WTF: Guild Wars 2 Has DOUBLED?! 

If you are a MMO gamer, you should wish GW2 doing great no matter what MMO you are playing, because GW2 is among the very few that dare to break the mold. To be frank, if other MMOs take lessons from GW2 (good or bad), the entire genre will be in a much better place.

I'm a WoW player since vanilla up to BfA and now playing GW2. Currently I've cleared the base game content and am now clearing Heart of Thorns. And I'm just mindblown by the level design and narrative there! It's a huge step up compared to the base game and especially compared to WoW. And speaking of "numbers" - the game clicked on replacing gear race with masteries and world content completion for me. For me - it works perfectly. And feels much better than traditional progression systems. It feels like I have more freedom and choice.

Definitely think you should check out the expansions in order. Don’t skip Heart of Thorns, you’ll miss the glider and the amazing map metas

The best expansion is the one that fixes all the broken systems made by all the other ones! Bit of a meme statement but the big moves GW2 has been making for the last year or so is mainly addressing longstanding problems and complaints that the playerbase had. Turns out that's pretty effective!

Coming from WoW myself and now playing a lot of gw2: yeah you definitely rewire your brain for the endgame. It's no longer about chasing that small gear upgrade, then they raise item level , and you do it all over again. You actually have the freedom to play for fun (the cursed "f" word, I know). We absolutely get people that do not know what to do with themselves with that freedom. If you get to that point I encourage you to spend a little time trying each of the game modes out (strikes, fractals, pvp, a raid, wvw, etc) and see what you enjoy most! As for the news about more frequent updates etc, we're very excited but tempered about that. As you said there hsa been long silences from the company before, so right now we're like "this recent trend is awesome, I hope it continues".

Several things you probably didn't know because you haven't played the game, but when the game's not in the middle of a festival season, they DID give story patches with whole maps usually close to every 2 to 3 months. Those 5 years were filled with a season of Living World Season 4 and Icebrood Saga. Not all of the patches were great, but they all provided a new map, rewards and story. It doesn't have a 5 year content drought. I think some of your views are a bit colored as someone who hasn't really been checking the game. They don't market as well as they should've, but the game is constantly being updated, and it REALLY should be something they do better. The one thing everyone definitely agrees on is the part about the previous season content being locked behind the gem store if you're a new player. That sucks, it really does, don't like that form of monetization at all. Besides that, it's a very fun game with a lot of stuff for people to do and ways you can play it. I thoroughly enjoy the game. Some of the stuff they have on the gem store is well worth the money. Getting instruments you can actually play has helped me unwind and bring some zen to the game. I've burned quite a few hours with my flute in some of the more beautiful maps, practicing new and licensed songs.

Absolutely do the expansions in order. Do NOT skip Heart of Thorns. The maps and metas are top tier, and for a big majority of people metas ARE the endgame you are rushing to reach. This is not WoW where the entire world is invalidated at level cap except the "new hot thing".

As someone who's been part of the game since betas, through the highs and the lows, I can firmly say I've never felt more positively about the future. Some things should change, even need to change - namely the gemgates and the polish for new players - yet even with those outliers, it's just refreshing.

One thing that's interesting about Guild Wars 2's endgame progression is that buildcraft is a HUGE part of the game. Working out good builds and the right gear to go with it is so much bigger than in anything like WoW (let alone FFXIV). So while you aren't getting higher leveled gear, you're getting more gear which lets you play more different playstyles.

2021 up till now has been a huge turning point for the company. The long time issue was always their consistency this sort of push and stop momentum especially with communication. This version of Arenanet though, has been a huge breath of fresh and I'm loving that they are choosing to go about the next year by addressing some of the gaps and problems that can be improved in GW2 right now rather than jump into more new content. It helps the new players getting into the game and at the same time can help veterans in terms of game mode balance and such. Also thank you for making this video, I love that you've been following up on the game rather than a one time video. Really shows that genuine interest.

Bellular my advice is don't sleep on the first expansion heart of thorns: it has by far the best open world maps in GW2 (imo all big MMOs but that true for GW2 maps in general) to play with a verticality and big meta events not found in any other part of the game (because they were a bit harder than expected). Sadly a lot of the fantastic environmental design that made the maps an awesome challenge to navigate got lost with mounts but they are still amazing.

I changed from WoW to GW2 in 2019. I am much happier and less stressed in GW2. It is not that surprising that the GW2 player base has doubled. GW2 is a good game, and a good alternative to WoW. After the fustercluck that WoW has become, I'm definitely not going back there.

