Guild Wars 2

So yesterday after getting like my 5th recent e-mail both from Blizzard and Bioware, to come back to WOW and SWTOR respectively, I decided to fire them up to see what I’ve been missing.

In a nutshell..not much. I played TOR until GW2 came online and managed to max out 4 characters. So as its ftp, somewhat; I logged on to TOR to see how the game had evolved since launch. I was suprised about how dated it really felt compared to Guild wars 2.

People still shouting looking for tanks and healers, no dodge…no dynamic events, regular quests. And WOW is exactly the same. They were both good games of a time but I honestly cannot go back to playing these kinds of games after the innovations that GW2 has brought to the genre.

Guild Wars 2 may have it’s flaws, many of which are discussed ad nauseum on these boards, but the fundemental game has moved the genre on. Now if only they could combine some of the still usefull features of the old games to this new engine, then we would have a redefining MMO experience.

it’s the same with me and AION.
last december, i’ve wanted to give it a try again after months of inactivity and what can i say? it just feels so “stiff”.

i’ve enjoyed AION alot, but thanks to GW2, i can’t enjoy tab-cyclers or point’n-click MMO’s anymore.

once you’ve played GW2, you’ve got a one-way ticket to the dark side…and we all know the dark side got cookies for us.

so yeah, if i ever pick up another MMO, it must contain action-oriented battles without the need of certain builds (in most mmo’s, everyone goes with the same builds, since they are superior to others) or gear threadmill.

GW2 changed the genre, indeed.
it also got it’s flaws…seriously, it’s the most flawed game i’ve ever played, but for some reason, it’s also the best mmo, I’ve ever played.

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

Actually I’ve been playing since launch and have 5 level 80’s.

I have to agree with the OP. It’s not that GW2 is the perfect game with no possible improvements, but the way the game is structured and played on a moment to moment basis just leaves everything else in the dust.

TERA will ruin GW2 combat for most people, but then you’ll be conflicted because they each have corrections to each others flaws if only someone could smoosh them together : /

same with me and TERA online….i cant bring myself to play for more than 5minutes….its just ur regular stereotypical mmorpg. gw2 kinda killed the fun out of other MMORPGs for me =/. not that its a bad thing, but wen u wana go look at other games and u get that “MEH” feeling, yea lol.

@dan matthews:

i’ve been playing GW2 sometimes casual, sometime more hardcore, some days not at all – since the release.
it’s anything but a grindfest. except if you consider everything where killing mobs is the main objective a grinder, then yes, any mmorpg is a grinder then.

grind = slaying the same mob for days for 30% of your exp bar or a piece of desired armor. (but most korean mmo’s are making you do that for weeks)

GW2 is not a grind unless you choose so.
i.e. the only grind on here i see is CoF P1 farming – that’s not the whole game and is just a reflection of some players greed to make gold really fast by exploiting flawed dungeon design.

Vaulken.6983:

TERA will ruin GW2 combat for most people, but then you’ll be conflicted because they each have corrections to each others flaws if only someone could smoosh them together : /

i will have to disagree….i have to force myself to play tera for more than a couple of minutes. GW2 has no comparisons with TERA. if anything its the same for any other game, GW2 ruined the fun out of other MMORPGs.

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

the combat system in tera is meh and boring, but yes, it is its best feature. if u want a better combat system that is similar to that, then go play RaiderZ, but i prefer the combat system in GW2. GW2 combat system is much better and its fun…for me :P. anyways, yea, if u wana talk about combat system i would say that RaiderZ’ combat system is wayyy better than TERA’s IMO. TERA’s combat system is soooo slow and blahh, theres no tension, theres nothing to it, but spmminm spacing, and spammin again.

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Mitch.4781:

Guild Wars 2 may have it’s flaws, many of which are discussed ad nauseum on these boards, but the fundemental game has moved the genre on.

