I just got into the game again a week ago, the guild I joined was asking people to run fractals I said "I would but I'm not that experienced" got an invite instantly and they all said "no better time to learn than today we got time" that feeling in a mmo is the best a lot of people are willing to teach which keeps the new player experience good as long as you use the chat
Nice to hear. I just started playing a few days ago and my biggest fear/worry is being so far behind everyone and not having players willing to take on a newbie.
most wow players are those dumb trump supporters that sat "USA first fuck other countries" mentality, so, the worst. Stay in gw2, still safe place and hope for humanity. Wow classic is a fucking awesome game, but the community plays a huge factor in the fun. Wow classic can't be fun again because the community is a pile of shit now. Peace.
@@Richard1976 honestly toxicity is super minor in GW2 pvp compared to most other games. They designed it so that for most of the rewards you don’t need to win to get rewards (it’s just faster if you do). This has reduced tons of toxicity that most players remember from 5 years ago. I play ranked pvp every day and never get flamed. And I lose about 50% of my matches lol.
I love playing alongside others in GW2. I don't want to play with other people, I want to do my own thing at my own pace, but there's something very satisfying about seeing other people running around doing the quests and occasionally playing beside one another for an event. It's a great game for playing alone with other people.
The community of this game is amazing btw. The gameplay is designed with the philosophy the more the merrier. You will always find guilds that run things together, be it event chain, dungeons, fractals (hard dungeons), pvp, world v world, or world bosses. The game has dedicated communities for each and every single activity. Even someone who you run into in the map can be quick companions. It’s one of the few games where the community is active and friendly by design.
Umm no. I'll just copy paste my response from other post. Community is absolute garbage. As soon as you join for group content, you are expected to run builds some wannabe pros decided it's current meta, you are expected to exploit content and mechanics to make this easy game into even more easy, you are expected to skip 90% mobs and rush to the end chest, even in open world people lose their shit if a boss fails and much more. You post your LFG (looking for group) with clear description and people join while either not reading description or choosing to ignore it and expect you'll just say fuck it and follow their way of playing. And then they even insult you because you - owner of the LFG - want to play the way your description says. This is not a casual game that was always advertised. This is not how you play even a competitive or challenging games, let alone easy "casual" games like gw2. Then there is official forums, where you almost can't disagree with someone without getting a warning. I got a warning by asking a guy "Did you read my first post?", because he went completely off topic and completely miss the point. Also, just like any other forum, there are few of no lifers that have 20k posts and so they think their word is holy and everything they say must be praised, while they have most ridiculous ideas. Oh, and don't you dare open up a topic about some kind of suggestion. You'll immediately have bunch of nerds telling you how this suggestion is waste of developer time (while all their suggestions are obviously top priority stuff) and then proceed to argue with you and act as if they are lead developer of the team with all the inside info or some shit. I haven't played many mmos, but I did play quite a few and gw2 was suppose to be the most casual friendly and relaxing. It turned out to have the worst community easily. And btw, I have 9k hours logged, so I'm not talking out of my ass.
@@Bl4ckheart dude, I see your salt and you have every right to feel that way, there are a lot of self proclaimed "elitist's" out there but try not to get dragged into the hype, I play for the sheer joy of playing and I play by my rules because I know If I don't, what's the point? I run a lot of WvW to blow off steam and help out if I can, yes I die a lot but I also survive a lot and get a great gaming experience seeing how other servers and players run, I stay out of the forums and chat mostly because of just what you said so It doesn't dampen my gameplay, plus if I get tired of wvw I hop into main gameplay and do something else for a while, it's over all a great game with lots to keep entertained, I hope you give it another chance, stay frosty out there! :D
@@xXDESTINYMBXx I've been in more than 20 guilds mate. They are all the same when it comes to group content. Only difference between "casual" guild and hardcore is that hardcore is more efficient and consistent in their runs. Skipping, rushing, taking a path of least resistance as if you are playing running simulator, exploiting and waiting in lobby for 15 minutes to find that ideal meta party composition while you could clear the instance by then even with casuals, is basically what you learn first when you enter nearly any group, so it's a base of the game and community by now.
@@Bl4ckheart yeah the skipping is annoying, when playing an instance for the first time I would like to take my time for the story. My experience has been kinda different but I haven't played for years now.
This is one of those games that rewards exploration. I’ve seen so many cool things just by walking around the maps. There’s even subtle references to a Disney film in one of their Path of Fire maps.
Just a small tip, before non tank players dismiss the Guardian class: For the record, Guardians' ability to sit there soaking up damage is not actually that great. What you really get to be as a Guardian is a melee-oriented ***mage*** who blows massive cones of blue fire at people, smites things with beams of heavenly light and ghostly magic swords, and slams huge magical sigils into the ground with your mace. If you like, you can build yourself as a decent healer or tank too, as there are plenty of skills and traits for that, but that's not typically the main attraction.
Yes, they actually have a small health pool. They have plenty of blocks and heals though. So yeah, you can soak damage as a guardian, but it'll be a constant effort for you as a player looking for the next skill to block, blind or heal.
Condition Firebrand is easily the most fun I've had in the game. Dropping the sigils, the consecration and then rotating my mantras just feels so damn good honestly. And that's even touching the Tomes.
Bruh I had something similar happen to me. I was appreciating this guy's music just cheering after every song. Then when he was done for the night gifted me two bells. ^^
An important note, Legendaries- despite being so difficult to obtain, don't give that much of an advantage over players that don't have them. Stats-wise they are exactly the same as ascended gear. What makes legendaries worth getting is that you can select the stats prefix, and they also come with cool visual effects. Acended gear also allows you to select stats, though it'll cost you some gold and rare materials to make happen.
GW2 is the game that I once saw on a TV gaming show when I was around 5 years younger than I'm now. Ever since then it became the game that I always wanted to play, it was like my dream game that made me think about it for weeks. Back then I didn't have PC good enough to play the game and money to buy the game so I just dreamed about it and eventually forgot. Now you reminded me and not even the nostalgia hits me hard but also it turns out that it is the best game that I have ever heard of. You made my day and my next years of playing this masterpiece
@@familyofislam yeah, pushing your religious views on random people on the internet uncalled for makes you look like a *really* good person, I'm sure your god is proud
Guild Wars 2 is possibly my favorite MMO. My first character (after coming back cos' I was a lost pup in the launch lol) is a Sylvari guardian that not only can take a beating but prevent just about everyone in close range from dying. It filled my fanatasy of being a worthwhile tank that isn't just about brawn as Wes was extremely entuned to where he came from- i.e. the Dream. (That's at least my explanation as to why he has guardian powers- I never said I wasn't a nerd about it xD) I went back to GW2 during the launch of BFA for WoW and, well... I don't miss WoW at all. Exploring, crafting, building my profession- it all feels so much more meaningful than it did it Warcraft, which is sad since I loved WoW way back when. By far my favorite part is being able to dip in and out of the game. MMO's just can't hold my attention like they used to. I prefer single-player story-driven games, but I do like playing with other people but only when it doesn't feel like I'm that "one guy" that while everyone else can decimate everything solo, I need help to get through the trash mobs. In WoW when I came back around mid to end BFA... oof. I literally felt like I was leagues behind everyone... which really doesn't help when you keep getting the "chosen one" trope and being told that "only you can" and yet, that guy with the name Tushmuncher is over here soloing the dungeon boss because he's farmed more azerite than any gold-digger could dream of. Long story short- Guild Wars 2 makes me feel like I'm not only excited to explore, but to craft and even do group stuff even though at times I'm not the MVP- but I'm also not that useless extra-weight that is being carried through literally everything because I didn't play the game 24/7 since expansion launch.
I just started playing the game 2 weeks ago with my partner, and WOW.. The game is excellent. The combat feels so smooth, the landscapes.. the enviornment is OMG the most beautiful I have seen in any MMO. The Community is super friendly, I had 2 people helping me with fractal dungeons for hours last night. and best of all, if you know how to grind for gold you can basically have anything in this game even gem store items, just convert gold into gems and buy any cosmetic you want
recently started playing again "for the first time" since i bought the game when it released years ago... i am amazed how inclusive guilds are and how populated they are. There is always something going on and everyone is understanding and willing to help you out.
@@mauriciofieni3495 non it s a extremely wrong in reality life is more complexe then over simplistic point of view , indeed they use the gemstore to milk player because its hteir main way to get money that they are putting on the next expansion, and living world season 5 and even if you like drms because they are too easy or too long you cant deny that they put what they can in the story and even the drms are getting better if you check reddit community feelback
i just gave this a try and now i cant stop playing 😂 it's my 1st time playing an mmorpg and glad the community is non-toxic (so far) and there's so much to do and explore in the world
I've played this game since it came out in 2012 and it absolutely is the most rewarding MMO for casual players. I took ~1 year hiatus from the game right after Path of Fire was released and when I came back, I was immediately addicted to the gameplay loops that PoF added. My character was strong enough from my HoT grind that I could easily solo/duo through almost everything PoF had to offer and gear my other characters in ways that I hadn't been able to before. No other MMO would support a year long break like that without a serious amount of catch-up work. The community is always looking to teach new players how to play the game and help them with anything they need. I highly suggest picking up the game and joining in the fun!
