Guild wars VS WoW VS TERA VS FF14 - NEED HELP

[Azuazu]

So I've been in the market for a new game recently and I'm honestly at a loss. I see pros and cons to most new mmos but I'm just really not sure where to go. I was hoping some of you would have some advice/insight on some of these games as I have not played some and am not sure ALL they have to offer.

WoW:
Pros: I have like 4 85s, I've been playing it for a long time up until the firelands patch. I am very familiar with the game and know what I'm getting into.

Cons: I was never too much a fan of the MoP direction they took it. (just my opinion, don't flame the thread because of this). I am willing to give it a shot, but it does scare me a little all the changes I read about. It almost seems like the game is completely different.
The sub fee is of course another con.


Guild Wars:
Pros: I haven't played it but I read good things about it. A LOT of people like the game and it seems innovative. Also how I don't have to feel how I'm falling behind in this game because I work a lot.

Cons: No free trial so I cannot test it. I have no idea of knowing if I will like it and I would really rather not drop cash when I'm not sure.

TERA:
Pros: I really like the fighting system and the graphics are amazing! I have a pretty powerful desktop so I don't really get lag in games. They have a free trial which I am currently playing, so I know I do like the game. Also lolis <3

Cons: The servers seem kinda empty so I'm not sure how popular it is and how their community/economy is doing. It has a sub fee which I do not like.

FF14:
Pros: I already bought it back at release. The new update which changes the game completely sounds pretty good.

Cons: It was bad at launch. BAD




Any additional game recomendations would be appreciated. I like the fantasy genre and aesthetics are of some importance as well as server populations, community, economy, and overall fun factor.

[Deleted]

My own takes on the first three (I have no views on the fourth), as diplomatically as I can put them:

WoW:
I, too, was concerned where Blizzard was taking MoP, and I was (as I'd like to call it) cautiously pessimistic. After doing lots (15+ hrs) of research, I'm glad to say they didn't overdo it as I expected them to, and many of the "features" that were advertised and which I expected to be blown out of proportions (pet battles and farming, to name two quick ones) are implemented subtly and reasonably. I've recently resubscribed. My one concern at this point is longevity, and that concern is something I expect will stay with me for a long time due to DS for a near full year.

GW2:
If you like single player RPGs, you ought to give GW2 a try. People who play it as a single player experience, just leveling their character, enjoying the story, having fun in PvP, exploring, playing with friends, and being happy if they've spent their $60 and can have fun for 100-200 hours are usually happy with their purchase. Those who go into GW2 and play it like "just another MMO", however, powerlevel to the level cap without enjoying the journey and then turn around saying "where's my exclusive endgame content?" GW2 isn't built for that kind of gameplay, and if that's what you're looking for in a game, GW2 most likely isn't your style.

TERA:
Can't really say much about the actual gameplay from personal experiences, but as with most korean-developed MMOs, it's all about the grind. I like the idea of manually aiming ranged attacks. However, I wouldn't get it simply because I'm still unsure whether or not the Elin (in-game race) would constitute child pornography in the Swedish justice system. Yeah, we've got some f-ed up rules.

[potis]

Guild Wars:
Pros: I haven't played it but I read good things about it. A LOT of people like the game and it seems innovative. Also how I don't have to feel how I'm falling behind in this game because I work a lot.

Cons: No free trial so I cannot test it. I have no idea of knowing if I will like it and I would really rather not drop cash when I'm not sure.

I cant tell you if you will like it, but the game is like this.

You level by running around, doing events and objectives over the map, there are no standard quests to return to, the "quests" are shown as Hearts in the map, and its generally like this:

You are around this camp area, gather this and that, or kill this (Generally says the race/faction anything works even if there are 10 types of mobs there), or gather that and bring it to me, or move that there, generally 5-10 objectives to complete the quest.

That quest system, made me despise WoW the moment i started leveling in MoP last week, the old way of running back to deliver the quests is so bad now ;D

If you like completing maps, GW2 is for you, generally the game works like this..You level properly if you explore the areas fully, there are place called "Points of Interest" which is like "XXXXX Cave" "XXXXX camp" etc, those places usually have a couple of events around them, or more that you generally want to do to not fall back in the leveling.

Also there are multiple areas to level at, not only 1, as example most races have their own 1-25 areas, so thats like 6-8 areas by themselves, then like 2-3 for each level range, like 20-30 x2 25-35x2 35-45x1 30-40 etc, you can move around.

The endgame dungeons scale from "Hard" to "Easy" depending how good you are, how quick you adapt, how well you dodge, there is no tanking, apart from natural aggro in the sense of "IF ITS CHASING YOU, RUN!" , there are some easier dungeons, and very fast, and some very long ones, that are literally huge, think of like half-Blackrock depths if you started it and did it properly with the arena and then the golem side, then the vault side, etc etc, you get my point if you really know Blackrock Depths.

Endgame in GW2 = Gear up what you want or multiple sets, like a full glass cannon set, a "tanking set" (Defense and stamina gear basically instead of damage and critical which is the glass cannon gear) and PvP in WvW or farm dungeons for looks, depending what you want to look as.

[mafao]

Guild Wars:
Pros: I haven't played it but I read good things about it. A LOT of people like the game and it seems innovative. Also how I don't have to feel how I'm falling behind in this game because I work a lot.

Cons: No free trial so I cannot test it. I have no idea of knowing if I will like it and I would really rather not drop cash when I'm not sure.

If you want progression raiding or any other kind of bimodal endgame (where the game changes when you get to the level cap), you won't like GW2. It is a streamlined game without bimodal endgame (the levelling and the endgame content are exactly the same).

[inboundpaper]

I split my time between wow, GW2, and probably SWTOR when it goes f2p. Try splitting time, just playing one game at a time will burn you out.

[Profyrion]

These kind of game comparisons usually aren't very productive.

Ultimately you're going to have to make up your own damn mind. No one here can do that for you.

[Sj]

These discussions never end well. Like Profyrion said, you'll have to make the choice for yourself.