Alright, sell me on guild wars 2

[00slash00]

so im interested in guild wars 2 but im still on the fence. now i like mmos, in theory, but i have yet to ever reach a level cap in any mmo and thats for one simple reason. boredom. the gameplay wears on me after a while. doing the same thing over and over again is only so fun for so long. the quests are another issue. i need a reason to care about what im doing. if im out fetching a dozen boar testicles, i need a damn good reason for doing it. as fun as terra online was, in terms of gameplay, the lack of an interesting story to keep me moving forward resulted in me uninstalling the game before my 1 week trial was even over. are the quests and combat more interesting in guild wars 2 than in other mmos? i know there are jumping puzzles to break things up but thats not a huge selling point for me since, from what ive seen, a lot of them are an exercise in frustration. another problem ive had in mmos is with grouping. i usually find little need to group with people unless is specifically required for a quest, and then i have to spend a while standing around typing "LFG" every 10 minutes. is this an issue in guild war 2?

thank you

 

[sanquin]

On questing:
Questing doesn't feel like I'm just doing the same thing over and over again. It is, as is with every mmorpg ever. But they manage to hide it, and change things up enough for it to feel different. Killing 20 centaurs in one area can feel different from having to do the same in another area. Plus there is reason to do most quests. At the very start there are very simple ones, but most quests have a good reason if you read from the heart npc a little bit.

On dynamic events:
This is great for you too I think. There is no need to group up, at all. As you automatically cooperate by doing your own thing. Everyone gets exp/loot for a kill, party or not. One thing though, many of the quests that involve one big guy require at least 2~3 people to work together. Even though event mobs scale down when you are with less people, going solo might not always work, or is at least very difficult.

Dungeons:
Dungeons do require partying. But only 5, even at max level. And you don't -need- to do them. Parties are usually easily found though as even people at lv 80 can still do the first dungeon at lv 30. This because they scale down in level for it. Plus they feel very rewarding. Bosses and even trash mobs are genuinely hard. Gives you more sense of accomplishment when you do progress further.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

You're asking people to repeat the same laundry-list of things that has already been mentioned a thousand times all over the internet about what GW2 has to offer and how it handles stuff like combat/questing/exploration/etc.
Read the reviews, watch the countless videos, read the criticism and do some work.

There is enough info on the web to fill a library when it comes to convincing people to make up their minds about GW2.

Killing 20 centaurs in one area can feel different from having to do the same in another area.

Keep in mind that at no point does the game tell you to kill X amount of anything. In fact you can finish a lot of hearts without killing a single mob (albeit it'll be a bit slower). Every "quest" (i.e. heart) gives you a variety of things you can do to finish it - so in case of centaurs, you could do any combination of destroying centaur seige weapons, freeing prisoners captured by centaurs or sneaking centaur weapons back to camp. All of those things fill up your "bar" which will count towards completing the heart.

It means the fastest way to finish quests to actively LOOK for all the opportunities to complete the quest (reading the description and seeing what stuff you can do), instead of just endlessly waiting for centaurs to spawn so you can kill them.

For example, a heart like "Help this town prepare for the upcoming celebration". You can: remove graffiti/messes on the walls, talk to children and encourage them to do some work to help, clean-up wasps' nests, etc. All those activities will contribute towards the quest. While I was doing the quest I spotted a skill challenge - a Knight who was boasting nobody could defeat him. So I challenged him (I was alone) and got fucking destroyed because I failed to kite him around properly. On my second attempt I beat him, which not only filled a big chunk of my heart's progress bar, but also gave me a fat load of XP. Neat.

 

[Smertnik]

Why would we? We aren't A-net's marketing department. As stated above there's more than enough very detailed information available about everything you're asking about, just one Google search away.

 

[Erttheking]

I would recommend watching Angry Joe's review. He gives it a 10/10, and he's only done that for two other games (Red Dead Redemption and Skyrim)

 

[00slash00]

Why would we? We aren't A-net's marketing department. As stated above there's more than enough very detailed information available about everything you're asking about, just one Google search away.

i have. i mean many sites havent posted reviews about it yet but what i have learned from videos and articles all seemed to either vaguely touch on the stuff i was talking about but not really go into detail, or simply give me information that conflicted with what i had heard from other sources. thats why i asked here, because i was hoping i could just directly ask the people who have played the game, rather than continue to weed trough random reviews in hopes that i would get in information i wanted

 

[SlaveNumber23]

The simple fact is that its not like other mmos, exploring and completing all of the different zones is actually interesting and there are many things to mix up the gameplay, such as platforming sections. Its not so much "Oh I have to grind all this content to max level and THEN I can play the game". Additionally, the pvp is a ton of fun and very fair, everyone is put on an even playing field. You can just start up a new character and without even getting a single point of experience for them you can jump right into the pvp and start having fun, without having to reach max level first.