I would love to see you as a guest in teatime with MightyTeapot once you've put some more time into the game, to give a full new player perspective on GW2 content. Would be a nice discussion 😁

Guild Wars 2 already went the distance it's more than 10 years old, having invented half the 'good ideas' found in other mmos, and looking at GW2 revenue charts is misleading because the game simply doesn't suffer from the 'Blizzard CEO' style corporate greed seen almost everywhere else in the mmo genre. To play GW2 for a while is to discover how everything you thought you knew about mmos was mostly marketing.

Your comment about hitting max level and maximising gear for end of game content reminded me of what it felt to let that go. You get your exotic gear and that's all you need to do for most of the content. Not worrying about getting the next upgrade is freeing and it does take a while to get your head around that way of thinking but once you do you wonder why you spent so much time in WoW fretting over pixels.

Given the amount of content and important stuff in Living World seasons I would really like to see it where when you buy an Expac, you also get the Living World content that leads up to that Expac

Major thing for many veterans is that the role of the Game Director now belongs to Grouch, who is a dev who originally came from the community, then was mostly present around pvp but has always remained close to players and endgame scenes. Since EoD he gives pretty strong Ghostcrawler vibes and refuelled the hopium tanks of many veterans with his communication, dev watercooler-like posts and general presence on twitch and the like. A lot of people correlate his new leadership roles with the newfound studio's post release marketing push, more communication etc. ArenaNet has had terrible boomer relations with platforms like Twitch rarely supporting creators and as of recently it's changing for the better. Basically, in Grouch we trust.

GW2 is pretty great and I would encourage those who like collecting armors, weapons, pets (minis), or simply like chasing achievement points to give it a try. There are tons of jumping puzzles, world bosses, meta events, and small side objectives that lead into bigger objectives that may unlock a part to a collectible collection you didn't even know about. GW2 is different from WoW and FFXIV and that's not a bad thing. GW2 has been a game I've always came back to after rotating between FFXIV and WoW. After playing and leaving off and on over the years I never felt like I was missing out on anything due to my equipment staying relevant.

I think you picked up on what the endgame is often like when you talked about the griffon (and yes, it really is that fun) - it's often about seeing something cool, saying "I need that", then taking the initiative to go get that. There's not a whole lot of direction given with specific endgame goals which is where a lot of people bounce off it. I find that people either reach 80, feel completely lost as to where to go then, and leave... or they reach 80, pull out the massive shopping list they've been building and excitedly get to work. Being able to see some of the collections you can work on definitely helps, but you still have to kinda set your own goals Like, a significant part of early EoD for me was sticking around in Seitung and getting really into fishing because I saw the Saltspray Dragon Scarf, decided that my life was nothing without it, and couldn't continue until my shoulder gear was sufficiently adorable

That "follow-through" is going to be the key factor, but from what is being said, it does look promising. Cheers to the early Expansion 4 announcement!

The game is just insane, as i grew out of having to farm for gear 24/7 just to stay relevant, i really found my place in this game. Can vouch for it.

I've been playing gw2 since the beta tests in April of 2012. Never had a game respect my time as much and have this much great story and endgame content to play. Yes it's not your typical grinding but it's the perfect middle ground to spend your time in. If you've never played the game i'd suggest it like no other. It is 100% worth your 50 bucks to get the whole collection. This game has better value than any other MMORPG ever.

