Guild Wars 2

 PC
  • Publisher: NCSOFT
  • Release Date: Aug 28, 2012
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3192 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,380 out of 3192
  2. Mixed: 386 out of 3192
  3. Negative: 426 out of 3192
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  1. ReggiWatson
    Mar 31, 2013
    7
    As a great fan of Guild Wars i set myself to purchase this game as soon as it was released. I was not (too much) disappointed, its a great game, and a must have in for any MMO players. Go ahead, buy it, its worth it.

    Why an 7 then? Well, despite being a great game, its not perfect. And its definitely not the experience i was expecting since i played for like almost 7 year of Guild Wars.    As a great fan of Guild Wars i set myself to purchase this game as soon as it was released. I was not (too much) disappointed, its a great game, and a must have in for any MMO players. Go ahead, buy it, its worth it.

    Why an 7 then? Well, despite being a great game, its not perfect. And its definitely not the experience i was expecting since i played for like almost 7 year of Guild Wars. Let me do this in topics of Pos and Cons.

    Pos:
    - Gorgeous Graphics. Certainly a very good upgrade.
    - Free group questing, If you are in the are with more random players, everyone contributes for that same quest.
    - 5 distinct and interesting races. (personally i never had any issue of having a full human race on GW)
    - Weapon and skills mechanic. Each weapon gives you a set of skill based on which hand its equipped. 3 skills for main hand, 2 for off hand. All 5 for a 2H weapon.
    - Dedicated skill slots. 1 for healing skill, 3 for support skills, 1 for an elite skill.
    - The removal of the "healer stress". Since everyone must have a healing skill, its up to you to make your own survival.
    - The last stand mechanic. Which allow you to get back into the battle after you have been defeated if you kill 1 enemy before the timer goes down.
    - The still rich lore.

    Cons:
    - Lost its originality, compared to the original GW. Its just your regular MMO now.
    - Old mechanics. Dungeons. Elite Mobs. Auction House. Regular "collect X", "kill Y" and such quests.
    - Instant travel now costs gold, compared to the free travel of the original GW.
    - Skill limitation. I loved to mess around with the enormous quantity of skills of GW, now classes like Engineer are limited to like 3-4 weapon sets.
    - Dual class system was removed.
    - Special class traits where removed. No more get energy with each dead enemy for necromancer, and such.
    - Some classes where removed. Hope they get back on an expansion or so.
    - Loss of tactical action. Since Monk was removed and everyone can heal themselves, you consider each class as a DPS. Just spam attack skills.

    There are some other things that where added that in my opinion bring nothing to the game:
    - Pseudo durability system. Pointless
    - Jumping key. Sorry, i think this was a huge fan service, i think its pointless to have it compared to GW, i liked the fact i could use the space bar to do focused actions and not jump.
    - The complete loss of character customization, where you had a complete different set of faces and hairs for each class (and campaign) in GW, now its just same sets for each race, leaving you probably recycling the same face/hair for many characters.
    - No more skill hunting. You get a weapon, you use it to train the skills, that's done.
    - Amped up level cap. Why? I loved the fact level cap was only 20 in GW, and the real game started from there on, where enemies got stronger and above that level cap. (lvl 31 Dragon Glint anyone?)

    Bottom line, Guild Wars 2 is a great game, but lost the Guild Wars originality and became mainstream. If you like WoW or SW TOR you will like this game, if you loved Guild Wars, you might get a bit disappointed with this new installment. Let's hope new expansion will make things different.    … Expand
  2. johann1978
    Sep 9, 2012
    7
    Its a good Casual Game, with great PvP. But it is NOT the best MMORP of the last Years. The story is lame and presents acts thrown together, Events seem to have nothing like quests ( kill XY 90% of the Events) still to often as a Hack & Slay ( more then 3 Players at a Event)
    There are many other examples where you realize that it's just standard, only the PvP is great! But it is Guild    Its a good Casual Game, with great PvP. But it is NOT the best MMORP of the last Years. The story is lame and presents acts thrown together, Events seem to have nothing like quests ( kill XY 90% of the Events) still to often as a Hack & Slay ( more then 3 Players at a Event)
    There are many other examples where you realize that it's just standard, only the PvP is great! But it is Guild Wars, I expected this.
    My Score ist 8.5 /10    … Expand
  3. hfffoman
    Nov 25, 2012
    7
    I am downgrading my score from when it first came out because of some annoying bugs. On two occasions I suffered a rollback which meant I went back to an earlier version of my character, losing all progress. Each time it cost me a day's play. I believe they are aware of the problem but chose to do nothing about it. The rest of my review still stands - the game is fantastic fun to playI am downgrading my score from when it first came out because of some annoying bugs. On two occasions I suffered a rollback which meant I went back to an earlier version of my character, losing all progress. Each time it cost me a day's play. I believe they are aware of the problem but chose to do nothing about it. The rest of my review still stands - the game is fantastic fun to play though I found the story a bit weak.… Expand
  4. GolovA
    Oct 20, 2012
    7
    I failed to see what all the hype was about. This game is by no means special.
    HOWEVER: having said that, it is a very good Online RPG. Many characters to play, tons of items, skills, spells, etc. But for me - what's important in an online RPG is to play with someone i know. Otherwise - it's just no fun - even less fun if there was a single player campaign.
  5. MRGamer
    Feb 3, 2013
    7
    I bought the game during the holiday sales and leveled a warrior to level 80. I completed the personal story, and did a bit of everything else- sPvP, Fractals, WvW. There are many casual/ solo friendly features of the game that make it a great "B2P" game to pick up and play through. The production value is high, and the game looks good and runs well. However, as I continued to log in andI bought the game during the holiday sales and leveled a warrior to level 80. I completed the personal story, and did a bit of everything else- sPvP, Fractals, WvW. There are many casual/ solo friendly features of the game that make it a great "B2P" game to pick up and play through. The production value is high, and the game looks good and runs well. However, as I continued to log in and play with my level 80 character, I started to feel the impact of the design decisions Anet continues to make that are aimed at herding players toward the TP/ Gem Store. In spite of the famous "no grind" manifesto policy, each of the areas of the game presented me with some sort of time/ gold sink, including the infamous "DR" that prompts so much conspiracy discussion. For every inconvenience the game presents, there is a solution that can be purchased in the gem store. It is a delicate balancing act, and GW2 will continue to run the risk of losing players when the obvious F2P greed drives away customers- like myself. I decided I got my money's worth out of my one play through. The fun of playing the game was not worth the time and effort for me, and I personally will not start buying gems/ gold in order to enjoy the game. I would rather pay a sub or full price for expansions than get continually nickel and dimed to ride all the rides. Still a good game, but I am not going to keep throwing money at it.… Expand
  6. Jesperbro
    Oct 20, 2012
    7
    Haven't played the game in a little while, but will write a few thoughts about it anyways.

