Where It All Began, Guild Wars: Prophecies

In a recent blog post I talked about the fourth anniversary of the Guild Wars series and it really got me thinking about my experiences while playing the game. When I first bought Guild Wars I had no idea what to expect and I certainly I had no idea that I would still be playing it four years later. The map is not only large, but also diverse giving little monotony. Now known as Guild Wars Prophecies, this game is not only a great introduction to the Guild Wars series, but it is also a wonderful stand alone game.


Guild Wars Prophecies is the first installment in the Guild Wars series and is still a great place to start for new GW players. After creating your character you find yourself in a beautiful area called Ascalon City. In this one town alone there are eleven quests available. When you leave Ascalon City you will find yourself in the Ascalon Region which has a total of five towns/outposts and six explorable areas! While this portion of the game is a tutorial, there is a lot that can be done, however, most of this area can be skipped if you so choose. While it is possible to quickly move on I do not recommend it if it is your first time playing GW. The Ascalon region is a beautiful place and unlike the rest of the GW map you can not come back to the area once you leave. The many quests that are available give the player more than enough to do in order to keep them interested. It also gives new players a chance to try out all the professions (as secondary and not primary) that are available. If you are a vetern GW player you might want to give this area of the game another look if it has been awhile. You might just find a new appreciation for this beautiful region.


After completing the tutorial you will find that the Ascalon region is a very different place. An event called "the searing" has devastated the land. The good news, however, is Post-Searing Ascalon is the first chance your new character has to access their storage. There is also access to different merchants, traders, and skill trainers. Post-Searing Ascalon is a large region containing eleven towns/outposts and nine explorable areas. While this is still early in the game and there
are not any high end weapons, this is a good time to salvage items in order to build up a good stock of materials for weapon and armor crafting later in the game. I personally find this a good excuse to explore the region and to be honest, I find a great delight in killing some of the creatures that can be found in this area.


Progressing through the game will lead you through snow, mountains, jungles, deserts, and finally a desolate lava filled island. One of the things that I love about GW is that the player has the option to progress quickly through the story line or go off the beaten path and complete any of the over 50 non-primary quests in the tutorial alone! Not only that, but playing as a different profession gives a great deal of replayability. Different professions require different tactics and even offers different quests. Guild Wars Prophecies is a great game on it's own and even better with the other campaigns. This is a game I highly recommend if you are a rookie or veteran in the genre.