Prophecies is the original Hard Mode.

You know it's true. Don't lie, don't argue, don't make excuses.

Prophecies is the ultimate test of PvE dedication. How far are you willing to go, how much are you willing to put up with, and how underpowered are you willing to be just to earn that statuette that declares "Eternal Hero of Tyria"?

Hurdle One: Learning Curve
It'll give you whiplash, then charge you for it. Enemies go from being mindless and uniform, to mindless and diverse, to ruthless, diverse, and rather intelligent. From Yak's Bend on, expect every NPC enemy to be higher in level than you, and in greater numbers. Expect them to have very balanced spawn composition, meaning that they can support each other, and cripple you. Many first time players find the northern shiverpeaks to be a place of constant and brutal defeat. This issue is compounded by many of the hurdles I list below.

Hurdle Two: Attributes
Let's talk attribute points. Every fully powered level 20 character has 200. However, simply leveling up to level 20 isn't enough, that only earns you 170 points. You need to complete two quests, for 15 points a piece, in order to reach full power. In Factions, you can do these quests before you leave the starting island. In Nightfall, you can have both quests completed as early as level 7.

In Prophecies, you will spend much time without these points, as the quests to get them are at the end of the game. You have to make it to the 14th mission in order to be in the general area where the first 15 point quest is. Even then, you've got to brave hordes of Hydras, all level 22 Elementalists who love to chain KD you, with your crappy armor (more on that later), to even meet the NPC who hands out the quest. Then, you get to travel your ass off to the most remote portion of the southernmost portion of the desert, with no waypoints near it, and fight against tons of life-stealing necromancer foes, some of which are immune to KD, all the while, negotiating a map that's inaccurate, because the geography changes in order for you to reach the NPC that completes the quest.

Then, to get your next 15 points, you need to been in the general area of the 20th mission (keep in mind, missions are story-point milestones, not simply quests, they can be spaced quite far apart). At this point, you can craft adequate armor, but in order to earn the points, you have to defeat a level 28 Necromancer boss, who not only attacks relatively without warning, but can steal almost your whole HP bar with a single skill. How fun.

Hurdle Three: Armor
Players need NPC assistance to craft armor. The armor level of the craft depends on location, and is always consistent. In Factions, you can craft max AL armor before you reach the 3rd mission. In Nightfall, you can craft max AL armor in the outpost that leads to the 4th mission. In Prophecies, you can't make max AL armor until after the 19th freaking mission!

Now, this isn't a problem by itself, but you're fighting enemies that are level 20 or higher, as early as the 14th or 15th mission (discluding spawns you must contend with to do simple quests), so you spend a decent chunk of time with weaker armor. This is especially a problem when you enter the Crystal Desert (containing missions 14-19), since everything there is level 20+. Many players find themselves hitting another wall, unable to forge ahead.

Hurdle Four: Team Size
The maximum team size in Guild Wars is 8, with the exception of some elite dungeons, where it is 12. Factions allows for 8 teammates before the 3rd mission, Nightfall by the 4th. Prophecies does not give you an 8 man team until the 19th mission.

Hurdle Five: Mursaat
Spectral Agony-For 5 seconds, target foe moves, attacks, and uses skills up to 80% slower; suffers -24...1 Health Degeneration; and loses 81...3 Health each second. Damn.

Hurdle Six: Titans
Killing a Titan spawns another Titans. Titans spawned in such a manner do not drop loot. Standing next to most Titans sets you on fire. Most can't be knocked down. Most are not 'fleshy' creatures, so they can't be poisoned, diseased, bleed, or subject to corpse exploitation (so sword warriors, necromancers, and some rangers can all fuck off). All Titans are at least four levels higher than you, in Normal Mode, provided they aren't spawned from defeated Titans. Titans spawned from a defeated Titan are eight levels higher than you. They are nigh immune to fire damage, and can turn all physical damage into fire damage (again, warriors and rangers get to fuck off).

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Other complaints are minor, or affect more than just Prophecies (Neither Prophecies or Factions has inscriptions, while Nightfall and EotN do). To be fair, I should point out that Prophecies has a longer (not larger) story mode, comprised of 25 mission, while Nightfall has 17, and Factions only has 13.

It's for these reasons that when I remade Reya, I made her a Nightfall character. Prophecies being an arduous campaign isn't entirely a bad thing. How the campaign kicks off caught most first time players off-guard (it's called Pre-Searing for a reason). The role your hero plays in the story of the campaign is nothing short of epic, and in completing all 25 missions, you victory is nothing short total domination of everything and anything remotely evil. You fight armies of evil bi-ped cats; you cut a swathe through undead hordes; you join a rebellion and fight an evil cultist dictatorship; you destroy an ancient race so powerful they are revered as gods; you destroy the only monsters strong enough (other than you) to defeat an ancient race so powerful they are revered as gods; you defeat the only being strong enough to enslave the only monsters strong enough (other than you) to defeat an ancient race so powerful they are revered as gods.

The Lich and Titans are so epic and powerful they get recycled in Nightfall (How do our leftovers taste?). Even in being the 'worst' campaign, it's easily the best. A player that completes Prophecies is equipped with the skill to tackle the other campaigns, and show everyone else how a real hero does it. It's a trial by fire, almost like a bootcamp. It's ruthless, to weed out those who are not worthy. And I hope it stays that way.