Guild Wars Mini-Interview #4
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Q: Will each new area have its own solo/party area where they can see some of the creatures before they move onto the missions, or will some areas just consist of group missions?
A: Well, let's review the types of areas in Guild Wars: You may recall the town of Khylo from the E3 for Everyone Demo Event. There will be several towns like Khylo, and these will be where you hang out to chat or to conduct business such as shopping or upgrading armour. Then there are outposts, where the business at hand is heading into the playing fields. People in outposts are usually getting ready to go on a quest with their party or guild, or they may make up smaller groups looking for additional party members, or individuals seeking a party for that mission. So the outpost is where you go to get into the action, either with your group or alone. Then, there are the instanced missions themselves, which come in two types: player-versus-monster and player-versus-player. And lastly, you have the areas that were formerly limited to solo play but which, due to player feedback, have been expanded to allow parties. These hunting grounds offer a lot of variability; some are suitable for soloing, others are best suited for a party. The minimum party size is decided by the player, that is, none of them strictly require you to party at all. So if you feel like wiping the toothy smiles off the faces of a few Undead on your own, you're good to go. If you want a little help, you can hook up with a few friends.
And yes, as far as I know, each region, such as Ascalon or Kryta, will have its share of hunting grounds. Therefore, the answer to the question of previewing some of the creatures is that you will be able to get a sneak peek by visiting the hunting grounds before you tackle the missions. But be aware, not all the creatures that live in a region will be found in the hunting grounds. For some missions, there are specific special creatures that simply won't appear outside of that single map. Rotscale, the bone dragon, is one such creature. If you search the entire wealth of hunting grounds in the Ascalon region, you'll never meet a creature like Rotscale, for he was special to the Stone Summit quest. I suspect we'll be seeing a few of that sort of extraordinary adversary in other regions, too.
