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

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3192 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Aug 17, 2023
    8
    This game is everything I thought it would be. It has no subscription which is just outright amazing for the quality of the game! Easy 8/10! Great MMO!
  2. Aug 14, 2023
    10
    Best MMO nowadays as far as I'm concerned, and maybe the one that respects the most the money you invest. There really nothing wrong with Guild Wars 2, and it amuses me that a good game like that had come from NCSoft.
  3. Aug 13, 2023
    6
    The game is dying, it used to be great but not now.
    Pros:
    * It's casual and "poor" friendly - If you want to play an mmorpg while working full time, this is the best, and if you can't afford a monthly sub, this is it! * Till Living World Season 4 - It has best features and story is alright. * New player friendly - New players can get to high levels easily now, plus free to play players
    The game is dying, it used to be great but not now.
    Pros:
    * It's casual and "poor" friendly - If you want to play an mmorpg while working full time, this is the best, and if you can't afford a monthly sub, this is it!
    * Till Living World Season 4 - It has best features and story is alright.
    * New player friendly - New players can get to high levels easily now, plus free to play players could also experience a lot of good contents.

    Cons:
    * Story - It went real bad after lws4, I don't understand how another country's political problems are a concern for a foreigner(Us), We discover a new land and somehow got involved into their politics (EoD). Apart from story, the scripts have gone bad too, it felt like written by teenagers, the story plots weren't as immersing as it was for PoF.
    * Content - Not being a monthly sub game, it finally took a toll on them, since there aren't much (or any) new content to put out, they can't sell their expansions like before. EoD is an example of how they tried to sell what little they had. Now they changed to mini expansions (5 bucks less).
    * Politics - I don't want to get into details, but like any other American entertainment industry, they went political. Funny thing, they sold a "political inclusion" and didn't make it look like one, but lately it's changed.

    Is it worth to buy/play it?
    Short term - Yes! Go for it. It's worth every penny (till lws4).
    Long term - Probably not, unless they bring good story later on then go for it (maybe new features too).
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  4. Aug 5, 2023
    10
    Guild Wars 2 (including all of its improvements and expansions) has really turned out to be a wonderful game, one that in many ways has been better than WoW for quite a few years now. When it first came out, I had a hard time getting into the look of the game (coming from WoW) but I came back after a few years and really fell in love with almost everything about it. And since you only payGuild Wars 2 (including all of its improvements and expansions) has really turned out to be a wonderful game, one that in many ways has been better than WoW for quite a few years now. When it first came out, I had a hard time getting into the look of the game (coming from WoW) but I came back after a few years and really fell in love with almost everything about it. And since you only pay for expansions and stuff you actually want, it's always there waiting for me to drop in for a few hours. Expand
  5. Jul 18, 2023
    6
    It's great for the first 100-200 hours or so. You're out in a massive well-crafted world exploring, helping people, and slaying various creatures. The maps are large and detailed and they feel alive due to the living world system.
    Then, suddenly you reach max level, and it simply starts to get old - and not for a good reason. The tasks simply become far too repetitive and formulaic.
    It's great for the first 100-200 hours or so. You're out in a massive well-crafted world exploring, helping people, and slaying various creatures. The maps are large and detailed and they feel alive due to the living world system.
    Then, suddenly you reach max level, and it simply starts to get old - and not for a good reason. The tasks simply become far too repetitive and formulaic. Endless thinly-veiled fetch quests, move from point A to point B, click this button here, talk to this guy there. In addition to that, there is artificial difficulty in the form of things simply taking TOO DAMN LONG! What should be a regular mid-boss ends up having a health bar that takes 7 whole minutes to slowly whittle down using the repetitive button-mashy combat wherein you simply cycle through all your abilities without much thought. And yes, I am using the meta DPS build and rotations. It feels like ****
    I understand its an MMO, but it feels like an absolute slog to play at times. Other games keep longer harder boss fights engaging by having good mechanics and satisfying combat. Multiple phases, skill checks, etc.
    With GW2? Yeah let's just make this boss "harder" by giving him 5x the health he should have. Forget good mechanics, forget satisfying gameplay.
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  6. Feb 2, 2023
    9
    An ACTUAL MmoRPG, and not just some Themepark game like FF14 and WoW, in this game your Legendary Items actually matter, even when crafted almost 10 years ago. This is a real RPG, and the MMO part is also the best ive seen. There are Meta Map Events, which require like 30-50 players doing mechanics correctly, there is no better feeling than actually beating an event because everyoneAn ACTUAL MmoRPG, and not just some Themepark game like FF14 and WoW, in this game your Legendary Items actually matter, even when crafted almost 10 years ago. This is a real RPG, and the MMO part is also the best ive seen. There are Meta Map Events, which require like 30-50 players doing mechanics correctly, there is no better feeling than actually beating an event because everyone played well.