As a long-time player, the community of the game is by far the best I've experienced. Most people are incredibly helpful and friendly, and willing to answer the questions of newer people instead of just telling them to "look it up" or ignoring them outright.
Thanks to your videos I started playing it and just 100% explored the first map and got level 22 without knowing exactly what I was doing. It was so fun. Can't wait to play the rest of the game
GW2 was incredibly innovative when it came out. There's at least a dozen things that were completely new in the industry, and many copied them after.. even that one game I won't mention that everyone says everyone else copies. Shared nodes? No gold-tagging? Everyone can (and does) rez everyone else? Feeling always that you are in a world with a lot of other players, no matter what map, that almost feels like being in a raid, but with total freedom? Being rewarded for exploring.. and dare I say.. Jump Puzzles! It put the Massive back into MMO. And that was before mounts, which they do better than any other game, I dare anyone to say otherwise. Oh, and stellar voice acting that isn't reserved for cut-scenes in important places. The world is saturated with it. In this gamer's opinion, after 20 years of playing MMORPGs, it's the best there is. Then or now. In a special twist, everything they add is an improvement. It has been my experience that when games add things, it makes you long for "the good old days" You know what I mean. GW2 just keeps getting better. An edit to add: If you play the game, do NOT use level boosters. Not on your first character, and not on alts. Getting to level cap is fast just playing, and this is a skill based game. That means it's not your gear that determines your outcome, but your skill and knowledge of how your class is played by you. You're going to be clueless what to do with your shiny new lvl 80 if you haven't been playing it on the (short) journey to get there. Not to mention you'll have no waypoints to get anywhere, and will have to run through that content anyway to get them. The same goes for alts, because each class is played very differently. I had a lvl 80 booster that was permanently sitting in a shared inventory slot. I wanted the slot to use, so I made a new character, used the booster, then deleted that character. That's how pointless it is.
GW2 was tons of fun, was my main MMO before I got into FFXIV: I still remember fondly the World Bosses, enormous fights that required tens of players to gather and cooperate. Not really an original concept, other MMOs do it with various amounts of success, but the sheer size of those fights made it great. Shadow Behemot, I miss you.
First time doing shadow behemoth I had no idea what I was getting into, I just saw an event was taking place and players were gathering to do it so I was like ok sweet let’s try. Then the camera zooms out as shadow behemoth rises from the ground. WHAT IS HAPPENINGGGGG Then I read up on world bosses and realized I wanted to find them all :)
The worst mistake every new player makes is playing gw2 with the same antiquated concept/playstyle of existing uber grindy mmos. Looking at classes like guardians as just tanky paladins, combat system as floaty without understanding dodging mechanics and combo fields, seeing legendaries as an endless grind of camping maps and so on. I did all that when the game launched and thats the reason i got bored easily. I gave it another go and it turned out i was completely wrong - because my personal enjoyment of the game was entirely limited by my "short-sighted" understanding. Sure it feels familiar enough that you can grind for gold, raid for gear and complete every quest just like other mmos but gw2 has so much more challenging and rewarding stuff to offer without disrespecting your time and/or wallet.
Yeah the first time i played it i constantly compare the game with other mmos, decided to quit not long after i tried it out. But then i got back to the game after few years, changed my mindset on the game, been enjoying it since then.
@@Alonelythoughts Good for you. Hopefully newer players who see this will be more open to discovering the game instead of focusing on the preconceived notions as shown in this generic review.
@@ronymooney6175 Easily recommend power builds for warrior, guardian and ranger. All 3 can wield a greatsword that cleaves for easy leveling/farming. They can also use other long range weapons if needed. Btw check mukluk and woodenpotatoes to see which skill animation per class appeals to you. Good luck and have fun.
Started GW2 coz of your mentioning it in many many of you videos and it got me interested... thanks for finding me a new home :) im so excited for all the stuff to become, coz i know im spending my future here in TYRIA! (im 3 weeks in and just bought the expacs, along with the newcoming end of dragons 28th of this month) ^^
I haven't thought about this game for years. I played around 2013/14, but I remember crafting one of these legendary weapons you keep talking about. I was so proud of doing it, but I was so burned out after that grind that I never went back. I'm reinstalling it now, if only to check what it was and if it's still relevant. If so, then maybe I'll get back into the game.
I started back in 2020 and love it. I've played off and on after my first stint of hard core playing ( about 6 months) to cap. Now I'm starting a new alt and working on mastery on my main. Elementilist is probably my favourite mage class of any MMO . the combat system is simple but has a nice level of complexity for mastery.
I was already heavily considering getting GW2. After watching this it truly sounds like the MMO i've always been looking for. I look forward to this journey.
@@australienski6687 They have done some quality of life updates over the past few years, and recently added 10 new elite skills for the 15th anniversary last spring.
Could not agree more! Have so many great memories from the OG Guild Wars, and have recently got back into again, although have been thinking about giving GW2 another go!
I actually really enjoyed GW1 as well but haven't played it since GW2 came out. Your comment makes me want to find my disc somewhere and play it again :D
@@monirogue1570 I would definitely go back and give it another go, is just as good as I remember! You can also download the client from the Guild Wars website incase you have lost your discs like I did!
One of the most often quoted criticisms GW2 has is, that it's not deep enough to lose yourself in it or "nolife" the game. I agree partially; I found myself burned out before even reaching the level cap with my first character, as there are not too many skills to discover and I felt that I had found the optimal combat build already (I played minion master necro with axe + dagger/focus lmao). But then I started a new character to play with my friends and it felt like an entirely different experience. That is when I began to see the true merrit of GW2's combat system and started trying out all the other classes with different builds over time. Eventually, I got back to my old necro out of boredom, levelled him up and trained the reaper elite specialization. I was blown away by how drastically that changed my gameplay experience again and I started training all the elite specs on my toons. Now I am sitting here with several characters geared up and skillmaxed, playing wvw, pvp and catching up on living world story content with my friends. I often switch characters when it suits the situation or I just feel like a certain style of gameplay (found myself enjoying the quick hack n' slay feel of daredevil a lot lately). Maining one character exclusively was never an option for me in this game. But that is why GW2 with its horizontal progression is perfect for me: I enjoy maxing out characters quickly (stat-wise) and then switching freely between them like in some Dynasty Warriors game :D. The amazing customization options just add to that and really help fleshing out the flavor of your personal playstyle.
@Dale Macarena i wouldnt say you need friends to play with, but having a community you can dive into endgame content with helps ALOT. bc without it you can face quite some trouble finding groups for endgame content as a new player. so joining a guild is heavily recommended.
I love how underwater combat is still amazing compared to other games, which says more about underwater combat than GW2 since it's so bad none of the expansion content takes you back under water :p
GW2 is a masterpiece that’s highly underrated/overlooked. The more you learn about it the more you’ll come to understand that it’s highly unique but in all the right ways.
@@JoshStrifeHayes All true, but everything under WoW combined is nothing compared to their player base. And that kind of player base is the only reason 2005 of 180pCraft is even alive and has expansions to this extent. GW2 needs a player base of astronomical proportions so it can finally become the perfect mmo and get the true funding it deserves. Blizzards $$ is from their customers blind subservience to a simple promise of more, and they can’t stop now after all those sub fees and mounts they’ve paid for (robbed). Since we don’t pay sub fees i’ve bought like $500 worth of stuff off the store and i don’t feel robbed. I’ll fund good games without a second thought. But WoW? You cant even play it until you pay big papa $15 to launch something windows 97 computers had demos of at walmart back in the day. Even if you do everything about the game and your character is swapped around like musical chairs, rendering everything previously done useless since you can skip all the content continuously just to play to newest list of menial unrewarding chores. I could spit facts all day but at the end of the day, I still have no idea how GW2 only has roughly 12M total players throughout its life.
you had my like when talking about platforms and I saw the footage in the background. Small things like these show us that you gave this video a big thought. Thank you for this video, great content
Bought the game at launch. Played it a little bit. Then quit. Just returned last week after 8 years away. Decided to buy the ultimate pack. Expansions and all the extra's. And made myself a Mesmer. She just got to level 37. My highest level character of the old ones never got past level 51. Absolutely having a blast with my little Illusionist :) I find the gameplay very refreshing after mainly playing WOW, LOTRO and SWTOR. And trying out different weapon combinations and talents is a good thing. Got a bit bored of the "you need this build" from some of the other games. Personally I don't care for the "best build ever". I play what I find to be fun. And so far this game delivers :)
If you didnt play for 8 years make sure you check your original character if you haven't already. Every character on your account gets a present on their birthday. And after 8 years you should have some good stuff waiting for you.
I just started playing last night and met a new MMO friend from Malaysia who was super kind and invited me to their discord channel. They were also really respectful of me not wanting to get rushed through the content. I love MMO communities.
I never play this game consistently, but when I get burnt out on my other MMOs, I always come back to GW2 because it's just so easy to jump right into and start doing fun stuff. It's definitely one of the big 5 for reason.
I definitely like the horizontal progression idea. I made an account when living world season 1 was releasing but was only around level 40 at the time and couldn't play it. My friends were always off doing max level stuff so I got bored and stopped playing. Come 6 or 7 years later I get back into it and im really glad I dont have to hit max level an then grind for another year or two just to be competitive.
