Is Guild Wars 2 for me?

[harhis23]

It totally depends on what genre of game you are into. Just because your friends don't it like doesn't mean you don't it, too. Well, you should try it to know if it's for you. the thing is millions of gamers around the world are dying to play GW2 each day. That would be enough to conclude the game is good or at least worth-trying.

[Eyedol]

While the graphics and unique looking world are great, its really let down by clunky gameplay and lack of meaningful character progression IMO. It got to a point during levelling my Necromancer where I stopped spending my skill points because 90% of the choices sucked. Spending my traits was also really tough, not because there was so many cool new spells/abilities and I couldn't decide which one I wanted (like in every other MMO I've played), but the opposite - they were all pretty much terrible so it was more a case of deciding "which is the least worst out of the choices available" which is really bad when it comes to progression, ie. whats the incentive of levelling up when the rewards are so lackluster. Traits like "cast a poison cloud when taking falling damage" - how is something like that even remotely useful? Add to that the fact that your level is adjusted based on the zone so you never really feel more powerful when levelling. I did try a few other professions in which I had the same issue with traits/skills so I know its not just the Necromancer.

The reason I pushed on though, was the great looking zones - they really are the best part of the game. But they also require a lot of other players in them to really get the most out of them. In the first month when there were tons of players the game was brilliant and although there were all the problems with my character I could overlook that as the feeling I got from exploring the zones and participating in huge group quests was just fantastic. But now I find when going back to these zones, they are completely deserted - I might see one other player an hour if I'm lucky. Mobs don't seem to have gotten the memo though and still respawn almost immediately after they die which makes exploring areas now an incredible PITA. "Ohh I wonder whats in this cave - Oh a point of interest! Ahh a mob, better spam one button for 30 seconds to kill it. Ok, now I'll first just mine this gold here and... wtf the mob is back? Oh and my pets are terrible and aggroed another 3 mobs I killed a minute ago? FFS! *logout*"

[Arajal]

While the graphics and unique looking world are great, its really let down by clunky gameplay and lack of meaningful character progression IMO. It got to a point during levelling my Necromancer where I stopped spending my skill points because 90% of the choices sucked. Spending my traits was also really tough, not because there was so many cool new spells/abilities and I couldn't decide which one I wanted (like in every other MMO I've played), but the opposite - they were all pretty much terrible so it was more a case of deciding "which is the least worst out of the choices available" which is really bad when it comes to progression, ie. whats the incentive of levelling up when the rewards are so lackluster. Traits like "cast a poison cloud when taking falling damage" - how is something like that even remotely useful? Add to that the fact that your level is adjusted based on the zone so you never really feel more powerful when levelling. I did try a few other professions in which I had the same issue with traits/skills so I know its not just the Necromancer.

The reason I pushed on though, was the great looking zones - they really are the best part of the game. But they also require a lot of other players in them to really get the most out of them. In the first month when there were tons of players the game was brilliant and although there were all the problems with my character I could overlook that as the feeling I got from exploring the zones and participating in huge group quests was just fantastic. But now I find when going back to these zones, they are completely deserted - I might see one other player an hour if I'm lucky. Mobs don't seem to have gotten the memo though and still respawn almost immediately after they die which makes exploring areas now an incredible PITA. "Ohh I wonder whats in this cave - Oh a point of interest! Ahh a mob, better spam one button for 30 seconds to kill it. Ok, now I'll first just mine this gold here and... wtf the mob is back? Oh and my pets are terrible and aggroed another 3 mobs I killed a minute ago? FFS! *logout*"

It sounds like a lot of your frustration stems less from the game in general and more from the necromancer class. Have you given any of the other classes a whirl?

[Eyedol]

It sounds like a lot of your frustration stems less from the game in general and more from the necromancer class. Have you given any of the other classes a whirl?

I tried the Elementalist but found it too squishy and the damage wasn't there to make up for it. Basically any 1 vs 2+ situation I ended up dead. Tried ranger but I was literally spamming one ability and I was bored by level 10. I made sure I played long enough to test out all their abilities and check out their traits & skills and nothing in them was particularly interesting. Necro *was* fun up until about level 40, it has great survivability at least which is pretty important when you are facing wave after wave of instantly respawning mobs out in the world.

In games like Rift and WoW picking a class to play was a challenge for me as I liked them all, but in GW2 it was a challenge just to find a class that I could put up with for 80 levels. After speaking with friends, I know I'm certainly not the only one who felt that way.