I can 100% resonate with your fear of not connecting with the game without that I-level or gear progression type of feeling. That and leaving behind the randomized legendary type drops that other games offer at the end of a dungeon or raid. In truth, it’s the only reason I ever leave the game to play another (that and experiencing next-gen graphics.) However, with 5000 hours I can tell you why I’m never going to quit playing GW2, as long as it exists. Simply put, currently, there’s no other game like it. I view this game as an action combat game and not a tab target at all. In fact, I play on controller. There are only a handful of skills on each class that require you to have your target locked. In action mode, with auto-target, as long as you are aiming at an enemy- you’d never have to press tab. There is no “i-lvl” but YOU level up as you play this game. Learning every combo field between your skills and even your team-mate’s skills to buff your entire party- or do insane burst damage. Learning when to use your dodge and perfectly conserve your energy. Learning when to counter your enemies in pvp, and respond to cc’s and conditions in an appropriate amount of time. It’s all exhilarating. With the amount of time I’ve put into the game I’ve still not placed in the top 250 in a ranked season, but been very close and it’s STILL one of my goals. I could go on, but risk boring anyone reading this! Lastly, the freedom of build craft is unlike any other game I’ve played, excluding the insanity of something like PoE, and ESO as a close second. Something that kept me from sinking far more hours into games like WoW and FF is the linear feeling nature of the classes. I love that you can switch at anytime in FF, but they all still feel like classes are on rails with levers that change your set course a couple degrees. Your just given skills that now are permanently part of your kit, generic stat increases, and weak passive options. Your class plays a role and that never changes. GW2 has a very fluid class building system that you can change at anytime. A much more intimate experience as your grow with your character and finally settle on one of the 10 different play styles the class offers. You unlock new skills and have to test them out and choose what is going to be a part of your kit- and what will not. Knowing each trait and why you put stats where mean everything in this game. The thrill of becoming a true god at this game is unlike any other I’ve ever played. That thrill comes, I think, because there is no i-level. The content I couldn’t complete before and can now is purely because I am better at the game. The players I beat that used to stomp me every match all come from my increase in skill level. Feels good man. This is why I will never quit playing, and why I also will always have a side game for that sweet loot! 😍 I’m exited to see what your think as you progress. I didn’t spend too much time on this essay… I hope I still get a decent grade. Subbed ;)

Guild Wars 2 deserves more attention then it gets. ANet really should be advertising it more.

im always really sad that more games havent given guild wars 2s many great idea the yoink and twist. the way they do expansions is great. the mastery system is amazing. the questing system is cool and the entire concept of their dynamic events is fantastic. it has its problems, especially in the very end game, but it has SO many amazing ideas, that i would love to see in other games. They found a way to make me run around in the open world all day, while WOW has made me immediately abandon all quests the second i hit max level and never visit the open world again, unless i travel to a dungeon.

Griffon flying brought me back into the game. Glad you've decided to walk down this path and I hope you take a liking to improving your character post level 80. Before jumping into Path of Fire I'd encourage you to spend a little bit of time in Heart of Thorns to get your glider - it is as much a game changer as mounts (just takes an hours work). Now when you finally get your Griffon I encourage you to play Griffon Tag - Get a squad of friends and a waypoint fairly high up (easy enough to do in a guild hall) and play tag! Everyone has action camera and whoever gets targeted has to try and dogfight fly about to mark someone else, its great fun! If someone bonks into the ground they can waypoint back to the top. Its great fun!

The experience of playing GW2 after WoW is that you can get the much needed "detox" from the toxic environment of Wow, particularly from the way of playing a true MMO where nobody is really better than anyone just because it was spent more time on the game than others, and i think thats a great way to develop a Massively Multiplayer game, where you actually need help from others to achieve rewards and conquer challenges, the strength is in the unite and not on the self, and this is another reason why the game has such a amazing community.

Oh man, definitely don't skip HoT. Hands down some of the best maps there are. And it's well worth the gems to unlock all of the Living World content as well. They're every bit as valid content as the main boxed expansions, and if you are enjoying the maps, there's a lot more of them in Living World as well. Personally, my favourite is the first map of Season 3, which - coupled with the glider from the Heart of Thorns expansion and its masteries - offers you true flight. It's a joy to play with, dancing through the air. The Living World is also where the story blossoms and blooms, and this is the reason GW2 goes so long between expansions, as others have said. At their peak, during Seasons 3 and 4, we were getting a new patch - containing a whole map, story content, achievements, weapon and armour skins, the lot - every 2-3 months. It was unsustainable due to burnout (and made worse by the layoffs), which is the main reason IceBrood fell so short. But honestly, Living World hasn't just delivered some of the best story content GW2 has to offer, but hands down some of the best gameplay as well. Once you move out of the core maps, the problem with GW2 isn't finding something to do. It's sticking to one thing and not constantly getting sidetracked with another new shiny.

nah its not been a 5 years lull there has been regular content updates between expansions in the form of living world episodes which are story driven mini expansions with new maps sometimes even new type of mounts gw2 is a really decent mmo super inexpensive with at least 200 hours of story content alone which is actually good enough to care about and the openworld npc dialogs also add to it so exploring is acutally worth it no need to rush to end content the biggest problem of gw2 is that it does not explain its endgame features well and you probably will miss alot if you are not part of a community or guild with some veterans in it

There are some very simple things to do in this game, and others that will require months of time to complete but can be broken down into small daily tasks. Being able to work on these long term goals and see daily progress is something that I love most about this game. Legendary weapons and armor are long term goals for a lot of people and will take quite a bit of time, but unlike other games, once you have them they won't ever be obsolete. It is very refreshing that I don't need to replace my gear every patch, and re-farm the same items with a higher ilevel. There is so much content in this game, but if you are looking for super high end mythic raiding, probably won't be for you. I've dabbled in the raids and they are on par with heroic raids, some easier, some a little more complicated. Best part is you can take a week off to play something else and when you come back, you aren't behind everyone else - you just pick up where you left off.