Tip: you don't have to actually aim at all unless you're doing ground targets like engineer bombs or something, just click on the enemy and it auto-aims
The GW2 gem shop is a little more extensive than XP boosters and cosmetics. They sell bag slots and bank slots, crafting material storage stack size increases, and most importantly content modules. They offer post launch development in ~quarterly chunks that you can claim for free while it is the current content, but once a new module comes out the previous one goes on sale for 400 gems. If you want to complete the entire game's 8 years of content modules, you can be in for a bit of sticker shock. That aside, I farmed the entire game's content on one of my accounts with in game gold in a reasonable amount of time. If you know how to make money, you can buy gems for gold on the market and do it without paying. The gold to gem conversion rate is entirely reasonable and the market is extremely healthy, as ArenaNet has a lot of loyal whales who buy gems to sell for gold, more than most MMOs with this system by a lot. Anet supporters have kept the market extremely healthy for a very long time. The game has extensive systems for unlimited gambling of your gold and very useful collectibles that cost astronomical amounts of gold, so the whale hunting is real. Overall I would say it is the fairest business model in MMO history, because while all that might sound "bad" in some ways, the implementation is perfect and allows people to play at an extreme competency with minimal cash investment. The key there is extremely low soft and hard caps on stats. You progress by learning your class and how to deal with other classes, not by endlessly treadmilling stat increases.
Have started playing this. Only 13 lvls in and I'm having a blast. Especially loving that there are no arbitrary invisible walls keeping you from exploring certain areas until you've reached the right lvl, opting instead for fecking dangerous beasties that you're unlikely to survive if you're not the appropriate lvl. Much more organic, and has allowed me to explore a fair chunk of the map just by running like hell :P
I came back after leaving before they released expansions, and was impressed with the ridiculous amount of open world quests, voiced story and npcs, mounts and entire rework to the existing classes. Not sure if he mentioned in the video, but in addition to the already huge open-world map, there are secondary maps for World(servers) versus World content with tower sieges that doesn't include the variety of PVP matches on several more smaller maps. Alot of the stuff you see in Warcraft today (public quests, map bosses, dynamic level scaling) was inspired by GW2's mechanics at launch. The game is worth the price, and then some. Go play it
Thank you Josh! I purchased GW2 at launch and haven't played it since its first year. Your review helped me make an informed decision to return in-game.
"Weave complex combat patterns". Ha, I see what you did there. 9k hours of GW2 for me and I still love playing this game. Finally got into raids and having a blast almost every time. The community is so chill (although you can't avoid some drama, like... Pretty much everywhere). The best thing about this game is that you can actually leave for some time and come back and not be too lost. I left for months and came back, a bit rusty but I didn't get a FOMO. Really, it's one of those games where I always come back, like Skyrim. It feels like... Idk, home, I guess.
I might get back into the game when I get a new GPU my current one does not allow me to play with the quality and frame-rate I want. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
just downloaded this and started to play. of all the things I've noticed, in the very early times, are how fantastic the map is...... and the biggest (small) thing is the historical tracking, showing where you've been - why don't other games do this???
Having watched gw2 since early development, one thing I notice the Devs consistently do is fail to add a feature most MMOs have at launch, only to add it a few years later in such a way that puts it's competitors to shame. Examples include the mounts, the complex geography of the later maps, and the Living Story mini-expansions. I just wish the game had a bit more roleplay and meaningful loot.
Now I really hope you'll do more vids on GW 2. It would be somewhat adequate after the Diablo Immortal vid blew up as it did, since monetization in GW 2 is a good example of how to do it right :D
There is indeed alot of content for the more hardcore players too and you don't need legendary gear for it because the tier below legendary is just as good statwise and relatively easy to aquire. It's really not the gear but the player making the difference in the harder encounters which is exactly what a hardcore player should be looking for imo.
Well, the tier below legendary, which is ascended, is exactly the same as legendary stat-wise (or, rather, legendary is the exact same as ascended stat-wise), as the main benefit of legendary is the convenience of being able to select any stat combinations and slot upgrades in and out of your gear at any time when you're out of combat, and, with the addition of the legendary armory, the convenience of being able to share the same legendary item(s) between all your level 80 characters, simultaneously (so, you can have the 1 legendary greatsword equipped on all level 80 greatsword-wielding characters, without needing to unequip and move it between characters). The tier below ascended, which is exotic, is more so what you're referring to. Exotic gear is around 90% as good as ascended gear in terms of stats, but it's significantly easier to obtain, often being able to be bought directly off the trading post for only a few gold (except in the case of expansion stat combinations, which tend to be more expensive), whereas ascended gear can cost hundreds of gold and/or may take weeks of grinding to obtain. However, exotic comes with 2 main downsides: the first being that exotic gear is character-bound meaning you can't move your gear between characters, and the second being that you can't stat change exotic gear, whereas ascended gear (except trinkets/accessories/jewelry) can be stat changed with a certain crafting recipe.
Started the game a week ago with the intention of ONLY doing pvp, cuz i'm a pvp guy obvisouly. Oh boy this game has a lot to deliver. I've been used to annoying farm and really bad cross--progress beetween pve and pvp but this .... this is near perfection. Any PVP player should give it a try, trust me you wont be sad
I've played GW2 for the past 8 years along with several other MMO's in between. The thing which keeps me coming back to GW2 is the community and how everyone enjoys the experience of the game and the long term players (generally) are happy to help out and assist. It's not for everyone, but this is my MMO.
@@VNZ_handle I use Windows 10 antimalware out of the box, mostly. I have a couple of other things I use that don't have to run in the background and only download a free antivirus when I suspect there might be malware or adware on my system, then I uninstall it. I think Josh might go a little overboard on his system security. Maybe not, but who knows? I just try to stay away from the part(s) of the internet where I might run across malware or adware.
Been diving into the GW2 yt rabbit hole the last few days. Never tried it, but looking for a side game while retail wow is slow. Downloading GW2 ATM, hope it's good!
Welcome to GW2 :3 (15y)wow and (6y)ffxiv vet myself. A year ago GW2 combat and mobility/mounts managed to hook me good. I'm curious what your first impression and experience is?
Haven’t watched it but I know it will be good 😌. Your reviews are the best 👍 Edit: I wasn’t disappointed and I might give it a go when my WoW expansion hit has subsided.
GW2 is the only MMO i've played for a couple thousand hours besides Runescape when I was a kid. Even without the actual aiming of weapons like he was doing, the game feels more "action combat" than traditional WoW combat (which is what drove me away from SWTOR) while not actually being full action combat, which I like. The game's artstyle and music are fantastic, the story is pretty damn good and old maps are still usually have plenty of people on them as you can only get low level crafting ingredients from low level areas and monsters so the old areas aren't ever dead. Also on a sidenote you can even put your own music into the game with custom playlists for battle, ambient, city etc which is great and I've never seen another MMO do, love that feature.
I consider myself one of the pickiest people when it comes to MMOs and when I watch your videos I try to listen for certain things. GW2 hit almost every box that I’ve been wanting to hear and I feel bad how long it took me to watch this. I’ve been so addicted to your Worst MMO vids that I missed this one. Turns out, I probably won’t find the mmo I’ve been looking for in the worst mmo series but I believe I found it here. Cheers.
I downloaded this game two weeks ago and after 4 days of playing i purchased the official release. It's an older game but immensely enjoyable. LOTS of learning to do but it's fun and the people i've met so far have been super polite and helpful.
I've been playing this game since I was a little kid, and its just such a nice game to jump back in to whenever I want. I always get giddy seeing Halloween or Wintersday roll around every year
It's criminal how underrated the mounts are. Roller beetle adds competent racing game mechanics, both the griffon and wyvern have flight that feels great. It's really quite a delightful game to play.
It only just hit me that legendaries are brilliant when it comes to designing something to dedicate a ton of time towards. They offer you an insane bargain, basically being objective best in slot by virtue of changeable stats, but they aren't vastly more powerful than a level 80 exotic with the same weapon type and affix. They are something you make constant progress towards rather than grind all the time in the hopes of getting them. It's just so user friendly that I'm still happy for the money I've spent, even if the fact infinite tools do not apply to all characters and are quite expensive is a bit miffing. But to me it's like platinum in warframe, I buy gems more to support the game than to specifically buy items.
@@ThunderStruck15 I think it's far worse to put your players on a treadmill. In the end, all MMOs like WoW basically invalidate all of your work grinding for the best in slots at the time. In guild wars after you spend that time getting the best in slot it will always be best in slot, even if the meta changes. That's work security if I ever saw some. Yes, it asks a lot of work for you, but once that work is done it is never taken away by the introduction of something more overpowered whereas in other mmos that's the MO.
@@chukyuniqul how is giving something that takes significantly more work a better reward than something that takes significantly less work invalidating hard work? If anything, that’s actually invalidating the work.
