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Frequently Asked Questions
| Guild Wars 2 frequently asked questions | |||
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[edit] General Questions
No. There is no monthly subscription fee. Once you purchase the box or a game key, you are free to play as much as you want.
Yes. The game includes micro-transactions via the Gem Shop. Items that can be purchased via the gem shop are cosmetic, intended to provide a convenience or are account services, such as adding character & bag slots. Gem shop items will not offer any substantial gameplay advantage over those available through the investment of time. You will also be able to trade coin, earned in-game, for gems that other players spent cash to buy.
No. ArenaNet has specifically said that they are not trying to make another World of Warcraft clone. Their core ideals of accessibility, playing how you want to play, the ability to play with your friends, and not having to wait until maximum level to 'begin playing the game' have been prominently mentioned in the press for the game. The game also does not use the conventional "Holy Trinity" system of DPS, healer, and tank, but instead uses a damage, control, and support system. [1]
The only place ArenaNet can legally take player suggestions is the feedback area on the Guild Wars Wiki. Head over there, create an account , and post your ideas. Don't forget to review other players' suggestions, too.
Check the Guild Wars 2 article or use the search feature to look for more details here on the wiki. If you are sure the information is not available here, ask your question on this article's talk page.
Start with the official website, official twitter account, and official facebook page. This wiki's main page includes links to the latest news and an article with links to various interviews. Plenty of fansites also publish speculations and unconfirmed details.
Yes. An official strategy guide will be published by Brady Games. You can pre-order one from the same vendors that are selling pre-order and pre-purchase versions of the game.
Yes. Currently in production are the Guild Wars 2 mouse, headset, and 3 different mousepads. [2] [edit] Release and testing
August 28th, 2012 (official announcement)
No. The public beta testing is over and the game has been released in August 28th, 2012.
None are known. It seems unlikely there will be more.
There have been demos at various game conventions. Currently, there is no other way to play, outside of the planned events described above.
English, Spanish, German, French, and other yet-unspecified European languages will be supported when the game launches.[7][8] ArenaNet has not stated whether voice work will be translated into every language. Support for Asian languages will be added later.
No. ArenaNet has decided to do away with the system used in Guild Wars, since it tends to split the community and requires redundant tutorial systems. Instead, the developers will add new content via some type of expansion mechanism.[9] [edit] Original Guild Wars
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.
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.[10]
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, but has not been scheduled for development. Full, purchasable expansions haven't been entirely ruled out, but they seem unlikely.
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.[11]
After launch day, all remaining names will lose their reservation and become available to all Guild Wars 2 players.[11]
Yes, if you link your accounts, your Guild Wars in-game achievements recorded in the Hall of Monuments will be translated into special titles, animal companions, miniatures, an exclusive armor set, and one exclusive skin for each type of weapon. For further reference, see the article on the Hall of Monuments Reward Calculator or refer to the Hall of Monuments article.
By account. A player may link a Guild Wars 2 account to a Guild Wars account using an in-game item in Guild Wars 2. All characters on the account will then be able to access the rewards from the Hall of Monuments.[12] [edit] Technical stuff
The minimum requirements are:[13]
ArenaNet reserves the right to update these requirements, depending on changes to the game. This might require that a small number of players upgrade or replace their system to continue playing.[13]
No. You must have a broadband connection, i.e. a DSL or cable connection.
No. Only DirectX 9 is required. However, DirectX 10 is supported. [14]
Mac - Yes, ArenaNet has just released a beta client for OS X; Linux - Not officially. ArenaNet has not given any indication that they will offer support for those platforms. A number of players have installed Guild Wars 2 on Wine and successfully participated in one or more Beta Weekend Events.
No. There are no plans to implement the idea. However, a small team is exploring the possibility.[15]
Not at this time. ArenaNet has mentioned the idea, but never released any specifics about it.
Not officially. As with the original Guild Wars, neither ArenaNet nor NCSoft support the use of third party software with GW2; any problems that you have as a result of doing so must be resolved on your own. In addition, players must take care that they are always in compliance with the terms and conditions of the End User Licensing Agreement. The companies reserve the right to suspend or ban accounts that are found to be using software that gives an unfair advantage to players.
Yes. The soundtrack can be altered with customized playlists and audio files. You can also choose to replace some music in certain situations (e.g. during combat), but not in others. I don't know why you might want to since the music is quite epic.
Possibly. Depending on your computer's hardware you may experience reduced performance, visual artifacts, and/or crashes. [edit] Servers/Worlds
Yes. When you log into the game for the first time, you will have the opportunity to choose your home world, which you will represent during World versus World.[16]
Yes. If you do so, you will be logged out briefly while the game moves your account to the new region.
Yes. You can change your home world. There will be a limit of one such transfer every seven days per account; each transfer will cost 1,800 gems. After a transfer, all existing and future characters on your account will play in the new world.
Yes. Guesting allows you to participate in PvE content on an alternative server. However, you can only participate in WvW via your home world.