Let me tell you Bell, if you like open world map exploration, check out the Heart of Thorns maps, IMO they are the best maps in terms of exploration not only of the entire game, but the entire MMO genre. Especially Tangled Depths and Verdant Brink. I remember going through those maps when HoT released and after every new mastery I unlocked, I was able to go back to one of the HoT maps and be able to reach a place that I couldn't before.

The best way to explain GW2 is that it's *true* progression lies within achievements, and hidden achievements. There is hundreds, and I mean *hundreds* of hidden things, quests, armor, weapons, dialogue, you name it, it's there In through achievements. Stuff that you casually get started on, by completing World Content. Events, Hearts, visiting old areas, etc etc. Things like completely upgrading and decorating your Sun's Refuge in Living Season 4. Obtaining Requiem and Elegy armor sets. Unlocking All of the Charr Legion's weapons in Icebrood, and Ryland's warband weapons, too. Unlocking and obtaining Legendary Accessories, earrings, necklaces, etc etc. that you can wear for your entire account. Or even visiting the Druids in Draconis Mons, and helping them forge the Druid Stone for you. Just little stuff like that is more so what the endgame is aside from raiding. I could list more, but I'd be here for a while. lol It's the only game I've come across that's true completionism. It's done once, and it's yours forever.

The Reason for me why Guildwars 2 Clicked so well in 2012 was Because i WAS getting tired of the standard WoW loop. Of just getting new gear and the game being only about arbitrary numbers. In Guildwars 2 It's more about Learning the combat, and getting better at the game not just about getting better gear. It becomes a joy an adventure and an experience of it's own and not a chore, BECAUSE the game doesn't have this constant treadmill of arbitrary numbers. Ultimately for me it offers Freedom to do what I want, when I want without feeling left out because im not grinding dailies and doing Torghast every week just to be able to keep up. But for alot of people who are used to this treadmill and the game literally hand holding them in everything. Guild Wars 2 does not do that, and I think that's why they feel lost or uncertain of what to do because they've never had to think outside of the box they just follow along like zombies ;). SO in order to enjoy a game like Guild wars 2 I think you must be willing to and must want to go on an adventure not just to get your loot fix :)

Only started GW2 a few weeks ago, but I've been enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would. Keen to see more GW2 content on this channel if it gets the views.

To add onto all the other things GW2 players have mentioned in the comments, don't ignore its music! Guild Wars 2's soundtrack is phenomenal, as shown with a few tracks in this video played in the background. As with everything in the game, the music in the expansions and onward are where the quality truly ramps up (in a very similar vein to FFXIV's ARR vs Heavensward and onward regarding everything, not just music). It's seriously one of the best parts of the best meta events, story instances, boss battles, general open world areas, etc.

GW2 is a great game. The fact they figured out how to release expansions without ruining old content is huge imo. Every MMO should be trying to do the same thing.

The Heart of Thorns zones are the most amazing, curiosity/exploration provoking zones I've ever experienced in any game bar none

I mean, the game’s been around for a decade. I think it’s proven it’s staying power. The previous games in the franchise have been around longer than that. It puts out content more often than any other MMOs I’ve played. I get what you are saying though bc the game suffers from sparse advertisements.

While there's definitely room for improvement (especially performance in big group fights) WvW is one of the best solutions to "world pvp" I've seen in an MMO. Want to lone wolf it and run around ganking stragglers? You can do that. Small group skirmishes to take camps? Sure. Massive Battles? Of course!

Guild Wars 2 is that MMO that I see a video about and remember that I own it. Re-install it and play for about a week before dropping it again. Just something about it fails to keep me interested. It's a great game, just not my cup of tea. Glad to hear it's doing well though. We need more MMOs to help push innovation.

Gw2 is a game for people who love playing games. Exploration, story and secrets are incredibly well fleshed out and you can feel the love and care the devs put into the world. A lot of these things mingle in such a way that you have to go out and look for it and play the game. It has taken my breath away many times in ways I never expected. It's a beautiful game that I ignored for years. I recently started and I finally get it. It has a solid endgame with plenty of challenge and rewards on top of a flexible way to play every class and more secrets and treasures than you can imagine.

