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. nightshark
    Oct 31, 2012
    10
    I've been playing since release and everything I have to say about this game is good - I recommend it to my friends and get lost and immersed in Tyria for hours at a time. In GW2 you are dropped into the world without much of a hint as to what you are supposed to be doing. That's because the point in the game is just to go explore and have fun. There is a massive and immersive world outI've been playing since release and everything I have to say about this game is good - I recommend it to my friends and get lost and immersed in Tyria for hours at a time. In GW2 you are dropped into the world without much of a hint as to what you are supposed to be doing. That's because the point in the game is just to go explore and have fun. There is a massive and immersive world out there to enjoy and it's all breathtakingly beautiful. There are points of interest to visit, which when explored can often lead to secret jumping puzzles or hidden chests. There are breathtaking vistas to view and skill challenges to earn. All of these things can be challenging and puzzling at times. Levelling and gearing in this game almost seems secondary and you'll barely notice your levels flying up. There are two PvP modes, WvW and structured PvP (5v5 - 8v8 games). Both are very different things and I have found a lot of enjoyment in both. I recommend giving GW2 a chance because you just might LOVE it.… Expand
  2. VendettaDFA
    Oct 29, 2012
    6
    I reviewed this game previously a 10 after playing since headstart. After this time I am rereviewing and have come to the conclusion this prince of a game has more warts than a frog in a swamp. The main game is fine except for 2 core mechanics that have been exploited. Instanced nodes and a game wide Trading Post. Goldsellers have hacked into the game and botted in the form of what I referI reviewed this game previously a 10 after playing since headstart. After this time I am rereviewing and have come to the conclusion this prince of a game has more warts than a frog in a swamp. The main game is fine except for 2 core mechanics that have been exploited. Instanced nodes and a game wide Trading Post. Goldsellers have hacked into the game and botted in the form of what I refer to as the Naked Ranger Conga Line. All nodes can be harvested by each player or bot with impunity. A line of 5 ormore bots hits all the best areas before legit players can have a shot. They tag mobs and take drops and then all these basic mats glut the Trading Post. You would think this would bottom the price to nothing, but the forums cried for and got a barrier keeping the price from dropping below a sell price to an NPC vendor. They said that would keep new players from getting cheated on the Post. Instead it allows a set ROI for all the goldsellers and the armchair Economy experts in the forums never noticed. They are more bent on calling anyone expressing the desire for a free market chance a power mad moneygrubber. So this version of Trading post keeps the goldsellers in business while choking the playablity out of the TP. After spending time trying to handle this within the forums and being accused of
    trying to gain an unfair advantage by players and having mods and John Smith "you guys got this thread handled" of ANET shout me down as trying to make a ton of money i give up handling this on the inside. The top tier items cost 400g .... who is trying to make a ton of money? almost RMAH-like. The goldsellers illegal influx of money generated from a stable ROI on basic mats has sent gems values up and gold from gems down. Example - I bought one character slot with in-game gold for under 3g shortly after the game got the TP up. Fair and nice...... that same slot would take over 8g now. Crafting is worhtless and a money sink ... like its needed.. with only xp having any value. I can farm mats and gain equal exp and more money. anyone who is looking for an enjoyable market experience with free enterprise and the ability to succeed or fail on your own... run fast and far the other direction. This is not your game. The game environment is good. The dyanmic events, POI, heart quests etc ... are wonderful. thats the 6 ... the rest is a zero. sorry to say any who thought GUILD WARS 2 was the no sub solution and successorto WoW will be disappointed. It's only slightly better in the quest and loses by a landslide in the rest... damn shame too. I had high hopes.    … Expand
