ESO underwent a major update in the last days. It's practically a new game compared to the release. With new systems, skills that have been modified, the game was optimized, fixed many bugs and more.
GW2 is to receive an expansion that promises, is a very well done game, agile, nonlinear and has a great PvP. Both have a good community.
I'll leave the link for you to check out the patch 1.6.5
I played both at launch and stopped playing both shortly after launch (2-3 months later).
But in the last month I've gone back to both. A majority of that time in GW2 and only recently in ESO.
I think GW2 is better right now. MMO's hit a sweet spot after 2-3 years after release. With the expansion on the horizon for GW2 I also feel like there is a lot of look forward to. I think in about 3 years from now ESO will be the better game, but it isn't there yet.
The strengths of GW2 are I think it has one of the best quest systems in any MMO. It is very fun when one event leads into another. Also, I really enjoy the main storyline and living story. GW2 is a great explores/ completinists game. Yet ESO is also fun to explore.
But I find the ESO questing to be pretty dull and boring. Some quests are excellent, but they are the small minority.
Its not even close for me.. ESO is the much better MMORPG in every way possible...
Now i would take the time to write a long list but its really not neccassary for me... as literally ESO is better in every single way you can think an MMO could be
without a list and solid proof your claim is just hot air.
Lol , as i said "for me" ... maybe you should read it again then when you understand what i wrote you can edit your "hot air" response...
As I said "For Me" ESO does everything better .. So unless you really need a list that includes Everything .. or you can just look up everything in the dictionary .. and while you are at it ... see what "For Me " may mean .. as IMO ... hope i was helpful
I will weigh in as I've spent substantial time in both games.
I enjoyed GW2's leveling up to max. Thoroughly enjoyable experience. I found at end game I did not enjoy the dungeons without the Trinity. Reluctantly I will admit with no real gear advancement (gear grind) at end game, I found i missed advancing my character in some fashion. Good experience but was also a little easy.
With ESO I feel more immersed in the world (which I believe the limited UI is responsible) and the tone and grit of the game cast a more serious tone. When you go exploring it can be dangerous.. The game is just overall more challenging. There is gear progression currently as well as alternate advancement through the Champion system to continue to advance your character strength. In addition any class can play any role and use any weapon. Crafting can be a long time investment and it's worth it as the best gear is player crafted.
My choice for long term play is ESO. I feel the game has more to offer in almost every area.
Well... since the OP asked for a subjective opinions:
Gw2 outside of the leveling process is unbelievably bland and mediocre. I can think of at least 6 F2P games I would play over gw2 and at least 4 (soon to be 3) subscription games as well and can not really imagine a scenario in which I would be bored enough to play gw2 again.
ESO on the other hand was a buggy mess when it launched and I'm looking forward to giving it another shot when it goes B2P.
Gw2 is 75% off from March 6-8th. Can't lose at that price. $10 is cheaper than a lot of indie / early access games out there. Info at bottom of the page.
If you like a good story, avoid GW2. This isn't just my opinion btw.
If you go to any fan conventions like 'PAX' where ANet is doing Q&A, 'Why does your game have awful stories?' is always a question that gets asked. Sometimes it is 'nice' in the form of 'when will the GW2 story improve?' sometimes it is brutally honest.
One of the Living story S1 writers left Anet last year and it was not too long after a convention where the question was repeatedly asked in different phrases throughout; when will it improve? What are you doing to improve? etc. IIRC they said they will end the session if another 'Story' question was asked. 2mins later the session ended and the crowd boo-ed them.
It shows what PvP games are really all about, and no, it's not about more realism and immersion. It's about cowards hiding behind a screen to they can bully other defenseless players without any risk of direct retaliation like there would be if they acted like asshats in "real life". -Jean-Luc_Picard
Life itself is a game. So why shouldn't your game be ruined? - justmemyselfandi
If you like a good story, avoid GW2. This isn't just my opinion btw.
If you go to any fan conventions like 'PAX' where ANet is doing Q&A, 'Why does your game have awful stories?' is always a question that gets asked. Sometimes it is 'nice' in the form of 'when will the GW2 story improve?' sometimes it is brutally honest.
