The History of Guild Wars 2 - 2000-2021 Retrospective 

I cannot believe it has almost been 10 years. I cannot wait to experience another 10 with you all! ✨❣️ This video was delicioussss.

Exact same. Tried WoW, had no money for a sub, found GW, found friends, never looked back. GW2 easily has another 10 years in it. With new tech and fresh ideas they can create GW2 experiences we can't even imagine yet. People who think that SAB, visiting Glint's realm and air-fighting Kralkatorik was the wildest stuff, haven't seen nothing yet.

Anything done by Lara is always top notch! A+

I'm glad that you mentioned the lay-offs and the pandemic. Those 2 tragedies together was the main cause of the Icebrood Saga story feel rushed and it's sad to see that it happened to GW2. Despite that I still have a lot of fun playing GW2 and I can't wait to play the next expansion!

Great summary of the game's history! Pretty insightful for someone who's played on and off since launch (and possibly even more so for people who started later).

I've been playing since launch with breaks over the years and this was such a lovely reminder of everything I've seen come and go. I truly we believe we're at the beginner of the next big chapter of this game. We're closing the book on the Elder Dragon story the game launched with, the game engine is being upgraded to DX11, WvW, one of the cornerstone game modes is being rebuilt from the ground up, and I imagine there will be an imminent steam release when the DX11 version of the game is out of beta. GW2 has truly matured into a solid product, and I can't wait to see where the road takes us going forward. It feels nice to be optimistic.

Wow, half an hour of video felt like ten minutes! Awesome video! Got me both excited and nostalgic. Only by being reminded about the launch to LS2 era makes me realize what an important role this game has played in my life

Amazing retrospective video! Really brings back the memories and the journey we've all been on with Arenanet - there have been ups and downs but gw2 remains my favourite game of all time, and I can't wait for EoD! Also everyone should definitely tune into Lara's streams they are super chill and full of great discussions about gw2 - a really great community to be part of :D

Great video. Been playing GW since E3 For Everyone event in 2004.

You had to include Colin's swung a sword clip 😂 So Lara, did you make parts of this in After Effects finally? 😏 Great video, good job Lara!

Oh, it's kinda like an iceberg of GW2

incredible video, that must have bin a real load of work, thank you so much for that! It made me so melancholic, i really appreciate you diggin for old footage. it is so incredible how much has happened and this video makes me even more excited and grateful for the new addon. cant wait..

I met one of my best friends in Spamadan aka Kamadan. It was around 2006/07. This game runs deep. This video takes me way back, thank you for it. While I can't be motivated to play (still log in daily) when EoD lands, I'm taking time off work, and getting my game on.

Absolutely incredible. Great points mentioned along with the playerbases feelings at the time. Really welldone

This was such a great video to watch, thanks a lot for being GW2's Lore Keeper :D

Cool video, I loved your enthusiasm telling us about the history and your experiences!

I first started playing Guild Wars when I was eight years old, sometime around when EotN came out, give it take a few years (not digging for exact publishing date). My dad played it first, then he introduced it to my mom. Playing Guild Wars together with them really shaped a large part of my childhood. We have an infamous story in my family about my mom coming home from work the summer my dad stayed home with me and asking what we’d been up to. My little six-year-old self very proudly says “I watched dad play the Girl Running Game!” Because I was six and he didn’t want to get into combat while I was watching, so he just ran his character around pre-searing for twenty minutes. 😂 The year that the first GW2 PAX Demo was announced was the first of many years we went together. Another of our family stories takes place here - ANET set up a Guild Wars Trivia Contest, and the prize was a pair of tickets to a party that ANET was hosting with the developers that night. Mum won us two tickets, but Dad got some really hard questions and didn’t get the third. Then little old me goes toddling up the stage. Purportedly, everybody waiting for their turn in the audience starts cooing over this *actual child* who plays Guild Wars. I got my first question right, my second one wrong, and then the host asks “Who is the patron god of warriors?” I legitimately start counting them off on my fingers, process of elimination style. He gives me the hint that “He has a great tower,” and because I was a ranger main obsessed with my pets and frequently visited them in the Zaishen Menagerie, I actually recognized the tower. “The great tower of… Balthazar?” And everyone just starts cheering. I don’t actually remember the day myself, but… well. I’ve heard the story told enough times to picture it.