  3. jubjub1277
    Oct 29, 2012
    10
    This game is really amazing considering that it features a 60$ price tag and no monthly subs. The world is huge and is clearly designed for casual player. Hard-Core players may find the game disappointing because its pretty easy to level up and the lack of the end game content. The soundtrack is also amazing and is composed by Jeremy Soule who made the skyrim soundtrack. Overall the gameThis game is really amazing considering that it features a 60$ price tag and no monthly subs. The world is huge and is clearly designed for casual player. Hard-Core players may find the game disappointing because its pretty easy to level up and the lack of the end game content. The soundtrack is also amazing and is composed by Jeremy Soule who made the skyrim soundtrack. Overall the game is amazing and different from other games such as WoW and the WoW clones.… Expand
  4. hegyitaho
    Oct 29, 2012
    0
    not an mmo revolution, but still as wow's getting older and older, this is it's best alternative (also sub free!). i don't care about pve in general but there's very of it little even to my liking. pvp-wise it's much better, still there's no incentive in the long run (i mean spvp, which lacks ranked teams, arena ladders), also pvp feels like just burning all your skills asap and waitingnot an mmo revolution, but still as wow's getting older and older, this is it's best alternative (also sub free!). i don't care about pve in general but there's very of it little even to my liking. pvp-wise it's much better, still there's no incentive in the long run (i mean spvp, which lacks ranked teams, arena ladders), also pvp feels like just burning all your skills asap and waiting on cooldowns. WvWvW is too hectic with too may people that makes the frame rate drop to single digit number (4 core cpu, 560ti, 8gig ram). i would be really interested in statistics about the active players as a function of time, i have a feeling that its a small fraction of the peak value. graphics are great, story and crafting and pve are well below swtor. level grindig is horrible, despite of or partially because of this "everything is a dynamic event" craze… Expand
  5. Triggerhappy
    Oct 28, 2012
    10
    This is a shockingly good game, fully enjoyable either as a massive RPG campaign across a sprawling world, or as a highly challenging MMO with enough content and almost unachievable endgame goals (getting legendary gear or 100% dungeon completion is a worthy challenge). PvP offers an absolutely unforgiving environment to E-sport geeks, while World v World offers environment to fight enemyThis is a shockingly good game, fully enjoyable either as a massive RPG campaign across a sprawling world, or as a highly challenging MMO with enough content and almost unachievable endgame goals (getting legendary gear or 100% dungeon completion is a worthy challenge). PvP offers an absolutely unforgiving environment to E-sport geeks, while World v World offers environment to fight enemy players that is easily accessible to everyone including newcomers. The world is rich, graphics amazing, engine flawless, character development has a distinctly fresh touch to it. If you have ever at all enjoyed the MMORPG genre, you absolutely owe it to yourself to try this one. There are people everywhere, whether to group up for PvE, or to compete with in PvP. No lag, no waiting time. Oh, and, you know... no subscription. Amazing. After a 100 hours, this game remains a source of ever-fresh enjoyment, and a lasting credit to its creators.… Expand
  6. RedMattis
    Oct 28, 2012
    5
    The lack of clear character roles such as a clear tank, healer, damagers, crowd controllers and so on unfortunately reduces the teamwork in the game to beating up monsters and dodging their attacks... in group! As opposed to beating up monsters and dodging their attack alone!

