Let it be clear: I hated it, too. I just wanted to close the game. It was horrendous -- I just plain didn't know what to do, at all. I was completely lost; then I realized something... the last game I had such a feeling was World of Warcraft. While GW2 isn't like WoW at all, the game was so well done and well designed that I couldn't deny it afterward: this will be the game I am going to play from headstart until it fall down. This is why I understand that haters try to destroy the game. There is a huge wall of text incomming, so be warned.

What I hated:

• Lack of customisation on two of the tree available races (Charr/Norn customisation is... well, not at the same level as humans)

• Some classes feel less visceral and more static than others (Guardians often stop moving to cast stuff, may it be for small group heals or AoE, while the warrior could pratically run with a 2H sword without problems.) HOWEVER, this is how the gameplay is made for them, and I could see a lot of those who'd like to get a more "old school" gameplay stick to the Guardian and the likes.

• Lag during the 1st evening (it was very bad... attacks being released 2 or 3 seconds later is definitly making a difference between life and death in this game) *

• Framerates and GPU usage. *

• Various bugs then and there. *

*Please note that those points will be fixed for the release version of the game and that I don't take them into account for my overall experience.

What I liked:

• Mix your favorite action RPG with the immersion and community of a MMO, include some really hard instances and a vibrant world along with a second, dynamic world made for player versus player battles and you'll have the recipe for a winner MMO.

• Visceral gameplay. I must've say it a couple of time already: This game has a win/win gameplay. You have to dodge, move, have a second weapon ready when you engage in combat. I saw many people die to elite monsters (bronze ones) during the time I played, while I could handle one and even two at once. Every classes can be ranged and most can go melee.

• Melee combat is really different from ranged. I've seen some people complain about "melee being weak compared to ranged". I felt off my chair. One of the thing I learned from Guild Wars 2 is that melee is doing huge amount of damages --  it was particularly the case with my Warrior when he was wearing a 2h sword. I could rush in a group of enemy, pop my devastator AoE that however made me weak, roll out of the crowd, heal myself, pop another rush attack with my 2H sword, roll out, switch my weapon to a riffle and finish the mobs from afar. You just have to learn your class.

• Huge zones. I could get lost in a matter of seconds. I discovered puzzles, rare loot, skill points and easter eggs simply by running around like a headless chicken.

• Level scaling. Oh how many time did I die when I was level 20 in the starting zone. I tried to do mister cool and pull 4/5 enemies on me. Big mistake. I died in a matter of seconds. I also realized that the XP I was gaining was almost the same as the one from regular (my level) monsters. Since that moment I never ran out of things to do.

• Dynamic Events. I think that during my whole experience, the dynamic events were definitly the most attractive thing in the game. I could run everywhere and, almost everytime, I had something to do. May it be to clear a passage from ettins, to defend a base from centaurs (yes, you can lose it along with the merchants/buffs it gives), release prisoners that were kidnapped on a farm you failed to defend or to gather ruined grapes so a vindictive woman can make some very bad wine and give it to someone she hate, you always have something to do.

• Personnal Story. Some people doesn't like it because it's "instanced". On my side, I love it because of that; it is MY story, and people around me doesn't end up changing it or screwing it up with theirs. There's also a LOT of possibilities in it and the choices you make on character creation screen really impact how yours will go. Beside, the rewards from those are great.

• Gear. You do not have to gear up to keep up with other. At each 5 level, you can find a merchant in a random area on your map that sells, for a cheap amount of copper, everything you need to keep the pace up and hunt without problems for the next 5 level. And if you want to be better, you can buy special items from the area events, also known as "hearts", in exchange of karma; you can acquire those from completing regular dynamic events. I never ran out of Karma during my whole weekend.

• Boss battles. I remember being in a swamp, once, and then have this HUGE monster jumping out of the water and starting to wreak havoc on the zone I was trying to complete. Then a huge group of player came to help; Finally, after many death (he would use his paw and smash people down, which would basically one shot anyone there, or bow down and breath something on players around, which gave them a big debuff and put a DoT on them), revival and damage dealt, we downed it and enjoyed some very sweet piece of loot that boosted many of us a little bit ahead.

• Instant teaming up... no kill steal, no loot steal. Enough said.

Finally, I have to say that it seems like the community loves the game. Why's that? Because the hype rating almost didn't move from the whole weekend. It went from 8,76 to 8,75, while the online market announcement did a much bigger withdrawal (it felt down from 8,75 to 8,72 in a day). If we follow this logic, this also mean that the players who actually enjoyed the beta didn't have the time to vote because they were playing and not crying about it.

Conclusion? Be prepared, as the next gen MMO is comming. 9,5/10

Originally posted by Freedom4u2

Let it be clear: I hated it, too. I just wanted to close the game. It was horrendous -- I just plain didn't know what to do, at all. I was completely lost; then I realized something... the last game I had such a feeling was World of Warcraft. While GW2 isn't like WoW at all, the game was so well done and well designed that I couldn't deny it afterward: this will be the game I am going to play from headstart until it fall down. This is why I understand that haters try to destroy the game. There is a huge wall of text incomming, so be warned.

 

What I hated:

• Lack of customisation on two of the tree available races (Charr/Norn customisation is... well, not at the same level as humans)

• Some classes feel less visceral and more static than others (Guardians often stop moving to cast stuff, may it be for small group heals or AoE, while the warrior could pratically run with a 2H sword without problems.) HOWEVER, this is how the gameplay is made for them, and I could see a lot of those who'd like to get a more "old school" gameplay stick to the Guardian and the likes.

