to begin playing GuildWars you have to...

Okay so its been over a year since i quit WOW, and i need a new good mmorpg that doesnt require fees (im in college = poor).... so i have been thinking about starting the famous GuildWars game... however i just searched it and there are alot of different ones ( Guild Wars, Factions, Night Fall, Eye of the North, Trilogy, Platinium, etc ).. so do i have to get them all inorder to start playing at the same level as everyone else or how does it work? i apologize if this sounds like a dumb question, im just dont know much about this game yet.

Guild Wars is not really a MMORPG. If you go into it expecting a MMORPG then you will probably be somewhat disappointed. It is a fun game for what it is though. Just know that the game does NOT have a focus on character progression. You will quickly be at the level cap and have more-or-less the best possible gear. If you're looking for a game that is about getting great loot or constantly getting more powerful then Guild Wars is not it. It does take a long time to unlock all of the skills though, which is more about being able to customize your characters better to certain situations or using different play styles than it is about being just plain "better." You also will not run into other players who aren't in your party outside of town as all combat areas are instanced. This can make it often feel like a single player game that happens to be played online, at least in PvE. PvP in the game is a lot of fun. In fact, PvP was a core game design focus, which has a lot to do with the general lack of character progression.

Eye of the North is an expansion and requires on of the other campaigns. The other campaigns are all standalone products, and they are basically all represented as different continents that you can travel to. I recommend playing Nightfall first, because the "heroes" you get are generally much more useful than standard henchmen.

You should probably get the trilogy. That's a great deal considering I paid $50 just for the original game alone. :P Unfortunately you just missed the half-off sale of it on Steam. If you feel like waiting for an indeterminate amount of time, I'm sure it will go on sale again, probably within the next few months.

24.99 at Gamestop http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=647449&affid=9797