    Unfortunately everyone basically just runs their own race, and aside of "combo fields" it typically works    The lack of clear character roles such as a clear tank, healer, damagers, crowd controllers and so on unfortunately reduces the teamwork in the game to beating up monsters and dodging their attacks... in group! As opposed to beating up monsters and dodging their attack alone!

    Unfortunately everyone basically just runs their own race, and aside of "combo fields" it typically works better that way. Working together alongside strangers is obviously even more devoid of sophisticated teamwork.

    Next problem is the attack numbers, and this is something almost every bad review mentions. There are only 5 attacks per weapon and a few support abilities used more rarely. This in turn means that you'll be using the same tricks again and again and again until you start getting bored.

    The World versus World is very well done though, and some features such as jumping puzzles can be a fun diversion.

    Overall this is not a bad game, but the non-dedicated character classes don't quite work out, and it drags down the entire game.    … Expand
  7. mephage
    Oct 27, 2012
    9
    To sum up - GW2 is a fantastic and fun game that I have truly enjoyed in an exploratory and exciting way, something I haven't done in ~7 years.

    I spent a good part of 6 years playing WoW after first playing Guild Wars original for a year or so, then on and off after that point. I've played several other MMOs but none of them ever really came close to WoW or original Guild Wars as far as    To sum up - GW2 is a fantastic and fun game that I have truly enjoyed in an exploratory and exciting way, something I haven't done in ~7 years.

    I spent a good part of 6 years playing WoW after first playing Guild Wars original for a year or so, then on and off after that point. I've played several other MMOs but none of them ever really came close to WoW or original Guild Wars as far as I'm concerned.

    GW2 has fresh and exciting ways of exploring and traversing the deep and detailed world. For once, an MMO has left the decision "How should I play the game" to the player, rather than boxing them in to stale and linear PvE experiences. As I'm still leveling, I don't know what end game will be like but GW2 definitely deserves a 9 even if end game is crap, considering just how awesome the leveling experience is.    … Expand
  8. superbau
    Oct 26, 2012
    6
    Mmmm game are beautiful, but need to refix and expand more.. i cant play more than 2hours, it come boring anywhere,,, pve: it have a very nice place, but have to do always the same think, annoying a lot... and havent the desert place!!!! ... pvp are Very annoying, well its good to play but... 30 minuts its my best before CLOSE computer... WvW it mu prefer but... need more interaction,Mmmm game are beautiful, but need to refix and expand more.. i cant play more than 2hours, it come boring anywhere,,, pve: it have a very nice place, but have to do always the same think, annoying a lot... and havent the desert place!!!! ... pvp are Very annoying, well its good to play but... 30 minuts its my best before CLOSE computer... WvW it mu prefer but... need more interaction, more think, mount... need more object usable, more place, some WvW dungeon.. ecc... Game need to expand more and more and insert more and more feature for come to a best game ever, now.. it just a Beautifull Work in progress… Expand
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. Cleric22
    Oct 19, 2012
    10
    I often wonder whether people who give this game a negative review really put the time in the appreciate the mechanics of GW2. One person says there is no end game content and is infuriated. The other says there is end game content...and he is infuriated. I myself along with my group am enjoying this game thoroughly. I find the waypoint mechanic essential to getting around since there areI often wonder whether people who give this game a negative review really put the time in the appreciate the mechanics of GW2. One person says there is no end game content and is infuriated. The other says there is end game content...and he is infuriated. I myself along with my group am enjoying this game thoroughly. I find the waypoint mechanic essential to getting around since there are no mounts, but being able to stay in the field longer means more gameplay, which in turns means time not wasted.

    The combat is fluid enough for a MMORPG, the dodge mechanic especially useful for the larger bosses, and a sense of thrill as you feel the narrow escape of a lethal attack. The races and classes have fun diversities from other games of this setting and style. Fans of Skyrim may enjoy the Norn class, a Norse like people standing at 9 feet tall and following the ways of the mountain. In other parts of the world technology, nobility and nature may rule in place. It's steampunk at times without the self aware humor that sometimes comes along with it.

    Ascetically the game has plenty to offer. Being able to change color patterns on the fly means never being bored of feeling mixed match unless you want that. Even items can be found that will combine the look of one item with the stats of another. Making a friendly PVE world has opened up the potential for this game. Taking down a monster with dozens of people gives a thrill as a complete stranger will lend you a buff, or even pick you up if you're knocked over.

    PVP has great potential allowing anyone to dive in from the character screen, and leveling has been so much fun I'm working on three characters!    … Expand
  12. jacksepticeye
    Oct 17, 2012
    9
    I normally hate MMOs and their formulas but a friend suggested GW2 and I can't stop playing it. Truly a game changer in the MMO market. A very smart take on the questing systems of old that keep you busy and never feels like a chore or a grind to play.Not only that but it looks incredible too. Fantastic game.
  13. gendu
    Oct 16, 2012
    10
    /age : You have played 242 hours played across all characters.