[Lokann]

In games like Rift and WoW picking a class to play was a challenge for me as I liked them all, but in GW2 it was a challenge just to find a class that I could put up with for 80 levels. After speaking with friends, I know I'm certainly not the only one who felt that way.

I know that feeling. I just felt like all of them (once you've learned how to dodge and kite stuff properly) boil down to MASH 2 3 4, KEEP MASHING 1 UNTIL THINGS FALL OFF COOLDOWN. I know a fair number of people who told me that's what's fun about the system, but I just... dunno, didn't feel like I was facing any form of threat at all. Then again, I've always prefered the more tactical genres to action games.

That, coupled with how I honestly dislike all non-Charr playable models made me not particularily keen to pick up the game again.

[Odeezee]

While the graphics and unique looking world are great, its really let down by clunky gameplay and lack of meaningful character progression IMO. It got to a point during levelling my Necromancer where I stopped spending my skill points because 90% of the choices sucked. Spending my traits was also really tough, not because there was so many cool new spells/abilities and I couldn't decide which one I wanted (like in every other MMO I've played), but the opposite - they were all pretty much terrible so it was more a case of deciding "which is the least worst out of the choices available" which is really bad when it comes to progression, ie. whats the incentive of levelling up when the rewards are so lackluster. Traits like "cast a poison cloud when taking falling damage" - how is something like that even remotely useful? Add to that the fact that your level is adjusted based on the zone so you never really feel more powerful when levelling. I did try a few other professions in which I had the same issue with traits/skills so I know its not just the Necromancer.

The reason I pushed on though, was the great looking zones - they really are the best part of the game. But they also require a lot of other players in them to really get the most out of them. In the first month when there were tons of players the game was brilliant and although there were all the problems with my character I could overlook that as the feeling I got from exploring the zones and participating in huge group quests was just fantastic. But now I find when going back to these zones, they are completely deserted - I might see one other player an hour if I'm lucky. Mobs don't seem to have gotten the memo though and still respawn almost immediately after they die which makes exploring areas now an incredible PITA. "Ohh I wonder whats in this cave - Oh a point of interest! Ahh a mob, better spam one button for 30 seconds to kill it. Ok, now I'll first just mine this gold here and... wtf the mob is back? Oh and my pets are terrible and aggroed another 3 mobs I killed a minute ago? FFS! *logout*"

I tried the Elementalist but found it too squishy and the damage wasn't there to make up for it. Basically any 1 vs 2+ situation I ended up dead. Tried ranger but I was literally spamming one ability and I was bored by level 10. I made sure I played long enough to test out all their abilities and check out their traits & skills and nothing in them was particularly interesting. Necro *was* fun up until about level 40, it has great survivability at least which is pretty important when you are facing wave after wave of instantly respawning mobs out in the world.

In games like Rift and WoW picking a class to play was a challenge for me as I liked them all, but in GW2 it was a challenge just to find a class that I could put up with for 80 levels. After speaking with friends, I know I'm certainly not the only one who felt that way.

this really sounds like a user issue through and through to me. there is one thing i have learned from many players who play traditional MMOs that try to play GW2: they are not as good as they thought they were. because GW2 forces you to be proactive and does not coddle you as much and requires twitch gameplay to be the most effective and an actual understanding of the nuances of your profession, thus people just don't adapt well. i play a Necro and i have a very hard time dying in PvE, WvW or tPvP and i relish the challenge of fast respawning mobs because it actually means i have to try. now there are some legitimate issues such as Axe being severely weakened prior to release but since then the devs have been rapidly working to bring the professions in line, dagger was improved as an example, much faster than Rift and WoW and there are more things to come in Jan/Feb so i am optimistic, not to mention the devs have been exceedingly transparent about most of their development philosophies and future planning.

the fact that you equate Traits with Talents indicates to me that you do not actually understand what they do, talents in traditional MMOs give you different skills in exclusion of others, whereas in GW2 Traits augment skills you choose to use while having the option to choose other skills not augmented by your traits. another indicator is the fact that you think Eles are squishy, then you also said they lack damage, at that point i don't know what more can be said if that is your thinking. it is very clear that we see this game very differently, there is no EJ or cookie cutter builds that do it all like in WoW/Rift/SWTOR so when people actually have to read and comprehend and see how different traits and skills not only augment skills but also compliment each other, people just throw in the towel and claim the game sucks. haha, so sad.

