I think that GW2 and FF IV are the only two games i never played yet , GW2 looks great coz events features , but the problem is that every friend i´ve keepy saying bad things about GW2, like the craft system is terrible or the PVE is a joke, i really want to buy the game but in every forum about MMO´s there lot of posts saying S hit about how the game fail in lot of things.
Is it worth buy? or should i go straight to FFIV ? i like solo play and join small guilds without drama and big raids.
Hope that some GW2 vet can bring some "light" about end game and how PVE works.
Truth is, GW2 is one of those games people LOVE to hate on. It's really not a bad game, and indeed it's actually won some awards, and is generally recognized as a good game by the developer community.
That said, it's also not a traditional (orthodox) MMO. It does things differently. As such, if you go into the game expecting to play it like you have every other MMO, you WILL get dissapointed. And there in lies much of the problem.
In reality, many of the complaints people tend to make of the game. As well as most of the criticisms, come from this fact. People often criticize it for things like 'not having any real endgame', or 'a lack of progression', or 'not enough content', etc. Sound familiar? However, the game does have some issues.
The main issues with the game tend to be the following:
1) Anet focuses way too much on temporary content (living story). These tend to be hit or miss, but they all tend to feel VERY short-lived. The good ones are fun for a few days, then they turn into achievement grinds. The bad ones get ignored. What people really want from the game is a more permanent, significant content update. Perhaps even an expansion. So far Anet just refuses to entertain that idea, because it's different from the living story.
2) Anet put PvP on the backburner for way too long. They're now kind of playing catch-up. The PvP is still fun, but people wanted more out of it. Instead they got a few battlegrounds, and a WvW that had a lot of issues.
3) This one gets much less publicity than the previous two, but it's also important. The game does a poor job of distinguishing itself from the rest. It plays very differently, and requires a different mindset to enjoy. However, you enter a game with 80 lvls, and an apparent emphasis on progression, two things the game does not really center itself around.
- TL:DR inspite of the issues mentioned above, GW2 is still a steal at 60$ (I think it might even be down to 40? now). You never, ever have to spend another dime on the game if you don't want to. In fact, I have bought many things out of the gem store, but have not spent a single dime after the box price. I've used entirely in-game money to get cash-shop items.
It still has a healthy population, and some of the best community-created tools I have seen in any game.
But most importantly, if you like to explore, to discover things on your own, or enjoy creating custom character builds; this game will be amazing for you, for at least a month or two, if not longer. It really is a great game, that many people under-value.
Combat is more than just tank n spank. Even if you set yourself up to be able to take hits and heal through it, you can still be downed by a mob with a particularly strong attack, which is why they implemented the ability to actively dodge or block attacks. However, your blocks and dodges usually have a cooldown to them, so you can't simply dodge/block chain and avoid almost everything.
Crafting is ok. The absolute best items (ascended) will take you a very long time to craft, because they require so many different kinds of materials. However, these items only give you about a 5-10% increase in power, so they aren't absolutely needed. You can still get by in full exotic gear, and nobody has to know since they can't inspect you in the game.
Leveling for me is fun if I don't get stuck in doing one thing over and over. I have a lot of fun leveling a character when I mix things up, doing some renown hearts (which are like quest hubs), doing skill points, dynamic events that show up across the map, crafting, structured pvp, and World versus World.
Endgame, basically, is what you make it. There are no set "raids" for you to do, but there is plenty of world to explore, enemy realm players to defeat in World versus World, and dungeons to master. The main reason I do dungeons is to get items that have a more preferred appearance. However, your endgame may be different from mine. Many people have been brainwashed by almost every game out there that you need to beat the big bad boss at the end of a game, but I don't think a game necessarily needs that to be great, especially not an MMO.
With all that being said, I think they could have implemented Living Story in a much better way. That is really my main gripe with this game. Underwater combat also isn't that great but isn't that bad either.
In conclusion, GW2 is a solid buy if you aren't a hardcore raider and looking for a more relaxed experience in your MMO. It's much more solo-friendly but group players won't be left out if they find the right people to hang with.
