Guild Wars 2

I played a bit when it first came out, then – for whatever reason – stopped. I just got a new gaming machine and am looking for a new MMO to enjoy. Is this it? I don’t like investing a lot of time into a dying game. Is GW2 dying? Or is it alive and well? I want to play a game that’s vibrant; radiating with personality and people. Will the majority of areas I go to be completely deserted? Or will they be thriving with life? Is one server better than another? I don’t have any attachments to my current server, Fort Aspenwood, so if there’s a better one, I have no issue going to it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

The game isn’t exactly dying but i wouldn’t suggest you to play it either. Unless you’re satisfied with brand new gem store items instead of real content, you will be very disappointed in couple of days. Wait for them to release something worthwhile but that could take over a year…

Guild Wars 2 is still VERY alive and healthy and just to let you know Guild Wars 2 has easily sold millions of copies!

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW (?) so if you like to be competitive in WvWvW you may want to to stay on your current server.

The game is definitely fun and if you want to know for sure just play it and initially simply pursue only the things you like doing.

The only way it will be a “dying game” is if a newer MMO comes out and everyone leaves to play that instead… until then you already own it, so play it freely and you’ll know if you want to devote time to it.

I’m leveling my 9th toon to 80 currently… i do the things i like and I enjoy large group open world content which is something others either love or don’t :P

Good luck to you on whatever you decide but you can always log on and check it out for yourself

Depends really. If you are the type of person who wants cool skins and doesn’t mind grinding relentlessly, then sure. If you don’t like/have time to grind, then you’ll catch up…in a year or so.

SpehssMehreen.5897:

If you wanna have fun in the game or any Mmo for that matter, STAY AWAY from the forums, it will not only spoil your fun but people will try to convince you to feel the same way they do, please please please stay away from here and go enjoy and explore the game yourself, take the time to learn and not to roll through with guides and eventually join a guild, make sure to try all aspects of gw2 such as pvp and wvw.

GLHF

Not to worry. OP will know what GW2 is all about in time, he dont need to browse through GW2 Forum at all. He WILL know.

I just do sPvP dailies now… play 3 sPvP games – get off…
Only thing that doesn’t require grind, and rewards you after 3 games… :|
(i completely ignore ranks as theres no benefits to them, and am satisfied with with my sPvP gear looks)

I’ll give you a 10 points to consider:

1. Try and remember that the forums contain the people that have something to complain about. Majority that enjoy the game – are enjoying the game. The same is true for any gaming forum.

2. GW2 is a fantastic game that has immensely fun pve content and an enjoyable campaign mode. For that alone it is worth the $60.

3. Population is steady and slowly increasing over time. Definitely not dying in population. Although like any MMO, the majority of the playerbase are level 80 and doing higher level maps and content. Thus during levelling you won’t see as many people.

4. Fortunately, the content is designed so well for the level up process that you can usually solo hearts and personal story content. Combined with a bit of crafting and you’ll find you’ll hit 80 very very smoothly and in no time at all.

5. GW2 is releasing content updates at the fastest rate of any mmo out in the industry at the moment. It is INSANE how much they’re patching this game. While it is argued that their updates are little more than 2 week long ‘events’, the fact remains that these patches ARE keeping people coming back to check it out, that they ARE getting people to do something new. Updating a game like this is the first I’ve ever heard in the industry so Anet will be ironing out a few kinks, trying to update with more permanent content etc, but for the sheer fact that you have an event every two weeks – it is amazing. Many games don’t receive patches for months and months on end, let alone events or anything. Offline games like Skryim, or even Diablo 3 NEVER receive patches, you’re stuck with what you’ve got. Most of the people complaining don’t realize how spoiled they are.

6. I would have to say that this was one of my most favorite games I’ve ever played so far. I also stopped playing after a while for no apparent reason, and then came back after getting a good computer. Like you, I didn’t have a guild joined or anything like that so majority of my levelling up was done solo. But I enjoyed it, it was just like playing skyrim or something it was very fun.

7. The content you get for $60 is sheer amazing and the gem store is updated frequently, but can be purchased with gold, and often isn’t game-breaking pay to win content so it’s very fair imo. People complain that they add new items to the gem store weekly. The game is free to play, they don’t understand how fair it is.

8. I recommend you visit a guy called woodenpotatoes on youtube. He gives an excellent guide to PVP in this game which really helps break up the gameplay once in a while. He also gives a really good summary of the ‘Living Story’ so far. Which helps to see all the updates in one place and what has happened to the story thus far, and what will happen.

