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- Publisher: NCSOFT
- Release Date: Aug 28, 2012
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 2623 Ratings
User score distribution:
Positive: 2,047 out of 2623
Mixed: 170 out of 2623
Negative: 406 out of 2623
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Sep 5, 2012First off, I haven't played every MMO out there, but I have been playing MMOs since 1999 starting with UO. The next game I spent a ton of time on was WoW since launch. I have tried many other 'next big things' that turned out to be failures within the first couple months. They either faltered due to poor launch, inexperience, or just lack of content. With Guild Wars 2, those are not concerns. ArenaNet is experienced and has plenty of content here at launch. I firmly believe this is 'the next big thing' since the juggernaut known as WoW has been around, I shall explain why. This list is in no particular order...
1- This game is polished for release. There may be minor bugs here and there, but the game as a whole just works. I'm sure there will be more polish put on this with time. It can't compare to WoW here, but then again WoW has like an 8 year head start. Give it time. 2 - Depth of character: Open race and profession combinations. Anybody can be anything. The depth of how you can pick your utility skills and traits and have a real good chance of not running into anyone else with a cookie cutter build is very nice, especially since Blizzard killed off hybrids with Cataclysm and more so with Pandaria. 3 - Combat! Skills are determined by what you have in your hand more so than your profession. All buffs (boons) and debuffs (conditions) are of simple design. There is no dedicated Tank-Healer-DPS although there are some classes that excel at certain things more than others. Combat animations are done well and it seems to flow very smoothly. I am very critical on this as this is the exact thing that put me off of wanting in on The Secret World. There haven't been many MMOs to give you such an active mode of combat. Age of Conan tried and was very unbalanced between ranged and melee. Guild Wars 2 gets it right. You are able to fully Line of Sight some ones attacks or even actively dodge them!
4- PvP at launch! This is a direct stab at Blizzard. They still haven't added it to Diablo 3 (still wouldn't make me want to play it again, heh) and WoW was going for months before it got it's first battleground. I give major props for Dynamic Level Adjustments up to level 80. There are no such things as lowbie twinks or leveling zone camping and gankfests. Racial abilities can't be used in Structured PvP also (no Human double trinket domination!)
5- Robust crafting. This game has one of the most interesting crafting setups I've ever seen. It could use a bit more polish such as maybe showing you what you could make based upon components that you could make based upon your materials. I think there should be an option to consider your bank materials as well. I have only scratched the tip of this and am anxious to get more materials to craft more. Also, experience is gained for crafting and gathering!
6- Dynamic questing system. You do have a main story line that gives you a clear direction on how to progress through the game, but a big chunk of your leveling will be done through dynamic quests kind of similar to Rift's rift system and Instant Adventures, but more dynamic. No forced grouping during leveling as the content adjusts to how many players are active and you automatically get heals or assists off whoever is killing the same target as you. The Dynamic Level Adjustment works opposite in PvE than PvP, if you go into a lower level zone, you get reduced to an appropriate level and rewarded as if you were higher level. It is impossible to out level the content and you also can't get a high level guy to just run you through something! Also, no looking for yellow ?s or !s on the map!!!
7- The graphics are 2nd to none in MMOs. This is not a factor for many, but after spending thousands on PC hardware over the years, I appreciate being able to fully use it. This is the first game in years to have me taking screenshots because I am in awe of the design. A lot of MMOs don't put as much thought into design of the whole game as ArenaNet has done with just a single zone.
8- I don't know what else to keep on about... You can join multiple guilds. You get nice rewards for 100% exploration of zones. You can 'fight for your life' instead of dying when you get downed. You can transmute gear for different looks. You can freely dye armor different colors. .... and quite a bit more than I have space or time to describe.
Bottom line: Go get the game if you haven't already!!… Expand
Nov 19, 2012This game was originally a 9 or a 10, you could play as you liked and be rewarded for it. But with the addition of the new Ascended Gear, the game has suddenly become very limited: grind the new dungeon 1000 times or be left behind. This transition is a betrayal of the "no gear treadmill" philosophy and makes the game more like a lame version World of Warcraft.
After playing for a while you start to find the classes pretty limited and kind of dull. Only a few tactics are worth taking, leaving you with like 1 or 2 builds instead of the diversity promised.
After playing them, the dungeons are generally poorly constructed and not a lot of fun.… Expand
Mar 6, 2014It was a good game, lot of potential. The premises (and prOmises) were amazing: No grinding, no gating...
Sure, it would have needed some bit of changes and fixes here and there (the greatest being the lacking of a proper LFG tool), but it was overall pretty great for a new MMO.
But with the Lost Shores patch they trashed it all. They broke ALL their promises, they went against their own manifesto. They went for an HEAVY grind style, a terrible gear treadmill. On top of that, the economy is ruined and prices are a real problem, especially for new players. So, if you want to buy or craft something now you pretty much have to buy money from their shop, making this a Pay to Win game.
Really disappointed, it had potential, but now it's just another WoW clone, and WoW still does those things better.… Expand
Dec 3, 2012Ah, Guild Wars 2. How the Internet have been waiting for you so long. What are they greeted with? A polished wow-clone. Channeling spells, lag, outdated graphics for it's time and an insane amount of bribes going to the critiques to cough out "Unique combat system" quotes whenever possible. As much as I like one-time fees, like with single-player games, it will only do harm to MMORPG's because they will need a steady stream of income to offer a continuous service. Otherwise, bankruptcy or P2W is inevitable. This fate can already be hinted towards on how they locked out the ability to purchase the game, being too cheap to have an adequate amount of availability on the servers while banning more users than Origin, clever NCsoft. In It's core, the game isn't by any means bad but it's just very, very, very average.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012Really good game. I played GW1 a lot, and my first impression on GW2 was not so good I was expecting. But in a couple of hour, all my doubts disappear. Musics are just magic. The game is fun and dynamic. Pve and Pvp are both really good. The only thing who didn't convince me is the story because some dialogs are bad (but not awful). It take a lot of pleasure with this game, and no technical problem, so a great game for me.… Expand
Sep 7, 2012I have tried most MMOs out there over the years ever since the original Everquest. WoW, EQ2, AoC, Star Wars (both), Rift, Secret World, etc., and I always get bored before too long. For some reason when a new one comes out I think, "This will be the one!" Well it seems I have finally found the right MMO for me in Guild Wars 2. I really think this MMO fixes many of the issues that put-off newcomers to the genre. This is a very accessible, very entertaining game. The manner in which they have made grouping up seem almost effortless and completely organic, should be a future standard IMHO. There are numerous other positives I could mention, and very few negatives. Suffice it to say that if you just haven't been able to find an MMO that you can really get into, this is the right one for you.… Expand
Nov 21, 2012All the promises that were made before release and all the selling points of this game have been thrown out the window with the latest patch.
There was supposed to be no grind, no gear treadmills, no gated content. Before 15 Nov 2012 this game was 9/10, now it's a clear case of bait and switch. Don't be fooled by all the old reviews, and read up some current information about the direction the game has taken.… Expand
Jan 14, 2013GW2...really? its not even close to gw1. The story is lame, the dungons are easy pvp is dying on the vine, wvw3 and des are a zerg fest , with the additional bonus of lagging out . The classes dont even feel diffrent from one another, and its entire no-trinity system hase made it a dps fest with no skill involved. Grats anet you took a great games title and @##$ all over it. Oh yea get ready to get dinged into the cash grab trading post, pfft ..and no farming, free to play is still to expensive, it feels like SWTOR all over again with all the problems they fail to adress.… Expand
Nov 13, 2012I used to love this game, I was in all the public betas. But after a while, this game gets really boring. There's not enough content for sure. There are things I like and things I don't. I really like some of the innovative things with this game. I liked how crafting system worked and lvling up. And some of the dungeons werereally good since you had to do teamwork to do them, (but still most of the dungeons were bad). Didn't Arenanet say that there wasn't much grind in this game? The end game is actually all about grind. It's too damn repetitive and boring. Also GW2 has problem with bots. The personal story is loads of crap too, your choices doesn't really affect to the story AT ALL. All and all, it's a good game, since there isn't subscription fee. I wouldn't really recommend to buy it if you're planning to rush to max lvl.… Expand
Sep 30, 2012Well I've been playing Guild Wars 2 since release,
It just wasn't the game they made it out to be, and it quickly loses it's magic after a month. First it's just another game that has no real social value. Can't say i didn't love the challenge of the puzzles and the events, it's just the game hasn't captured my attention like it should have I don't feel anything when playing it anymore. It's just another of those games run to this spot and do this, run to the next spot and do it over again. Then after hit 80 should I expect to do grinds for gear or what is there for me to do other then go and gather all the map locations and point of interests that I haven't found yet? Just another leveling game that slows down to a crawl once you hit 80 with no hope other then doing PvP if you're a person that likes that sort of thing.… Expand
Nov 29, 20128/10 from me. I'll start with the good. The content is overwhelming. You may say there isn't content, then I don't know what game you have been playing. Everything from WvW, to PvE, to sPvP is simply fun. I even enjoy crafting, something I never really enjoyed doing in a game. The graphics are phenomenal. I'm playing on a low spec computer and still enjoy the beauty. That is another point, I'm on a low end computer. The game plays decent on it, I'm happy about that. I really enjoy the big "group dynamic events" where 100+ people show up to take down a baddie. That is always a blast to enjoy. I'm also a World versus World versus World (WvW) nut. I enjoy fighting alongside 100+ people taking a keep or a castle while getting barraged with arrows and oil. That is fun. I enjoy it. The classes are all fun to play. And the races are equally amazing. The personal story is very well done as well. Granted, I think after a certain point it starts coming together at the end so it is the same, but that makes sense. The story of an MMO has to have the same ending point. It is very well done. My only concerns are the following. The Culling issue in WvW and the PvE side are just bad. If I am fighting people, how come I can't see them, but they can see me while I'm getting hit? This is especially bad in WvW where you do find quite a few people at the same time. Another are the bugs. The bugs are endless. Just when one gets fixed, another one pops up. It took me a month to get one map completed because of a bug where the skill point didn't show up. Kind of hard to complete content that way. Another is the "endgame". The whole game was supposed to be end game. But instead we have people "farming and grinding" gear which is the total opposite of what the game was marketed to be. There isn't any reward for going back and assisting new characters or doing lower level content. If there was some sort of reward for going back to a different map, even it is was farming, perhaps the population would spread out again. Kind of pointless to see a 30 man zerg just farming events in the end game areas. If that was what the PvE ends up being, I'll stick to my WvW. The Class balance is out of whack. Seems to be that if you want to dominate, go Mesmer or Thief. The other classes don't even matter is seems like. Re-balancing needs to be done for the classes.