@@ThunderStruck15 in sub-based mmos the power creep is constant. Your best in slot now will be garbage tier when you come back. And if you will want to play the (invariably higher level) content when it comes out you'll need to grind all over again. The same thing is not true of guild wars. Add to that the fact that with new content noobs usually get level boosters that gets them up to speed with the new content (see for a blatant example of this monster hunter world's defender sets) and all time previously spent is diminished in in-game value if not outright neutered (especially if the new area has new currency). This is not the case in guild wars' legendaries. They never become irrelevant. Every ounce of time you put in it is never going away as long as the servers stay up. It may he more time-consuming (emphasis on maybe) but at least it's honest. You know precisely how much time you will spend to become the absolute best and it makes no attempt to hide it. That being said, ascended (and even exotic) gear is still perfectly viable and with proper party composition you can do damn near all content in the most accessible high-tier gear. The only loss is a meager 5% of so stat drop and if the meta changes you need to get a new set (and even then that's only half true for ascended gear which can be stat-swapped at the cost of some resources while legendary stat-swaps for free). Basically even if you do get legendaries, it's not for viability and honestly not even convenience. You get them because you like playing the game and want something to show for it. And once you get them, that appreciation never goes away, it never gets invalidated. You aren't set back in getting new legendaries for expansions, you aren't weaker for not getting them. They are quite literally there for your pride and accomplishment (tm). The best of the best to reward the most loyal players and that reward is never taken away or diminished unlike *inhales* in WoW or other subscribtiom based mmos where they NEED you to lose that reward so you don't walk away from the game and lose them money. Guild wars is confident in itself. It employs no such tricks to keep you coming back. It knows you will. And if you don't, that's cool too. You won't be set back or punished. Unlike those others.
@@chukyuniqul none of that has fuck all to do with what I said. Power creep only applies to games that add more and more power. Guild wars isn’t doing that- but they still have more powerful gear and less powerful gear, yeah? Why not make it a static stepped system since level doesn’t go up, and therefore power creep has fuck all to do with this.
Hi Josh, decided to pick this game up again after trying it years ago with some friends. Didnt really like mmos all that much back then but iv started to wanna try more and more after testing ff14 (didnt care too much for it unfortunately it was way too much of a slog trying to get through ARR even so i stopped). im gonna go watch your getting started video now peace!
Some cash shops in games have stuff in them that are not completely cosmetic in that they are both functional and cosmetic. Guild Wars 2 mostly has completely cosmetic items. I get you tried to sound witty but it wasn't.
I rember I got this game preordered as a gift by my sister. Preloading was essential cause our internet was crap and the queue at launch was insane but the excitement and wonder upon playing for the first time was well worth it.
Kind of surprising to see this game so active after this long, but if I remember right, people were playing Guild Wars 1 all the way up to Guild Wars 2 (7 years), so they were probably planning for this. Also, I just realized it will have been 10 years since its release in 2022. 260k players nearly 9 years later seems pretty good.
GW1 is actually still online, supported by the dev, and available for purchase right now. I think they even gave it a small graphical update in the last few years. 😂 it's a bit insane given how other mmorpgs just... don't do that.
if anyone asked them selfs 'And what about the graphics ', it kinda divided by the expansions, the core game has the 'default' graphics back to 2012, then was a huge graphics improvement at 2015 with 'Heart of Thorns' and finally with 'Path of Fire', so don't worry about that (incoming next graphic '''''generation'''''' with 'End of Dragons')
This is why I stopped playing wow I had to always grind to stay on top never just grinded for what I wanted now I'm sat willing to spend months crafting a legendary Greatworth for sweat sweat satisfaction and style not because its the best but mmm twilight is the perfect egdy weapon
Yes. Do it. I have been playing in the Guild Wars Franchise (the 1st and 2nd game) for 16 years, going on 17 as of 2021. I still play it a lot and there's always something to do. I personally haven't really experienced much toxicity within the community as most people are pretty friendly most of the time. Though there are those that do take it a bit too seriously. Also if you are ever stuck there are multiple tutorials found everywhere and most people are even willing to answer questions over world chat.
*3 years later* Letting you know in the comments... I've decided to play Guild Wars 2. I'm a big muscular Norn with a beautiful mustache and topping it with a Mohawk. If you still read this and respond, I'll speak sweet words into your ears in Spanish O.O
Well you talked me into Tera (despite your best efforts) just before they announced they were closing down forever. So I'm gonna give this one a try. Sorry in advance everyone.
Friends got this game for me for my birthday last month. With all the stuff going on at Blizzard I thought it best to shelf WoW for a long time and this was a great alternative to embark on. Leveling has been fun. I love the variety this game can offer.
Human = elf. Charr = Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast Asura = Brain from Pinky & the Brain Norn = giant viking werebears Sylvari = plants in the shape of humans but naive at things. E.g. Johnny 5 or Arthur Weasley "what is the purpose of a rubber duck?"
IMO this is the best mmo out there, the only thing that really sucks is the story. It's good in some aspects, but the delivery is so childish that it's a chore to go through (especially in the DLC content).
I'm looking for a casual MMO and I think this might hit the spot nicely. Tired of every MMO being based around min-maxing, being as wide as an ocean but as deep as a puddle!
Exactly this. Someone needs to make an MMORPG that makes min-maxing an impossible ideal and that forces people to notice the world around them in the game. Put min-maxing in and you lose the RPG aspect unless your guild is built around RP in-game. Maybe encrypt the database so that no dataminer is capable of obtaining valid information. This would force people to actually learn the game by playing it rather than looking to google for answers.
![Horizontal VS Vertical Design [MMOPINION]](/img/1.gif)
I just got into the game again a week ago, the guild I joined was asking people to run fractals I said "I would but I'm not that experienced" got an invite instantly and they all said "no better time to learn than today we got time" that feeling in a mmo is the best a lot of people are willing to teach which keeps the new player experience good as long as you use the chat
Nice to hear. I just started playing a few days ago and my biggest fear/worry is being so far behind everyone and not having players willing to take on a newbie.
@Jem it's not. If you like it play it
@Jem It's not dead, that's what he means. A lot of people actually play it nowadays.
most wow players are those dumb trump supporters that sat "USA first fuck other countries" mentality, so, the worst. Stay in gw2, still safe place and hope for humanity.
Wow classic is a fucking awesome game, but the community plays a huge factor in the fun. Wow classic can't be fun again because the community is a pile of shit now. Peace.
Meanwhile in Hellfire Penninsula
I have little experience on GW2, but I have to say, the community is very friendly. And the support is excellent.
Try pvp and wvw and let us know
@@Richard1976 I have not that experience yet, but I can feel the toxicity coming back and forth.
@@Richard1976 honestly toxicity is super minor in GW2 pvp compared to most other games. They designed it so that for most of the rewards you don’t need to win to get rewards (it’s just faster if you do). This has reduced tons of toxicity that most players remember from 5 years ago. I play ranked pvp every day and never get flamed. And I lose about 50% of my matches lol.
@@DrWarBear havent played it in a while. I'm old core player.
@@Richard1976 eehh wvw is not so bad depending on the server you picked.
I love playing alongside others in GW2. I don't want to play with other people, I want to do my own thing at my own pace, but there's something very satisfying about seeing other people running around doing the quests and occasionally playing beside one another for an event. It's a great game for playing alone with other people.
Helping others is incentivized too so if someone sees you downed or struggling they’ll come over and help you out. All MMOs should share XP.
The community of this game is amazing btw. The gameplay is designed with the philosophy the more the merrier. You will always find guilds that run things together, be it event chain, dungeons, fractals (hard dungeons), pvp, world v world, or world bosses. The game has dedicated communities for each and every single activity. Even someone who you run into in the map can be quick companions. It’s one of the few games where the community is active and friendly by design.
Umm no. I'll just copy paste my response from other post.
Community is absolute garbage. As soon as you join for group content, you are expected to run builds some wannabe pros decided it's current meta, you are expected to exploit content and mechanics to make this easy game into even more easy, you are expected to skip 90% mobs and rush to the end chest, even in open world people lose their shit if a boss fails and much more. You post your LFG (looking for group) with clear description and people join while either not reading description or choosing to ignore it and expect you'll just say fuck it and follow their way of playing. And then they even insult you because you - owner of the LFG - want to play the way your description says. This is not a casual game that was always advertised. This is not how you play even a competitive or challenging games, let alone easy "casual" games like gw2.
Then there is official forums, where you almost can't disagree with someone without getting a warning. I got a warning by asking a guy "Did you read my first post?", because he went completely off topic and completely miss the point. Also, just like any other forum, there are few of no lifers that have 20k posts and so they think their word is holy and everything they say must be praised, while they have most ridiculous ideas. Oh, and don't you dare open up a topic about some kind of suggestion. You'll immediately have bunch of nerds telling you how this suggestion is waste of developer time (while all their suggestions are obviously top priority stuff) and then proceed to argue with you and act as if they are lead developer of the team with all the inside info or some shit.
I haven't played many mmos, but I did play quite a few and gw2 was suppose to be the most casual friendly and relaxing. It turned out to have the worst community easily. And btw, I have 9k hours logged, so I'm not talking out of my ass.