    First of all it has a gigantic, beautiful world to explore, something I appreciate a lot. Exploring the world in full is rewarded in forms of xp and gear. The quest system is great, as well as the occasional event system. The trading system is very good, although getting materials for making    Haven't played the game in a little while, but will write a few thoughts about it anyways.

    First of all it has a gigantic, beautiful world to explore, something I appreciate a lot. Exploring the world in full is rewarded in forms of xp and gear. The quest system is great, as well as the occasional event system. The trading system is very good, although getting materials for making something can take some grinding. The combat system is good, and I like how they implement a few action elements to it, so you don't feel like you're just clicking on something, and engaging you more into the fight. That if you participate in killing something, all the loot and experience is shared, so there isn't some manical battle for the item drops like in for example Runescape. The only PvP mode I played reminded me a bit of League of Legends, something that I find good. Overall - the game is very good. I liked it a lot the first three weeks I played it. Then...

    I realized how redundant and repetitive the game became. While you get different areas to explore, you're just doing the same quests over and over and over again. Either it's kill this, or fetch a lot of this, and this goes on for EVERY area in the game. I've never really been a gigantic fan of MMORPG's, and this shows why. After a while you'll just get so bored with the game that you won't play it again for a long time. Maybe after a while I'll go back to playing it, but after a while I'll grow bored of doing the same things over and over. This pulls down my score of the game a lot, something that could've been a perfect ten. When I play games I need a bit of variety, and Guild Wars 2 sadly doesn't provide that.    … Expand
  7. kirkkh
    Oct 3, 2012
    7
    This isn't an mmo. It's smash brothers with a F2P "world explore" mode tacked on. You can level straight to 80 and play the real game at any time. Items and "builds" (they're a joke) don't really effect much. Pve is a gank-fest, pvp is a gank-fest. You just find a group of madness to join and blaze through. Don't go here looking for strategy, community or depth. You'd be surprised howThis isn't an mmo. It's smash brothers with a F2P "world explore" mode tacked on. You can level straight to 80 and play the real game at any time. Items and "builds" (they're a joke) don't really effect much. Pve is a gank-fest, pvp is a gank-fest. You just find a group of madness to join and blaze through. Don't go here looking for strategy, community or depth. You'd be surprised how quickly it gets old (for god sake their are jumping puzzles). It's completely different than the original Guild Wars. I give six months.… Expand
  8. Kamikazenz
    Sep 10, 2012
    7
    I agree with alot of the mid-range user reviews posted so far. After purchasing the game, i can see where all the hard work and development time went, the game looks great stylistically, and i like how they have attempted at every turn to make the game different from the mass produced MMORPG norm. Breaking the holy trintiy of Tank Heals and DPS and making it work is no easy feat in anI agree with alot of the mid-range user reviews posted so far. After purchasing the game, i can see where all the hard work and development time went, the game looks great stylistically, and i like how they have attempted at every turn to make the game different from the mass produced MMORPG norm. Breaking the holy trintiy of Tank Heals and DPS and making it work is no easy feat in an MMORPG. but for me it doesnt work. im enjoying the game immensely dont get me wrong, and can see why people will love it. but for me its a filler game i will play out untill i get bored, it hasnt quite grabbed my attention in the same way other games in the genre have. which is no fault of the game itself, maybe thats me as a player?. in summary, the game is excellent for what it is. worth the purchase. but for me personally, i will probably put it aside when the WoW expac or similar comes out.… Expand
  9. RetRap
    Oct 14, 2012
    7
    This game is well worth the box price, I've put about 60 hours into GW2 and while they have been enjoyable; I will not likely be going back to it any time soon. Although it is a fantastically crafted world with wonderful new perks to the tried any trusted MMO formula; this game still has the basic hot-key combat and repetitive actions. While giving lots of different tasks to try such asThis game is well worth the box price, I've put about 60 hours into GW2 and while they have been enjoyable; I will not likely be going back to it any time soon. Although it is a fantastically crafted world with wonderful new perks to the tried any trusted MMO formula; this game still has the basic hot-key combat and repetitive actions. While giving lots of different tasks to try such as exploring for Vistas, taking part in dynamic events and more formulaic 'heart' quests; after the 50th time of doing a slight variation it does, unfortunately; get boring (at least for me). As a great piece of escapism and for those happy with the existing MMO foundations; buy it without hesitation. If you've grown bored of the likes of WoW, ToR, Rift, Tera et al. this will provide a welcome refresh but will eventually get stale.… Expand
  10. edjiang
    Oct 9, 2012
    7
    Great artwork, clean combat, and a VERY nice PvP system. However, the game simply couldn't hold my attention for more than a month. Definitely worth trying out though.
  11. BeoMauz
    Nov 19, 2012
    7
    Why Hello thar,