Why would we? We aren't A-net's marketing department. As stated above there's more than enough very detailed information available about everything you're asking about, just one Google search away.

Maybe because A-net's marketing department has the biased purpose of selling the game while a person giving their opinion is more likely to give honest information about the game. There isn't any harm in seeking more opinions, if you don't want to help out then just don't and leave it at that.

 

[Ganath]

i have. i mean many sites havent posted reviews about it yet but what i have learned from videos and articles all seemed to either vaguely touch on the stuff i was talking about but not really go into detail, or simply give me information that conflicted with what i had heard from other sources. thats why i asked here, because i was hoping i could just directly ask the people who have played the game, rather than continue to weed trough random reviews in hopes that i would get in information i wanted

Which is, sadly a pointless endevour because you'd need to weed through the hype. It isn't any more reliable than reviews. I've heard the PvP is shit from several sources, that's all I can offer on the game I'm afraid. I don't play it. That's not a very solid opinion, indeed. In fact, it might not even be true, I don't really know. My opinion of the game is neutral.

*Huddles up and looks forward to Mists instead*

Meh, I still recommend WoW. But that wasn't the point of this thread, so I'll leave anything such out.

 

[Tanis]

I'd love to play this game but I can barely run GalCiv2 on medium, let alone a game like this.

 

[gideonkain]

My curiosity finally got the better of me and I bought it today - its the best MMORPG that's ever been AND it's the same old thing all over again.

If you've played WoW to death and have a love/hate relationship with it than Guild Wars is the next logical step.

Instead of having to click through all the text to get your quest from the quest hub, you simply walk into an area and complete any number of objectives over the course of a few minutes, then you get your reward.

Instead of players killing all your rats, you all kill the rats together...its like your in a group with every player on the server.

When you start you have 5 moves, all determined by the specific weapon your holding, you can't rearrange your bar and their are no "consumables" as far as I can tell, so no potion popping, or buffing your fire resistance (who did that anyways?)

 

[Kimozabi]

You probably won't find what you're looking for in GW2 regarding quests. While the personal story is very nice, interesting and branching, most of your time is spent doing things having nothing to do with that. Public events are the name of the game, and there you get to collect tons of X and kill tons of Y - with nothing more than a text block to contextualize it.

Grouping, however, is another story. Normal MMORPG's makes other people competitors for quest mobs etc, but in GW2 you'll wish to find people to do activities with. The public events encourage natural grouping like no other MMORPG ever, which is awesome.
You'll want to group, and it'll happen naturally. GW2 blows every other MMORPG away in this regard.
The game is designed for people to be helpful, and it really shows.

 

[00slash00]

Like MMOs but never reach the level cap from boredom. Sounds to me you are breaking the #1 rule of playing an MMO. You are playing alone.

Imagine it like Borderlands. Alone it's an ok game that can get a lil boring and repetative. With other people it's the greatest thing you will ever do sitting at your computer. While WoW has group mechanics in pace, it is entirely possible to play that game alone. GW2 kinda forces you into playing with other people.

hahaha i played borerlands alone too

anyway, yeah i usually play mmos alone. the only time i ever do groups is if its a quest that says i should have at least x number of people doing this with me. i just never had friends that i just consistently grouped with and instead always just did it when it was completely necessary. sounds to me that this isnt an issue with guild war 2 since, based on what people have said, you are pretty much automatically in a group if someone near you is doing the same quest

 

[00slash00]

On questing:
Questing doesn't feel like I'm just doing the same thing over and over again. It is, as is with every mmorpg ever. But they manage to hide it, and change things up enough for it to feel different. Killing 20 centaurs in one area can feel different from having to do the same in another area. Plus there is reason to do most quests. At the very start there are very simple ones, but most quests have a good reason if you read from the heart npc a little bit.

On dynamic events:
This is great for you too I think. There is no need to group up, at all. As you automatically cooperate by doing your own thing. Everyone gets exp/loot for a kill, party or not. One thing though, many of the quests that involve one big guy require at least 2~3 people to work together. Even though event mobs scale down when you are with less people, going solo might not always work, or is at least very difficult.

