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GW2 or ESO - help me choose!
Hi guys!
First I wanna say I am posting this thread on bothe GW2 forum and ESO forum (hope the moderaters dont get mad :P)
As the title says: GW2 or ESO? Yes, how the h** should u know? But please gimme some pros and cons of each games (u guys who played both - or just gimme your opinion).
History: I have played almost every mmorpg there is. My favorites been Lineage 2 and Anarchy Online (yeah been in the business quite some time hehe).
I have also played GW2 before at the launch but my L2-addicition made my impression not so fair I guess.
Even though I dont PvP very much I want it to be possible and I want it to be very rewarding (like Lineage 2). What game makes that best?
Sooooo basicly, gimme your honest opinion and I will be gratefull, thanx folks!
Comments
Judging by the number of actual ESO fans on these forums. The obvious choice is.....
Wildstar or ArcheAge.
It all depends on what you prefer. PvP wise are the games rather similar but PvE is different, ESOs open world content is heavy phased so you basically solo most stuff.
GW2 on the other hand have massive PvE, the bad thing is that it sometimes can get zergy butyou do cooperate with other players all the time.
ESO have more dungeons but smaller, and they are often similar but they are many.
GW2s engine is a lot better optimized but that is rather unfair since ESO just released.
And yes, we are plenty of Swedes in GW2 (Seafarers rest and Far Shiverpeaks are the 2 main Swedish servers even if that doesn't matter as much after the megaserver update).
ESO is also more gear focused.
But read a few reviews, it all depends on what you like in a MMO.
Lycka till.
Go to ESO FORUMS..read THERE not here. There are still tons of problems wrong missing bots gold seller and so on. They 1.07 patch. When they pop out 1.11 it MIGHT be worth trying. Yet this is at least 5 weeks away.
Yet GW2 for me is VERY DEAD. The only chat that goes on is "so and so boss is up" then they come from everywhere kill that boss in seconds and are all gone.
Haha I was around one that popped up. out of no where they just popped in and was like 30 people ALL high lvls and then left. Yeah so I quit playing....no fun. Unless you have someone to play with..then could be real fun. Not ESO at this time. TONS of bots.. in dungeons and all over the maps
I've played everything. I do not play GW2 anymore. You will get really bored of it. Especially since you have played alot of games, you are probably like myself. Trust me, its great for a bit but it gets old fast. Even the art which was amazing at launch is boring now. Expect a lonely leveling experience and a pvp grind at max.
I just got a refund for my imperial edition last week. ESO was okay...just too okay for my liking. Many small things built up until I did not want to play any more. Its too early for that game, and dare I say it might be too late. This over GW2.
I actually went to Archeage after I swore that I wouldn't. It has been a good surprise. It has a different feel and its not a sandbox. People that call it that do not know what one is. Its a good sandpark and I'mn sure will have more than a few quality years of gaming. You'd like the world if you like L2. This over ESO and GW2 though. Has better graphics, world is beautiful, Character C is solid. Still work to be done though. Art and design is top notch on monsters.
I have been playing all the Wildstar betas. If I had never played an MMORPG, I'd be sold on Wildstar. But its just like WOW, with a few minor differences. No matter what people say they or how they try to sell it. Its the same thing. Ketchup = BBQ sauce.
They both get old really quick. GW2 has better PvE and is polished, TESO has better PvP and balancing.
I'd go with GW2 because it has far greater value for your money. No monthly subscription while also not being pay to win is pretty huge in today's market. MMO wise you are unlikely to be satisfied with either though as both games feel like a gimmick.
I don't really see where this is coming from. Me and my friend leveled together for the most part up until now which is VR1. The only instances where you cannot group together is the main story and SOMETIMES the main zone quest. So far we've done the whole Coldharbour zone quest together.
I tried GW2 and couldn't stick to it. It wasn't bad in any case, I'd just play a couple hours.. log off.. rinse and repeat. Couldn't really get into it. I'd say the PVP is much better in ESO though. I'll remain indifferent to the PVE because maybe it's just me that couldn't get into it. If you enjoy Elder Scrolls lore and all that good stuff it's pretty clear what to pick, that's probably the only reason I started playing it in the first place.
I'd say ESO over GW2 every day of the week, but it does need work. Bots have generally died down from the populations that were once there, in other words it's now possible to do public dungeons for the most part (not sure about the starter zones). Gold sellers are still around in starter zones but the farther you go in the less you see that spam in your zone chat. You'll still get a few messages in your mailbox about it, not a big deal.
The bugged quests seem to be hit or miss with people. I am VR1 now and can honestly say I may have ran into 3 bugged quests tops. Atm I only have one quest in my journal that I cannot finish, but it wasn't progress stopping. Can't say much about any quests after VR1.