    first of all Guild Wars 2 isnt a bad Game at all, the Leveling is quite nice but htere could be more Models for the NPC enemies. The Problem with the Game is the Endgame once u hit Max Level the Game just falls a bit off, due to lack of Content. The PvP is a split Thing the WvW-PvP is quite nice and offers you options on how to play, for example you dont need to zerg    Why Hello thar,

    first of all Guild Wars 2 isnt a bad Game at all, the Leveling is quite nice but htere could be more Models for the NPC enemies.
    The Problem with the Game is the Endgame once u hit Max Level the Game just falls a bit off, due to lack of Content.

    The PvP is a split Thing the WvW-PvP is quite nice and offers you options on how to play, for example you dont need to zerg around you can push the Logistics and make your team win.

    All in all the Game is solid but the Motivation after you hit Max Level is just fallin off a bit too quickly.    … Expand
  12. Quorina
    Aug 28, 2012
    7
    This game can definitely stand on its own against behemoths like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic (if that even counts anymore since it is going free to play). It's a good game that doesn't even need to go against its competitors simply because it has no momthly fee (a huge plus in my book) and doesn't really clone any games (think Rift and SWTOR cloning WoW). In that wayThis game can definitely stand on its own against behemoths like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic (if that even counts anymore since it is going free to play). It's a good game that doesn't even need to go against its competitors simply because it has no momthly fee (a huge plus in my book) and doesn't really clone any games (think Rift and SWTOR cloning WoW). In that way it is truly innovative as it is its own game in its own right. Now, I do think this game is NOT the second coming of Jesus, nor does it live up to all the hype. Why? First of all, I think one of the most hyped up aspects of the game, World vs World (realm vs realm) is probably one of the more boring aspects of the game. You'll spend at least 5 minutes simply running around trying to find the action and when you die, and you will, you'll spend another 5-10 minutes running around looking for action. It's almost as if Anet designed it to be a time sink, but why they would I don't know, again there's no monthly fee. If you don't mind it the fights are really fun (always make sure to carry supplies around with you!!!) and the charm of it all is simply inescapable. My biggest pet peeve of the game, which is a good game mind you, is leveling in PvE. I'm a level 14 elementalist as I write this and I've had to grind on dynamic events several times just to catch up to my story quest, which can jump from level 10 to 15 easily. There aren't enough heart missions (area quests) and unique dynamic events to get you through, so you either have to repeat dynamic events or gain levels through World vs World. Not a favourable aspect of the game for me. I will end this review on one note though...the exploration in this game is simply amazing, fantastic, wonderful. If you like to explore you'll love this game. I didn't like exploring before but now I'm getting addicted to it. Anyways, it's a 7.5 to 8 game out of 10 in my humble opinion, I don't think this game deserves a 10 or anything less than 6.… Expand
  13. Mutica
    Aug 29, 2012
    7
    The problem with metacrtic... well there are many... but one big thing is the inflation/deflation by all the fanboys and haters. Not to mention that the critic reviews are almost always worthless, critics pretty much love any AAA or AA title. Ok this is not a 10/10 game... and it is not a 0/10 game either. If you are thinking about buying this game, the most honest thing I can say isThe problem with metacrtic... well there are many... but one big thing is the inflation/deflation by all the fanboys and haters. Not to mention that the critic reviews are almost always worthless, critics pretty much love any AAA or AA title. Ok this is not a 10/10 game... and it is not a 0/10 game either. If you are thinking about buying this game, the most honest thing I can say is WAIT. Wait till the dust has settled, remember SWTOR, started out with a metacritic score of around 8.5... its now in the 5.6 - 5.8 range. This game is still an mmo, it does a few thing different, but if you've played mmo's, it will still feel like an mmo. Questing does feel a little less grindy and seems to be an improvement from the standard quest chain; its implemented differently in GW2 so it is more fluid, but essentially the same. The world/graphics are well made, however there are limited FOV options and camera pull in and pull back it too limited atm. They say its by design, but in the end limited FOV makes certain dungeons and small area fights more annoying than fun. The lack of a true trinity system makes 1 v 1 skirmishes feel more dependent on skill... however most pvp encounters will not be 1 v 1. The lack of a trinity is an interesting and bold attempt to do something different... I found however, that it creates more of a zerg mentality, whether in pve or pvp. Attacks are well coordinated with a tank or dps initiating, and a healer for support. People don't seem to target assist during multiple mob encouters in GW2. In the end World Events and PvP feels a bit zergy and more chaotic than truly requiring skill and strategy. But this is a new system, so it could be that in a month people will find ways to be strategic without a trinity system. However, I'm not that optimistic, I do like the dodge mechanic, but still feel that battlegrounds or large scale pvp in other mmo that employed the trinity resulted in more tactical thinking and more natural coordination. Also there is no dueling system atm, which is sort of a pity, especially when there is no open world pvp. You have to zone into a pvp area in order to pvp.