    My first "mmo" was the original Guild Wars, I loved it from the first moment I started playing and I continued to play it for almost 5 years. When I started to loose interest in GW I tried out other mmo's but none could capture my interest long enough to warrant a subscription beyond the second month. Among them: WoW, Lotro,    /age : You have played 242 hours played across all characters.

    My first "mmo" was the original Guild Wars, I loved it from the first moment I started playing and I continued to play it for almost 5 years. When I started to loose interest in GW I tried out other mmo's but none could capture my interest long enough to warrant a subscription beyond the second month. Among them: WoW, Lotro, Conan, Tabula Rasa, Rift.
    I came to a decision then to ignore subscription based mmo's as I really hated the feeling that I was wasting my money when I was not playing.

    I tried GW2 first during the beta weekends, I was shocked to see how different it felt from the original GW and I must admit it did not convince me at first, it felt more like the other "classic" mmo's and I felt overwhelmed by all the content and lost, unsure what to do or what was happening.
    Still, I put my trust in the dev team that brought me the original GW which I loved so much, closed my eyes and pushed that prepurchase button.
    When the game launched I took 2 weeks off from work to indulge in some good old gaming marathon (much more modest now since the wife and the baby ;-) ).

    It took me about 3-4 days learning to play the game, starting from running around like a headless chicken, rolling from one event to the next. Once I understood the basics of the game and the various reward systems it all fell in place for me, my trust in the dev team paid off. Now I am completely hooked, for the first time in 5 years I am again completely hooked to a game.

    things I like
    - the distinct pve areas, each with it's own setting (forest, snowy, desert,..) it's own story and special events
    - the downleveling makes it possible to enjoy lower level area's as they were meant to be played
    - dynamic events encourages players to fight together, a nice change in pace for someone like me who normally plays solo
    - trading post/auction house, gem system, you never need to buy gems with real money because you can buy it with ingame earned gold, buying and selling is simplicity - ingame goals: maxing out titles, level, crafting skills, daily achievements, monthly achievements, exploring (vista's, points of interests)
    - WvWvW, still a noob here but very thrilling, it's is basically the same as the pve areas, only there are enemy players of 2 other servers fighting in the same map, the maps are almost as big as the pve area's filled with all the same challenges (vista's, poi's, harvesting, quests and events,..) but also towers and keeps controlled by player factions that can be fortified and repaired and of course captured. You enter with your own gear but your level is boosted to max level in order to give you a fighting chance. - crafting and discovering new recipes (you will have to buy ingredients from the trading post if you don't want to grind harvesting jute, copper,...), the chef makes consumables that can be used to give time limited buffs, the tailor (and others) can make bigger bags...
    - personal story: changes by race and choices made ingame, plenty of variety to make each story different things I haven't tried yet
    - dungeons
    - guilds
    - structured PvP
    - high level (70+) areas

    My current main is a level 67 guardian with 62% map completion.
    My ranger is played to become a survivor, currently level 22 and going (slowly)
    My mesmer is played to become max crafter in everything (and so also become a survivor) and sits permanently in Lion's Arch next to the mystic forge
    My engineer was the first character I made and is currently waiting for my attention stuck at level 42.
    My warrior, elementalist, necromancer and thief are still in their starting area's neglected for the moment.

