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

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2423 Ratings

User score distribution:

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  1. Aug 28, 2012
  2. Aug 31, 2012
    -----Two words. WoW KIller.----- Anet took everything that sucks, everything that was annoying, everything that didn't work in the Multiplayer RPG Genre and turned it into solid gold.
  3. Aug 28, 2012
  4. Nov 27, 2012
    Guild Wars 2 progresses the MMO genre. There's no grind, there's collaboration galore, a wealth of PvP, and quite possibly the most scenic game I've ever laid eyes on. I'm constantly bewildered by its beauty, and fun. Buy this game. Get in a big guild. Play WvW, play sPvP, get in dungeons, play live events...etc, etc, etc,etc,etcet,cet,
  5. Sep 3, 2012
    As users like Chaiwallah and others don't understand with their supremely entitled natures, is that a launch of a huge game, such as Guild Wars 2, is not without it's hiccups. Games have gone from being a platform completely forgotten by a developer after release (so the finished product needed to be 100 percent out the gate) to living environments that need to be upkept and maintained. Nobody cares one little bit that you spent extra money to make a machine to play this (graphically intensive game?) That is a red herring, it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Likely, your account was hacked and you need to visit Reddit to confirm that. The game is great for a non-subscription game, which is exactly why I tend not to play games like WoW, I can't justify playing a grind game that I pay extra for each month. Anyway, the game deserves a 10 just for treading in a new area in a different way. Also, to counter dumb arguments for jaded, entitled consumers that think the world revolves around them. Expand
  6. Aug 28, 2012
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros:
    Beautiful scenery
    Detailed character models
    Intuitive and addicting crafting system

    Skill selection is highly limited to certain dedicated slots
    Clunky inventory/banking system





  7. Sep 22, 2012
    Very mixed in multiple respects... the first view of the game is that it is fantastic. At least a refreshing view on the MMO world, really well done and finished, with innovative quest system and fantastic innovative levelling mechanism.

    And after a while you're logging in and you don;t really know why you're accepting silly limitations like the stupidly think inventory system, the
    lacklustre crafting mechanism, the stupid "personnal story" system that for some quests is just so close to impossible that it is frustrating beyond relief (with no hope of overpowering the quest... my engineer has been stuck on a lvl 28 quest since the beginning...)

    It could have been fantastic but it is barely passable due to these limitations. It is not a hazard if blizzard has simplified the silly things in wow... guild wars should have thought about it too...

    WvW is very well thought but individual contributions are pretty much close to zero so the strategy is either zerg grouping or smaller "pro" groups which is boring after a while

    I see this game performing very well over time but will require a LOT of refining to keep players in. NC Soft does not care because there are no subscription.

    In some respect this game gave me the same feeling as TOR: an initial "Waouw" and then "but..... why did they... why didn't they....?"

