Now that I have quit FFXI, I decided to pick this game up and give it a try. Here are my observations so far after about 30 hours of gameplay.

Positive:
- NO MONTHLY FEE. The developers plan to release an expansion every 6-9 months to make a living.
- Looks REALLY pretty, puts FFXI's visuals to shame
- Lots of variation in character models, there are about 100 different faces and about 60 different hair styles and colors as well as skin colors
- Each guild (like a linkshell) has their own customized cape
- Players arent as dependant on other people's help to complete quests and missions, it is always possible to hire AI controlled henchmen
- Very big world. So far I have only seen like 10% of the entire world, anc according to developers it will get a lot bigger with each expansion.
- Players can obtain many different dyes that they can use to give their armor and weapons their desired colors
- Voice overs during mission cut scenes, it's cool to actually hear your character and party members talk in cut scenes.
- After leveling, players can decide for themselves which attributes they wish to raise
- Over 150 spells to use for each job
- Players are able to switch server at any given time
- Though not as important, there are really LOTS of motion emotes, the dance and air guitar ones look especially cool
- During quests and missions, players can draw signals, notes and paths on the map compass so that the other part members know where to head next
- Players can use the world map to instantly travel to any town or outpost they have discovered so far. Really cuts down on that tedious, so much hated traveling time
- Loading times are nearly unexistant
- Very fast log in and out system; soon as you start the gamen you are logged in after 2 clicks on your mouse. To log out, you simply click a "x" at the top right of the screen and the game is instantly shut down without data loss. On a side note, next to the x button, there's the window button which allows the player to play the game windowed or minimize it without needing 3rd party programs.
- Downtime is nearly unexistant, health and mana are regained at an incredible speed
- Monsters don't simply wander about aimlessly like in other online RPGs; they are oftenly seen patrolling or scouting areas in large groups, or some attack you by surprise by crawling out of the ground near you

Complaints:
- Needs an auction house, really! Or at least give players the ability to set up bazaars. The trading system really is a joke as it is now, the chat channel constantly being spammed by shouts of people advertising their wares
- Buiding a party is another joke, only way to seek is by shouting that you're seeking. Only way to invite is by walking up to the person you wish to add, manually clicking him and invite
- Booting party members can only be done inside town or outpost
- Although it takes 100+ hours to get to level 20, the current level cap, it would still be nice if they'd raise the cap in later expansions. The current cap may be a blessing to some though, since players get to the end-game rather fast compaired to FFXI
- Monster's aggro range is a little too big, though more realistic, it's annoying that you have to keep miles away from a monster to avoid detection

I haven't tried the PvP yet but from what I hear, it's very deep. There are many different battle modes including things like king of the hill, 4vs4 deathmatch, capture the flag etc
Guilds can battle it out against eachother in official tournaments and their PvP stats and ranking are listed to the public on the official GW site.
Another interesting thing about the gameplay, which may be awesome to some while other may hate it; out of the 150 skills a players has, he can only equip 8 of them to use in the field. Skill setup can only be changed in town or outpost, so strategic choices need to made before leaving town.

That's about it so far, I may add new observations as I advance through the huge world. If anyone has any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

Here's some screens:

Close up of my Necromancer.


Looking out over the wastelands with my shiny new guild cape.

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holy shit im so trying this!

I have yet to pick it up ;_;.

Question(s):
1. Is it true monks are the equivalent of FFXI's white mage?
2. Is it fun?
3. How are the towns? Looks etc.

1. Yes, from what I have seen so far, they are the heal whores of GW.
2. It is in my opinion, I enjoy it more than FFXI so far. Pick it up if you're still hesitating, trying never hurts. It's only 40 bucks if you go to the right places and there's no monthly fee.
3. I have only seen 1 town yet but it is quite big. I quickly made a new random character to take a screenshot of it, since I can't return there anymore with my main char. (Major spoiler, highlight: The town gets destroyed after you do the first mission and the rest of the game is played 2 years later, in the kingdom's remaining ashes and ruins )
Just don't do Warmaster Tydus's mission before you've done many quests for easy spells, loot and exp in the surrounding lands. After you do his mission, you can never return there and the game gets a lot harder.