All in all, the game is very well done. The best part, if you get frustrated or bored, you can always come back when new content comes out. That's always the best part, no worries about a subscription fee. If those small issues get fixed, and slightly more content for the little guy in WvW, it'll be a 10. Till then, a 8/10 it is.… Expand
Sep 3, 2012So when I started the game, I was impressed by the voice acting and the polish of the graphics. I was also impressed with the amount of character classes i could choose between. I was also impressed with the idea of being able to customize my character's story line by choices made before the game began. Once the first 5 hours of game play was completed I was then let down by a tedious quest sytem, repetitive random events and ptiful PVP system. Im just going to get this out of the way right away, I come from the old school of everquest, Asheron's call, Ultima online ect... and am really only interested in pvp but i can apreciate a deep story driven PVE system like The Old Republic Online. In the old days you had an active choice to make at the beginning. Do I join a PVP server or a PVE server, This game gives you no option witch worried me right away. As I am going through playing multiple classes and multiple levels feeling real lonely because the quest system does not encourage teaming up, instead if you happen to be in the same area as another player,guess what, you are a team, and once the event is over you all disperse, never exchanging names or talking at all because well, what the point? Ok so I kept on going, deciding to join the pvp system at lvl 20 just so I knew what I was doing with the character before I joined. I expected a dynamic PVP experience. Instead all i got was a chaotic combat system and yet another linear experience. Go here to defend this, Run here to defend that, with no clear and defined rolls to play in the battle.The PVP was just like the rest of the game, Linear and lonely. Overall i cannot give the game the lowest score because it has pretty looking skills and spells with clean graphics that cover up a hollow role playing experience. in short, good graphics, linear and repetitive PVE experience, and pathetic and totaly seperate from the game PVP sytem. Not exactly what i was expecting, but when its free to play, how good can it be? as a side note, what the hell happened to open world PVP servers where anything goes? I miss those days.… Expand
Sep 3, 2012As users like Chaiwallah and others don't understand with their supremely entitled natures, is that a launch of a huge game, such as Guild Wars 2, is not without it's hiccups. Games have gone from being a platform completely forgotten by a developer after release (so the finished product needed to be 100 percent out the gate) to living environments that need to be upkept and maintained. Nobody cares one little bit that you spent extra money to make a machine to play this (graphically intensive game?) That is a red herring, it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Likely, your account was hacked and you need to visit Reddit to confirm that. The game is great for a non-subscription game, which is exactly why I tend not to play games like WoW, I can't justify playing a grind game that I pay extra for each month. Anyway, the game deserves a 10 just for treading in a new area in a different way. Also, to counter dumb arguments for jaded, entitled consumers that think the world revolves around them.… Expand
Aug 28, 2012Amazing game, definitely the best MMO to come out in a long time. No subscription fees, an amazing level of quality in every profession and every zone, graphics second to none and the game REWARDS YOU FOR ACTUALLY DOING ALL THE CONTENT. It scales down your level so you can play with friends who are lower than you without destroying everything in one shot, and the individual story makes you feel like you're a part of the world, not just another killing machine. If you're new or old to the genre, now is the time to pick up this game. :)… Expand
Aug 31, 2012-----Two words. WoW KIller.----- Anet took everything that sucks, everything that was annoying, everything that didn't work in the Multiplayer RPG Genre and turned it into solid gold.
Aug 28, 2012A very fine crafted sequel of GW1. It surely is a game that can live up to the hype. The game play is amazing and dynamic. Some people complain about having only 10 skills is not enough but that's because they haven't played the game at all. Actively swapping weapons for different skill sets was hard to get used to at first but now it works like chime. PvP and WvWvW are both exciting and worth trying out for better experience. However ArenaNet made the same mistake Blizzard did - not being able to manage the opening day horde. Also the trading post (GW2 version of AH of D3) is not working yet. The graphics also look a little bit outdated - even with the highest settings. There are several more minor bugs, glitches to be fixed.… Expand
Sep 2, 2012Im sorry, i really reallt tried to like this game, but i just cant bring myself around to like this "revolutionary" mmo. The combat is stale at its best, the term "Dynamic combat" may be something cool for a WoW player, but if you have played a game with a true dynamic combat system (TERA) you will find the fighting in GW2 just as autonomous as in for exampe Warhammer online.
Speaking of Warhammer online, this game has to be compared to that game, leave out games like WoW. GW2 has taken alot of the things from the Warhammer game and tried to make it better, the result is a lukewarm mix where nothing really feels thought thru. The exploration part is uninspired and offers little to the game, im Warhammer Online, you were also encouraged to explore and more then often you were rewarded with some unique cloack, title or decoration for your armor. In GW2 all i get is a xp boost and a camerashot of something the devs are perticulary proud of. Shure, you get a chest when you complete all the different Heart quests, points of interest and vistas in an area, but the journey to that reward is long and tedious. Another feature lifted from the Warhammer game is these "Dynamic events". You get to an area where an event is happening, you participate in this event and get a reward upon completion. On some events there are maybe two three stages, with new rewards for each stage completed. Warhammer did this to, but had a problem with scaling depending on the amount of ppl there. Most of the time you would get nowhere since the event dident scale down and the world was fairly empty. GW2 sees to fix this issue and does it pretty good, most events are managable no matter how many are participating, but the reward system is a joke. I once came to an event, shot one spell towards one mob and got a Gold Medal for my role in the event. One time six out of eight cubs i was set to protect died, still got a gold medal. In Warhammer, the event would count the acctual amount of work i did (dmg, tanking, healing, mobs killed) and add that amount to a random dice roll, the higher the score the better the loot. This was a system that encouraged people to do their role and do it well for the phattest loot. In GW2 i can just afk thru the whole event and still get a great reward.
The mentioned combat is very chaotic. In events with more then five people attending im having a heard time figuring out who does what, what spells are hostile towards me and what my character actually is doing. This is part to this "role-less class system" where there are no clear "Tank" or "Healer", everyone can do everything and they all do it equally bad. Insead of having clear class-roles that you need to protect (help the tank, heal the tank, make shure healer is not getting killed) the GW2 approach seems to be to "zerg" everything. Shure, it looks pretty awesome when 20+ people cather at one spot to do an event, but in the end it feels like none of us have a real identity. I cast some spells, i gave some buffs and debuffs, but so did everyone else. Playing GW2 feels to me like beeing an ant. Im a small insignificant person with generic abilities and skills. Im in a huge world with tons of stuff to see but when i do get to that ellusive mountain top, all i get is a nice view and then have to face the long walk back down again. The world keeps on going without me, events will keep on happening and quests will be solved. I dont feel like a hero, i feel like me, an ant in a big world that manages to go on just fine without me, and thats not what i want.… Expand
Aug 31, 2012I'm choosing to rate this game a 10 not because I think it is a perfect game, but rather because it is the most fun playing an MMORPG I have ever had. The game does a good job of retaining what makes MMO's great while innovating and finding new and creative ways to deliver content to players. Rather than the standard actionbar keypressing combat, we instead have a system that allows for dodging and one can use all of their abilities while moving. Instead of a traditional party system with tank, healer, and DPS (where really most people only want to do damage) we have abolished the trinity system and have replaced it with damage dealing classes and support classes, all fun player options that makes grouping up for dungeons easy and fun. Instead of the traditional questing structure of heading to a hub, picking up a huge bundle of quests, completing them all, and returning them, progressing through an environment in this game involves doing a combination of different events including exploration and platforming challenges as well as dynamic events and Guild Wars 2's answer to quests, reknown hearts. The game also takes a unique approach to PVE with the absolutely massive boss battles and invasions one can take up arms against as they wander throughout the world in the form of dynamic events. The game's PvP content is also innovative, including an awesome server-vs-server-vs-server option where three servers duke it out. These battles can get absolutely massive - even classic "Huge" battlefields in MMOs like old school Alterac Valley from WoW or Warhammer's massive battlegrounds don't compare. Then there are the small details - the little things that improve the game even more. The personal story is a nice touch to add some context to the game, the graphics and sound design are beautiful, being de-leveled upon entering lower level zones to be able to complete the content without feeling too powerful makes group play easy and allows you to play whatever you want whenever you want, having the ability to immediately deposit the items you collect for crafting into a tab of the bank from anywhere in the world is genius, and having an overflow server that prevents players from having to sit in a que just to play the game are all little strokes of awesome that make this game great.
To top it all off, unlike other MMO's once one purchases this game there are no subscription fees whatsoever, and the cash shop in no way is pay for power. It's an incredible value that I would be willing to pay 15 dollars a month for if it were subscription-based.
This is the most fun I've had playing an MMO in ages, and I think a lot of people share my opinion as I can see by the high user score (especially for an MMO, SWTOR and WoW expansions usually get yellow and red user scores) not to mention a really nice critic score thus far. I can't wait to see what will be happening to this wonderful game in the future.… Expand
Dec 13, 2012Had a great start and tons of potential but the devs have squandered it. Storyline starts out great with your choices having impact but around halfway through it gets hijacked by a Mary Sue who saves the world for you. Graphics are marginally better than the originals and most of the music is recycled from GW. Gameplay is dull with each weapon having a locked set of skills leaving you with 1 healing skill, 3 "utility" slots, and an elite skill. Most skills are bland because the devs have killed the "trinity" (aka an actual class system) leaving everyone being tanky DPS for dungeons and glass cannons for pvp. 4 months after launch and there are still tons of gameplay bugs, elite skills are almost all garbage (so bad that you forget to use them), CC & debuffs are unbalanced and boring (stuns last 1-2 seconds but cripple can stack to over a minute easily), and class customization is non-existent with barebone traits. The world is beautiful and at first fun to explore, but if you go for map completion the hearts are very tedious and all the starting zones feel the same. Endgame consists of unevenly difficult & boring dungeons, chaotic & pointless server vs. server PvP, KOTH PvP with cosmetics-only rewards, and grinding for hundreds of hours for "legendary" weapons. Overall, this is a terrible sequel and has nothing to do with the original Guild War series apart from races and some skill names. The devs are clearly building the game for the "WoW audience" and have not only abandoned their original fans but are actively alienating them.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012Try this game before you buy it! Borrow a friends account or wait for a free trial or something, but don't spend money on it until you actually know what you're buying into. There's not much more I can say that the other negative reviewers haven't already covered. But this game is simply not worth $60 ($20 maybe). Don't fall for the hype!
Sep 2, 2012This is the pinnacle of visual video game artwork. The questing system is ingenious and eliminates errand running and quest spam/quest grind. Armors look good, characters look good, and are customizeable. Animations are a step ahead as well. Voice acting is excellent, music is excellent. Races are slightly odd, but very distinct, and you can always fall back to Human. Skills are vast and varied, relying mostly on weapons for types of utility. The caveat is that you can only have 5 weapon skills and 5 character skills active at once, and they are mostly the same types of skills. Want to build a pure healer? You can't. Only one heal skill per player, and typically one heal skill per weapon. Each character will be 80% damage and 20% support, leaving huge gaps in teamwork and group play. If there were more utility, or a choice to go all utility or all damage, the game would be 10/10. It is, after all, the best MMO world ever made.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012We'll start with the dated graphics. once again an MMO designer makes a game to run in the lowest systems making a mediocre graphics experience for everyone. Then we continue with the character controls. Floaty and disconnected. You start an attack and your character takes over - you don't have real control over it.. Just like a dog you tell "attack" and "stop" and lead by a leash. Auto-attacks and tab target, once more. Not even SWTOR relied on auto-attacks and they criticized its combat as WoW clone. This is far more clonish to WoW than anything else I've played in the genre. In fact, Ranger plays the exact same as Hunter. Their in game Cash Store is ever present like any F2P title, hounding you to conveniently purchase with cash things that will take you more work to get online. People already simply purchase advantages in PvP and save themselves the time. Finally its players are very much like a cult - they'll hound anyone not sharing a perfect opinion of GW like a pariah. Death threats have been lobbed on personal emails, that's how fanatical they get. Between the mediocre gameplay, dated graphics, and mindless- aggressive cult core of players it's something to stay away from.… Expand
Aug 28, 2012Fisrt, i am no fanboy and no hater, i am here to give my honest opinion, hope to help you design if this is your game or not.
gameplay~ i was told by a friend this is an action based mmo, but it is not. it is another wow kind of point and clikcer. you hold your left mouse button to perform autoattack. the action feels very limited when i am spoiled by true action mmo like DCUO and Tera, it makes me feel going back in time, playing wow holding my right mouse button to get a better angle,so i can stand there and hold tight to my left mouse button. plus, i cant even lock my camera to make the game feels better.
QUESTING~ questing is a big plus for me, it is not like other mmo that u pick up a quest from npc then returning. they have pop up live event, so suddenly everyone on the map goes to the area and do quest togethor, which is interesting as i remember when i was playing other mmo i always feel like a lone wolf when my friend is not online questing by myself.
pvp~ still didnt get to that part but i seriously doubt it when i dont like the combat system at all.
graphic ~ not the best but surely live upto todays standard. and detail of the world is very rich, which creates an enjoyable enviorment. sound ~ wonderful
charactor customization~ very very limited for mmo released in 2012
other thoughts, this game is hyped up too much and i just make another other mistake buying a game before doing enough research. and my friend has never played either dcuo or tera so he doesnt know what action mmo means. i wont play alot of it until they improve the gameply. one more thing, this game has the worst community i have ever seen. i was just asking in the map chat that if there is a way i can lock my camera. response are " omg another console gamer" " go back to your xbox" "the camera is design for having better position yourselve, u should play that way...... i am like wtf...... i was expect answer like "yes you can, go to...... or "no you can not" , but hue hue .. guess too many fanboy in game u shouldnt even ask question… Expand
Sep 4, 2012This game is by far the one of the most boring MMO's I have ever played. It is a over-hyped game with loads of people riding the bandwagon claiming it is awesome and cool with an ingenious quest system and dynamic off the **** events. Some will even say that the next big MMO's to come out will take pointers from GW2.