  8. Aug 28, 2012







  9. Aug 30, 2012
  10. Aug 29, 2012
    Absolutely superb game. It does have some issues right now with server stability etc, but what MMO doesn't on launch?
    I love the dynamic questing, really makes you feel part of the world. beautiful artistic style throughout. Can't praise it enough.
  11. Sep 7, 2012
    I played and enjoyed the first Guild Wars for years. When Guild Wars 2 came out I wasn't sure what to expect, I tried the beta and I loved it immediately. Everything that annoyed me in Guild Wars is fixed in Guild Wars 2. The only thing that worried me at first glance was the absence of the dual profession mechanic which I loved in the first Guild Wars; it offered so many possibilities! But the weapon swapping in GW2 is probably even more interesting simply because it gives you access to a larger bank of skills; skills are defined by the weapon you are holding. You can switch weapons dynamically during combat which is awesome and you can even change your skills any time during the game, no need to go to an outpost to reorganise your skill bar. Elementalists don't have the weapon swapping ability but they can switch between four attunements(air, fire, water and earth) anytime during combat... awesome! What sets GW2 apart from other games of the genre is the dynamic events which can occur anywhere, anytime in the world, and they require cooperation between players; downed allies can be revived eliminating the frustration of being teleported to a resurection shrine and having to walk all the way back. Areas are no longer instanced except for dungeons and story line missions. There is no tedious fetching quests anymore. Instead quests occur in specific locations on the map and you don't have to stray too far to complete them. You can now choose between five different races: Human, Charr, Asura and Silvari. They all have the same stats and abilities but they add a nice flavor to the game. Crafting disciplines were added which opens up a whole new dimension to Guild Wars. The trading post (the equivalent of the auction house in WoW or Diablo) is a nice addition. Item stats are more varied and make more sense than before. Graphics are amazing for MMO standards and the areas are breathtaking. I cannot comment on the PvP aspect of the game as I haven't tried it yet. The only annoying thing I can find is the constant pop-ups telling you that you are in an overflow because the instance is full but that will hopefully be fixed soon. So if you love MMOs or RPGs Guild Wars 2 is a must! Expand
  12. gas
    Sep 5, 2012
    After playin wow more or less 7 years i think tht GW2 is very very promising, i tried some others mmos in those years but didnt like any, except EVE online which is very good but another setting and kind of mmo.
    GW2 in my opinion is mostly based on PVP, the world vs world is very fun and the structured pvp is imo a lot better then wow, especially the fact its not gear based, its a lot
    more skill based.
    The PVE is a lot less structured then wow, there are no raids, and instances are more about kiting / controlling.
    Its needed to understand how to play it, positioning, pulling, and the weapons used are key factor to beat the instance in the right manner in exploration mode.
    There is no more tank/healer/dps trinity which is imo really a great idea, ofc it leads to a PVE totally different from wow based games.
    If you like to pass the time stayin back of a boss pulling out max dps this is not the mmo for you, you will die every 2 seconds doing that, ive seen in those starting days a lot of ppl used to other mmos not understanding that the game here is different, its needed to be on the move, use the right weapons, hide when needed, use los and help the team with traits/utility skills.
    The quest system is great, very fun and well made, compared to wow its a blast.
    In many occasions its possible to complete events with follow ups that carry you around a lot before finishing.
    Every zone have a world boss event and at least a hidden puzzle zone to be discovered.
    Most of the new ideas are lightyears further compared to wow, the AH is the best one ive seen in any mmo, and overall i think this game will be a winning one.
    Anyway its not the mmo for anyone, ppl who are interested in raiding or really like tanking/healing system will not find those activities and mechanics in GW2.
  13. Sep 2, 2012
    So nice with a game that finally dared to mix things up a little. Or not "a little", but a lot actually. Doing so many bold moves, people aren't familiar with and it works. Also a massive community feedback on every little error or bug there is. Never seen anything like it, and definitely also counts in on the score, when it's this significant.
  14. Sep 17, 2012
    Having put countless hours into Guild Wars, I can now say with confidence that this is the MMORPG that stands the best chance of dethroning World of Warcraft. It's also one that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Guild Wars 2 is the modern MMORPG that offers a more streamlined and comfortable experience in open-world exploring and PvP for players of all skills/experience. And instead of ignoring players who want to be crafty or explorative, GW2 rewards them. I've really enjoyed some of the elements Guild Wars 2 has borrowed from other excellent action/adventure games (like Skyrim or Assassin's Creed). Those elements help give you drive to do certain things to completion, which often nets you achievements and bonus gear, XP, and an assortment of treasures. The game isn't a radical departure from MMORPG's, but it offers enough of a refresh to earn your $60 investment (without forcing you to buy into a subscription). There is a small learning curve to parts of this game, but nothing is unlearnable or un-masterable. If you've been waiting for a game to come along to pull you away from WoW's stale-ish experience or you just gave up on MMORPGs because of their lack of innovation, Guild Wars 2's world is one you need to experience. Expand
  15. Jan 24, 2014
    This is the only MMO I still enjoy after 3000 hours. I've done all the content, built a 300-adult superguild, made legendaries, full top-tier everything, a 600gold emperor title just for fun... And there's STILL STUFF COMING OUT! Sometimes the living story gets kinda boring but this is definitely redefining what good MMO's require. Kudos arenanet.
  16. Fuz
    Mar 6, 2014
    It was a good game, lot of potential. The premises (and prOmises) were amazing: No grinding, no gating...
    Sure, it would have needed some bit of changes and fixes here and there (the greatest being the lacking of a proper LFG tool), but it was overall pretty great for a new MMO.
    But with the Lost Shores patch they trashed it all. They broke ALL their promises, they went against their own
    manifesto. They went for an HEAVY grind style, a terrible gear treadmill. On top of that, the economy is ruined and prices are a real problem, especially for new players. So, if you want to buy or craft something now you pretty much have to buy money from their shop, making this a Pay to Win game.
    Really disappointed, it had potential, but now it's just another WoW clone, and WoW still does those things better.
  17. Aug 28, 2012
  18. Sep 3, 2012
  19. Sep 17, 2013
    I like Guild Wars 2 a lot, but feel the MMO genre as a whole is losing touch with the world. There will always be a fan base and this is clear by the number of reviews. However, having played through the MMO's of years gone by I'm finding it a struggle to get through GW2. Maybe I'm just getting older and the patience reqired to climb the level ladder eludes me. It's a beautiful game and I applaud the creators. The combat is solid, graphics are very good, the score top draw and gameplay as near to perfection (in an MMO) as I've experienced. It is missing some basic tutorials (crafting in particular). There's logic to it but for the novice MMO player some hand holding would have been nice. GW2 is a stellar release and if MMO's are your thing it's worth you money. Having now monthly sub fees alone makes this an essential buy. Enjoy. Expand
  20. Sep 2, 2012
    Guild Wars 2 is the new revolution from the brilliant minds over at Arena Net. Playing GW2 for the first time is one of those exceptional feelings you experience only a certain number of times in you're gaming career. Incredible ideas converge with intense, masterfully crafted combat, and the most beautiful visuals ever seen in an MMO to create a mind-blowing masterpiece. The world is alive in GW2 and exploring it on you're own or with friends really is astounding. There are times when you will have to just stop and slowly pan you're camera around you to take in the absolutely stunning sites you will see throughout the gameworld, combined with a rediculous amount of attention to detail. The dynamic events are perfectly placed throughout the world and calling out for help in "Map" chat to see 20 people rushing into a hidden underwater cave to team up against the mean Blood Witch really is one of those wow moments that shows how well GW2 brings players together without forcing them to party up. If you aren't playing GW2 already(which you should), please do yourself a favor and checkout what is MMO's best chance of knocking off the reigning MMO titan....lookout WoW, GW2 is here. Expand
  21. Aug 28, 2012
  22. Sep 21, 2012
    Having played almost every MMO since the dawn of the genre (right back to MUDs) I've been jaded for a very long time and was almost hesitant to try yet another - the fact it was Subs-Free helped me overcome that reticence.
    I love it. While I've yet to reach the "Endgame" I can certainly say that so far it appears to be the best MMO ever - to the point that I've got 7 characters already
    and regularly playing 5 of them without feeling bored or feel like I'm wasting time I should be spending on my "Main" (the fact that a lot of the game is Account-shared helps). Dynamic Events are fun without being annoying like Rift's Rifts, the Hearts revolutionize questing and deliver on the promises WAR made about questing but absolutely failed to deliver.
    It's almost a no-brainer this one: once you've bought the box it's free forever. You'll probably find you do spend money on increasing the stingy Bank space and you might want more than 5 characters but otherwise the rest of the opportunities to spend money look easy to ignore/resist.
  23. Dec 3, 2012
    Ah, Guild Wars 2. How the Internet have been waiting for you so long. What are they greeted with? A polished wow-clone. Channeling spells, lag, outdated graphics for it's time and an insane amount of bribes going to the critiques to cough out "Unique combat system" quotes whenever possible. As much as I like one-time fees, like with single-player games, it will only do harm to MMORPG's because they will need a steady stream of income to offer a continuous service. Otherwise, bankruptcy or P2W is inevitable. This fate can already be hinted towards on how they locked out the ability to purchase the game, being too cheap to have an adequate amount of availability on the servers while banning more users than Origin, clever NCsoft. In It's core, the game isn't by any means bad but it's just very, very, very average. Expand
  24. Sep 4, 2012
    I said prior that other titles had been the evolution of the MMORPG Genre' I am now sure that Guild Wars 2 is the start of the "Next Generation MMORPG" - Luckily it does not try to be too nudered down, something MMORPG's suffered from ever since the release of the Genre shifting (for the worse) release of World of Warcraft putting titles like Everquest, Ultima Online and Asherons Call as relics of fond memory; any game attempting to be like them would fail - and any game attempting to be too much like WoW would fail.
    I Played the original Guild Wars at release like just about every other MMORPG looking for the next thing; and I "liked" it; but hated the use of instancing outside of city hubs; felt it to be over-all poor and figured the F2P design and lack of development funding in comparison to other companies may have been the cause and never touched it again - Thus I was not expecting much from Guild Wars 2.

    What I received was an MMORPG that had Story Quests in the Vein of SWTOR but barely consume the game and feel like a "distraction" from everything else you do; The games questing system is basically endless Warhammer Online "Public Event" style quests; endless people are aiding in them and great XP is awarded - You do not have to be grouped to split XP - another feature that is so welcoming is say ORE Vein or a Tree to cut down; if 6 people rush at the same tree; the first person doesn't steal it from you - you each get your own harvest from it :) This is very convienent.