@@Bl4ckheart dude, I see your salt and you have every right to feel that way, there are a lot of self proclaimed "elitist's" out there but try not to get dragged into the hype, I play for the sheer joy of playing and I play by my rules because I know If I don't, what's the point? I run a lot of WvW to blow off steam and help out if I can, yes I die a lot but I also survive a lot and get a great gaming experience seeing how other servers and players run, I stay out of the forums and chat mostly because of just what you said so It doesn't dampen my gameplay, plus if I get tired of wvw I hop into main gameplay and do something else for a while, it's over all a great game with lots to keep entertained, I hope you give it another chance, stay frosty out there! :D
@@Bl4ckheart aim for a normal guild and not DDD
@@xXDESTINYMBXx I've been in more than 20 guilds mate. They are all the same when it comes to group content. Only difference between "casual" guild and hardcore is that hardcore is more efficient and consistent in their runs. Skipping, rushing, taking a path of least resistance as if you are playing running simulator, exploiting and waiting in lobby for 15 minutes to find that ideal meta party composition while you could clear the instance by then even with casuals, is basically what you learn first when you enter nearly any group, so it's a base of the game and community by now.
@@Bl4ckheart yeah the skipping is annoying, when playing an instance for the first time I would like to take my time for the story.
My experience has been kinda different but I haven't played for years now.
This is one of those games that rewards exploration. I’ve seen so many cool things just by walking around the maps. There’s even subtle references to a Disney film in one of their Path of Fire maps.
Wait, really? Lol
@@ok_listen Yep! In Crystal Oasis (one of the Path of Fire maps) there’s a reference to The Lion King.
I'm not surprised. There is a dungeon where you defeat a robot, when you are done it sinks into lava and gives you a thumbs up Terminator style.
Catacombs of ascalon has a ghostbusters boss fight
Just a small tip, before non tank players dismiss the Guardian class:
For the record, Guardians' ability to sit there soaking up damage is not actually that great. What you really get to be as a Guardian is a melee-oriented ***mage*** who blows massive cones of blue fire at people, smites things with beams of heavenly light and ghostly magic swords, and slams huge magical sigils into the ground with your mace. If you like, you can build yourself as a decent healer or tank too, as there are plenty of skills and traits for that, but that's not typically the main attraction.
Yes, they actually have a small health pool. They have plenty of blocks and heals though. So yeah, you can soak damage as a guardian, but it'll be a constant effort for you as a player looking for the next skill to block, blind or heal.
haven't tried a guardian yet, sounds like fun :D
Welp, you just sold me on guardian
true. 11k hp when going full offensive stats. some meta event bosses can 1 shot it if the player is not paying attention.
Condition Firebrand is easily the most fun I've had in the game. Dropping the sigils, the consecration and then rotating my mantras just feels so damn good honestly. And that's even touching the Tomes.
yes, it doesn't even take 10 minutes for me to somehow get a veteran casually following me and start chilling together for 4 hours.
bro that's wholesome as hell
Bruh I had something similar happen to me. I was appreciating this guy's music just cheering after every song. Then when he was done for the night gifted me two bells. ^^
This happens to me all the time irl too!
@@Gaming_Amateur what?
I play gw2 6 yrs and every time i find newbie, I play with him untill he don't need me anymore
An important note, Legendaries- despite being so difficult to obtain, don't give that much of an advantage over players that don't have them. Stats-wise they are exactly the same as ascended gear. What makes legendaries worth getting is that you can select the stats prefix, and they also come with cool visual effects. Acended gear also allows you to select stats, though it'll cost you some gold and rare materials to make happen.
Also, with the legendary wardrobe that's coming with EoD, you'll be able to share the legendary between all your characters!
After legendary armory they are ridiculousy high value.
Important to note, you can choose prefix while crafting ascended gear, but it is one time decision.
You also automatically recover any upgrades on a legendary just by putting in a new upgrade.
@@petrgrebenicek1067 There is a way to stat change by using the Mystic Toilet, but it will cost you.
GW2 is the game that I once saw on a TV gaming show when I was around 5 years younger than I'm now. Ever since then it became the game that I always wanted to play, it was like my dream game that made me think about it for weeks. Back then I didn't have PC good enough to play the game and money to buy the game so I just dreamed about it and eventually forgot. Now you reminded me and not even the nostalgia hits me hard but also it turns out that it is the best game that I have ever heard of. You made my day and my next years of playing this masterpiece
good luck with your journey, u re in for great times and experiences
me and boyfriend just dropped wow (too competitive) and switched to gw2 now, much more relaxing
fornication is a sin
@@familyofislam yeah, pushing your religious views on random people on the internet uncalled for makes you look like a *really* good person, I'm sure your god is proud
@@kittenwizard4703 it's a joke. probably.
@@kittenwizard4703 obviously its a joke lmao
@@kittenwizard4703 baited
I will playing guild wars 2 because of your video. Thank you. Happy New Years!
Happy new year dude!
Guild Wars 2 is possibly my favorite MMO. My first character (after coming back cos' I was a lost pup in the launch lol) is a Sylvari guardian that not only can take a beating but prevent just about everyone in close range from dying. It filled my fanatasy of being a worthwhile tank that isn't just about brawn as Wes was extremely entuned to where he came from- i.e. the Dream. (That's at least my explanation as to why he has guardian powers- I never said I wasn't a nerd about it xD)
I went back to GW2 during the launch of BFA for WoW and, well... I don't miss WoW at all. Exploring, crafting, building my profession- it all feels so much more meaningful than it did it Warcraft, which is sad since I loved WoW way back when. By far my favorite part is being able to dip in and out of the game. MMO's just can't hold my attention like they used to. I prefer single-player story-driven games, but I do like playing with other people but only when it doesn't feel like I'm that "one guy" that while everyone else can decimate everything solo, I need help to get through the trash mobs. In WoW when I came back around mid to end BFA... oof. I literally felt like I was leagues behind everyone... which really doesn't help when you keep getting the "chosen one" trope and being told that "only you can" and yet, that guy with the name Tushmuncher is over here soloing the dungeon boss because he's farmed more azerite than any gold-digger could dream of.
Long story short- Guild Wars 2 makes me feel like I'm not only excited to explore, but to craft and even do group stuff even though at times I'm not the MVP- but I'm also not that useless extra-weight that is being carried through literally everything because I didn't play the game 24/7 since expansion launch.
Are we the same person? It's like you wrote this directly to me 😂 Thanks for this comment, exactly what I wanted to learn about!
for the love of god please claim those daily chests
Crazy timing, I was just looking for an MMO to check out and this pops up. lol.
Over the next few weeks ill cover all thr major games :)
Trust me, you won't regret giving GW2 a try
The RUclips algorithm can read your thoughts.
Have you never played GW2 before?? Its sooo good
@@JoshStrifeHayes best class for pve? i was intrested in ranger and mesmer
I just started playing the game 2 weeks ago with my partner, and WOW.. The game is excellent. The combat feels so smooth, the landscapes.. the enviornment is OMG the most beautiful I have seen in any MMO. The Community is super friendly, I had 2 people helping me with fractal dungeons for hours last night. and best of all, if you know how to grind for gold you can basically have anything in this game even gem store items, just convert gold into gems and buy any cosmetic you want
I started the game in october : >, I am in the middle of path of fire.
recently started playing again "for the first time" since i bought the game when it released years ago... i am amazed how inclusive guilds are and how populated they are. There is always something going on and everyone is understanding and willing to help you out.
As always, nice video, Josh!
I trully believe GW2 deserves more love and attention in the MMO market
@@satangw2 It's hard to argue against facts...
@@mauriciofieni3495 non it s a extremely wrong in reality life is more complexe then over simplistic point of view , indeed they use the gemstore to milk player because its hteir main way to get money that they are putting on the next expansion, and living world season 5 and even if you like drms because they are too easy or too long you cant deny that they put what they can in the story and even the drms are getting better if you check reddit community feelback
@@satangw2 ahem icebrood saga ahem 3rd expansion on its way.
@@satangw2 They have living world content and already stated, long ago, that they were working on a 3rd expansion. What hole did you climb out of?
@@BoogerLeader Hell? He climbed out of hell. lol
Wife and I have started playing this game and already we love it!
i just gave this a try and now i cant stop playing 😂 it's my 1st time playing an mmorpg and glad the community is non-toxic (so far) and there's so much to do and explore in the world
I've never seen people arguing, everyone is just so kind and welcoming
Is it on steam?
@@markiss69 starting from this November yes
@@ok_listen where else can i get the game? im an mmo newbie
@@markiss69 You can get the game on GW2 official website.
I've played this game since it came out in 2012 and it absolutely is the most rewarding MMO for casual players. I took ~1 year hiatus from the game right after Path of Fire was released and when I came back, I was immediately addicted to the gameplay loops that PoF added. My character was strong enough from my HoT grind that I could easily solo/duo through almost everything PoF had to offer and gear my other characters in ways that I hadn't been able to before. No other MMO would support a year long break like that without a serious amount of catch-up work.
The community is always looking to teach new players how to play the game and help them with anything they need. I highly suggest picking up the game and joining in the fun!
As a long-time player, the community of the game is by far the best I've experienced. Most people are incredibly helpful and friendly, and willing to answer the questions of newer people instead of just telling them to "look it up" or ignoring them outright.
