Poll: WoW or Guild Wars: Which to get?

[zahr]

The only advantage to WoW is higher population.

In Guild Wars, these days the population is kind of low. Even in the American servers, some missions will be almost empty. In other servers, almost everywhere will be empty.

Of course, there are still many people in hub towns and at certain event locations, but still.

Anyways, aside from that, Guild Wars is superior to WoW in every aspect.

 

[Hesterbyrde]

I've played both and here's my take.

GuildWars is/was good if you're looking for an MMO with enriched team-based PVP in the crosshairs. Really... the RPG storyline part is a joke. It's just a different way to unlock skills, which is why the level cap is so low. There isn't a lot of customization on your characters. The thing that shines in GW is the PVP combat. In PVP, everyone is level 20 with max armor and access to whatever skills they have unlocked (But you can only take 8 skills into a battle with you), so it's less about how long you've spent grinding and more about how crafty you and your team are.

The reason I began that paragraph with is/was is because the addition of new classes, skills and effects and the attempt to balance them in each subsequent expansion have watered down the PVP game. The developers started listening to the people who only played PVE (Why, I have no idea) and let those decisions influence and even take priority over the PVP balance. This led to broken skills and ways of tweaking that made the PVP just plain not fun to play anymore. I played the game for around 3ish years but haven't played at all in the last 6 months... so I don't know what it's like now.

But if you want an MMO that's almost like a sport or strategy game rather than an RPG, GW is really fun.

As for WOW... I know I'm bathing in lighter fluid over here... but I honestly found the story to be very lacking. I know there's lots of backstory and history and atmosphere and a lot of good writing went into it (I've also played the RTS games so I'm up on the story) but there's no real plot advancement. It's just a static environment to run around in. But... that's more than I can say on the subject about GW.

I do like the very extensive in-game character interaction. The economy is fun to interact with and I like that you might get buffed by a friendly passing priest. I don't like that a level 8 can get munched by a level 80 but if that annoyance doesn't bother you then far be it from me to convince you.

I know nothing about PVP in WOW so I can't really advise you there.

Hooray for being longwinded... but hey. You asked.

 

[Hesterbyrde]

They've released Guildwars and all it's expansions in one big pack. I saw it at Best Buy... I think it was $39.99? You really need all of them to participate in PVP.

 

[Metalchair]

neither

 

[Cid Silverwing]

VS threads are illegal on the Escapist.

But to answer your question - Preferably neither.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

Look, Guild Wars is free, and the level cap is 20 because so much of the game is based on player skill. It's also not going to get you addicted like WoW does. One thing I like about Guild Wars is that there is a very extreme set story that you SHOULD follow. I'd prefer that than having random quests to go and do.

WoW has it's own little 'lore' and it is depicted to you in different ways such as quests etc. Guild Wars' story is set out in missions which grant very hefty XP bonuses. Guild Wars is free, WoW is not. Guild Wars has a much nicer community due to the fact that it is closely knitted, whereas the WoW player number is extremely high. Apparently there are something like 14 million accounts? Not all of those are active though.

Guild Wars is also more visually stunning in regards graphics, because players don't have akward cube-shoulders that I noticed with my time playing WoW. While things like spells and areas may be more like visual gold for WoW, the meshes and colour of Guild Wars excells.

It's up to you what you get, and I hope you found my post informative.

Oh, and before anyone starts...yes this is biased because Guild Wars is the game I play the most, WoW didn't interest me that much when I played it. If someone would like to create a counter-arguement for this post, please do, that way the OP can weigh up the two and choose which one to buy.

 

[AdambotLive]

I've tried both and to be honest i could'nt really cope with WoW. it's so confusing. so i'm voting for guild wars. fair amount of players, THREE campaigns (4 if you count EOTN), mission packs, no subscription, fair amount of classes.

 

[Alexnader]

imho i think guild wars is more like an E-Sport game. The fact you can only choose 8 skills to take with you into a skirmish/instance means that you need to focus more on getting the right combos and working with your team rather than just getting all the skills you can and all the Exp.

Guild wars is definitely a game you should find a.... guild for. Because when you leave safe areas the game creates an instance within which you work, so there's no one else except those in your party. It's not exactly easy to meet people this way.

Anyway since i played more GW than WoW i voted GW.

 

[ccdistancerunner]

Guild Wars for reasons that most people have said previously.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I'd say World of Warcraft. I've been playing it for a while and it's fun. Just download the trial try it out and see if you like it.

"Guild Wars has graphics and story"

I'm sorry but World of Warcraft has no "story"? Just a simple visit to WoWwiki.com will show you how complex World of Warcrafts lore is.

 

[sniperworm]

My time on Guild Wars over shadows WoW's so I'll just stick to Guild Wars to not look like an idiot spouting out incorrect things about WoW.

Guild Wars is a brilliant game, for the most part it doesn't take much thought to complete missions and quests though. The introduction of heroes in the Nightfall campaign and the Eye Of The North add on have greatly reduced the amount of people looking to team up, most player groups tend to be made around the build of the month and never stray from it... which is pretty dull.

The titles in the game have become an issue, depending on your view of them. With Nightfall and Eye Of The North the titles added in those now give advantages to the player which can create a feeling of needing to grind them if your a person that has to have everything at it's best. But there is good titles which simply push you in the right direction, like ones for completing every mission, exploring the map fully etc etc

Each campaign of Guild Wars is a good game, but when added together you get a very good game that will keep you busy for a long time.