    The combat system is near flawless in an MMORPG and the Graphics are Beautiful running on an SLI Geforce 680 GTX system with 16 gigs of ram and an 8 core AMD FX unlocked CPU - Everyone helps eachother out! you don't have to ask; you'll be revived; buffed; enemies killed with you as people run by (same XP) you gain XP for basically anything you do in the game which is also very very conveinent and refreshing.

    The most NOSTALGIC and "Leap of Danger" that Guild Wars took with the game is the main PVP system; It's World versus World (3 worlds battling over 4 HUGE terriotories which feature many camps; towers; keeps and a main castle to capture, defend, retake etc along with Orbs of Power - This instantly reminded me of DARK AGE OF CAMELOT but on a LARGER SCALE!!! It's mind blowingly well done. The fighting struggle for territory never ends; and everyone scales up to level 80 still gaining XP from NPC enemies around the huge battleground; and from player kills (who also drop great loot!)

    The other PVP option we also have around is "Mists" which are 5 different Server Based 16 player max, two team PVP Warzone/Battleground's in a "first to 500 point" style Capture objecctive warzone. No Level Up XP is gained through this mode and everyone has a preset level 80 template with all abilities unlocked (unlike regular world versus world which is level 80 with your gear scaling up along with the abilities you have unlocked thus far; but are able to continue to level up as it shows both your regular level then the scaled 80) --- In these warzones you get the PVP XP and level that up every level getting a treasure chest with PVP specific gear and it is a nice competetive breather; but takes the strategic world versus world PVP away.

    Nothing like building siege weapons- or aiding in building them and controlling them to help smash down the gates of a castle and slaughter all the players coming out; with a frontal assault then a flank after they retaliate!

    GW2 is the MMORPG TO GET!
  25. Aug 28, 2012
  26. Oct 7, 2012
    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!
  27. Feb 14, 2013
    This is a tacky review, sorry.
    THE GOOD: The aesthetics of this game are amazing. If you like looking at pretty pictures and running around a finely crafted world listening to good voice acting telling a better than average story then you are in luck. THE BAD: GW2 plays like a bunch of people who really liked playing pvp as dps classes on WoW got together and made a game. The laundry list
    of boons/conditions that all last half a milisecond quickly becomes meaningless spam that does not lend itself well to a game you play for hours on end (pve that is, it is great for pvp). Though overall most things about the gameplay are frantic and after a short time get filtered out. Along the same lines the constant battles when you travel anywhere get tiresome. Sorry, I liked being able to run freely through newb zones in other games without constant harassment. Hey devs, if you wanted people to play together why did you put in 80 levels? Because WoW has 80 levels? Exactly. The leveling down is a cool feature, but is forced on you like so much else in GW2. Speaking of which, not being able to assign your own weapon ability hotkeys! This throwback to when games sucked for technical limitations is inexcusable in 2012/3.
    THE UGLY: Abandoning the mmo trinity makes for a chaotic cluster#### in groups. Dungeons feel like 5 individuals who happen to be doing the same thing instead of a group working together. Along those same lines the zone/group chat on GW2 is the quietest and lamest of any mmo I have played, though maybe that was just my server. Lastly, butter. This vendor will sell me milk, cheese, sour cream, and BUTTERmilk, but if I want butter I have to go kill monsters? The asari can build portals all around the world but haven't figured out butter? Why is a cave dwelling monster man able to make butter (into perfect bars that they carry in cloth bags) but nobody at the huge crafts/artisan market in the sprawling city can? What crap.
    VERDICT: A very pretty package for a game that makes huge advances for MMOs while still managing to be a WoW clone that utterly fails at finding good solutions to MMO problems. Maybe worth a playthrough for the story in a purely solo run, but overall a bad online game.
  28. Aug 29, 2012
  29. Dec 2, 2012
    This is never going to be your primary MMO unless your a student maybe. The lack of a subscription is nice meaning that you can keep it on a back burner just in case you want to play it one day. The launch went well with less bugs than normal and the graphics are pretty enough. However, boy does this get tedious fast. For once, its not the quests that make it dull but the combat. I have tried a couple of different classes so far but they share one thing. Click target hit attack then repetetively hit one button (maybe 2 if you can be arsed) over and over. So many characters all the same as you wander around that it should be renamed clone world. This really kills the game for me. The skill tree just doesn't have diversity and the drip feeding of rewards is not satisfying enough. Compare this a game with much more diverse character development like Rift for an example of what is better. This is a new MMO. Massive Mediocrity Online. Nothing to detest here, but may as well move along because there is nothing to see here either. Expand
  30. Sep 6, 2012
    I picked this game up over the Labor Day weekend, and then my 3-day weekend ceased to exist. I haven't had a single evening since then either. It's been a long time since a game has made me utterly lose track of time. I've been having to set an alarm for myself otherwise I'd be up until 5:00 am every night. This game is what every MMO released in the last 8 years simply were not: Pure, unadulterated fun. To top it off ArenaNet doesn't take crap from all the exploiters, botters, and hackers that plague most other MMOs. They're perma-banned quickly and efficiently, and if this continues it might be the only recent MMO whose economy is not completely ruined within a month of its launch. The only reason I haven't given this game a perfect 10 is because of the rocky launch though, admittedly, even that has been better than most other recent MMOs. Expand
  31. Apr 10, 2013
    El clásico se reinventa

    Después de siete años de espera Guild Wars 2 vio la luz el pasado mes de agosto. ArenaNet ha realizado un gran esfuerzo para cumplir con las expectativas generadas con la primera entrega de la saga. En esta ocasión presenta un MMO en toda regla, con un mundo persistente repleto de eventos, que huye de muchos de los clichés del género, enfocado al PVP y sin cuotas

    La historia del juego se desarrolla en el mundo de Tyria. Los jugadores tendrán cinco zonas completamente diferenciadas para poner a prueba su pericia como aventureros, desarrollar su historia personal, que variará según las decisiones que tome cada jugador, y enfrentarse a los dragones que amenazan el mundo.

  32. Aug 29, 2012
    Great game. Only problem at launch is the lag, they got more players than they expected obviously. And I've encountered a few bugs. But given that the game is just out, I'll let that pass. The design is excellent, love the atmosphere of the game. It's better than WoW in my opinion as a leveling game, but I've yet to experience the end-game content so this rating may change in the future.
  33. Aug 28, 2012
    I am genuinely happy that I won't meet the people writing '0' reviews.One good thing about the game is its awesome community, and those people are better left out of it.
    The game is purely awesome, the dynamic events are plenty and varied, you'll seldom get to do the same thing more than once in your standard map run. Crafting and exploring is quite rewarding and the landscape is very
    detailed, even having secret areas.
    The reason this game gets 9 is because it doesn't allow duels between players (not full free open world PvP, I mean invitations and such) but it could be added into the future.
  34. Mar 31, 2013
    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.