    Seeing how Arenanet supported the original GW, the enhancements that were added over the years, the special holiday events, I expect the same support for GW2 and I see myself enjoying at least the next 5 years playing GW2.    … Expand
  14. Aeryx
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    A revolution in MMORPG design. Guild Wars 2 presents an amazing amount of positive disruptive changes to the status quo that it corrects so many of the problems the MMO industry has with existing game templates. Artfully designed and wisely thought game mechanics make this game a must-have for MMORPG fans the world over.
  15. ryn
    Oct 15, 2012
    4
    I'll keep this short. The graphics and sound come together to form a breathtaking world. Unfortunately, this alone isn't enough to make a compelling game. The combat is fun and engaging (perhaps more so than in competing titles) for the first couple of days. But I have yet to play an MMO that manages to keep it interesting after that and GW2 is no exception. Unfortunately this hits GW2I'll keep this short. The graphics and sound come together to form a breathtaking world. Unfortunately, this alone isn't enough to make a compelling game. The combat is fun and engaging (perhaps more so than in competing titles) for the first couple of days. But I have yet to play an MMO that manages to keep it interesting after that and GW2 is no exception. Unfortunately this hits GW2 hard, because as the developers pointed out many times: there is no "carrot" in GW2. What's supposed to keep you playing is the fun of playing the game itself (walking around killing things, exploring, doing dynamic events, etc.) and NOT loot rewards. Well, general game-play quickly becomes sleep-inducing. Crafting is a major gold-sink and feels like a waste of time, even if the interface itself isn't bad. The economy is a complete joke, with 99% of items selling at vendor price and the other 1% climbing to insane new heights every day. Unless you've played from release and speculated your way to huge profits when various recipes were changed or discovered, you are going to be dirt-poor from 1-80 and beyond. The dungeons are boring and frustrating at the same time, but to expect differently when you put 5 classes that all do everything in a dungeon that you over-tune to hell to make it "challenging" is madness. World-vs-World PvP is a zerg-fest of epic proportions and if you think that structured PvP will appeal to you, go play Dota2 or LoL instead for a much more complete and fun experience. The personal story is decent up to level 50 or so, then it looses pretty much all it's appeal and turns into another terrible, unrewarding grind.… Expand
  16. Anupsetzombie
    Oct 15, 2012
    3
    This game loses it's luster VERY fast. I had no reason to get to the end game (Which is 80 levels of doing "Grind Free" questing). I got a character to level 58. I started losing interest around level 50. My character has around 30 moves, all on short cool down, but they all generally do the same thing. Apply an effect, knock back, increase attack speed. Boring. Also, the whole gimmick onThis game loses it's luster VERY fast. I had no reason to get to the end game (Which is 80 levels of doing "Grind Free" questing). I got a character to level 58. I started losing interest around level 50. My character has around 30 moves, all on short cool down, but they all generally do the same thing. Apply an effect, knock back, increase attack speed. Boring. Also, the whole gimmick on how there's no grinding is complete bull. The only thing end game is, is grinding to get cooler looking gear. You have to run dungeons THOUSANDS of times to get full dungeon sets, and don't get me even started on the ridiculous difficulty of dungeons. Also, Arenanet advertising heavily on a "role-less" game is a complete lie as well. You HAVE to have a tank, a designated healer, etc. in order to survive in these stupidly difficult dungeons. The story is rather lame, and the quests all start feeling the same. The world is nice looking, but I noticed repeats in designs and looks, the areas aren't varied very well and I got bored very fast of the style pretty fast as well. Also, anyone who thinks this game revolutionized questing is delusional, they just cover up the questing by making it an area where you can quest instead of having to turn it in. W v W is alright, but you can only do well if you have a solid in take of money, since the seige equipment costs lots of currency. This game was fun for about a month, which is all it needs to get a good review from most people (most people stop playing after that long anyways....) while you need to put in a LOT more time than that to get to the "end game".… Expand
  17. Bulaba0
    Oct 14, 2012
    5
    Pretty fun, but the story is pathetic, the characters all horribly uninteresting, and the endgame nonexistent. It was fun getting to 80, but everything gets boring after a few hours there. WvW is just a Numbers battle, Structured PVP isn't doable without a team, and all that's left from that is farming dungeons for cool looking armor, or farming mats for legendary e-peen weps.

    All the    Pretty fun, but the story is pathetic, the characters all horribly uninteresting, and the endgame nonexistent. It was fun getting to 80, but everything gets boring after a few hours there. WvW is just a Numbers battle, Structured PVP isn't doable without a team, and all that's left from that is farming dungeons for cool looking armor, or farming mats for legendary e-peen weps.

