Guild Wars 2

…about GW2, and all combat-focused MMO’s for that matter. Everything is focused around combat.

Now I know that seems odd to say, particularly if you have played previous big MMOs (looking at you WoW, Rift). However, that’s what I feel. Essentially everything in the game leads to combat. Content is gated by combat and combat skill. Crafting is implemented, but it has no purpose as all items you can craft can be dropped in the open world or obtained via karma, dungeon tokens, and the like. Almost every dynamic event has combat.

While this is fun, it gets tedious, repetitive, and at times, boring. Sometimes I don’t feel like murdering everything in my wake. Honestly, I don’t have a solution on how GW2 can fix this. It’s a core mechanic, the entire game is based around it. I just feel that I should voice my opinion on the matter.

As a reference, as much as I am disliking Runescape nowadays, it had a well built core. You could fight, but only 1/3 of the skills were combat based. There was a bunch of smaller skills that could be trained. There were quests gated around those skills, things that didn’t involve fighting larger and larger foes. However, there were still other quests that did involve those, which were all the more satisfying with the contrast.

Another reference, I recently tried Mabinogi. You could choose various professions, such as blacksmith, merchant, warrior, chef, and more that I don’t remember. Each profession had its own benefits, such as blacksmiths making equipment with slightly higher stats. It was a refreshing break from the continuous combat of GW2.

To conclude, I enjoy Guild Wars 2, however its focus on combat causes me to get bored of it quickly. Adding some kind of contrast doesn’t seem possible with the current system, however if it were added it would help hold my attention for longer.

I agree. I hope they implement their minigames soon.

Play EVE and be a marketeer.