Guild Wars 2

I just finished exploring the Holystone Caves in Diessa Plataeu, and I simply wanted to mention how amazing the zone design in Guildwars 2 is… The area is outstanding, it boasts attention to detail I have never seen in a game, especially for an area with no set objective, no “Look at what we made”.

It’s little things like this that make my adventures through Tyria feel like an actual adventure, instead of a long string of zone completions.

Keep it up Anet!

It is quite good, right up until you hit Orr.

My least favorite zone(s) in 15+ years of MMO gaming, by a long shot.

I second that. Coming from FFXIV’s massive repetitive maps, GW2 maps are definitely some of the most beautiful maps ever. Not just in a MMO, but in games in general.

Malefactor.2971:

It is quite good, right up until you hit Orr.

My least favorite zone(s) in 15+ years of MMO gaming, by a long shot.

Actually, if you forget about the mobs and sit back and look at the scenery, it is still quite remarkable.

I did Cursed Shore for the first time a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a very nice area on the artistic side.

Ayan.1750:

Malefactor.2971:

It is quite good, right up until you hit Orr.

My least favorite zone(s) in 15+ years of MMO gaming, by a long shot.

Actually, if you forget about the mobs and sit back and look at the scenery, it is still quite remarkable.

I did Cursed Shore for the first time a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a very nice area on the artistic side.

If you take away the absurd mob density and their over abundance of CC type abilities, I still very much dislike the 3 zones, matter of personal preference I suppose. Outside of Orr maps though, I rather like all the others.

The zones are beautifully done. I like the whole storybook feel they tried to do. It really gives the game a unique look that lends itself very well to exploration.

Although I still give atmosphere and sheer awe to LoTRO.
— First walking down the ramp to Rivendell
— First time entering Moria (pretty much the entirety of Moria)
— or Seeing the Northern Lights of Forochel.

or more recently

— riding into the Sutcrofts of East Rohan the first time and hearing the magnificence of the full Sutcrofts Musical Score in the background.
— Bree Town also recently (PTS) received an awesome graphical revamp – and it is a great reminder of what Turbine does so well. That is, the ability to make a place more than just a collection of pretty things to look at – but a place that you feel a part of.

EDIT: Here’s the musical score to the Sutcrofts. Go to 0:44 for epicness. ;P

Its ok, but i hate how every zone is in a box mountain range

Malefactor.2971:

It is quite good, right up until you hit Orr.

My least favorite zone(s) in 15+ years of MMO gaming, by a long shot.

This is just Poison, honestly.

I LOVE this game, I love running around, and seeing new things. I have an 80 mesmer, and I still haven’t gotten 100% world complete, so I’m still running around seeing what I can find, and I Love It!

Every corner there is something new and breathtaking, something exciting. I have to avoid some events, even though it’s hard, just because I’ll get stuck for too long in an area if I dont’.

I honestly feel sorry for ppl that raced to 80 as fast as they could in order to farm Orr like some Chinese bot. It’s a gear grind WoW mentality that I am happy to be free of.

I’m so glad that I can take my time and truly appreciate the art that as gone into this world, and also I appreciate that I have a real job, and so I never have to farm Orr for mats :X

I also adore the way this game looks. I still remember finally emerging from the crater of Mount Maelstrom after the meta-event there, and then the sound and look of cooling rain falling on the jungle environment around me. It was perfect.

The op speaks the truth.
Never have I came across a mmo with such a variety and detailed zones/maps. You really never know what you are going to come across around the next bend.
I was only thinking to myself yesterday that it must have taken the dev’s millions of man hours to build these zones.
A week in and my first level 20 and the game keeps getting better and better.

Slyder.9215:

The zones are beautifully done. I like the whole storybook feel they tried to do. It really gives the game a unique look that lends itself very well to exploration.

Although I still give atmosphere and sheer awe to LoTRO.
— First walking down the ramp to Rivendell
— First time entering Moria (pretty much the entirety of Moria)
— or Seeing the Northern Lights of Forochel.

or more recently

— riding into the Sutcrofts of East Rohan the first time and hearing the magnificence of the full Sutcrofts Musical Score in the background.
— Bree Town also recently (PTS) received an awesome graphical revamp – and it is a great reminder of what Turbine does so well. That is, the ability to make a place more than just a collection of pretty things to look at – but a place that you feel a part of.

