Guild Wars 2

It’s the best I’ve played, but I’ve only played three. So… that’s not going to be a useful sample.

What it does right is rewarding players primarily based on skill, not gear. This is actually rather rare, even though it seems to me it shouldn’t be. The skill cap is a bit low in PvE, but it’s otherwise not too bad. The combat is also fairly unrestricted and enjoyable as RPGs go, though the same can’t be said about the skill system which I wish allowed more player choice.

Combat aside, the other thing I like in an RPG is a rich world with a lot of history and stories to discover. GW2 has a fairly good base of lore, but its interactions with NPCs fall very flat indeed. I’d like to be able to talk and adventure with NPCs a lot more – if you’re going to have an interactive story you want to have the option of getting to know the characters. I could go on for ages about that one, but it suffices to say that character development and WvW are the two major areas I hope to see worked on.

I can’t say how it compares to others – see above, haven’t played enough of them – but all up I’d call GW2 a solid gameplay experience that just needs a deeper game to play it in. It’s not a write-off, which I hear is pretty rare for an MMO these days.

who could objectively state an mmo is the best? very few id imagine, there simply isnt enough time.

it is my favorite though

As much as I enjoy pointing out all the things anet has done to kitten me off, The Guild Wars Universe will always be my first and last MMO.

Andraus.3874:

Is blue the best color? Is chocolate the best flavor? Is there really an answer to an opinion?

The only real way to eat a steak is rare. So to answer your question, yes. Trolololol.

Of all time? Of course not.

It’s better than GW7 at least – that one was nothing but a cash grab with nonsensical plot points, lazy writing, wasted characters and that new asura replacing Taimi is a total Mary Sue.

Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but GW2 is definitely the best MMO for me. I’ve got a number of max level characters, but there still always seems to be something fun to do whenever I log in.

The only thing i hate right now in BnS is the bots. The combat is great well i love action combat game.

GW2 has certainly spoiled me from other MMOs. While it’s not perfect (no game is), they’ve just done so many things right.

I won’t even consider MMOs that have gear treadmills or loot master/loot roll type systems, and if they don’t have what I now consider basic character customizations that I’ve come to expect with GW2 such as expansive dye systems, wardrobes, and the account bound equipment, armors and currencies just make it so darn alt friendly! Also I love the open world feel of GW2, the epic meta events and cooperative nature incorporated into the very design of the game has made for one of the best online player experiences I’ve ever had.

So yes, GW2 is the best MMO for me

It is best mmorpg of all time

We played the BDO beta last weekend. It’s pretty awesome, but who knows what we’ll get in the end with any game.

Gw2 is certainly one of the better current MMO’s, but suffering from bloat, microtransaction dependence and lack of direction just like every other MMO.

In eSports news, though… TF2. Why do I feel like an 8 year old fps game is going to skyrocket past GW2? =P

don’t say TF2, counterstrike has way more players than gw2 and is already 16 years old
all they did was mainly improving the graphics and people still play it

however, u cannot compare FPS game to MMORPG
in MMORPG, people actually seeking for something new, is a RPG afterall, ppl looking for a openworld with plenty of interesting things.

there are some newer MMORPG in development are trying for this concept and creating a world so big and wide, without any loading like WOW but bigger than WOW.

Comparing MMO games that are descent, is like comparing a Ford Mustang with a Ferrari. I know some people will try and compare, but really you should not. Both are meant to be enjoyed in their own way.

Are there even any truly good MMOs anymore? I feel like cash shops have basically ruined the genre.

GW2 was (perhaps still is) the best all-round MMO on the market. There’s other games that definitely beat it as far as specific types of content go, but as a whole this is still a winner.

I miss City of Heroes so much

Two.1627:

I love the posts that start “The best MMO is entirely subjective” pretty sure that’s why the OP asked for our thoughts. But I speak for all and YES it’s the best MMO today.

But saying the best, but how is it the best? Details man, they are important.
Because saying a game is the best, is not the method to convince somebody to play. And the reality is, this kind of game will not appeal to everybody.

It was the best mmorpg if you want No trinity and able to solo
Tho with Raids and HOT that has changed and is why allot are leaving imo

Real problem came when you try and find a new MMORPG only one i can find that suits me is ESO but that has trinity and elites at end game But the PVE open world is 100% solo pretty much and the 100% voice work on all quests really makes me fell like i am playing skyrim online minus all the cool mods

But 1 thing i think GW2 did really well for me WAS PVP never in my life of playing mmorpgs since 1999 have i ever like pvp in a mmorpg – well WVW/EOTM but sadly it’s dieing / Just not fun any more do to pretty much NO rewards at all
ESO WVW is pretty much the same just 100% or more bigger than a normal gw2 map and the lag gets pretty bad at peak times like 400-+999 ping

So atm i would have to say GW2 for me is not worth playing atm other than maybe to log in for 2sec for login reward if that , Now i am waiting for the HOT balance patch and wvw overhaul if they can’t deliver this game will be deleted

Having played multiple MMOs for 12 years I could with confidence say GW2 is the worst MMO out there. Except for all the others.