I only started playing GW2 in 2018, so this was really interesting to follow along. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into this video, I really enjoyed it! I always love the positive attitude you bring to your videos (and streams) and the upbeat tone of this video was no exception. I have been around for some of the more recent bumps in the road, but overall, GW2 stole my heart and I found it impossible to go back to more classic MMORPGs because I have been spoiled way too much by GW2 :D I am a bit sad I only came across it this late but am hoping for many more years of joy and excitement. So looking forward to End of Dragons ... and after this video even more than before. :)

Great job! As a GW1 veteran and on and off GW2 player this reminded me of all the wonderful moments I’ve actually had in GW2. All the bad moments too… but I’m more hyped now :)

I love this so much. I’m just getting back into the game after playing it for short times here and there since it’s release, and I’m now finally digging into it more seriously. Listening to your genuine excitement and passion for the game as you explain it’s history actually has me a bit choked up. I hope I’ll be able to find even half of that excitement and passion this time around, I’m really enjoying it so far though so I’m sure I will.

Great video Lara, so fun to look back on the journey of my favourite MMO to date :) can't wait for end of dragons!

I learned things I didn’t know! As a player who’s been in and out - 100% agree that this is the most I’ve played GW2 in years and the most excited I’ve been about a release from ArenaNet since HoT. I really hope they can deliver and then follow up quickly after EOD with more Living World to keep the content droughts staved off and the excitement level up. Love your videos- keep up the amazing work! Thanks for all you do!

It's always super fun to see footage from the GW1 playthrough

Thank you for making this video. Brought back many memories of when I first got the original game at age 13 and now at 31 with a baby on the way this game will always have a place in my heart. No matter how many times I try to find a new game of this genre I somehow always end up back on GW2 because there really is nothing else like it :D

Really love your youtube videos. I love to see your side as a developer yourself. You allways point out things that i totaly miss or see much later, in an instant. And a special thanks to your live enjoying and from happiness glowing pesonality. Your streams always cheer me up. Really. Thank you!!

thank you for that walk down memory lane!

I've really been getting in to your retrospectives. Your voice is fantastic as well as the editing and topic points. I really hope there are more videos like this in the future.

I've spent a total of around 3,000 hours in GW1 and GW2 since 2008, and this video was a great watch! You give really good insight into the history of the game, and your presentation is top-notch. Keep it up and have fun!

You did such a fantastic job on this retrospective! When you mentioned at the end that it was a lot of work- it shows!!!! A buddy and his wife got me into GW right after the Factions release but they told be to buy Prophecies. I was hooked and finished everything available. Did every beta weekend for GW2 and wish I'd have had the presence of mind to save all the screen shots I took to something more permanent than the hard drive of the time. Still play at least 3 times a week unless something else is taking my time and love WvW. You covered everything!!!

Hooked, i couldn't stop watching! Amazing job Lara.

10:48 I startet this game with finding random items in Wayfarers xD Ah the memories.

Amazing job!

great video, I am a returning player that hasnt been on since 2012, so this was cool to see!

As a beta player that quit in the middle of LS season 1 and that now recently missed the game and decided to play again, this was very cool to watch (and really helpful because lots of stuff changed from what I remembered!). Thanks a ton for your work on this video!

Great video!

Great video! You managed to make a video about a subject that other creators would have stretched out into an hour+, so well done on keeping it concise but also really informative!

OUTSTANDING VIDEO!!!!! GREAT CONTENT!!!!!

Great job!!

Great vid and summary, Laranity! I have been on a GW2 hiatus for almost 2 years now and I was on the fence about whether I want to jump in on EoD. But your video actually got me excited about it. Since my current laptop is dying and I‘m planning on a new PC next year, GW2 should be more enjoyable again with better PC specs. Thanks for getting me excited about the game again!

Nice one, Lara!!!!

I also started with Guildwars 1 because no money for sub for WoW and am still here but now with Guildwars 2 :3 The video is incredible and I learned lots of stuff that I wasnt even partly aware of. Your videos are amazing as you are!

Brilliant video 🤩

What an awesome video!

Beautiful video :)

Another captivating lecture by professor Lore-anity! 🦐

Ayy ranger-starters represent ^^ Great video Lara, looking forward to the next one

great history, thanks

ah crazy already nearly 10 years still can remember the karka event of season one the games performance has really come along way compared to thoses times

great video !

I started playing on Far Shiverpeaks back in 2012, 9 years later I am still on the same server.

I've never been able to get into GW2 despite several different attempts over the years (last attempt about 6 months ago), but your enthusiasm always makes me want to try again. These days I'm neck deep in FFXIV, but maybe somewhere down the line I'll reinstall and hop back in to try again to hopefully feel the same joy in GW as you and the community. Can't wait to see your EoD content when it comes out and hope we get to see some more of the "Music Guild Tries to -" series as well!