    - 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.

    - 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.
  35. Aug 28, 2012
  36. Aug 28, 2012

  37. Sep 1, 2012
    What a game. Better than any MMO before it, for someone who likes a hardcore game, but doesn't want the 'life investment' that comes with WoW. Caters to all types, quick PVP, perfect MMO world, big battles, easy grouping, fun combat. Truly the next big MMO, no doubt.
  38. Sep 9, 2012
    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
  39. Aug 28, 2012
    What the reviews say is in fact the truth. ^^
  40. Dec 5, 2012
    A fantastic and fresh take on MMO's, most notably due to the unique combat system and PVP activities. The game, however, lacks engaging end-game content. Musically and graphically the game is fantastic. The story is generic though, and not very memorable. I had a blast playing this game for about a month, well worth the price, and hey, ITS FREE TO PLAY!
  41. Oct 1, 2012
  42. Aug 29, 2012
    What is there to say? It's a lovingly crafted, very fun game. There's constantly things to do and joys to find, and yet no monthly fee. Beautiful, engaging, often hilarious and full of wit. The devs are hard not to love for what they've created here.
  43. Aug 30, 2012
  44. Oct 2, 2012
    No commitment fun. I'm not tied down by a subscription - which is great. But most importantly, the game is beautiful. I'm happy they worked on it an extra two years. Quality really shines through.
  45. Oct 2, 2012
    This game is something new. I love that the questing system is not really there, and you have so much freedom to do whatever you want! The Event System is also genious. Despite all the bugs that has been since the early launch, I find this game to be very addicting, and is the best MMO I've played since WoW
  46. Nov 25, 2013
    After one year of playing GW2 I can tell you with honesty that this game is NOT what the developers told the public that they were going to create. The game is top to bottom full of grind. The combat is repetitive and boring. Expect to Zerg when in open world events. Expect to Zerg in WvW. Expect terrible performance with top end hardware. Expect most items that you would like to be in the gem store only(you can pay with ingame gold but the exchange rate is rediculous).
    Expect one shots
    Expect time gated content...yes you look at a timer for things to do....
    Expect the worst story from an MMO ever, even the Living Story updates are akin to an episode of Scooby Doo.
    Expect terrible class balancing

    Expect these things because that is what you're going to get with GW2. Future updates will in all likelihood NOT change the core issues that are mentioned.
    GW2 has no Guild Wars...yes not even guild halls. The game should be called Zerg Wars 2, the rise of Trahearne.

    The positives are that the game does look pretty good. The world is well designed but that is all I can pretty much think of really
  47. Sep 4, 2012
    I am hooked. What an impressive MMO. You are fed the feeling of "raid" from other MMOs CONSTANTLY through simply doing tasks. Events happen nearby and everyone rushes there to get a huge amount of XP. You're left with HUGE battles that are extremely satisfying.

    I can't believe how imaginative this game is! Its graphics are top notch for an MMO. The controls feels very natural and I keep
    wondering how it could be any better. World vs World PVP?!? I mean come on, you can't beat that. Loads of fun to be had in this addictive game.

    Great job ArenaNet! I'm officially hooked.
  48. Aug 30, 2012
    The game has been a complete disappointment. Graphically I'm not impressed. You would think in 2012 the graphics would be better. In addition I find the movement to feel very unnatural. While the game started fun, it quickly became a chore.

    Worse came when on the second day a plethora of accounts getting hacked. Just a complete disappointment altogether.
  49. Sep 23, 2012

  50. Feb 15, 2013
  51. Aug 30, 2012
  52. Sep 6, 2012
    I like how all the troll posts are spouting lies that are so obvious you can see them a mile away and a quick search on youtube will prove them to be false. Of the negative reviews that are not troll posts, I'd like to point out a couple of things: 1. People complaining about there being no Raids, no Holy Trinity etc and how they bought into the hype and was disappointed are stupid. That stuff has been public knowledge for more than a year and in fact some of those things were actually used by the developers themselves to promote the game. If you know the game won't have those things, why buy it and then complain that they don't have those things? If you didn't know about those things, then why say that the game is different from the hype? Whether you like it or not is subjective of course, but it is exactly as promised. 2. Account Security. First and foremost, the large majority of people who lost their accounts to hackers only have themselves to blame for not keeping their details secure. That being said, ANet does need to improve certain parts of their security features, such as adding a 3 failed tries = timeout on their website (I have not checked recently, so they may have already added this). So ANet has to take partial responsibility for the accounts that were hacked through brute force methods, but the majority? It was their own fault. 3. Banned accounts. Anybody saying "I'm innocent why was I banned?" is likely lying. Go do a search for the Reddit thread with all the ban information. The large majority of those who complained were actually banned for perfectly acceptable, valid reasons. Some of them were so ashamed that ANet knows exactly what they did they actually deleted their original complaint. The minuscule few that were actually innocent were given apologies and un-banned quickly after a review. CS staff are humans too, sometimes they makes mistakes, but looking at the evidence the majority of bans were well deserved. What ANet can actually improve in this area though is to modify their "You we're banned" message to include the reason why. Now for actual comments about the game. This game plays like a TES game in that you are dropped in a world, with a little bit of direction and then you are mostly left to your own devices. People who like exploring and goofing around experimenting with stuff will love it. There are so many little nooks and crannies everywhere, it's insane. People who prefer a more linear, hand-holded/guided style of game likely will not. The combat plays in some ways like an FPS, but from third person view. In a traditional MMO, if you see a mob your own level attacking you, you eat the damage and stand still and attack while consuming stuff like potions when necessary. In this game, you need to actually dodge out of the way, either by moving sideways, hiding behind terrain objects etc (a la FPS games) or using the "temporary invincibility" dodge button that you can only use twice in quick succession and other damage mitigation skills. It's not quite "action-combat" but I would say is a hybrid between traditional MMO combat and actiony FPS style combat. Anybody who says that the Holy Trinity still exists is lying. You CAN get through certain situations using a Holy Trinity type setup (early game), but you will find that it is a lot harder and more inefficient than playing the game the way it's meant to be played, by watching the screen, not the hotbar. And being aware of your surroundings instead of focusing on hp bars. The Dynamic Events system is great, it makes the world feel alive. Everybody who says "it's just WoW questing" are slow people who are either blind or unable to read instructions, they mistake Renown Hearts for Dynamic Events, ignore the real Dynamic Events when they see one and then complain about it. Renown Hearts are static events that the game uses to draw you to Dynamic Event hot spots. They are two different things and serve different purposes, the majority of the PvE content are the Dynamic Events, Hearts are only there as a guide and was only added because initial play testers felt they needed more direction.The only real problem that the game has is that they underestimated the demand for their game and so had some infrastructure teething issues (which has already seen some marked improvements over the past 2 weeks). In fact, other than the usual small to medium bugs here and there that you expect from a software this size and scope, all of the other issues are infrastructure/capacity related. TLDR: The game is well designed with some excellent systems in place. They need to improve some of their backend infrastructure, which they have publicly acknowledged and are addressing. If you don Expand
  53. Oct 5, 2012
    Like many of you I have been disappointed by so many games over the years but I decided to get Guildwars 2 yesterday and it is awesome!
    I am a MMO fan and have enjoyed playing such games as WOW, SW:TOR, Everquest 2, Rift and Tera but I have to say Guildwars 2 blows them away. There is so much to do and see. Believe the hype!
  54. Sep 8, 2012
    I am stunned. Truly stunned.
    There has been a long line of MMORPGs ever since World of Warcraft designed the genre. Many were predicted to be "WoW killers" or "Revolutionary", but many lost their subscribers or switched to a free-to-play model a few months later. It's only been a few weeks for Guild Wars 2, but the content I have experiences so far is so breathtaking that I see no way
    now, or any time in the future, that this game will die out. This game adds so much depth, creativity, and fun to the MMORPG genre that I can see it becoming a new home for the MMO players who have been looking for a new one. This game IS revolutionary, and it IS going to last a long time. I don't have to go into detail about the game to prove my point, just go out and buy it. No subscription fee makes this an extremely worthy investment. Expand
  55. Sep 8, 2012
    I am enjoying this game a lot. I like the beautful world, the bright and gorgeous graphics, the clothes, armours are so lovely and I like being able to colour them howver I like. I would like a barbershop to change my hairstyle tho and also more costumes to be able to buy. I also think the trading house needs a preview button.
    Oh but this game will amuse me for many more weeks to come.
    Hooray to get a great new game to play! :D

