Guild Wars creates more skill-based challenge
By Michael Lafferty

MMO title give players option to create pre-built PvP avatars

Some months back I penned a column about combat models. In that feature, I attempted to illustrate some ideas about what one massively multiplayer online game was doing. The game was Guild Wars. While the illustrations used to talk about that idea were sound, the analogy was flawed from the start.

Why?

Because in that analogy of skills, the idea was proposed of a level 40 avatar meeting up with a much lower-level player. What made that so flawed is simple – there will not be level 40 avatars in the game. The level cap is 20. The forums over at http://www.guild-hall.net roundly roasted both the column and the author. And deservedly so. That is a Web site of Guild Wars fans, and they took offense at the flaws in the column. Some of the comments were a little extreme, but it was cleared up, for the most part.

In the interim, the current beta of Guild Wars has done a few things that have made the PvP combat even more skill-based. Rather than let players create an avatar and acquire equipment and skills, the playing field was leveled tremendously.

How? Well, the game allowed players to create either a PvP avatar or one to explore the game’s quests and levels. The latter could still find gladiator arenas, but the PvP-exclusive avatars were all level 20, were all equipped with armor and weapons befitting their builds and you could create that avatar based on pre-determined classes – like a Wolf Child (warrior/ranger) or Paladin (warrior/monk) or Shock Sniper (ranger/elementalist). There were approximately 21 pre-built avatars, set up for PvP arenas. Once created, that avatar was restricted to the PvP competition. They come with weapons, skill/spells, and armor.

One could either fight in the Gladiators Arena in random teams, or in the Tomb of Primeval Kings, where you can built your teams. (The character you build for the game’s quest mode can also indulge in PvP, but you will have to build your own skill sets and outfit yourself).

Consider that for a moment … It is a totally level playing field, one in which skill at PvP comes into play, not just a case of who has the most elite weapon. There is no chance that a lower-level player can run in at the end of a fight, get in the killing blow on a level 20 and then stand there and taunt the fallen player. Everyone is level 20, and sure, there will still be those who run in from behind, take one shot, get the killing blow and then mouth off about how uber they are, or how inferior the other player is, but with the playing field so equal, it comes down to skill. It also comes down to strategy.

In the random team format, there is still a lot of charge and let’s hope we have the last players standing. That is part and parcel of the neophyte PvPer’s strategy. The more experienced players tend to hold back just a bit more, to check out the opposition, and to see how the environment may interplay with the combat (not a huge thing thus far, but still there are some ways to use the combat arenas to advantage).

Hats off to ArenaNet for such a skillful idea. This is intriguing, exciting and challenging. If you drop into the Guild Wars Web site (http://www.guildwars.com/) you will also see that there is a ladder for guilds in PvP competition.

Remember, this is Guild Wars, not solo wars. While it would be nice to see some individual gladiatorial arenas, and/or tournaments with a ranking system and points award to the guild for the competition, but for now the emphasis seems to be on guilds. However, before the forums start heating up, this does not preclude head-to-head, player-versus-player competition in other areas.

The FAQs on the Guild Wars home page state that:

“Although there will be many positive aspects of belonging to a guild, there will be so many single-player missions, team cooperative and competitive missions as well as individual player-versus-player missions that you can be assured of many of those gaming sessions that run into the wee hours, no matter your playing style. Missions will come in all sizes and difficulties and can be joined individually, as part of a one-time team or as a member of a full-fledged guild.”

It has been a while since checking in with this game, but with the release on the horizon, it is terrific to see how well this game is shaping up. The world is wonderful to look at, and the combat elements have been moderately revamped so that players can either jump in for quick PvP action or custom-build an avatar for the battles. It will be interesting to see if stats are kept on how many pre-built avatars are involved in the combat compared to custom-built characters. It may be a safe bet to say that initially there will be a lot of pre-fab characters in the arenas, but as time weaves along the fabric of post-release, and players have the chance to explore the world, and glean unique items, customize and upgrade them, that the customized avatar will make a bigger impact on the PvP arenas.  

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