed. This encourages skill as it gives very little value to constant grinding for experience. Instead, one must out-think one's enemies, who continue to grow in levels even after you hit the cap. This takes a good bit of skill.
By allowing characters to reach the maximum level early in gameplay, Guild Wars helps to encourage skill over time. They also do this by allowing one to customize one's own build. The ability to customize allows for greater diversity and makes PvP a game of skill. All of these work together to make Guild Wars a great place to learn and gain experience.
Guild Wars also provides a multitude of challenges and gives one opportunities to overcome adversity. This can come in many forms. It may be fighting stronger then normal monsters called bosses, or it may come from completing the story line based missions with additional challenges. It may even come from specially named "Elite Missions". These are all ways to increase the difficulty of gameplay to suit one's personal preferences.
Scattered across the landscapes of Guild Wars are enemies who are more powerful then their surrounding counterparts and may have special abilities and skills, in addition to a unique name. These enemies are traditionally called bosses. Due to their extra powers, they are much harder to kill then a normal monster would be. Killing them is a challenge, and is necessary to advance through many missions.
These missions tend to have goals that must be reached to "beat" the mission. Some of these goals may involve killing a certain boss, rescuing a certain character, or something else entirely. In each circumstance, there are extra "optional" objectives that allow one to make the mission harder, at one's own choosing. These are typically called "bonus" or "masters" goals. Accomplishing them adds a great deal of challenge to what otherwise might be an easy mission.
For those who want even more challenge, there are Elite Missions. These are separate from the story line, and have enemies far stronger then normal and take hours to complete. For beating them, there are special rewards, such as powerful items that exist nowhere else. This extraordinary challenge also allows larger then normal sized teams, and every party member is needed for the task.
In these ways and many more, Guild Wars encourages one to explore the limits of their abilities. Whether by achieving a "Masters" reward, or by toppling bosses from their thrones, or ever by saving the world, one feels they have made a difference in the game by their actions. And all the while, one has friends and teammates by one's side, helping out. This helps one overcome any challenges that may lie ahead.
Teamwork is one of the most important aspects of Guild Wars. One cannot beat the game without allies. In almost any place in the game, from missions to quests or even just standing around talking, one can be part of a team. This attitude makes Guild Wars a much more friendly place. There are even Guilds and Alliances to facilitate communication between people within the game. These factors all contribute towards making Guild Wars a great place for meeting new friends. There is even a "friends list" which can have up to 60 people on it.
Whenever one is in a town or outpost, they can form a party. These parties consist of between two and twelve people, and can talk to each other separately from the other players in that outpost. These parties can do missions, quests, and just travel together. The parties will stay together until people leave on their own or are kicked by the team leader. Often a party will stay together for multiple hours, doing a whole series of activities together. These parties are a great way to make new friends.
Also in place are systems called "Guilds" and Alliances". These are, in part, the reason for the name "Guild Wars". Within each Guild, you can see who is online, when they last logged on, and you can talk to them through a feature known as "Guild Chat". An Alliance is a group of guilds that agree to work together, and you can talk to everybody in the alliance through "Alliance Chat". A Guild can hold up to 100 people, and an Alliance can hold up to 10 Guilds. There are thousands of Guilds in Guild Wars of all different styles, some nearly full and some only having a few close friends. Joining a Guild (preferably one that fits your style) allows you to interact with many new people, and make many new friends.
There are also the oft-mentioned missions. Most of these missions allow eight people, and take a lot of cooperation to complete. For most missions, players will form teams with other people, friends or strangers, in order to complete these missions. The fairly relaxed style and prolonged time spent in the mission allows one to make many new friends, who can get together again for other missions and quests.