[Lazuli]

It made you pick up WoW? That is some compulsion. Why would you go back to a game that you had no intention of playing again?

Playing other MMO's really makes you realize just how good WoW is, just how it works. I honestly thought I hated the game too until GW2 came out and this would be the first "hype-train" I ever hop on and boy was it disappointing. Nothing in it was anything like GW1 and the removal of healers is total dogshit it feels like a single player game not an MMO at all. Not to mention ANet forcing everyone into the gem store by nerfing every farm. Builds... where are they? You play the same skills 24/7 with zero variety. This isn't GW. Game is boring as fuuuck and pvp is total garbage. Lol e-sports... yea right.

At least Blizzard doesn't hide the fact they are greedy slobs that gladly take my 15 a month. ANet are a bunch of lying douche bags, and I used to be one of their biggest fan boys.

[Doozerjun]

Playing other MMO's really makes you realize just how good WoW is, just how it works.

Pretty much did the opposite to me. I could only last a day in MoP, I just found it terrible. But I don't go to those forums and complain about the game (like some folks do here).

[Vivek]

I'm really interested in the game, like really really interested. The thing is that none of my gamer friends are into MMOs. So the question is if Guild Wars 2 will still be fun for me without my buds playing with me.

Yes, it will.

You will make friends online whilst playing, the community is better than WoW's and the setup of the game is meant to encourage working together rather than pushing and putting people down while leveling up. It's a friendly game to get into and doesn't require you login every damn week to stay competitive. You play when you want and how much you want, theres no "penalty" for not playing like in WOW. Theres no gear grind like in other MMOs, you play what you enjoy and because you enjoy it.

You will love it. Give it a shot.

---------- Post added 2012-12-19 at 01:08 AM ----------

Playing other MMO's really makes you realize just how good WoW is, just how it works.

the removal of healers is total dogshit it feels like a single player game not an MMO at all.

Guess Guild Wars 2 just isn't the game for you though, you already knew they're not focusing on a game dedicated to the "trinity" among other details. Sure GW2 has it's faults, and those may turn people away, but at the end of the day its also a different game with a very different set of mechanics that sets itself apart from regular MMOs and that may not be for everyone. It just seems to me, from reading your post, that with you its more of your preference for the standard MMO style (wow/rift/swtor) than a game like GW2. Nothing wrong with that but that really isn't an issue with GW2, thats just your personal preference of what kind of MMOs you like.

At least Blizzard doesn't hide the fact they are greedy slobs that gladly take my 15 a month. ANet are a bunch of lying douche bags, and I used to be one of their biggest fan boys.

They charge you for expansions, which they use to develop content and release it slowly over the course of 2 years. More than half of what they charge you for subs goes to development of other projects plus in developing pets/mounts for sale on their shop (instead of putting them in the game you're subbed to), proceeds from which are in turn used in the same manner. Haven't you ever wondered why hardly any content seems to be coming out in the 2nd year of an expac and how/why the events, pvp content, etc all seem to pretty much stay the same for years without any development?

You wouldn't call this duplicity? Hell every company is out to make a buck.

Atleast ArenaNet puts everything you're actually paying for in fine print while making their obvious profit making intentions quite clear.

[Eyedol]

this really sounds like a user issue through and through to me. there is one thing i have learned from many players who play traditional MMOs that try to play GW2: they are not as good as they thought they were. because GW2 forces you to be proactive and does not coddle you as much and requires twitch gameplay to be the most effective and an actual understanding of the nuances of your profession, thus people just don't adapt well. i play a Necro and i have a very hard time dying in PvE, WvW or tPvP and i relish the challenge of fast respawning mobs because it actually means i have to try. now there are some legitimate issues such as Axe being severely weakened prior to release but since then the devs have been rapidly working to bring the professions in line, dagger was improved as an example, much faster than Rift and WoW and there are more things to come in Jan/Feb so i am optimistic, not to mention the devs have been exceedingly transparent about most of their development philosophies and future planning.

the fact that you equate Traits with Talents indicates to me that you do not actually understand what they do, talents in traditional MMOs give you different skills in exclusion of others, whereas in GW2 Traits augment skills you choose to use while having the option to choose other skills not augmented by your traits. another indicator is the fact that you think Eles are squishy, then you also said they lack damage, at that point i don't know what more can be said if that is your thinking. it is very clear that we see this game very differently, there is no EJ or cookie cutter builds that do it all like in WoW/Rift/SWTOR so when people actually have to read and comprehend and see how different traits and skills not only augment skills but also compliment each other, people just throw in the towel and claim the game sucks. haha, so sad.