EDIT: Here’s the musical score to the Sutcrofts. Go to 0:44 for epicness. ;P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVIij-vHI0E

Yes Lotro is nice but kinda dull compared to gw2. Love the music tho. I played lotro for about a year b4 gw2 came out. It was always a filler game for me between gw1 and gw2, so naturally when gw2 came out i more or less stopped playing lotro altho i did log in a few times recently to check Rohan and the mounted combat, which is rather cool.

OP, not just maps but cities are amazing too. I remember when i first saw each place i spent hours (mouth gaping) looking at all the superb details down to the last brick in the wall and even drainage in the middle of the streets. Nothing was missed and then when i ventured out into the open world the awe continued and still does tho i’ve seen every map many times i never get tired of them. I only wish that sometimes there no enemies for a few minutes so i can truly stand around and admire the beauty, especially in Orr.
Even in gw1 (for its age) the artwork was amazing and it would take a lot of effort by some game company to beat gw2 in its art design. This is why i have much faith in Anet to come good eventually on all other issues in the game, because in the end, these guys are perfectionists and they must be terribly frustrated that things are not working perfectly across Tyria.

Its very good except for the boxiness (though thats well hidden inside the maps) and it does sometimes get a bit repetitive if it involves snow.

The only parts I really dont like are Orr (though thats due to mobfest) and some of the cities seem thrown together and messy.

Look behind waterfalls and bushes, swim upstream in rivers to find underwater caverns. Sometimes almost whole zones are hidden underneath the map!

It really is a gorgeous varied world. I am very particular about companies that just copy/paste the same old caves or terrain over and over. Haven’t come across anything like that yet

Malefactor.2971:

It is quite good, right up until you hit Orr.

My least favorite zone(s) in 15+ years of MMO gaming, by a long shot.

I have to agree with this, if it’s one think GW2 had going for it, it’s the amazing art team. The concept art to level design, character design, all that is top notch, AAA stuff. It’s everything else I have issue with.

That’s GW2’s redeeming factor and it’s one hope to keep customers in my opinion.

Tiger Ashante.1792:

Yes Lotro is nice but kinda dull compared to gw2. Love the music tho. I played lotro for about a year b4 gw2 came out. It was always a filler game for me between gw1 and gw2, so naturally when gw2 came out i more or less stopped playing lotro altho i did log in a few times recently to check Rohan and the mounted combat, which is rather cool.

OP, not just maps but cities are amazing too. I remember when i first saw each place i spent hours (mouth gaping) looking at all the superb details down to the last brick in the wall and even drainage in the middle of the streets. Nothing was missed and then when i ventured out into the open world the awe continued and still does tho i’ve seen every map many times i never get tired of them. I only wish that sometimes there no enemies for a few minutes so i can truly stand around and admire the beauty, especially in Orr.
Even in gw1 (for its age) the artwork was amazing and it would take a lot of effort by some game company to beat gw2 in its art design. This is why i have much faith in Anet to come good eventually on all other issues in the game, because in the end, these guys are perfectionists and they must be terribly frustrated that things are not working perfectly across Tyria.

I like the artwork of GW2. I’m a sucker for the whole storybook look. I agree with you that art design matters more to me than actual graphical quality.

But I actually think the opposite on one other thing. Pretty as they are, I find GW2 areas dull. I said it in another thread – I don’t know if it’s the presentation, the writing, or the voice acting but for some reason I don’t feel connected to GW2’s world at all. It feels to me like a bunch of things to do and see (and complete), instead of a world to be part of.

Kind of a separate argument, but the whole map completion thing – imo, GW2 managed to turn Exploration into a job. After a while, I find myself going to a map not because I want to explore it, but because I need to explore it for my map completion.

Like I said, it takes more than just pretty things to look at. Although you could argue that LoTRO (and SWTOR by extension) has a well-established lore by their side. Although GW lore is no slouch in itself.

But look at FFXIII and FFXIII-2. Those are both pretty games, and if you really take the time to look – the actual lore and backstory to them is actually really really interesting. The thing that fell apart is the storytelling and presentation. It’s like having the best story in the world being told by a really bad storyteller. Kind of an extreme example, but you get what I mean.