In all honesty, despite its flaws the last time I was glued to the chair for this long was in fact 12 years ago. So that’s good. And I do mean I have played a lot of MMOs (EQ2, WoW, EvE, LOTRO, CoH, Champions, Vanguard, Neverwinter, PWO, LA2, Tera, Rift, DaoC, WAR, AC2, DDO, ESO, AoC, TOR and a several whose names escape me). Does GW2 do everything better than those? Absolutely not! But taken as a whole, I’m honestly surprised what a well-rounded game this is, and I love it.

We are defining success only in the mmorpg genre. And gw2 is by far the best

GW2 still is the best MMO out there but ANet is destroying WvW, one of its best aspects.

Besides WvW, that could be really fun if properly implemented, PvE, PvP and Raids meta is chasing the next skin. BLTP is all about skins too.

It seems medieval fantasy Barbie games like GW2 have a solid market.

It was best now Anet destroying it on their own, they don’t even need competition like BDO or similar.

OrbitalButt.5708:

I miss City of Heroes so much

Me too. I miss it so kitten ed much. And it’s frustrating that so many of the things ANet seems to struggle with are things Paragon Studios figured out years ago.

Andraus.3874:

Is blue the best color? Is chocolate the best flavor? Is there really an answer to an opinion?

This. Everyone has their own opinion, which means you will get the entire spectrum of answers.

For me, it is. It isn’t perfect, but it’s my favorite

The opinion statement is true. But gw2 has undeniably performed the best at modernizing a stagnent genre. It introduced freshness successfully into the cookie cutter boring wow model before anyone else could.

Overall, Guild Wars 2 has some of the best quality. Playing other games made me realize this. Hardcore. And despite my disappointment, I will say, yes.

Guild Wars 2 is the best MMO I’ve ever played.

But the changes to PvE, based around PvP elements, is not helping it stay that way.

Ardenwolfe.8590:

But the changes to PvE, based around PvP elements, is not helping it stay that way.

I was trying to think of a way to say what has happened to GW2. This captured it (and don’t forget what they did to WvW , dungeons. bugged LFG etc.).
Yes it was the best.

FOR AAA mmo:

Best graphics : ESO/GW2
Stable/least power creep : GW2
Music : GW2/WOW
Choice of viable skill and ability : GW2/ESO
Number of Zones playable for max level player : GW2
Cheapest to play in real money terms : GW2
Most friendly community : LOTR/GW2/FF
Questing during levelling : WOW/ESO
Game with least anti social activities (e.g mob/resource tagging/elitism) GW2
Performance with high number of players : GW2
Friendliest to Casuals (e.g lack of power creep, skins rather than power) GW2

Goes to GW2 for me with ESO comming in second if you ignore performance issues.

The best MMO for me is the one where my friends are at, and we get to defeat challenging end-game content together. The camaraderie and accomplishment were the most rewarding parts, not the loot or achivement points.

Unfortunately with a new baby and real life responsibilities, the best MMO for me only existed during the period of about 5-10 years ago, and that was World of WarCraft: TBC/WotLK.

These days I don’t have time to raid or get top-end gear. At the end of the day I just need a game where I can run around and fight some NPCs to make incremental progress towards some lofty unachievable goal. GW2 provides that for me. I’m more of an alt-oholic so doing hearts and storyline here and there are relaxing ways to spend my time. Long gone are the hardcore days of farming/grinding/reading up on strats/practicing rotations/memorizing priority lists. I still try to keep in touch with my old friends at least.

Is GW2 the best MMO?
I don’t know every MMO out there, and don’t believe I have the autority to answer for every gamer ever…
But there is a reason I don’t play other MMOs but this: GW2 is, by far, the best for ME.
Best doesn’t mean, perfect, nor optimal. Its simply the better alternative. Much better.

Problem with GW2 is serious lack of good content – HoT is not content that i was hoping for, wvw is rather dead and lack of separating PVP and PVE skills is another HUGE problem – if game continiues to move in that direction i’ll have to search for another, better one once it’ll come to life but as for now its the best mmo avaible for me today.

Also it doesnt have some pedo-children race that attracts every creeper-psycho on the net to it. (well… asuras… this race loweres my final score as for GW2 from 7/10 – good to 6/10 – above average)

GW2 did some things better than any other MMO I’ve played. Those things?