ESO is still very young and the room for potential is MASSIVE. I think ZOS got the wake up call they needed and they know what they need to do now.
I have only tryied ESO in beta so I will not judge that game on anyway. However I have played over 1200 hours on GW2 and I still play everyday, so getting boared sure anyone can get boared it just a matter of taste.
I got boared of wow and it's not like that game is dead because of that
Ok back to GW2, I love the game and I am a swede and Loke666 we swedes also play on Gandera and there are alot of us.
Pros:
No sub, no p2w.
Fast paced action.
Huge world and a high playerbase except for a few middle zones.
Stable game lots of content, wvw, spvp, pve, dungeons no gearscore and everyone is welcome kind of game.
updates frequantly so you always have something to do.
Jumping puzzels, exploration, achievments and so on and on
There are many more pros but here are a few cons that made people leave:
No raiding, no holy trinity, to much zerg action.
I love the cons for me they are pros so it's a matter of taste. Me and my guildisar play everyday and do lots of different things and we love it. So if you join Gandera look up the guild [KRÄK] we a few but disturbed individuals
GW2:
Pros:
Great PvE content while leveling, beautiful scenery, fun class choices, WvW is fun especially if you like large battles
Cons:
No end game PvE, WvW is strictly zerg vs zerg most of the time and a lot times it's just keep swapping and karma trains. No expansion content in sight.
ESO:
Pros:
Massive open world, beautiful scenery, diverse build choices for each class, AvA also has it's fair share of zerging, but there is far more skirmish/small man fighting
Cons:
Fraught with bugs at the moment, leveling takes longer than GW2 by a wide margin, Sub fee (this could be a pro or con depending on which way you prefer your games)
Good luck out there, I enjoy both games, hope this helps you out a little!
Posted this in the other thread, figured I'd share it to this one too.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
Fixed that for ya
If lineage 2 is your bar of measure ( I played for 4 1/2 years) then neither.
I prefer ESO to Guild Wars 2 but I enjoy the Elder Scrolls lore as well as the quests in ESO. The pvp is also a decent feature though in my opinion it isn't as satisfying as Lineage 2 sieges as it still feels like "flipping keeps".
I think GW2 is a fine game but on some fundamental level I never "got" it. I'd head in some direction, find some events but eventually find myself in an area too high (normally fine) but then I'd wonder what else I should do. Didn't enjoy GW2 pvp so I'd grind mobs for a bit then log off.
Maybe do the main quest until it was a bit too high for my character. I still log in from time to time but isn't my cup of tea.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
IMHO, ESO needs another six months to a year of development and testing. That isn't to just fix obvious bugs, but to correct what are broken very fundamental game mechanics and imbalances in statistics, class design, skill design, caps, etc. Quite frankly, the game wasn't ready for release; pretty and playable, yes, but not at all polished... and ZOS apparently thought all the lemmings could be hoodwinked into believing everything was fine and dandy if the marketing machine kept spewing BS.
GW2 OTOH is even more of a solo game than ESO. The public quests are the closest thing to cooperation between players until you reach a high level and it becomes essential to group. Personally, I like its crafting better, too. A lot of people like ESO's crafting; I find it highly lacking (not as mindless and boring as most crafting systems in MMORPGs, but still mindless and boring).
PvP in both games is really nothing more than zerg against zerg; all claims to the contrary are BS. The differences are that Cyrodil is a much bigger map (so you'll spend a large amount of time running back to a battle after you die), and the rewards from PvP in ESO are basically nonexistant... as in, why bother?
For the time being, I'd suggest GW2 is the better game (and I'm almost choking at the moment saying that). In six months to a year -- presuming ZOS gets new management and it's not the same arrogant guys patting themselves on the back and telling themselves what a wonderful job they've done, because they didn't do an even half-assed job -- ESO will be the better game by far.
But it isn't right now.
I played in GW2 almost 2 years (and still playing) and in ESO in all beta-weekends.
GW2:
pro:
- Beautiful, basically stunning graphics, Jeremy Soul music, very polished game in overal.
- huge world, a lot of hidden plces for the exploration, vistas, jumping puzzles
- smooth nice animation
- fluid dynamic combat! combo fields mechanic, very deep for pro-gamers, also very easy for beginners
- personal story, dynamic evens, underwater combat, a lot of dungens wth different diffiluties including 50 levels of Fractals
- a lot of stuff to do: PvE leveling most fun I ever played (compare to WOW, L2, etc)
- scructured PvP arenas: gear is nothing, teamplay and skill is everething! tournaments, ladder, etc. Pure fan!