    All the classes blend in with eachother, making every class try to do a bit of everything, and making pvp boring as all hell. There are really no counters to classes. Every class has their heal, their escape, etc. so PVP can last 4-5 minutes 1-on-1, until someone gets bored, misses a cooldown, or someone else comes along.

    To reiterate, the main story is atrocious. You're thrown onto characters who are supposed to be interesting and dynamic, but end up being annoying cardboard cutouts. The worst part is the game acts like you feel deep compassion for them, with horribly played-up dialogue and dramatic cutscenes. There were points where I would rather kill the character myself just to save the time in saving them when something bad inevitably happened to them.

    Overall fun, but not lasting more than a few weeks.    … Expand
  18. commonHouseDirt
    Oct 14, 2012
    3
    If you were to chart an exciting quest, it might start out slow, and then ramp up and up, until the climax at which point you would face some thrilling final challenge, after which you would feel a flood of endorphins for having accomplished something. This is not how GW2 works. Instead, you wander around, and a little message says, "Go kill those things to save the farm or whatever." SoIf you were to chart an exciting quest, it might start out slow, and then ramp up and up, until the climax at which point you would face some thrilling final challenge, after which you would feel a flood of endorphins for having accomplished something. This is not how GW2 works. Instead, you wander around, and a little message says, "Go kill those things to save the farm or whatever." So you go kill whatever for a while with a hundred other people, and then the things are all killed, and you get a letter that says, "Hey, thanks for killing those things. Here's some gold." It doesn't lead anywhere, no story is built, it's not the start of some greater mission to work towards, and you don't feel more powerful or accomplished. Frankly, Guild Wars 2 is boring. I only feel compelled to play this game because I spent money on it. The story, lore, and dialog are paper thin, which would be forgivable if the gameplay was at all interesting.

    The worst sin of this game, though? They've built a beautiful world, and given you a difficult to control, buggy, awful camera with which to view it. Super narrow FOV with no way to change it, collides with random objects and jerks around wildly (especially indoors), shows you more of the ground than the scenery, and always prefers to stick your character front and center, blocking whatever you actually want to look at. All of this makes exploring the world, which should be a fun diversion, a headache.    … Expand
  19. 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
  20. Stars_Cream
    Oct 13, 2012
    10
    Loot drops like Diablo
    RvR better than DAoC
    PvP better than WoW
    Public Quests better than WAR
    Crafting and Gathering that means something
    Personal Story like SWToR
    Exploration better than any MMO
    Bosses are awesome
    NO MONTHLY FEE

    Dungeons are OK, not great
    Some map completion bugs STILL
    ArenaNet over-nerfs stuff habitually