I rarely ever die as a necro. I take on 5+ mobs no issues. I can't even recall the last time I entered a down state (not including PvP and dungeons obviously). I have been playing MMOs for over a decade, I'm not a noob like you seem to be insinuating. I never have any issue taking on veteran mobs. Even most champion mobs aren't that bad but just take *ages* to kill. My problem is taking on respawning mobs constantly while trying to explore isn't *hard*, its simply annoying. They offer no challenge but are constantly thrust in player's faces by the rediculous spawn timers and the fact that being down levelled wherever you go means you must spend the time to engage them. Add to that 90% of combat comes down to you spamming one button for 30 seconds it just got flat out boring. The problems I have with the game all come down to almost the exact opposite of what you are trying to argue - GW2 profession mechanics are too simplistic and dull to keep any gamer not new to MMOs interested for more than a few weeks. 5 abilities usable at any one time per weapon, 1 healing skill, 3 utility skills and one elite skill is hardly what I'd call complex, seems more like Arenanet was trying to cater to the COD kiddies by dumbing down combat as much as possible. Ohh they added a dodge mechanic? Big deal. I play MMOs for their complexity and deep character progression. I quit WoW in WOTLK when they started dumbing everything down and I enjoy Rift because the soul system is pretty complex. Whereas GW2 lacks any real gameplay complexity or character development.

Also you talk about ArenaNet being on the ball when it comes to updates. Have you actually used pets as a Necro? Do you honestly think they are fine the way they are? They haven't been touched since launch. The fact pets are such a big part of the Necro profession and have been in their current state since launch tells me the devs are either incompetent or just don't care.

I understand exactly what traits do in GW2, I simply pointed out 90% of them are lackluster. And the fact you think talents in other MMOs just "give you different skills to the exclusion of others" means you must not play many other MMOs. All talent trees I have used in every other MMO I've played contain a mix of talents that augment abilities as well as offer new abilities - just like GW2 - the difference being that most of the time talents in other games are somewhat interesting.

Look, you are obviously a big GW2 fan and want to defend your game's failings - I get that. But I think the fact that the vast majority of players who bought this game just a couple of months ago at launch and are no longer playing really says it all. Log on any world any time of day - the game is dead.

[Eyedol]

this really sounds like a user issue through and through to me. there is one thing i have learned from many players who play traditional MMOs that try to play GW2: they are not as good as they thought they were. because GW2 forces you to be proactive and does not coddle you as much and requires twitch gameplay to be the most effective and an actual understanding of the nuances of your profession, thus people just don't adapt well. i play a Necro and i have a very hard time dying in PvE, WvW or tPvP and i relish the challenge of fast respawning mobs because it actually means i have to try. now there are some legitimate issues such as Axe being severely weakened prior to release but since then the devs have been rapidly working to bring the professions in line, dagger was improved as an example, much faster than Rift and WoW and there are more things to come in Jan/Feb so i am optimistic, not to mention the devs have been exceedingly transparent about most of their development philosophies and future planning.

the fact that you equate Traits with Talents indicates to me that you do not actually understand what they do, talents in traditional MMOs give you different skills in exclusion of others, whereas in GW2 Traits augment skills you choose to use while having the option to choose other skills not augmented by your traits. another indicator is the fact that you think Eles are squishy, then you also said they lack damage, at that point i don't know what more can be said if that is your thinking. it is very clear that we see this game very differently, there is no EJ or cookie cutter builds that do it all like in WoW/Rift/SWTOR so when people actually have to read and comprehend and see how different traits and skills not only augment skills but also compliment each other, people just throw in the towel and claim the game sucks. haha, so sad.

I rarely ever die as a necro. I take on 5+ mobs no issues. I can't even recall the last time I entered a down state (not including PvP and dungeons obviously). I have been playing MMOs for over a decade, I'm not a noob like you seem to be insinuating. I never have any issue taking on veteran mobs. Even most champion mobs aren't that bad but just take *ages* to kill. My problem is taking on respawning mobs constantly while trying to explore isn't *hard*, its simply annoying. They offer no challenge but are constantly thrust in player's faces by the rediculous spawn timers and the fact that being down levelled wherever you go means you must spend the time to engage them. Add to that 90% of combat comes down to you spamming one button for 30 seconds it just got flat out boring. The problems I have with the game all come down to almost the exact opposite of what you are trying to argue - GW2 profession mechanics are too simplistic and dull to keep any gamer not new to MMOs interested for more than a few weeks. 5 abilities usable at any one time per weapon, 1 healing skill, 3 utility skills and one elite skill is hardly what I'd call complex, seems more like Arenanet was trying to cater to the COD kiddies by dumbing down combat as much as possible. Ohh they added a dodge mechanic? Big deal. I play MMOs for their complexity and deep character progression. I quit WoW in WOTLK when they started dumbing everything down and I enjoy Rift because the soul system is pretty complex. Whereas GW2 lacks any real gameplay complexity or character development.