    Oh the main story seems to be fairly standard formula but Im easy pleased. Its easy to follow and I like I dont have millions of minor quests.

    Wish there was a little more character friendships/relationships/romance. So shallow emtional response to this game but still fun. Do try it most of you will like many aspects of this game!
  56. Sep 17, 2012
    There is something fishy about the ratings, I aggregated the critic scores and it was a 97, I think someone fiddled with the review, or was poorly aggregated. Mistake or not, this needs to be fixed. Also, don't consider loisho's review, he/she seems to hate everything, giving Dead Space 2 a 0/10, Skyrim a 0/10, GW2 a 4/10 (his/her highest score!) and DD (not D&D) a 1/10.
  57. Aug 28, 2012
  58. Sep 10, 2012
    A nice mix of single-player RPG and MMORPG. Lots of character customization (face, hair, body, etc.). A branching personal story for each race and profession chosen. Cooperative gameplay is encouraged and rewarded. Dynamic Events are engaging and some can change the map depending on whether you win or lose. Game mechanics prevent ninja-looting, mob camping, and resource node contention. Lots of NPC to NPC dialog that can be quite funny. PvP that's actually skill-based and not gear-based. IMHO, GW2 is better than UO, EQ, and WoW. Your mileage may vary. Expand
  59. Aug 28, 2012
    I don't give 10s lightly, but this game deserves one.


    When you log in you feel like

    Pick this game up now, you will not regret it.
  60. Sep 3, 2012
    I hated it before I played it (wasn't pleased by vocal fans touting it's many "new" features, none of which were actually new). Having had a go at release, I liked it at first, felt better than most, graphics were OK but not great (really low poly counts), but with some impressive layouts (PVP) and some really dull ones (PVE).

    After a couple of hours playing I realized it's just ****
    The floaty animations, disconnected feel of the controls, boringly simplistic skills (mesmer may be an exception) and a pointless dodge function. I went from "hey this combat feels ok" to "i want my WoW back" in the time it takes to finish the battleground tutorial. Hated the questing system, auto-grouping is OK but it just makes everything so mindless and repetitive - which is what they hoped to avoid with dynamic events.

    Character progressions is nonexistant in the true MMO fashion - even as far as themeparks go. You activate skills by using the appropriate ones before hand - something which has no point other thant to keep your interest the first couple of levels (which is how long it takes to unlock them ALL). You're insta max level in BGs, which can be useful if you don't like to level (and therefore don't like MMOs), but I don't have to explain what an oxymoron that is, do I? They could've easily done tournament servers ala WoW, where you can create max level characters, if that's your game.

    tl;dr, don't belive the hype.
  61. Aug 28, 2012

  62. Sep 1, 2012
    Guild Wars 2 set a new standard for MMOGs. It's a polished game with everything you could want in a massive game. A very well balanced and fun PvP experience and some amazing PvE moments. But GW2 shines when it gives the player to option to play as he likes. You will be rewarded for exploring, killing or crafting. You might play the game the way you want and not the way the devs want you to do it. The story is well written and the world is alive with events. You might arrive in a small town and see it under siege by hordes of centaurs and when you save it you see the soldiers regrouping to counter-attack and you join them. It's highly polished and really well done. It's not a revolution, but an evolution of the genre. A must have for MMO gamers. Technically the graphics are amazing and the sound effects are well done. Music ? Well, Jeremy Soule, that's all i have to say. The game have flaws ? Of course it does, but they don't make it less fun and all of them will be fixed in due time. Without a doubt this game has everything to be the new king of the genre. Expand
  63. op8
    Aug 29, 2012
  64. Aug 28, 2012
  65. Aug 30, 2012
  66. Sep 4, 2012
    Let me start of by saying two things first of all I do NOT give high scores for the sake of giving them and I usually only take time to write reviews if I really like the game. Second of all, all I have seen from the lower to mid ratings is complete jealousy that it beat out their favorite MMO. I'm sorry, but AN did so many things right and so little wrong.

    I would like to go over some
    things that I felt were not touched upon in several of these other reviews that are just so brilliant. First off the story, music, atmosphere, combat, pvp, and events are perfectly done and incredibly engaging anyone who says otherwise; it's just not their cup of tea or again they are jealous that it really is done this well. Arenanet's attention to detail is unfathomable, the amount of work that went into their puzzles and mazes and keeping it varied consistently is nothing short of extraordinary, you always feel like you are doing something new or different when you come upon these. Then their are skill challenges and if you are lucky enough to solo of these it really does give you a sense of difficulty and what you still need to master, whether it be timing, precision, or just combos. I really enjoy a particular one where the guy kept you laughing the entire time. Next, the group events these are not so much engaging as game changing literally. If you fail to stop a Giant attack on a city for example, then you will not be able to use any merchant or events in this area until that Giant has been taken down. Likewise whole areas can shift from control to NPC to enemies based on if you succeed or fail an event. There is alot more to touch up on, but I feel these few should give players an idea just what makes Guild Wars 2 so enticing.