- huge open world pvp in World vs Worlds maps, pvp seazons whitch server is better. Don't believe to ppl who said here zerg vs zerg only, they didn't play in WvW seriously, or nor understand it. Here is a lot of stuff for small groups and for solo players too. But for sure castle siegeng or big battles are real fun!
- end game PvE is world megabosses for many ppl (100+)
- during last year content updated was every 2 week! FREE.
- no fixed trinity (tank, dps, heal) everybody can do different role depends of build
- achievemnts and rewards!
- no monthly fee
- no obligated gear-treadmill (for me it is good, but somebody can miss for it)
- not requred power video-card.
Cons:
- no raiding in dungeons for 10-25 ppl, like in WOW
- required good CPU, i5 or i7
ESO:
Pro
- Good graphics. Good optimisation for huge PvP battles.
- Word pvp in special map: AvA, the same like in GW2, but map bigger.
- Full voiceover on Quests
- Horses
- 1st person view
Cons:
- horrible animation
- no buf/debuf and name plates in PvP
- too little skills on bar (spacial for gamepad)
- weak, boring, repetitive combat mechanincs
- boring quests
- pvp iz total zergfest
- boring dungeons
- no underwater combat
- no arenas in PvP, ladder, etc.
- faded colors of the world
- everething looks like copy-paste (dungeons, castles, houses, everething)
- bots, goldspamming
- no grouping in PvE during quests
- phasing
- Monthly fee
- rank treadmil
- bugs
If you like story-driven questing you'd probably like ESO. There are certainly far more hours between character creation and level cap in it than in GW2, and if you like the Elder Scrolls style you'll find things that you like.
If your choice is strictly between GW2 and ESO then I would suggest GW2 at this moment in time. Having been out a while it is "bug free" and "balanced" as far as these things go, stable server tech and so forth. Lastly it is B2P - no need to spend anything other than the box price so no pressure to play; you can play it, put it down, come back to it later.
ESO, having just launched, has bugs, bots, balance issues and more. There have been patches, there are more to come. Bug fixes, over powered abilities adjusted, better bot and spammer controls and so on. Whilst there will be a push to clean it up prior to the PS4 and XB1 launch at the end of June it has the potential to annoy you - especially if you haven't played the other ES titles. And it has a monthly sub which Zenimax have "justified" by saying that they will add new content. So if you buy it later you will get more!
As mentioned above though these are not like Lineage; nor are they like AO - which can't have changed that much since I last played it.
There are other options out there but, like I said, if your choice is strictly between GW2 and ESO ....
GW2, by far.
Pros: No sub, gorgeous world, similar PVP, very little grind/vertical progression, no trinity
Cons (for some people): Very little grind/vertical progression, no trinity
Having played both to max level I can say if you want a game were other people are merely a back drop to your single player experience and have absolutely no effect on you... well then both games will work for you.... at least ESO has good crafting I suppose.
I am personally waiting for AA and hoping that does not disappoint like GW2 and ESO
Both are fine games. GW2 is a nice little budget game with an unobtrusive gem store and kept me entertained for a year.
The main reason I dont play it is because they simply do not add meaningful content, like ever. Otherwise I would be on it now. At least with ESO you have the possibly bright future of large adventure zones, guild questlines and hopefully player housing.
ESOs AvA is an improvement over the WvW experience in my mind. While I was disappointed at the lack of supply and siege weapon building in ESO it makes up for it with a larger single map, better stealth mechanics, explorable buildings and destructible defensive structures at even farms and mines.
ESOs brightest points are a excellent questing experience and exploration. You can wander all over a zone and find lots of hidden quests. collectables, loot, chests, bosses you name it. A level 10 area feels just as fun as a level 40 zone. I actually relish hitting Veteran Rank and doing the other faction zones but a lot dont seem to like it.
ESO is the best themepark MMO out and only going to get better.
If you like sandbox you can give AA a try but one word of warning the botting, hacking and macroing is rampant here. I believe they don't even frown upon the use of them, many of the skillups are all done by macros by many people.
GW2
Leveling. Leveling is very good, but also very lonely, theres no such a thing as "mob stealing" you just walk up to another player and start helping him, but you are never forced to group up, only some world champions require a group, but they are always optional, so you can easily go to lvl80 all alone.
Crafting. Useless, impossible to make money because of the Auction House.
Exploration. Everything is on your map, all icons show up automatically once you "reveal" a small piece of the map, so you end up just following the icon instead of searching for yourself. There are jumping puzzles around the zones, but they are far between and offer little reward for exploring.