I got bored with it faster then I expected. I suspect that it is because it feels like a neverending achievement bar race. You now log in to experience 'OI! DAILY ACHIEVEMENT FINISHING TIME, CHOPCHOP!' in your face with big arrows. I don't know. I think GW2 was the last MMO I was hyped for. Mainly because of Arenanet's vision back then and because I loved GW1. But somehow GW2 turned into some tacky neon plastic gimmicky achievement bar MMO. Every bloody single thing is expressed in some achievement progress bar.
The living story thing was kind of meh too. If you didn't play for a while it can feel as if you open a book halfway. Character progression is very shallow too. Funny enough it was in GW1 too, but then the game wasn't about that. in GW2 though, they spread a serious lack of character progression over 80 levels!
I miss virtual worlds and rpg in MMORPG's Keep your flashy achievement bars please.
I won't bash FFXIV I play it for the story and that's it. Everything else to me is lacking. But they are doing a good job each update addressing it all. I think I'll play again in the future but not right now. I shelved my series on it to. People called me a quitter on the FFXIV reddit. But I'm not the type to lie and carry on doing something I don't believe in.
As for GW2 I think people bash it because it's not GW1. I think most fans was under if it's not broke don't fix it. A-net throw that out and tried to be innovative. In some cases it worked a lot of areas it hasn't. Which has lead to loyal fans hate. And when the loyals start bashing. Pretty much a lot of people will start doing it.
Logging into GW2 just now.. GW2 is one of the best gaming values ever - and tons of fun. Its not limitless fun though. Once you get through level a few guys (the best leveling experience there is) You can come back for the living story which is hugely underrated.
GW2 might not be the best game ever but it its the most underrated game ever, IMHO.
I won't bash FFXIV I play it for the story and that's it. Everything else to me is lacking. But they are doing a good job each update addressing it all. I think I'll play again in the future but not right now. I shelved my series on it to. People called me a quitter on the FFXIV reddit. But I'm not the type to lie and carry on doing something I don't believe in.
As for GW2 I think people bash it because it's not GW1. I think most fans was under if it's not broke don't fix it. A-net throw that out and tried to be innovative. In some cases it worked a lot of areas it hasn't. Which has lead to loyal fans hate. And when the loyals start bashing. Pretty much a lot of people will start doing it.
I don't think the large majority of the people that bash GW2 do that because GW2 isn't GW1.
And GW1 had a very diverse players groups that were doing different things in GW1 and playing in a different way.
Probably the segment of GW1 players that complain the most about GW2 are GvGers, and they were a minority of GW1 population.
Currently playing: GW2 Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
If you want GW2 as a replacement for real life then it will probably dissappoint. If you're looking for a few hours of fun a day, then you can't get anything better than GW2 at the moment.
If you play in a group of a few people then you'll have it easy in regular PvE, true enough, only events will scale to the size of the group. If that's reason enough to not even try it, then so be it.
As to crafting being ****, I don't really see it as bad at all, since you can actually craft the best gear in the game unlike many other games where crafting is just plain useless. You could do a LOT worse if you like crafting. If all you like is crafting then maybe you'll find it lacking. You won't know till you try.
If you like to play a game where the dev dictates when, what content and how you should play their game, then GW2 is for you. Needless to say, until you come to that same conclusion as I did, GW2 is a ton of fun. If you never come to the point in which you feel the same way, all the power to you.
If you never see GW2 for its bland and genric pvp and wvw, its bad group play, its exploitable dungeon and boss designs, its cash shop driven updates to pve, but enjoy every aspect of its combat, its environments, its friendly community, its casual friendly orientation, its bad, but committed developer, GW2 might be a thing to you.
If you want to see how a dev lost their vision of a game, how bad it might be for a dev to grow and grow in headcount, how GW2 streamlined their game and totally destroyed any depth in the process, but still have fun to play the game, then GW2 is for you.
Sorry to sound negative, but that's how I feel about GW2 coming from GW1 and the glory days of ANet.
Whether you like any MMORPG right now depends mostly on how long you have played them.
I've played WoW since 2004. When I began, WoW was amazing and addictive. Now, all MMORPGs bore me because they resemble WoW too much and I have had enough of that style. Even though every MMORPG has its differences, they all resemble WoW too much.