Very awesome video

i've been playing FFXIV since 2019 but i wanted to see what else was out there in terms of mmos, so i picked up GW2 and i'm really liking it so far! i appreciate the content you make, it helps a lot

Very well done! The memories you have brought up here made me so melancholic. I was so in love with the game from its release. All those updates they did early on were so huge and made the game much more enjoyable. Up to the point as you already mentioned as the “peak of hardcore gamers” I played the game 4+ hours every day. Completing daily dungeon tours, fractals and clearing the 3 raidwings multiple times each week. But after a few months I realised a decline in replay ability for hardcore gamers like me. The content drought started to kick in and the game became more casual friendly. Which is a good thing for the franchise and player base. But I felt left behind as a old hardcore veteran player. This led to a disconnection between me and the game. The few additions they have done for players like me made me finally quit the game in 2018. Even tho I know that the game is much more interesting for most of the player base now, which I am happy for the game and its community. Maybe I’ll give it a try again with EoD, but I guess it will be a short, but very enjoyable experience for me. Thank you for bringing back those memories in this video. Keep on playing and releasing content. 😊

Cool! I started on FSP also, but doing mostly WvW with FSP Vanguard and Diva. We moved to Gandara afterwards.

What a great video. One of my greatest pleasures was going back to GW1 and rediscovering how superb it is. I say this as a GW2 player who has respect for older games but often find them difficult to get into. Not so GW1 it feels so fresh, if it was an indie game in current year it would sweep the board.

Skyscale collection was the reason I took a break from the game, I didn't enjoy it at all and I wasn't there for the timegate changes they've made later. Only when I've recently returned have I completed the collection. I enjoyed your video a lot tho, great summary!

Thanks for this very interesting video, i enjoyed watching him. I love and share your enthusiasm for the game. I think it is a big challenge for Arenanet to keep the original idea of the game and develop it challenging and interesting "End Game Content". In my opinion they are doing well💕👌

Oh my, my oldest character got 8 a few days ago and listen to this my heart... It's so nostalgic ;w;

I'mma need tea for this brb~

I started playing gw1 in 2006 , great memories , when gw2 came out i was very excited , i was on devona reach , small population server , made friend with an americain and a guy from malaisia , but after 3 months when the story was done and reached lvl 80 , there was nothing to do , WvsW was dead on devona server, the big servers would just zerg and no one was figthing back, so i quit . I came back every years after that for the expensions , but always ended up leaving for a year when there was nothing else to do , my last expansion was thorn , i got my 2 legendary weapons and my ascended gears , did fractals wich was enjoyable , especially when you party is all dead and you have to solo the final boss with mace and shield as a guardian.But what put the nail in the coffin for me was when you needed to be full Berserker gear to do anything in group, the point of being a guardian for me was not to be full DPS , so i left for good, i now been playing black desert for 4 years and a half . Game is not perfect , but unlike gw2 , it kept me playing.

I can almost guarantee that at some point we played together in the original Guild Wars. I had five accounts and was completely addicted.

I remember leaving work early and rushing home to do the southsun stuff, still have my 20 slot bag and "celestial" exotic accesory lol

Very good job, I was more into the Original Guild Wars, getting older and all. :)

Think you hit the right level of detail on things here, enjoyable watch. A lot of these events were much more important at the time and could fill plenty of speculation or analysis videos, but yeah looking back on some of those things makes them seem much less worth the time some of us spent talking about them. Though I do still lament how many players, guildies and friends I lost contact with over the course of the leadup to Season 1, all the way through to HoT. Seems like Anet struggled to hit the middle ground of content releases back then, losing the hardcore players with not enough and losing the more casual players with too much during S1. And it's a shame that so many ideas about the game in the broader MMO community were formed on those old concepts. Anyway, there I go rambling again, this is why I couldn't make a video that manages to keep it all succinctly documented!

I drop this here instead of twich but I hope you'll see it I really miss those video with the whole squad doing raid or something Ty for the video and have a good end of the years!

Very nice video

I played GW1 and liked it but that was, I guess, over 9 years ago. Good to see how it's changed.

What's crazy is we are truly in a content drought like you said but it really doesn't feel like it. The Seasons of the Dragons achievement chain plus legendary armory has absolutely given me stuff to do the entire time. I still feel like i need to do so much before End of Dragons comes out. Guild Wars 2 is a really massive game and its hard to believe its about to get a whole lot bigger! cant wait for Feb!!

Super Adventure Box is the best thing in the world! I love this event

The Skyscale timegates omg It made me insane. Luckily I was one of the first to get mine in the week of release although I had sleepless nights

I really hope they pick up on Utopia and its concept again. I have a concept art book that goes into a bit of detail about it and it sounds amazing!

good video!

damn.. i was aware that i started at release in 2012, but since it never felt like 10 years, i didnt realize it. i guess thats one thing that comes with age.. the older you get, the faster it moves. what i see and what puts this into perspective: when the game started, we had a 12 year old boy in our guild, the son of our guild leader back then, that boy, must now be a 22 year old man that may already have his own offspring.

