Guild Wars 2

Hi all,

I’m from the world of EverQuest 2 and a little bit of World of Warcraft.

Can someone explain to me the similarities and differences between those MMO’s and GW2?

Might someone be able to explain exactly what you do in GW2 and how?

When I tried it last it seemed like all you do is get the POI’s and find stuff on the map, and then find randomly located NPC’s who may or may not give you things to do.

I’m used to the type of questing system where you know a NPC will be around a certain area, they will give you a specific quest, you finish, you return it.

Can someone explain in detail how all this works in GW2?

Thanks.

Go to the guild wars 2 wiki. They list the location of all events and NPCs that give heart questish things. The most fun for me was to wander around doing whatever event popped up which usually either finished or mostly finished the heart requirements for the area.
There is no fixed route to 80 and after 80 there is no fixed required activities. Many have problems with this, many love this aspect. It is unfortunately up to you to figure out what you enjoy and don’t enjoy and build your play time around that.

Thanks. I’m going to get back into GW2… Will hopefully save me my $15/mo I am paying for WoW.

What you think of as quests in standard MMOs are dynamic events in Guild Wars 2. That means that sometimes in the world, stuff will happen, and you can interact with the stuff happening.

In the old style you might see a guy standing by a field saying that ogres are going to attack his home and can you go kill ten ogres.

In Guild Wars 2, you’re walking by this home and suddenly these ogres are attacking it. You can just jump in and help. No quest needed. That IS a quest.

The difference here is that when you’re done with the quest, the ogres are driven off, not just standing around waiting for someone else to kill ten more.

It will repeat of course, but in the mean time, you’ve usually moved on.

Vayne.8563:

What you think of as quests in standard MMOs are dynamic events in Guild Wars 2.

‘Dynamic’? – meaning, characterised by constant change?

Seriously?

So many of these quests are now so ‘dynamic’ there are websites dedicated to timing the spawns, so whole armies of players are lying in wait for them to happen…which makes the biggest challenge of many fights getting a hit in before the boss is rolled over by the train.

I still enjoy playing this game – but lets be real…dynamic it ain’t.

Yeah and anyone can jump in to an event or renown heart and help out for credit, and there’s no such thing as claiming mobs. Guild wars 2 has a lot of aspects to it that are different from other games.

If yiu have questions feel free to mail or message me in game and I can help you out!

Gobhoblin.7582:

Vayne.8563:

What you think of as quests in standard MMOs are dynamic events in Guild Wars 2.

‘Dynamic’? – meaning, characterised by constant change?

Seriously?

So many of these quests are now so ‘dynamic’ there are websites dedicated to timing the spawns, so whole armies of players are lying in wait for them to happen…which makes the biggest challenge of many fights getting a hit in before the boss is rolled over by the train.

I still enjoy playing this game – but lets be real…dynamic it ain’t.

They’re called dynamic events, so I call them dynamic. And compared to quest givers in old games they are MORE dynamic. I didn’t make up the term.

It’s like jumbo shrimp. Is it a large shrimp or a little jumbo. That’s the language. I’m pretty sure my point was made.

This clears it up so much.

Thanks a lot.

Hopefully will like it, save me my subscription fee for WoW, but at the same time… WoW has a native OSX version while EQ2’s Mac OSX version is using a Cider wrapper…

Intel graphics on my MacBook may be a problem, not sure yet :-/

Able to run max quality on WoW.

Gobhoblin.7582:

Vayne.8563:

What you think of as quests in standard MMOs are dynamic events in Guild Wars 2.

‘Dynamic’? – meaning, characterised by constant change?

Seriously?

So many of these quests are now so ‘dynamic’ there are websites dedicated to timing the spawns, so whole armies of players are lying in wait for them to happen…which makes the biggest challenge of many fights getting a hit in before the boss is rolled over by the train.

I still enjoy playing this game – but lets be real…dynamic it ain’t.

I suppose it’s not 100 perfect in terms of it being dynamic but still, a certain timeframe between spawns is probably necessary to make the experience less hectic, I suppose. Perhaps in time, they’d be able to refine it completely.

Braxton.3926:

Hopefully will like it, save me my subscription fee for WoW, but at the same time… WoW has a native OSX version while EQ2’s Mac OSX version is using a Cider wrapper…

Intel graphics on my MacBook may be a problem, not sure yet :-/

Able to run max quality on WoW.

The GW2 Mac Beta client is a wrapper as well. With your Intel graphics on your MB you might have to dial down the graphics settings a bit.

I made a typo.

I didn’t mean EQ2’s Mac OSX version. I meant GW2’s. Sorry.

EQ2 does NOT have a Mac Client.

I had meant that WoW has a native OSX cversion while GW2’s Mac OSX version is using a Cider wrapper.

I will probably have to dial down my graphics, for sure.

If it just runs too crappy I’ll simply just stop playing.

Braxton.3926:

I made a typo.