Questing. No quests, all you do is walk up to a "heart" and automatically you can start doing it without ever talking to a npc, these "hearts" are just "repeat some tasks until the bar fills up"
Lore. Not much, "heart" NPCs give you some insight to what you are doing and why, but its very little overrall. The voice acting is nice when the NPCs have it, but still nothing special
PVE Endgame. Pretty much non-existant, very easy to get to lvl80 and all the exotics you want, you can go for Ascended so you can do fractals, but the ascended is waay too much effort for the insignificant bonuses it gives. You can go for a legendary, but its just grinding a lot of stuff, a test of patience.
Arena PvP. Pretty much a different game, very fun for those who like arena style combat, but from what I have heard it doesn't have much variety.
WvW. Zerg fest, if you don't join a guild that does WvW you won't really have as much fun because its mostly zerging around, the way AoE cap works it favors the group with the most numbers, the skill cap in WvW is very low.
"Living Story". Anet way to put some content for PvE players to try to satisfy them, but it's completely skippable and far too little these days.
Graphics. Beautiful game, really beautiful, but the problem is when you join WvW the load on your processor sky rockets, no where else in the game my processor works as hard as it works during WvW.
Combat. Very very fun, dynamic and fluid, one of the best action combats I have seen in a MMO, one of the best things about this game.
Trinity. No trinity in this game, but the problem is that people only do dungeons with pure DPS builds, theres no point in ever varying it, the dungeons end up being "stack the enemy, jump on them and deal as much DPS as possible".
Final Points. It's still very fun and an amazing experience, but it lacks way too much on the longevity, if not for WvW I would have stopped playing it ages ago, I heard somebody say "GW2 is very easy to pick up, but it's also very easy to put it down".
ESO
Leveling and questing. You will still feel very lonely leveling, even more in here, since theres not much point in actually getting help, the games too easy until veteran rank content, where the fights finally get challenging, also theres many reports that due to phasing grouping becomes hard, since your friend enters a different phase, a different world and you can't help him and vice versa. But its very immersive, with every dialogue being fully voice-acted, loads upon loads of quests to do, it has its ups and downs on story, you might end up talking more than fighting but its very interesting for those who want context on why you are killing these guys.
Crafting. A way more deep system and very useful to train while you level up, I'm VR2 and I craft all my gear since the beginning.
Exploration. It doesn't have a lot of big incentives to explore, its very easy to find locations and quests since they show on your map from far away, but it has more small incentives to explore, unlike GW2, like chests, harvest nodes and lorebooks. I mostly explore because I find the landcscape very beautiful
Lore. A heaven for the lore fan, hundreds of books on bookshelves and lorebooks, I actually read the majority of books I find and talk to every single NPC.
Veteran Rank. Once you finish your faction main story you should get into lvl50, which starts the veteran ranks, where you go into the other factions zones and complete them, the max right now is 10 (craglorn will increase the cap to 12), for many it feels too grindy because the XP comes very slowly and the enemies are harder, if 1-50 took you a long time vr1-10 should take twice as long if you don't skip quests or dialogue.
PVE endgame. Currently it has no endgame yet, but they are announcing Craglorn coming very soon, it is a entire zone made specially for 4-man groups and a zone for a 12-man (dont remember the exact number) for the more hardcore, with a leaderboard and clearing time competition.
PvP. No arenas but Cyrodiil is MASSIVE, its actually the same size of the map of Oblivion with only the height adjusted so areas become more accessible. It's far more skirmish oriented combat and the objectives very similar to GW2, with the AoE cap on ESO I fear it will end up being the same zerg ball style of GW2 (which is very, very bad), theres also hints of a future dungeon inside that zone, DAoC darkness Fall style. Also its a very unforgiving place, if you die a lot you will end up walking around more than actually fighitng due to the long distances on the map.
Combat. It's a more unforgiving combat, its faster to kill people here than in GW2, but unfortunately its very unresponsive still, many times skill dont go off, weapon swapping is very buggy and annoying, when it works its awesome, but it fails far too often. But it still feels too "floaty", there isn't much "impact" on your skills like GW2.
FInal Points. The game is very buggy right now, quests have a tendency of bugging due to phasing errors, so you have to relog until you get put into a phase that isn't bugged, the combat issues and more often than I like Cyrodiil servers end up lagging and class imbalances are plaguing the game. It depends on your patience, those issues are being fixed with time, but I can see how ESO will have a way better longevity.
Due to how buggy ESO is, GW2 is better at the moment, but ESO should surpass it with time. Honestly I haven't had much bugs, the only annoyance is the combat when its unresponsive, so take everything here with a grain of salt, better yet, try to research more on your own, theres nothing better than forming your own opinion about a game by yourself, riding on others opinions wont get you very far.
But ESO does it better imo, plus there is no $$ to gold conversion system or in game cash shop.