vun said:
Drathnoxis said:
vun said:
I prefer GW2 over WoW hands down, although I'm not gonna go too far into it since I prefer the original GW over GW2, and you don't want to get me started on that...
Actually, since I never played the original I wouldn't mind hearing about how Guild Wars compares with it's sequel if you felt like going into some detail about it.
Well, for starters I'd like to say that while I'm not too much of a fan of GW2, it's easily the best normal(read: wow-like) MMO I've played, but that's just another reason for my dislike of it.
GW was different, not really an MMO in the traditional sense(some argue it's not an MMO at all, and it's hard to disagree), and I love the way the leveling system works in GW. Getting to 20, which is max, can be done in a day with a Factions character, and that's where the fun starts. At 20 you finally have access to all the attribute points and can start throwing together your own builds, something you can't really do in GW2. Yes, you can fiddle with utility skills and traits, but it's not the same. The way GW2 is set up means that all chars will play pretty much the same.
In GW you have secondary professions, I can take a monk and use daggers and assassin skills, I can make a sword-wielding ritualist able to go toe-to-toe with warriors in CM PvP. GW2 forces you to pretty much play cookie cutter arr day erry day, no exciting variation. The party system in GW also meant you could come up with some funky combos, in GW2 the most you get is synergies or whatever they call it, which is random and unreliable at best, and doesn't require much coordination anyway because of all the spam.
Or, you can go a bit bonkers and try to make your own solo builds, and there's also room for farming. I know, there are arguments both for and against farming, but it's a nice and convenient way to make cash, whereas in GW2 the only way you can farm is by doing more of the same you're doing all the time anyway, you can't just walk up to a bunch of raptors or vaettir and make them all go kaboom.
This is just a rambly, not very well thought out rant on the differences between the games as I see them. I've got a fair amount of game time in GW2, and just about 10x more in GW(not much in WoW, got to level 24 or so), so if you want to discuss it even further then feel free to pm me, it's easier to put words to it in a conversation with more specific questions and whatnot.
I can feel where you're coming from, Vun; GW1 definitely felt more concisely structured (prime evidence being the damage formula); for example, if you wanted to look into it, you could find out near exactly how much damage you could do in a certain situation (meta-game even had you switch weapon sets to bring shields that lessened that damage). You know exactly what a skill does when you look at it; Executioner's Strike has +40 damage? It's going to simply add 40 points of damage to a swing (not-crit, of course). One of the most complicated skills I've found in the game, Spirit Bond, works exacly as it's stated; if you'd take X damage, you'll get Y life back. Lasts for 10 spells or attacks, or 8 seconds.
GW2 is different beast in that, while having less skills for your bar, they have more mechanics to find your variety with. Some are simple, like Fire Grab; make sure you have burning applied, and you'll do a ton of damage in one shot. But some skills take advantage of steath, some evade, apply contitions, stun or daze, some create effect fields, etc. (and I haven't even mentioned traits yet!) Over the year I've played GW2, I've come to think the basics of skill use boil down to doing more than just dealing damage; skills either give something back or create an opportunity. And of course, this encompasses attack skills, utility skills, and sometimes healing skills as well.
That's about it for my praise though; some skills can be buggy, and some mechanics are overpowered (multi-strike attacks are crazy strong and hard to counter), while some mechanics need buffs (Healing, for the love of the five, Anet, HEALING!!). GW2 needs work, but it's definitely a blast for me to learn (and continuing to learn) the capabilities of each profession; It still scratches a certain itch for me, to this day.
I find this comparison a bit funny too; those who prefer WoW tend to prefer the old mechanics of quests, end game content, and grind/farming; something GW2 tries very hard to deal away with. Won't even say that you're wrong in this (you're really not), but its quite explicit what GW2 attempted to do with these staples.
-quests/hearts system: Hate it if you'd like, it does it's job of letting you get to the action a small objective matter. Some quests can be beautifully written (I'm particularly fond of FFXIV's beta for this reason). But hell, I have more than 20 other RPGs to get through in my library; I think I get a little weary of reading a quest to understand it (it become so much more of a bummer in FFXIV that the quests sometimes boil down to 'kill 6 squirrels', after the options GW hearts give)
-Endgame: There's not much of an end-game because the game doesn't really end. There are constant updates; since spring, they've been monthly, and they not only update skills and fixes, but the story as well. There isn't much of a sense of progression in 'raiding' dungeons over and over either; it's not in the spirit of Guild Wars to gain prominence by superior equipment (a fact lost on many, even in GW2), which is what you do raids for, I guess.
-Grinds/farming: Ties in a bit from the last point, but you don't have much options for farming, since even mobs will roll you in sufficient numbers. The only good way to make money is to do the main activities of the game; exploration, story, dungeons, and WvW. It's like Anet was saying 'do something productive with your time!' ... as you play a video game.