    WORTH EVERY PENNY!
  21. 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
  22. Brandon_De_VITO
    Oct 11, 2012
    10
    Because of the pricetag, Guild Wars was a title which I returned to many times. It was a cycle of death and rebirth which ended in misery each time it played out. This was due to the fact that Guild Wars was a mouse heavy, Asian MMO, and had the UI of a generation 1 RPG. It was unwieldy, grindy, and made you work to experience the story. This is, of course, the exact opposite of Arena Net
  23. Mordread
    Oct 10, 2012
    10
    This game is awesome, got it as a gift (was going to buy it anyway but my birthday came first :P) I did not play GW1 but have played many other MMOs. Its true that it takes quite a bit from games like Warhammer online, but it takes the good and improves on it. It also introduces new ideas and concepts I haven't seen in other mmos. The game handles lag very well (I play from South Africa)This game is awesome, got it as a gift (was going to buy it anyway but my birthday came first :P) I did not play GW1 but have played many other MMOs. Its true that it takes quite a bit from games like Warhammer online, but it takes the good and improves on it. It also introduces new ideas and concepts I haven't seen in other mmos. The game handles lag very well (I play from South Africa) compared to games like WOW or Diablo 3. My only real complaint is the lack of proper learning content, its either not there or too boring to do. Its way more fun to just jump in and play like an idiot while you figure things out. I must say that this game is growing on me. The more I play the more fun it seems to get! Graphics are good, quests are fun, events are amazing, sounds are cool and personal quests add a fun single player element to the game(can be done multi, I like to single it). For those skeptical about the RM gem system, it is a little annoying but can be worked around, gems can be bought off ah with gold. 1 suggestion to A-net is please add more attacking animations haha… Expand
  24. 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.
  25. VirginKiller
    Oct 9, 2012
    10
    Repetitive is something u should have expected. I'd play so many games, all looks repetitive, if u blame u need to push the same button in a game, please rethink noobs. I'd play COD and most of the time i clicked Left Mouse button for hours dude, opss kids. I'd played Starcraft 2, RE series, all using Left Mouse button mostly so stop blame repetitive on button. LoL
  26. Warfighter
    Oct 7, 2012
    10
    This MMORPG has it all.
    Good combat system, good loot system, good crafting system with a bank implemented so you don't have to run around grabbing everything and the coming to the conclusion you took the wrong items.
    It's colorful warm graphics and cutscenes are just so well done. And the good part is: No monthly subs. You pay one time and bang you can play it without paying 12 euros    This MMORPG has it all.
    Good combat system, good loot system, good crafting system with a bank implemented so you don't have to run around grabbing everything and the coming to the conclusion you took the wrong items.
    It's colorful warm graphics and cutscenes are just so well done. And the good part is: No monthly subs. You pay one time and bang you can play it without paying 12 euros every month.
    By the way... Why are you still reading this? Go buy the game it is better then your average grab a quest or go to bank, craft and fail etc MMORPG.
    Do it now!    … Expand
  27. Pecheckler
    Oct 7, 2012
    10
    I followed Guild Wars 2 religiously for years. I played every single available minute during the beta tests and stress tests. The PvE is better than any MMORPG overall, especially because it is fun, never frustrating or tedious. Exploration is especially enjoyable. My only dislikes are the lack of public group options, and World versus World PvP. WvW PvP is an unbalanced frustratingI followed Guild Wars 2 religiously for years. I played every single available minute during the beta tests and stress tests. The PvE is better than any MMORPG overall, especially because it is fun, never frustrating or tedious. Exploration is especially enjoyable. My only dislikes are the lack of public group options, and World versus World PvP. WvW PvP is an unbalanced frustrating mess. I spent over 100 hours over few weeks in WvW, and have since written it off. I have no plans of touching it until it is severely overhauled. However sPvP and PvE is very fun still. There is also a serious problem with hackers... something I've not seen hurt an MMO in nearly 8 years.… Expand
  28. ABNMP
    Oct 7, 2012
    6
    This game is basically an evolution to a higher standard of what has been done before. If you have played an MMO in the last 12 years you will see the similarities. The major areas of failure include open world player versus player and endgame progression. I guess I can summarize the game saying it is like RIFT without the raid element, and with massive unbalanced world PvP. DAOC andThis game is basically an evolution to a higher standard of what has been done before. If you have played an MMO in the last 12 years you will see the similarities. The major areas of failure include open world player versus player and endgame progression. I guess I can summarize the game saying it is like RIFT without the raid element, and with massive unbalanced world PvP. DAOC and Warhammer Online had a better PvP system. If you enjoy a VERY casual game then this is your pick. I was hoping for a REVOLUTION in MMO gaming, but sadly this is more of a "been there done that" experience.… Expand
  29. yesterdayatnoon
    Oct 6, 2012
    9
    It's pretty exciting to have an MMORPG that doesn't kick you out of immersion in the fantasy on a regular basis. The story is nice, it isn't over the top epic quite yet, and while your personal stake in the story takes place in instanced zone, it still happens in the game world not some other place. A large portion of the story occurs in the open world as well, allowing for freeIt's pretty exciting to have an MMORPG that doesn't kick you out of immersion in the fantasy on a regular basis. The story is nice, it isn't over the top epic quite yet, and while your personal stake in the story takes place in instanced zone, it still happens in the game world not some other place. A large portion of the story occurs in the open world as well, allowing for free participation and rewarding all who do participate.