That looks awesome! GW2 seems to have gotten the mount movement down pat!!! I always envisioned doing exactly that while flying around in WoW. So maybe this is the next game I try! I mean, it's free to start too! Always thought you had to pay for GW2, even just to start.

Got to love the gameplay itself. If it's JUST a chase of numbers. GW2 wont be great for that. But if its build craft, and gameplay that's enjoyed. Then GW2 is fantastic!

Having switch from wow to eso to gw2, I can say in my experience it has been a positive one. There are a lot of good features that Blizz just doesn't have. Plenty of content so I am not going to be bored any time soon.

Imagine not being on an eternal treadmill and just being able to enjoy the game! GW2 has one of the best combat systems in the genere along with many other features which are ahead of the rest of the market, exploration, mounts, masteries etc. People saying Lost Ark respects players time must have never played this game, this is the mmo which respects your time to the fullest and I am glad to see it pop off in the future.

This game has always was 2 steps ahead of the genere in terms of game design. open world questing and exploring, dynamic events that scale with player count, gear that doesnt expire with every expansion and no "number counter" proggresion, cosmetic rewards, interesting mounts, massive live open pvp faction maps, pvp arenas done right, guild activites and hubs an amazying crafting system, a fully voice acted story with free content patches. This game deserves a huge player base and the devs deserve praise for not fucking the best pay model in mmo's. I have played it since 2014 and I never have I felt that I wasted my time on the game.

So happy to see that you are still going with GW2 and look forward to your next video about your experience of the game. For me it is all about the combat. The combat can be click on buttons on your screen or it can be super engaging where you use everything and bend it to your will. Like how combofields can save your life if you know exactly what is up or you see someone else using a field and you jump in to it and use it too. How you dodge, make sure runes and sigils works with your build, where you pull a enemy to you and that is even more fun in WvW where you can pull someone off the wall and then jump off a cliff and pull them over it to their death whilst you glide away. So much to use and that is why i stayed after comming from the gear treadmill hardcore rading game before GW2. Also The Super Adventure Box Festival, Please tell me you tried that out. It is such a special festival that you wont find in any other mmo. Also have hardmode. I so want to hear your thoughts about it =)

Coming from wow myself, this last 5 months of playing GW2 has been inspiring, how active the world feels. One of my favourite things in EOD is to chill on my skiff and catch fish until an event pops up, get in the skiff race to the event save the towns people from Purists/ Aetherblade Scum / system malfunctions and just go back to chilling in the beautiful canals. Also the different playstyles different professions present is amazing, and within professions you now have three elite specs which change the game again, my Necro is a power dps Reaper or a support scourge or a condi support quickness harbinger, and the all feel completely different. Honestly there are some motivational issues when you have horizontal progression, luckily I'm still pretty far from the top but I can see that being a problem. But all in all in the 6 months I've been playing this game, it has been incredible, and I've made a home of GW2. Would highly recommend.

I would suggest doing the starting bit of HoT expac just to get the glider. The glider is SO helpful for preventing falling damage/death. Just make sure you're 80 and geared cuz HoT is scaled pretty high.

I've played since beta on and off over 5k hours, it always comes down to the community you play with when it comes to MMOs. Guild Wars 2 has the best combat out of any modern MMO in my opinion, and trust me I'm an MMO andy. I've played em all.

I'm an old man who's played MMOs for a long time, but never GW2. Thanks to a weird push lately on youtube, I gave it a shot, and have been loving it for about 2 weeks. Funny how the good stuff always circles around.

Also I think the “no gear grind” idea that people have of GW 2 is a misconception. Even beyond getting full ascended/legendaries, theres a gear grind in acquiring those for all your builds. With the elite spec system there is a multitude of different builds each profession can have so you have to get gear with the appropriate stat combinations for every build you want to play. Of course you could just play with one build so it’s an optional gear grind, but your gameplay is more varied and you can fulfill more roles in endgame pve content if you have more builds

Guild Wars 2 is a terrific game that completely breaks the paradigm that the only way to progress at end game is through gear. Their zones are beautifully designed and full of more content (including amazing dynamic content) than any zone Blizzard puts out for WoW, and it's designed to keep players playing... not because of awful repetitive grinds for temporary power, but just for the fun of it. (There are collections for legendaries, and they can be grindy, but they're completely not necessary to enjoy the game.) Most importantly, nowadays they really treat their customers with respect, through communication, quarterly content updates and understanding that a "casual" player is just as important as a hardcore raider. Blizzard Entertainment could learn many lessons from ArenaNet, but they probably won't.

