It will take less time than it does to get a drivers license renewal in my state (GA), since I now apparently have to prove I live in my state, have citizenship, supply numerous other documents, and likely soon they will require a DNA exam... all so they can deny some illegal aliens a driver license... All they need now are some black uniforms and to open up some camps at this point (sarcasm for those who missed that)...

/politicalrantoff

Im sure someone's account will have a level 80 in under 96 hours played.

Cheers!

Ok my calculations of playing during BWE 105 hours = level 40 for me.   If I take into account all the time I spent just standing around looking at the world with my mouth gapping at how awesome everything looked.   I'd say it'd actually take 75-85 hours to reach 40 sooo if that is calcuated in the way I play it would roughly take me 150-200 hours to reach level 80 if I do the explore, DE, Personal Story, touch WvW, and just enjoy the game.   Now if I played the game like a typical grind to end level I could probably do it within 100 hours.

i think i read  someone got to lvl 80 by then end of the 2nd beta just in WvW i think

PvE and and they buy mat and craft all day 3-4days maybe. but to just play PvE this is going to take a lot longer then payers think at this point we have no clue what the higher zones are like we do know that the DE's in the zone we had access to at the higher end need groups of player to do

so a player get to a high lvl like 30-40 onthe first day. so to keep going that have to get more exp so they can stay in the start zones with will take them a long time to get to 80 or move to higher lvl zones like 40-50 but with 99% of the players lvl 20 or less there will be not other players in this zone so DE's are out  and for all we know hearts may be out also. the 2 things you get the most EXP from .

This will be the first MMO that I really won't care about reaching level 80.

Why Grind your way to level 80 by doing something boring when all you have to do is press enter the Mist and you are automatically level 80, especially in WvWvW, a single true level 80 will not guarantee you an automatic win.

Might as well just enjoy the journey, and just play the game.

I think many players will find that in GW2, the bragging rights arn't in getting to level 80, because if someone said they are true level 80 in game and It is just the 2nd day, I will probably feel sympathy and sadness for that character. Because while i am enjoying my game, that person was missing out.

Mainly because I would feel like Meh, so what you are level 80, I can be 80 by doing WvW and PVP, no biggie.

I personally plan on rushing to 80.

1.Because my first character is my main alt. I never enjoy a game on my first character but second character.

2. School starts 10 days later and my focus will be on school.

3. So I can quit the game really fast and go QQ on the forums.

4. With level scaling being 80 does not lock me out of content. 

5. Because I want to make tons of money and my character name is going to be scrooge mcsilver. So i can swim in my gem and gold awesomeness.

But seriously I am going to rush to 80, i hate having to level so why not just get rid of the most annoying part of a game.

I don't care - I will enjoy my time and explore everything I can. Most of the people who race to the top (as it is called in some games) it is all they do. It doesn't make them a better player, it actually makes them a worse player, since they really haven't done much in the game.

 So my hats off to who ever is first to hit lvl 80 - it means absolutely nothing.

Originally posted by McJagger

I think people who play a game like a race are morons.  That's the kind of mentality that has really damaged the MMO genre.  We need more players that will appreciate the work that's gone in to the development, as well as the experience of engaging with other players in a more mature way.

The people racing to max level and skipping experiences along the way, are the same unbearable tools that start trolling the forums immediately after, and annoying the hell out of players that are enjoying the whole experience.

Just my two cents on the subject

Add MY 2 cents, now we have....4 cents. heh

I love that you used the word "moron."  It's just such a colorful and descriptive word. 

Originally posted by OldManFunk

How long will it take to reach lvl 80?

 

I predict that it will take less than 4 days time for the first Guild Wars 2 player to reach level 80 on a single character. There will probably be account sharing, boosters, pooling of crafting mats and other such shenanigans involved in obtaining the bragging rights, but I expect these efforts to pay off in less than 4 days time.

 

Fortunately hitting level 80 so fast won't make the game world obsolete since I further predict that many players will be hitting level 80 after about 2 weeks of heavy gameplay or one month of relatively little gameplay.

 

Once 80, I suspect that most players will want to go back to fill out the maps that they skipped and run dungeons that they missed. It will probably take a few weeks to completely fill out all of the maps and run all of the dungeons depending on how much you play and whether or not you stop to dabble in crafting, WvW, sPvP, helping friends, doing world events or participating in live events (periodic events such as the end of beta events). I have no idea how long it will take to obtain gear that has the stats you want, the look you want or legendaries... but at least some of this will be accomplished as you fill out the world.

