So I got the game a few weeks ago and have been faffing around trying to settle on a character.
Now one thing I like about WoW, for all it’s failings, is that whatever class I want to level, the early experience is going to be pretty consistent. Difficult or easy, the classes are balanced in such a way that nothing is a horror to level early anymore and most dps specs require a similar amount of effort and time to level with.
GW2 on the other hand…well, I really would love to level my thief, but I’m so insanely squishy that I have to jump around like a grasshopper on yellowjackets to survive 2+ of even similar level mobs.
On the other hand, my guardian or Warrior can just kerplode enemies endlessly, even if he is a few levels below them.
Since the early game experience is really important (first impressions on new players and all that) and can be so vastly different depending on what you choose to play first, I really think that some attention should be given to the fairly long period of time between starting and getting fully traited out and skilled up.
Perhaps the armor/mitigation/healing differential between the classes could be smoothed out early (and diverge more sharply later), and key survive-ability traits unlocked sooner? This would be a simple matter of changing a few numbers around.
Thoughts?
EDIT: For clarity. Also, please read this before jumping in with “L2P”. This isn’t a matter of the game being too hard. It’s more about certain classes/builds relying on tools that are not unlocked until late, versus others who have a solid kit from the get-go.
(edited by Starbird.4029)