Let me just say I hope not, 'cus I have never been more disappointed and bored playing an MMO. I liked SWTOR, TSW, TERA much more than this drivel. The combat is boring and repetitive, you have an extremely limited number of skills that you can have active. It is said that they designed the combat to be more action-oriented and more skill-oriented. Well that is nonsense. There is nothing that is more skill-oriented about gw2's combat and it doesn't really feel action-oriented (I can recommend TERA for action oriented/skill combat tho'). It falls flat along with it's questing which boasts itself on a boring story quest set in an uninteresting world with lore you don't give a halflings hat about, and with a multitude of sidequests (Heart icon-shaped NPCs that will appear on your map) that are triggered by being near the NPC's, then you will have multiple objectives in the area close to the NPC, which are all, "click some stuff on the ground and such" or "kill some mobs". It is not very exciting. Yes you don't have to click the NPC to get the quest, yes you don't have to use your brain to go somewhere and do something for him. No no. You just trigger the quest by being in his general area and then you click things on the ground and kill mobs to complete the quest. Yay.. fun? no. No not really.
Questing for kids with no attention span sry. Surely a step back in making questing engaging and exciting, instead it is just a nonsense uninteresting grind.
I have said enough about this game. I bought it thinking it would be good, everyone seems excited about it and praising it. All the articles I read pre release was positive and happy about the game.
Mega Huge Disappointment. Everyone are mass delusional thinking this is the best thing since sliced bread. *facepalm*… Expand
Sep 3, 2012I've been playing MMO's since 2000, when I started playing Ultima Online. That was the best game I've ever played, until Guild Wars 2 came out. The same non-leveling feeling is here, different from other MMO's. You don't need to be strong to be in PVP areas, and even if you are high level, you can still go for lower level zones and still get some good rewards there. This is a game totally different from any other game I've ever playing, motivating me to continue playing it. I'll wait to see how is the high end content being managed, and how the currency will be. For example, in WoW (which I've played for 4 years) nowadays gold means nothing, as anyone has 10k to spare. I totally hate those behaviours, and if that also happens to GW2, I'll be really, really sad.… Expand
Nov 16, 2012Whichever class you play, wherever you go, whatever you do, Guild Wars 2 feels the same. In making all choices equally valid and rewarding, they've made a game in which nothing is special. There is nothing much to find out, few tips or tricks to share, little player skill to develop. Just do anything and make progress. It doesn't matter. Press any key to continue.
Sep 4, 2012Probably the best MMO to be released since World of Warcraft in 2004. It's been a long time, with alot of wannabes, and in recent years, there have been a couple of games that tried to shake the formula up in one way or another, but not a game that really, overall, produced something special. Guild Wars 2 doesn't completely revolutionize the genre, but if you want a game that perfects idea brought forth in Tera, SW:TOR, Rift, War, and yes, even WoW, and throws them in one pile, polishes them nicely, and improves upon them in almost every way, then Guild Wars 2 is worth a try. The PvE experience in terms of exploration and immersion in a world that always keeps you occupied and always keeps you playing and always keeps rewarding you is unmatched. World of Warcraft's questing system will truly show its age. Things like WvWvW are exhilarating. and for gamers keen on guilds and organized grouping will be rewarded by it. The thing that truly sets the game apart though is how seemelssly the experience flows together. There is a gentle guiding hand in Guild Wars 2, but it's so light of a touch that you won't even notice that you are being led along. It's doing what every MMO before it since WoW has claimed to do: improve the genre in almost every way imaginable. It's not a complete re-imagining of MMO's, but it certainly is the long awaited step towards the future that I think we have all been waiting for. Give it a shot.… Expand
Aug 31, 2012GW2 is an excellent mix of some of the best features of many predecessor MMOs, combined with a frenetic combat style that is more about using the right ability at the right time than watching your cooldowns. It's hard to describe the experience of playing this game, except to say that once you start, you're so pulled along by the temptations of one more dynamic event popping up, or one more vista to try to find, or one more skill challenge nearby, that you find yourself not noticing that you've levelled, or what time it is. It's the first mmo I've played that has been so perfectly, intuitively designed in such a way to encourage and reward cooperation - no stealing each other's loot or nodes, no being on different stages of quests; if you're in the area you're assisting other people in what they're doing by default, and you even get XP for rezzing downed players.
The game has some technical flaws right now, with outages of the auction house and mail system, and some issues with getting together on the same shard as your groupmates - but these are visibly clearing up as the launch frenzy goes on. I can't honestly base my review on these temporary factors. The only real criticisms I can make is that sometimes, tuning can seem off - the scaling of some dynamic events, in particular, can go from too easy to rediculous hard, and some areas of the world have respawn rates that are so rediculous you can find yourself backing up into monsters you just looted.
All in all? Buy. The game world is lusciously detailed, the sound is lovely, and the cash shop contains little more than fluff. I can see so many of the interface and user-experience features that GW2 comes with becoming absolute must-have standards for future releases.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012I would love to be able to review the game. However I find myself in impossible situation to do it although I pre-purchased it. I was able to play for two days during the Headstart during which I have encountered all possible errors and aberrant behavior. The client kept telling me it can't log-in in my account because of my firewall while my friend's account worked just fine on the same machine. Nothing unexpected till third day when I am informed by the log-in error that my account has been banned. I did not receive any kind of notification from NCSoft/ArenaNet or any other kind of messages but welcoming emails. I filed a support ticket, I got an automated copy-paste of the Support FAQ. I wait three days without knowing what is going on. After that my temporary ban is turned into a permanent ban and it seems GW2 staff does this when it believes an account has been compromised. I update my support ticket, the only reaction is that the log-in screen is now telling me the account is permanently terminated for selling gold and in-game items for real-world money. Apparently I did all that during the ban.
Even during the short game time I had, a poor experience doesn't even begin to cover it. The all so praised dynamic events are nothing more then scripted events that trigger themselves over and over again. You end up performing the same invasion 10 times in a row if you don't like wandering around. There is no world reacting to what you do, quests are as tedious and boring as in other MMOS, they just don't show you the numbers any more: you don't even know when you will be done with killing X number of critters. The combat system is nothing they advertised, it's a combat system very similar to all other MMOs where you need to select a target and perform an ability.
The only good and innovative part, for which I give it a 1, is that groups are not needed to share the progress of a quest or the kill of a mob and all resources and loot is client-side so you don't need to fight with other players for a resource node.
They've spent 5 years working on this game: It's design is 5 years old with a quick patch of recent ideas and the worst customer support and automated hacking detection system yet.… Expand
Aug 31, 2012This game is everything it was hyped up to be. It is a gorgeous and lush fantasy world, with tons of exploration to be had. Dynamic events/heart events allow for a very smooth and unique grind (it doesnt seem like a grind, because what you do changes the world around you). This is not a game that you want to rush to max level in. Take your time, explore, have fun.
You know what's great? You dont have to level if you dont want to!! You can head straight to max level pvp if that is what you enjoy! Or, you could do WvWvW and level while doing pvp. This is what you are headed for if you buy this game (personal experience):
I was looking for a Point of Interest on the map which was located behind a waterfall in an underground cavern. I ended up traveling to the wrong of the creek by accident and went into a different cavern. While there i met a random person on an overflow server, and we found ourselves scaling and platforming down about 300 feet. We kill the misc. monsters and continued another 200 yards through the cavern and popped out at the other end of the map. There, we snagged some strawberries from the pasture and nabbed a view point that had us looking out over the vast ocean.
My favorite thing however about this game is the Mass Effect style personal story.
Gorgeous looking game in every aspect.
Script writing is bar none in any MMO and rivals that of strict RPG's
Combat is 60% skill based, 40% gear (good balance) in pve, and 100% skill based in pvp
15 hour long WvWvW battles
Dynamic events… Expand
Sep 1, 2012It is questionable as to whether GW2 got rid of the dreadful grinding concept of the MMOs. ( I find myself repeating the same things over and over to fill up a heart) What isn't doubtful though is the brilliant and exciting cover-up of such mundane norm of the mmo convention. I may have been repeating the same things, but was NEVER bored. The more-realistic combat system, gorgeous atmosphere, uniquely orchestrated sounds, never-the-same dynamic events were all happening simultaneously while I was satisfyingly watching my quest bar go up. (interesting note, they don't just say kill 10 bazingas and the numbers show up, but an abstract progress to how far you have "assisted" the frog people) So in a sense, they did kill the grinding system because players won't notice it that well, and even if they do, they won't care because the experience was so good. All in all, Guild Wars 2 is a fantastic of its genre, very innovative, and has taken a first big step to a mmo revolution. In the future, people will ask you, " do you WoW, or GW2?"… Expand
Apr 5, 2014When I initially played Guild Wars 2 I enjoyed the graphics and game play because it was something new. Sadly though I quickly got bored and stopped playing when I hit level 50. The world itself is massive and there are many quests, but it gets repetitive after a while and kind of stale in general. I know though that opinions on MMO's don't mean much because some people like them and some people don't. I am starting to get the feeling that MMO's aren't for me, or maybe they need to release something innovative instead of the same thing over and over.… Expand
Oct 2, 2012No commitment fun. I'm not tied down by a subscription - which is great. But most importantly, the game is beautiful. I'm happy they worked on it an extra two years. Quality really shines through.
Sep 3, 2012I hated it before I played it (wasn't pleased by vocal fans touting it's many "new" features, none of which were actually new). Having had a go at release, I liked it at first, felt better than most, graphics were OK but not great (really low poly counts), but with some impressive layouts (PVP) and some really dull ones (PVE).
After a couple of hours playing I realized it's just **** The floaty animations, disconnected feel of the controls, boringly simplistic skills (mesmer may be an exception) and a pointless dodge function. I went from "hey this combat feels ok" to "i want my WoW back" in the time it takes to finish the battleground tutorial. Hated the questing system, auto-grouping is OK but it just makes everything so mindless and repetitive - which is what they hoped to avoid with dynamic events.
Character progressions is nonexistant in the true MMO fashion - even as far as themeparks go. You activate skills by using the appropriate ones before hand - something which has no point other thant to keep your interest the first couple of levels (which is how long it takes to unlock them ALL). You're insta max level in BGs, which can be useful if you don't like to level (and therefore don't like MMOs), but I don't have to explain what an oxymoron that is, do I? They could've easily done tournament servers ala WoW, where you can create max level characters, if that's your game.
tl;dr, don't belive the hype.… Expand
Sep 1, 2012I won't spoil anything here, but the game is no super marvel. This is just another cog in the great MMO wheel migration. Another game churned out, another spin taken by a huge nomad gaming community. The perk being that you only pay once is a huge draw, and yes you can assume I am a player who is hardly pleased by the MMO spectrum. To break it down, the controls are a 2.5 for me. The characters reactions to my inputs are a 2.5, this goes for movement animation gliding and the such. Yes, I am nit picky. (Not a latency issue unless it's server side, my ISP services are Broadband 250Mbps DL and 15 Mbps upload with no network interference.) The Graphics are amazing, absolutely and I won't touch that because lets face it, that's not what makes a game fun.
The narrative and story is flat out suck, I won't bore you with this because I am comparing it to TOR and while that game is not the epitome of story, in the standards of MMO, it's the highest there is. The pvp system is interesting and plays similar to Warhammer online, albeit improved and it has it's own level of excitement. Combat mechanics are your standard fare but with some interesting twists on how things are utilized... Like the great sword for a certain stealthy caster class. It still comes down to being the exact same thing as any other game. Push this, cast that, move this way, avoid the fire, kite kite kite kite. Sadly, you can't escape this kind of mechanical build for the MMO genre, it's just what works best.