    This game deserves better.
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  7. Nov 14, 2022
    3
    Get with the times, and add native controller support. I shouldn't have to rely on the community or steam's overlay. Which is still janky because this game was designed for KB&M only,
  8. Nov 13, 2022
    10
    Proof that a whole genere can be defined differently. Imo greatest MMO ever.
  9. Sep 6, 2022
    0
    Nice game from racists... I bought the game with addons and now they just removed it from store.
  10. Sep 3, 2022
    0
    dirty fascists fight against players for the sake of the west, spanish shame
  11. Aug 25, 2022
    0
    what kind of racism against Russian players? why did you block access, and even my account, which I didn’t log in for 2 years? you guys are nasty nazi clowns, i spit on you and laugh out loud
  12. Aug 23, 2022
    0
    Probably one of the best MMOs on the market right now and i wish that it changed the industry to be more like it. unfortunately the ability to convert in-game currency into premium currency made players that have reached endgame irrelevant to the microtransaction based monetization system and caused the game to have no good endgame content releases for over half a decade and a balanceProbably one of the best MMOs on the market right now and i wish that it changed the industry to be more like it. unfortunately the ability to convert in-game currency into premium currency made players that have reached endgame irrelevant to the microtransaction based monetization system and caused the game to have no good endgame content releases for over half a decade and a balance patch timeline of 9 months that usually make the meta worse Expand
  13. Aug 17, 2022
    10
    Guild wars 2 helped me stay sane during the pandemic. The community is very friendly and mature. The game has the best gameplay of all MMO out there. Fights feels very dynamic and your skills will make the difference not your stats. The game is very generous and quite cheap compared to others. No subs is amazing. You need the expansion for the best specs in game but they come on sale halfGuild wars 2 helped me stay sane during the pandemic. The community is very friendly and mature. The game has the best gameplay of all MMO out there. Fights feels very dynamic and your skills will make the difference not your stats. The game is very generous and quite cheap compared to others. No subs is amazing. You need the expansion for the best specs in game but they come on sale half price frequently but honestly support the devs as they are a smallish studio with great vision. Expand
  14. Jul 1, 2022
    10
    É o melhor MMORPG que eu já joguei na vida, se eu fosse explicar todos os motivos, ninguém ia ler por ficar tão extenso, então deixo minha simples nota 10
  15. Jun 26, 2022
    10
    This is really fun.
    It's my favorite game.
    But it is not Korean.
    So I'm sad.
  16. Jun 23, 2022
    0
    The game WAS fun until i went in WvW. Theres lots of cheaters. Using the report tool ingame do nothing because they are still there after months, reporting in the forum end in a ban but not of the cheater, you get a ban for something called "name and shame". Asking why you get a ban and the cheater not end in a ban because "you cant talk about anet decisions". Any post with proof ofThe game WAS fun until i went in WvW. Theres lots of cheaters. Using the report tool ingame do nothing because they are still there after months, reporting in the forum end in a ban but not of the cheater, you get a ban for something called "name and shame". Asking why you get a ban and the cheater not end in a ban because "you cant talk about anet decisions". Any post with proof of cheating and expoiting get deleted (videos and screenshots). I did bit of search in google and ive found that the same cheats are there from 10 years ago. rofl. Expand
  17. May 29, 2022
    4
    Just reviewing the story missions of the base game here. This is one of the worst story experiences I've ever had. Mediocre voice acting; a lot of the minor actors sound like they just wandered into the studio. Very strange mechanics, like turret sections where you have to press the number keys to move and shoot the turret, or escort missions where you have to stand right next to but alsoJust reviewing the story missions of the base game here. This is one of the worst story experiences I've ever had. Mediocre voice acting; a lot of the minor actors sound like they just wandered into the studio. Very strange mechanics, like turret sections where you have to press the number keys to move and shoot the turret, or escort missions where you have to stand right next to but also slightly ahead of the NPC at all times to get them to move. TERRIBLE story progression. All that happens is you meet a few new characters, they die or betray you, and the other characters (most of whom have no personality beyond their fantasy race) are surprised. Then you beat the main boss by hopping on a turret and spamming 1 for 5 minutes straight.