9. I don’t think I’ve met a single person who regretted buying this game. Everyone that I know has enjoyed the game. The worst recount that people said was that they got bored at 80, mainly because progression finishes and it comes down solely to playing for fun with friends. If that doesn’t sound good to you then maybe not, but I strongly encourage you to play to 80 to find out.

10. Do it, it is a beautiful game. Even just the campaign mode is worth your $60. Have fun and see you in game

So how long will it take me to catch up and experience end game? I really want to get involved in PvP. Will I be severely under geared if I don’t commit all my free time to the game for the next year? Thanks for all the possitive guys for your help?

Also, another question – I’ve got a great system but I feel like I should be getting better performance. I cap out around 80 fps with slowdowns around 50 while moving around and killing stuff. I have everything maxed out with an overclocked i4770k and a 780 GTX. Any ideas?

You can level to 80 via crafting in a couple hours and buy full exotics on the tp, so it could take you just a few hours,. If you have the gold to spend.

The game is alright, nothing to write home about though. We all hoped things would improve since release but unfortunately not much has, and in some cases has even gotten worse, i.e. the gear treadmill.

Jatacid.3725:

I’ll give you a 10 points to consider:

5. GW2 is releasing content updates at the fastest rate of any mmo out in the industry at the moment. It is INSANE how much they’re patching this game. While it is argued that their updates are little more than 2 week long ‘events’, the fact remains that these patches ARE keeping people coming back to check it out, that they ARE getting people to do something new. Updating a game like this is the first I’ve ever heard in the industry so Anet will be ironing out a few kinks, trying to update with more permanent content etc, but for the sheer fact that you have an event every two weeks – it is amazing. Many games don’t receive patches for months and months on end, let alone events or anything. Offline games like Skryim, or even Diablo 3 NEVER receive patches, you’re stuck with what you’ve got. Most of the people complaining don’t realize how spoiled they are.

With a biweekly schedule comes the inevitable drop in quality. Personally I find most living stories leave a lot to be desired and provide little, but that’s just me. If you don’t really care about the story (or lack of) and just want some shiny new content every 2 weeks then all is well. And offline games do get patches. Expansions even.

Jatacid.3725:

7. The content you get for $60 is sheer amazing and the gem store is updated frequently, but can be purchased with gold, and often isn’t game-breaking pay to win content so it’s very fair imo. People complain that they add new items to the gem store weekly. The game is free to play, they don’t understand how fair it is.

With the current gold to gem ratio all items in the gem shop will be at a formidable price for new players. A lot of items are also heavily RNG-based. But if you are feeling free with your credit card then no problem. At least stuff in the gem shop doesn’t affect game balance.

Jatacid.3725:

9. I don’t think I’ve met a single person who regretted buying this game. Everyone that I know has enjoyed the game. The worst recount that people said was that they got bored at 80, mainly because progression finishes and it comes down solely to playing for fun with friends. If that doesn’t sound good to you then maybe not, but I strongly encourage you to play to 80 to find out.

10. Do it, it is a beautiful game. Even just the campaign mode is worth your $60. Have fun and see you in game

I’d agree that the original content is good enough for the $60. After 80 however comes the true test. If you like running dungeons, wvw, pvp, farming, or shining loot in general you’ll probably like this game. If you have high standards for storytelling and lore I’d suggest you to not waste your time.

Sadly, OP, the ‘terrible truth’ about threads like these is that no-one can really tell you if a game’s worth playing…or not – it’s all down to personal experience.
To players on low populated servers, the game’s dying – for players at the other end of the scale, it’s not.
Forums aren’t exactly the perfect starting point either, as you’ll get differing opinions, making your choice often more confusing to begin with – best advice is to jump in with both feet and see if GW2’s right for you – if it is then happy days…if not, what have you wasted?

I’ll give you some points to consider
1. Forums are full of people complaining about people complaining.
2. Fort Aspenwood is a populated server and it’s not TC, so no reason to transfer.
3. Forums are full of people complaining about people complaining about people complaining.
4. At Fort Aspenwood you can frag wvw peeps from TC.
5. Forums are full of people complaining about people complaining about people complaining about people complaining.
6. You are not on TC so you won’t need to transfer to Fort Aspenwood, you’re already there.
7, 8, 9 & 10. As for it worth playing, depends on what you feel is worth playing. Many seem to think so, others don’t. Only way to find out is to play the game.

The art is great, no complaints there.

Mechanically, I think the game has been, and continues to be, crippled by bad design decisions, e.g.: no resource mechanic/spammy gameplay, terrible UI, visually messy, downed state in PVP, lack of player choice/customisation/viable builds/sloooooooooow balancing, lack of compelling content.

