What the title says.

I've played some of  Prophecies,but never finished it and never really played Factions or Nightfall. Just wondering if at never complete those and Eye of the North, will I be lost at the begininng of Guild Wars 2 or will it not matter.

Originally posted by purewitz

What the title says.

I've played some of  Prophecies,but never finished it and never really played Factions or Nightfall. Just wondering if at never complete those and Eye of the North, will I be lost at the begininng of Guild Wars 2 or will it not matter.

no way! You might get MORE out of GW2 like little things that are reminders from GW1 but in no way is the story itself lessened by now knowing the lore from GW1. Also the games are vastly different so dont think "I didnt like GW1 so I wont like GW2" as others have.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL00553A085339802C&feature=plcp

Wooden Potato is your friend here, he has summarised the law into this playlist but if you wish to view a complete playthrough of the prophecies, nightfall, faction and eye of the north campaign he also has playlists for those too.

Definately worthy of a subscribe on youtube.

Originally posted by Adelbern
I would recommend reading the books Guild Wars Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny.

True. The lore in the books is definitely more relevant to GW2 than GW1's campaigns.

It explains the races, the dragons, some of the places and some of the characters you'll meet ingame. The original Guild Wars story, even though is good, is unnecessary to the understanding of GW2's plot.

You won't be lost of course. Do not worry. 

But you are missing a huge chunk of game lore (if you are interested in it). 

Just a little example... When you're creating a human you can chose Kormir as a god which blessed you. 

In GW: NIghtfall she was a leader of Sunspears and one of the main characters of your campaign. 

You directly participated in her ascending and wihtout you she would not become a new god. 

And now you have her in your character's bio and a skill related to her (Prayer to Kormir). 

There are much more connections which I won't discuss for brevity.

Although it underlies the world design, GW2 was intentionally designed so that story was largely irrelevant for the benefit of the majority of players who focus on gameplay and don't want to have to understand what is going on to enjoy the game.

There's stuff there if you want to go look for it.  If not, it won't make any difference outside of perhaps your class story where everything relevant is given to you anyway.

That said, people who have played GW1 will probably appreciate some of the references or making comparisons with locations  shared between the two games.

Originally posted by Erindal

You won't be lost of course. Do not worry. 

But you are missing a huge chunk of game lore (if you are interested in it). 

 

Just a little example... When you're creating a human you can chose Kormir as a god which blessed you. 

In GW: NIghtfall she was a leader of Sunspears and one of the main characters of your campaign. 

You directly participated in her ascending and wihtout you she would not become a new god. 

And now you have her in your character's bio and a skill related to her (Prayer to Kormir). 

There are much more connections which I won't discuss for brevity.

You know are really spoiling the end of Nightfall for those that haven't finished yet :P

Originally posted by Erindal

You won't be lost of course. Do not worry. 

But you are missing a huge chunk of game lore (if you are interested in it). 

 

Just a little example... When you're creating a human you can chose Kormir as a god which blessed you. 

In GW: NIghtfall she was a leader of Sunspears and one of the main characters of your campaign. 

You directly participated in her ascending and wihtout you she would not become a new god. 

And now you have her in your character's bio and a skill related to her (Prayer to Kormir). 

There are much more connections which I won't discuss for brevity.

Pretty much stuff like this, and unless you've played GW1, the ghost of Duke Barradin that you fight in the intro scenario as a Charr is just another boss for you.

As to OP: There's so much scattered around the world that's basically nice extra stuff for those who have played GW1, it gives additional depth to the game, but there won't be stuff you won't understand just because you've not played the original. If you find an old tomb with an inscription telling of a brave hero, it'll be just another hero for you, and a nice additional detail in the world. But if you've played the original, you actually realize that you know the name on the tombstone...

Originally posted by purewitz

What the title says.

I've played some of  Prophecies,but never finished it and never really played Factions or Nightfall. Just wondering if at never complete those and Eye of the North, will I be lost at the begininng of Guild Wars 2 or will it not matter.

GW2 is set 250 years after the Eye of the North. It's whole new world, you jump right into the time when dragons are awake and threaten the world of tyria. 

By playing GW1 you only get more from the story behind the GW2. For example you witness the devastation of the old ascalon which is run over by charr, you fight them and you actually see the relationship between humans and charrs. You get to see the "fake gods" and you witness the rising of Kormir to the Godhood (you can choose her blessing when creating a character in GW2 - she's the one with white blindfold) You see the norns and as you play you learn some of their story, the same goes for the Asura...

It's nothing that'll ruin your experience, so you're not missing anything.

If you're really interested in the lore, you could read a book. I bought it for my girlfriend and she told me it's awesome. :)

Originally posted by ABRaquel

You know are really spoiling the end of Nightfall for those that haven't finished yet :P

lol. But they have no intention (at least everybody above are telling it is just few links there and there). It is quite different from listening or reading on gw wiki and actually participating in it.

P.S.: It is a real sequel, everything is connected.