I didn’t mean EQ2’s Mac OSX version. I meant GW2’s. Sorry.

EQ2 does NOT have a Mac Client.

I had meant that WoW has a native OSX cversion while GW2’s Mac OSX version is using a Cider wrapper.

I will probably have to dial down my graphics, for sure.

If it just runs too crappy I’ll simply just stop playing.

It works well on my iMac but it has an NVIDIA card. On my 2012 MBP with Intel HD Graphics 4000 it works fair, I just have to dial down some settings. Disclaimer, I have not tried a lot of large scale group stuff like WvW zergs on my MBP.

Gobhoblin.7582:

Vayne.8563:

What you think of as quests in standard MMOs are dynamic events in Guild Wars 2.

‘Dynamic’? – meaning, characterised by constant change?

Seriously?

So many of these quests are now so ‘dynamic’ there are websites dedicated to timing the spawns, so whole armies of players are lying in wait for them to happen…which makes the biggest challenge of many fights getting a hit in before the boss is rolled over by the train.

I still enjoy playing this game – but lets be real…dynamic it ain’t.

Kill twelve Marrd Apes.

Braxton.3926:

Hi all,

I’m from the world of EverQuest 2 and a little bit of World of Warcraft.

Can someone explain to me the similarities and differences between those MMO’s and GW2?

Might someone be able to explain exactly what you do in GW2 and how?

When I tried it last it seemed like all you do is get the POI’s and find stuff on the map, and then find randomly located NPC’s who may or may not give you things to do.

I’m used to the type of questing system where you know a NPC will be around a certain area, they will give you a specific quest, you finish, you return it.

Can someone explain in detail how all this works in GW2?

Thanks.

Feel free to contact me in game and i’ll show you around. Tiger Ashante.1792

Well, a lot of stuff can be done.

• Explore the map
• Participate in dynamic events, including the epic-tiered world bosses
• Complete renown hearts (part of exploring technically)
• Gather materials
• Craft items
• Complete the instanced Personal Story
• Complete dungeons
• Participate in world-vs-world-vs-world combat
• Participate in structured team PvP
• Participate in minigame activities
• Participate in guild missions
• Finish jumping puzzles
• Collect achievements

Most of this stuff gives you XP and gear. Gear is similar stat-wise, but has different looks depending on its source.

I tackle GW2 more from the perspective of my time in Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot. I also played a lot of EQ2 and WoW. GW2 doesn’t share a lot with those games. In UO and DAoC you weren’t given as much direction or gear treadmill. Once you had a set of gear you like that’s what you wore forever, just like GW2. in UO and DAoC the big draws were economics and becoming a better PVPer. Enriching oneself while learning all you could about classes, builds, the game world and lore. GW2 is more like old school MMOs, as much as it bills itself as a whole new concept it pretty much ends up playing like 3D UO.

Ya know… Asgaeroth… that actually is a pretty good comparison. kitten it, now I wanna play Ultima Online again.

Braxton.3926:

Hi all,

I’m from the world of EverQuest 2 and a little bit of World of Warcraft.

Can someone explain to me the similarities and differences between those MMO’s and GW2?

Might someone be able to explain exactly what you do in GW2 and how?

When I tried it last it seemed like all you do is get the POI’s and find stuff on the map, and then find randomly located NPC’s who may or may not give you things to do.

I’m used to the type of questing system where you know a NPC will be around a certain area, they will give you a specific quest, you finish, you return it.

Can someone explain in detail how all this works in GW2?

Thanks.

First things – do not expect the depth of those games in this. It’s simply not here.

With that being said, there’s still plenty to do.

First and foremost, you begin by leveling. Each of the vanilla zones have loads of content, and map completion in each zone will net you a lot of experience and you’ll get to see as much of the game as possible. Dungeons can also round out your experience. At the minimum, you should complete each path once so as to experience the whole of the story. Think of events and hearts as quests in this game.

Next, there’s crafting. It’s a well designed but somewhat irrelevant until you get them to max. Cooking can be useful, but in my time I’ve very rarely used any cooking ingredients. I don’t feel like they make a huge difference.

There’s also jumping puzzles, which are cool areas that offer some reference (vaguely, at times) to some bit of lore. I suggest doing these as you clear a zone.

Once you’ve reached max level, there’s a few more options to you. First is event and champion farming. This will get you lots of gold and karma. There’s also fractals, which are longer and harder versions of dungeons for the raiders at heart.

There’s also PvP, but I can’t speak much to that.

Having played both of those games (still playing WoW), I can say I miss these things.

