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Guild Wars 2 Spilled Koolaid Review :(
IamApropos
Member Posts: 173
Before launch I be drinking that Guild Wars 2 Koolaid, I'm all up in that stuff!!! There was many a great things I was excited about this game after testing 150+ hours in BWE's. That all said here is my post launch review - yes a REVIEW because I believe after 200+ hours played I can give a fair review on the game.
What I expected going in:
I expected exploration to be as amazing as it was in beta. I planned for my guild to grow and enjoy adventuring together, enjoying the open world bosses such as the Shadow Behemoth, Shatterer and others. We were expecting also to go into each major city and enjoy mini games. I'll rate my impressions of the game from 1-10, 1 being the worst experience ever and 10 being the best I've experienced thus far. 10 does not equal PERFECT but it does indicate the level of enjoyment I have compared to my past experiences.
I'll start this off with my spilled koolaid disappointment in Guild Wars 2:
Open World Bosses ~ Ok first experience was the tutorial "Boss" Epic looking yet usually exteremly easy to beat. Then there are the First Starter Zone Bosses such as the "Shadow Behemoth", "Fire Elemental" and the others in each of the starter zones. Shadow Behemoth was awesome to see but not at all a challange for the 15 people that were there. On the other hand the Metrica Provence Boss had oh lets say 40-50 players laying dead at its feet, this boss is INSANELY difficult for most players first experience. The other bosses in starter zones are pretty challanging as well. THAT all being said, I have been waiting, been planning, and looking forward to doing "The Shatterer" not only personally but with my Guild. The game up until this point has not disappointed me in the slightest infact the more I played it the more excited and fun I was having even after 200+ hours of total game play between BWE's and Launch. I stroll up and wait 30 minutes for the Shatterer's pre quest to begin, I was like "SWEEEEEEEET!!" thinking oh my gad here it goes, I get to experience this boss who is on the Box Art for the game and I've seen Vids', Anet hasn't disappointed yet so I assumed it would be as epic or more so as some of the Starter Zone Bosses were... HOLY JEBUS was I completely wrong!!!! First off it was bugged, the pre quest started with the Shatterer already on the ground roaring, 5 seconds later he flew up and exploded just to have the pre quest start over again... NO epic entry no epic NOTHING. Then he finally comes down, again no epic entry no nothing. We go in and within 2-3 minutes without any challange, without any danger of going even into the down state, (Mind you I was 4 levels under the area) He died with around 20-30 people there. I stood there for a second after he died and wondered WTF was this??? Half of us that participated didn't even get rewarded, like we didn't even contribute, though damage numbers were visible. I literally logged off the game after this completely disappointed and completely deflated of all excitement. Was it cool looking? Well hell yes it was. This was a completely sad experience for me - I rated this a 2 out of 10 - if ANET can fine tune this maybe it'll help my out look.
Graphics ~ Graphics are greatly subjective as everyone knows but I personally feel that the art and graphics within Guild Wars 2 are extremely aesthetically pleasing. Anet has put a great amount of attention to detail in so many little things within this area. Allbeit within the High Fantasy Genre I don't see other games comparing though I hope and see some room for improvement in high end machine optimization. 9 out of a 10
DE's ~ Don't get these confused with Renown Hearts - I'm talking what the game calls Dynamic Events. These events que up at different times and sometimes you can que them up by talking to certain NPC's or following an NPC further after what seems to be a finished event only to have it open up into a further event. These events make questing in this game so amazing and incredibly refreshing. I personally feel this is one of the things that makes this game revolutionary. It brings enough change to the traditional questing system combined witht he Renown Hearts that it makes the standard MMO mechanics of fetch, defend, gather, and kill quests not feel grindy and actually feel more organic. 10 out of 10 - some of the most fun questing I've ever had!!
Hidden Puzzle Dungeons ~ Ok these are secret hidden places, with entrances that are not usually easy to find. Maybe the entrance is behind a house hidden behind a bush. Or beneath a high point Vista in a well covered by a bush only accessable from falling from the Vista. These little puzzle booby trap dungeons usually have themes and can take some considerable time to figure out. They usually don't supply hints on how to complete the dungeon and some times have mini bosses guarding a treasure chest. Some of these even continue past treasure chests when you think you've completed the dungeon. It has been over 10 years since I've had the feeling of true exploration and adventure on this scale within ANY video game. 10 out of 10 - completely and utterly love this about Guild Wars 2!!!