I'm looking to Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen for my next adventures.
If those friends are your real life friends and actually know your like/dislikes in games then I would trust my friends opinion. In my case my rl friends know what I like.
As for forum poster you do not know personaly and they don't know you personaly it's kinda impossible for us to say which game you need to play. Sure we can try, but has it any true use if we don't know you personaly?
I would advice to try both game if you get the chance and then form a opinion if you don't trust the opinion of your friends.
Comments
Truth is, GW2 is one of those games people LOVE to hate on. It's really not a bad game, and indeed it's actually won some awards, and is generally recognized as a good game by the developer community.
That said, it's also not a traditional (orthodox) MMO. It does things differently. As such, if you go into the game expecting to play it like you have every other MMO, you WILL get dissapointed. And there in lies much of the problem.
In reality, many of the complaints people tend to make of the game. As well as most of the criticisms, come from this fact. People often criticize it for things like 'not having any real endgame', or 'a lack of progression', or 'not enough content', etc. Sound familiar? However, the game does have some issues.
The main issues with the game tend to be the following:
1) Anet focuses way too much on temporary content (living story). These tend to be hit or miss, but they all tend to feel VERY short-lived. The good ones are fun for a few days, then they turn into achievement grinds. The bad ones get ignored. What people really want from the game is a more permanent, significant content update. Perhaps even an expansion. So far Anet just refuses to entertain that idea, because it's different from the living story.
2) Anet put PvP on the backburner for way too long. They're now kind of playing catch-up. The PvP is still fun, but people wanted more out of it. Instead they got a few battlegrounds, and a WvW that had a lot of issues.
3) This one gets much less publicity than the previous two, but it's also important. The game does a poor job of distinguishing itself from the rest. It plays very differently, and requires a different mindset to enjoy. However, you enter a game with 80 lvls, and an apparent emphasis on progression, two things the game does not really center itself around.
- TL:DR inspite of the issues mentioned above, GW2 is still a steal at 60$ (I think it might even be down to 40? now). You never, ever have to spend another dime on the game if you don't want to. In fact, I have bought many things out of the gem store, but have not spent a single dime after the box price. I've used entirely in-game money to get cash-shop items.
It still has a healthy population, and some of the best community-created tools I have seen in any game.
But most importantly, if you like to explore, to discover things on your own, or enjoy creating custom character builds; this game will be amazing for you, for at least a month or two, if not longer. It really is a great game, that many people under-value.
Guild Wars 2, IMO, is a solid game.
Combat is more than just tank n spank. Even if you set yourself up to be able to take hits and heal through it, you can still be downed by a mob with a particularly strong attack, which is why they implemented the ability to actively dodge or block attacks. However, your blocks and dodges usually have a cooldown to them, so you can't simply dodge/block chain and avoid almost everything.
Crafting is ok. The absolute best items (ascended) will take you a very long time to craft, because they require so many different kinds of materials. However, these items only give you about a 5-10% increase in power, so they aren't absolutely needed. You can still get by in full exotic gear, and nobody has to know since they can't inspect you in the game.
Leveling for me is fun if I don't get stuck in doing one thing over and over. I have a lot of fun leveling a character when I mix things up, doing some renown hearts (which are like quest hubs), doing skill points, dynamic events that show up across the map, crafting, structured pvp, and World versus World.
Endgame, basically, is what you make it. There are no set "raids" for you to do, but there is plenty of world to explore, enemy realm players to defeat in World versus World, and dungeons to master. The main reason I do dungeons is to get items that have a more preferred appearance. However, your endgame may be different from mine. Many people have been brainwashed by almost every game out there that you need to beat the big bad boss at the end of a game, but I don't think a game necessarily needs that to be great, especially not an MMO.
With all that being said, I think they could have implemented Living Story in a much better way. That is really my main gripe with this game. Underwater combat also isn't that great but isn't that bad either.
In conclusion, GW2 is a solid buy if you aren't a hardcore raider and looking for a more relaxed experience in your MMO. It's much more solo-friendly but group players won't be left out if they find the right people to hang with.