 

By this point the Guild Wars 2 live team should already be introducing new awe inspiring content:

"We’re already starting to outline some of our plans going into the live-support mind-set, and I think, frankly, that people will be blown away by the kind of support this game is going to get after it ships." -Colin Johanson

How fast is the live team going to push new content and in what form will it be? New events are a given. New PvP maps? New areas to explore? New dungeons? New mini-games? I guess we'll find out.

 

I don't think that we will see a full scale expansion for at least one year:

"... [W]e also learned that it wasn’t in the game’s best interest to release new expansions as rapidly as we had originally intended. I mean, we literally got to the point where we could release an entire new campaign — with a new storyline, new professions, and new game mechanics — in just six months. We released Nightfall exactly six months after Factions. That pace was great for the hardcore players who could consume content that quickly, but it left a lot of other players behind and didn’t give the world time to settle from one campaign to the next." -Mike O'Brien

 

Just like every other game, PvP stands on its own. If you enjoy Guild Wars 2 sPvP or WvW then there's no end to the game content.

 

If you're solely into PvE, you've ran all of the dungeons in every mode, done all of the world events you care to do, have fully customized your gear, consumed all of the content and you do not want to play alts, work on an alternative build, revisit areas of the world to see what has changed or help guild mates and friends do the same then this will be the end of the game for you... at least until enough new content is added that you decide to come back or enough time has passed that the game feels new when you return.

 

If you are into alts then it's easy to see the whole process repeating. Fortunately the dynamic events help to keep the game world from feeling the same every time you visit an area, and with the promise of new events being weaved into existing areas the longer it takes to get to your first alt the more should have changed.

 

But back to the real question... In the spirit of guessing when the beta weekends would take place as well as the release date for GW2 I'd like to ask:

How long you think that it will take for the first person to hit level 80?

Based on your BWE experience, how long you think it will take you to hit level 80 and/or accomplish your goals?

I think you are missing the point of GW2 by asking this.

The real question is - "How long will it take for someone to fully explore the map?" - i am going to try and break that record.....

When I first started playing WoW right before BC, I was new to the MMO genre. So I took the time to explore the world at my own pace. I talked to people along the way, made some eFriends to adventure with, and generally enjoyed myself. But then someone told me that the "real" game began at level 70, and leveling became something to get through in order to reach the real game.

I just don't want to play like that any more.

I am definitely looking forward to Orr, but I'm not going to rush to get there.

There is so much to see and do along the way, so many hidden areas and puzzles and mini-games and open-world dungeons at the end of event chains and who knows what else. And content will be added and changed as I go. I think it's possible that GW2 may bring back that immersive feeling that I haven't experienced for years.

I would bet something under 50 hours, but if someone gets me the ressources I need I can do it way under a day:

CRAFTING!

Well they said you can craft from 1 to 80, maybe someone picks it up and pwns all the speedrushers, that would be nice, hehe.

Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

Originally posted by The_Korrigan

I can place a bet I'm sure to win - I won't be the first level 80. The game has way too nice content for me to rush through it.

Good luck to those who will try though - it's your loss, not mine. There's no achievement for world first btw... ;-)

How can it be their loss if they are having fun setting a goal and achieving it with a group of friends?

The folks I have seen doing that in other games didn't have much fun while doing it though, only the brief moment that they feel their accomplishment after which they start to brag, often accompanied by complaining the levelling was such a boring grind and now there's nothing to do for them at end game.

But sure to each their own.

Without a doubt some people will rush to 80 just for the challenge.  I would say 4 days for the most dedicated PvE player (the most stable rate of xp).

I don't really care who hits 80 first in 3 or 4 days time. Those people usually have no life or job so getting to 80 first is not bragging rights imo. I think it is actually pathetic and there is some addiction going on there. People who partake in this usually live on the game and play out their lives this way. Is it worth putting your life in jeopardy? Look at the 15 yr old who collapsed after a 4 day xbox marathon. Or the guy in Taiwan who died after playing 40 hours of Diablo 3. It is pathetic and just not worth it.

As for me I will get to 80 when I get to 80. I have a wife, job, life etc.