    After peaking ahead at some story content for the "Path of Fire" expansion, it does seem like their writing ability and use of mechanics gets better over time. But the base game is so atrocious and skippable, please do yourself a favor and just skip all the cutscenes. You don't need to know anything besides the Jolly Green Giant guy is the main hero for apparently no reason. That's it.
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  18. Apr 12, 2022
    8
    Отличная ММО игра, одна из лучших и место заслуженное!
  19. Mar 23, 2022
    10
    This MMO need to be standard for all others MMO's. Simple adjusted for hardcore and casual games.
  20. Mar 14, 2022
    10
    The best MMO out there!
    It respects your time.
    It's free to play. Have the best mount system. A lot of cosmetics, the game's second name is Fashion Wars after all... It have dye channels for every single armor, mount, glider, backpiece. You can gather everything. Everything you do in the game gives you experience which means you can level up however you want. The zones are
    The best MMO out there!
    It respects your time.
    It's free to play.
    Have the best mount system.
    A lot of cosmetics, the game's second name is Fashion Wars after all...
    It have dye channels for every single armor, mount, glider, backpiece.
    You can gather everything.
    Everything you do in the game gives you experience which means you can level up however you want.
    The zones are breathtaking and with the implementation of dx11 they are even better now.
    There is fishing now and is one of the best fishing games in MMO I have seen.
    The raids, fractals, dungions, strikes are very challenging and fun.
    The PvP (5v5) and WvW (80vs80vs80) are great way for you to compete with others.
    There is no boring questing where you need to talk to someone and then go back to return the quest, you just do your thing in the open world and you get rewarded via the mail when you help the guy in that specific area.
    The friendliest community I have ever seen.
    Everywhere you go there are waypoints that when you unlock them you can travel to them from the map whenever you are.
    The loot system is not shared, everyone gets what he deserves, the drop is personal. The experience is personal, The kills are personal. Everyone helps one another because they win from helping you.
    There is a downed system, where you fight for your life.
    The crafting system is awesome.
    Everyone can res everyone.
    Everyone can heal everyone.
    The profession class you choose depends only from your play-style and nothing more.
    There are 12 mounts in the game and every mount does its own thing that helps you traverse the terain and they feel awesome!
    The best gear you get can take few weeks to get but after that you can use it forever because there is no gear treadmill. Max level is 80 and after you level up you just have fun. Do your thing. Explore, fight, gather, craft, fill objectives, command a squad, help people, roleplay, etc. The options are limitless and some people are afraid of that.
    Legendaries are a long term goal that for a single legendary it can take months or a year even. Legendaries can be armors, weapons, trinkets, backitems, sigils, runes. They are quality of life items that enables you to swap stats or change visual effect of the item without the need of transmutation charge.
    The gem store is the way that the game can get some cash from the player but you can buy everything from the gem store, converting gold to gems from the shop. At some point because the game doesn't have fee, you'll feel guilty for playing so much without giving money, so you'll start buying stuff just because of gratitude. Only the expansions are payed but buying Path of Fire, gives you free Heart of Thorns expansion. End of Dragons expansion just released and is super strong, everyone loves it.
    10/10
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  21. Mar 9, 2022
    9
    This is a very well made MMORPG, easily one of the best. The world and combat design is top stuff and exploration is the best on offer. It's amazing how much quality content you get without a monthly fee. It's still a bustling game, very active and PVP is a lot of fun. Get it. You've nothing to lose and all to gain.
  22. Feb 21, 2022
    5
    Игра из детства, помню как играли в локальном мультиплеере с братом. По части геймплея - в одночасье игра становится обычной фармилкой денег.
  23. Jan 27, 2022
    10
    This game has so much content without a monthly price tag. The world is huge and the quest design so well done. The story is fantastic and even the end game is full of things to so. I loved the multiplayer aspects. I spent hundreds of hours in this game.
  24. Jan 3, 2022
    10
    Guild Wars 2 is one of the best MMO-RPG at the moment and in the future. With new Updates like "End of Fire" you see the developer still love this Game.
  25. Nov 24, 2021
    0
    zero for this trash.

    1.You buy the game yet are subtly forced ingame to buy more bags, storage, convenience items etc etc through the most imaginative ways. 2. game engine is obsolete. You would think they would do something with all the money they get. NOPE 3. zero QoL updates. Absolutely zero for a game that is out 11 years now. Finished a quest? you need to go back to deliver
    zero for this trash.

    1.You buy the game yet are subtly forced ingame to buy more bags, storage, convenience items etc etc through the most imaginative ways.

    2. game engine is obsolete. You would think they would do something with all the money they get. NOPE

    3. zero QoL updates. Absolutely zero for a game that is out 11 years now. Finished a quest? you need to go back to deliver it. In other mmos you get your reward and continue playing, not here. here you must go back to deliver your quest and go back to wherever you were. nice

    4. Mounts are the worst i ever seen. So heavy and cumbersome

    5. said mounts are in steps. The first mount runs, the second jumps a bit higher, the third hovers on water, the fourth glides, and the fifth flies a bit better :D see what they did here?