A view over the starting town's main square.

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Uhhh pretty. Okay, few more questions:

1.What are the roles of the mage jobs? And what are the melee classes(I heard its only Warrior and Ranger that true?)
2. Ummm dunno how to ask this but.. How do you feel about the job system? Does it feel too small becauase of only 6 classes? Are some classes completely overlooked like FFXI SMN?
3. Hows the combat system?

mage jobs are just like they are in FFXI. Nuker, enfeebler, healer, and (the class I wish FFXI had) necro. Now different from other games by choosing a second class you are not limited to it's abilities by half. Instead of 20rdm/10blm you are a 20war/20necro with only the started abilities and armor being the difference. Yes, the only "melee" is ranger and warrior. How you play your character, and it's true role is completely up to you.

I don't feel it is too small YET, and I shall explain as to why I feel this way. The job system, as it stands, allows for any combination of your choosing with only common sense being your guide lines. AS for over looked, I can't think of any way to over look a class here. Each one has it's very strong points, and weaknesses. It all depends on the situation you are in.

The {TAB} could use some help since it will randomly target something off my radar rather than the mob in front of my party.

Also, if you want to kill alot of the "I AM SELLING TEH LEET UBER BOOTS" just unclick "Trade". I normally never have local or trade up. Then again I have a perma....

hows the battle mode? compare it to somthing similar

EQ-ish, i'll take a SS of the battle mode

Some things that i found refreshing about Guild wars was 0 downtime energy(mp) and hp regen were fast out of battle.The skill system on surface seems simple but it can get suprisingly complex and its really balanced between jobs as far as ive experienced.One thing i recomend is try to find a good guild asap itll save you a lot of headaches since a lot of stupid people congegrate in free online games.

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Alexeia 65 Whm 69 Brd 31 Blm 34 Thf

very true on the guild idea. I just made a guild with people I know from other games/irl.

1. Here is a quick rundown of the currently available jobs:

- Warrior: The only close combat melee fighter. Because only the warrior has access to the toughest armors, he is usually the party's meat shield. Warriors are oftenly seen subbing Monk so that they can act as a paladin type tank, which works surprisingly well.
- Ranger: Uses a bow for piercing damage, they attack the target from afar and they can use pet animals to aid them in battle.
- Elementalist: Much like FFXI's black makes, these mages have low defenses but they have the most devastating spells in the game.
- Mesmer: Kind of like FFXI's red mage, these illusionits are the masters of enfeebling. Rather than damaging the enemy, their purpose is to make their victim's life a living hell. They also wear very pimp-like gear.
- Monk: Healing and support, not much else explaination is needed.
- Necromancers: Masters of dark magic, they drain the target's life, oftenly deal damage or support the party by sacrificing their own health. They have the unique ability to raise undead pets out of almost any corpse.

According to the developers, the upcoming expansion packs will introduce more professions.

2. Though some may think there's a lack of jobs, I don't feel like the job system is imcomplete right now as they are well balanced and there are really a lot of skills to collect for each job. More jobs will be added later should it make you feel better.

3. Here's a screen of a typical 1on1 fight:


Combat is in real-time. To attack something, just target it by clicking it with mouse or one of targeting hot keys and start casting or hacking away.
As you can see, the target's life bar is displayed, at the bottom of the screen you can see the macros for the 8 spells you equip. To use a spell, simply hit the 1-8 keys on your key board. Cast and recast time varies from spell to spell.
The red bar aboke the skill pallet is your life, which goes up by +20 each time you level, the blue bar is your energy (mana) Unlike life, energy capacity does not go up when raising your level, only by equiping certain items it will (the elementalist however, can raise it by leveling their unique attribute)
Life and energy regenerate at an incredible speed, this speed can even be improved with some gear so if played right, you're never short on energy for more than 2-3 seconds.
That about sums up the combat basics.

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Awesome. Sounds fun. I wanna me a Mesmer.