Lastly, I’ve never seen a games developer treakittens player base with such thinly-veiled contempt.

Hi Intense…there are a lot of people who love this game and a lot of people who don’t. Until you play it, you won’t know which you are.

Which type of PvP are you interested in. Because you don’t have to gear up at all to play structured PvP. You’ll be geared up as soon as you enter it.

Loads of players still playing…

New content every 2 weeks…

Looks alive and well to me…

I’ll make it short:

1. YOU are the only person who can decide whether it is worth playing or not. You’ve already spent your $60 (else you wouldn’t be here) so just go play. When you make 80, and have experienced the game, then you can tell if it was worth it or not.

2. If you pay attention to the forums, the game is either dying, thriving, too hard, too easy, stagnant, vibrant, great, horrible, a grind, or not a grind… Go play. Make up your own mind and don’t let what other people think make your decision for you.

Good luck to you!

If you’ve already bought the game why not just log in and give it a go?

There’s no subscription fee so there’s not really anything to loose if you don’t like it, and that way you can find out what you think instead of what other people think.

mjharrison.3209:

The art is great, no complaints there.

Oh that. I’d give the art a 5/10. The world art is pretty good, but the player gear art is pretty mediocre. I’d give it a 6/10 on that count, maybe 7 for trying, but I don’t think they are doing the best that they can do quite frankly, so a 5. …edit: so a five (that ok, filter?) edit2: lol then it decides to accept the “5”.

So you have some outstanding gear in the game, but most of the rest is really something that needs a transmutation stone to make it look acceptable. For the most part, you can only get those from RMT/Gems, as well as for many of the newer skins (e.g. lion chest scraps etc).

Legendaries should have been the standard, much of the exotics more in pace with how legendaries look. But making legendaries not the standard, and of little variety, drives gem sales for the heavy grind on materials to get one.

So it works in their favor: create 90% mediocre gear but sell more gems from the exchange. But, in the end, what matters is game-play, right? I know that is true for some, and it’s certainly something that kept me away from WoW hehehe (so many bored players always there). But for that, game-play, I still say one needs to play to find out. GW2 seems to be going through a transition …it seems. So even more so now, I wouldn’t even begin to speculate on the future. I’ve seen mmo’s go through big transitions into a literal crash and burn, so my answer could be jaded from such experiences, at least regarding big non-indie projects.

Intense.8235:

I just got a new gaming machine and am looking for a new MMO to enjoy. Is this it?

Don’t expect GW2 to run well on your machine. My comp. can run all the newest games and I can add multisampling and sparse grid anti-aliasing etc. using Nvidia Inspector. In GW2 without any AA (except SweetFX) it runs like a slideshow at times. LA is a consistent 20-30 fps.

I tried the jump puzzle in LA last night (the one where you drop down the chimney thing from the walkway above) and even in the water tunnel I was getting terrible performance when all that was on my screen was the tunnel and some fish. I think the engine is still rendering all the people above even though I can’t even see them or their names

Anet said they have people working on performance but it’s been 12 months and the game now performs worse than it used to. The performance did go up a little shortly after launch but I think that was the explosion of players calming down that caused that rather than changes made by Anet.

Paul.4081:

Don’t expect GW2 to run well on your machine. My comp. can run all the newest games and I can add multisampling and sparse grid anti-aliasing etc. using Nvidia Inspector. In GW2 without any AA (except SweetFX) it runs like a slideshow at times. LA is a consistent 20-30 fps.

Hmm yeah that’s odd, mine is a couple years old, older model at least, got it a year ago. As long as I set to medium textures, it all runs fine. AMD system with an Nvidia card. Textures shouldn’t be an issue with the card, but they are with this game. AA on I notice no degradation. Also reflections just don’t work at all. But otherwise, pretty stable. Guess results may vary.

Depends on what you’re looking for. I won’t say that the game doesn’t have parts that are well done and fun to play even after a year’s worth of familiarity, but there are also many things that are so contrary to fun that I often wonder if they were designed to encourage people to stop playing. Based on where things seem to be heading, I fear the worst is yet to come. Note that this is an expression of my opinion and fun is, of course, subjective. You may enjoy the ridiculous requirements to craft a certain type of gear that was added, evidently, just to create dissension in the community as it seems to serve no other purpose outside one particular and mostly stagnant area of the game, and you may enjoy senseless time-gating that would tax the patience of Master Oogway, and you may enjoy the ‘blink and you missed it’ fluff and nonsense that is the Living Circus. If not, this may not be the game for you.

