What do you appreciate about GW2? [A Positive Thread]

[seraph shay.6170]

I have been with GW2 since its release and as someone who never got to experience the vanilla WOW days, GW2 has become my World of Warcraft. Since the layoffs I felt really bummed because the last thing I want is to lose this game that I have enjoyed so much. So lets create a positive thread highlighting what we appreciate about GW2 for some morale boosts. I appreciate everyones genuineness and vulnerability in this thread :)

 

I appreciate their ingenuity and their commitment to remain a free to play game with minimal pay-to-win options.

 

 

[Randulf.7614]

I can pretty much go where I want and mess around and find something fun or relevant to do. The accessibility and relevance of all game modes is beyond compare vs other mmos.

 

And I look good doing it

[hugo.4705]

No subscription fees.

[AlexxxDelta.1806]

That in a genre full of scammy practices aiming at milking your bank account to the last penny, it is not the worst offender of the bunch. I would argue that back in its early days it had the most fair business model when it came to MMOs. As for the game itself, the absence of level cap increases/gear grind is refreshing, it has beautiful environments art-wise and amazing music/sound design.

[DiabolicalHamSandwich.8756]

That I can leave right now, come back in a year or so, and still be fine. Since you can stat swap with ascended, plus zerker having been relevant since like the dawn of time. Even if things go wonky with current builds. Unless some stupid massive shifts happen. I can literally leave for an extended period of time, but return and hit the ground running.

 

That type of security is very much appreciated.

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Almost unlimited combinations of stats, passives, weapons & skills to play your class and (except for a few niché-sections) no one is bothering you how you should play your character.

 

Very detailed maps, awesome secrets and easter-eggs hidden everywhere.

 

A staff that reacts pretty fast about bug & exploit-reports, but also has an open ear for suggestions and improvements.

 

A gemstore that does not make you feel bad when purchasing something. And a gold <-> gem option that allows players to access certain upgrades just by playing/farming.

 

One of the few MMORPG's which actually bothered with underwater content and even a combat-system.

 

By far the best jump-engine for an MMORPG. It is far better than certain console-platformers (sadly).

 

Still a nice and helpful community.

[Aeolus.3615]

Model movement while while in combat, the combat animation flows... JUST THE MODEL ANIMATIONS im talking about.

[otto.5684]

Great open world designs, excluding PoF and most of LWS4.

 

Great combat mechanics.

[Adul.1520]

GW2 has many good things going for it. It has great concept work, top quality art and animations, enjoyable exploration/combat gameplay loops, great level design... pretty much everything that has to do with visual design and general gameplay is exceptional in GW2, especially when compared to most other MMOs.

 

I also appreciate that their business model is not as predatory as some of the others I've seen.

[stone cold.8609]

Asura and the Engineer profession.

[Cerioth.7062]

Everything. And charrs.

[Neural.1824]

> @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said:

> That in a genre full of scammy practices aiming at milking your bank account to the last penny, it is not the worst offender of the bunch.

 

The really sad things is that GW2/Anet has that status too. "not the worst offender"

 

As to the topic:

 

GW2 as an environment is a beautiful game. From the zones themselves which offer a wide variety that reflect many real world locations (hey Anet, we need a map like the "Tepui" plateaus in Southern Venezuela still :D) to the armor and weapons.

The people who do the ground work for GW2 when it comes to the appearance are underappreciated and certainly underpaid.

There are a couple annoyances such as not being able to dye back pieces, but over all, the character customization is pretty extensive too, and from what I've seen, there is at least an attempt to incorporate user accessible dye colors into weapons and back pieces.

For example, my most recent character, throughout her development as I did world completion, wound up taking on the theme of the Equinox weapons.


And it's not too difficult to find many of the amazing cosplays people have done. From Ronald McDonald to the Scooby-Doo gang, to various superheroes, this game offers a huge variety of possibilities that allow for a lot of creativity (except town clothes. R.I.P. the "Two-ters" outfit by Bubbles).

 

While WvW affected me negatively in the past, as a game mode it is a great idea, and, in my opinion, has a vast ocean of un-used potential.

 

Fractals could be an entire MMO in themselves. I had hoped many years ago that instead of going the route of raids, that Anet would have introduced raids as a version of fractals, but apparently mechanics changes were in the way. Anyway, Fractals are by far have the biggest potential for new and varied content, from visual to challenge level, etc.

 

Another thing that stands out to me is the animations. It's easy enough to throw some markers on a person and do a motion capture of a person waving to greet a friend, but watch the animations for the spiders in this game. Better yet, watch the animations on the mounts. There is a high level of "immersion" when it comes to how the characters/NPC's move in GW2. There is an attention to detail that just makes it easy to believe that these creatures would move just like that if they were real (given, some animation certainly comes through observance of real world creatures like spiders, etc.). Sure, they aren't all perfect, but overall the quality is great.

 

Sound design is also great. From ambient sounds to the weapon sounds (for me, one of the most rewarding parts of completing HOPE was the first time using as a dual pistol thief).

 

 

 

[Tails.9372]

The fact that a power based mid range run & gun style build with access to HP reg on hit exists.

 

The initiative system thief is using.

 

HOPE + Unload

 

The Sublime Mistforged Triumphant Hero's chestwear (however I don't appreciate the ridiculous level requirement, 200 would have been more than enough).

 

The superior rune of the ogre.

 

The Mistlock Sanctuary.

 

The fact that this game doesn't use a subscription model.

 

The option to trade gold for gemstones.

[Goettel.4389]

Meta events, alt QoL, the music & best mounts anywhere.