No Kill Stealing ~ one of the things I absolutely hated about other MMO's is that the MMO of the game made you compete against other players for MOB's. It actually drove people against each other and caused a knee jerk reaction every time you saw another player. Guild Wars 2 REMOVES this completely, if you contribute in killing a mob you get rewarded accordingly. Allbeit it needs a little work when it comes to certain things but for the most part it does what its supposed to. 8 out of a 10 - I no longer am angry when I see someone attacking my same mob.
No Resource Stealing ~ Have you ever had some resource node blocked by a pack of mobs in other games, and when you go to pull the mobs someone waiting on the side lines goes in and takes the resources because you took the agro form the mobs? I absolutely DESPISE those types of people and the games that impliment this. THANK you Guild Wars 2 for making this not possible anymore. - Though I wish the game had ooooh 10X more resources within a giving area I find this a very appealing aspect of the game - 10 out of 10 - No more raging at jerk faces stealing resource nodes!!
Dungeons ~ I participated in Ascalonian Catacombs both in Beta and post launch. My first experience was 4 Elementalists and me as a Guardian. First off I'll let you all know AC is absolutely NOT PUG friendly no matter what Anet says. 9.5 times out of 10 if you PUG this in its easiest mode you'll RAGE at how difficult it is. That being said after I just explained how insanely easy open world Boss fights are, Something in the difficulty TUNING needs to be done. I enjoyed myself finally post launch when I had a more coordinated group of mostly Guild Members with 1 Pug member. The one pug still nearly ruined the experience since he had no positioning awareness and kept pulling more mobs while we were still combating others.. 5 out of 10 - fun but because of the difficulty level people who refuse to learn the detailed mechanics of combat in this game are crying about not having the Trinity... I sitll hate the trinity and still think Guild Wars 2 is heading in the right direction with the current system just fine tune the difficulty is all thats needed.
Crafting ~ In most games I can't stand this part of the game. Its usually boring and doesn't attract me. I too didn't find crafting all that appealing though it wasn't a bad system. The crafting system is probably one of the best I've seen in any game to date. The only thing I did not like about this system is that it is nearly REQUIRED for you to keep up to level. What I mean is as you normally level your character in the game, if you don't craft you'll be typically behind on your level compared to the zone / personal story you are in. Though I can't agree with it being required the system is still one of the best crafting systems I've used. The discovery system allows you to find out recipes from experimenting with materials and gives you a decent amount of EXP for doing so. - 8 out of 10 - if they make this more valuable i'd give this 10 out of 10.
Exploration / Adventure - When you are just roaming around looking at incredible views of the map and scenes in a game, most games don't reward you for doing so at all. Some give a few little hidden things but nothing really tangable. Guild Wars 2 on the other hand not only rewards you for going off the beaten path but gives me a sense of adventure I've not felt in a game for nearly 10+ years. You never know what you'll find and if you find something, a hidden cave or what not, you don't know where it'll lead you to. Hidden nooks and caves with mini bosses guarding treasure, or a goonies theme cave with a pirate ship and treasure all guarded by booby traps. All in all no other game has ever offered such an amazing experience when it comes to Exploration and Adventure. - 10 out of 10 ~ this makes Guild Wars 2 for me.
Mini Games - What mini games? These were something I planned for my guild to do together and there is only one major mini game available? WTF where the hell are they? what happened to "We wont release the game until its finished"? ya this kind of pissed me off but the mini games that are available are completely AWESOME so I'll only rate them not my disappointment that the others aren't available. 8 out of 10 original and enjoyable though I've done something like Keg Brawl in another game called Allods online with their mini game called Goblin Ball.