Before you mentioned anything, it was very clear that you haven't played the expansion content yet. The jump in quality of both gameplay and storytelling is very noticeable in the expansions. In general, the storytelling has been getting better and better over time. Excited to see how you feel about it after exploring some of the expansion content.

great that you keep an open mind - looking forward to hear what you think

@Bellular Gaming You should record yourself fighting enemies now, some that really challenge you, and then record yourself again once you got yourself equipped with raiding gear and learned the spell- rotations for raiding. I can tell you now that it will be a night and day difference.

It’s really good to see a company look at the MMO meltdown and explosion and decide to change things up. Theyve taken the lessons to heart and seem ready to move forward with renewed vigor. I hope more MMOs can take take the same information and bring other new unique games into the market. Now would be a really great time to see something like City of Heroes be rebuilt and improved because that’s a very neglected audience who hasn’t had a game to call home for a very long time.

I got into GW2 recently and it is absolutely captivating. the QoL and story is something myself and long term WoW players have been begging for for ages. The story (including living worlds) is PHENOMINAL. Don't discount the LW content patches - they are easily some of the best MMO story content out there in the market.

Thanks for uploading, just started gw2 again recently, loving it with gshade and camera tweaking

Nice that you let the music end, so satisfying ;)

GW2 is great and it's the only mmo that I still play :) The PvP and fashionwars is what keeps me going, love it! And btw, level 80 is where it all begins tbh.

I've been interested in GW2 before. But I'd always heard that it was a bit on the niche/small side. So hearing all of this is really good. Because while I'm always going to be a FF14 player, I'm craving something new, and the way classes and class specializations work looks really interesting. Might eventually give it a try once I'm burned out on 6.1.

Such funny timing for this video. started GW2 last week coming from Wow. Was intrigued by the WvW pvp. I really like the play style the community feels large and active I’m only lvl 30 I don’t want to use my boost on the first play through. Looking forward to more Gw content from you.

I appreciate your open-minded approach to how you'll feel when you hit 80. Because IMHO hitting 80 in this game feels like hearing "congratulations, you finished the tutorial part of the game, now let's get serious". Even though the vertical progression almost stops there (it can be argued that getting elite specializations is a form of vertical progression compared to core ones, and also some masteries give you abilities that are commonly used - Hello EMP), I think there is enough for players to accomplish and feel more powerful, even if the numbers do not increase. But I'll be curious anyway to see how you'll respond to this aspect

Just a point - Between PoF and EoD there was content. LW s 4 and IceBrood Saga. You make it sound like between the two xpacs there was no content.

For me as multiple CE wow raider biggest selling point were gw2 raids. Not because of fight design, but as a concept of raid as very well done side story. Ff14 does that well, but gw2 raids are premium quality. Also HoT zones are very good if you want to feel exploration as an adventure. Great stuff.

I have been waiting for y'all to notice that devblog. For so SO long. I love seeing more GW2 content in general! Seeing ya'll cover it brought a big smile here

@Bellular I think you might be surprised at what your endgame activities will look like post-80 and I think it may not be as focused on grinding for a legendary as you think! (Although given your self-professed MMO brain, maybe you will indeed go that gear-grind route!) Although Legendaries are a form of gear grind for those that want that - there’s only a 5% or so difference in the stats between them (and “ascended gear”) and the next highest tier which most people use. The difference is their (1) visual epicness and (2) flexibility that lets you change stats on the fly and use it for all your characters that can equip that weapon. But that’s the beauty of GW2 - it lets you set the goal you care about rather than forcing everyone into a single “progression funnel” I think the genius of GW2’s ‘Horizontal Progression’ is actually based on the Mastery system. That system is even the key to why for a level 80, even “vanilla” zone content never becomes irrelevant unlike many games. As an 80 you go back there a lot because you’re scaled to the zone level. To many, this often sounds bad on the surface, because of the idea you would lose the benefit of all the “power progress” you’ve accumulated when in these zones. But it’s a benefit of GW2 design not being a super numbers-get-bigger game - because it has endgame progression that’s more about earning new unique skills like griffon mount, or gliding ability, ability to broadcast your marker on the map as a “commander” to attract dynamic teams for group content, fishing or using boats etc. And there are tons of these to invest your EXP in (it’s where it goes after you cap), so your character grows in depth and variety of options as you “level” post cap rather than gaining raw numerical power. The griffon and its extra abilities like the dives you did are examples. Masteries are per-account not per character. And because of this you don’t lose all the new shinies in your old zones since those perks aren’t just bigger numbers that are getting nerfed in scaled-down zones. You still fly that cool griffin or catch exotic fish, glide or have a “commander” tag in these zones and it doesn’t break the content. But you won’t able to just faceroll wreck your way through everything like worldbosses + events in these zones. Although even when they scale down you are somewhat more powerful than a true player of that level frankly. I think your desire for the Griffin foreshadows that your real endgame will be chasing Masteries - I’ve seen it in many a gear-grinder! These are often way more impactful than a “legendary” gear and I think more people pursue it… Also… agreed don’t miss Heart of Thorns. I honestly liked that expansion the least, but the story of GW2 is one long narrative, so skipping it cuts out parts of the story, you get gliding from it and many do love the super dangerous and vertical maps. Also, agreed with other that GW2 gaps while not great weren’t the same as WoW content droughts and the Living World stuff was way more than WoW patches in that they often introduced wholly new zones, core mechanics and features, etc - and if the Living World seasons 4 and Icebrood were added together it would be about an expansions’ worth of content - although Icebrood as you may have gathered was a disappointment as it seriously fizzled and had a repetitive nature.