Still, I feel this game will go the way of all current MMO types. The main base will work hard at it, play hard and at the 3 month mark, you will see the servers start to dwindle in population size. The 6 month mark we are going to see free server transfers and server merges. It will go the way of the Old Republic and settle into it's normal numbers and have a nice base of players. I will not likely be one of them but I will give the game 6 months of my time and post another review then. It's not awful, it's just another mmo that doesn't push or change anything in any extreme manner. Weapon swapping isn't new, it's just given a bit more range and utility other than stat dancing. The one thing I do like is how the Thief plays out and I will be looking to push this class as far as I can. In comparison to other MMO games of the current few years, TOR and GW2 are the only ones I will be bouncing between because the rest really can't touch either of them. TOR has a long ways to go and I hope GW2 is the motivation to make that game grow into a great f2p game to bounce to when I get sick of GW2 and vice-versa. My only other problem is that I feel coddled in this game. It does good for a large player base with a wide range of tastes but I feel there is nothing that will keep me tied to the game in the end of all my time spent. This is of course, my personal opinion and I don't expect to have anyone see it as I do.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012Guild Wars 2 is WoW mashed with WAR, SWTOR, FFXIV and Tera in all the right ways. There are innovations, certainly, but it really is just borrowing a cornucopia of great ideas and perfecting them.
Jun 1, 2014I initially doubted between a 9 and a 10, but since there are no perfect games it'll have to do with a 9. This is probably the best MMO I ever played. Graphics and Sound are really great but game-play and game mechanics really take the crown. Casual friendly, no real gear grind (except if you want a legendary weapon), the perfect MMO to just go and have fun with. It might not meet the expectations of some hardcore gamers that expect the on-line world to bow down to them because they have nothing better to do than play a game all day long. However the vast majority of people playing this game all agree on one thing: this game is one of best, if not the best, MMO ever. The Living Story has been a bit disappointing at times, but bringing out biweekly patches and content updates is no small feat, they should have gone for more permanent content from the beginning. Still, it's been out for almost two years now and nothing else even come close, that's saying something.… Expand
Sep 20, 2012Like many others - Ive now played alot more and Ive got abit of diffrent opinions about few things. The big bad thing about the game is the dungeons. They are just bad in so many ways. The settings are underwhelming. The encounters are just boring most of the time, unbalance and now ANet devs have changed alot of things and broken ALOT and created alot of new bugs that make them even worse. FOr example - ppl are not getting rewards cause of a bug that penalies ppl that run the dungeons to quickly. THe thing is - some ppl that are not doing speed runs are still getting low or no rewards.
SO stay away from the dungeons if you want to enjoy the game abit longer. If your like me - you would probably quit when you see how badly they are designed and implemented.… Expand
10/10 damn it! This game is amazing. Not by any means, a average mmo. In fact it blows all others out of the park. There is absolutely no grinding for levels, (unless you of course wan't to get to lvl 80 fast) no annoying unresponsive combat, and is a beautiful game graphically. Separate pvp is a seamless addition to the game and is fun when you want to take a break. Best part no subscription fee.… Collapse
Sep 2, 2012I rather dislike a lot in this game. For all the hype, I expected a lot. However, the graphics are nothing to write home about, the story is not that enjoyable, and the combat system simply isn't engaging. I cannot recommend it enough that you try this game for 6-8 hours before buying it. Be sure to play it for a while, you'll notice many people are adjusting their reviews as time goes on.
Sep 11, 2012Unfortunately, I fell for the overwhelming amount of great reviews for this game. After seeing that the game had "sold out" of digital download copies, I thought, "maybe this is the mmo to end all mmos." So I rush down to a brick and mortar store to pick up a hard copy, install, create an account. Within 8 hours I get an email telling me that some clown in China is trying to access my account....great! Anyhow, I launch the game expecting pure awesomeness. What I see is a graphical amalgamation of Wow and Aion, which works out pretty well, because if you average out the years in which those engines were put into play, then you come up with graphics circa 2007...that's generous. Everything else is completely predictable - kill this, collect that, don't worry about the story. This is what killed SWTOR in my opinion; you can't try to polish up the things you like about various MMOs, slap them together and expect a miracle. And that's what you see here - a little bit of WoW, Aion, Rift, SWTOR, and a few of the legacy items that made the first GW successful, but ultimately the game is devoid of any revolutionary mechanics. On the other hand, I've been playing The Secret World for a little over 2 months now, and besides the very few bugs remaining, it has captivated me from day one! Fantastic gfx, engrossing storyline, challenging skill system, the ability to be absolutely anything with the mere swapping of skills that are available to everyone. While it may not be for everyone, at least it advanced the genre so that people can see where we could and should be with these games. How fans tolerate the same mediocre fodder is beyond me.… Expand
Sep 24, 2012This game is the best mmo out there, my biggest problem is my credit card got hacked shortly after buying it. Thus it is a great game without safe purchase methods
Sep 25, 2012I have strong mixed feelings about this game. TL;DR, this game isn't as good of a story-driven single player game as The Witcher, and it's not as good of a MMO as WoW. Whether taking great elements from both of these games made something better than either is up to you. If you're worried about spending money on this game, I'd say definitely buy it... fantastic entertainment per dollar. If you're worried about spending time on this game, I'd say perhaps skip this one... doesn't have *great* story progression like Witcher and Bioware's games and doesn't build toward any coherent complex endgame like other MMOs.
Good things include: 1. A bunch of changes combine to make it so that you spend much less time staring at things that are not the main game (such as item inventory and quest text windows). 2. The game is the perfect mix of high fantasy and realism in enemies and scenery (for me). 3. The story and world is internally consistent and engrossing. 4. Music wasn't annoying if that's your thing (yes, I think this is unusual). 5. Dynamic events exists in many games like this, but GWII uses them extensively and to great effect.
Bad things include: 1. Dynamic events are very buggy and poorly tuned (for now)... 30% will be nonfunctional, 20% will be over by the time you find them, and the remaining ones are either impossible to solo or just a mind-numbingly easy group spam (tested it, and yes, most times you can switch to rdps, hit auto-attack, afk, and get a gold rating)... still more fun than traditional questing for now though. 2. There are cripplingly-few powers available at a given time. I appreciate their bold move in making so many powers linked to weapons (and all of the good things this does for balance), but right now my warrior has five powers that are just a consequence of using the best weapon for me, four powers that are passive buffs that are greatly incentivized, and only one power that I chose because I LIKE it (I'd swap out passive buffs for other powers I enjoy if there were any). 3. With the removal of the holy trinity, the only group synergy is spammed aoe buffs/debuffs... combo fields are cute (but silly) and not really engaging since you're using all of your powers on cooldown anyway, and chances are your combo field will just override someone else's... even in a small group. 4. for all of their effort to make a compelling underwater combat, they've failed to fix the fact that humans are bad at seeing things on a z-axis... their failure to recognize this as the MAIN problem for underwater combat has lead them to put much too much of it into their game.
For all of my criticisms, I'm giving this game a high rating. I've been entertained enough to keep going for awhile now, and the passion and vision of the developers for the game is clearly evident. I'd like to see more power options (both slots and possibilities for those slots) and less bugs, and then I'd really fall in love with the game.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012Very unoriginal game, it steals a lot from Warhammer Online. Dynamic Events are no better than regular quests not to mention a lot of events never fail because events are way too easy. The overflow servers were a horrible idea. They prevent players from actually playing together. There is no room for error in Guild Wars 2. The game was made so players can succeed with ease. GW2 is only the flavor of the month. As soon as people reach max level there isn't much replayability left because dynamic events are boring, easy and too repetitive.… Expand
Sep 4, 2012The low level zones are polished the higher level zones are buggy at best. Some of the dynamic events don't work at all. The Dungeons on story mode Leave a lot to be desired unless you like to corpse-run your dungeons. AC is ludicrous. Our guild ran CM on explorable last night way over leveled and side-kicked to level, and we only managed to get 2 bosses downed. At the staggering cost of about 30-50 silver makes them not worth your time at the moment. And not fun at all! For 5 tokens a boss towards gear that is under level. Arenanet what are you thinking here? I realize there are pressing issues Ie. trading post and hacking. You better rethink balance in this game fairly soon. Especially for those of us that want to pve as well as wvw. Overall the potential for a fantastic game remains high. I am skeptical that it will be addressed in a timely manner though. Apparently Arenanet does not want much feedback either. No forums. Posting daily updates to the wiki.? No in game option for feedback.
Now crafting: What a joke! (not a funny joke) This is one of the worst crafting systems I have seen in an mmo. It's so convoluted. I typically enjoy crafting too. So between the lack of balance for pve a poor crafting system and Arenanets total lack of Input/feedback the best I can do is a 5, and I think thats optimistic at the moment. I'm also tired of seeing you fanboys fawning over clearly broken un-balanced systems. Have you kids made it out of the starter zones yet?… Expand
Sep 27, 2012After playing this game hardcore for over a month, I feel that the hype has finally worn off and the game truly deserves a 10 rating. It's by far the best MMO right now, even better than World of Warcraft (though that's mostly due to Blizzard's failings).
Arenanet delivered on every promise they made prior to releasing the game. You are always happy to play with other people, you never feel like you're forced to compete against others, the visuals are stunning, character creation is surprisingly deep, and the action during even the most mundane event is amazing and fun. Anet has taken MMO gamers off the hamster wheel (endless loot cycle) and given us a game that's supposed to be fun. I can honestly say they delivered.… Expand
Dec 13, 2012Guild Wars II feels like it's heading towards a new genre that's not mmorpg. Players who hate mmorpgs but wants to play a game with multi-player options should give this game a try. Players who love mmorpgs and wants the same feelings they acquired from previous mmorpgs should avoid this game at all cost. - Unless you approach this game like how you approach a ps3/xbox console RPG.
The reason for the mediocore score is because this game doesn't have the pull factor after weeks or months of gameplay. Mmorpgs are supposed to make players stick for years. It's subjected to individual because everyone has different burn-outs. Among the many mmorpgs I played, this game has burned me out the fastest. It has a weak end-game that caters mainly the casual players. If you love to play mmorpgs where you can reach the max stuffs + achieved every addictive goals so that you can stop being lured into the game and only login once a month for special events, this game is just for you.
This mmorpg punishes dedicated mmorpg'ers while awards action/skill-gamers who favors games like Tomb Raider and Ninja Gaiden. It lacks the avatar progression from traditional mmorpg. It severely lacks the rewards factor in progression. Guild Wars II seems to mainly focus towards players-to-npc interactions than players-to-players interaction. All or most of your memories are you being with npcs. A true mmorpg leds players to create memories with other players. Social interactions and character progression are the 2 weakest elements in this game. The strong points of this game is the graphic, npc to player interactions, customisable looks, side-quests and casual-friendly. If you're an action/skill gamer that came from games like Tomb Raider, street fighter, ninja gaiden and super mario, GW2 is just for you. If you're a rpg gamer that came from games like Final Fantasy, pokemon and asian rpgs, GWII is not for you. Please judge mmorpg by it's merits, not by the hype. The games that shine the most are those who spent millions of dollars into advertising than improving content.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012The game has been a complete disappointment. Graphically I'm not impressed. You would think in 2012 the graphics would be better. In addition I find the movement to feel very unnatural. While the game started fun, it quickly became a chore.
Worse came when on the second day a plethora of accounts getting hacked. Just a complete disappointment altogether.
Aug 31, 2012I preordered the game, and although they did have some start up issues and a few very unfortunate people got hacked- it had a fairly good start. So I will stick to the game itself.
The graphics are great, the chara customization is lacking- there's very little you can do to REALLY set yourself apart. The pre-sets range from good looking to not so good looking, and it seems you cannot have a chara with red hair which is weird. Crafting -The crafting system is the real grind of this game, in order to craft you need to gather the mats from nodes AND npcs. In the form of farming mobs for a chance to drop a specific crafting component. You then craft the separate parts and combine with the npc dropped item to craft a weapon/piece of armor. Without those npc dropped 'tokens' or whatever they're called- you cannot craft. So you either farm, or buy that mat very disappointing when you're crafting and you hit a wall because you haven't been farming mobs lately.
