June 05, 2004 - In an apparently recent preview, the writer walks us through the character creation system and goes on to explain different aspects of the competitive title. In this snippet, the game's three main areas are outlines:

The world of Guild Wars is made up of zones. There are 3 different types of zones; city zones, outposts, and game zones. City Zones are similar to other MMORPG's, there you can train, buy and sell items, meet up with friends etc. Outposts are an area of the world which leads to quests or a battleground. This is the place where you meet your friends or join a new group to start a quest, or simply to start a solo quest. Outposts have NPC's you can talk to who give you information about the quests in that particular area. Before venturing off you need to discuss strategy, as you are only allowed to choose a limited amount of skills for the particular mission. Finally, game zones are where the fighting and missions occur. Once you start a mission the players get their own private copy of the area where the mission takes place. This means that there isn't the usual problems associated with other MMORPG's such as camping, waiting for spawns etc.

The online-only action-oriented RPG will not require a monthly fee. In terms of an ongoing revenue model, it's thought that expansion packs will be offered approximately twice per year.
- Valandil