• Cooperative gameplay (no ninja nodes, kill steal, etc.)
• Moving while fighting (smoothest I’ve seen)
• Graphics
• Fun factor/longevity (thought this may be a function of other MMO’s not having this, for me)
• Skill > stats
• Value for money (core game)
• Store (if a game is going to have one, GW2’s is a good model to follow)

That said, there are some things other games did/do better. To name a few.

• Story (TSW hands down; honorable mention SWtoR)
• Character looks
• The way stats work (GW beats GW2 hands down; yes, I know, not an MMO; so sue me; GW was still better)
• Expansions (HoT was disappointing in two ways: it offered things to do only for some demographics; good XPacs offer more for everyone; and value for money (I’m glad I paid less than full price, but wish I’d paid less)

If you read the GW2 forums, then 90%+ of all the posts are complaints about something in the game.
This is also true of the forums for every MMO there is.
So the only conclusion is that no , GW2 isnt the best MMO because there are no good or best MMOs.
The other way to look at it, is that if there was a best MMO, woudlnt everyone be playing it ?

Jack of all trades, although excels at customisation hence “Fashion Wars 2”. Many aspects of the game are outperformed by alternatives, graphics, combat, raiding, performance / optimisation, etc.

It also comes down to personal preference, what is going to be best for you might not necessarily be best for someone else.

Of course there is a best MMO. The best MMO is the one that combines the various elements which constitute an MMO in the best way possible.

As for if GW2 is the best MMO… unless City of Heroes spontaneously rises from the dead or my idea for an MMORTS actually takes off… then GW2 is definitely a strong contender.

PROs:
*Very smooth gameplay. It flows easily and it makes sense.
*Solid dynamic action. This is a technical aspect that is underlooked a lot, but the fact that I can fire a fireball at an enemy, have it arc over and get body blocked by a different enemy, all in real time is an amazing achievement.
*Decent class system. Note: I hate the holy trinity..
*In recent releases, enemy design has stepped up to be meaningful encounters that are both dangerous enough to make you loose, but easy enough that you’ll most likely win.
*Stable economy. Yes, that is a big achievement.
*Fair. Everything gives experience, and the game is more concerned with rewarding who was there instead of dicing up everyone’s contribution to try and reward who did the most.
*Beautiful landscape design. Though in most places there’s nothing to actually do, the aesthetics of the whole place is awesome.
*Dynamic event system. It is much better than the old “fetch seven bear kitten” quest system that seemingly every other game uses.
*Auto scaling makes the entire world more valuable.\
*Comparatively little grind. The emphasis of balancing around exotics means that you don’t have to spend months to reach a bare minimum level of competency.
*Community is meh. Yes, “meh” is an achievement for MMOs, as most MMO communities are filled with whiny brats who can dedicate a full time job’s worth of time to being a pain in the kitten .

CONS:
*The story sucks. It is generic mystic babble following mediocre characters in a hastily written and generic storyline. Poor and obvious direction choices, poor implementation.
*The company has no idea what it is doing. Arenanet is an ideal based company, and so it’ll throw in grandiose ideas that sound good in their head, but overall fail in implementation.
*The market is bland. With all drops being indiscriminate bags filled with boxes filled with sacks, the prospect of finding a much needed but rare material in obscure corners of the world is lost.
*As said above, the world is mostly empty, having very little reason to go places other than to see a place.
*Balance passes take forever, meaning that if something is imbalanced or broken it will stay like that for several months.
*The code is spaghetti, and every time something is fixed, 2 things are broken.
*The community moderators are oppressive and ideologically motivated.
*Though the combat is done very well, there is little to do other than combat and “press F”.

Best mmo is subjective.
-Playability
-Replay value
-Content
-Playerbase
-Business model
-Developer dedication
-Marketing

And a whole lot other factors.

At this moment in time I can’t say Guild Wars 2 is the best. It’s good but it needs some improvement.

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

mauried.5608:

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

True for companies, false for their players.

mauried.5608:

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

In a perfect world, yes. But, there are three factors that affect the success of an MMO that aren’t related to how good it is at all.

#1: Release order. MMOs require massive time investments, which mean that once someone plays one MMO, they don’t want to play another.
#2: Brand name. Yes, an MMO can be sold on the silliest of ideas if it happens to have widespread recognition, like Warcraft does.
#3: Luck. Luck plays a surprisingly large factor when dealing with a business. You’d be amazed how often it is that something successful is only so due to coincidence. Meet the right person, release at the exact right time for the maximum amount of potential buyers, avoid strange lawsuits that force down your game, etc.

It is one of those things that I’ve found quite interesting, in that in all of World of Warcraft’s life, no one is exactly sure why it is that World of Warcraft became as popular as it is.

mauried.5608:

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

Best doesn’t mean the most popular. More people eat at McDonalds than Peter Luger’s Steak House. I’m pretty sure most people would agree Peter Luger’s is the better restaurant though.