Leveling- Quests will only get you so far, i.e. a 1-15 area doing 100% completion according to the game, will leave you at level 12-13. The common solution from the player base is farm 'dynamic' events, pvp, craft, or do something else to level. If you just wanted to Quest, or Craft, PvP to level, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It is possible to level doing 1 specific thing but it will require grinding, except questing since there are only so many quests available. Dynamic Events - Pre-scripted events that repeat on a random time scale, they attack you while you're crafting, and remove your waypoints so you can't warp. They never go off when you're around and need XP but seem to go off 2-3 at a time when you're busy. Mounts- They don't exist get used to running around taking 4-15 minutes of your life during WvW hoofing it.
WvW - Great idea, good balance, great atmosphere, boring as heck to run around in, siege equipment seems to cost too much (at a low level) to make it worthwhile, would love to see more siege equipment.
PvP - Fast paced chaos, I personally didn't like it. Everyone has a heal and when they're 'downed' they have a lot of stupid moves that delay the inevitable and WASTE your time. Irritating to have someone dead, surrounded by 4 of your teammates right about to be 'finished' magically teleport away, making us move to them, and restart the 3-4 second cast. Boring as crap, I joined PvP to PvP not play chase the guy that lost already.
Weapons - If you roll a class, and get a weapon you get 5 skills- don't like em? Tough, that's what you get for the next couple of years you'll play GW2.
Overall- Honestly I waited for GW2 to come out, it FINALLY get- I logged in, played for 3-4 days for a couple hours a day then logged off. I have no real desire to play it, even free. I have no enjoyment, farming for xp because the quests don't get me leveled, wandering into areas that are 3-4 levels above me and doubling back to find a event that's my level. Trying to craft but realizing I didn't farm mobs enough and having to go back and grind to get mats to craft to get gear so I can do more dps. It may appeal to some people, but right now- I'm writing this review instead of playing the game, because it seemed more enjoyable to me at the time.… Expand
Sep 2, 2013Terrible RvR system where the map is too big, Planetside 2 did it better tbh. Loot is boring, always crap, you craft your gear and then you're done...you don't even need to grind/hunt for gear. Event drops are crap too. Puzzle drops are even worse. Raids are a terrible bore because enemies have tons of health. Stat system is simple there is no allocation and only a few secondary stats. The grind is pretty easy but boring because you have 4-8 skills and no tactics required to level in high level areas...you can just solo and mechanics and skill required is no problem. Gear is generic with no interesting abilities/stat variations. GW2 is pretty though.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012This game was very confusing at first. You just dont know what is going on and what everything means. after a while you will learn what and where things are and it will grow on you. This is a mmorpg where you will actually take your time and level and talk to townspeople and explore. I played games such as Perfect World, Aion, Tera, EVE, SWTOR and wow up to burning crusade. I can honestly tell you that this game is downright better than all the ones i listed above. Its not perfect but it is quite enjoyable to play. With each profession you have a vast amount of skills to use. Most professions can do melee ,cast range, or magic attacks so you get a little bit of everything with one profession. Questing is also pretty interesting. The dynamic quests are very fun. If by chance you want to go off and fight mobs by yourself you can engage in the story quest. The story quests are entertaining and so far they provide a real sense of adventure. The only downside I can see so far is the lack of tutorial in game. While they do have a tutorial it is very basic and doesnt really explain alot of things. With a little bit of research this can be overcame very fast. All in all this is a great mmorpg and would recommend it to casual rpg and hardcore mmorpg players alike. I didnt pvp much yet but from the chat on the forums and in game channels it is definitly worth checking out its that what you like. Just from the weapon switching mechanics and traitsI can tell the pvp will be very deep with different ways of building.… Expand
Sep 3, 2012This is one broken piece of software. So many events and dungeons are broken, preventing you from completing areas ... but you will throw away a couple of hours before you realies you have waisted your time. No AUCTION house, well there is one but it's broken too. SHUT forums wtf? Bots, hackers and the list goes on. Worst of all, it's the same wolf just in different clothing
Aug 29, 2012The problem with metacrtic... well there are many... but one big thing is the inflation/deflation by all the fanboys and haters. Not to mention that the critic reviews are almost always worthless, critics pretty much love any AAA or AA title. Ok this is not a 10/10 game... and it is not a 0/10 game either. If you are thinking about buying this game, the most honest thing I can say is WAIT. Wait till the dust has settled, remember SWTOR, started out with a metacritic score of around 8.5... its now in the 5.6 - 5.8 range. This game is still an mmo, it does a few thing different, but if you've played mmo's, it will still feel like an mmo. Questing does feel a little less grindy and seems to be an improvement from the standard quest chain; its implemented differently in GW2 so it is more fluid, but essentially the same. The world/graphics are well made, however there are limited FOV options and camera pull in and pull back it too limited atm. They say its by design, but in the end limited FOV makes certain dungeons and small area fights more annoying than fun. The lack of a true trinity system makes 1 v 1 skirmishes feel more dependent on skill... however most pvp encounters will not be 1 v 1. The lack of a trinity is an interesting and bold attempt to do something different... I found however, that it creates more of a zerg mentality, whether in pve or pvp. Attacks are well coordinated with a tank or dps initiating, and a healer for support. People don't seem to target assist during multiple mob encouters in GW2. In the end World Events and PvP feels a bit zergy and more chaotic than truly requiring skill and strategy. But this is a new system, so it could be that in a month people will find ways to be strategic without a trinity system. However, I'm not that optimistic, I do like the dodge mechanic, but still feel that battlegrounds or large scale pvp in other mmo that employed the trinity resulted in more tactical thinking and more natural coordination. Also there is no dueling system atm, which is sort of a pity, especially when there is no open world pvp. You have to zone into a pvp area in order to pvp.
Limited options in some of the keybindings... for instance now the "F" seems to do everything, from interact with objects/players to looting/ to rezzing other players... this gets really annoying at times when you are trying to loot but can't since there is an npc or other items there. Trading post is still not in, but probably will be soon; Also, there is no system for personal trading or C.O.D. in the game, which seems bizarre, particularly for a modern mmo with a large crafting system. The crafting system seems good, although I didn't really get into it; There is an annoying thing about not being able to auto use crafting items stored in your bank. In the end it makes crafting a bit annoying at times. The Game still has psuedo-ques to get into your server, you log in right away but into an overflow server, probably in a few weeks or less this will remedied as server populations and login times stabilize. That said, zoning while in group can sometimes still be problematic and annoying, sometimes you will go to a new area, but members of you party will be in another instance of that area.
The questing and story telling are a step up from WoW for sure, not as immersive as SWTOR with everything fully voiced, but an improvement from the standard mmo fare, albeit a small one. There are definitely plenty of moments of weak voice acting or just poor writing that snap your immersion. If you are an mmo player used to complete free speech in your game, also be warned. GW2 devs are not shy about using the ban hammer if you choose an inappropriate name or choose to say something offensive to another player. In some ways this does sort of force a respectful environment, but it does treat you like a kid. I don't know, if people want to curse and insult each other in pvp or pve I doesn't bother me. In some ways it adds a little flavor to the community... yes it can get excessive. But it does seem they've drawn the line a bit too close; although I wasn't banned... the internet seems rife with the complaints of several banned players (note banns are usually only for a day or 2). If people are offended with another player, they should just add them to the ignore list. It also seems at the moment that there are security issues with accounts getting hacked/stolen etc. I'm sure that this a high, maybe the highest priority issue for Arenanet atm. But it is a little disconcerting that they really seemed to have missed the boat here on account security. Pick a strong password if you play and make sure it is different from the email password for your email account tied to the game. In this day and age I think a AAA/AA mmo should probably always ship with an authenticator or have authentication software available.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012There is simply no way this game could receive anything less than a 5 in a legit manner. It pains me to say this but obstruction of user score by another company appears to be what is happening here. On reddit there is several documented instances of user reviews here giving a 0 but giving Diablo 3 a 10.
http://www.metacritic.com/user/RasputinMD And here are some for The Secret World
This obvious trolling is the only thing keeping the user score out of the 9 range.
But no matter, onto the reason why it deserves a high score:
-The promotion of exploration and multiple routes of solid leveling paths is excellent in relation to the rest of the mmo market. Vistas and waypoint/poi discovering provide solid complimentary experience while levelling up and in some cases keep you up to date with your zone. I've actually played for hours without bothering about what l am, which leads into point two.
-Scaling down in lower level zones keeps you on your feet and stops the standard steamroll of lower level zones. Even if you are a high level player you will have to pay attention when seeking completion of lower level zones that aren't yours. Being able to assist friends that are just starting without ruining their fun is also a solid gameplay choice.
-The combat itself is rock solid and feels responsive, with the ability to dodge and roll away bringing unique gameplay choices to what would otherwise be standard mmo combat. There is some complaint about underwater combat but its such a minor issue that it doesn't deserve to overshadow anything else.
-World vs World is very fun and highly rewarding. The thrill of large scale combat is there for those who wish to enjoy it. PVP itself hasn't been an area I've spent much time in outside of a few hours in WvW but what I have done has been rich and exciting. There is nothing like storming through a gate of an opposing realms keep and slaughtering the players inside. -Questing has been ingeniously dressed up to get away from the old yellow exclamation point style. Multiple ways to complete the same quest give options for players to perform actions the way they want, not by a rigidly defined set of requirements. -I've found myself with plenty of things to do despite several large parts of the game not being touched yet. Auction house playing is something I usually spend hours with but they haven't even enabled that and I'm still enjoying myself greatly. Once the launch issues are resolved the game can move forward to address its list of minor issues. The overall feel while playing this game can't be matched except by the wonder that I got out of play the first iteration of world of warcraft back shortly after its launch. That kind excitement hasn't been felt by me for a long time and its refreshing. I've played SWTOR and RIFT but neither have approached the level of enjoyment I am getting right now. Give this game a try, because there is something for everybody. You won't be punished for doing what you love to do. You will be rewarded for all of your exploits, all the way down to making your first crafting items.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012Deserves a 9.5. Ive played almost every MMO since UO in 97. Each game had its perks: Shadowbane: city building and ruthless pvp Horizons: best player housing ever made (own premade plots of land, not like UO where it was citysprawl) Warcraft: pve gods. look back at 2004 reviews. they made the MMO accessible to 'nongamers'. Just to name a few that left a good impression. For GW2, this game gave everything I was getting bored with in an MMO a new look. Grouping, no more node stealing, COMMUNITY! (server pride), discoveries in crafting, and PVP... crazy pvp goodness.
I cant tell you how great it is to be able to dodge and use position, to fight an elite that will 2 shot you and, with proper skill use and dodging, be able to bring it down. Very satisfying. (I went back to other MMO's after the guildwars2 beta ended so I could kill the MMO itch i had until GW2 was released. It suddenly felt strange to not be able to get out of the way of an incoming attack, couldn't actively block an attack i knew that was on its way to hit me. Basically i wasn't rewarded for being aware of the next move)
And teamwork: everyone can rez (get exp for helping), everyone gets credit for helping bring down a mob, etc. You get rewarded for helping each other. but never forced to.
TLDR: Overall the game feels like the next step in MMO's. I believe future MMOs will continue with dynamic events/questing. combat will be more involved and personal stories will be the norm. Not saying these are revolutionary and all new ideas, but much like warcraft did in 2004, gw2 brings in the best ideas into 1 game and adds to it. 2 thumbs up! see you in game… Expand
Aug 31, 2012So, this is my first critic.
GW2 is nice. Not more, not less. I have never seen so many problems at a mmo start. From account security over hackers to guild chat / menu problems. I have never seen such a horrible communication as Arenanet is having it. No patch notes, no forums, only twitter and reddit.
Group play is more like a lottery right now, overflow server system not working as it should. And all you hear is "We are working on it".
Dynamic events aren't as dynamic, as they seem to be. They are more like static-events-that-appear-at-random-times.
XP balancing is not working right now.
All the lore, that can be found in the wiki and the books is not really in the game. Even TOR had better a story. They could have put lore in the vistas, some text with information about the place. Something. But no, there's nothing.