One of the Living story S1 writers left Anet last year and it was not too long after a convention where the question was repeatedly asked in different phrases throughout; when will it improve? What are you doing to improve? etc. IIRC they said they will end the session if another 'Story' question was asked. 2mins later the session ended and the crowd boo-ed them.
That is absolutely hilarious. Reminds me so much of gw2 at launch.
I was playing asura and the race based story was awesome or at least decent but filled with various nerd humor... but then you hit level 30 and all the racial stories flowed into the one main story that just immediately tanks. It was like going form reading a novel to reading a mediocre middle school student's English project.
GW2. you can get everything with in-game money except for probably expansions and you can get dlcs free if you are logged in during the time they are released. plus probably ESO will focus on DLCs rather than expansions.(but we have to wait and see how huge GW2 expansion is gonna be it might turn out to be like a DLC in size). i don't know if in ESO you can buy DLCs with ingame or will they give them free to those that are logged in the game like GW2 but i assume you will have to pay.
besides GW2 can be bought cheaper right now i assume.
story-wise GW2 is only good as an MMO otherwise there are many single players with better stories but that being said, they improved their recent stories in their recent pack of updates (season 2). i only played ESO in beta but i highly doubt based on what i seen from ES in general it will have that much better story anyway. of course opinions and all that but if you are only going to play for story WoW, SWTOR and The Secret World are better choices.
my top MMOs: UO,DAOC,WoW,GW2
most of my posts are just my opinions they are not facts,it is the same for you too.
Slow combat with crosshairs and the need of 3rd party addons to be viable in harder content
Dynamic combat with option of TAB targeting. But most of the attacks have huge cleave, so you don't really need a target most of the time and you dont have to move your camera *cough* i mean crosshair too much to be viable.
In 4 days Gw2 is releasing camera updates allowing first person mode and FoV sliders, both horizontal and vertical one. So its good for all sorts of screens (16:9, 4:3)
Slow combat with crosshairs and the need of 3rd party addons to be viable in harder content
Dynamic combat with option of TAB targeting. But most of the attacks have huge cleave, so you don't really need a target most of the time and you dont have to move your camera *cough* i mean crosshair too much to be viable.
In 4 days Gw2 is releasing camera updates allowing first person mode and FoV sliders, both horizontal and vertical one. So its good for all sorts of screens (16:9, 4:3)
Oh wow!! The camera updates? But what about ANet's artistic vision for the game?!
Yes, ANet justified their terrible camera on 'Artistic Vision' since release. ROFL!
It shows what PvP games are really all about, and no, it's not about more realism and immersion. It's about cowards hiding behind a screen to they can bully other defenseless players without any risk of direct retaliation like there would be if they acted like asshats in "real life". -Jean-Luc_Picard
Life itself is a game. So why shouldn't your game be ruined? - justmemyselfandi
I would say both if you could afford it. GW2 is good for maybe a month. Once you hit 80 it becomes a real bore. ESO has a lot more longevity and a slightly better story. GW2 is good for those time when you are bored of your main MMO or are waiting for more content. It isn't an engaging game, at least for me, that will hold your attention for very long.
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
That's a quite good post actually. People unable to adapt to anything beside the "trinity" should definitely go for a trinity game.
And the last advice is what the OP should do. ESO goes F2P on March 17, just wait a couple of weeks and try it for free.
Just note that unlike ESO, GW2 hasn't changed its "B2P" model yet, and there's no plan to do so. There's a reason to that, too. GW2 works. ESO doesn't so well.
Well, there is a danger in that as well. If you only play the old mechanics and don't dare to try out (and to actually learn, unlike what many people here seems to think do GW2 have group dynamics for dungeons, but you actually have to learn it) you might miss out a lot of stuff.
The problem is that the majority of the content doesn't really require learning. People will normally take the easiest route between A and B. ArenaNet should have never nerfed the content during beta. They only recently have started to introduce more challenging mobs.
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
GW2 has an ending level and item spiral. As soon as you reach level 80 you will stay at this level forever. As soon as you equipped with ascended gear you have the best equipment forever. If gear and level progression is crucial for you avoid the game.
GW2 is not dungeon/raid-centered. Dungeons are only one activity among many you can do. You can reach the best equipment without ever entering one single dungeon. Dungeons are optional but not mandatory for your progression. If your playstyle is dungeon-centered you may find GW2 not optimal for you.