 

[Instant K4rma]

WoW is always changing and has a TON of players. To those who hate on WoW simply for being popular, thats their loss. I play WoW, I have for 3 years and i think its great.

 

[Andeck]

Personally, I have to say Guild Wars. It's a damned good MMO. WoW might be better at some points, but at least Guild Wars is free to play. And it has less 12-year old kids

 

[colosusjokers]

The OP probably doesn't even check this anymore but I'm bored and so will put my opinion in lol.

Guildwars is the better game. You can make every comment in the book but in the end GW is brains/time while WoW is time/brains.

The problem with WoW is that you do not get what you paid for. The problem with GW is that it is a sort of double edged sword of gaming if you like diverse tactics and such as when you get tired of playing it and begin looking for other games to keep your interest you will find them to be too damn simple from being accustomed to GW and find one disapointment after another. This last sentence especially goes towards the extreme simplicity of WoW where blizzard took a grind fest and created the delusional idea of epic grandeur while keeping the game so simple that an alcoholic can successfully make his way through the raids and heroic dungeons in spite of being so sloshed that he cannot seem to hit the toilet when he goes to urinate.

 

[PrototypeC]

I've seen my share of both, and while both are somewhat addictive, I realized after a while that I wasn't having what I would call 'fun'. Guild Wars really, really didn't last, because everyone looks the exact damn same due to a supreme lack of customizability. There are a lot of jerks on there, possibly because they regret getting the wrong game and pick on newbies to compensate for their empty wallets. The quests were boring and long, even for an MMORPG. That's pretty bad. The game is pretty, but I don't care if it's not worth playing. Avoid at all costs!

As for WoW, you've probably heard it all. The graphics aren't surprising anyone, but at least there's a bigger difference between characters. It's a great time-waster, much bigger than any MMORPG before it, but that just means it takes longer to get everywhere. The problem is that everything is designed to lenghten gameplay as much as possible, by having quests take you on longer and longer excursions to places where you'll get ten more quests when you're still working on fifteen other ones! I wish I was kidding. No recommendation here. Still far better than Guild Wars, but I just found it too cartoony and too grindy. Seriously, it's all grinding. It's not for me, I'll tell you that.

I suggest holding out for one of the new MMORPGs, that learned a few things from these two and tried to make a better game. Aion looks really good so far, but I'm waiting for more things to end up different.

 

[Contun]

Guild wars is just free, probably the only advantage.

Agreed.

 

[Frankydee]

It really depends on what you would consider to be fun. From a long running Guild Wars ex-addict I would only say to go with Guild Wars if you didn't like the idea of paying a monthly fee. However the game is fairly short, new material is few and far between (although a sequel will be coming out shortly anyway) and after you've beat the game 5 or 6 times is get's boring and most of you time ends up being spent farming, crafting armor, grinding for titles. To it's merit though, the armor and weapon upgrade systems are very easy to understand.

I haven't played WoW much but from what I've grasped it has far more actual story and quest content than Guild Wars does. I've gotten mixed reviews and I'm sorry I couldn't really elaborate much as I only really tried it out for a few weeks.

 

[Clashero]

While GW is a far, far superior game, it's on its last legs and there aren't many peoplep playing, sadly. However, if you get Nightfall you'll have access to Heroes, removing the need to group with people for the harder quests. The game has better graphics, a better, more dynamic combat system, it emphasizes skill and tactics over gear and time spent in the game.

As for quests, let me put it like this. A quest in WoW may say: "I need you to kill those guys over there". The same quest in Guild Wars would go something like this:
1. A man asks you to kill a group of men who are holding his fiancée hostage.
2. You go to where they are and he goes with you.
3. It turns out he's working with them, and that the girl is just a prisoner.
4. You have to kill all of them. After you do, the girl thanks you and tells you to meet her father, who will reward you.

So, you see, both quests are essentially "Kill X", but GW candycoats all quests to make them seem more interesting.

Guild Wars has a pretty deep, if sometimes clichéd story, and some voice actors are really, really excellent (Kari Wahlgren does two voices)

I think I have a key that lets you try all 3 campaigns for 10 hours over 14 days. I can't rememebr if I've actually used it. If I find it I'll PM you.

I'd say World of Warcraft. I've been playing it for a while and it's fun. Just download the trial try it out and see if you like it.

"Guild Wars has graphics and story"

I'm sorry but World of Warcraft has no "story"? Just a simple visit to WoWwiki.com will show you how complex World of Warcrafts lore is.

That's Warcraft lore, not WoW lore. It's existed long before WoW did. And lore and story aren't the same things. Those who say GW has a story and WoW doesn't are right. In fact, GW has 4 stories, all of which overlap and arc very nicely. WoW has lore and a pre-existing conflict it drops you into.

 

[pompom8volt]

WoW actuely has Equily good graphics on ultra detail,Guild wars just has more realistic graphics. And WoW is a more complete world with more combat. Ok so technicaly I've never subscribed to guild wars but I've made toons on my friends acount(s). and every one I know that wen't from WoW to Guild Wars has said that WoW was better. Also the only people I know that went from Guild Wars to WoW and then back to Guild Wars was because of financial problems.