World of Warcraft vs. Guild Wars

audi111688

Member
May 12, 2006
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im not trying to start anything...im just wondering which game would be better for me to dive off into the mmorpg world with?

EDIT: Id prefer opinions from those who are experienced with both games. I dont know if this has been posted before...if so just direct me to it...thanks
 

Wheelock

Member
May 3, 2007
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I played WoW for a couple of months at the end of last year. I quite enjoyed it for a while, but the end-game stuff (yeah I reached lvl 60 in that time... I played a lot and followed leveling guides) was too time-intensive, what with the dungeons requiring 25 people to complete. The expansion is supposedly quite good but it was released after I quit.

I've never played Guild Wars, so I can't comment on that. All in all, no harm in trying WoW. Might as well see what the fuss is about, eh?
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
Guild Wars was the only one I could handle simply because its free. I go into it about once a month and do some quests. The graphics are pretty and the gameplay is simple and elegant. Its not an awesome campaign like Baldurs Gate or Neverwinter Nights. You play at your own pace and can either farm for resources to get better goodies, or just charge ahead with the main quest and be done with it. Its fun but not so enthralling I want to quit my job for it.
Maybe thats a good thing. I hear WoW is so addicting it can destroy your social life.

The game itself is kind of expensive and so are the add-ons, but with no monthly fee you will probably save a lot of money in the long run.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I played WoW before I tried Guild Wars, but I never really got into Guild Wars. I think my main annoyance was having to wait to download data... I mean, for some they don't mind it, but I don't want to have an extra wait time if I can just get all the data beforehand (i.e. on the disc). I also thought WoW was a bit more straight-forward and if you want easier... I'd say WoW is easier too. Guild Wars isn't too bad, but I just prefer WoW over it.
 

Newfie

Senior member
Jun 15, 2005
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Well, what are you looking for? Are you mainly interested in PvP? PvE?

PvP wise, I would be cautious about WoW. There are glaring imbalances with the classes (Very apparent in the arenas) and the implementation of PvP needs work.

With regards to PvE then WoW can be a pretty good choice.
 

audi111688

Member
May 12, 2006
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Another thing is that I'm not going to dedicate (a lot of) time to this game...its basically going to be played when I've got some down time.
 

Wheelock

Member
May 3, 2007
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Originally posted by: audi111688
Another thing is that I'm not going to dedicate (a lot of) time to this game...its basically going to be played when I've got some down time.

Have you considered EVE Online? It wasn't for me, but the leveling system caters to casual-but-long-term players. There's a free trial available at the moment.
 

JD50

Lifer
Sep 4, 2005
11,630
2,014
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I wouldn't really consider GW an MMORPG. I quit almost right away because I hated the way that EVERYTHING was instanced.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
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I don't really consider Guild Wars a MMO really as the only place you are with a lot of people is in towns and outposts otherwise it is just you and your party out in explorerable areas as it is all instanced based.

Anyways, I've played both games quite a bit so here is my feelings on it.

WoW is a great game if you have a lot of time to dedicate to it. I quit right before the expansion came out and haven't touched it since but still talk regurarly to my guildmates from the game and they said as far as the expansion goes, once you get over the new factor of the stuff, it is the same crap just as before. In other words, level up then raid all the time to get better gear.
PvE wise, WoW is the best out there without a doubt. It's just that you have to have chunks of time to dedicate to it if you want to reap the benefits of the game later on with gear. PvP, imo is a horrible in WoW, literally an after thought. Basically with WoW, if you want to accomplish anything in the end game you rely on other people and spend lots of time bullshitting half the time.

Guild Wars I have played off and on for the pass 8 months or so but seriously started playing it a month or two ago. I personally enjoy it much more cause the game focus on your skill and not your gear like WoW does. So you don't need to spend retarded amounts of time to get all these items to really have a better character. One of the things I like most about GW is that as soon as you log on you can go do whatever it is you were wanting to do. You don't need to wait on other people, if you can't find a group or only a partial group, or hell you don't want to play with anyone else it isn't a problem. You just take your heros (dunno if they are in the other Campaigns, but in Nightfall they are(heros are basically npcs you can equip and spec out how you want and not have to worry)) or hire some henchmen and you are out doing whatever it is you wanted to do. I can get more done in an hour in GW then like 4 hours in WoW due to no travel time and instantly being able to have a group of whatever I want to go do what I want. PvP in GW is huge and a lot of fun, there are so many different skills and combonations with secondary classes you rarely come across the same encounters besides a few cookie cutter builds for general things.

