After the lastest flurry of information to come out of ArenaNet about Dynamic Events in Guild Wars 2 (some re-hashed and with some clarifying Q&A based on previous reveals), I am quite pleased to see news spreading among the blogosphere and news sites, with increasing numbers of commenters jumping on the GW2 anticipation bandwagon. As with new things, and people new to things, there are questions that old-timers like myself are very familiar with, but need to be asked nonetheless.
Still, it’s a bit bemusing to see three people ask the same question in Tobold’s post on Guild Wars 2’s Dymanic Events – two of them posted after I responded to the original inquiry.
If only there were a FAQ or or a Wiki or something to deal with these concerns!
So without further ado, I will add yet another redundant location to find answers to the three most oft-asked questions about Guild Wars 2.
1) Will Guild Wars 2 be instanced like Guild Wars?
No. From the Guild Wars 2 FAQ:
“Guild Wars 2 provides a massive, online persistent world…. While Guild Wars 2 adds a persistent-world experience, it retains the unique characteristics of the original game, including strong narrative, extensive instanced gameplay, anti-grind design philosophy, and strong support for competitive play.”
If that wasn’t clear enough, here is more from the Wiki:
“There will be changes to the instancing system used. Persistent areas, similar to those traditionally used in other online multiplayer games, will be introduced to Guild Wars which may allow players to meet and interact while exploring. Instances will still be used to further storytelling within the game and for missions and dungeons.
A day/night cycle, faster than real-time, is being added to the game and some events will occur and monsters appear depending on the in-game time. There will be weather effects in-game. The interior of houses and buildings in the environment will be accessible to players.”
2) Can you jump in Guild Wars 2?
Yes. From the Guild Wars 2 Wiki:
“Guild Wars 2 will be a true 3D environment which will allow characters to jump over obstacles as well as swim and dive underwater.”
And finally,
3) Will Guild Wars 2 have a subscription fee?
No. From the FAQ:
“Nope. Like the original Guild Wars, there will be no subscription fee for Guild Wars 2. You just buy the game and play it online without paying a monthly fee.”
Any questions?
*Thanks to Hunter’s Insight for reminding me about the recurring subscription fee question!
Casual Is As Casual Does 
So wait, will there be jumping in Guild Wars 2? I don’t think they’ve been clear enough on the subject.
In all seriousness though, I do wish people that are interested enough to comment would be interested enough to do the tiniest bit of research as well.
It blows my mind how many people still ask about subscription fees. It’s like they’re ignoring all the information, or refuse to believe it and are convinced it’s just a wicked trick.
I think they’re jealous.
i have one thing to say ITS EPIC TIME in 20 weeks :[
Hey! Thanks for clearing the instanced part up! Of course persistent doesn’t mean shit, everything that’s moving is persistent – I believe lack of using the word ‘Open-World” is what’s making people suspicious. We’ll see just how ‘persistent’ this game is come release.
Hello John! Well, that does depend on your meaning of “open world.” Does “Open World” mean “seamless” (i.e. are there no zone markers, are dungeons non-instanced) – in other words, are Vanguard and Everquest the only games with “open worlds”?
Or does “open world” mean “mostly seamless” a la games like WoW which has no zone transitions via loading screen, but features instanced dungeons?
Or does “open world” mean “mostly seamless and occasionally zoned” a la Age of Conan and Everquest II, which has loading screens when crossing certain (smallish) zone lines?
Interviews and game footage from Gamescom and PAX point to a middle ground between the second and third options. ANet’s Izzy Cartwright has said that zones are so large that it should be possible to run for hours without encountering a zone line and, thus, a loading screen.
The question really is, then: is that “open world” enough for you? 🙂
just saw a few vids where they were running through instanced zones… looked like you had to run through an instance and wait in a loading screen when entering cities and some zones.
No, zoning/loading screens are not indicative of instances. The only instances in the demo footage that has been released are the intitial Shaemoor tutorial (which is a shared instance up until the defeat of the Elemental boss) and the “Home Instance” which is a city block within Divinity’s Reach (the personal storyline IS instanced, not the overworld). All other loading screens were due to zoning from one (non-instanced) area to another, or using teleports.
sooo will it be an open world like LOTRO is like theres no portal to go to a safe place and.. or is it like guild wars where you have to have a party…
It’ll be like LOTRO, not Guild Wars 1. LOTRO is a particularly good example, since certain bits of the epic storyline in LOTRO are instanced, as well as dungeons. This is how it will be with the personal storyline and dungeons in GW2, but the remainder of the world will be open as in LOTRO.
To sum up: no “hub” towns where you get a party together and venture forth into an “open” explorable. You will run around and interact with other players all the time in the world, killing mobs, interacting with NPCs, etc. both in town and out on the road. The only exception is the personal storyline, which you can do solo or with a party, and dungeons.
[…] Guild Wars 2: No, it won’t be instanced like the first game. Yes,May 20, 2010 by Randomessa … After the lastest flurry of information to come out of ArenaNet about Dynamic Events in Guild Wars 2 (some re-hashed and with some clarifying Q&A based on previous reveals), I am quite pleased to see news spreading among the blogosphere and news sites, with increasing numbers … As with new things, […]
[…] […]
From what I’ve gathered this will be a bit like WoW in the way it’s open world (travel zone to zone without instancing but there will be Dungeons and the like), and it has really caught my eye, the first GW was a bit annoying in the way you could only see other players in towns unless partied,but what is really the deciding factor in whether I play this or not is; What is the class system like? I hope it’s not like the original GW system, how some combinations absolutely annihilated most others. Will it be like Rift? DDO? WoW? or is it a whole new system?
Guild Wars 2 has done away with the dual-profession system, which is what caused most of the problems you’re describing. It’s more like a new system with half of your skills determined by your weapon (with different weapons granting different skills based on profession), and customization provided by trait and attribute allocation, instead of talent trees. In short, there will be far less ability to create completely broken builds the way it was possible in GW1 – whether the build is broken in a completely useless or completely overpowered way. The sort of heavy spike damage seen in GW1 will also not be present in GW2 due to the removal of dedicated healers, nor will the kind of heavy interrupts seen in GW1 make their way to G2.
More here: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Professions
Will GW2 not being instanced like GW1 cause problems with one guild becoming huge and taking over/monopolizing everything like what has been happening in shaiya, another MMO i’ve been playing for a few years? I don’t think it will but i don’t know all the big changes that are coming up for GW2…
I’m not sure it will be possible for guilds to monopolize content since in the open world, Dynamic Events scale according to participation, so they won’t be able to exclude anybody, or tag kills or grab loot not intended for them, etc. If you happen to wander in while a guild is doing something, you can always just jump in and do your thing.
Also, if a guild really wants to be competitive like that, their best bet would be to hang out in The Mists, where World vs. World vs. World conflicts are the name of the game.
[…] someone who has written blog posts only semi-mocking the initial deluge of innocent questions newcomers have regarding Guild Wars 2, I’m familiar […]
when do you think the game will come out people said at the end of 2011 but its passed that