    Then we have to cons these range from miniscule bugs to the very simplistic crafting. The bugs from what I have seen so far are few and far between whether it's getting stuck in the map, creates that just give up, or NPCs that don't want to advance the story. There is always a workaround and they never bring you out of the experience. Then there is the crafting, which is mainly build up resources, refine said resources, use special materials to make inscriptions or insignias and repeat. I do like the discovery tab, but they give you almost zero recipes that are not common sense, really taking away the feeling of making something special to just the next thing on the list to get your bar higher. I feel if they added more mystery and adventure to their recipe making that people would have alot more fun crafting.

    This is just a small slice of what GW2 have and the PROS well outweigh the CONS, do yourself a favor and give it a try for yourself with no subscription fee you never locked into anything and can quit anytime and pick it back up later. I feel that my purchased was well justified and I hope you will feel the same. I did want to say one more thing the WvW feels exactly like the brilliant mode from DAoC and can be jumped in at anytime, which offers its own rewards and xp towards PvE. There simply is too many thing to about, I just hope people who read this actually see a better reason to pick it up, as for me I am back to enjoying this game 100 fold.
  67. Sep 1, 2012
    I won't spoil anything here, but the game is no super marvel. This is just another cog in the great MMO wheel migration. Another game churned out, another spin taken by a huge nomad gaming community. The perk being that you only pay once is a huge draw, and yes you can assume I am a player who is hardly pleased by the MMO spectrum. To break it down, the controls are a 2.5 for me. The characters reactions to my inputs are a 2.5, this goes for movement animation gliding and the such. Yes, I am nit picky. (Not a latency issue unless it's server side, my ISP services are Broadband 250Mbps DL and 15 Mbps upload with no network interference.) The Graphics are amazing, absolutely and I won't touch that because lets face it, that's not what makes a game fun.

    The narrative and story is flat out suck, I won't bore you with this because I am comparing it to TOR and while that game is not the epitome of story, in the standards of MMO, it's the highest there is. The pvp system is interesting and plays similar to Warhammer online, albeit improved and it has it's own level of excitement. Combat mechanics are your standard fare but with some interesting twists on how things are utilized... Like the great sword for a certain stealthy caster class. It still comes down to being the exact same thing as any other game. Push this, cast that, move this way, avoid the fire, kite kite kite kite. Sadly, you can't escape this kind of mechanical build for the MMO genre, it's just what works best.

    Still, I feel this game will go the way of all current MMO types. The main base will work hard at it, play hard and at the 3 month mark, you will see the servers start to dwindle in population size. The 6 month mark we are going to see free server transfers and server merges. It will go the way of the Old Republic and settle into it's normal numbers and have a nice base of players. I will not likely be one of them but I will give the game 6 months of my time and post another review then. It's not awful, it's just another mmo that doesn't push or change anything in any extreme manner. Weapon swapping isn't new, it's just given a bit more range and utility other than stat dancing. The one thing I do like is how the Thief plays out and I will be looking to push this class as far as I can. In comparison to other MMO games of the current few years, TOR and GW2 are the only ones I will be bouncing between because the rest really can't touch either of them. TOR has a long ways to go and I hope GW2 is the motivation to make that game grow into a great f2p game to bounce to when I get sick of GW2 and vice-versa. My only other problem is that I feel coddled in this game. It does good for a large player base with a wide range of tastes but I feel there is nothing that will keep me tied to the game in the end of all my time spent. This is of course, my personal opinion and I don't expect to have anyone see it as I do.
  68. Oct 3, 2012
  69. Aug 29, 2012
    I usually don't give things, 10's this game is an easy 9 though. The 10 is just too offset all the 0's. I really think metacritic should take the user rating system down.
  70. Aug 28, 2012



  71. Feb 20, 2013
  72. Aug 28, 2012
    Reasons why I love guild wars 2 [not a review]
    And the best one No monthly fee

  73. Aug 31, 2012
    Easily the best MMORPG I've played since Pre-BC WoW. The only things missing are no FOV slider (which would really help to show off the beautiful world Arena Net made), no camera zoom out distance option, the zoom out distance is pretty low and it can cause headaches for some. Class balance issues are also a small problem which will for sure be balanced out in the next few months so it's not really a big deal. The good parts of the game is everything else. The combat is all skill based, where you have to swap between weapon sets, use your dodges at the appropriate times, and be careful of which skills you choose to use at certain times. The world is MASSIVE, the biggest i've ever seen in a game. There are also tons of incentives and rewards for exploring it which is amazing. There is no end game, as the end game is all throughout the game as events, which are incredible fun, especially if you have a group of friends to level together with. The zones all look gorgeous and highly detailed. Your personal story also has tons of choice with consequences based on your choices as well. The skill points and trait skills are all based on personal preference, and there is no cookie cutter build. You build your class however you want to build him. The cash shop is interesting, in the fact that it's all cosmetics or some minor bonuses. The minor bonuses can also be found in the world as well. You don't even have to pay money for the cash shop as you can actually convert gold you earned in game for the in game cash shop currency. Overall, the game is easily a solid 9 for me and it's for sure going to be my choice MMORPG for a longgggg time. If you are sick of WoW and your typical WoW style cookie cutter mmo's this will be a huge breath of fresh air for you. Expand
  74. Aug 28, 2012
  75. Sep 4, 2012
    The Best MMORPG on the market today, no.. the best MMORPG on the market since Ultima Online. This is close to perfection and Arenanet have delivered everything they said they would, a near flawless release and an experience unsurpassed in its genre.
  76. Sep 6, 2012
  77. Nov 25, 2012
    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 play though I found the story a bit weak. Expand
  78. Aug 28, 2012
  79. Dec 29, 2013
    This game sucked my life away, so many hour of my time have been put into this game. This game offers a plethora of replayability. There's the standard open world play and there's also personal stories. There are multiple races to chose from and customizable stories for each, ensuring a different play through each time.
    Teamwork is one of the biggest points in the game, most events cannot
    be completed without the help of other players. The use of guilds really brings this all together, the community's very tight knit and friendly making it very easy for beginners to hop in and learn. Expand
  80. Oct 17, 2012
    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.
  81. Oct 20, 2012
    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.
  82. Nov 6, 2012
    Certainly the best MMO launch of 2012. While I had a blast playing TERA and The Secret World, they can't compete with the fun I'm having with Guild Wars 2. While I must admit that the so-called PvE in the game is more or less just an "alibi" feature of the game it is still fun. It's really stimulating to finish the small tasks ("Hearts") for different people and stumble from event to event. There are many things to collect that add up to daily and monthly tasks which, in the end, reward you with even more XP, Karma and other things.
    The only thing I'm missing is more PvE content (yes, I know, GW is supposed to be about PvP ;) )...but it's okay so far.
    Up until this, I would've given 10/10 nonetheless, but...here comes the stuff that I actually really don't like about GW2: The PvP. So far (11/06/12) the PvP is pretty much broken. Balancing is basically non-existent (Thieves and Mesmer kill everything using just two to three skills. One-hit-kills happen as well.) and there are certain class builds that are so ridiculously powerful that you barely see anything different. Plus, certain character combinations are more or less "indestructible" so if you're not playing one of the two "awesome" classes, you're gonna have a bad time.
    I hope they'll fix this soon. 8/10
  83. Aug 30, 2012
    If you're into MMO's you'll love this game. If you're into RPG's you'll love this game. If you're into pvp you'll love this game. This is the game you've been waiting for and there was no one better to do it than Arena Net.
  84. Aug 31, 2012
  85. Mar 9, 2013
    Guild Wars 2 challenges whole genre of MMORPGs, and succeeds. ArenaNet got rid of silly rudiments, proving that they are not needed to make a fun, interesting and thrilling game. Just a simple example are you sure you need mana itself to make a complete, balanced MMORPG? It is not about graphics it's about artistic direction, it's not about sound quality it's about sound design. This game is not flawless, but it is the best MMORPG by far. It is not a milestone too, but a logical leap. I love this game and strongly recommend it to every gamer. Expand
  86. Nov 27, 2012
    Great game. So much to do for $60, and no need to ever spend any more than that. The PvE will occupy you for a long time, but when that wears off, the PvP is endlessly entertaining.
  87. Aug 31, 2012
    I preordered the game, and although they did have some start up issues and a few very unfortunate people got hacked- it had a fairly good start. So I will stick to the game itself.