If you got the time WoW can be very satisfying game, but only if you have the time to invest in it. GW on the other hand, you don't need to invest much time into it and can accomplish a lot. A lot comes down to if you are looking for a PvE or PvP game. WoW excels at PvE like no other MMO, but imo falls on its face in PvP. GW on the other hand excels at PvP is simply average to a bit about average in PvE.

Kao
 

CKent

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Guild Wars isn't an MMORPG. MMORPGs are an experience unto themselves; a persistent world with up to hundreds of people around you and a community of thousands is really something to experience... Anyway, I definitely think everyone should try WoW; exploring its large, beautiful and varied world is a lot of fun. I still enjoy the game when playing my alts. However, being at the level cap stagnates the game as you end up doing the same things over and over. This is when any sane person should quit. Lucky me, I'm crazy :laugh: ...though I have finally quit, it was due to how badly they nerfed my class (shaman), how bad PvP balance is at 70 in general and because the level 70 game is 95% about raiding, something I don't enjoy. Not due to any semblance of self discipline... :p
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,716
417
126
tbqhwy.com
id have to say WoW i played guild wars and it wisent MMO enough for me, and the experience wisent there

WoW does have its issues once you reach the level cap, however for a casual player that?s is months away, starting new is a totally different story and is actually quite fun, the environments are great and fun to explore
if you choose WoW I highly recommend rolling your char on a relatively new server that way the chances are better that there will be other people your level doing stuff, leveling for the first time is pretty fun IMO, its doing it again on new chars that is kind of a drag

Yes at 70 it gets pretty boring, its either Raid or instance or do nothing, i stopped playing my char that was in a raiding guild a while ago, "The Grind" just got to boring, so i took over a friends accent and have been leveling his char to 70, which has been fun, hell ill prob even raid a lil bit on him

The raiding content is IMO really fun, and its sad that like 90% of the people that play WoW never see it, the fights are unique and the instances are designed very well. There is also a sense of accomplishment after killing the head bad guy.

I believe a free trial is available for both games, 10 days or so, try the both out, see what you like,
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,806
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WoW is hands down the best MMORPG out right now, but its not without its faults, particularly once you reach max level. Grinding and raids is not fun to me so I quit.

I haven't played for a long time but nothing else out there can compare to how much fun it is to level from 1 to at least 60.
 

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
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Originally posted by: JD50
I wouldn't really consider GW an MMORPG. I quit almost right away because I hated the way that EVERYTHING was instanced.

Indeed, Guild Wars is like Diablo 2. One did not pay a monthly fee for Diablo 2, why would one expect to pay a monthly fee for something like it?

The developers of guild wars do not even think it is an MMORPG.
link
The press release described it as a "mission-based competitive online role playing game"

Unlike MMORPGs like EverQuest and WoW, you will never see anyone outside of your party in guild wars when you are not in the graphical chat rooms (cities and outposts) or the PvP arenas.
 

Appledrop

Platinum Member
Aug 25, 2004
2,340
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GW. great fun game, i recommend it
Don't think there are any true MMORPGs worth playing out right now -if you ever played UO (pre trammel or even pre AoS expansion) you realise how much all MMORPGs these days suck, and wow is just junk
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
I thought GW was a rather well put together game. You do lose the totalitarian involvement with the others player (in and outside of the city/camp locations) but that is the cost for no monthly fee; something I think most would really have a difficult argument about.
 
The one thing I do dislike about GW is the minimal amount of your skills you can have active at any one time. ( a much smaller gripe would be about the occasional inability of NPC party members)
 
Besides no payments once you purchase your game, a true plus is that regardless of when you started playing the game you can always group up when any other players because of the lack of specific servers. No worrying about what server your friend logged on when he started his account or the bogus cash stream of server switching MMOs are tossing out to their subscribers now.
 