    Limited options in some of the keybindings... for instance now the "F" seems to do everything, from interact with objects/players to looting/ to rezzing other players... this gets really annoying at times when you are trying to loot but can't since there is an npc or other items there. Trading post is still not in, but probably will be soon; Also, there is no system for personal trading or C.O.D. in the game, which seems bizarre, particularly for a modern mmo with a large crafting system. The crafting system seems good, although I didn't really get into it; There is an annoying thing about not being able to auto use crafting items stored in your bank. In the end it makes crafting a bit annoying at times. The Game still has psuedo-ques to get into your server, you log in right away but into an overflow server, probably in a few weeks or less this will remedied as server populations and login times stabilize. That said, zoning while in group can sometimes still be problematic and annoying, sometimes you will go to a new area, but members of you party will be in another instance of that area.

    The questing and story telling are a step up from WoW for sure, not as immersive as SWTOR with everything fully voiced, but an improvement from the standard mmo fare, albeit a small one. There are definitely plenty of moments of weak voice acting or just poor writing that snap your immersion. If you are an mmo player used to complete free speech in your game, also be warned. GW2 devs are not shy about using the ban hammer if you choose an inappropriate name or choose to say something offensive to another player. In some ways this does sort of force a respectful environment, but it does treat you like a kid. I don't know, if people want to curse and insult each other in pvp or pve I doesn't bother me. In some ways it adds a little flavor to the community... yes it can get excessive. But it does seem they've drawn the line a bit too close; although I wasn't banned... the internet seems rife with the complaints of several banned players (note banns are usually only for a day or 2). If people are offended with another player, they should just add them to the ignore list. It also seems at the moment that there are security issues with accounts getting hacked/stolen etc. I'm sure that this a high, maybe the highest priority issue for Arenanet atm. But it is a little disconcerting that they really seemed to have missed the boat here on account security. Pick a strong password if you play and make sure it is different from the email password for your email account tied to the game. In this day and age I think a AAA/AA mmo should probably always ship with an authenticator or have authentication software available.    … Expand
  14. iozay
    Feb 2, 2013
    7
    Guildwars 2 is a decent game, is supported well but the game is pretty overhyped. The game is also arguable "pay2win"(Even though people might disagree with it).
  15. Heatsink
    Oct 1, 2012
    7
    Arenanet made a number of improvements to MMO design with Guild Wars 2, but also made a significant number of questionable design decisions, effectively repeating the mistakes of the products they should have learned from. Positives: mob tapping is gone, grouping works automatically in the open world, the trinity is gone, graphics are very good, events help the world seem not-so-static.Arenanet made a number of improvements to MMO design with Guild Wars 2, but also made a significant number of questionable design decisions, effectively repeating the mistakes of the products they should have learned from. Positives: mob tapping is gone, grouping works automatically in the open world, the trinity is gone, graphics are very good, events help the world seem not-so-static.

    There are some heavy negatives to consider though. The boosting system in WvW doesn't do much as level 80 characters can drop lower level players in literally 1 second flat. Crafting is yet again something of an afterthought, but does bring significant XP gains, without many sellable products. Some drops required to craft seem broken, as the rarity makes them non-viable for production. Not much of an endgame is available. The game still has significant bugs as of 10/1/2012, such as trait point NPCs disappearing. Character classes are wildly unbalanced, with some being orders of magnitude more powerful than others. Personal story quest difficulty is largely broken, with mobs wiping out players pretty quickly, leading to repair bills.