I know what you mean. I was watching a preview of Wildstar, which was a game I was really interested in a while back, and stopped it about halfway through when they started talking about layering quests so you could get two done at once if you planned it right and then they had to sit around for a bit because other folks playing the demo killed all the quest mobs. My thought was nope, not doing that again. Seeing all the exclamation points above the heads of the NPCs in the quest hub made me a little queasy.

Edit – There was another similar thread a while back you might find interesting Guild wars 2 ruined all other mmos

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

Interesting. I’ve played since the first beta weekend. Haven’t hit the grind problems you outlined though.

I don’t have the same problems as some of you, because I didn’t really enjoy those other MMOs in the first place. I saw the potential of the format, but there were always things about them that bothered me, the holy trinity being one of them. Before Guild Wars 2 every talked about the trinity, the tank/healer thing felt contrived to me. Maybe because I read so much fantasy. I just feel Lord of the Rings is more epic as it is, than it would have been if everyone only attacked Boromir, while Gandalf stayed back and healed him.

The only other multiplayer fantasy game I really enjoyed was Guild Wars 1. I don’t consider it a true MMO, but it’s the closest thing to providing what I was looking for…until Guild Wars 2 came out.

I love how GW2 advances the MMO genre but I can’t fully commit to it because I do not care one iota about the game’s story. It did a very poor job of getting me to care about the world or any of its characters.

Thankfully there’s no sub fee so I can stay subscribed to WoW!

i forgot to mention: GW2 is the only MMO with an actual story.(a story which does not consist only of every NPC making you read 6 pages of microscopic text)

it’s even customized until level 60.
and now with flame&frost…then the storys in dungeons which are all flowing together.

also i still don’t understand, why GW2 is the only MMO that is B2P? it’s always either F2P or P2P which both aren’t what i’m looking for.

Treadstone.2564:

I love how GW2 advances the MMO genre but I can’t fully commit to it because I do not care one iota about the game’s story. It did a very poor job of getting me to care about the world or any of its characters.

Thankfully there’s no sub fee so I can stay subscribed to WoW!

I had the same reaction to WoW. I didn’t care about the story or lore at all. In fact, half the time, my character had no reason to be doing what he was doing except that someone told him to.

Everything about WoW is built into the rewards. In WoW, the player is rewarded for doing quests, but very often the character isn’t. Guys would tell me to go do things I never wanted to do and I’d do it because I needed the XP to go to the next quest hub. Not very satisfying for me at all.

In Guild Wars 2, I started my human experience during a centaur attack. I had to react, if nothing else, out of self preservation. I really didn’t like centaurs much after that, and it provided a springboard for my character to do stuff. The Sylvari opening experience, the invasion of the dream was even more poignant. Of the opening stories, the only one that didn’t really give me clear motivation was the norn one, and that fit the race anyway.

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

Got lv80 character since launch and loving the game the only grind is if you are in a huge hurry to get ascended, and that is it. You can get ascended with extremely easy to do dailies so.. where the kitten is the grind you speak of? In the different looks? Those should be something to work for… as you know.. they provide no advandage :P

In the other games, you’re shouting “looking for healer” before doing the dungeon. Here, you shout “fotm lvl 20” before you do the dungeon.

jojojoon.8607:

In the other games, you’re shouting “looking for healer” before doing the dungeon. Here, you shout “fotm lvl 20” before you do the dungeon.

so you shout the name of the dungeon? Because you totally don’t state why you’re looking for a certain person in other MMOs! Yeah, totally! Looking for a healer! Why? Oh I want a friend, that’s all…

that is because the whole genre is stuck in the 90’s. Like how many more years do i have to wait for an MMO that has half decent story or something good like bioshock infinite? How many more years until an MMO has AI more intelligent than what was available in later freaking 80’s… GW2 combat is not stuck in the 90’s and that is why it feels like all other mmo’s are ancient in comparison but when you look at gw2 campaign and AI its as ancient as it can get, haven’t evolved one bit.