I've been having so much fun in End of Dragons. It's been excellent.

Oh hey I didn't know there was going to be a Steam version. That means there's going to be controller support, FINALLY, might go back to the game then.

There was maybe a 5 years gap between pof and eod but remember it has substantial updates with new maps raids and features you'd normally get from expansions in other games. More than 10 maps were added between pof and eod for instance

I actually just started playing GW2 again a couple weeks ago and I'm glad to see other people are also finding it again or enjoying it now for the first time. I haven't gone too far into End of Dragons, mostly because there were still Path of Fire things I wanted to finish, mount collections for Skyscale and Griffon and some map completion and mastery unlocking before I head into the new content. Looking forward to seeing how you like it when you get a bit further in. The story with the game, and the exploration are definitely the strong parts of the game. So take some time, get invested into characters and plots, and seek out optional and hidden dialogues. It's all quite good.

for the more pvp orientated, this game has the best combat system i've played yet. you won't want to go back to a traditional mmo after this. that said, the balance patches have been non existent which has not only made some very stale metas but has also left some weapons and traitlines (your skill tree) unusable. the current guy in lead of skill balance for competitive modes is competent, but for some reason people above him won't let him do his job. despite all that, i definitely recommend this game.

GW2 is still one of the best MMO's, hands down, it's still "true" to the core values of an MMO, it's great, and I love it. - it's not without faults, and bugs and some issues, but the last year or so GW2 have done a lot to listen to the players and fix issues..

The living world is well worth the investment, especially season 4 and ice brood. The story is second to none.

GW2 CONTENT LET'S GOOOOO

I feel like this title has the potential to be #1. Those of us that love it let's do the best we can to help with that :) Never have I had so much replayability with a game. If you like the collections/achievements in gw2 you have an absolute insane amount of things to do. And no fomo because they just keep adding stuff....oh and living world season 1 is coming back. Gg anet

You you prefer fun, exploration and adventure above gear grind, come visit gw2 :)

Thanx for bringing more eyes to this criminally underrated game.

In response to the last meta of EoD being hard, Anet has nerfed somewhat while still making it challenging, but the community has come out of the woodwork to help newer people out with their gear and builds. Several content creators are coming up with easy low intensity builds that do high damage for minimal effort, both as a means to help the meta but also increase accessibility to the game by giving those with physical limitations the ability to better participate. It's really something beautiful

I might take a look at GW2 once I feel burnt out on FFXIV again. SWTOR had nice story content but the combat and HUD was so awful it was easy to find excuses not to play it. Free is a good entry price.

Guild Wars 2 was my favorurite mmo, until all my friends stopped playing. Managed to stay 1year doing WvW solo before i called it quits

The Jade Empress invites you to Lake Lutgardis.

For those watching this vid that are not GW2 players and wondering why Living World Season One isn't available (And Belluar didn't explain it either) it was for a simple and good reason: Season one played out on the original maps and they caused permanent changes to those maps. An example is the Map/City of Lions Arch. It was completely destroyed in Season One and has been completely rebuilt with a new design since. At the time they didn't use the systems games do now where they can multiple versions of the same map that are gated by your story quest progress and they sold it to the player base as their actions changing the map permanently. When they went to do Season 2, which was the prelude to the first expansion, they realized they screwed up with Season 1 and the new one does have those story quest progress breaks.