    One last item to consider is the combat design. It is a bit..odd. Players have an active dodge, which can be used twice and then wait for recharge. Mobs tend to hit extremely hard, even on their plain vanilla attacks, and even from trash mobs. Mobs also are spawned on top of players already in combat quite frequently. Overall, the combat seems somewhat clunky. Defensive abilities tend to be weak, healing abilities almost not worth using, and both are usually on very long cooldowns. There are a number of other abilities than don't seem to have much to offer, and yet again, on long cooldowns. Range attacks are usually more advantageous then melee, mostly due to the damage mobs toss out to melee characters.    … Expand
  16. aazru
    Sep 1, 2012
    7
    Short version: Nice, but nothing(literally nothing) special. Sound fx are hit and miss, at the worst annoying as hell. Some of them forced me to turn off sound. Too much particle effects kill any enjoyment from combat. Graphics go from good characters to bad textures. World is pleasant too look at only from a distance. Did I mention overblown particle effects? The world is big but theShort version: Nice, but nothing(literally nothing) special. Sound fx are hit and miss, at the worst annoying as hell. Some of them forced me to turn off sound. Too much particle effects kill any enjoyment from combat. Graphics go from good characters to bad textures. World is pleasant too look at only from a distance. Did I mention overblown particle effects? The world is big but the size feels like forced. Story can described in one word: filler. It has good parts, mind you. But too far apart to call it good as a whole. Whole dynamic event thing is glorified filler. Only thing that makes this game is combat. It is too "spam the same button" for my taste but still good. In summary: It is worth the box price but doesn't ask for a sub fee because it isn't worth a sub fee.… Expand
  17. Nataraja
    Sep 17, 2012
    7
    I will preface this with a caveat - I tried very hard to like the original GW and just never got into it. I am also very picky about my games right now and fantasy games are a bit stale to say least.

    I much prefer a more recent game that I will not go into but it lacks any sort of decent end game. To me that is where GW2 shines with the open world events, sidekick level system (so you    I will preface this with a caveat - I tried very hard to like the original GW and just never got into it. I am also very picky about my games right now and fantasy games are a bit stale to say least.

    I much prefer a more recent game that I will not go into but it lacks any sort of decent end game. To me that is where GW2 shines with the open world events, sidekick level system (so you can't face roll content lower than you) and the dynamic events that alter the world - but what really shines is the PvP, both structured and WvWvW - Especially the WvWvW. I can lose days in that setting.

    The instances are decent and the lack of a trinity is AWESOME. However there are things that drive me nuts:

    - the game gets repetitious and leveling an alt is tedious at best
    - the dynamic events follow about 3 or maybe 4 templates and get old
    - there are some unresolved bugs that seem to continue to evade the devs
    - Its another -ANOTHER - fantasy game
    - Asura are annoyingly cutesy and should be exterminated like the rats that they are
    - The setup for the cash shop makes it seem like ArenaNet constantly has its hand out
    - There are parts of the game that should just be totally reworked (the abysmal writing and voice acting in places - especially the Norn area)

    So its a decent game and for $60, assuming you don't go CE or use the cash shop, is better than most single player games - and it has no sub fee so you can come and go guilt free.

