Is Guild Wars 2 going to be around for long?

[Lighthope]

I'm asking this question of both Final Fantasy XIV and Guild Wars 2, because I'm tired of WoW and what seems to me to be the arrogence of the developers there. (Plus the art style is one level above a crayon. haha)

I am trying to decide whether to go for either FFXIV or GW2. I don't have the ability to dedicate myself to more than one game.

I have tried both out. Each has positives and negatives.

But what I want to know is: Who will be around for the long run?

Guild Wars 2 has a hard row to hoe being Buy to Play. Their financials make me wonder if it will still be around, putting out new content in a few years.

Final Fantasy XIV has the advantage of a subscription, meaning more incentive to keep investing in it as long as the profit is there. Questions is: Is the profit there?

So thoughts?

[Sanguinezor]

Tera
/10 chars

[Halyon]

GW2 has microtransactions and a smaller but dedicated fanbase, and you're not forced to play it because it's one-time payments to play.

I personally find FFXIV too similar to wow, but with standard squeenix aesthetics, while GW2 has better combat and looks more realistic in terms of style. Also charr and sylvari are some of my favorite races in mmo's.

[Lighthope]

GW2 has microtransactions and a smaller but dedicated fanbase, and you're not forced to play it because it's one-time payments to play.

I personally find DDXIV too similar to wow, but with standard squeenix aesthetics, while GW2 has better combat and looks more realistic in terms of style. Also charr and sylvari are some of my favorite races in mmo's.

I like Guild Wars 2. I really do. I just wonder if it will be around in a couple years, still putting stuff out.

[RedTed]

Guild Wars 1 was launched EONS ago, I can still log onto it even today. They're safe

[Deleted]

Tera just came to the console actually, so it's not a bad idea.

But, neither one is likely to go anywhere.

With that said, they are vastly different games and you are likely to not enjoy any if you don't have an open mind.

FFXIV is alot like WoW, but the GCD is alot slower. This is not only in the combat, everything is the game is slower paced. For me, it drives me mad. But, if you can tolerate it, it's a good game.

GW2 is completely different. Theres no gear treadmill and earning your first set of ascended gear is gonna take you months. After that it can become easier if you manage to join a raiding team. But in this game you will be doing alot of grinding. Exploring the maps is a joy, doing the metas is amazing, but doing them dozens of times is something you have to get use to. This because gold is very valuable in GW2 and you will need it to buy consumables or craft gear (or gain gems to buy cosmetics in the market).

Well, i dunno if you are interested in TERA, but tera has an action combat and an endgame based on challenging dungeons and less challenging raids. But the gear treadmill end is virtually impossible to get to as it will require insane mats and has a big chance to not succeed when enchanting your gear (until the next gear patch comes around).

So, yeah... depends on you. None of them are quite like WoW. FFXIV might be the closest though.

[korijenkins]

Guild Wars 2 is a fantastic game that lacks a sizable community because people are unsure of investing their time in a game that may or may not be around forever. What they don't understand is that GW2 is profitable, and will easily be around for years to come.

[Deleted]

Guild Wars 2 is a fantastic game that lacks a sizable community because people are unsure of investing their time in a game that may or may not be around forever. What they don't understand is that GW2 is profitable, and will easily be around for years to come.

I think alot of people don't even think about that. But there is a lack of a hardcore community for the most part. The community that existed seems to have become less motivated because the raids are at the pace of about 1 per year... and at the end of the day, without a gear treadmill, there isn't much point imo.

With that said, the maps and the story content is amazing and well worth playing by itself.

[meowfurion]

It's a good game, but my biggest issue with it is returning to it is a legit chore. Picking up where you left off is a GIGANTIC undertaking. Terrible "quest log." Terrible UI in general. It needs improvement. Want to try out the new 'classes' they introduce in an expansion? good luck. It's an enormous chore. I wanted to try a Druid class, but being able to do that was a real mess. It was a mess because i quit GW2 for a while and tried to go back to it. They do not make it easy to get back into.

[Halyon]

I like Guild Wars 2. I really do. I just wonder if it will be around in a couple years, still putting stuff out.

They regularly do updates and events and such, doubt it'll go out within the next few years.

[StationaryHawk]

Guild Wars 2 is among NCsoft's smaller titles, but its sales are healthy enough that it's unlikely to be going anywhere so long as they continue their steady stream of gem store content and expansions.

And I wouldn't even worry about Final Fantasy XIV's profits.

As to which will be around the longest? Both Guild Wars and Final Fantasy XI servers are still running (the latter only on PC, for obvious reasons) so it's hard to say. In any case, I wouldn't let the game's financial performance be your deciding factor in this case.

[Arlee]

Guild Wars 2 has a hard row to hoe being Buy to Play.

You can play GW2 for free, so you can try it out without spending a dime. Then if you like it you can convert to the full game. Also there's no sub so that's nice. Both FFXIV and GW2 are really good MMOs and imo neither of them is going anywhere anytime soon.