    The graphics are great, the chara customization is lacking- there's very little you can do to REALLY set yourself apart. The pre-sets range from good looking to not so good looking, and it seems you cannot
    have a chara with red hair which is weird. Crafting -The crafting system is the real grind of this game, in order to craft you need to gather the mats from nodes AND npcs. In the form of farming mobs for a chance to drop a specific crafting component. You then craft the separate parts and combine with the npc dropped item to craft a weapon/piece of armor. Without those npc dropped 'tokens' or whatever they're called- you cannot craft. So you either farm, or buy that mat very disappointing when you're crafting and you hit a wall because you haven't been farming mobs lately.

    Leveling- Quests will only get you so far, i.e. a 1-15 area doing 100% completion according to the game, will leave you at level 12-13. The common solution from the player base is farm 'dynamic' events, pvp, craft, or do something else to level. If you just wanted to Quest, or Craft, PvP to level, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It is possible to level doing 1 specific thing but it will require grinding, except questing since there are only so many quests available. Dynamic Events - Pre-scripted events that repeat on a random time scale, they attack you while you're crafting, and remove your waypoints so you can't warp. They never go off when you're around and need XP but seem to go off 2-3 at a time when you're busy. Mounts- They don't exist get used to running around taking 4-15 minutes of your life during WvW hoofing it.

    WvW - Great idea, good balance, great atmosphere, boring as heck to run around in, siege equipment seems to cost too much (at a low level) to make it worthwhile, would love to see more siege equipment.

    PvP - Fast paced chaos, I personally didn't like it. Everyone has a heal and when they're 'downed' they have a lot of stupid moves that delay the inevitable and WASTE your time. Irritating to have someone dead, surrounded by 4 of your teammates right about to be 'finished' magically teleport away, making us move to them, and restart the 3-4 second cast. Boring as crap, I joined PvP to PvP not play chase the guy that lost already.

    Weapons - If you roll a class, and get a weapon you get 5 skills- don't like em? Tough, that's what you get for the next couple of years you'll play GW2.

    Overall- Honestly I waited for GW2 to come out, it FINALLY get- I logged in, played for 3-4 days for a couple hours a day then logged off. I have no real desire to play it, even free. I have no enjoyment, farming for xp because the quests don't get me leveled, wandering into areas that are 3-4 levels above me and doubling back to find a event that's my level. Trying to craft but realizing I didn't farm mobs enough and having to go back and grind to get mats to craft to get gear so I can do more dps. It may appeal to some people, but right now- I'm writing this review instead of playing the game, because it seemed more enjoyable to me at the time.
  88. Dec 12, 2012
    I've been playing Guild Wars 2 almost everyday since release, and I love it. I don't think I've enjoyed playing a game this much, especially exploring and completing dungeons with friends. I would have to consider this my favourite game. The reason I'm not giving it 10/10 is because it still has its problems.. It was incomplete on release, several bugs which still exist now, crappy loot, the progression has left everything empty except fractal dungeons and I don't believe the classes are evenly balanced (Warrior). I haven't had much experience with MMO's to compare GW2 with anything else (quitting through the beta of SWTOR is about it). There is definitely a grind aspect to the game, however they do a decent job of covering it up and give players options and experience towards that goal. Despite its issues, Guild wars 2 is beautiful and enjoyable with unique classes and races with a variety of areas to explore. There are a number of dungeons to participate in which can challenge and frustrate players. This game is definitely worth its money for casual and experienced players giving them flexibility of how they want to play. Expand
  89. Aug 29, 2012
  90. Aug 31, 2012
  91. Dec 3, 2012
    Guild Wars 2 was my last MMORPG. The meaning of a MMORPG is progession, progression gets you too keep playing. I can now say, as I've had a lvl 80 for just about as long as the game has been released that progressions ends when you reach lvl 80. The Graphics: They are decent for an MMORPG, but it's very bad optimized. I've changed my old gaming desktop out for a completly new one and I see no increase of FPS. The gameplay: I love how you actually need some skill to be good in this game, it's not just about the gear, but about your skill of playing. This falls apart though, because the PVP system is not very good I'd say. SPVP is a nice addition for those WHO wants completely fairplay, but where does that leave the progression? You can't get stronger, faster or better by this. In WvWvW all your progression Means nothing, because 1 man can't make any difference. The Dungeons: Not rewarding at all, I hate how it's all bout those emblems and not about what bosses actually could be dropping. I loved in WOW how I always was so excited when we were in raids. Oh yeah, raids those doesn't exist in GW2. There is also a lack of dungeons. It's all just the same, there really isn't such big difference about them. I'm giving this a 6 because of the great idea and there is no monthly subscription. It lacks of content though. As said before, reach lvl 80 and feel the pain of nothing to do. Expand
  92. Sep 6, 2012
    My experience with Guild Wars 2 has been exceptional. There are some minor flaws but the good qualities far outweigh the bad in Guild Wars 2. I'll start with the flaws: 1. I have come across one or two skill challenges and events are broken. 2. The way in which quests and events are presented does encourage players to work together towards something but I feel like it almost discourages social player interaction because in many cases, nothing needs to be said to accomplish a goal. 3. Many of the utility skills seem useless to me for PVP or PVE. However, this could just be due to my lack of experience with my profession or the game in general. 4. Lack of tutorial. This is actually a plus for me because I like figuring things out, but I can see how this would frustrate some people.