    So its a decent game - but is it revolutionary? Not really. Its a very VERY safe game compared to other recent games and in the end will be a nice diversion from things that are truly revolutionary that I consume like a rabid animal.    … Expand
  18. BrosefStalin
    Aug 28, 2012
    7
    Being a fan of the original Guild Wars I decided to buy the second one. I was very pleased, the gameplay is smooth, has a lot of customization and the story (in my experience) was entertaining. Also the graphical quality is very nice for an MMO. The game was however streamlined to be more like other MMO's which might turn off a few of the original Guild Wars fans. However it is wellBeing a fan of the original Guild Wars I decided to buy the second one. I was very pleased, the gameplay is smooth, has a lot of customization and the story (in my experience) was entertaining. Also the graphical quality is very nice for an MMO. The game was however streamlined to be more like other MMO's which might turn off a few of the original Guild Wars fans. However it is well executed and well done.… Expand
  19. ActiBlizzCancer
    Aug 28, 2012
    7
    Without the game's problems, it would be a 10/10. Anyone that has rated this game as a 10 is a **** brand loyal marketing drone who can't see past his own hype and post purchase rationalization that they are unable to think for themselves. Here lies the problem, Guild Wars 2 starts out with a 10/10 but then loses points for various things. The major problem with GW2 is its community. NotWithout the game's problems, it would be a 10/10. Anyone that has rated this game as a 10 is a **** brand loyal marketing drone who can't see past his own hype and post purchase rationalization that they are unable to think for themselves. Here lies the problem, Guild Wars 2 starts out with a 10/10 but then loses points for various things. The major problem with GW2 is its community. Not only is it the worse community online that you will ever find, including Biodrones and Furries and Bronies, but they are unable to actually comprehend any form of criticism against GW2. For example, if you say how there is no such feature in the design of GW2 such as dueling (which lets be honest, people expect in a 2012 AAA MMO), they don't actually read your criticism properly, they skip read it and assume that you're "a troll". Or if you mention how you'd like something to be different you are met with a torrent of filth, logical fallacies and attacks on your character from people that want you to stop "saying bad things" about GW2. As for the actual features that are missing from GW2, they include; dueling, gear inspection, capes (they are too lazy to fix armor clipping), guild halls, skill customization (you are limited to 2 weapon sets and skills that you can't choose simply because they are too lazy to implement class balance or dual professions), interesting achievements and skill hunting like GW1, larger amounts of skills available for support slots, no account tied dye system (it was removed thanks to the Nexon employee removing them and making you more likely to use the Korean F2P cash shop). It also has 8 professions and only 5 character slots. The cash shop is strange, like they didn't think it through properly - i.e. there are craftable boosts that do the same things as the cash shop boosts except cost 10 copper coins where as the cash shop ones cost like $1.50. Why? Oh and there is too much grind required (if I'm not mistaken) for cosmetic sets of dungeon gear, requiring around 60 runs to collect a full set - which is clearly stupid. If these features were patched in, it would be an 9/10 game. It's brought down 1 point so far by the stupidity of its community who would be happy enough to send you death threats for negative reviews of their christ savior MMO. But to end on a happy note, this game is so much better than World of Warcraft or its clones, and is very beautiful to look at. It's just missing some of the things that made GW1 beautiful, which they dumped.… Expand
  20. shinta42
    Aug 29, 2012
    7
    The character model is too 2d sprite-like and does not have a feeling of solidness. The graphic engine of DAOC which released so many years ago feel more right than this game. Otherwise I would give it a higher score.
  21. Homergdog
    Aug 29, 2012
    7
    Well, the game itself has more hype than I've seen out of any MMORPG, which is saying something, but its a good game. Will I be playing it months from now? probably not. Is it worth the price of admission? yes. A couple issues I have with the game, its pretty simplified, which is a good and bad thing. The login issues are a HUGE problem. I can't verify my email and my home PC can't loginWell, the game itself has more hype than I've seen out of any MMORPG, which is saying something, but its a good game. Will I be playing it months from now? probably not. Is it worth the price of admission? yes. A couple issues I have with the game, its pretty simplified, which is a good and bad thing. The login issues are a HUGE problem. I can't verify my email and my home PC can't login to GW2 at all. These are all initial problems with any MMO, but the login issues can be pretty severe. I figure it might be as late as next week before this gets worked out (Error 42, firewall issue. Even though my PC is a DMZ, UAC off, Run as Admin, with no firewalls.) Funny enough my work pc logins in just fine LOL. Other than the above issues, GW2 seems to have taken the best of all MMOs, and I really like how they have redone the typical quest leveling. No more Quest hubs with ! above peoples heads, its still kinda there, but is dressed up and forces you to engage in the quest story and only do 1 at a time. Don't expect the hype you are seeing from the reviews, but expect a good MMO, with some growing pains. If MMOs aren't your thing, stay away from this game, but if you are a WoW player looking for something different, go buy it NOW! Me, I'm an old school EQ player that will probably play it for a couple months as a casual. Now if your from ArenaNet reading this review, fix your LOGIN Issues!… Expand
  22. hitthegoat
    Sep 7, 2012
    7
    I like this game. Is it perfect? No. But I dare you to name a perfect game. Sure, the dynamic events was done in Rift, and sure the combat system is similar to Tera, and the quest system is similar to Warhammer, but who really cares? IMO they were done better in GW2 and that's more important. I find the graphics to be good, not the best ever, but then again, I'm not a graphics fanaticI like this game. Is it perfect? No. But I dare you to name a perfect game. Sure, the dynamic events was done in Rift, and sure the combat system is similar to Tera, and the quest system is similar to Warhammer, but who really cares? IMO they were done better in GW2 and that's more important. I find the graphics to be good, not the best ever, but then again, I'm not a graphics fanatic and I certainly can't believe anyone finds them to be "bad." I haven't experienced any of this "floaty" or "disconnected" game play/controls, I honestly don't get it, I find the controls and the combat to be fun. And personally, I find the smaller amount of available skills to be fun, the one thing that I came to dislike about WoW (and saw that SWTOR has done) is the insane amount of skills on action bars you would have on your interface, which just caused annoying clutter to me, almost half of your screen is buttons and menus. To me that seems less like I'm playing a game, and more like I'm monitoring equipment of some kind, almost like working. One complaint that I do have is the lame selection of Elite skills, at least on my Norn. 3 of the first available 5 are shape shifting, and 1 of the 2nd tier is shape shifting, they might be fun, but that's not really my style. And whilst perusing through the numerous negatives, I see a lot of comparison to SWTOR, and that just irritates me to no end. Quit comparing games to other games. There's a reason this game is called "Guild Wars 2" and not "Star Wars: The Old Republic," they're different games made by different people with different features, the only similarity is that they're MMOs.… Expand
  23. Opulet
    Sep 10, 2012
    7
    PROS: $60 flat, WvW, sPvP 5v5 Tournaments, Latter parts of PvE without Heart-Quests, Dungeons, Puzzles, Top Tier Boss fights in both instanced and open world situations, Non-invasive money shop. CONS: Weak Personal Storyline during early-mid game, Early Heart-Quests, Random 16 player sPvP, Lack of more game-modes in sPvP, OVERALL: Top quality content at $60, no monthly fee. Better thanPROS: $60 flat, WvW, sPvP 5v5 Tournaments, Latter parts of PvE without Heart-Quests, Dungeons, Puzzles, Top Tier Boss fights in both instanced and open world situations, Non-invasive money shop. CONS: Weak Personal Storyline during early-mid game, Early Heart-Quests, Random 16 player sPvP, Lack of more game-modes in sPvP, OVERALL: Top quality content at $60, no monthly fee. Better than anything else on the market at the moment.… Expand
  24. MistahYebba
    Sep 10, 2012
    7
    There are too many characters in my review to post it here, so please check out my review at CURSE forums. http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/63286-guild-wars-1-vs-guild-wars-2/

    Thank you!
  25. Tykune
    Sep 14, 2012
    7
    This game is better than the other moderately entertaining games out there, such as TERA and some of the other F2P games out there, but while the graphics are stunning and the story play is stellar, there are some flaws that this game acquired. I am not at all saying that this game is bad, but has a lot of potential, and has a long way to go to fix itself up to from that cracked crystalThis game is better than the other moderately entertaining games out there, such as TERA and some of the other F2P games out there, but while the graphics are stunning and the story play is stellar, there are some flaws that this game acquired. I am not at all saying that this game is bad, but has a lot of potential, and has a long way to go to fix itself up to from that cracked crystal gem to a flawless diamond gem.