    6. No option to hide other peoples magic effects-cosmetics etc. obviously this game was not done for raiding, the term wow rejects has some basis here

    7.Progress is horizontal, this means that if you play 3 years and go back to starter areas you are still weak. This has led to expansion areas being empty. Good luck finding help to kill x-y-z boss or anyone to help you qith quests. Everyone is at tyria, no one at expansions

    8.The game is structured in such a way that you make zero gold to be forced to pay to buy gold.

    9. If you want to raid you must play specidif builds. No matter what they tell you. If you dont do enough dps you dont raid. simple as that

    10. Classes are boring and weird. Rogue with staff? mage with sword? ranger with double daggers?

    And a ton of other fails i could mention here but dont take my word, go play the free version and make up your mind. Imma head back to wow, the true king. Other mmos should copy what wow does if they want money
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  26. Oct 29, 2021
    4
    the skyscale collection is the most frustrating quest i face in a videogame, it is almost impossible to do this quest without a group in cetain point, to make the matter worse it is not good for the business since guild wars if filed with cosmetics in game purchases.
  27. Sep 23, 2021
    10
    My favorite mmo. It takes and fixes almost everyting that is wrong with wow. And the new things it presents are very solid at worst.
  28. Aug 31, 2021
    0
    Guild Wars 2 could be the best game in the world, but there is no Russian localization. Arena net is the most greedy company in the world. They sell the game, they sell skins in the game, but they can't find 3 cents for Russian localization. This is discrimination against the ru-community.
  29. Jul 29, 2021
    0
    -Clunky ui
    - you CANT hide other peoples effects, enjoy your epilepsy in raids
    - want to craft something? does that something need 9 prerequisites? do you have the mats? enjoy crafting 9 items before the one you want as opposed to making right away the item you need -you cant patry to finish quests quick, you need to kill 10 wolves by yourself :D the game doesnt want you to party -only
    -Clunky ui
    - you CANT hide other peoples effects, enjoy your epilepsy in raids
    - want to craft something? does that something need 9 prerequisites? do you have the mats? enjoy crafting 9 items before the one you want as opposed to making right away the item you need
    -you cant patry to finish quests quick, you need to kill 10 wolves by yourself :D the game doesnt want you to party
    -only centaurs as enemies, and bandits sometimes
    -complicated store system
    -millions of currencies wtf?
    -mediocre story
    -more centaurs to kill, maybe join them? They don't seem to end
    -you can have 2 professions only, you have to BUY to have more and THEN PAY to swap active professions or crafting disciplines as they call it to differ from competition xD
    -no fishing............................ lmao
    -people pay money on this game for years now yet i fail to see how all this money was invested in the game, if at all
    -centaurs centaurs centaurs. I got tired of killing centaurs. once i killed a stray rabbit. felt good mon, to break the monotony you know
    -sold a ton of items in my bag of 8 slots(dont be dense son you got to pay to get big bags here) and i got 30 rupees. Used a teleport payed 54 rupees............................................
    -end game dungeons are boring af
    - community 60% toxic 40% pretty nice people
    -more centaurs to kill wtf man
    - missing or losing your target, only to retarget something else that has full energy to come and kill you wtf?
    -ranger pet...... if you played ranger in wow, try something else here, thank me later.
    -leveling is extremely slow. Only gets decent when you get some xp boosters. otherwise 10% from food on 50exp is nothing
    -saved the best for last. You pay? you get good gear. You don't pay? Wat u doin here son? go play some roblox

    stopped as soon as i hit 80 just to see if endgame it got better. It didn't :D

    If you like a good Mmo either try wow, or its f2p dying clone Rift.

    GW2 has failed miserably. NCSOFT, when you see that name just move on, simple as that. This game hasnt seen new content or raids in over 2 years and if the coming expansion doesn't deliver many more will quit playing
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  30. Jul 3, 2021
    9
    The game's not perfect, but it's pretty close to that. The features in this game stand out so much, that you will have a hard time finding something similar. From World vs World to Competitive PvP, to World Exploration and Living Story, or even end game PvE like Fractals and Raids, there is something from everyone. The mount system is one of it's kind, the hybrid action/tab targetingThe game's not perfect, but it's pretty close to that. The features in this game stand out so much, that you will have a hard time finding something similar. From World vs World to Competitive PvP, to World Exploration and Living Story, or even end game PvE like Fractals and Raids, there is something from everyone. The mount system is one of it's kind, the hybrid action/tab targeting combat is insanely deep not to mention the friendliest community in any MMO. Expand
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 69
  2. 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. 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.
  3. 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.