    The good points in Guild Wars 2 result in a much longer list for me, so I will just stick to the major points: 1. Doing arbitrary redundant tasks (such as traveling back to a city to free up inventory space) are nearly eliminated. 2. With the character creation options, armor dyes, utility skills, trait points, transmutation, and weapon selection - character customization is on par, if not better, than any MMO out there. I have yet to see another Charr Necromancer that looks like me, so finding one that does look like me and has the same weapons/traits/skills seems highly unlikely. 3. Questing/exploration structure is very well thought out and dynamic events prevent the boredom from setting in. 4. Compared to other MMOs and similar games, the launch of GW2 went VERY smooth. There are minimal bugs and plenty of content at launch 5. Doing lower level content is still challenging and rewarding. To my knowledge, this is the first MMO to accomplish this and it opens up a staggering amount of additional content to play through. 6. Any race/profession combo is allowed 7. Players are encouraged to work together. You get good rewards for participating in an event, you get exp for reviving another player, exp and rewards are given to all players that participate, and resource nodes cannot be "stolen" by another player. 8. Graphics are really good. I have a very nice gaming computer and I still can get 95-100% use out of both my GPUs on high settings. Not many games on PC do that for me. 9. PVP is well balanced at launch! Making everybody level 80 for PvP is a brilliant idea too.
  93. Sep 8, 2012
    You've heard all the pros, and some cons that are actually constructive... It's an awesome game, It's so much fun, I'd give it a 9, but it's a 10 to off set the spamming trolling fan boiedom that is trying to drag the deserved score down. Get it, play it, and I'll see you out there!!
  94. Sep 27, 2012
    Yet another overhyped MMO that turned out mediocre. Basic gameplay feels really clunky here, perhaps even worse than Warhammer Online. It's missing that MMO feel of games like World of WarCraft and EvE and feels more like a kindergarden. Somewhere in the construction of this game ArenaNet missed many of the important things of the genre. Building your character, the feel of being in a world, and perhaps most importantly, HAVING FUN. Expand
  95. Oct 19, 2012
    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 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!
  96. Aug 30, 2012
  97. Sep 13, 2012

  98. Oct 26, 2013
    Guild Wars 2 is a bad game Let me spell it out for you.

    The whole game can be defined by one coin phrase that is used over and over by the GW2 community. The phrase I am reffering to is, "ZERG!" Yeah, you know The Zerg... zombi-esque space aliens that infest victims they overrun with their sheer numerical advantage. The ironic part of this is that the origin of the zerg comes from a
    game that's not a total steaming pile of dog crap. This must be why people can relate to the zerg so well, because most people know what game they are from. Even more ironically, the same people that developed the zerg... also developed another little fantastic game that goes by the name of World of Warcraft The single biggest and ruthless MMORPG out there that caters to PvE and PvP players alike.

    This one single term (ZEEEEEEEEEEEERG) pretty much sums up the entirety of PvP and PvE in GW2.

    For instance early level gameplay revolves around farming... Now if that doesn't sound boring already let me extrapolate on that even more. In the low level zones, people form a "zerg" (a large group of people who skip around the map without a care for zone content). The sole purpose of the group is to farm a few specific bosses on a spawn rotation over and over until they either get bored, give up, get trolled by other people farming the same bosses, or are satisfied to move on to other content.

    Further continuing on the explanation of PvE, are instances (dungeons). These group based zones consist of simply overwhelming enemies, running through them, or beating them by exploiting clearly broken mechanics that have not been fixed by ArenaNet since the games launch. Example being something along the lines of killing a group of enemies through a wall, while they cannot fight back and would normally be a challenge if the exploit did not exist.

    Now the game rewards high level players for playing low level content. I like this because it encourages group play, but when this aspect of the game BECOMES the endgame, it gets pretty boring pretty fast.

    So, what about PvP? The original Guild Wars had a fantastic PvP setup, so surely GW2 would expand upon that system right? No... Not at all. The game adopts an identical model to World of Warcraft.
    There are 2 different types of PvP.
    There are small arenas consisting of around 5 players. These PvP instances require you to obtain PvP specific gear. Before joining one of these instances you enter a lobby where you have access to vendors, all skills you would have at level 80, and all usable item types. Just another grind earn currency and spend it on PvP gear, which is only usable in the instanced pvp arenas.

    World vs World is pretty much the most disappointing thing I have seen in the game. This “crowning” development of PvP has been prasied by GW2 fans since pre-release. The sad fact is that it isn't anything we haven't already seen in World of Warcraft. Several realms (servers) compete over control of instanced zones for +benifits to things like crafting and experience gains. The zones have large keeps and trade routes making it seem very expansive. However, in order to get to these zones you have to queue for them through the interface. Yes they are instanced and yes their is a limit as to how many people can be in them. The only difference from WoW is that these zones are an ongoing conflict. In WoW a battleground lasts 30 minutes. In GW2 these WvW zones are essentially perpetual, resetting weekly to match the highest rated realms against one another. In WoW you can expect to wait about 30-40 seconds before your PvP queue pops and you can queue for ALL battlegrounds available to you. In GW2 you are limited to queuing for one WvW zone at a time and expect to wait anywhere from 30min to 4hours in queue. Once inside WvW we move back to that word again... A commander plays follow the leader by creating a zerg. People follow the commander and attempt to take out objectives along the way.

    However, TRUE WORLD PVP does exist in WoW, where it does not exist in GW2. In WoW a player can go to any zone (aside from the newbie zones) and slaughter people mercilessly. There are also world PvP objectives (that start around level 50) that players must take to secure PvE benefits for their faction.

    I am honestly surprised that no system like this was implemented into GW2. Why is that? Well the answer comes to us in the solo quest storyline. (I am level 68/80 and it’s fair to say that I gave an honest effort at attempting to enjoy this game.) The storyline pointed out that the races of Tyria (GW2) are banding together and setting aside their differences to play nicely together and live in harmony after they defeat the evil dragons. So, it's possible ArenaNet didn't want to make this type of hostile PvP enviorment simply due to the nature of the story.
  99. Aug 28, 2012
  100. Oct 1, 2012

Universal acclaim - based on 69 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 69
  2. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. 90
  2. Jan 2, 2013
  3. Nov 28, 2012