    Pros: Great Graphics - It is rare to find awesome, cutting edge graphics in any other game. This one in particular, takes the cake in being unique and note-worthy.

    Excellent Story - The fact you can pick your own background and progress through the story on a global scale, yet blend together with other players in the world around you, is a very rare thing to find in an MMORPG. This is what makes the game in itself unique and fun to play.

    Cons: Buggy and Unfulfilling Events - The events themselves are quite buggy and they leave a feeling of unfulfillment. You could litrally kill 3 things, and go take a dump while they event wears out, and you will get a gold medal and max rewards. This is something in my opinion should get fixed right away.

    Unbalanced Classes - Some of the classes are boring and unpolished, and as NCsoft stated 'unfinished', except for warrior of course. Some of the classes are useless in PvP and in some cases, nearly useless when soloing.. or at least makes it extremely difficult.

    Summary - In general, this game is not too bad at all.. in fact, it is great and holds a lot of potential, but it needs some sprucing up and fixes here and there, and a bit of changes before it can really be worth its money. I'd honestly say let the game mature a bit, then maybe NCsoft can clean it up.    … Expand
  26. suzakuii
    Sep 25, 2012
    7
    Overall not too bad of a game. The best thing about this game is still the PvP. The pvp became better with the WvWvW system implanted that could affect your PvE. Many times people resort to just clicking everything they can when it is off cd. Not a particular effective way of going about PvP. Theres a certain element of anticipation and knowing your enemy before engaging recklessly.Overall not too bad of a game. The best thing about this game is still the PvP. The pvp became better with the WvWvW system implanted that could affect your PvE. Many times people resort to just clicking everything they can when it is off cd. Not a particular effective way of going about PvP. Theres a certain element of anticipation and knowing your enemy before engaging recklessly. Everyone will start off reckless, myself included, but as you play your character class more, you realize theres more than just spam can save your tail. Perhaps waiting for them to start channeling then stun them would be wiser than just stunning them upon seeing them. dodge roll back as you see them charging toward you. Stealth the moment you enter a fray (people don't even know you are there) and start reviving downed allies. Many more possibilities can be explored. Unfortunately PvE of this game is kind of lack luster. Daily achievements helps you level up your character, but always the smae thing. Dynamics events attracts your attention for the early game, then after a while it all became the same. Defend spot/character/building for x waves of enemies, kill the leader of y group to disband, collect z items and deliver. However theres a few very interesting dynamic events. Early dynamic events has almost no consequence for failing. However some would actually have a town wiped out and events will follow to try and restore the town back to normal. Other really interesting events includes bosses that rarely spawns, like a dragon that will be almost 100x bigger than you. These although fun to try and kill, there will be too many people around, it lags the crap out of you. Story for the characters seems rather generic. Each choices in the character creation affects your story line for like the first 30 levels. After that all the stories are just the same. There are some choices in paths of the story like using brute force, sneak and assassinate, or like gather info. Ultimately it just makes you fight in a different setting and still merge back to main story afterwards. Fighting in PvE is purely spamming. auto set your first skill to auto cast. This just means that is your normal attack. everything else have a cool down you will probably use the moment it is off cd. PvE has auto adjust to level of surrounding if surrounding is weaker than your total level. This way you will still feel like doing something in the beginning areas (esp areas of other races) don't feel like you were simply overpowered. There are some rather intricate mazes/jump quests layed out in just about every map. Can try to find the secluded entrence by your self and everything afterwards is pretty straight forward with the jump quest. Each level up is not too difficult. It feels nearly the same as going from lvl 8 to 9 as lvl 79 to 80, there really isn't your typical grind fest of like 10 days to get 1 level. Aside from the few set backs, I think this is a game that deserves and good look at… Expand
  27. Xiny
    Sep 27, 2012
    7
    I Loved the game, excellent quests, unique combat and even has a separate story quest line. However, the love for this game quickly died when i started doing dungeons. The fun, reward, and sense of purpose for GW2's dungeons is one of the biggest fails I've experienced in any MMO and by far the worst mechanics. However due to not having a holy trinity i don't think they would be able toI Loved the game, excellent quests, unique combat and even has a separate story quest line. However, the love for this game quickly died when i started doing dungeons. The fun, reward, and sense of purpose for GW2's dungeons is one of the biggest fails I've experienced in any MMO and by far the worst mechanics. However due to not having a holy trinity i don't think they would be able to properly recover from this fiasco, so i got a refund. If you want this game i would avoid dungeons till they are patched.… Expand
  28. Its_Nice_In_RW
    Sep 29, 2012
    7