Dungeons:
Dungeons do require partying. But only 5, even at max level. And you don't -need- to do them. Parties are usually easily found though as even people at lv 80 can still do the first dungeon at lv 30. This because they scale down in level for it. Plus they feel very rewarding. Bosses and even trash mobs are genuinely hard. Gives you more sense of accomplishment when you do progress further.

okay so based on what youre saying, when doing regular quests i never have to look for a group? i just walk around like im questing solo and will basically be automatically in a group because i will be sharing xp and loot with those near me, even if we arent even paying attention to one another? it also seems like dungeons are the only time i would have to actively look for a group, is that correct?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

the gameplay wears on me after a while. doing the same thing over and over again is only so fun for so long.

Like every other form of recreation on the planet, the MMO is not immune from repetition or boredom, and if you play it over a long enough time you will eventually get bored. This is inevitable. GW2 is not a panacea which can be tirelessly enjoyed forever. If you're the sort of person who kills 5 centaurs and screams "I HATE GRINDING" however, then I suggest putting aside MMOs and possibly RPGs as well forever.

i need a reason to care about what im doing.

What makes you care? A rich, fully detailed story with amazing voice acting and potent characterizations? There's none of that here. If you like setting your own goals, there's lots of stuff to set goals for. I for one love exploration, so getting 100% world completion is a big goal for me. Your mileage may vary.

are the quests and combat more interesting in guild wars 2 than in other mmos?

More interesting how? They are more "dynamic". You don't accept them. You just blunder into them, contribute, and then move along without ever needing to hand anything in. It feels very free and organic. However, there is not significantly more context or storyboarding here than elsewhere. These are monsters. You kill them because they are DOING THINGS.

another problem ive had in mmos is with grouping. i usually find little need to group with people unless is specifically required for a quest, and then i have to spend a while standing around typing "LFG" every 10 minutes. is this an issue in guild war 2?

This is the great boon of GW2, and arguably the one way in which it has truly revolutionized the genre. There is no more forced grouping, and no more passive competition with other people. Is there a gathering node? You all get to gather from it. Is there a mob? Everyone who tags it gets an equal share of loot and XP. People nearby? They share your buffs and can use your combo fields, and you share theirs. No need to formally group with anyone outside of dungeons, and those groups are never more than 5 people, and are wholly optional.

Do I think GW2 is right for you? Eh...maybe? You seem very hell bent on having some "purpose" crammed into your MMO, and the ultimate goal here is to play the game and have some fun doing it. The story is pretty flimsy, but the world is huge and gorgeous and a joy to explore. Given there is no fee, I think it's worth taking a flier on even if you're on the fence, unless there's something competing for your gaming dollar.

 

[00slash00]

Well, if I go by this review I can't sell you on that at all.

hahaha sold!

 

[sanquin]

okay so based on what youre saying, when doing regular quests i never have to look for a group? i just walk around like im questing solo and will basically be automatically in a group because i will be sharing xp and loot with those near me, even if we arent even paying attention to one another? it also seems like dungeons are the only time i would have to actively look for a group, is that correct?

Basically, yes.

Though I will say that people are more helpful with this system too. I've had plenty of times that someone saw me having trouble with a mob, and even though they were just walking by, came to help. Ressing other players gives a bit of exp, so people are more inclined to put you on your feet again as well.

 

[Fappy]

I don't know, it's okay I guess. I've had it since launch and haven't played it all that much. I'm thinking I'm just not really interested in MMO's that much anymore >.>

 

[Weaver]

People keep telling me it's good but I'm still seeing no reason in how it's better from other MMOs really, besides no sub fee. IS the combat tab targeting? I'd like to see it compared to, say, Ragnarok Online; my favourite MMO ever.

Though of course, you can't buy the regular game online anymore as they're "sold out" and, as such, you need to now by the $150 collectors edition. That doesn't really put me in the best of moods with A-net.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

People keep telling me it's good but I'm still seeing no reason in how it's better from other MMOs really, besides no sub fee. I'd like to see it compared to, say, Ragnarok Online; my favourite MMO ever.

Though of course, you can't buy the regular game online anymore as they're "sold out" and, as such, you need to now by the $150 collectors edition. That doesn't really put me in the best of moods with A-net.

They re-opened digital sales a couple of days ago. And you were never restricted to the collector's edition. You were restricted to keys that had already been distributed to retailers.

As for the Ragnorok Online thing...uh...to each their own I suppose.

 

[Blunderboy]

Why would we? We aren't A-net's marketing department. As stated above there's more than enough very detailed information available about everything you're asking about, just one Google search away.

Yeah, I get annoyed at these threads. Play it or don't OP. I honestly don't care either way.