I’m enjoying BDO more. this game is getting old, and PvP and wvw are just getting worse.

the lustre has gone. pve is awful. combat is fun when playing PvP some of the time, but really is just AOE spam most of the time. pve combat and adventuring are terrible.

BDO is grand. in look and feel. combat is excellent.
here, have a photo of my giant showing his grin

Khyan.7039:

mauried.5608:

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

True for companies, false for their players.

I mean that sounds solid in theory but one wonders, why if it’s false for their players do the players remain?

Why not… leave?

“this game is crap and I hate it, but I’m going to continue playing and funding it financially!”

CETheLucid.3964:

Khyan.7039:

mauried.5608:

This isnt what anyone wants to hear, but by simple definition the best MMO is the one that has the most players, and makes the most money for its creator.
You can guess which one that is.

True for companies, false for their players.

I mean that sounds solid in theory but one wonders, why if it’s false for their players do the players remain?

Why not… leave?

“this game is crap and I hate it, but I’m going to continue playing and funding it financially!”

Skinner box mechanisms and a passable quality overall. Also, “everyone else plays this game”.

Best is relative though. Real world examples are these endless talent shows that are in every country. The winner is often less successful than the 2nd or 3rd place or even someone further down the ladder. A huge number of successful sports stars will say they where not the best. An interview with Jimi Hendrix where they said he was considered the best and does he agree, he answered no. He said he made too many mistakes. Again being the best is not a solid thing.

Good to hear you are enjoying.
Most of the ppl are disappointed in the expansion (including me) but i find myself appreciating what it has to offer.

choovanski.5462:

I’m enjoying BDO more. this game is getting old, and PvP and wvw are just getting worse.

the lustre has gone. pve is awful. combat is fun when playing PvP some of the time, but really is just AOE spam most of the time. pve combat and adventuring are terrible.

BDO is grand. in look and feel. combat is excellent.
here, have a photo of my giant showing his grin

But will you be enjoying it more in 3 years. It’s that blush of first love. It always fades. Sometimes faster than others.

When we started this game, people loved it. It was the best thing ever. And then, a few months later, they introduced ascended gear, and the love affair was over.

All new relationships are great, because in that first experience we tend to overlook the bad points, but they’ll be there.

If you play games like that you’ll move from game to game forever. At the end of the day, you can’t compare a game that’s not released yet to one that’s been out for years. Well you can, but you’d be fooling yourself.

After what they did to WvW and PvP? No GW2 has annoyed their players and ignored their pleas. I know 4 players that have uninstalled over rage at the new PvP kittening omnishambles. BDO is released tomorrow expect GW2 population to crash

GW2 is one of a kind, like super smash bros

Callendor.1840:

After what they did to WvW and PvP? No GW2 has annoyed their players and ignored their pleas. I know 4 players that have uninstalled over rage at the new PvP kittening omnishambles. BDO is released tomorrow expect GW2 population to crash

Can’t wait for Thursday!

No. Gw2 would not be everyone’s number 1 MMO. A friend of mine prefers warframe. Another friend of mine prefers WoW. I prefer GW2.

The more I look into BDO the less excited I get for it. Gender/class locking kills what awesome elements its character creator has (ex: I can make the most accurate Daniel Radcliffe, but as is I could never make him Harry Potter), world bosses are dumber and have less mechanics than pre-update Shatterer, quests are the most mundane examples of kill/fetch/escort quests, grinding brainless mobs is the accepted way to level up (and better hope no one else is there to snipe your kills), and the smooth fluid combat is wasted on dumb AI, the cash shop is very controversial right now, PvE end game seems to be Garrison levels of “send out NPCs to go out and gather/craft stuff”, what WvW elements it has in open world PvP only happens on Saturdays since that’s the only time castles are contestable, in-game armor sets look nearly identical throughout leveling process so most characters will look the same despite awesome character creator, the open world is vast beautiful and seamless but empty of anything other than “cluster of mobs here, cluster of mobs there”, no dungeons/raids (though I don’t mind this much at all personally), many are considering it the perfect “Netflix game” (AFK fishing for money, AFK level your horse, etc.) so I guess if I did get into BDO I could literally play it and GW2 at the same time anyway lol, etc…

There are still awesome elements though. Assassin’s Creed style parkour and climbing, you can properly sit on pretty much any ledge (except chairs under tables, you can’t pull them out), lean on walls and go free camera, building ships/caravans, housing (though WildStar’s is better imo), catching/raising horses, when castles are actually contestable the “guild wars” looks fun… but that’s all fluff relative to everything else and the more my list of disappointments grow the more I can hear DAUM going “soon” and “eventually” just as much as every other MMO on the market…

I was going to buy it, but now I’m firmly on the fence waiting for more news haha. At most I only see myself playing Saturdays to get my WvW fix.