Thanks to your videos I started playing it and just 100% explored the first map and got level 22 without knowing exactly what I was doing. It was so fun. Can't wait to play the rest of the game
GW2 was incredibly innovative when it came out. There's at least a dozen things that were completely new in the industry, and many copied them after.. even that one game I won't mention that everyone says everyone else copies. Shared nodes? No gold-tagging? Everyone can (and does) rez everyone else? Feeling always that you are in a world with a lot of other players, no matter what map, that almost feels like being in a raid, but with total freedom? Being rewarded for exploring.. and dare I say.. Jump Puzzles! It put the Massive back into MMO. And that was before mounts, which they do better than any other game, I dare anyone to say otherwise. Oh, and stellar voice acting that isn't reserved for cut-scenes in important places. The world is saturated with it.
In this gamer's opinion, after 20 years of playing MMORPGs, it's the best there is. Then or now. In a special twist, everything they add is an improvement. It has been my experience that when games add things, it makes you long for "the good old days" You know what I mean. GW2 just keeps getting better.
An edit to add: If you play the game, do NOT use level boosters. Not on your first character, and not on alts. Getting to level cap is fast just playing, and this is a skill based game. That means it's not your gear that determines your outcome, but your skill and knowledge of how your class is played by you. You're going to be clueless what to do with your shiny new lvl 80 if you haven't been playing it on the (short) journey to get there. Not to mention you'll have no waypoints to get anywhere, and will have to run through that content anyway to get them.
The same goes for alts, because each class is played very differently. I had a lvl 80 booster that was permanently sitting in a shared inventory slot. I wanted the slot to use, so I made a new character, used the booster, then deleted that character. That's how pointless it is.
Did the same with my lvl 80 Booster
I know this comment is a year old, but I just want to say that guild wars being my first mmo set my standards SO high for every other mmo.
GW2 was tons of fun, was my main MMO before I got into FFXIV: I still remember fondly the World Bosses, enormous fights that required tens of players to gather and cooperate. Not really an original concept, other MMOs do it with various amounts of success, but the sheer size of those fights made it great.
Shadow Behemot, I miss you.
No better time to come back then, population is rising again on all maps
First time doing shadow behemoth I had no idea what I was getting into, I just saw an event was taking place and players were gathering to do it so I was like ok sweet let’s try.
Then the camera zooms out as shadow behemoth rises from the ground.
WHAT IS HAPPENINGGGGG
Then I read up on world bosses and realized I wanted to find them all :)
A shame most world boss is just 50players stacking on one area spamming autoattack until it dies.
Best thing is you can just jump in and fight and get rewarded for your contribution, no need for groups or guilds.
The worst mistake every new player makes is playing gw2 with the same antiquated concept/playstyle of existing uber grindy mmos. Looking at classes like guardians as just tanky paladins, combat system as floaty without understanding dodging mechanics and combo fields, seeing legendaries as an endless grind of camping maps and so on. I did all that when the game launched and thats the reason i got bored easily. I gave it another go and it turned out i was completely wrong - because my personal enjoyment of the game was entirely limited by my "short-sighted" understanding. Sure it feels familiar enough that you can grind for gold, raid for gear and complete every quest just like other mmos but gw2 has so much more challenging and rewarding stuff to offer without disrespecting your time and/or wallet.
Yeah the first time i played it i constantly compare the game with other mmos, decided to quit not long after i tried it out. But then i got back to the game after few years, changed my mindset on the game, been enjoying it since then.
@@Alonelythoughts Good for you. Hopefully newer players who see this will be more open to discovering the game instead of focusing on the preconceived notions as shown in this generic review.
Hello bro. Can you recommend me what class should I play? I'm not really into clicking skills style. And also easy to farm.
@@ronymooney6175 i recommend necro for pve content, and if you'd like guardian and ranger also good
@@ronymooney6175 Easily recommend power builds for warrior, guardian and ranger. All 3 can wield a greatsword that cleaves for easy leveling/farming. They can also use other long range weapons if needed. Btw check mukluk and woodenpotatoes to see which skill animation per class appeals to you. Good luck and have fun.
Started GW2 coz of your mentioning it in many many of you videos and it got me interested... thanks for finding me a new home :) im so excited for all the stuff to become, coz i know im spending my future here in TYRIA! (im 3 weeks in and just bought the expacs, along with the newcoming end of dragons 28th of this month) ^^
I haven't thought about this game for years. I played around 2013/14, but I remember crafting one of these legendary weapons you keep talking about. I was so proud of doing it, but I was so burned out after that grind that I never went back. I'm reinstalling it now, if only to check what it was and if it's still relevant. If so, then maybe I'll get back into the game.
This, and many more of your videos have convinced me to play Guild Wars 2. Thank you Josh!
I've been playing gw2 since launch, and there's still so much content I haven't touched. It's huge! Totally worth it.
@Max Payne ?
Decided to pick this up recently and came across your video. Totally worth a sub, thanks for the awesome insight. Very well edited 👍🏻
Played it years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps it's time to return...
Finally started playing this over the weekend. Been having so much fun! Thanks for the push.
I started back in 2020 and love it. I've played off and on after my first stint of hard core playing ( about 6 months) to cap. Now I'm starting a new alt and working on mastery on my main. Elementilist is probably my favourite mage class of any MMO . the combat system is simple but has a nice level of complexity for mastery.
I was already heavily considering getting GW2. After watching this it truly sounds like the MMO i've always been looking for. I look forward to this journey.
GW2 is great and all, but I always find myself going back to GW1. Fifteen years later and still not bored with it.
Do they still add content to GW1?
@@australienski6687 They have done some quality of life updates over the past few years, and recently added 10 new elite skills for the 15th anniversary last spring.
Could not agree more! Have so many great memories from the OG Guild Wars, and have recently got back into again, although have been thinking about giving GW2 another go!
I actually really enjoyed GW1 as well but haven't played it since GW2 came out. Your comment makes me want to find my disc somewhere and play it again :D
@@monirogue1570 I would definitely go back and give it another go, is just as good as I remember! You can also download the client from the Guild Wars website incase you have lost your discs like I did!
One of the most often quoted criticisms GW2 has is, that it's not deep enough to lose yourself in it or "nolife" the game. I agree partially; I found myself burned out before even reaching the level cap with my first character, as there are not too many skills to discover and I felt that I had found the optimal combat build already (I played minion master necro with axe + dagger/focus lmao). But then I started a new character to play with my friends and it felt like an entirely different experience. That is when I began to see the true merrit of GW2's combat system and started trying out all the other classes with different builds over time. Eventually, I got back to my old necro out of boredom, levelled him up and trained the reaper elite specialization. I was blown away by how drastically that changed my gameplay experience again and I started training all the elite specs on my toons. Now I am sitting here with several characters geared up and skillmaxed, playing wvw, pvp and catching up on living world story content with my friends. I often switch characters when it suits the situation or I just feel like a certain style of gameplay (found myself enjoying the quick hack n' slay feel of daredevil a lot lately). Maining one character exclusively was never an option for me in this game. But that is why GW2 with its horizontal progression is perfect for me: I enjoy maxing out characters quickly (stat-wise) and then switching freely between them like in some Dynasty Warriors game :D. The amazing customization options just add to that and really help fleshing out the flavor of your personal playstyle.
@Dale Macarena i wouldnt say you need friends to play with, but having a community you can dive into endgame content with helps ALOT. bc without it you can face quite some trouble finding groups for endgame content as a new player. so joining a guild is heavily recommended.
I love how underwater combat is still amazing compared to other games, which says more about underwater combat than GW2 since it's so bad none of the expansion content takes you back under water :p
Well, the Aquatic Ruins Fractal is enough water combat content for me, thanks, but ... no xD
@@KudoRavan Thank god there's only one underwater fractal
@@寝子猫-j4y It‘s more annoying than before since it was updated … q.q
I was planning to try WOW and just found about the GW2. Checking GW2 and found your video. I think I'm going to try this. Thanks!
GW2 is a masterpiece that’s highly underrated/overlooked. The more you learn about it the more you’ll come to understand that it’s highly unique but in all the right ways.
It's one of the largest, most well known, most popular, most well funded mmorpgs of all time. It's not exactly overlooked.
@@JoshStrifeHayes All true, but everything under WoW combined is nothing compared to their player base. And that kind of player base is the only reason 2005 of 180pCraft is even alive and has expansions to this extent. GW2 needs a player base of astronomical proportions so it can finally become the perfect mmo and get the true funding it deserves. Blizzards $$ is from their customers blind subservience to a simple promise of more, and they can’t stop now after all those sub fees and mounts they’ve paid for (robbed). Since we don’t pay sub fees i’ve bought like $500 worth of stuff off the store and i don’t feel robbed. I’ll fund good games without a second thought. But WoW? You cant even play it until you pay big papa $15 to launch something windows 97 computers had demos of at walmart back in the day. Even if you do everything about the game and your character is swapped around like musical chairs, rendering everything previously done useless since you can skip all the content continuously just to play to newest list of menial unrewarding chores. I could spit facts all day but at the end of the day, I still have no idea how GW2 only has roughly 12M total players throughout its life.
@@delanuma5 wow was lucky, it hit the market at the perfect time and has been coasting off that success for years
In the other hand is WoW, overrated and overpriced, horrible combat and customer service.
@@ROCKNROLL947 Numbers tell story.
you had my like when talking about platforms and I saw the footage in the background. Small things like these show us that you gave this video a big thought. Thank you for this video, great content
Honestly I never liked MMORPGs. But someone suggested I try this and honestly, this is more than sufficiently enjoyable for me.