Over all, the game is nice. I play it, I will go on playing, but only because it is F2P. Otherwise, I wouldn't.… Expand
Aug 31, 2012Too many people giving this game an undeserved zero. While the worse elements of this game could be rated as low as a 7.5, the best elements could easily be given a perfect 10. Having scrutinized this game over anything and everything, my rating would range from 8.5 to 9.5, with my consistent rating at 9.25. My advice for anyone reading user reviews, ignore anyone who put down a zero. Read what people wrote who gave this game anywhere from a 6 to a 9, as their reviews aren't driven off some immature emotional outcry. Also, if you are still unsure about this game, wait a while. Watch videos, read reviews, read about the classes and gameplay. If you are still on the fence, don't buy it, or play it at a friends house. Just don't buy it and rate it a zero for no real reason, as no game really deserves a 0 unless it flat out does not work.… Expand
Sep 8, 2012Guild Wars 2 is a revolution. The way how it all works together is amazing. You gain experience almost from everything you do, so you no longer need to play it for 20 000 hours to reach the best equip and to enjoy high level instances. I am playing a norn ranger and it is so much fun, with all the pets you can tame and all the skillsets you can use. Another thing is the enviroment, it is stunning. Despite the problems with the trading post I must say it is a game that really deserves the 10/10… Expand
Sep 5, 2012After playin wow more or less 7 years i think tht GW2 is very very promising, i tried some others mmos in those years but didnt like any, except EVE online which is very good but another setting and kind of mmo.
GW2 in my opinion is mostly based on PVP, the world vs world is very fun and the structured pvp is imo a lot better then wow, especially the fact its not gear based, its a lot more skill based.
The PVE is a lot less structured then wow, there are no raids, and instances are more about kiting / controlling.
Its needed to understand how to play it, positioning, pulling, and the weapons used are key factor to beat the instance in the right manner in exploration mode.
There is no more tank/healer/dps trinity which is imo really a great idea, ofc it leads to a PVE totally different from wow based games.
If you like to pass the time stayin back of a boss pulling out max dps this is not the mmo for you, you will die every 2 seconds doing that, ive seen in those starting days a lot of ppl used to other mmos not understanding that the game here is different, its needed to be on the move, use the right weapons, hide when needed, use los and help the team with traits/utility skills.
The quest system is great, very fun and well made, compared to wow its a blast.
In many occasions its possible to complete events with follow ups that carry you around a lot before finishing.
Every zone have a world boss event and at least a hidden puzzle zone to be discovered.
Most of the new ideas are lightyears further compared to wow, the AH is the best one ive seen in any mmo, and overall i think this game will be a winning one.
Anyway its not the mmo for anyone, ppl who are interested in raiding or really like tanking/healing system will not find those activities and mechanics in GW2.… Expand
Sep 17, 2012Having put countless hours into Guild Wars, I can now say with confidence that this is the MMORPG that stands the best chance of dethroning World of Warcraft. It's also one that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Guild Wars 2 is the modern MMORPG that offers a more streamlined and comfortable experience in open-world exploring and PvP for players of all skills/experience. And instead of ignoring players who want to be crafty or explorative, GW2 rewards them. I've really enjoyed some of the elements Guild Wars 2 has borrowed from other excellent action/adventure games (like Skyrim or Assassin's Creed). Those elements help give you drive to do certain things to completion, which often nets you achievements and bonus gear, XP, and an assortment of treasures. The game isn't a radical departure from MMORPG's, but it offers enough of a refresh to earn your $60 investment (without forcing you to buy into a subscription). There is a small learning curve to parts of this game, but nothing is unlearnable or un-masterable. If you've been waiting for a game to come along to pull you away from WoW's stale-ish experience or you just gave up on MMORPGs because of their lack of innovation, Guild Wars 2's world is one you need to experience.… Expand
Sep 6, 2012I picked this game up over the Labor Day weekend, and then my 3-day weekend ceased to exist. I haven't had a single evening since then either. It's been a long time since a game has made me utterly lose track of time. I've been having to set an alarm for myself otherwise I'd be up until 5:00 am every night. This game is what every MMO released in the last 8 years simply were not: Pure, unadulterated fun. To top it off ArenaNet doesn't take crap from all the exploiters, botters, and hackers that plague most other MMOs. They're perma-banned quickly and efficiently, and if this continues it might be the only recent MMO whose economy is not completely ruined within a month of its launch. The only reason I haven't given this game a perfect 10 is because of the rocky launch though, admittedly, even that has been better than most other recent MMOs.… Expand
Sep 1, 2012Guild Wars 2 set a new standard for MMOGs. It's a polished game with everything you could want in a massive game. A very well balanced and fun PvP experience and some amazing PvE moments. But GW2 shines when it gives the player to option to play as he likes. You will be rewarded for exploring, killing or crafting. You might play the game the way you want and not the way the devs want you to do it. The story is well written and the world is alive with events. You might arrive in a small town and see it under siege by hordes of centaurs and when you save it you see the soldiers regrouping to counter-attack and you join them. It's highly polished and really well done. It's not a revolution, but an evolution of the genre. A must have for MMO gamers. Technically the graphics are amazing and the sound effects are well done. Music ? Well, Jeremy Soule, that's all i have to say. The game have flaws ? Of course it does, but they don't make it less fun and all of them will be fixed in due time. Without a doubt this game has everything to be the new king of the genre.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012If you're into MMO's you'll love this game. If you're into RPG's you'll love this game. If you're into pvp you'll love this game. This is the game you've been waiting for and there was no one better to do it than Arena Net.
Oct 19, 2012I often wonder whether people who give this game a negative review really put the time in the appreciate the mechanics of GW2. One person says there is no end game content and is infuriated. The other says there is end game content...and he is infuriated. I myself along with my group am enjoying this game thoroughly. I find the waypoint mechanic essential to getting around since there are no mounts, but being able to stay in the field longer means more gameplay, which in turns means time not wasted.
The combat is fluid enough for a MMORPG, the dodge mechanic especially useful for the larger bosses, and a sense of thrill as you feel the narrow escape of a lethal attack. The races and classes have fun diversities from other games of this setting and style. Fans of Skyrim may enjoy the Norn class, a Norse like people standing at 9 feet tall and following the ways of the mountain. In other parts of the world technology, nobility and nature may rule in place. It's steampunk at times without the self aware humor that sometimes comes along with it.
Ascetically the game has plenty to offer. Being able to change color patterns on the fly means never being bored of feeling mixed match unless you want that. Even items can be found that will combine the look of one item with the stats of another. Making a friendly PVE world has opened up the potential for this game. Taking down a monster with dozens of people gives a thrill as a complete stranger will lend you a buff, or even pick you up if you're knocked over.
PVP has great potential allowing anyone to dive in from the character screen, and leveling has been so much fun I'm working on three characters!… Expand
Sep 1, 2012This game is just the perfect MMO for me. Why? Because it allows casual gameplay. The game is very polished and despite some bugs here at launch, has definitely been one of the most smooth MMO launches ever. One of the most fantastic things about the game is how it's built to encourage cooperation - not competition - in PvE. Resource nodes are not shared, so it doesn't matter that someone gets to it before you. You can't tag monsters, you get credit for a kill even if you didn't hit first. Everyone gets rewarded simply for helping - and thus GW2 is a much nicer game to play.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012This has been my return to PC gaming after about a 2 year hiatus. I came in with mixed expectations because people were hyping it up pretty bad. I would have to say that the hype was deserved on most accounts. This game is different from most other MMOs. I find myself just running around from place to place killing with no real agenda, which is great. Dynamic events are fun, but they are a little bit overcrowded due to the high concentration of players at my level due to the recent launch. There are a few glitches currently being worked on by Arena Net, which is to be expected. The only reason it does not get a 10 is due to the trading post being down for launch.… Expand
Aug 29, 2012The game is absolutely gorgeous, they are tons of stuff to do in this game and very varied ones, you really are never bored playing it and want to stay a bit longer each time you have to go to bed :p One of my best mmo and i'm a computer gamer since the first apple c. Thumbs up to Anet and thank you for that great game.
Aug 30, 2012Amazing game. So much stuff to do. Loving all the additional activities, art direction and music. I've actually uninstalled all other games from my PC and left only GW2, cause that's all I'll need for the months to come. And the biggest advantage over other AAA MMOs is the lack of subscription. You don't feel any rush to do anything, and you play when you want and have the time for it. No feeling of wasted money if you're busy and can't play. I absolutely love it!… Expand
Aug 29, 2012Pay2Win is nonexistent. Ridiculous complaint. Everything in the shop is cosmetic or "boosts", and leveling is already really short. Plus the same also accepts in-game gold, just needs to be converted. (3gold will basically buy you anything in the store plus change) Actions appear disjointed until one gets used to them. Not as flashy as TERA, but actually more indepth in terms of not just tab+attack. Incredibly huge world. Perhaps the greatest World PVP system since DAOC. Dungeons similar to WoW, Aion, and TERA. A bit harder. By far the most content of any MMO besides WoW. This is a real competitor, and a great game.… Expand
Mar 10, 2013after months the game still has some of the initial bugs and the improvements made to the game are not really improvements but stepback´s so anet has to do better if they want to sell games because the game has stagnated and is slowly dying. and check once and for all the lag problems that are the worst of the game.
Sep 19, 2012Most fun I've had in an MMO. The game is beautiful, tons of fun and addicting for all! The pve, pvp, and WvWvW is all amazing and really well done. Finally a game where you can do whatever you want.. Explore, do dungeons, pvp, WvW, and more! Also, this game is harder than your average MMO. Which is good! Who doesn't like a challenge?
Aug 31, 2012Remember all those MMO's that were supposed to take world of craft down? Well... GW2 might be the messiah we were hoping for!
The put it in one word, GW2 is "dynamic"! You walk around the world and random events occur, and player all gather to fight back what ever threath is coming. No grouping, no kill still. Everyone fight together and get's rewards. Seriously, you will NEVER need to call for help or search a group in this game. You never fell alone as you do quest. Arenanet did a perfect job to encourage players to work together and make it FUN at the same time.
The game is also very beautifull, and things like points of interests and views encourage you to explore.
The combat system can be confusing at time, and the camera dosn't allow you to zoom out enough. As range class it's ok but as a melee you often don't see what's going on behind you and finding your next target can be a bit challenging. Still, the combat is very FUN!
The story : I am going to have to compare with SWTOR, as the story is THE factor that was suppose to make TOR better than GW2. Well... In a way, story in TOR play a much more important part than in GW2, and i really loved the fact that all side quests in starwars add dialogues options. Still GW2 as a main story quest arc that is interesting enough to keep you interested and unlike TOR, you will make decisions that will trully affect the outcome.
PvP is not an afterthough in this game, the WvW maps are hudge and still it's easy to find something to do on them. The game really succeds in making you believe that you are taking part in a war. It's not as simple as capturing a flag and getting points. You must fight off enemy invaders, gather ressources to repair the door, construct siege weapons... But because those battles are so massive, it will put your rig to the test.
Crafting is also interesting in this game. I can't say much about it yet but i really enjoy experimenting with materials to get new reciepes.
Dungeons are nice but i have yet to try the end game content on that part. Overall, GW 2 is by far the best MMO that came out since WoW, and the fact that it has no subcription fee makes it the biggest threath that WoW ever faced.… Expand
Aug 28, 2012A lot of things to do in a non really well done play style. The way you skip been hit by pressing two times an arrow key is silly and the characters move kinda slow. Also the game gets confusing because there is too much to do and not many explanations about what will you get by doing something specific. Also the design is really bad, while some races are really nice looking some others are relly ugly. Also the game copied many of the features that made Warhammer Online be a failure, like dynamic events, which is a good idea but has never been successfully put in practice. Is good that you don't need to hurry and invite others to your party to not steal them EXP and loot, but it also makes you feel like playing with NPCs around instead of players because there is not much interaction with them. If you like role playing maybe this is your MMORPG but if you expect some action, it is not for sure. Better than LOTRO and Warhammer Online and kinda the same game style. I also don't like the fact that all the professions (clases) can heal themselves and there is no healing class. In some way, when you play a role game, you want to do that, play a specific role! But without some specific roles and letting everybody DPS and heal, the feeling that you need to fill a role in your party is gone...… Expand
Aug 29, 2012This game is really good. Just saying that is an understatement. If your board with World of Warcraft, tired of the same old same old, buy this. Honestly, they should have a monthly fee cause the way this plays and how good it is really expands what FREE MMORPGs can do.