Also you talk about ArenaNet being on the ball when it comes to updates. Have you actually used pets as a Necro? Do you honestly think they are fine the way they are? They haven't been touched since launch. The fact pets are such a big part of the Necro profession and have been in their current state since launch tells me the devs are either incompetent or just don't care.

I understand exactly what traits do in GW2, I simply pointed out 90% of them are lackluster. And the fact you think talents in other MMOs just "give you different skills to the exclusion of others" means you must not play many other MMOs. All talent trees I have used in every other MMO I've played contain a mix of talents that augment abilities as well as offer new abilities - just like GW2 - the difference being that most of the time talents in other games are somewhat interesting.

Look, you are obviously a big GW2 fan and want to defend your game's failings - I get that. But I think the fact that the vast majority of players who bought this game just a couple of months ago at launch and are no longer playing really says it all.

[Doozerjun]

But I think the fact that the vast majority of players who bought this game just a couple of months ago at launch and are no longer playing really says it all.

Proof?

Can you provide evidence to your conjecture?

[Odeezee]

I rarely ever die as a necro. I take on 5+ mobs no issues. I can't even recall the last time I entered a down state (not including PvP and dungeons obviously). I have been playing MMOs for over a decade, I'm not a noob like you seem to be insinuating. I never have any issue taking on veteran mobs. Even most champion mobs aren't that bad but just take *ages* to kill. My problem is taking on respawning mobs constantly while trying to explore isn't *hard*, its simply annoying. They offer no challenge but are constantly thrust in player's faces by the rediculous spawn timers and the fact that being down levelled wherever you go means you must spend the time to engage them. Add to that 90% of combat comes down to you spamming one button for 30 seconds it just got flat out boring. The problems I have with the game all come down to almost the exact opposite of what you are trying to argue - GW2 profession mechanics are too simplistic and dull to keep any gamer not new to MMOs interested for more than a few weeks. 5 abilities usable at any one time per weapon, 1 healing skill, 3 utility skills and one elite skill is hardly what I'd call complex, seems more like Arenanet was trying to cater to the COD kiddies by dumbing down combat as much as possible. Ohh they added a dodge mechanic? Big deal. I play MMOs for their complexity and deep character progression. I quit WoW in WOTLK when they started dumbing everything down and I enjoy Rift because the soul system is pretty complex. Whereas GW2 lacks any real gameplay complexity or character development.

Also you talk about ArenaNet being on the ball when it comes to updates. Have you actually used pets as a Necro? Do you honestly think they are fine the way they are? They haven't been touched since launch. The fact pets are such a big part of the Necro profession and have been in their current state since launch tells me the devs are either incompetent or just don't care.

I understand exactly what traits do in GW2, I simply pointed out 90% of them are lackluster. And the fact you think talents in other MMOs just "give you different skills to the exclusion of others" means you must not play many other MMOs. All talent trees I have used in every other MMO I've played contain a mix of talents that augment abilities as well as offer new abilities - just like GW2 - the difference being that most of the time talents in other games are somewhat interesting.

Look, you are obviously a big GW2 fan and want to defend your game's failings - I get that. But I think the fact that the vast majority of players who bought this game just a couple of months ago at launch and are no longer playing really says it all.