Vayne.8563:

Before Guild Wars 2 every talked about the trinity, the tank/healer thing felt contrived to me. Maybe because I read so much fantasy. I just feel Lord of the Rings is more epic as it is, than it would have been if everyone only attacked Boromir, while Gandalf stayed back and healed him.
.

As a long-time player of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (editions 1 & 2) I was a little confused by the trinity system. Everyone knows you kill the mages first, ignore the guy carrying 100 lbs of iron on his back, he’ll just shrug off the first half a dozen shots. The real dangerous one is the guy who can point a stick at you and seconds later you drop dead…

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Yep yep I totally agreed on that.

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

I’ve never once felt this ‘grindfest’ you speak of.

Granted, I also have not been actively seeking Fractals runs to obtain every Ascended accessory, but it’s by no means necessary to do well in this game.

I love that I can get a character to 80, so easily gear them, and move right on to do all sorts of end game stuff.

And the path to 80 is unique each time to me. Always experience new things in an area I’ve been through multiple times. (Granted, this may be due to them constantly breaking and fixing dynamic events, but still.)

I haven’t done much sPvP, in which I know there are blatant issues, but that’s not what drew me to the game to begin with.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Indeed. I can’t stand Tera’s combat because of that. Actually I can’t play mmos that restrict your movement in combat anymore since I’ve started playing GW2.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Except it doesn’t. Unless by god you’re using a channelled spell which roots you in all MMO’s. Warriors in fact are so incredibly mobile it can be impossible to hit one in pvp if the player knows how to juke.

All attacks move you forward and most skills can be cancelled with blocks/dodges, seems like you got your butt handed to you by a BAM and quit the game so you can circle strafe melee mobs in GW2.

You’re probably one of those players that complain about auto attack being the best attack in GW2 when it’s not if you had a clue.

Vaulken.6983:

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Except it doesn’t. Unless by god you’re using a channelled spell which roots you in all MMO’s. Warriors in fact are so incredibly mobile it can be impossible to hit one in pvp if the player knows how to juke.

All attacks move you forward and most skills can be cancelled with blocks/dodges, _seems like you got your butt handed to you by a BAM and quit the game so you can circle strafe melee mobs in GW2.

You’re probably one of those players that complain about auto attack being the best attack in GW2 when it’s not if you had a clue._

I quit Tera because it was boring as kitten. While its combat was better than WoW and its clones, it was not good enough to outweigh the sheer dullness of its content. And yes, I enjoy GW2 combat more than I did Tera’s — though I’ll grant that Warrior was the most mobile class in that game.

Are you always in the habit of making assumptions about people just because they disagreed with you?

The ability to dodge alone takes the mmo to another level. Hard to believe such a small thing could make such a big difference

Halcyon.7352:

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

I love that I can get a character to 80, so easily gear them, and move right on to do all sorts of end game stuff.

If not doing FotM in PvE what other end game stuff is there? Cause we all want to know about it? (for PvE, WvW is diffrent)

Sovta.4719:

Halcyon.7352:

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

I love that I can get a character to 80, so easily gear them, and move right on to do all sorts of end game stuff.

If not doing FotM in PvE what other end game stuff is there? Cause we all want to know about it? (for PvE, WvW is diffrent)

We “all” want to know about it? Okay.

As we’ve already defined end game at what you do at level 80, that can vary broadly from game to game and player to player. For some people WvW is end game. For some people RPing is end game. There’s a guy in my guild who loves the dungeons. I don’t, but he does. So his end game is getting armor sets from every dungeon, and doing fractals as well.

My end game is more about exploring. Finding the stuff I missed even though I have 100% world completion. That includes doing some of the achievements.

And you know, if you look that stuff up online, you can do it in a day or two. But if you actually look for it, on your own, you know like a game, some of that stuff is very hard to find.

And of course there are people slowly working on a legendary weapon which is an end game for them.

Anything you choose to do at end game that entertains you is your end game. And I’ll give you a hint. Even in games with raiding. in various polls over the years, most people don’t raid as end game…even though that’s almost always what people refer to when they refer to end game.