[yohoia.1850]

Action combat system

Lore (loved it since GW1)

Best mount system in any game

Visual beauty

Not P2W

Meta events (playing with others without tedious planning)

 

[Asum.4960]

No subscription fee, meaning I don't have to constantly think about if I'm getting my moneys worth, or feeling forced to play when I don't feel like it for a bit, because I already paid.

As well as the ability to take a break without really falling behind power wise to tackle new content when coming back.

 

No straight up pay to win Microtransactions/Lootboxes.

No gambling for gear progression, be it ingame, or with "solutions" provided in the cashshop only.

 

The game respects your time more than most MMO's,

No meaningless gear progression, wasting time with grinding over an over.

Swapping a build can be done in a matter of seconds for free. No need to level an entire new character from scratch, or pay real money to reset an existing one, just to try out a different build.

 

Elite Specialisations providing a somewhat new take on existing professions to re-explore the game with.

 

The active combat system, which puts an emphasis on player skill to overcome challenges, not just stat/gear checks, especially for

engaging group content like Fractals and Raids.

 

The beautiful environments to explore.

 

The option to acquire (at least most) Cash Shop items with enough in game gold, without being forced to participate in gambling.

 

The variety of gamemodes and activities, providing alternatives to play when burning out on one thing or the other.

[FrizzFreston.5290]

> @"DiabolicalHamSandwich.8756" said:

> That I can leave right now, come back in a year or so, and still be fine. Since you can stat swap with ascended, plus zerker having been relevant since like the dawn of time. Even if things go wonky with current builds. Unless some stupid massive shifts happen. I can literally leave for an extended period of time, but return and hit the ground running.

>

> That type of security is very much appreciated.

 

Definitely this for me too.

[castlemanic.3198]

The ingenuity of the mount system and how each mount has it's own uses (and for me that does include warclaw).

the lore, just so many aspects of it, such as you being the hero of the world.

the art and aesthetic of the world.

all of the classes and how unique they are from similar types of classes (and the uniqueness of the revenant is exciting, at least from a lore standpoint). I could list my favourite things about each class and each elite spec but i have other points i want to get to.

honestly? same applies to the races and the cultural design of each race. it's wonderful and so enjoyable.

the combat system.

the shiny skins and stuff.

living world as a means of continually producing content.

elona

palawa joko

aurene

dragon's watch

the voice acting

honestly? i don't play wvw that much, the warclaw gave me the motivation to try it out again and i'm enjoying it. siege warfare is awesome even if i don't have a meta build. I'm excited to gain enough levels to get the chain pull on the warclaw.

gliding is seriously appreciated as an exploration tool.

commander/catmander tags

 

i just appreciate so much about this game and i'll continue to play it and follow it every way that i can

 

EDIT: and also what diaboical ham sandwhich said. power level security and stuff no matter how long a hiatus i take.

[Tyncale.1629]

I love how detailed the world is built, not only are there so many nooks and crannies but also intricate cave systems, overhangs, hidden retreats and so forth. I have world completion but got the feeling I have hardly seen anything yet, so much is there. I love the Dynamic Events and the NPC interaction and scripts that go with it, never gets old for me. The colors, the way the avatars look (beautiful, not cartoony). It is the richest most immersive PvE environment I know of any MMO, still better then Black Desert and Elder Scrolls online even though those are great in their own right.

[ElectricGoat.8253]

I like here there are a billion things to do at any one moment and that you arent restricted by subscription fees in that you feel you should get your moneys worth.

 

I like that I can run around on a raptor( I call it yoshi) and use it to jump from place to place in a large leap.

 

I like that the expansion packs added new areas of the game that are innovative and fresh and theres always something going on somewhere. It is at times difficult to let go of GW2 and go do something else, like I NEED to stay in game.

 

I like that I havent seen everything presented so far, and that theres so much to do.

 

Theres always good conversation going on somewhere, probably in LA, but also in mist lock.

[Gop.8713]

I appreciate the grind, or more specifically that the grind is more or less equally available to everyone regardless of rl money spent or even player skill. If you are willing to spend time playing the game, you have access to everything the game has to offer. That is rare . . .

[Cbrag.9102]

The scale of the world bosses and meta events are incredible. A lot of times they are just zerg-fests but IDGAF. They're still super fun.

 

And also, I'd be hardpressed to find a more beautiful game. Graphically, the game is not cutting edge, but I'm talking about the attention to detail in a lot of the zones. There is dialogue between NPCs that I would never give a second thought. Also there's tons of POI's, unmarked encampments and things of that nature that I pass on the way to something else. When I slow down to pay attention to the little things, I am blown away at how much this game has to offer in regards to immersion.

[TheQuickFox.3826]

Since 2006, Guild Wars and (since 2012) GW2 [have been part of my life](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/41011/guild-wars-and-guild-wars-2-thanks-for-the-journey-a-personal-story-and-thanks "have been part of my life").

I love the universe, I love the journey, my characters and the achievements I made along the way.

[trev.1045]

As a noob ex wow player

 

Love the events, they really work for me and love the way they chain depending on outcome

 

Absolutely hooked on the personal story (just chapter 8 to go now)- really hope LWS2 turns out to be as good.

 

 

[hugo.4705]

Whereas I enjoy a lot lores, the races, their backstories even easter eggs within the maps. I feel like it's the less developped aspect of the game which is sad. A shame. Sure you have ambient dialogues but welp. I do appreciate the last achiev they added concerning the warclaw backstory "sauvage scholar" that what I'm looking for, if told by npcs it's even better.