GW2 uses up- and downscaling. If you do not like lose your godmode in low level zones then GW2 is not made for you.
Structured PvP does not know any gear progression. All players have access to the same pool of equipment from the beginning with some minor exceptions where you have to spend gold for unlocks. Skill counts but not equipment. Many people do not like this. There will be soon two fully supported modes: conquest and a more MOBA-like one.
Lore and storytelling create different echoes. Many people like it and many people hate it. It is a very subjective experience.
GW2 uses up- and downscaling. If you do not like lose your godmode in low level zones then GW2 is not made for you.
This is not entirely true. You get downscaled for sure, yes. But you keep all your skill, all your traits, and you deal at least 5 times the damage of character with real level in that zone.
Technically my warrior kills most sub-level 60 with just 1 whirl. True the warrior is running PvE meta build, making him ultra glass cannon, but saying that you lose all your power is just plain wrong.
Or you can buy it on sale for $10 and play through the story.
But it's a disposable MMORPG, IMO. The kind you play when you have nothing better to do and then throw it away after you've gotten through the story, the same way you'd do with many console RPG game.
I found Guild Wars was very fun as I was leveling up and going through the Living Story. Once I got to 80 and had to do Dungeons, etc. my interest literally evaporated. The leveling experience sells the game well, and does much to mask how horrible the post-leveling content actually is; as well as hide some pretty decent flaws (they call them innovations, I call bull).
Here's my take on the pros and cons vs each other.
Graphics: GW2. It's a matter of taste, GW2 is more beautiful, but ESO is dark and gritty. Animations is what makes GW2 better, Animations in ESO are only okay.
Audio: ESO. It has the best thunder sound I've ever heard of in a game. Still makes me jump like irl lol)
Gameplay: ESO. It's the first MMO with "action" combat that got it right. GW2 is same old same old, and there's no "healer" so in dungeons and raids it's just like a zerg rush lol.
Fun: Tie. I had fun in both, but currently I haven't played GW2 in about a month, but I log into ESO almost everyday.
Community: ESO. By far the best community in MMOs. Chat is usually free of the normal trolls and everyone is willing to help, and even craft things for free for beginners.
Roleplaying: ESO. It's the new RP MMO. I have about 50 friends that came over from Lotro to ESO just to RP.
Performance/Lag: GW2. They both perform the same, but in ESO PvP, it sometimes lags when you have 200 people in the same area.
Value: ESO. I gladly paid a subscription since launch, and still plan to after launch. Also you get your $15 back after march 17th to spend in the store, so all the other perks are a bonus including free content.
Service: ESO. ZOS holds ESO Live on Twitch on Fridays, and I've only had to contact a GM twice, and both times I was contacted ingame within an hour.
Comments
Hey!
ESO underwent a major update in the last days. It's practically a new game compared to the release. With new systems, skills that have been modified, the game was optimized, fixed many bugs and more.
GW2 is to receive an expansion that promises, is a very well done game, agile, nonlinear and has a great PvP. Both have a good community.
I'll leave the link for you to check out the patch 1.6.5
http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/154426/patch-notes-v1-6-5
Lets let them decided FIGHT!!!
Something Awful this way comes.
I played both at launch and stopped playing both shortly after launch (2-3 months later).
But in the last month I've gone back to both. A majority of that time in GW2 and only recently in ESO.
I think GW2 is better right now. MMO's hit a sweet spot after 2-3 years after release. With the expansion on the horizon for GW2 I also feel like there is a lot of look forward to. I think in about 3 years from now ESO will be the better game, but it isn't there yet.
The strengths of GW2 are I think it has one of the best quest systems in any MMO. It is very fun when one event leads into another. Also, I really enjoy the main storyline and living story. GW2 is a great explores/ completinists game. Yet ESO is also fun to explore.
But I find the ESO questing to be pretty dull and boring. Some quests are excellent, but they are the small minority.
Lol , as i said "for me" ... maybe you should read it again then when you understand what i wrote you can edit your "hot air" response...
As I said "For Me" ESO does everything better .. So unless you really need a list that includes Everything .. or you can just look up everything in the dictionary .. and while you are at it ... see what "For Me " may mean .. as IMO ... hope i was helpful
I will weigh in as I've spent substantial time in both games.