1. Reputation. There’s a load of opportunities for this in the game, but they haven’t felt the need to implement it.
2. Grouping tools. We have a LFG tool, but it’s nowhere as robust as WoW’s.
3. Roleplaying. The lore is very shallow at this point, especially in comparison to EQ2 and WoW. You have emotes, but there really isn’t a sense you can dig too deeply in this game. For instance you would think the deity choice you make as a human would somehow matter like the one you made in EQ2. Nope. Those choices are a waste of time because ArenaNet is on the inclusiveness bandwagon and wiping out all of the glory that RPGs actually have.
4. Raiding. Again, a feature ArenaNet consciously decided wasn’t a good idea (hint, they were wrong). The only content you’ll find for large groups of players are the open world bosses, which usually get downed in a matter of minutes. Tequatl is an exception to that.
5. Class specialization. This is open for debate, but classes can all heal, tank, etc. Some are marginally better at it, but the game is chaotic when it comes to group play.
6. Mounts. Again, another feature that would add depth and play customization that’s been thrown out.

My recommendation is approach this game casually. It’s fun, but it’s not deep IMO.

Destai.9603:

My recommendation is approach this game casually.

Proofread and condensed the advice for you, most of that was pretty confusing and incorrect.

Destai.9603:

4. Raiding. Again, a feature ArenaNet consciously decided wasn’t a good idea (hint, they were wrong). The only content you’ll find for large groups of players are the open world bosses, which usually get downed in a matter of minutes. Tequatl is an exception to that.

I do want to comment on this.

Believe me, I enjoyed WoW’s raid endgame (actually spent time with a top 100 raiding guild during Burning Crusade), but I held no delusions whatsoever that the vast overwhelming majority of WoW’s player base thought it was worth their time. (I remember something like 2% of the players ever got past Kalecgos in Sunwell Plateau).

The main reason we saw the “Looking for Raid” difficulty in Cataclysm was for that very inclusiveness that you snidely demean Arena.net catering to. Raid instances are as a rule a lot of resources for very little player return… so I can understand why a developer wouldn’t want to focus on it.

Now, that said… I don’t think Arena.net’s open world bosses are the answer either for those who want larger-scale, complex experiences, but… I can understand why Arena.net is trying to avoid raid instances.

When i started playing i made a nice little asura and jumped in.
So far so good, no “kill 10 rats” quests, every now and then i had to escort npc’s. Game started to get a little boring untill……..

I suddenly got jumped by the shadow behemoth, basically insta-died and stared a little shocked at my screen.

If that thing was already in a starters area, what more was lying in wait for me.
I was hooked to the game, dumped all other games and began my adventure in tyria

I do some spvp from time to time. Maybe romp around WvW for an hour or two every once in a blue moon. I mostly pug some dungeons and swing by some of the world bosses. The new living world stuff is pretty sweet. Long term goals: get rich and/or make a legendary. Short term goals: have fun killin stuff.

chemiclord.3978:

Destai.9603:

4. Raiding. Again, a feature ArenaNet consciously decided wasn’t a good idea (hint, they were wrong). The only content you’ll find for large groups of players are the open world bosses, which usually get downed in a matter of minutes. Tequatl is an exception to that.

I do want to comment on this.

Believe me, I enjoyed WoW’s raid endgame (actually spent time with a top 100 raiding guild during Burning Crusade), but I held no delusions whatsoever that the vast overwhelming majority of WoW’s player base thought it was worth their time. (I remember something like 2% of the players ever got past Kalecgos in Sunwell Plateau).

The main reason we saw the “Looking for Raid” difficulty in Cataclysm was for that very inclusiveness that you snidely demean Arena.net catering to. Raid instances are as a rule a lot of resources for very little player return… so I can understand why a developer wouldn’t want to focus on it.

Now, that said… I don’t think Arena.net’s open world bosses are the answer either for those who want larger-scale, complex experiences, but… I can understand why Arena.net is trying to avoid raid instances.

LFR is inclusivity done right. It allows a personalized environment, where lag can’t destroy a group and people don’t have to deal with competing with hundreds of players. On top of that, it allows for organization and group coordination. The cool downs on the world bosses are prohibitive because you’re bound by the timing of the server.

My problem is the fact that very little group content exists beyond zerging the open world. This stems from the fact that ArenaNet is outright ignoring standards of the genre and creating a hollow game. I’m not saying raids in this game should be exactly as they are in WoW; they can keep the non-gating ideal, but allow for larger planned groups of people.

Boneheart.3561:

Destai.9603:

My recommendation is approach this game casually.

Proofread and condensed the advice for you, most of that was pretty confusing and incorrect.

Gee, thanks for wasting your time removing my actually valid concerns about the game.

And what exactly is incorrect? Does this game have roleplaying? No. Do the choices you make during character creation matter through out the entire game? No. Does the choice of your Order matter beyond the few missions you have with them? No. Can a profession specialization with any amount of group efficacy? No. If I went full heal on my guardian, I’d be useless to some groups.

This game has its strength, and the reasons I play it. It’s a good casual game, but my warning is that you can’t expect it to be as deep as WoW or EQ2 in a traditional sense. That’s a perfectly valid concern. Have some people gotten thousands of hours out of the game? Sure have. What they’ve done for that long escapes me, as I’ve teetered off at 700.