Love your reviews of this type, tell me exactly what I need to know to decide whether or not I want to play
Bought the game at launch. Played it a little bit. Then quit. Just returned last week after 8 years away. Decided to buy the ultimate pack. Expansions and all the extra's. And made myself a Mesmer. She just got to level 37. My highest level character of the old ones never got past level 51.
Absolutely having a blast with my little Illusionist :) I find the gameplay very refreshing after mainly playing WOW, LOTRO and SWTOR. And trying out different weapon combinations and talents is a good thing. Got a bit bored of the "you need this build" from some of the other games. Personally I don't care for the "best build ever". I play what I find to be fun. And so far this game delivers :)
If you didnt play for 8 years make sure you check your original character if you haven't already. Every character on your account gets a present on their birthday. And after 8 years you should have some good stuff waiting for you.
I just started playing last night and met a new MMO friend from Malaysia who was super kind and invited me to their discord channel. They were also really respectful of me not wanting to get rushed through the content. I love MMO communities.
I never play this game consistently, but when I get burnt out on my other MMOs, I always come back to GW2 because it's just so easy to jump right into and start doing fun stuff. It's definitely one of the big 5 for reason.
I definitely like the horizontal progression idea. I made an account when living world season 1 was releasing but was only around level 40 at the time and couldn't play it. My friends were always off doing max level stuff so I got bored and stopped playing. Come 6 or 7 years later I get back into it and im really glad I dont have to hit max level an then grind for another year or two just to be competitive.
I forgot I ever watched this and picked up GW2 in 2022 and have been enjoying it.
Tip: you don't have to actually aim at all unless you're doing ground targets like engineer bombs or something, just click on the enemy and it auto-aims
The GW2 gem shop is a little more extensive than XP boosters and cosmetics. They sell bag slots and bank slots, crafting material storage stack size increases, and most importantly content modules. They offer post launch development in ~quarterly chunks that you can claim for free while it is the current content, but once a new module comes out the previous one goes on sale for 400 gems. If you want to complete the entire game's 8 years of content modules, you can be in for a bit of sticker shock.
That aside, I farmed the entire game's content on one of my accounts with in game gold in a reasonable amount of time. If you know how to make money, you can buy gems for gold on the market and do it without paying. The gold to gem conversion rate is entirely reasonable and the market is extremely healthy, as ArenaNet has a lot of loyal whales who buy gems to sell for gold, more than most MMOs with this system by a lot. Anet supporters have kept the market extremely healthy for a very long time. The game has extensive systems for unlimited gambling of your gold and very useful collectibles that cost astronomical amounts of gold, so the whale hunting is real. Overall I would say it is the fairest business model in MMO history, because while all that might sound "bad" in some ways, the implementation is perfect and allows people to play at an extreme competency with minimal cash investment. The key there is extremely low soft and hard caps on stats. You progress by learning your class and how to deal with other classes, not by endlessly treadmilling stat increases.
Liked looking forward what you will make about End of Dragons when it releases.
I'm compelled to watch all the "Should You Play/Why I Quit X For Guild Wars 2" videos to reinforce my obvious bias for the superior MMO.
i have watched so many bahaha
Yas
Literally me for any game I’m into
Have started playing this. Only 13 lvls in and I'm having a blast. Especially loving that there are no arbitrary invisible walls keeping you from exploring certain areas until you've reached the right lvl, opting instead for fecking dangerous beasties that you're unlikely to survive if you're not the appropriate lvl. Much more organic, and has allowed me to explore a fair chunk of the map just by running like hell :P
i would recommend playing some pvp to see how your class operate at end game before leveling it to max.
@@SilverNomadTV Would I have much of a chance in PVP at such a low lvl?
@@femoman Yeah, it equalizes.
This is one of the best summary videos I’ve seen. I will be checking out GW2 For sure!
I came back after leaving before they released expansions, and was impressed with the ridiculous amount of open world quests, voiced story and npcs, mounts and entire rework to the existing classes. Not sure if he mentioned in the video, but in addition to the already huge open-world map, there are secondary maps for World(servers) versus World content with tower sieges that doesn't include the variety of PVP matches on several more smaller maps. Alot of the stuff you see in Warcraft today (public quests, map bosses, dynamic level scaling) was inspired by GW2's mechanics at launch. The game is worth the price, and then some. Go play it
Downloading this now to play after I get off work. It is your vids that helped me make that decision man, thanks a ton. :D
I ended up going back to gw1 for Cantha. Need to get myself ready for gw2 Cantha
Thank you Josh! I purchased GW2 at launch and haven't played it since its first year. Your review helped me make an informed decision to return in-game.
"Weave complex combat patterns". Ha, I see what you did there.
9k hours of GW2 for me and I still love playing this game. Finally got into raids and having a blast almost every time. The community is so chill (although you can't avoid some drama, like... Pretty much everywhere). The best thing about this game is that you can actually leave for some time and come back and not be too lost. I left for months and came back, a bit rusty but I didn't get a FOMO. Really, it's one of those games where I always come back, like Skyrim. It feels like... Idk, home, I guess.
I might get back into the game when I get a new GPU my current one does not allow me to play with the quality and frame-rate I want. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
just downloaded this and started to play.
of all the things I've noticed, in the very early times, are how fantastic the map is...... and the biggest (small) thing is the historical tracking, showing where you've been - why don't other games do this???
Tracking?
@@recalled_heart5491 yes, tracking. tracing your past steps, where yo have just been. the white dots on the map.
Another nice point is the cool seasonal events like the Christmas story and quest, and pvp mini games.
Having watched gw2 since early development, one thing I notice the Devs consistently do is fail to add a feature most MMOs have at launch, only to add it a few years later in such a way that puts it's competitors to shame. Examples include the mounts, the complex geography of the later maps, and the Living Story mini-expansions. I just wish the game had a bit more roleplay and meaningful loot.
Now I really hope you'll do more vids on GW 2. It would be somewhat adequate after the Diablo Immortal vid blew up as it did, since monetization in GW 2 is a good example of how to do it right :D
There is indeed alot of content for the more hardcore players too and you don't need legendary gear for it because the tier below legendary is just as good statwise and relatively easy to aquire. It's really not the gear but the player making the difference in the harder encounters which is exactly what a hardcore player should be looking for imo.
Well, the tier below legendary, which is ascended, is exactly the same as legendary stat-wise (or, rather, legendary is the exact same as ascended stat-wise), as the main benefit of legendary is the convenience of being able to select any stat combinations and slot upgrades in and out of your gear at any time when you're out of combat, and, with the addition of the legendary armory, the convenience of being able to share the same legendary item(s) between all your level 80 characters, simultaneously (so, you can have the 1 legendary greatsword equipped on all level 80 greatsword-wielding characters, without needing to unequip and move it between characters).
The tier below ascended, which is exotic, is more so what you're referring to. Exotic gear is around 90% as good as ascended gear in terms of stats, but it's significantly easier to obtain, often being able to be bought directly off the trading post for only a few gold (except in the case of expansion stat combinations, which tend to be more expensive), whereas ascended gear can cost hundreds of gold and/or may take weeks of grinding to obtain. However, exotic comes with 2 main downsides: the first being that exotic gear is character-bound meaning you can't move your gear between characters, and the second being that you can't stat change exotic gear, whereas ascended gear (except trinkets/accessories/jewelry) can be stat changed with a certain crafting recipe.
By far the best game review I ever saw so far, well done 👍
Started the game a week ago with the intention of ONLY doing pvp, cuz i'm a pvp guy obvisouly.
Oh boy this game has a lot to deliver. I've been used to annoying farm and really bad cross--progress beetween pve and pvp but this .... this is near perfection.
Any PVP player should give it a try, trust me you wont be sad
I've played GW2 for the past 8 years along with several other MMO's in between. The thing which keeps me coming back to GW2 is the community and how everyone enjoys the experience of the game and the long term players (generally) are happy to help out and assist. It's not for everyone, but this is my MMO.
I always think it’s crazy when someone has all those icons in the system tray and cortana on.
@@VNZ_handle I use Windows 10 antimalware out of the box, mostly. I have a couple of other things I use that don't have to run in the background and only download a free antivirus when I suspect there might be malware or adware on my system, then I uninstall it. I think Josh might go a little overboard on his system security. Maybe not, but who knows? I just try to stay away from the part(s) of the internet where I might run across malware or adware.
Been diving into the GW2 yt rabbit hole the last few days. Never tried it, but looking for a side game while retail wow is slow. Downloading GW2 ATM, hope it's good!
Welcome to GW2 :3 (15y)wow and (6y)ffxiv vet myself. A year ago GW2 combat and mobility/mounts managed to hook me good. I'm curious what your first impression and experience is?
Haven’t watched it but I know it will be good 😌. Your reviews are the best 👍
Edit: I wasn’t disappointed and I might give it a go when my WoW expansion hit has subsided.
i have been playing gw2 for 7 years, and somehow i still keep discovering new stuff and new places in the core game maps
GW2 is the only MMO i've played for a couple thousand hours besides Runescape when I was a kid. Even without the actual aiming of weapons like he was doing, the game feels more "action combat" than traditional WoW combat (which is what drove me away from SWTOR) while not actually being full action combat, which I like. The game's artstyle and music are fantastic, the story is pretty damn good and old maps are still usually have plenty of people on them as you can only get low level crafting ingredients from low level areas and monsters so the old areas aren't ever dead.