Each world will host "many thousands" at a time. There is a limit per map in the world, although ArenaNet has offered a specific number. Each World versus World map is going to support up to 500 players.[17] [edit] Gameplay
Yes. Your character will be able to jump as a movement mechanic. Jumping off cliffs and up platforms is also possible, though long jumps can damage your character and jumps from higher distances can be fatal.
No.[18]
Yes. You will be able to instantly travel to any discovered waypoint.
No. For traveling long distance, the game will offer the two types of teleports above (waypoints and asura gates), but the initial release does not have any other methods, i.e. there are no mounts or ships.[19]
No. There will be no henchmen or heroes. The companion system mentioned in early interviews about Guild Wars 2 has been discarded.[20]
Yes. Armor will affect your stats and boost your attributes, depending on upgrades and bonuses. Each piece of armor also has a minimum required level in order to use it, with those specified for higher levels offering better bonuses.
No. The appearance of the armor has nothing to do with its quality. A set of level 30 scholar's armor from a city vendor, will offer the same potential benefits as a set of level 30 armor obtained from a dungeon. The difficulty of an area is not directly tied to the quality of the armor. However... some of the more interesting skins are only available in more difficult areas, such as dungeons.
No. Similar to armor, the difficulty of the area determines what the weapons look like, but not how powerful they are. Weapons specified for higher level characters will offer better bonuses.
There are several types of rewards available in the game.
[edit] Character
Players start with five character slots. Players can purchase additional slots through the gem store.
No. One character can participate in everything that GW2 has to offer; there is only one type of character.
No. See above.
In sPvP, your character is scaled up to the maximum level, and all of your skills/traits are unlocked. Skills and stats obtained in this way are only temporary and will be lost upon leaving structured PvP. The sPvP lobby area offers attack dummies, so that you can familiarize yourself with the various upgrades, skills, and trait builds.
Yes. During World vs World, enemy players and NPCs killed will "drop" armor and weapons for all players who contributed to the kill. These drops are generated by the game. They are not items drawn from the dead player's inventory. All armor and weapons dropped will be appropriate for the level of the character receiving the drop, allowing a character to viably raise their level and gear through WvW alone.[21] [edit] Levels
80.
For PvE, Guild Wars 2 uses a dynamic level adjustment system that scales high level characters down to match the area in which they play. This ensures that a higher level character never feels that a level is too easy for them to return to, making all content, "end-game" content. Additionally, a higher level character can not grief lower level areas, by killing every thing in sight. In World vs World and structured PvP, all characters will be scaled to level 80, however only sPvP characters will also see their weapons scaled up.
No. There is no kill stealing in Guild Wars. Everyone receives the same opportunity to receive rewards, kills, or harvest from nodes. If multiple players kill a monster together, each will receive credit for killing it.
No. The time needed to level up should always be about the same and never exceed 90 minutes.[22] [edit] Playable races
There are five races planned for the initial release: asura, charr, human, norn, and sylvari.
ArenaNet has said that they plan to add other playable races, sometime in the future.[23]
Yes. There are appearance differences and unique customization options for each race. Each race comes with a number of racial skills which give them a unique flavor. For example, the norn will be able to shapeshift into animal forms and the asura will be able to use golems. These utility skills are weaker than equivalent skills provided by a profession.[24] ArenaNet wants the choice of race to have a significant effect on gameplay but, at the same time, for races to be equally effective at playing all professions; for this reason, there are no racial traits. [edit] Professions
There will be 8 professions in the initial release of Guild Wars 2.
No. There will not be a dedicated healing profession in Guild Wars 2. Instead, each class has one skill slot reserved for a self-heal. There are also support skills that will heal allies, although these will be weaker than self-heal skills. Additionally, there are no skills which directly target allies; any skills which affect the user's allies will do so because the allies are in the area of the caster, in the area of a ground-targeted ability, or in the area of an enemy who is struck by a skill with a secondary effect. The intention is to give support classes an outlet for their protective nature while also requiring them to be fully aware of the battlefield, instead of just watching their allies' health bars. The guardian's defensive magic is based around wards and blocks and, like any profession, it has no skills that can directly target allies. Guardians will don heavy armor and they can do some minor healing, but they have few other similarities to paladins or traditional Warrior/Monk classes.
No. (At one time, ArenaNet considered allowing secondaries in the game, but they were removed for a variety of reasons.)
No. There will not be any restrictions based on race. There will be racial skills, but these will generally be weaker than similar profession-based skills.
No. [edit] Skills
No. Foes are no longer tied to the profession system which makes a skill capture system impractical.
The first weapon skill and one healing skill are available from the start of the game. Weapon skills are unlocked by using that weapon in combat. Healing, utility and elite skills will be acquired by other means, such as purchase from skill trainers or rewards from a karma vendor.
