Guild Wars 2

Thank you, ANet, for building an MMOG that I can finally enjoy.

A little background… I’ve been playing video games since the 80s (Atari, Nintendo) and MMOGs since the mid-90s (MUDs, Ultima Online). I’ve played just about every major MMOG that has come out since then (including GW1, for all of an hour), and I’ve seen the pattern that many games fall into and the series of mistakes they all seem to repeat. GW2 seems to have addressed many of those issues, which is why I can’t put it down

Things I love:
1. Leveling is not a chore and not an end goal (except for level 80). It is something that happens while you’re doing something else. I don’t have to sit there and grind mobs ad nausem for days on end just to get one more level so I can open up more content.

2. Dynamic Content. If I really enjoyed a “quest”, I can do it over and over again and still get decent experience for it, even if it is in a lower-level area.

3. Auto-leveling. I love this almost more than any other feature. It means that core content never becomes completely obsolete, nor is advanced content closed off from new players (such as WvW). I can’t tell you how frustrating it was to be a casual player and never be able to raid with my friends in WoW, because I was 6 months behind them in completing raid prereqs. I had to do it all alone, and it just burned me out.

4. Details everywhere. I love how I can be running around WvW, see an interesting portal, and upon going through it find myself in a massive jumping puzzle with an amazing reward at the end. I couldn’t do it alone, which leads me to…

5. Grouping without groups. This is AMAZING. I can run in to a Shatter fight and start contributing, and get credit along with the other 20 random people. I completed the EB epic jumping puzzle the other night during the jump bug because 2 friendly mesmers happened along and portal-ing for me and this charr who were having a terrible time with the puzzle. I may never see those folks again, but I had a ton of fun hanging out with them for an hour. This kind of thing happens all the time.

6. Discovery. I actually feel like I’m discovering things, that I’m actually exploring. I have no idea what is around the bend, so often I’m surprised. This not only goes for world exploration, but also crafting. While some recipes are obvious (“here’s how you make a sword”), others actually require personal experimentation to find. I love how the game gives you hints toward this. In one example, While in the discovery pane the other night I happened to see that some bronze bars in my bag were lit up, so I put them in one of the discovery boxes. One combination was possible! So I put in the one thing in my bag that was still enabled, and I was able to create sharpening stones! I felt like I actually found something new.

I guess that’s it. If it were just a few cool features that were shown off every now and then, I would say “Neat” and move on. However, every time I play I find and experience amazing things. The heart and soul of this game are solid.

Thanks again, ANet. I look forward to what else you have in store!

(I am a level 65 Guardian on Anvil Rock)

Good post! I agree completely!

While it does have its flaws, it’s still the best game I’ve played in a long, long time.

I agree with this post so much. I have been finding little things all over the place, and those little events turn out into larger and tougher adventures for my ranger. YES, it does have glitches, bugs etc, but wow what a beautiful game!

I agree.

Along those lines of what you mentioned I am constantly in awe at how beautiful the game is compared to other MMOs (the newer ones even, not just the 8 year old monster). Sometimes I find a vista and just pan around a while checking out the view.

I also love how cities are cities and not a some small area called a city and caves feel like caves.

I am definitely hooked on this game now, after a few months of letting it sit because it wasn’t enough like other MMOs but I found out that it’s much, much better for players like me who love RPGs and open world content.

I understand that there are some issues with the game, but nothing that has impacted my leveling experience and my love of exploration.

Kudos to Anet.

This game may not be perfect, but it’s done perfectly- i do agree with everything you said and can also promise you – the game experience doesn’t end of level 80.

Agree, this game is made to be enjoyed. There are still flaws, but I have hope they might be fixed. And if there ever come expansions, this game will have ‘endless’ amount of content (wich it already has not, but might be a tad repetive at times).

i felt the same way till i reached lvl 80…

regardless i feel my money well spent on this game.