Is Guild Wars 2 worth buying?

[dbdanny]

I was watching a lot of reviews of GW2 and they all seem to be mostly positive, some, if not most, even REALLY positive.
The problem is that this kind of game requires a time sink much larger than most reviewers have before posting said review and I worry that after a while it will become grindy and boring like Wow eventually got for me (Keeping in mind that I was in my early teens when I first picked up Wow , now I have less free time and less tolerance for repetitive grinding).
So essentially I need to know if GW2 really lives up to all the hype of it being a lot more intuitive and dynamic and less grind-based or is it just a fancier wrap around what is basically the same (I have played the original GW and Nightfall, but it seems like too much have changed in the sequel to judge it according to it's predecessor)?

 

[Baralak]

It is. It's a really fantastic game. I could never stand WoW. Working hard, you can gain a level about every 90 minutes, if you know what you're doing. There's always different events going on, and everything from exploring to crafting gives you good exp. It also has a bit of that exploration feeling that only games like Skyrim can usually give.

This is, hands down, the greatest MMO I have ever played.

 

[hazabaza1]

It's very fun and I imagine myself going back every now and again just to level up some of my alts.
The main story quests do fucking drag on near the end though, once I got a character to cap I had to put it down for a bit, because really, either something interesting needs to happen, or I needed to kill the big baddie about 5 missions ago.

 

[TehCookie]

The best thing about GW2 is it's a one time buy so if you do get sick of it you can stop playing for a while and it doesn't cost anything to get back into it. I haven't found it that grindy at all, but I like exploring new areas and doing events than repetitively killing things.

 

[Friendly Lich]

Yes, its a nice experience and has good value.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Absolutely. I'd recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in RPGs, it is a truly well designed game.

 

[FallenTraveler]

Fantastic game, if you judge a games worth by quantity it is perfect, if you judge a game by quality it is near perfect. It's phenomenal.

Seriously, 60 bucks, no sub. Worth. Every. Penny.

I only have about 50-60 hours in it, but I play at nearly every chance I get.

 

[TAdamson]

It doesn't waste your time like other other MMOs.

 

[2xDouble]

Short answer: Yes, Guild Wars 2 is of near-ridiculous value for only $60 with no subscription.

Longer answer (NSFW, language):

 

[DarkRyter]

Well that depends on what you expect out of it, and generally how much you value certain things.

 

[Lunar Templar]

i've actually had time with it so i can kinda weigh in now

wait till it comes down in price first.

its not bad, but its just 'ok' over all

 

[targren]

If you're a fan of MMOs in general, sure.

If you're a fan of the original Guild Wars, make sure you know what you're getting into. The two have nothing in common other than the name.

 

[Gennadios]

It's less of a time sink than other similar games. I've never been a fan of MMOs, I've tried quite a few, but end up getting bored around the level 25-40 mark and moving on. I've put about 150 hours into GW2, have a max character, got the main story done, and have about 60% of the armor set I planned on, and currently working on the cartographer title a few hours a day, with vistas and other random spots to discover just wandering around the map is a ton of fun.

Dungeons have alot of problem and there's already a metric ton of elitism building up around them, but literally every armor/mod type is available via the trading, not as much of that Soulbinding nonesense, although it exists to some degree. For the most part, you can acquire fully functional gear doing what you want.

Basically, for me, the game was well worth the money, and I felt that ToRII was a waste of it.

 

[jollybarracuda]

Absolutely. If you dont feel like you have much time to play, fine. The game doesnt have any subscription fees and it respects what time you do put into it. I can play for 5 minutes and still feel like i've done something. Mining ore gives me decent XP, killing a single enemy gives XP, hell, simply walking into an area gives me XP. And the game itself is just fun.

It encourages exploration in the kind of way that only single-player RPGs tend to do, and as an RPG on its own, it's excessively in-depth. My warrior is vastly different from other warriors. I use a sword and axe, with the sword as my main hand weapon (which actually affects your skills). Another warrior could use a greatsword, another could use 2 swords, or 2 axes, or an axe and mace, or a warhammer, etc. Add to this skill points to get utility skills of your choice, trait trees that give significant bonuses in any area you want (you dont have to commit to one tree) and even a robust dye system to give your character unique colors to stand out.

So yes, for the price of any other game out in the market, with no subscription fees you'll be getting undoubtedly one of the best deals in gaming, ever.

 

[the doom cannon]

I would like to second ppl here. GW2 just doesnt require you to make it into a huge time sink if you don't want it to. While it has for me (ive logged like 250 hours) you could just as easily play for an hour or 2 a day and have just as much fun, maybe even more. The daily achievements keep more casual players up to par with hardcore players. I absolutely love this game. Also, I dare anyone to tell me that there is no endgame content or that the cash shop is p2w. http://www.guildwars2guru.com/news/780-the-recipe-for-crafting-your-legendary-including-screenshots/
If trying to obtain just one of these legendary weapons doesn't count as endgame to you, then I must question what you think endgame is. I have 4 crafting disciplines maxed, personal story complete, 100% map exploration, and I still feel like I have a giant mountain worth of things to do. So worth every penny

 

[Suijen]

I played Guild Wars: Nightfall, and in my opinion that was great. AI bot companions, flexibility in attributing skills, and the only need to grind for cosmetic reasons meant that the game was capable of being completed.

I would get GW 2 when there's a price drop. There's still no monthly fee right? If none, I will get it eventually.

 

[Smooth Operator]

GW1 and 2 are nothing alike, GW1 was a very personalized experience because it was instanced this is a traditional "everyone at the same time" thing.

And yes the best way to describe it is WoW like MMO in prettier wraps, you don't go to guy X for that "collect 10 dog shits" quest, you just run into the area and it tells you there is a dog shit collection quest going on so you can help out, and usually there 3 tasks rolling into one goal (collect shit, fight shit, fondle it gently...).
Then there are some teeth breaking platforming sections, but this engine is absolutely not appropriate for that.
And then there is just massive PvP going on all the time, and everyone is bumped up to the top level so it's fair all around.

 

[sanquin]

GW1 was made as a single player game in an mmo world. GW2 is a real multiplayer game in an mmo world. The name and setting is the same, but the gameplay is completely different. It's a LOT more social and you actively have to fight, rather than just passively pressing buttons. (You still have to press your shortcuts, but you have to pay attention, position yourself, dodge, aim your ground targeted skills, etc)

Overall I'd say that 60 dollars for this kind of MMO should be the new standard. It's not a world changing game as some people claim it to be. But it's a lot better than WoW in both pvp and pve, and for 60 bucks it's great value for your game considering how single player games that don't give you more than 20 hours (if that) of gameplay cost the same these days. The pay to play model of WoW just doesn't work any more for this kind of mmorpg. Subs could still work, but only on something truly new, innovative and of high quality.

TLR
Yes, it's definitely worth buying. If you get more than 20 hours of fun out of it, you've basically already gotten your money's worth.

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PS, on the second post in this thread:
The fastest person to level to 80 took 30 hours in total. Granted, he probably did this playing WvW constantly, on a server with a high base capture rate. Since the exp you get there can be immense. The fastest person after that took 3 days I believe. Though those efficiency min/maxers shouldn't be the benchmark.