The Guild Wars 2 skill bar has ten skills. The first five skills are determined based on your profession and your currently equipped weapon set (or environmental weapons, such as wielding a rock, using a siege weapon or carrying a bucket). The last 5 skills are selected by the player; the sixth slot is reserved for healing, the next three slots for utility skills, and the tenth for an elite skill.
In the initial release, there are over 450 skills: over 250 from weapon choices, 35 from healing, 200 utility, 8 racial, and 60 elites.
The trait system will enable players to create different builds to suit their play style, even while using the same skills. Traits affect recharge times, can add or lengthen the duration of conditions, and affect profession-dependent abilities, such as stealth for thieves. In addition, players can alter the their attributes with traits or by their choice of equipment, thus directly or indirectly improving things like health or damage. [edit] PvE
Yes. Each race starts in a different area and has a different storyline. However, friends playing different races can meet up after completing a short tutorial and traveling via an asura gate to a racial capital city of their choice.
Yes. There are eight crafting disciplines which you can choose and you can swap between them without losing progress or recipes. Players will not be able to specialize solely in crafting. Players will only have to craft items if they want the item to use or sell, rather than to "level up."
Yes. There is a Trading Post which allows a player to buy or sell items. You can also place an order for an item, hoping that someone will sell you the item, for the price you are offering. Buying/selling of items must be performed in-game but monitoring can be done from a web browser or smartphone application without being in-game.
No. Not in the initial release. However, each character will have access to a home instance in their race's capital; it is personalized according to the character's biography choices. The home will evolve as the character becomes more involved in their personal story. Currently, home instances do not include any player-configurable components, such as a house or moveable furniture.
You no longer have to speak to an NPC: events will begin without player intervention, putting an end to the green exclamation points that hover above NPC heads in many games.
Yes, at least, much of the time. You can participate in your personal storyline, crafting, and dynamic events without anyone else around, if you choose. A notable exception to this, however, is the final story quest "Victory or Death" which involves successfully going through the Arah Dungeon in the Cursed Shore. As with all dungeons, a full party of five players is recommended. Any dynamic event listed as a Group Event will also be difficult or impossible to complete alone.
Not exactly. While each race has a unique tutorial instance where new characters begin play, the content is limited to a short, single event chain.
The personal story is the line of events that your character follows as the general story and tasks are progressed; there are similarities to GW's primary mission/quest system. It does not seem likely that the personal story is repeatable, since its completion has a persistent impact on your home instance, but ArenaNet has not specifically ruled the possibility out. [edit] Persistence
A persistent world is one that continues to exist and change even after a user has exited it.
There are two primary advantages to persistence:
Yes, there are short loading screens. No, it's not a completely seamless world. You will see a loading screen when you transfer between two major zones (e.g. leaving a city) and a very brief delay when transfering between waypoints within a zone.
Yes. There are two types of instanced areas: those created to follow a character's personal storyline and dungeons.
[edit] Setting
You will be unable to travel to these areas in the initial release of Guild Wars 2, but they are expected to be added in future releases. To read up on lore, refer to the The Movement of the World article.
Yes. The cycle will be faster than real time. Events and monster spawning will change based on the time of day. Centaurs might attack a camp at dawn, and ghosts haunting an ancient battlefield might only be visible at night. Currently, the cycle lasts 2 hours with 80 minutes of day and 40 minutes of night, but this is subject to change before release.[25]
There will be extensive underwater areas to explore, and Aqua Breathers will allow characters to avoid suffocation for any amount of time. Additionally, an entirely separate combat system has been designed for underwater battles; characters are forced into underwater mode when submerged, swapping automatically to an aquatic weapon and modifying the effects of non-weapon skills to suit an underwater environment. [edit] PvP
Currently, the game includes two types:
In addition, certain activities are also considered PvP, e.g. bar brawling and snowball fights.
It has been stated that a character which is taken into structured PvP will be given fixed level, and have access to the same set of skills, items, and professions as other players. World versus World will use the equipment and skill of the character entering, but the character will be leveled up to 80.
Players can only attack and kill each other in PvP-designated areas.
Not at this time. But, ArenaNet is considering the idea.[26] [edit] Guilds
No.
Yes. Each character can choose to represent a different guild.[24] Only one character per account needs to be invited, since each will show up in the guild roster as a single member,[26] however, each character must individually press the "represent" button to enable their participation with that guild.
Yes. The game includes guild achievements and guilds can accrue influence which can be spent on upgrades, including guild storage. In World vs World, guilds will be able to conquer and maintain keeps. The game will include a guild calendar and enable guild chat from a web browser.[24]
No. If you want to do that, the guild leaders have to manually restrict membership based on character race.
ArenaNet has not offered a definitive answer and there was no alliance option during any of the Beta Weekend Events.
The initial size of a guild will be 50. It can be upgraded to 500, about half the maximum size of an alliance in Guild Wars.
Yes. These ranks are set by default and you can change that. You can also create additional roles, e.g. to manage guild storage or guild upgrade choices.
We do not know.
Not at launch. However, ArenaNet said that they will be offered sometime later.[27] [edit] References
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