One more thing: don’t let the familiar names deceive you. This is not Guild Wars, and this isn’t the same company that made Guild Wars.

Regardless, most of the fun things that were here at launch are still here, although some things have had much of the fun ‘fixed’ right out of them. The remaining initially fun things are well worth the purchase price.

Bottom line: in spite of everything I’m still here a year after launch.

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

If you like exploring world and doing achievements, this game is for you.

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

Mahaedros.7085:

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

FA is usually in T2. Was in T3 last month for a week or something, even though it had a score to be in T2. But at least FA made a serious killing there in T3 hehe. But, pretty much all year, T2, even before transfers. Not sure what happened this week, probably a lot of wvw combatants forced out to grind/farm/beg for ascendeds :/
They should just bring the spvp locker to wvw imo …but w/o the respecs.

Didn’t know games had a heartbeat. If Guild Wars 2 had a heart , it would be thumping steadily with a few murmurs on occasion.

If you adore gear grinds play it, if not skip it.

Mahaedros.7085:

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

Two of those are T1 servers. Aspenwood isn’t one of those two.

Until they get real about addressing the grinding issues I wouldn’t bother. They don’t seem to have a vision anymore.

Oxe.6142:

Mahaedros.7085:

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

Two of those are T1 servers. Aspenwood isn’t one of those two.

https://leaderboards.guildwars2.com/en/na/wvw
hmmm reads T1 though rating is #5. But it’s in T1 slot, sooo. Like last month, rated 5 ir 6 but in T3.

Like mentioned before, most people come to forums to complain, so majority of opinions you’ll read here, won’t reflect the actual state of the game.

Whatever trolls say,
GW2 is undeniably the best MMO out there, so you might as well give it another go.

They’ve done an amazing amount of work to the core game since launch and are releasing new content every 2 weeks.
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/

Activity-wise, it’s kinda insane how there are more and more players every day.

Many carrot chasers pictured.

Celtus.8456:

Many carrot chasers pictured.

Maybe, maybe not. The addition of Rift-style zone wide events hasn’t hurt the game, no matter who’s doing those events.

I’m not a carrot chaser (for example it’ll be a long time before I get an ascended weapon), but I still enjoy zone wide invasions.

Jatacid.3725:

10. Do it, it is a beautiful game. Even just the campaign mode is worth your $60. Have fun and see you in game

The campaign is the worst part of this game, its a shambles, a mess and is not enjoyable at all. IMO of course…

The important aspect to enjoying this game, like enjoying any other mmo out there, is to find people you enjoy playing with.

As long as you can find even just a few good people to play with this game is still one of the best out there imo. Especially since almost every other game has a monthly fee.

Objectively, GW2 is as far as it gets from dying.
The fact the forum is filled with people who make huge drama out of minor stuff proves the point as only one who really enjoyed a product would puch that much effort into complaining.

Is it worth investing in from a community point of view?
Yes, it’s swarming with people and will probably keep being so for several years to come.
Will you get bored of it?
Yes, just like every single videogame in existance.

The good thing is, you don’t need to pay anything to get back in.
I quit in Feb after 6 month of playing, started playing again now, there is a ton more people than there was in Feb, a lot of new stuff, it’s all good for 60 bucks.

leveling is pretty fun the first few times you do it so you’ll have a good time if you’re a new player.
the game looks and feels amazing.
i enjoy the combat system in this game much more than any other mmo.
$50 gets you everything. no monthly subscriptions, no pay to win items.

lack of end game pve content.
lack of pvp variety in terms of game modes.
not a fan of the living world style of content implementation (small content updates/additions every 2 weeks.)
no permanent trial version.
the final dungeon was a huge letdown.

Daywolf.2630:

Oxe.6142:

Mahaedros.7085:

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

Two of those are T1 servers. Aspenwood isn’t one of those two.

https://leaderboards.guildwars2.com/en/na/wvw
hmmm reads T1 though rating is #5. But it’s in T1 slot, sooo. Like last month, rated 5 ir 6 but in T3.

Anet added a random component to matchups some time back. This week SoR was placed with T2 and lower teams and Aspenwood was placed with T1 teams. That doesn’t change the rankings, SoR is #2 in the game and a T1 server.

The problem with this is that T1 servers are miles ahead of T2 servers in terms of ability, coordination and participation. It’s simply not fair for T2 and below servers to be matched up against T1.

Case in point, the current scores of those matches.
http://mos.millenium.org/na

Keep in mind, next month everything changes with this WvW league thing and every server in the top league will be facing T1 servers every week for 7 weeks. It’s going to be a slaughter.

