Guild Wars: Factions Preview

GameSpy has conjured up a two-page preview of Guild Wars: Factions, after talking with ArenaNet's Jeff Strain about the expansion pack over the phone. A snippet:
Naturally, that leads to the question of relative power. Surely, I ask, the ability to bring over artifacts and abilities from the original game and vice-versa will put players who only have one or the other at a disadvantage? Jeff chuckles, "That idea is the result of the traditional MMO gameplay model in which time equals power -- players who put in more time have better equipment and are more powerful than those who don't . One of the key design goals of Guild Wars was to create a game in which player skill was more important than equipment. Someone with 200 hours in the game should and can beat someone with 400 hours. Players with both games will have access to different skills, powers, and combos that a single edition player won't, but that doesn't mean they'll automatically win, ultimately skill, not stats, are the determining factor."