Conclusion ~
Now I do love this game, absolutely. I find that it has been one of the best launch experiences I've seen in a very long time, though it had some issues; which I feel should be expected from any game that has remotely been this anticipated. I can't overlook some issues such as the lack luster disappointing open world bosses such as the Shatterer, for somethin that was supposed to be so epic it had very few animations and at no time did I ever feel threatened what so ever. Compared to some of the lower level bossess that provided many a mind blowing difficult challange it seems like an incredible over sight that these other big boss fights are so dissappointing.Dungeons too need to be a little tuned though I do not feel these things are broken I do feel they need seriously to be fine tuned.
Now that all being said, Guild Wars 2 is definitely an outstanding game with some very revolutionary aspects. If they can fine tune the things that I mentioned; which I don't see why they wouldn't, I'd be 10 out of 10 with the entire game. but as of right now I can only rate this game a 9.5 out of 10.
Though the open world boss fights deflated my excitement and made it feel like someone spilled my Guild Wars 2 koolaid I still feel in my book it beats any game currently on the market even with its disappointments, there is nothing that can compete with its scale, its attention to detail and its questing, also its hidden puzzle dungeons.
Hope you enjoyed my long review :P and thank you to those who took the time to read the entire thing.
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
Comments
quoting myself "10 does not equal PERFECT but it does indicate the level of enjoyment I have compared to my past experiences."
and my past experience is quite vast. Been a full time gamer since 1995 and have played more then 100 hours in nearly all MMORPG's that have hit the main market since then. :P
Oh and btw I didn't review WvW because I didn't do much PvP only focused on PvE at the moment. Though the WvW puzzle dungeons are amazing 10 out of 10!! just awesome!!!
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
And what about PvP?
Endgame?
Character progression?
These are three areas where I expected more but got less and a game which is weak in these areas will have poor longetivity.
My gaming blog
I guess I just had a realistic expectation of those three things and didn't expec them to be anything they weren't supposed to.
I knew the game didn't have gear progression past level 80, I also knew what the end game is supposed to be and what it isn't and PvP like I mentioned wasn't in my review because I didn't go into it as much to feel like providing a decent review.
My character is progressing nicely with its personal story line and DE's, but I suppse once that the personal story line is finished I can see a little "what now" feeling but I have a few different personal story lines I want to experience fully so I'm not to worried about that.
I guess form my previous experience in character progression in any other game has been usually a bad experience trying to get to end game to be part of the dungeons and raids, which this game isn't focused around. The progression this game is focused on is not based on a level but experiencing the world and the personal story line within it. Atleast that is what it is to me and how Guild Wars 2 laid it out for me. I've never seen any game make the progression as enjoyble as this game has ever.
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
Forget about gear progression, there is very little skill progression after level 40 when you have 90% of all your activable skills and left with just traits and passives.
The point is that this game has maybe a month, or possibly two, of enjoyable gaming and then it is just repeating sPvP or WvWvW or Dungeons ad nauseum, so is that fun?
Altough that is worth the box price, I see litle reason to go on playing after thad and that is not 9.5/10 in my book nor should it be for any MMORPG reviewer because MMORPGs are supposed to have more longetivity than that, much more. In that regard this game is quite similar to SW:TOR. We should call these MMOs one (or two) month wonders because that is how long they will last.
My gaming blog
I guess since people find it hard to read I have to requote myself "quoting myself "10 does not equal PERFECT but it does indicate the level of enjoyment I have compared to my past experiences.""
So yes in my book this game deserves 9.5 out of 10 absolutely and if they fix the things I mentioned in my review it'll easily deserve a 10 out of 10. NO OTHER GAME offers anything better then what Guild Wars 2 does PERIOD. So it definitely deserves the 9.5 out of 10 compared to my previous experiences....
Skill progression doesn't mean squat because you end up spamming the same skills just more of them, Big fricken deal. I'd rather have this combat system where you have to pay attention to the fight instead of a huge skill progression bar filled with useless skills...
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
/trollmode I didn't read the post but the OP must be clearly a fanboy since he gave a 9.5/10.
Not really, but that's what the rants & haters are gonna say. But i did, indeed, not read the whole review because I'm already playing the game and enjoying it. I see, juding by you score, you do too and I'm happy for you. But still, I think nobody is really here on this forum still reasonably doubting to play it.