I've wanted to play GW2 for many years, and even watched some GW2 channels for a time and I remember the biggest complain most of them mentioned, which lead them to play at the start of something new and quickly leaving afterwards, was the lack of progression There are many mechanics in GW2 which I don't like but that happens with every game I've tried so not big deal, what would worry me is a "new player experience." This has been done in almost all mmos I've played and its terrible in some of them because it's not optional, and I got stuck with a generic, bland, foreseeable zone where you're feeded the basics of the game instead of discovering/remembering them yourself, and many times, zones and quests I loved while leveling previously, have been eliminated, this would not be the case with GW2 but it worry me a little anyway I hope this would be the year when I finally try GW2, and it seems a good time to do it

Need to do your research better , yes there was 5 years between expacs but that doesn't mean there was no new content , there was 2 living world seasons during that time with a year long event on last year before expac launch, content usually comes every month.

im almost finishing my first legendary, twilight!

Please check out a few of the end game raids Bellular and some Tier 4 Challenge mode Fractals. The mounts are awesome sure, but I'm really interested in your in your opinion on the those other facets of GW2.

I tried other mmos Lst Ark ,Wow..Just grind grind grind pay pay gamble gamble pay walls .... like fuc off... Gw2 and chill..

There was no content drought between expansions we got new living world episodes every 3 to 4 months and they added a lot of new content with each episode. We got more than an expansions worth of content between path of fire and end of dragons. Last year they added new achievements to the old living world episodes which got you great rewards. It got me coming back to the game every week to earn the new achievements.

16:40 Yeah I'm curious about this same point. I already have a lv.80 character from wayyy back in the day, and I'm just wondering, what will my motivation be if I jump back in? There's a bunch of new zones to explore, but won't it feel weird doing everything without leveling up? I know there is a gear progression still, but honestly gear progressions (especially ones based on RNG) are usually my reason for quitting most MMOs

Remember, Amazon poached ANet's best developers and leaders for New World. Once New World was finished, those developers came right back to ANet. Those developers are running GW2 again, as we speak. And they're some of the best game developers in the world.

Love that your putting this game in the spotlight. It's the only other mmo aside from wow that I got Multiple characters to max level.

GW2 open world content is the best of the current mmos. Meta events are the most fun I’ve had just partying with randoms

Glad you're enjoying playing GW2, and I hope you will continue doing these video reviews of it in the future. I think to be fair to your viewers, you should explain at the start of each GW2 video that your personal experience with the game is very limited, to give them a better perspective on what you are saying about the game. After all, doing a review that is based on your ability to research the game online is very different than experiencing the game first hand after hundreds of hours of game play. I'm really looking forward to watching your future GW2 review videos, as you have the opportunity to experience more of the game, and I hope that you don't rush through too much of the content, in an attempt to get to the "End Game" content. There is just too much great content to experience along the way, and your opinion of the game will be lessened if you try to go too quickly through much of the journey. I also hope that you have joined, or will join a great guild in GW2, because playing this game with friends and guild mates is so much better than experiencing it solo.

I just started guild wars and I can’t stop I usually would have quit a game by now but I love how I can do whatever I want still work at getting the best gear and never feel like I’m falling behind even playing older expansions

Having played FFXIV, WoW and GW2 extensively, I gotta say that the storytelling in GW2 is my favorite of the bunch. FFXIV and wow are just cutscenes and walls of text, GW2 is all voice acted and has you play the story instead of just watching it.

GW2 is a very good, fun game. It doesn't get nearly the credit or press it deserves.

Best thing about GW2? you can hit level 80 - leave for a few months, a year, two years... come back and the gear and levels you spent hours getting are still absolutely relevent. The progression where they look at unlocking bonus addons that make you overall feel more powerful, or more agile, quality of life things like mounts ect is good, and you set goals, you want to fly, do the story, get the achievements, raise your dragon, jobs done. And the cosmetic options are brilliant. the fact that mythic/legendary items all have unique skins that transform, and are clearly visible, even the trinkets with the orbs, fantastic, only thing stopping you from earning them is well, earning them. do the raids grind ect. but it rewards your time spent i feel.

WoW player back to P4 beta up until about 4 months ago when a friend said I should really look at GW2 again. I did, and I've not been back to WoW since. For me the post 80 game has been mount acquisitions and their masteries. I'm currently going through LWS4 so I can start the Skyscale series, and having fun every step of the way so far. Both my wife and I have been playing, and cancelled our WoW accounts about a month into playing GW2. We'll play WoW again at some point, but for now we're both quite content with GW2.