I enjoyed GW2's leveling up to max. Thoroughly enjoyable experience. I found at end game I did not enjoy the dungeons without the Trinity. Reluctantly I will admit with no real gear advancement (gear grind) at end game, I found i missed advancing my character in some fashion. Good experience but was also a little easy.
With ESO I feel more immersed in the world (which I believe the limited UI is responsible) and the tone and grit of the game cast a more serious tone. When you go exploring it can be dangerous.. The game is just overall more challenging. There is gear progression currently as well as alternate advancement through the Champion system to continue to advance your character strength. In addition any class can play any role and use any weapon. Crafting can be a long time investment and it's worth it as the best gear is player crafted.
My choice for long term play is ESO. I feel the game has more to offer in almost every area.
GW2 faster combat, less story
ESO slower combat, more story
its easy fo rme i cant go back to eso cause i forgot my security qurestion
so i cant reget my password and im enjoying GW2
GW2 and ESO both have outstanding stories (IMHO only.)
Both have beautiful worlds, interesting combat (I know but this is SUBJECTIVE so let me have my fun) and immersive game mechanics.
I would have to go with what some others have said, just get both and then play both before you decide. Heck, KEEP both and then just alternate.
Anyway good luck. :-)
Well... since the OP asked for a subjective opinions:
Gw2 outside of the leveling process is unbelievably bland and mediocre. I can think of at least 6 F2P games I would play over gw2 and at least 4 (soon to be 3) subscription games as well and can not really imagine a scenario in which I would be bored enough to play gw2 again.
ESO on the other hand was a buggy mess when it launched and I'm looking forward to giving it another shot when it goes B2P.
Gw2 is 75% off from March 6-8th. Can't lose at that price. $10 is cheaper than a lot of indie / early access games out there. Info at bottom of the page.
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/pax-east-is-coming/
Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?
If you like a good story, avoid GW2. This isn't just my opinion btw.
If you go to any fan conventions like 'PAX' where ANet is doing Q&A, 'Why does your game have awful stories?' is always a question that gets asked. Sometimes it is 'nice' in the form of 'when will the GW2 story improve?' sometimes it is brutally honest.
One of the Living story S1 writers left Anet last year and it was not too long after a convention where the question was repeatedly asked in different phrases throughout; when will it improve? What are you doing to improve? etc. IIRC they said they will end the session if another 'Story' question was asked. 2mins later the session ended and the crowd boo-ed them.
It shows what PvP games are really all about, and no, it's not about more realism and immersion. It's about cowards hiding behind a screen to they can bully other defenseless players without any risk of direct retaliation like there would be if they acted like asshats in "real life". -Jean-Luc_Picard
Life itself is a game. So why shouldn't your game be ruined? - justmemyselfandi
That is absolutely hilarious. Reminds me so much of gw2 at launch.
I was playing asura and the race based story was awesome or at least decent but filled with various nerd humor... but then you hit level 30 and all the racial stories flowed into the one main story that just immediately tanks. It was like going form reading a novel to reading a mediocre middle school student's English project.
GW2. you can get everything with in-game money except for probably expansions and you can get dlcs free if you are logged in during the time they are released. plus probably ESO will focus on DLCs rather than expansions.(but we have to wait and see how huge GW2 expansion is gonna be it might turn out to be like a DLC in size). i don't know if in ESO you can buy DLCs with ingame or will they give them free to those that are logged in the game like GW2 but i assume you will have to pay.
besides GW2 can be bought cheaper right now i assume.
story-wise GW2 is only good as an MMO otherwise there are many single players with better stories but that being said, they improved their recent stories in their recent pack of updates (season 2). i only played ESO in beta but i highly doubt based on what i seen from ES in general it will have that much better story anyway. of course opinions and all that but if you are only going to play for story WoW, SWTOR and The Secret World are better choices.
my top MMOs: UO,DAOC,WoW,GW2
most of my posts are just my opinions they are not facts,it is the same for you too.
Well it kinda goes back to this simple choice
Slow combat with crosshairs and the need of 3rd party addons to be viable in harder content
Dynamic combat with option of TAB targeting. But most of the attacks have huge cleave, so you don't really need a target most of the time and you dont have to move your camera *cough* i mean crosshair too much to be viable.