Vayne.8563:

Sovta.4719:

Halcyon.7352:

dan matthews.2736:

your obviously new to the game. guild wars 2 is a grindfest. just wait til you hit 80. the developers lied and said it has no grind, “dynamic questing is so revolutionary” LOL. its the same thing as wow without talking to a person. at 80 there is no point to the game. they also said it would be a pvp game. LOL, you have all been conned hard. oh yea, they will delete this post soon. they do that when you dont like the game

I love that I can get a character to 80, so easily gear them, and move right on to do all sorts of end game stuff.

If not doing FotM in PvE what other end game stuff is there? Cause we all want to know about it? (for PvE, WvW is diffrent)

We “all” want to know about it? Okay.

As we’ve already defined end game at what you do at level 80, that can vary broadly from game to game and player to player. For some people WvW is end game. For some people RPing is end game. There’s a guy in my guild who loves the dungeons. I don’t, but he does. So his end game is getting armor sets from every dungeon, and doing fractals as well.

My end game is more about exploring. Finding the stuff I missed even though I have 100% world completion. That includes doing some of the achievements.

And you know, if you look that stuff up online, you can do it in a day or two. But if you actually look for it, on your own, you know like a game, some of that stuff is very hard to find.

And of course there are people slowly working on a legendary weapon which is an end game for them.

Anything you choose to do at end game that entertains you is your end game. And I’ll give you a hint. Even in games with raiding. in various polls over the years, most people don’t raid as end game…even though that’s almost always what people refer to when they refer to end game.

Well said! It’s what you choose to do to keep your occupied and keeps you engaged that defines ‘endgame’.

Personally, what I love about the game is the depth of each profession. That, in combination with my natural altitis, is a powerful thing. I’m constantly finding new ways to play my 80’s. New builds, new gear sets, new tactics. Just when I get tired of one class, I’ll shelve it, til inspiration strikes me again. It’s a large part of the ‘endgame’ in my eyes.

As I mentioned previously too, finding out the little things in the world I missed is another thing I love doing. There’s always something new, whether it’s an amusing bit of dialogue, an event chain I never knew about, or a puzzle or some other secret that seemed obvious, but was overlooked.

I’m also still working towards a legendary myself. And another large part is the eternal quest to look fabulous while adventuring/dungeoning/representing your world. Just look at the ridiculous lengths people go to for transmog sets in WoW.

GW2 doesn’t just make MMOs feel very dated, they also make pretty much any RPG at all outdated. Even a single player RPG that focuses solely on kill quests (Kingdom of Amalur for example) feels old. If you can’t have an open and dynamic world in 2013, you have no business making an RPG.

Agreed. Those kind of MMOs are obsolete in my opinion and I will never return to any of them.

If ANet decides to emulate them and lose what makes GW2 unique in the MMO genre then I leave the genre altogether. Ascended gear already has me suspicious of their intentions and any further gear/skill grind will be the last straw for me.

When I started playing GW2 last year I quit WoW and never went back. I try not to nitpick GW2 because I still find it fun. I still login everyday and play, enduring bad lags and whatnot.

Dikeido.8436:

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vaulken.6983:

Are you trying to insinuate that TERAs combat is inferior to GW2? GW2 has everything else on TERA but its combat.

Tera roots characters on any skill that is non-instant. That alone makes it inferior.

Yep yep I totally agreed on that.

I lasted maybe 4 weeks in TERA before going back to EQ2 to wait on GW2. Didn’t like the combat interface and the character animation is just weird. Plus I absolutely hate weapons the size of telephone poles.

In a lot of ways I agree. In some ways though GW2 feels like a step backwards. Take for instance combat logs. All it does is tell you how hard you hit something, and how hard it hit you. Now in comparison to DaoC, an MMO from over 10+ years ago, whos combat log tells you everything. Every skill you use, every block, every evade, who you hit, who you heal, who heals you. Etc etc.