Either:
- they play it, and love it (no need to read the topic, there's even no point in responding for me... yet i do so)
- they have played it, and started to hate on it here on this forum because they don't love it (can't change how they feel, i guess)
- they havn't played it, yet they are biased about it and still hate on it because that's fun, (i admit, ranting is fun) and no they won't change their opinion based on this topic because they will never bother to read it
But thanks anyway.
If you really want to impact people with your review and draw them to the game because you believe they should give it a chance. A youtube review is probably where it's at. The comments are harsh since there are lots of YouTube trolls too but with a video I have a feeling you get more chance of reachin an open minded audience compared to the one here on the forums who is rather black and white colored in favor for or against a game.
While I respect the Op's opinion on the game, I have to wonder if he is still in the honeymoon phase of the game's release and therefore affecting his/her opinion. Ive been playing the game off and on for 3 days now. It's a good game, but it doesnt IMO deserve a 9.5 in any stretch. IMO there are issues with the game that I cant play more than couple hours at a stretch.
***Raving Raving is making giant plungers for the Norn!***
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
I have a little to much experience in life let alone in my gaming history to be in any form or shape of a "honeymoon phase". I see things for what they are and as you can see if you read my review and what my rating actually means you can see I have some issues with the game, just no other game in my experience can add up to what Guild Wars 2 does right.
Most people who have issues with the game usually had some idiotic expectation of the game or want it to be something its not. I just happen to realize what the game is doing right and can see them easily fixing the things I feel need improvement.
to me people who suffer from a "Honeymoon phase" are easily influenced by others, don't know how to realistically and reasonably assess something while overlooking bad things. I by no means am overlooking the things I don't like with the game infact I point them out as the first thing I review open world boss fights and difficulty within dungeons are just the examples.
I wasn't a Guild Wars 2 fan until I played 200+ hours and proven the quality of the things I love within the game. Hardly someone who has a small experience within the game. Yes the game has some issues but for a game that was just recently launched it has nothing compared to any other game that has been launched in the last 10 years.
The funny thing is my experience with the open world boss fights I mentioned in the OP has made me reconsider the direction I'll go with my guild activities until its fixed but the things that I rated 9.5/10 are definitely warranted because no other game has offered a better experience doing anything remotely close to it. Quality isn't just an opinion...
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
It's OK OP, I felt the same with Shatterer, and the Sun dragon (level 65).
Atleast I DID read your post, and understand you're giving GW2 a 9.5 out of 10 because a 10 in your books is your best previous playing experience? So in other words, this is right next to the best gaming experience you've had yet.
Well than i'm right there with ya buddy, maybe even a 9.6/10 for me
The "Youtube Pro": Someone who watches video's on said subject, and obviously has a full understanding of what is being said about such subject.
I damn near wanted to hug you for actually reading, and not just reading but UNDERSTANDING the meaning of my rating!!
Bro hug that is cause like ya :P Yes that is exactly my rating!!! Thank you for restoring my faith in people able to read english appros.
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
The big dragon fights are let downs though, I have tougher fights off the beaten path. Like a little jump puzzle with a mob in the middle that can knock you off, them mobs are tougher than The Shatterer.
But the game's PvE is incredible, atleast to my play experiences (imagine coming straight from DAoC), so I can definetly see your review being honest and fair. And not just a fanboy. Rating this game coming from my previous game, the only reason it doens't get a 10/10 is because I havent had that intense PvP feeling yet, but as far as EVERYTHING else, it well surpasses anything i've played.
But hey, most forum users aren't good at reading, and even worse at reading comprehension. So tehy resort to trolling, and saying you're wrong. It's ok, there's a few people here who actual do read sometimes before posting.
Also, the OP was an excellent write up, sure there are some things I may have disagreed with slightly, but overall, it was a good read.
The "Youtube Pro": Someone who watches video's on said subject, and obviously has a full understanding of what is being said about such subject.
Today I found another Puzzle dungeon while trying to complete a zone 100%.
Spekk's Lab? OH EHM GEE!!! Just re affirms my love for exploration / adventure in this game... Had a blast for a few hours trying to figure out how to complete this jumping puzzle!!!!