    When you find a new area, rather than looking for a quest hub, you just explore and things will pop up on the side of the screen letting you know what's happening and how you can help. There are still quests out there that aren't like this, but for the most part you are adventuring to adventure.

    Loot is useful in some way, either by salvaging or actually using for long spreads of game play making any reward at least partially valuable.

    Even if you don't like the game play, or if you are a dedicated adherent to some other MMO, I recommend looking at GW2 and checking out the various tools for making playing with alts and crafting much less cumbersome. Crafting materials all go in to a shared character inventory with a limit I have yet to reach on how many of what can be stored. Banking is also shared. This allows a player to back up their main with crafting alts, allowing them to never leave the field, putting materials into their crafting inventory and then accessing their crafted goods from the bank later. This also gives your alts a way to levelup from crafting xp to help them along their way.

    Equipment looks amazing also. While some items do suffer from the floating pauldrons effect seen in other titles, you can turn these items off visually. The armor slots are also far more interesting than the skin tight armor textured pajamas from DDO, WoW and others. A coat looks like a coat, skirts can go anywhere from just covering your bum to knee length or the floor. Using the whole body to add multiple shapes makes the world look a lot more reasonable than most other item designs we see in MMOs.
    Without getting to endgame, I'm already very satisfied with this purchase. The only major short comings are the pay walls around keys to randomly dropped chests, you get way more chests than keys. and the pay wall around the amount of alts you can have (5 for free) and inventory space.    … Expand
  30. monti_84
    Oct 5, 2012
    8
    I´ve been checking the bad reviews of the game, and mainly i read complaints of people who let themselves be fooled by all the hype around it. Just to be clear for the persons that are looking for some guidance about buying the game or not: it is a MMORPG, plain and simple, not that different from many others out there. But its the kind of game that can be released after many otherI´ve been checking the bad reviews of the game, and mainly i read complaints of people who let themselves be fooled by all the hype around it. Just to be clear for the persons that are looking for some guidance about buying the game or not: it is a MMORPG, plain and simple, not that different from many others out there. But its the kind of game that can be released after many other games had done thousands of mistakes the guild wars developers learned from. I´m comming from playing mainly WOW (which i stop playing, i mean pandas?, give me a break!), and I´m enjoying guild wars 2 a lot. I really appreciate not having to talk to npcs for getting/delivering quests, the huge world to explore, the lack of armor grinding, and the feature that has to be a must for any other future MMORPGs: the scaling system. The fact that you dont have to explore the world in a linear way based on your character level is priceless. You get to enjoy the challenge of a 1-10 area even if you are a level 40 or whatever. The same about the fact that if i want to pvp, i don´t have to level my character, then grind countless hours for pvp armor in order to get to endgame pvp. You may now create a character just to pvp, you dont have to level it, just create, get to the pvp zone, and go kill people. If you are looking for a completely different experience from other MMORPGs: DONT LOOK HERE! If you want to play a MMORPG that is thoughtful about your time (no grinding for armor, not waiting for parties, etc) and gets you fast into action, this may be your game. One thing I have to agree with other reviewers in here is that the game is not very social. I see this as a very huge advantage because a hate having to waste my time waiting for a healer or a tank or whatever, or spamming text to find a party to do an elite quest, etc. But one thing they did right is the fact that there is not mob locking, everybody can benefit from a kill if they participated in it (same with gathering), so the sight of other players in that particular elite mob that you cant solo is great, you actually get happy about encountering others instead of seeing them as competition, although you dont even have to talk to them to work together. The players that enjoy feeling important (i´m the best healer, i keep everyone alive!), socializing too much in game or armor grinding are definitely going to be disappointed. Me?, i hate all that stuff, so i am really having a blast playing it. Concerning the critics about the combat being repetitive, with auto attack and cooldowns, well, its true. But i havent found a MMORPG that makes it that much better either, so, not much to comment on that.… 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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