 
 
If you try WoW you will most likely really like it for the promo period, and for quite some time after (hey, I do have a server full of pre-BC max characters); but it truly will be after you've maxed out your char for awhile when you can determine how you like the game. You will then have to decided how you like the end game options, faction imbalances, pre-pubescent vocal majority, and all the other things that come from a game with so many people playing. They did improve in concept of many things with BC (albeit pretty much abandoning much of the old world at the same time) and I would expect that trend to continue with future expansions. But there are enough things they say they'd like to change but can't back fit into the code at this time that I'd rather see a release of WoW II.
 

duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
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Here come the dozens of "GW is not a MMO" posts! Really?!


Since you said you expect to play on and off more, I'd say Guild Wars is definitely the way to go. That is one reason why I like GW, as I don't have much time to play it. In 2 weeks after summer semester and my job is over, I'll have a couple weeks of complete free time. Just like Christmas, that is a time when I tend to hit GW hard. So if I play for a few weeks every few months, there is no way I could play a MMORPG. I haven't played WoW, but seen others play it.

My biggest complaints with GW are:

1) Hard to find a party to quest with, as everyone is obsessed with standing in a circle doing dances and pointless crap, and trading. Plus there are so many quests it is hard to find people on the same page as you (unlike Diablo 2 where there weren't that many per Act).
2) Too many skills. Hard to understand what to use, and what is useless. It is not just that there is only 8 slots for active skills at a time... there is just too damn many!
3) Crappy items. I can't seem to consistently own in PvE, even if I'm much higher level than I'm supposed to be for the area. The items aren't as extensive as Diablo 2's uniques, rares, sets, etc.

GW is somewhat similar to Diablo 2, and ironically those three complaints I have are addressed in Diablo 2 for the most part. I can see where GW goes for skill-based, but damn I don't know WTF to use, and my characters generally suck, though my latest, a Warrior, is at least not completely crap for PvE (all that I play).

Otherwise, GW is a very solid and polished game, graphics are great, there is the original plus two standalone expansions, as well as another upcoming, plenty of players, lots of cool events throughout the year. PvP is suppose to be good too, but I've only played it a few times, as without a level 20... not sure I can do much.
 

TheUnk

Golden Member
Jun 24, 2005
1,810
0
71
GW. It is less addictive and less life consuming.

Honestly though, picking up an MMO is like picking up a bucket of lard each month and always staying home to eat it.
 

Fullmetal Chocobo

Moderator<br>Distributed Computing
Moderator
May 13, 2003
13,704
7
81
It's strange to me to read all of the gripes about Guild Wars, and for the most part, they are comparisons to other games. It isn't Diablo, it isn't WoW, it's Guild Wars. They did some things different. I can understand if a person doesn't like the instancing or the looking for groups part, but I can't understand not liking it because it isn't Diablo 3.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
I don't have nightfall but was just reading about the heroes. How usefull are they and do you need to travel the the NF area to get them or can you use them in an existing campaign?
 

bleuless

Senior member
Jul 25, 2001
437
0
76
I recommend Guild Wars.

Guild wars model = no fee, frequent new community events that makes it fun playing, not as much grind. its amazing how balanced this game is in all aspects.

WoW = someone with infinite time and $ and devotion to it over life. No balance in anything, they want the addiction to milk you dry. can't blame them, a genius business model.

if you have what it takes to play wow, go for it.
 

bleuless

Senior member
Jul 25, 2001
437
0
76
Originally posted by: lupi
I don't have nightfall but was just reading about the heroes. How usefull are they and do you need to travel the the NF area to get them or can you use them in an existing campaign?

you need night fall to have heros. each campaign have things that's truely worth its price. I played it 2~3 years ago, recently just started again, I can't believe how much the game had improved, and now I am addicted again.

If I played wow, the fees would FORCE me to either quite and lose all my junk, or play when I don't want to. that's a major point why I don't play or recommend wow.