I've now done approximately 15+ Puzzle / Jumping dungeons and have repeated many of them showing friends / guild members. Though I've completed them before, such as the one that starts in a cave near the Cuatl Waypoint, some of them are still extremely challenging and fun. I can't find this in any other game to the quality and attention to detail that Guild Wars 2 provides them.
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
Guy with GW2 avatar loves GW2.
But yeah it seems a very general review about the leveling part of the game...a part most if not all buzz through quickly. Its endgame that makes or breaks any game.
Oddly enough the most important aspect of the game was missing from the review.
Sadly and imo quite pathetically people are buzzing thru the most important part of the game. And quite frankly I did mention some GW2 style "end game" content that I wasn't happy with, big open world "raid" style content is quite disappointing. Seems you missed it because all you saw was a fan talking about the game...
I've watched a close friend RUSH to 80 and start pissing and moaning about nonsense because he had unrealistic and unreasonable expectations of the game. When I'd ask him, hey did you see this in a certain map? or did you experience this other thing in another map? His reply was "No, its all just a graphical show", "Zergy this, Zergy That", "I miss Tank / Healer". He'd follow it with "I haven't missed content, and I didn't rush to 80". I mean seriously if you level by completing Renown hearts and hitting the occasional DE along the way and hardly ever follow thru with further aspects of events, you miss so much content. Good luck trying to convince a power leveler anything reasonable. These types of comments seem so Naive, yet some people can't stand a new game and want it to be like their old game. People are missing insane amounts of content because they are playing Guild Wars 2 like all other MMO's; which is THEIR fault for ruining their own experience within the game that isn't meant to be played like traditional MMO's.
I do have some gripes with the game's open world group content; which I can see reasonably easily fixed. These are part of the "End Game" because reaching level 80 isn't end game. People really need to stop trying to make Guild Wars 2 something it isn't. Comparing other games "End Game" and trying to force that old cookie cutter onto a new design which isn't built around that mechanic is qutie limiting. If you like that then go play it, don't ruin a good design idea with old mechanics.
I personally don't want to play those other games "End Game", and if Anet tunes the open world content I think the game will have enough none traditional, but Guild Wars 2 style end game for those who see Guild Wars 2 for what its supposed to be.
The LEVELING aspect of the game does not end at level 80 and is the most important aspect of the game, people are having a seriously hard time letting go of their baby blanket and bottles(old traditional game mechanics) or just realize Guild Wars 2 isn't for them. If Guild Wars 2 doesn't have the type of "END GAME" you like thats not the games problem, and there are plenty of games out there to suite your needs / wants.
IamApropos
See where adventure will lead you!
My PC Specs:
i5-3570k oc'ed @4.2GHz
8GB 1600 RAM
GTX670 oc'ed @ 1.25Ghz
Samsung 830 SSD.
I love the comments made here that power levelers are not going to like this game and be left disappointed. For years I have said the worst thing WOW does is let people rush to max level and raid content. By doing this many players never grouped for quests and heck never even quested at all and instead ran dungeons over and over. They never saw the world Blizzard created. What is the point in making a world to play in if much of the player base doesn't see it ? Quite honestly this comment about power levelers guarantees that I will buy the game Guild Wars 2 now.
In regards to all mmorpgs:
1. give us more variety in quests as to what we are to do
2. make the end of quest boss live longer so he/she/it can use it's abilities you give it and matter
3. make crafting matter in a way that forces the player base to go out into the world you have created and get mats to make the item or items and have these items be significant in raid content
4. do not release raid content at launch
5. offer non nerfed servers with regular and heroic modes
6. have it where say you are level 80 but you are doing level 70 content well the game will put you at max HP and whatever for level 70 and it will have the gear you found or earned that is appropriate for this level content and will not let you use higher gear but when you want to go back and do level 80 content it will revert back to your stats and gear that are appropriate for that content
7. more npc travelers in the games and have some of them attack people based on their faction or race
Mmorpgs could be so much better but people have gotten used to the slave driving raid leaders and guild leaders that want to rush through everything and turn what could be fun and relaxing into a 2nd job. I am happy to hear that GW2 at least in some small way discourages the power levelers.
Money is the root of all evil.