Everything, everything is just that amazing. Read other reviews for specifics. I can't even wrap my mind around it!
Aug 29, 2012Before I start, I never review on Metacritic. I registered just to post this and, as an amateur game reviewer who takes this sort of thing very seriously, I'm not just blindly gushing in fanboy fashion. This game is just plain awesome.
As a veteran of WoW (since 2005), Rift, TOR, and others... I can say that this is a fantastic MMORPG that really reinvents how we progress. EVERYTHING counts as character progression in this game, it's really amazing. You literally do almost anything to gain experience, which allows you to personalize the game to match your play style. ArenaNet made exploring more fun than in any MMO I have played since vanilla WoW in 2005. After playing so many MMOs, the feeling of exploration and wonder wears off and many of the games feel so similar and everything becomes routine... but that is NOT the case here. Exploring has become really interesting and exciting again. There's just so much to do in every zone that it blows my mind. You'll constantly be saying "what's over here/is there anything going on over there?" as you play. It's just so well done. Kudos to ArenaNet. I was tired out from playing MMOs. The same ol' structure that EQ and WoW popularized was getting boring. GW2 shakes things up enough to make even me, someone who was burned out entirely of MMOs, become a fierce addict. This game lives up to the hype that beta players spoke of. I'm hearing no negative comments (that are legit and not juvenile) from players of this game and everyone ingame is having a blast. I'm calling it now, this will be the new king of MMOs. With a free to play business model (after initial purchase of the game) wrapping around such extremely high quality MMO, you'd be crazy not to at least try GW2. This game blows every other MMO out of the water. The hype was real. This is the future of MMOs.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012It's rare to have my expectations for a game met. While the launch hasn't been without it's problems, this is the best game I have played in the last decade. I love doing everything in it so far. Played all 3 beta weekends and bought the collector's edition. It's refreshing to have a gaming company that's willing to put user experience before profits. A company of gamers for gamers :D
Aug 29, 2012Guild Wars 2 is the next stage in MMO evolution -- bigger than the jump from EverQuest to World of Warcraft. Some points to consider: - Free to Play + Cash Store means spend money on what you want, when you want, if you want. Not pay to win. - Personal stories based on your decisions when making your character and branches during the story quest itself mean every character you make has slightly different lore progression. - No more immersion crushing yellow punctuation hovering over people's heads. (yes!) - Everyone gets EXP for hitting your mob. It encourages interactivity. - Everyone can resurrect everyone else. Down? Anyone can come by and help you up. - Every class can heal and fight ranged. Brilliant -- no more "tanks" healers" and "DPS" Every profession (class) is a bit of everything, but in its own particular way. - EXP for crafting. Tons of it. Pacifist? You can level to 80 by crafting -- no joke. - Dye your armor whenever you want. Collect from the hundreds of possible dye colors and create a unique look. There's plenty more -- read the official sight -- but, to sum up, if you're like I was, playing every AAA MMO title released hoping for the next big thing and continually being disappointed, you'll breathe a sigh of relief that, finally, a post-WoW MMO lived up to its pre-release hype.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012Yes, the game has problems on release, which will like most mmos, be fixed in due time. If there was a less flawed release, then the review would me a 10. This game encompasses such fine attention to detail, from the way a character stands on uneven ground whilst fighting, to the branching (and I'm not talking single figures here) story-lines. I will be playing this game for years to come, and it's by far superior to any competitors, subscription based or not.… Expand
Aug 30, 2012I signed up for an account here specifically to review this game. This is the best MMO I
Aug 31, 2012This game is brilliant, ive played most mmo's and the king obviously was wow but its was seriously flawed, the problem with wow was that it was relying on the 'carrot on a string' princible where it teased you with power with each level and better items making it insanely addictive... but for the game and combat itself it wasnt much fun.
GW2 on the other hand does away with these major flaws and makes each level have a very small impact also with gear especially in the case of PVP, making it a much more balanced experience, but i could go on and on and on regarding the improvements made that gives it the 'evolutionary' title, but the HUGE difference is the most important one and a very simple one at that... its actually a huge amount of FUN *gasp* yes the combat and none existence of the 'grind' makes it great fun to play and you find yourself exploring and enjoying the experience as intended, so if u like rpgs or mmos or especially if you haven't.. go get it, you wont be disappointed, and regarding those 0 scores they are obvious trolls as 99% have only given negatives with most only for this amazing game :)… Expand
Aug 31, 2012This game deserves a perfect score, in my opinion. The game is structured to be a fun experience and not a chore that might reward you in the end. The "fun" element has been missing from mmo's for a while now. The elements of this game that make it fun are the immersive story, fantastic combat, constant rewards, ect. No other game has made your character's combat and story as personal as Guild wars 2 has. There might be a few problems here and there but they are so small and nit-picky that they aren't even worth mentioning. The game has a theme of teamwork and that(including previously mentioned points) makes the game new and refreshing. In the end, this game deserves its perfect score for being what video games should be....fun!… Expand
Aug 31, 2012An excellent breath of fresh air in the field of MMO's: While not ground breakingly different from the standard formula it does more than enough to keep both MMO veterans, and new comers alike entertained for hours on end.
Sep 1, 2012Many of tje negative reviews here are personal issues, rather than true reviews of the game. Sad really. If you review at least say you do not like the graphics or mechanics, something objective. Anyhow, Guild Wars 2 in my humble opinion is simply awesome. Easily worth $60 investment and perhaps even some cash shop appearance items. Who can resist a few cool or cute minis following you around. The best part of the cash shop is that there are no items in it that are needed t play play the game to its fullest. Its simply cosmetic or convenient. I think the look in the world is awesome. I've caught myself just looking around in awe more than once. Coming out of one particular shore town I walked out on to the beachand rounding rock cropping there on the water line, I looked up to see in the distances across the water a huge floating rock island with a castle on it. Mega awesome moment. The graphics are not state of the art, using older tech, but the way Anet uses that tech is stunning. And optimized for even slightly older machines. I use 5i intel with Nvidia 460GTX average fps is in the 60s. Do not listen to the griefers or the haters. Buy this game and enjoy the sovial aspect of the game. Play at your own speed. A++… Expand
Sep 2, 2012First off, this game is nothing like the first. Each have their own qualities and differences. The world is beautiful and there are decently sized zones which I wish were less rectangular and maybe a bit larger, but no game is perfect. Then there are the classes. As someone who loves combat and strategy in a combination, the engineer is dominant in both categories. And the best part is that the engineer neither feels underpowered or static in its abilities. It takes factors from games like TERA such as real time dodging and weapon size making a factor on how much is required to back up to dodge. Also there is nothing more badass then being a mesmer with a floating two handed sword that shoots magic. There are tons of ways to mix up your class depending on what you can use, like an engineer can use a unique pistol and shield combination, hunters using guns and throwing weapons at the same time, and so on. As stated by others, this game has a strange dynamic questing system, as in there are no quests, but rather areas for completing various tasks for a final quest-like reward. This makes the game not a back and forth rinse and repeat game, but lets you explore the world without constantly checking the quest log where to go. If there was any way to describe this game shortly I would say it's a game that takes the good qualities out of other MMO's and combines them in a new and interesting way, as well as adding new elements on top. It's the correct way an MMO should be made.… Expand
Sep 2, 2012A game based completely on having FUN. FUN! Dynamic PvE events, an awesome exploration system, incredible artwork that saturates the game and a great dev/community relationship. Guild Wars 2 is an awesome MMO for those who hate grinding and just want to have fun.
Sep 4, 2012I have to say, it's been a very long time since I've found so much enjoyment in a game. A long time since I got so much for my money. A long time since I can say I've truly enjoyed almost every aspect of a game. And that game is GW2. The game does have its flaws, but they're nothing major.
The combat is a little less 'actiony' than TERA but I welcome the change as I felt TERA was a little too 'all over the place' and chaotic. GW2 finds a nice balance between TERAs combat and WoWs combat. All classes heal themselves, can survive if you play them well and can be good at dealing damage. I have yet to see a situation where I went 'damn, I need an _____'. If I die, it's cause I failed to dodge, stood in AoE or ignored my heal.
Questing is a combination of Dynamic Events (events which happen in the world around you and often tell the story of a zone (centaur attacks, portals to the netherworld, ongoing struggle against dragon minions etc)) and Renown Hearts ('standard quests' marked by large hearts where you have several ways to help out locals, Renown Hearts generally tell the story of the people who live in their zone/their daily lives). Together, these make the game unique and interesting. I also have to say that it really rewards exploration and getting lost in the world.
Each race feels truly unique (and in 4/5 cases, unique to the genre itself) and classes all feel different (I love how a Warrior uses a Longbow differently than a Ranger). Some people are complaining that your first 5 skills are determined by your weapon, but I rather enjoy the concept of having a certain fighting style with a weapon versus it simply being a stat stick. I do however wish there were slightly more options within a weapon, just incase I didn;t like 1 out of 5 greatsword skills or wanted to change things up.
Perhaps the biggest current complaint is the supposed 'lack of endgame' but that's, in truth, almost a non-issue. If you take your time enjoying the game as you go, taking time to explore and craft and perhaps even jump into some World vs World vs World or structured PvP, you won't have to worry about any sort of grind and the game will feel plenty full. Pair that with 12 dungeons JUST for level 80 and a total of 32 dungeons in the game AS WELL AS continuing support from ANet in the way of added Dynamic Events and possibly even more dungeons or regions ASIDE from planned Expansions, and the game has a ton of stuff to do now, with more on the way.… Expand
Sep 6, 2012This is exactly what I've been waiting for. After 7 years, I can finally say goodbye to Azeroth. If you're on the fence about this one, all I can say is go buy it now!