The game is not dying.

Whether it is worth playing or not, is totally subjective.

If the reason you left is still an issue, then coming back may be a futile attempt.

If the reason you left has been addressed by the amount of changes that have occurred since you left, or by a change(s) in your life / perspective, then you have nothing to lose by trying and something to gain.

You’ve already paid for the game. GW2 is set up in a way that allows a fairly (*see note) seamless re-entry with no subscription fees.

*Note: if you are a min/maxer with an eye to maintaining best stats, then the recent addition of ascended weapons (and upcoming armor before the end of the year – Colin) will put you into a catch-up situation within the next month. At the moment, if you rejoin now, you’re on track.

This is a question you should NEVER ask in ANY game forum.
Try it yourself and find out.
Most people just come to the forums when they have a problem that are making them angry, so if you come to a place where most of the people are angry at the game for some reason, most awnsers to that question will be negative.

Intense.8235:

I played a bit when it first came out, then – for whatever reason – stopped. I just got a new gaming machine and am looking for a new MMO to enjoy. Is this it? I don’t like investing a lot of time into a dying game. Is GW2 dying? Or is it alive and well? I want to play a game that’s vibrant; radiating with personality and people. Will the majority of areas I go to be completely deserted? Or will they be thriving with life? Is one server better than another? I don’t have any attachments to my current server, Fort Aspenwood, so if there’s a better one, I have no issue going to it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

The game isn’t dying but the developers have made some wildly unpopular decisions lately that have alienated players who feel the game has become a massive and pointless grindfest. Whether or not these players will stick around with newer MMOs on the horizon remains to be seen.

Don’t even bother, this game isn’t worth the frustration. The developers no longer know what the hell they’re doing any more.

Oxe.6142:

Daywolf.2630:

Oxe.6142:

Mahaedros.7085:

Oxe.6142:

I think Fort Aspenwood is now in Tier 1 for WvWvW

This one was hilarious.

Blackgate, Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood

Two of those are T1 servers. Aspenwood isn’t one of those two.

https://leaderboards.guildwars2.com/en/na/wvw
hmmm reads T1 though rating is #5. But it’s in T1 slot, sooo. Like last month, rated 5 ir 6 but in T3.

Anet added a random component to matchups some time back. This week SoR was placed with T2 and lower teams and Aspenwood was placed with T1 teams. That doesn’t change the rankings, SoR is #2 in the game and a T1 server.

The problem with this is that T1 servers are miles ahead of T2 servers in terms of ability, coordination and participation. It’s simply not fair for T2 and below servers to be matched up against T1.

Case in point, the current scores of those matches.
http://mos.millenium.org/na

Keep in mind, next month everything changes with this WvW league thing and every server in the top league will be facing T1 servers every week for 7 weeks. It’s going to be a slaughter.

Well yes, it’s rankings that count. But nonetheless, FA is in T1. As for coordination, it’s maybe a bit more than that. Actually FA has fair coordination, but often overall composition is different, at least when FA does have population. Compared to like another server that is say very thief heavy.

And also it’s probably one of the few upper ranking servers that remained stable when server transfers were introduced, not much change one way or the other. If at that time, FA had focused on moving up a couple ranks, chances are many that had transferred to those other servers would have transferred to FA for WvW. So sure, the gap widens over time, but that is the fault of Anet.

Hey guys – thanks for all the info. I have another question for you. I have a really good new computer, (i4770k OC’d to 4.2 / 16 gigs 1866mhz ram / 780 GTX) and for whatever reason my frame rate with everything maxed out is less than ideal. With everything fully maxed out I get between 60-70 fps. Is it the engine that’s crummy? I feel like, with my rig, I should get better than that. For whatever reason, 60-70 fps doesn’t feel smooth on this thing. It feels a little rough. Any help / ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

Intense.8235:

Hey guys – thanks for all the info. I have another question for you. I have a really good new computer, (i4770k OC’d to 4.2 / 16 gigs 1866mhz ram / 780 GTX) and for whatever reason my frame rate with everything maxed out is less than ideal. With everything fully maxed out I get between 60-70 fps. Is it the engine that’s crummy? I feel like, with my rig, I should get better than that. For whatever reason, 60-70 fps doesn’t feel smooth on this thing. It feels a little rough. Any help / ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have a year+ old computer i7-3770 3.4 GHz, 6 Gig ram and GTX 680 max settings and the only time I have frame rate issues are during world boss events with tons of people and their combat animations. Never WvW but I imagine if you are in a huge crowd that the same things will happen. Normal play never have a problem with fps.