Also on a sidenote you can even put your own music into the game with custom playlists for battle, ambient, city etc which is great and I've never seen another MMO do, love that feature.
I consider myself one of the pickiest people when it comes to MMOs and when I watch your videos I try to listen for certain things. GW2 hit almost every box that I’ve been wanting to hear and I feel bad how long it took me to watch this. I’ve been so addicted to your Worst MMO vids that I missed this one. Turns out, I probably won’t find the mmo I’ve been looking for in the worst mmo series but I believe I found it here. Cheers.
Would you ever think about doing a Guild Wars 2 video again for 2023, consider how most stuff changed?
I downloaded this game two weeks ago and after 4 days of playing i purchased the official release. It's an older game but immensely enjoyable. LOTS of learning to do but it's fun and the people i've met so far have been super polite and helpful.
Hey! If ur reading this, have a good day! 😊
Thanks
And if you read this, your day will only be okay! Muahahahha
I've been playing this game since I was a little kid, and its just such a nice game to jump back in to whenever I want. I always get giddy seeing Halloween or Wintersday roll around every year
It's criminal how underrated the mounts are. Roller beetle adds competent racing game mechanics, both the griffon and wyvern have flight that feels great. It's really quite a delightful game to play.
underrated? wtf you talking about. im a new player and i always see ppl monkeying around with their mounts.
I've become addicted. To your channel been gaming and watching you when I have free time to lol
It only just hit me that legendaries are brilliant when it comes to designing something to dedicate a ton of time towards. They offer you an insane bargain, basically being objective best in slot by virtue of changeable stats, but they aren't vastly more powerful than a level 80 exotic with the same weapon type and affix. They are something you make constant progress towards rather than grind all the time in the hopes of getting them. It's just so user friendly that I'm still happy for the money I've spent, even if the fact infinite tools do not apply to all characters and are quite expensive is a bit miffing. But to me it's like platinum in warframe, I buy gems more to support the game than to specifically buy items.
I would hate to spend months grinding something to find its not much better than an 80 exotic. That sounds incredibly mean, tbh.
@@ThunderStruck15 I think it's far worse to put your players on a treadmill. In the end, all MMOs like WoW basically invalidate all of your work grinding for the best in slots at the time. In guild wars after you spend that time getting the best in slot it will always be best in slot, even if the meta changes. That's work security if I ever saw some. Yes, it asks a lot of work for you, but once that work is done it is never taken away by the introduction of something more overpowered whereas in other mmos that's the MO.
@@chukyuniqul how is giving something that takes significantly more work a better reward than something that takes significantly less work invalidating hard work? If anything, that’s actually invalidating the work.
@@ThunderStruck15 in sub-based mmos the power creep is constant. Your best in slot now will be garbage tier when you come back. And if you will want to play the (invariably higher level) content when it comes out you'll need to grind all over again. The same thing is not true of guild wars. Add to that the fact that with new content noobs usually get level boosters that gets them up to speed with the new content (see for a blatant example of this monster hunter world's defender sets) and all time previously spent is diminished in in-game value if not outright neutered (especially if the new area has new currency). This is not the case in guild wars' legendaries. They never become irrelevant. Every ounce of time you put in it is never going away as long as the servers stay up. It may he more time-consuming (emphasis on maybe) but at least it's honest. You know precisely how much time you will spend to become the absolute best and it makes no attempt to hide it.
That being said, ascended (and even exotic) gear is still perfectly viable and with proper party composition you can do damn near all content in the most accessible high-tier gear. The only loss is a meager 5% of so stat drop and if the meta changes you need to get a new set (and even then that's only half true for ascended gear which can be stat-swapped at the cost of some resources while legendary stat-swaps for free).
Basically even if you do get legendaries, it's not for viability and honestly not even convenience. You get them because you like playing the game and want something to show for it. And once you get them, that appreciation never goes away, it never gets invalidated. You aren't set back in getting new legendaries for expansions, you aren't weaker for not getting them. They are quite literally there for your pride and accomplishment (tm). The best of the best to reward the most loyal players and that reward is never taken away or diminished unlike *inhales* in WoW or other subscribtiom based mmos where they NEED you to lose that reward so you don't walk away from the game and lose them money. Guild wars is confident in itself. It employs no such tricks to keep you coming back. It knows you will. And if you don't, that's cool too. You won't be set back or punished. Unlike those others.
@@chukyuniqul none of that has fuck all to do with what I said. Power creep only applies to games that add more and more power. Guild wars isn’t doing that- but they still have more powerful gear and less powerful gear, yeah? Why not make it a static stepped system since level doesn’t go up, and therefore power creep has fuck all to do with this.
Hi Josh, decided to pick this game up again after trying it years ago with some friends. Didnt really like mmos all that much back then but iv started to wanna try more and more after testing ff14 (didnt care too much for it unfortunately it was way too much of a slog trying to get through ARR even so i stopped). im gonna go watch your getting started video now peace!
'mostly completely cosmetic' ah, perfect gift shop for all your married bachelor friends!
Some cash shops in games have stuff in them that are not completely cosmetic in that they are both functional and cosmetic. Guild Wars 2 mostly has completely cosmetic items. I get you tried to sound witty but it wasn't.
started playing this a month ago, great community, actually free to play, expansions are worth it and its fun. Havent joined a guild yet tho
Great video! Just a quick correction: rangers don't use firearms. at least yet :)
I rember I got this game preordered as a gift by my sister. Preloading was essential cause our internet was crap and the queue at launch was insane but the excitement and wonder upon playing for the first time was well worth it.
Kind of surprising to see this game so active after this long, but if I remember right, people were playing Guild Wars 1 all the way up to Guild Wars 2 (7 years), so they were probably planning for this. Also, I just realized it will have been 10 years since its release in 2022. 260k players nearly 9 years later seems pretty good.
GW1 is actually still online, supported by the dev, and available for purchase right now. I think they even gave it a small graphical update in the last few years. 😂 it's a bit insane given how other mmorpgs just... don't do that.
if anyone asked them selfs 'And what about the graphics ', it kinda divided by the expansions, the core game has the 'default' graphics back to 2012, then was a huge graphics
improvement at 2015 with 'Heart of Thorns' and finally with 'Path of Fire', so don't worry about that (incoming next graphic '''''generation'''''' with 'End of Dragons')
I’m sick of linear progression where my time and effort invested gets deleted.
Might check this out.
This is why I stopped playing wow I had to always grind to stay on top never just grinded for what I wanted now I'm sat willing to spend months crafting a legendary Greatworth for sweat sweat satisfaction and style not because its the best but mmm twilight is the perfect egdy weapon
Yes. Do it. I have been playing in the Guild Wars Franchise (the 1st and 2nd game) for 16 years, going on 17 as of 2021. I still play it a lot and there's always something to do. I personally haven't really experienced much toxicity within the community as most people are pretty friendly most of the time. Though there are those that do take it a bit too seriously. Also if you are ever stuck there are multiple tutorials found everywhere and most people are even willing to answer questions over world chat.
*3 years later* Letting you know in the comments... I've decided to play Guild Wars 2. I'm a big muscular Norn with a beautiful mustache and topping it with a Mohawk. If you still read this and respond, I'll speak sweet words into your ears in Spanish O.O
Well you talked me into Tera (despite your best efforts) just before they announced they were closing down forever. So I'm gonna give this one a try. Sorry in advance everyone.
I love this game. Really should go back and revisit it, once FFXIV loosens its grip on me a little bit
You, my kind sir, dserve a million+ subs. I honestly fall asleep to your Worst MMO's series. Keep up the great work my man!
Hey where is the 2024 video !!! Its been 3 years !!!!! 3 YEARSSSSS!!!!
Friends got this game for me for my birthday last month. With all the stuff going on at Blizzard I thought it best to shelf WoW for a long time and this was a great alternative to embark on. Leveling has been fun. I love the variety this game can offer.
Human = elf.
Charr = Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Asura = Brain from Pinky & the Brain
Norn = giant viking werebears
Sylvari = plants in the shape of humans but naive at things. E.g. Johnny 5 or Arthur Weasley "what is the purpose of a rubber duck?"
just joined your channel and loved it already. Excellent cover , i will play it for sure!
IMO this is the best mmo out there, the only thing that really sucks is the story. It's good in some aspects, but the delivery is so childish that it's a chore to go through (especially in the DLC content).
Decided to give GW2 a try after watching this video. I have played GW1 in the past and am keen to find out how the two compare
I'm looking for a casual MMO and I think this might hit the spot nicely. Tired of every MMO being based around min-maxing, being as wide as an ocean but as deep as a puddle!
Exactly this. Someone needs to make an MMORPG that makes min-maxing an impossible ideal and that forces people to notice the world around them in the game. Put min-maxing in and you lose the RPG aspect unless your guild is built around RP in-game. Maybe encrypt the database so that no dataminer is capable of obtaining valid information. This would force people to actually learn the game by playing it rather than looking to google for answers.
You convinced me. I'll try it. I trust your judgment greatly.