you may have been playing MMOs for a decade but obviously from this post you have learned very little. thinking the number or skills on a bar denotes complexity is a really simplistic way of looking at gameplay. the gameplay present in WoW/Rift/SWTOR is very simplistic as you follow set rotations to accomplish a task and even though you have a multitude of skills you rarely have to use even half of them to accomplish anything, following a rotation in GW2 will get you killed. not to mention that traditional MMO games employ skills that are one dimensional (e.g. Healing Touch heals, Mind Crush is a dot, etc) so there is less opportunity cost in using the skill as you have other skills that do the same thing, whereas in GW2 most skills have multiple attributes e.g. Chillblains does a direct damage, dot damage, poison, chill and is a cpc combo field so using that skill at the wrong time could mean you will die. traditional MMOs also use skills which do not take anything else into consideration other that RNG once the set of parameters for the ability are met, like are you within range to even be able to fire the skill, and once fired there is nothing that can stop the attack from occurring other than RNG and the attack will even travel through the environment like pillars and trees. and the one thing you don't quite appreciate is the fact that having a plethora of skills, but only being able to use a limited amount in GW2 is a facet of gameplay that leads to interesting and complex combat, where a meaningful choice has to be made prior to engagement; do you use the staff and the a/w but sacrifice the skills on s/d? these decisions are not as prevalent in traditional MMOs.

there are many things you can say about the GW2 combat, like it relies too heavily on players being proactive in their own survival and being too twitch based for the average gamer, but to call it simplistic and uninteresting simply because it offers limited skills or primarily skill augmentation over outright new skills is absurd.

the devs have done little to address the MM build with Necros as far as minion AI that is true, but saying that because that is still an outstanding issue it somehow invalidates all their other efforts is not only childish but it is also wrong. and let's not talk about dying games afterall the GW2 servers are full and have been since launch and have recently had the server caps increased for the Winter'sday rush. i also want to remind you that you are playing Rift, so be careful making those kinds of claims.

[Shekita]

Okay well most of the comments here are from people that either never reached end-game or obviously played the game for maybe a month and then put it down.

Keep in mind this response is from someone that has a level 80 warrior, does WvWvW as well as sPvP [Think Battlegrounds].

First, GW2 is ~not~ like any of the other mmo's out there. They came at it from a different angle, so using this game to "replace" an mmo you used to like isn't going to be your best bet.

The combat is much more active. You won't just be standing still in one place lighting something up. This game is heavily based on mobility. If you thought moving out of a red circle in WoW was difficult, than this game isn't for you.

Which leads me to the next thing. Difficulty. GW2 is far more difficult than WoW, SW:TOR, etc. You are going to die. You are going to die a lot. You are going to die alot leveling, you are going to die alot in WvW, you are going to die a lot in dungeons. You...are going...to die. Most classes, at least earlier in the game [think pre level 30] will NOT be able to take on multiple mobs, maybe 2 or 3 at best, once a forth comes along unless you've already mastered your class, you're going to run into issues.

Grouping/Questing: The best in any mmo I have ever played. If you ~want~ to find a quest giver they sort of have one. It's a scout that will place a few waypoints on your map showing you where quests are located. If you just want to run around the world exploring and effing around and do quests as they come, you can do that too.

Grouping is automatic. WTF does that mean? It means when you go to do a quest be it solo or a group quest or whatever, anyone in the area doing that same thing essentially "joins" you. Nothing happens on your screen persay but the kills are shared [can't kill steal] loot is always yours [don't share loot, no loot stealing]. In case of Dynamic Events the more people in the area doing the Dynamic Events, the more difficult the quests/mob gets and the better the rewards.

Everyone can rez. Yes, you read that right, everyone can res. Everyone can heal, yes...everyone has a self heal and most classes have an option to spec either into a healing intensive roll or at least a supportive roll to reduce incoming damage, absorb incoming damage, or heal when damage has already been done.

I would say as far as playing without friends, GW2 is very friendly in that way. It's not hard to find a guild, it's not hard to find a group of people to play with and from 1 to 80 there is no NEED for grouping. Anything that requires grouping will be done automatically so you don't have to sit in a capitol city spamming general or trade chat trying to find someone to do something.

Once you hit 30 [and especially 80] when you want to do dungeons that's when it starts to get a little more difficulty. I hate to say it...I REALLY hate to say it but they need to implement a better way to find groups for dungeons. I don't know if a "looking for dungeon" type tool is the answer as that's one of the main culprits as to what killed the WoW community but you can't deny the ease of use and convenience of it because as far as dungeons go, you DO end up standing around spamming chat channels trying to find people to do dungeons with and that's a problem.

This is a game I highly recommend and I honestly think the leveling experience from 1-80 is worth the price tag of the game by itself. The fact that you never have to pay a monthly fee etc. makes this a great game to just pick up and play whenever you want and there is no nagging feeling of "Ugh, if I don't login today I'm really not getting my monies worth" that subscription based games tend to have.