    I played GW1 it was a decent game not great but decent. I played WOW it was a very poor game graphically and had the worst player base in any game I played but it had something that drew you back to it (gameplay). I now play GW2 (and others) graphically very nice not as spectacular as Tera but nice. Like Tera does not offer much at end game level. If you want to experience some differentI played GW1 it was a decent game not great but decent. I played WOW it was a very poor game graphically and had the worst player base in any game I played but it had something that drew you back to it (gameplay). I now play GW2 (and others) graphically very nice not as spectacular as Tera but nice. Like Tera does not offer much at end game level. If you want to experience some different aspects of MMO I would suggest GW2 is a good place to start. Be aware though (WOW rips a monthy sub from your hands) GW2 is one off payment for game though the aggressive shop influence make it less attractive from a costing level. Its a mix mash of different good things taken mostly from Korean MMO's nothing particularly new but all in one game rather than spread over many MMO's. If you play MMO's it will be interesting for about a month then probably you will move on to next one (like me). The game plays like a cash shop mico payment game which is very sad but people seem to like this genre at the moment. People thinking free to play is actually that which in fact it is much more expensive than a sub game IMO and IME. The famous problem of bagsize is here in all its glory. Lastly the game whats new hmmmm well I have seen everything in this game in other MMO's I have played so nothing I could say the events as in other games they tend to be GM initiated but happen on a timer in this game so that :) Enough to keep me playing ? Not at the moment. I will give it an 7/10. I can return to the game at any time for no fee so that is a big plus but the rabid cash shop element makes it in the minus for me. On the whole the community is very nice so that is a big bonus.… Expand
  29. Ghostte
    Oct 12, 2012
    7
    I liked GW2 but i was disappointed that I did not LOVE GW2. While not a huge fan of MMO's i thought this would be the game that brought me into this genre. However, i was bored by the time i reached level 60 with my necromancer and i couldn't take how slow my character moved and how the camera had a little sway to it.. I alo hated how immersion breaking the story was. As a necromancer II liked GW2 but i was disappointed that I did not LOVE GW2. While not a huge fan of MMO's i thought this would be the game that brought me into this genre. However, i was bored by the time i reached level 60 with my necromancer and i couldn't take how slow my character moved and how the camera had a little sway to it.. I alo hated how immersion breaking the story was. As a necromancer I would have not made the decisions my character was making. I wish there were more voice choices and speech options. Overall well polished game with fun PVP.....but just not for me.… Expand
  30. Jalfred
    Nov 2, 2012
    7
    I'm an avid fan of MMORPG and this game fall short of my expectations and many others by the looks of it. Yet I still recommend fans of this genre pick up this game as unlike most, it's none subscription based and will be a game I will come back to every now and again for years to come.
    The games PvP, from what I've seen is pretty unbalanced but it's not a game breaker. The PvE is very    I'm an avid fan of MMORPG and this game fall short of my expectations and many others by the looks of it. Yet I still recommend fans of this genre pick up this game as unlike most, it's none subscription based and will be a game I will come back to every now and again for years to come.
    The games PvP, from what I've seen is pretty unbalanced but it's not a game breaker. The PvE is very different to any other MMORPG I've played. Each instance has a limit of 5 players which I found slightly disappointing yet they are very challenging and requires a lot more cooperation than any other multi player PvE experience, like World Of Warcraft for instance. What I found very interesting is the fact ArenaNet based the game on giving the player a choice of how to level. For example, one could level to 80 with just World PvP (A new feature which involves a server VS server VS server system. Which takes place in a huge battleground). Or Structured PvP (A smaller PVP environment). Or even just questing. The game hasn't got a compelling storyline but this can easily be avoided.
    The game play varies greatly from profession to profession, depending on what type of profession you're playing. The thief and most melee classes consist of more button mashing then skillful play with ranged classes mostly bound to a powerful rotation.
    Personally I recommend picking this up even if you don't plan on playing for a considerable amount of time. The soul fact that this game isn't a subscription is a must buy for me.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PC Game of 2012
5
#5 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    90
    GW2 has made a powerful impact on the MMO scene, confirming years of expectations. Stunning presentation and revolutionary design guarantee a thoroughly enjoyable experience. However, it’s not flawless, nor complete. The beautiful vistas, the massive PvP element, the rich leveling experience- those can offer hours of gameplay, but the endgame is desperately seeking for enrichment. [November 2012]
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Jan 2, 2013
    95
    Guild Wars 2 surpasses the original in every aspect, from its massive and atmospheric world to its addictive and engrossing gameplay.
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  3. RPG Fan
    Nov 28, 2012
    80
    After spending fifty hours with GW2, I have a lot of praise for ArenaNet's work and the way it changes up some of the typical trappings of the MMO. And yet, I find myself thinking less and less about it each day. It's not a declaration against the product, mind you, but simply a fact that this game still is very much an MMO, and your enjoyment will directly relate to how much you enjoy the genre. For many who were hoping for a clean break from MMO design philosophy, Guild Wars 2 will probably come across as a slight disappointment. It pushes the genre slightly forward, however, and could lead to even further development in the future.
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