Gorgeous video! It makes me want to buy the GW1 collection even more :) if only there was a discount..

As a new player, I'm playing for 2 months, I think that this is very much quite well though. The only thing where I felt lost was crafting and some of endgame things. Compared to WOW that I used to play for last 10 ish years, lv 80 here feels similar to lv 20 in WOW and many other games. Luckily other players explained many things to me so now I'm not overwhelmed.

11:15 I kinda want to hang out with IRL Rytlock now. Maybe go get some pizza and rent a movie

Great video Lara, I hope that most players don’t get their expectations up too high for EoD. We have to be realistic about what Anet can deliver with their reduced staff and the amount of time they have been working on the expansion. I’m looking forward to it and I’ll continue playing no matter what it’s like, because I like the rest of the game that we already have, but I hope Anet can surprise us with something great. I’m interested in what comes after the expansion.

11 years old when GW1 came out, I feel old. 😢

Fun retrospective video. It would have been interesting to mention how ArenaNet was acquired by NCSoft way back during GW1's development and how that support did benefit GW1. I can remember those early videos of GW1's gameplay and it was quite rough. Once they got more funding, they were able to hire the outstanding artists that gave the game its signature look. Also wasn't the it originally supposed to have been solely a PvP game in its initial concept? I thought the RPG side (and story writers) were added after the NCSoft acquisition. But that was over 20 years ago, so I might be fuzzy on the history. Are those clips of you playing GW1 from back in 2000? (I'm assuming not, unless you literally haven't changed at all lol)

Man I'm old. You were 11 when GW1 came and I went hardcore as I just finished high school when it came out.

I can't believe the first beta was in 2008 tho I don't know which Beta i've played but i know i was in school still and i graduated in 2012 so maybe it was the first beta. I just remember that the game was hella laggy :D

God, I do miss GW1 Between 6th and 9th grade I put nearly 3000 hours in and made so many friends. Really helped me break out of my shell as a kid as lame as that is haha Had a guild (The Final Kingdom lol still remember the name) with an alliance of over a 1000 members and we had a great time. Swear I learned marketing/management skills as a child trying to recruit players and keep them in by planning fun events and entertainment. I still believe that GW1 had the best gaming community for its time. Or it seems that way with rose colored glasses maybe haha

i liked most of the IB Saga/season 5. i was not fond of DRMs though, so yeah, it did kind of drag for me, but i otherwise liked the ending and epilogue. i feel bad that i don't really go back to IB maps anymore, like they can be fun, but i am also fairly reward-driven, and i just don't feel rewarded by Grothmar or Bjora, and i'm generally burnt out on Drizzlewood for a while. other than that, pretty good story and maps, and i'll get back to them eventually when i have friends catching up to them.

Poggers!

the 10 years comment though... urgh... now i'm feeling older XD

Nice video, must have taken a lot of time to edit and write the script. I think with the current situation of wow and the potential burn out with ff14, many new players will try gw2 when the expansion releases. If a Steam release comes by then, that would be really helpful. It's a good game with many unique features, i really like the fact that you don't have to grind gear every patch release.

The biggest problem, and one that isn't ever going away, is that ArenaNet has Korean overlords. That in and of itself will keep the game and the company from ever achieving true greatness.

Wonder how an overall "GW quality" graph vs time would look like?

I played gw1 for a few years. My favorite game of all time. I'm getting a pc in a month and gw2 is the first game I want to grab. Do you think it will be worth it now. The thing I'm worried about is that maybe no one is playing the older content. So I won't be able to experience the full game and all the old dungeons. Plus no one would want to play with a noob that has no idea how to play the game. From what I seen it's completely different then gw.

I've been playing Guild Wars 2 for almost 9 years now & I still love this game. But I HATE the 'new' Lions Arch. I want the old one back..

Oh gosh that music.

I've been enjoying the game on and off since it went F2P.

Bring back the Ritualist and multiclassing lol.

At this point i think everybody left blizzard. And that other dude, who left to make League.. Anyways good vid👍🏻

You are wearing the Pendant of Arah in Real life?!?! That's so Cool!!!

I love that Dutch accent omg

I just wanted a GW2 remastered or something

16:45 I personally believe GW2 has the best new player experience on the market as far getting a player into the game and enjoying it and wanting to get further. I just started playing like a week or two a go and I can't put the game down. I come from WoW and Destiny 2, arguably some of the worst games on the market for new players and really wish Bungie and Blizzard would do something similar to how GW2 does for a fresh, not even account, but character. The player retention rate in those goes has to be abysmal, where I feel as though when a new player picks up GW2 more often than not they get hooked like me!

volt of waarcrows