I highly recommend picking it up, playing it, spending some time learning how to play. The learning curve is a bit rough. Someone who isn't very good is going to get annihilated by someone that knows what they're doing. This isn't WoW where you can get through a dungeon hitting 2 buttons the whole time or kill someone by spamming howling blast and obliterate. This game requires you to learn how to play your class, spend time finding a spec of the class you enjoy and are good at. Hell the game even requires some research on what spec for your class would be the most beneficial in various situations.

[carnifex2005]

At $60, the game is clearly worth buying. Even if I stop playing now (and I won't be) and just come in for events, I still have gotten 500 hours worth of fun out of it.

[Eyedol]

you may have been playing MMOs for a decade but obviously from this post you have learned very little. thinking the number or skills on a bar denotes complexity is a really simplistic way of looking at gameplay. the gameplay present in WoW/Rift/SWTOR is very simplistic as you follow set rotations to accomplish a task and even though you have a multitude of skills you rarely have to use even half of them to accomplish anything, following a rotation in GW2 will get you killed. not to mention that traditional MMO games employ skills that are one dimensional (e.g. Healing Touch heals, Mind Crush is a dot, etc) so there is less opportunity cost in using the skill as you have other skills that do the same thing, whereas in GW2 most skills have multiple attributes e.g. Chillblains does a direct damage, dot damage, poison, chill and is a cpc combo field so using that skill at the wrong time could mean you will die. traditional MMOs also use skills which do not take anything else into consideration other that RNG once the set of parameters for the ability are met, like are you within range to even be able to fire the skill, and once fired there is nothing that can stop the attack from occurring other than RNG and the attack will even travel through the environment like pillars and trees. and the one thing you don't quite appreciate is the fact that having a plethora of skills, but only being able to use a limited amount in GW2 is a facet of gameplay that leads to interesting and complex combat, where a meaningful choice has to be made prior to engagement; do you use the staff and the a/w but sacrifice the skills on s/d? these decisions are not as prevalent in traditional MMOs.

there are many things you can say about the GW2 combat, like it relies too heavily on players being proactive in their own survival and being too twitch based for the average gamer, but to call it simplistic and uninteresting simply because it offers limited skills or primarily skill augmentation over outright new skills is absurd.

the devs have done little to address the MM build with Necros as far as minion AI that is true, but saying that because that is still an outstanding issue it somehow invalidates all their other efforts is not only childish but it is also wrong. and let's not talk about dying games afterall the GW2 servers are full and have been since launch and have recently had the server caps increased for the Winter'sday rush. i also want to remind you that you are playing Rift, so be careful making those kinds of claims.

My personal experience as a Necro was that spamming the main scepter attack with the occasional dodge and/or AoE slow thrown in is sufficient to beat almost any mob while levelling up. If that isn't simplistic, then I don't know what is. Ok sure, you definitely need to be on your feet a bit more in the game, constantly circle strafing and dodging harder opponents along with casting while moving which is unique and was interesting for the first 30 levels or so, but being a more twitchy combat style doesn't in itself make it complex. The benefit of complexity, to me at least, comes down to the variety of choices I have in building my character. Have you ever played Rift? If not, take a look at the soul trees some time. Each class has 9 soul trees, each tree consists of 25+ different talents and 20+ abilities. You can pick 3 trees per spec and are free to put points in any tree. That gives me myriad choices for how I wish to play my character and customize it to my playstyle. Do I use every single ability every time I go into a fight? Of course not! But the choice is there for me to choose which playstyle I enjoy and make some fairly unique builds. GW2 on the other hand locks you into a very narrow playstyle with very limited options in terms of different skills, every profession has pretty much the exact same cookie cutter build. Now IDK what type of gamer you are - if you enjoy spamming the same few buttons with a dodge mechanic thrown in - then GW2 might be for you! For people like me though, I want a lot of options as to what skills and abilities I can use.

Also, ArenaNet themselves have stated that the population status on each world is simply the number of accounts created on that world, *not* the number of players logged in. So in other words its completely meaningless. I'm sure Blizzard wishes they could list all their dead realms as "full" too but in my mind its not particularly honest.

[Arajal]

GW2 on the other hand locks you into a very narrow playstyle with very limited options in terms of different skills, every profession has pretty much the exact same cookie cutter build.

I want a lot of options as to what skills and abilities I can use.