Sep 8, 2012Stop for a second and just take a long, hard look at Guild Wars 2... and open your mind. The game is not infallible - no game is and a 10 is not an indicator hereof - but the game does so, so, so many things right. From encouraging people to help each other and be nice by not punishing team efforts, to its marvellous artistic vision, to its engine's sheer ingenuity and power (compare this game's engine to other MMO engines of the past half decade - it's fantastic), to it's wonderful gameplay. We have not seen anything this well crafted for a decade. With Guild Wars 2 you're watching not only one of the best games of the last decade, you are also given the opportunity to herald in a new age of gaming; one where subscription fee isn't a given, one where a cash-shop doesn't equal monetizing people shamelessly, one where fun, cooperation and team-effort is rewarded and encouraged rather than not. An age where a game's longevity is determined by its fun and enjoyment rather than grindy gear treadmills. You can support this by buying Guild Wars 2.... Or you can breathe a bit of life into a stale, stagnant and dying iteration of the genre by holing up in your comfort zone and buying MoP. The choice should be easy; GW2 is not only a better game but also comes from a company that respects corporate CSR, whereas the other comes from a company that hasn't delivered a unique IP in over 12 years, who shamelessly monetize consumers through treadmills and who's under the aegis of Activision, notorious for its lack of Corporate Social Responsibility.… Expand
Sep 7, 2012I have been a gamer all my life and I still remember the feeling I had the first time I picked up and played WoW, the first time I went to warsong gulch and ran screaming with a flag chased by those damnable horde, walked across the bridge in stranglethorn vale...... but as games do, it got old. Vanilla wow is a dream we all had that has long since faded from memory leaving behind the beastly cash cow that is wow nowadays. This brings me to GW 2. I was skeptical to say the least. Up until a week before the head start I was not even going to buy it. But I did...... and damn it I am having a blast. I have not enjoyed a game this much in years. I can't put into words everything that makes GW2 worth ppls hard earned money and time but I can guarantee no one will buy it and feel like they didn't get their moneys worth, and 9 out of 10 will feel as I do. Arena.net have brought the magic back to mmo's. This is a must buy. And free to play? Get in there my son. Today I found a hidden doorway in the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, made my way through a booby trapped cave with pressure plates and the ground crumbling beneath my feet only to emerge in an underground cavern to find a ghost ship and a wicked jumping puzzle that took me 15 minutes to beat.....to finally earn an achievement and a splendid chest. In WoW if u tried to go off the beaten track like that the best you can hope for is falling through the ground to your death.... And I have not even mentioned the dungeons which are hella hard but rewarding or the World vs world vs world pvp that ate up 3 hours of my life last night as I lead my server to domination..... I could go on but I think by this stage if u are still reading u are either a fan or are going to buy the game so stop wasting your time and get playing!… Expand
Sep 25, 2012Overall not too bad of a game. The best thing about this game is still the PvP. The pvp became better with the WvWvW system implanted that could affect your PvE. Many times people resort to just clicking everything they can when it is off cd. Not a particular effective way of going about PvP. Theres a certain element of anticipation and knowing your enemy before engaging recklessly. Everyone will start off reckless, myself included, but as you play your character class more, you realize theres more than just spam can save your tail. Perhaps waiting for them to start channeling then stun them would be wiser than just stunning them upon seeing them. dodge roll back as you see them charging toward you. Stealth the moment you enter a fray (people don't even know you are there) and start reviving downed allies. Many more possibilities can be explored. Unfortunately PvE of this game is kind of lack luster. Daily achievements helps you level up your character, but always the smae thing. Dynamics events attracts your attention for the early game, then after a while it all became the same. Defend spot/character/building for x waves of enemies, kill the leader of y group to disband, collect z items and deliver. However theres a few very interesting dynamic events. Early dynamic events has almost no consequence for failing. However some would actually have a town wiped out and events will follow to try and restore the town back to normal. Other really interesting events includes bosses that rarely spawns, like a dragon that will be almost 100x bigger than you. These although fun to try and kill, there will be too many people around, it lags the crap out of you. Story for the characters seems rather generic. Each choices in the character creation affects your story line for like the first 30 levels. After that all the stories are just the same. There are some choices in paths of the story like using brute force, sneak and assassinate, or like gather info. Ultimately it just makes you fight in a different setting and still merge back to main story afterwards. Fighting in PvE is purely spamming. auto set your first skill to auto cast. This just means that is your normal attack. everything else have a cool down you will probably use the moment it is off cd. PvE has auto adjust to level of surrounding if surrounding is weaker than your total level. This way you will still feel like doing something in the beginning areas (esp areas of other races) don't feel like you were simply overpowered. There are some rather intricate mazes/jump quests layed out in just about every map. Can try to find the secluded entrence by your self and everything afterwards is pretty straight forward with the jump quest. Each level up is not too difficult. It feels nearly the same as going from lvl 8 to 9 as lvl 79 to 80, there really isn't your typical grind fest of like 10 days to get 1 level. Aside from the few set backs, I think this is a game that deserves and good look at… Expand
Nov 20, 2012Overhyped. The graphics are excellent at the time of launch, but the good features stop there. It has a disguised form of grinding that tries to fool players into thinking they are not grinding while doing exactly what grinding is: repeated kills over and over.
The classes are a huge let down. Most have cool animations and effects but these have no impact on gameplay as the abilities are weak and generic. All classes can do all the functions as melee damage, ranged damage, healing and support and as such excel at none which just furthers the feeling of weak classes. Furthermore you can be up-leveled (rarely) or down-leveled (more commonly) to provide a fixed challenge level. While some people like the constant challenge, this only increases the feeling of weakness since you can never enjoy the power you accrued.
Mobs are repeated through several areas, just leveled up and with maybe a different name (not always), which contributes to the tedium after a while.
Add to all this that it has no demo nor trial nor the possibility to sell the game you bought (as per the aggreement) nor a money-back guarantee and we have a trap where we just sank our money. All this fear of losing money on the part of the company only reflects a lack of confidence on the tittle.
Bottom-line: not worth it.… Expand
Aug 28, 2012I am genuinely happy that I won't meet the people writing '0' reviews.One good thing about the game is its awesome community, and those people are better left out of it.
The game is purely awesome, the dynamic events are plenty and varied, you'll seldom get to do the same thing more than once in your standard map run. Crafting and exploring is quite rewarding and the landscape is very detailed, even having secret areas.
The reason this game gets 9 is because it doesn't allow duels between players (not full free open world PvP, I mean invitations and such) but it could be added into the future.… Expand
Sep 23, 2012Don't listen to the naysayers they are just WOW fanbabies who are upset that GW2 is so popular and good. It really is fantastic and the graphics are some of the best I've ever seen. It also puts RIFT to shame and the world is HUGE and you get 5 starting areas and several classes and 5 races. It has one of the most unique skills systems I've ever seen with 5 of the skills out of the 10+ you get attached to each type of weapon you use. It truely is one of the best MMO's on the market now and well worth the $60 I paid for it. There is lots to explore and an very simple combat system but still enough to do to make it skillful and not just a roll face type of combat system.
It has daily achievements for you to do, monthly and many many more types to grant you titles and money.
The endgame is well not really an endgame because there's really no raiding required, there's no grind required UNLESS you want to grind for OPTIONAL ARMOR and WEAPONS that are PURELY COSMETIC and nothing more. Too many WOWbabies whine because it's not easy to get in 3 weeks time playing lol.
Trust me if you want a great fun MMO to play that doesn't take all your time away this is the one. Nothing out there is as good as this and so much fun. :)… Expand
Aug 30, 2012This game is beauty incarnate. When discussions involving games being works of art occur, this game will be up there with Shadows of the Colossus and ICO.
Gameplay is brilliant. A mix between the old and the new really gives the combat its own unique flare. The leveling curve has you level up every 60-90 mins regardless of how close you are to the cap. In addition, you can level up in so may different ways, if you're ever bored of doing something, you can try something else.
This game is, imo, the best MMO on the market right now. I am giving it a 9 because even after all the stress tests, it still has a buggy trading post and mailing system. However, should those get fixed in the first week post launch, I'll change my score.
In short: buy it now, or buy it later; just make sure you make this one part of your PC library.… Expand
Oct 15, 2012I'll keep this short. The graphics and sound come together to form a breathtaking world. Unfortunately, this alone isn't enough to make a compelling game. The combat is fun and engaging (perhaps more so than in competing titles) for the first couple of days. But I have yet to play an MMO that manages to keep it interesting after that and GW2 is no exception. Unfortunately this hits GW2 hard, because as the developers pointed out many times: there is no "carrot" in GW2. What's supposed to keep you playing is the fun of playing the game itself (walking around killing things, exploring, doing dynamic events, etc.) and NOT loot rewards. Well, general game-play quickly becomes sleep-inducing. Crafting is a major gold-sink and feels like a waste of time, even if the interface itself isn't bad. The economy is a complete joke, with 99% of items selling at vendor price and the other 1% climbing to insane new heights every day. Unless you've played from release and speculated your way to huge profits when various recipes were changed or discovered, you are going to be dirt-poor from 1-80 and beyond. The dungeons are boring and frustrating at the same time, but to expect differently when you put 5 classes that all do everything in a dungeon that you over-tune to hell to make it "challenging" is madness. World-vs-World PvP is a zerg-fest of epic proportions and if you think that structured PvP will appeal to you, go play Dota2 or LoL instead for a much more complete and fun experience. The personal story is decent up to level 50 or so, then it looses pretty much all it's appeal and turns into another terrible, unrewarding grind.… Expand
Sep 12, 2012There are a lot of people throwing poor reviews at this game to be edgy, and it's pretty unfair. I've played dozens of MMOs, from launch, including WoW, Warhammer, City of Heroes/Villains, Rift, UO, EQ, Champions Online, SWTOR, Asheron's Call 1 & 2, and countless others. This game is better than the best parts of all of them. It polishes every mechanic, every zone, every experience to a brilliant gleaming shine. I didn't raid more than 3-4 nights, total, in the 5+ years I played WoW, through every expansion up to a month after Cataclysm's launch. I'm a PvPer at heart, and become bored if the combat is in any way unresponsive (Warhammer, Rift, SWTOR, Champions Online, etc) or if the game itself can't compel me to reach maximum level.
This game has me enjoying leveling so much that I'm not quite maximum level yet, simply enjoying the process. I hate leveling. And I love leveling in Guild Wars 2. It's incredible. I've barely scratched World versus World and structured PvP, and those are my main goals in the long term. On top of that, the combat is responsive and unique, requiring awareness of what's going on outside your UI. There are no enemy cast bars. There is no "healer" or "tank" class, every class can do a bit of everything in different ways.
The game world is gorgeous, the character customization is extensive, the content is refreshing and avoids being monotonous. This is the best MMO I've ever played, not because its predecessors were terrible, but because it learned from everything they did and avoided every mistake, while approaching each part of an MMORPG from a new, creative angle. I give this 10/10 without hesitation after just over two weeks of playing, over a hundred hours in total.… Expand
Sep 25, 2012This game is the culmination of the evolution of both free to play, and subscription MMOs. The game design and art are superb, and the microtransaction/auction system is amazing. Cant say enough good things about this game. p.s. Also, lots of replayability between races in terms of story.
Sep 27, 2012This game is definitely one of the best games I have ever played, and THE best MMORPG out there at this, and a much longer, time. Everything from graphics to storyline are beautifully done. The game can pleasure your needs as a gamer by being able to level up multiple ways (and if you are tired or in the mood for a change, it's easy!), anywhere from watering flowers, to exploring, to bashing people with beer kegs, and even to intense fast-paced huge scale battles in World Versus World Versus World. Even though it is a bit buggy (still one of the most bug-free MMO releases to date though), a bit slow game support, and missing a few things, it is nice to know that the amazing game developers are always working on a fix 24/7. The game really allows you to play how YOU want, alone, with a party, or even in a giant group. The personal story line mixed with the originality of the races, and professions, really makes you feel different from the crowd. There is always something more to do in GW2, all with no subscription fee! I definitely recommend this game to any gamers library. See you in-game!… Expand
Aug 29, 2012I do not know who the hell says that this game has bad graphics. Environments are beautifully crafted and checking vistas was my top priority when I started playing. Characters are detailed and very well animated. Special effects are good too, maybe little bit too flashy to my taste but still very playable. The events are fun as well, even when ANet in some of them is just trying to wrap fetching x number of this or killing y number of that in a prettier package. I am not sure about the dungeons, did not get that far yet, but friends say that they are challenging. I did not encounter any major bugs, the only thing that pisses me off sometimes are the overflow servers. Each time you use a waypoint you go to an overflow server and wait your turn. Finding your friends is a pain too because of that. I would rather have a regular queue and wait 30 minutes to get to the map, but when I am there, I am there until I log out. No stability issues or anything like that for me. Overall very solid launch and a major contender to WoW… Expand
Aug 30, 2012GW2 will win GOTY 2012. Basically aside from the launch issues... when it works it's fun as hell! Very addicting gameplay. Anything you do in the game is interesting and engaging. ANet will constantly be improving the game so it's just going to get better and better! Worth every penny and I am already thinking about what new content and expansions will come out in the future. Goodbye real life. Hello GW2!… Expand
10/10 damn it! This game is amazing. Not by any means, a average mmo. In fact it blows all others out of the park. There is absolutely no grinding for levels, (unless you of course wan't to get to lvl 80 fast) no annoying unresponsive combat, and is a beautiful game graphically. Separate pvp is a seamless addition to the game and is fun when you want to take a break. Best part no subscription fee.… Collapse
Feb 6, 2013GW2 has made a powerful impact on the MMO scene, confirming years of expectations. Stunning presentation and revolutionary design guarantee a thoroughly enjoyable experience. However, it's not flawless, nor complete. The beautiful vistas, the massive PvP element, the rich leveling experience- those can offer hours of gameplay, but the endgame is desperately seeking for enrichment. [November 2012]
Jan 2, 2013Guild Wars 2 surpasses the original in every aspect, from its massive and atmospheric world to its addictive and engrossing gameplay.
Nov 28, 2012After spending fifty hours with GW2, I have a lot of praise for ArenaNet's work and the way it changes up some of the typical trappings of the MMO. And yet, I find myself thinking less and less about it each day. It's not a declaration against the product, mind you, but simply a fact that this game still is very much an MMO, and your enjoyment will directly relate to how much you enjoy the genre. For many who were hoping for a clean break from MMO design philosophy, Guild Wars 2 will probably come across as a slight disappointment. It pushes the genre slightly forward, however, and could lead to even further development in the future.