Guild Wars Final Beta This Friday

This Friday you can get in on the Final Beta test for the hack and slash MMOG, Guild Wars. Commentary is available on Grimwell Online. From the article: " The main claim to fame of GuildWars is being the only MMORPG without a monthly fee. It will be interesting to see how that business model works out. Is it really the monthly fee that stops a MMORPG from greatness, or is it the nerdy gameplay?" Update: 01/05 22:26 GMT by H : I spoke with a representative of GuildWars; the above information is false. The beta program will be continuing as currently implemented. As well, GuildWars has not yet stated a final release date other than early 2005; that is still true, and in the meantime, development continues on the game -- and support will be continuing for the beta program.

Re:MMORPG?

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

When I played outside the "mission zones" the only people I saw were NPCs.

That's Massive in that "There's so much room you won't find other people" but not Massive in that "There are thousands of other people playing along with you"

And, as I said, the game's more like Diablo but without all the fun bits.. But if you like it, that's your opinion. And it's wrong.

Re:MMORPG?

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

4-8 Isn't MASSIVE. Balance is all fine and dandy, but the game isn't Massive. Maybe they should call it

"A small group of people playing at the same time online slightly role playing game"

Guild Wars - The Next Gen Online RPG

[Troncek]

I'm an alpha tester on the GW team since March and let me tell you why GW is IMHO going to be the next big thing in online gaming.

1. ArenaNet (a very talented team, some ex-Blizzard guys that worked on WoW for a while, Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo .. you name it). They are constantly in contact with the alphas and the community, giving us access to their commands/servers, joking with us and are overall really cool people. I can't name a company that is cooler then them. ;)

2. No grind, skill matters (if you haven't played a real 8vs8vs8vs8vs8 Tombs map or GvG you don't know what GW PvP is all about). Teamplay is very important. The fast-paced PvP reminds me of FPS clan fights a little.

3. The skill system that somewhat resembles Magic: The Gathering. 450+ skills but you can only build a deck of 8 and use them in connection to your character specification and specializations. Also building a good solid team build with 64 skills that covers most of the tactics and anti-tactics requires a lot of planning.

4. Streaming tech that downloads the game assets as you play the game. Brilliant! Fast bug fixes and exploits, new material,...

5. One of the best looking online RPGs to date.

6. A great single player story that will continue with chapters / expansion packs. Jess Lebow is the author (Baldur's Gate I and II,...).

7. Great network code. Runs and plays smooth like a baby po-po. Build for people with crappy connections.

8. No downtime, since multiple instances of servers can be run. They take some down and in the mean time you can play without interruptions.

9. No shards / realms. A global PvP/GvG network. You can switch to international districts with just a few mouse clicks. Real world-wide tournaments and GvG battles.

10. No monthly fee and you can still play with friends who have bought an expansion pack you didn't.

This and the game is fun! :)

Oh and no, the January BWE event is not the final one. They just today added a new UI code (movable and customizable) so I guess they still have a lot of features to add.