I got bored with it faster then I expected. I suspect that it is because it feels like a neverending achievement bar race. You now log in to experience 'OI! DAILY ACHIEVEMENT FINISHING TIME, CHOPCHOP!' in your face with big arrows. I don't know. I think GW2 was the last MMO I was hyped for. Mainly because of Arenanet's vision back then and because I loved GW1. But somehow GW2 turned into some tacky neon plastic gimmicky achievement bar MMO. Every bloody single thing is expressed in some achievement progress bar.
The living story thing was kind of meh too. If you didn't play for a while it can feel as if you open a book halfway. Character progression is very shallow too. Funny enough it was in GW1 too, but then the game wasn't about that. in GW2 though, they spread a serious lack of character progression over 80 levels!
I miss virtual worlds and rpg in MMORPG's
Keep your flashy achievement bars please.
I won't bash FFXIV I play it for the story and that's it. Everything else to me is lacking. But they are doing a good job each update addressing it all. I think I'll play again in the future but not right now. I shelved my series on it to. People called me a quitter on the FFXIV reddit. But I'm not the type to lie and carry on doing something I don't believe in.
As for GW2 I think people bash it because it's not GW1. I think most fans was under if it's not broke don't fix it. A-net throw that out and tried to be innovative. In some cases it worked a lot of areas it hasn't. Which has lead to loyal fans hate. And when the loyals start bashing. Pretty much a lot of people will start doing it.
Logging into GW2 just now.. GW2 is one of the best gaming values ever - and tons of fun. Its not limitless fun though. Once you get through level a few guys (the best leveling experience there is) You can come back for the living story which is hugely underrated.
GW2 might not be the best game ever but it its the most underrated game ever, IMHO.
I don't think the large majority of the people that bash GW2 do that because GW2 isn't GW1.
And GW1 had a very diverse players groups that were doing different things in GW1 and playing in a different way.
Probably the segment of GW1 players that complain the most about GW2 are GvGers, and they were a minority of GW1 population.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
If you want GW2 as a replacement for real life then it will probably dissappoint. If you're looking for a few hours of fun a day, then you can't get anything better than GW2 at the moment.
If you play in a group of a few people then you'll have it easy in regular PvE, true enough, only events will scale to the size of the group. If that's reason enough to not even try it, then so be it.
As to crafting being ****, I don't really see it as bad at all, since you can actually craft the best gear in the game unlike many other games where crafting is just plain useless. You could do a LOT worse if you like crafting. If all you like is crafting then maybe you'll find it lacking. You won't know till you try.
If you like to play a game where the dev dictates when, what content and how you should play their game, then GW2 is for you. Needless to say, until you come to that same conclusion as I did, GW2 is a ton of fun. If you never come to the point in which you feel the same way, all the power to you.
If you never see GW2 for its bland and genric pvp and wvw, its bad group play, its exploitable dungeon and boss designs, its cash shop driven updates to pve, but enjoy every aspect of its combat, its environments, its friendly community, its casual friendly orientation, its bad, but committed developer, GW2 might be a thing to you.
If you want to see how a dev lost their vision of a game, how bad it might be for a dev to grow and grow in headcount, how GW2 streamlined their game and totally destroyed any depth in the process, but still have fun to play the game, then GW2 is for you.
Sorry to sound negative, but that's how I feel about GW2 coming from GW1 and the glory days of ANet.
Whether you like any MMORPG right now depends mostly on how long you have played them.
I've played WoW since 2004. When I began, WoW was amazing and addictive. Now, all MMORPGs bore me because they resemble WoW too much and I have had enough of that style. Even though every MMORPG has its differences, they all resemble WoW too much.
I'm looking to Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen for my next adventures.
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.
If those friends are your real life friends and actually know your like/dislikes in games then I would trust my friends opinion. In my case my rl friends know what I like.
As for forum poster you do not know personaly and they don't know you personaly it's kinda impossible for us to say which game you need to play. Sure we can try, but has it any true use if we don't know you personaly?
I would advice to try both game if you get the chance and then form a opinion if you don't trust the opinion of your friends.