[PACOX]

GW1 is still going. GW2 just is 5 years strong and just reported profits after its most recent expac. Theres lesser games that have been around for a lot longer...what makes you think GW2 is going anywhere?

Somebody might now but I couldn't tell you how many times Anet has missed their launched windows because its not often.

[Lionor]

It's a good game, but my biggest issue with it is returning to it is a legit chore. Picking up where you left off is a GIGANTIC undertaking. Terrible "quest log." Terrible UI in general. It needs improvement. Want to try out the new 'classes' they introduce in an expansion? good luck. It's an enormous chore. I wanted to try a Druid class, but being able to do that was a real mess. It was a mess because i quit GW2 for a while and tried to go back to it. They do not make it easy to get back into.

Genuinely curious why you find it hard to jump back in. Granted the "quest log" (strictly speaking there are no quests in the traditional sense in GW2) is not the best aspect of the game.

I frequently take very long breaks from GW2 to play other games and I always find it super easy to jump right back in. It is actually one of the things I love about this game. It comes with no "frills", just launch it and play from minute 1.

[meowfurion]

Genuinely curious why you find it hard to jump back in. Granted the "quest log" (strictly speaking there are no quests in the traditional sense in GW2) is not the best aspect of the game.

I frequently take very long breaks from GW2 to play other games and I always find it super easy to jump right back in. It is actually one of the things I love about this game. It comes with no "frills", just launch it and play from minute 1.

I stated why I find it hard to jump back in?....How was I not clear? I concisely stated that unlocking the new classes is annoying. Getting from an 80 ranger to being a Druid is a pain in the ass. Much less the other classes, too.

[alt-ithist]

It's a good game, but my biggest issue with it is returning to it is a legit chore. Picking up where you left off is a GIGANTIC undertaking. Terrible "quest log." Terrible UI in general. It needs improvement. Want to try out the new 'classes' they introduce in an expansion? good luck. It's an enormous chore. I wanted to try a Druid class, but being able to do that was a real mess. It was a mess because i quit GW2 for a while and tried to go back to it. They do not make it easy to get back into.

Heath of thorn was a bit daunting for returning players I will admit. I haven’t even finished it yet. Path of fire was very friendly to returning players tho. The mounts are very easy to get and you get the ability points 10 at time so trying on the new specs were pretty quick. Also you don’t need the HoT masteries at all to play path so you can completely skip it. Only reason to go back is if you want to try both new specs so you will need extra skill points.

Also having the Path mounts will trivialize so much of the old comments especially HoT.

[meowfurion]

Heath of thorn was a bit daunting for returning players I will admit. I haven’t even finished it yet. Path of fire was very friendly to returning players tho. The mounts are very easy to get and you get the ability points 10 at time so trying on the new specs were pretty quick. Also you don’t need the HoT masteries at all to play path so you can completely skip it. Only reason to go back is if you want to try both new specs so you will need extra skill points.

Also having the Path mounts will trivialize so much of the old comments especially HoT.

VERY awesome thing to hear, thanks! I may pick up PoF tonight then.

[Svifnymr]

Heath of thorn was a bit daunting for returning players I will admit. I haven’t even finished it yet. Path of fire was very friendly to returning players tho. The mounts are very easy to get and you get the ability points 10 at time so trying on the new specs were pretty quick. Also you don’t need the HoT masteries at all to play path so you can completely skip it. Only reason to go back is if you want to try both new specs so you will need extra skill points.

Also having the Path mounts will trivialize so much of the old comments especially HoT.

To be fair though, Heart of Thorns is no more daunting to a returning player today, than it was to a current player when it released. Easier actually as they've refined and toned down many events.

Same with Path of Fire, things are better for you if you do it today than if you tried to run around on launch week.

Now, they DO change spec stuff occasionally, but GW2 doesn't require maxing out for normal gameplay, so t's not a big deal. To compare, it took me forever in WoW to get around to playing my DK a lot since they kept resetting things, so I'd just shelve him rather than spend 30 minutes setting him up to even start. SW:TOR too, if I haven't played in a while I need to go through and figure out what changed and where some of my abilities went and blah blah blah.

I mean, they may have nerfed Confusion, but my Mirage didn't change gear and I still do fine in random gameplay. Sure if you're trying to jump right back in and head for top fractals or raids, that's a bit different.


So yeah, if you jump back in and have to head to heart of thorns to unlock Druid, it can seem daunting. But, there are almost always Hero Point trains going. (HoT HP are also 10 points btw)

Back in MY Day, at launch, HoT didn't have HP trains and unlocking the full spec was like 350 instead of 250! You darn kids have it easy!

[3DTyrant]

Guild Wars 2 is a fantastic game that lacks a sizable community because people are unsure of investing their time in a game that may or may not be around forever. What they don't understand is that GW2 is profitable, and will easily be around for years to come.

And yet, GW1 is still playable, even after GW2 has been out for, how long exactly, 3 or 4 years or so?

[Lotus Victoria]

Yes, it's gonna be here for a long while. I still can't believe that GW2 is already 6 years old (technically, 5 years and some months, but hey).