I'm responding to both of those statements with the following links:
1. http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...it-Build-Guide
2. http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ion-Playstyles

[Odeezee]

My personal experience as a Necro was that spamming the main scepter attack with the occasional dodge and/or AoE slow thrown in is sufficient to beat almost any mob while levelling up. If that isn't simplistic, then I don't know what is. Ok sure, you definitely need to be on your feet a bit more in the game, constantly circle strafing and dodging harder opponents along with casting while moving which is unique and was interesting for the first 30 levels or so, but being a more twitchy combat style doesn't in itself make it complex. The benefit of complexity, to me at least, comes down to the variety of choices I have in building my character. Have you ever played Rift? If not, take a look at the soul trees some time. Each class has 9 soul trees, each tree consists of 25+ different talents and 20+ abilities. You can pick 3 trees per spec and are free to put points in any tree. That gives me myriad choices for how I wish to play my character and customize it to my playstyle. Do I use every single ability every time I go into a fight? Of course not! But the choice is there for me to choose which playstyle I enjoy and make some fairly unique builds. GW2 on the other hand locks you into a very narrow playstyle with very limited options in terms of different skills, every profession has pretty much the exact same cookie cutter build. Now IDK what type of gamer you are - if you enjoy spamming the same few buttons with a dodge mechanic thrown in - then GW2 might be for you! For people like me though, I want a lot of options as to what skills and abilities I can use.

you just killed any argument you might have had with this one paragraph, grats though on showing just how little you know. cookie cutter builds in GW2? i don't even know what to say to such utter crap. it's like you don't even get what the skills you use do and what the mechanics actually are. there is no more to say on this subject because clearly you don't even have a clue.

Also, ArenaNet themselves have stated that the population status on each world is simply the number of accounts created on that world, *not* the number of players logged in. So in other words its completely meaningless. I'm sure Blizzard wishes they could list all their dead realms as "full" too but in my mind its not particularly honest.

yeah, so where is the quote to prove this? please Anet said it right, so i am pretty sure that there is a post somewhere that you can share. we'll be waiting.

[Karizee]

Doesn't matter to me how they count it, all I know is I'm hitting overflow no matter what time of day I log in and there are people everywhere.

And it's MULTIPLE overflows. I know this cuz I'm going after the Cold-Weather Friend achieve, I can build a snowman on each overflow server

[gainesvilleg]

this really sounds like a user issue through and through to me. there is one thing i have learned from many players who play traditional MMOs that try to play GW2: they are not as good as they thought they were. because GW2 forces you to be proactive and does not coddle you as much and requires twitch gameplay to be the most effective and an actual understanding of the nuances of your profession, thus people just don't adapt well. i play a Necro and i have a very hard time dying in PvE, WvW or tPvP and i relish the challenge of fast respawning mobs because it actually means i have to try. now there are some legitimate issues such as Axe being severely weakened prior to release but since then the devs have been rapidly working to bring the professions in line, dagger was improved as an example, much faster than Rift and WoW and there are more things to come in Jan/Feb so i am optimistic, not to mention the devs have been exceedingly transparent about most of their development philosophies and future planning.

the fact that you equate Traits with Talents indicates to me that you do not actually understand what they do, talents in traditional MMOs give you different skills in exclusion of others, whereas in GW2 Traits augment skills you choose to use while having the option to choose other skills not augmented by your traits. another indicator is the fact that you think Eles are squishy, then you also said they lack damage, at that point i don't know what more can be said if that is your thinking. it is very clear that we see this game very differently, there is no EJ or cookie cutter builds that do it all like in WoW/Rift/SWTOR so when people actually have to read and comprehend and see how different traits and skills not only augment skills but also compliment each other, people just throw in the towel and claim the game sucks. haha, so sad.

LOL are you really trying to play the "GW2 takes skill" card when people find it boring? That was a popular thing to say BEFORE the game was released, but the reality is the problem people have is it is way way way too easy and boring. So you think the dodge button is considered "twitch" skill LOL? My guess is you don't play FPS games if you think the dodge button demonstrates your mad skillz LOL. The fact is pretty much every class simply requires "mastering" the dodge button (the direction you dodge isn't even important), the rest of the attack cycles are uber simplistic.

I'm a min/maxer in general and GW2 has so little to consider it is just mind numbingly dull. Yes you can min/max in GW2 there are styles of play and traits/talents that work well together, but there is just no thought required as it is just obvious. The world itself is somewhat interesting but they ruined it with the typical mobs just standing/walking around mindlessly like in every other MMO. The events themselves offer very little variety. Overall GW2 is very disappointing.