In 4 days Gw2 is releasing camera updates allowing first person mode and FoV sliders, both horizontal and vertical one. So its good for all sorts of screens (16:9, 4:3)
Oh wow!! The camera updates? But what about ANet's artistic vision for the game?!
Yes, ANet justified their terrible camera on 'Artistic Vision' since release. ROFL!
It shows what PvP games are really all about, and no, it's not about more realism and immersion. It's about cowards hiding behind a screen to they can bully other defenseless players without any risk of direct retaliation like there would be if they acted like asshats in "real life". -Jean-Luc_Picard
Life itself is a game. So why shouldn't your game be ruined? - justmemyselfandi
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
The problem is that the majority of the content doesn't really require learning. People will normally take the easiest route between A and B. ArenaNet should have never nerfed the content during beta. They only recently have started to introduce more challenging mobs.
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
GW2 has an ending level and item spiral. As soon as you reach level 80 you will stay at this level forever. As soon as you equipped with ascended gear you have the best equipment forever. If gear and level progression is crucial for you avoid the game.
GW2 is not dungeon/raid-centered. Dungeons are only one activity among many you can do. You can reach the best equipment without ever entering one single dungeon. Dungeons are optional but not mandatory for your progression. If your playstyle is dungeon-centered you may find GW2 not optimal for you.
GW2 uses up- and downscaling. If you do not like lose your godmode in low level zones then GW2 is not made for you.
Structured PvP does not know any gear progression. All players have access to the same pool of equipment from the beginning with some minor exceptions where you have to spend gold for unlocks. Skill counts but not equipment. Many people do not like this. There will be soon two fully supported modes: conquest and a more MOBA-like one.
Lore and storytelling create different echoes. Many people like it and many people hate it. It is a very subjective experience.
This is not entirely true. You get downscaled for sure, yes. But you keep all your skill, all your traits, and you deal at least 5 times the damage of character with real level in that zone.
Technically my warrior kills most sub-level 60 with just 1 whirl. True the warrior is running PvE meta build, making him ultra glass cannon, but saying that you lose all your power is just plain wrong.
If you like PvE, don't bother with Guild Wars 2.
Or you can buy it on sale for $10 and play through the story.
But it's a disposable MMORPG, IMO. The kind you play when you have nothing better to do and then throw it away after you've gotten through the story, the same way you'd do with many console RPG game.
I found Guild Wars was very fun as I was leveling up and going through the Living Story. Once I got to 80 and had to do Dungeons, etc. my interest literally evaporated. The leveling experience sells the game well, and does much to mask how horrible the post-leveling content actually is; as well as hide some pretty decent flaws (they call them innovations, I call bull).
All Time Favorites: EQ1, WoW, EvE, GW1
Playing Now: WoW, ESO, GW2
Here's my take on the pros and cons vs each other.
Graphics: GW2. It's a matter of taste, GW2 is more beautiful, but ESO is dark and gritty. Animations is what makes GW2 better, Animations in ESO are only okay.
Audio: ESO. It has the best thunder sound I've ever heard of in a game. Still makes me jump like irl lol)
Gameplay: ESO. It's the first MMO with "action" combat that got it right. GW2 is same old same old, and there's no "healer" so in dungeons and raids it's just like a zerg rush lol.
Fun: Tie. I had fun in both, but currently I haven't played GW2 in about a month, but I log into ESO almost everyday.
Community: ESO. By far the best community in MMOs. Chat is usually free of the normal trolls and everyone is willing to help, and even craft things for free for beginners.
Roleplaying: ESO. It's the new RP MMO. I have about 50 friends that came over from Lotro to ESO just to RP.
Performance/Lag: GW2. They both perform the same, but in ESO PvP, it sometimes lags when you have 200 people in the same area.
Value: ESO. I gladly paid a subscription since launch, and still plan to after launch. Also you get your $15 back after march 17th to spend in the store, so all the other perks are a bonus including free content.
Service: ESO. ZOS holds ESO Live on Twitch on Fridays, and I've only had to contact a GM twice, and both times I was contacted ingame within an hour.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D