• Lag during the 1st evening (it was very bad... attacks being released 2 or 3 seconds later is definitly making a difference between life and death in this game) *

• Framerates and GPU usage. *

• Various bugs then and there. *

*Please note that those points will be fixed for the release version of the game and that I don't take them into account for my overall experience.

 

What I liked:

• Mix your favorite action RPG with the immersion and community of a MMO, include some really hard instances and a vibrant world along with a second, dynamic world made for player versus player battles and you'll have the recipe for a winner MMO.

• Visceral gameplay. I must've say it a couple of time already: This game has a win/win gameplay. You have to dodge, move, have a second weapon ready when you engage in combat. I saw many people die to elite monsters (bronze ones) during the time I played, while I could handle one and even two at once. Every classes can be ranged and most can go melee.

• Melee combat is really different from ranged. I've seen some people complain about "melee being weak compared to ranged". I felt off my chair. One of the thing I learned from Guild Wars 2 is that melee is doing huge amount of damages --  it was particularly the case with my Warrior when he was wearing a 2h sword. I could rush in a group of enemy, pop my devastator AoE that however made me weak, roll out of the crowd, heal myself, pop another rush attack with my 2H sword, roll out, switch my weapon to a riffle and finish the mobs from afar. You just have to learn your class.

• Huge zones. I could get lost in a matter of seconds. I discovered puzzles, rare loot, skill points and easter eggs simply by running around like a headless chicken.

• Level scaling. Oh how many time did I die when I was level 20 in the starting zone. I tried to do mister cool and pull 4/5 enemies on me. Big mistake. I died in a matter of seconds. I also realized that the XP I was gaining was almost the same as the one from regular (my level) monsters. Since that moment I never ran out of things to do.

• Dynamic Events. I think that during my whole experience, the dynamic events were definitly the most attractive thing in the game. I could run everywhere and, almost everytime, I had something to do. May it be to clear a passage from ettins, to defend a base from centaurs (yes, you can lose it along with the merchants/buffs it gives), release prisoners that were kidnapped on a farm you failed to defend or to gather ruined grapes so a vindictive woman can make some very bad wine and give it to someone she hate, you always have something to do.

• Personnal Story. Some people doesn't like it because it's "instanced". On my side, I love it because of that; it is MY story, and people around me doesn't end up changing it or screwing it up with theirs. There's also a LOT of possibilities in it and the choices you make on character creation screen really impact how yours will go. Beside, the rewards from those are great.

• Gear. You do not have to gear up to keep up with other. At each 5 level, you can find a merchant in a random area on your map that sells, for a cheap amount of copper, everything you need to keep the pace up and hunt without problems for the next 5 level. And if you want to be better, you can buy special items from the area events, also known as "hearts", in exchange of karma; you can acquire those from completing regular dynamic events. I never ran out of Karma during my whole weekend.

• Boss battles. I remember being in a swamp, once, and then have this HUGE monster jumping out of the water and starting to wreak havoc on the zone I was trying to complete. Then a huge group of player came to help; Finally, after many death (he would use his paw and smash people down, which would basically one shot anyone there, or bow down and breath something on players around, which gave them a big debuff and put a DoT on them), revival and damage dealt, we downed it and enjoyed some very sweet piece of loot that boosted many of us a little bit ahead.

• Instant teaming up... no kill steal, no loot steal. Enough said.

 

 

Finally, I have to say that it seems like the community loves the game. Why's that? Because the hype rating almost didn't move from the whole weekend. It went from 8,76 to 8,75, while the online market announcement did a much bigger withdrawal (it felt down from 8,75 to 8,72 in a day). If we follow this logic, this also mean that the players who actually enjoyed the beta didn't have the time to vote because they were playing and not crying about it.

Conclusion? Be prepared, as the next gen MMO is comming. 9,5/10

i think i read most of those.

thx anyway, i got the point from the title. :)

That was lovely to read. Although it had some minor flaws to it, I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was without a shadow of a doubt well written.

Shame that people are too busy shouting out their opinions about the game to take the time to read through some well structured "personal articles" and deliberated thoughts and opinions.

I must say that your mostly unbiased point of view made it quite clear that it is a great game, but not really a game for anyone. I would sincerely appreciate to hear some of your more biased thoughts for/against/about Guild Wars 2. Thank you.

I think he used the word "hated" in a pretense as in now he does not hate it.  Anyway, that's what I am assuming since the post was pretty positive.

OP, I agree with most of your points.  Nice insight and I do hope the game does well!  I will for sure be playing it.

Happy hunting all!

Originally posted by Jimmydean
I don't understand. You hate the game, but you think everyone else will love it, so you are going to play it? Doesn't make sense to me.

You did not read what he wrote!

He more or less said he was a skeptic / hater prior to trying the game out for himself but once he got the chance to play he changed his whole idea about the game and he thinks that others who are haters may very well change their mind as well when they actually give the game a shot.

Good review, reflects a lot of my own views.. I do disagree about char custiimization however.. there are TONS of choices for Charr.. Norn too really. There are also way more options than last build so perhaps there will be more for those that agree with you. 

Did you know that it's a "fact" now that 30% of people who pre-purchased want their money back?  

Seriously, with claims like that, who takes haters seriously anyway or cares what they do or do not fear?

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

Duh?  Hater-turned-fan, that's the entire point of the article.

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

So if he hated the game then his opinion would be valid?

Really?

It must be shocking to think that a lot of people are actually enjoying their beta experience, despite all the challenges one would expect on a game's first large scale beta.

Are you perhaps guilty of confirmation bias?

At any rate, thank you from taking time away from the Tera forums to contribute to the forums of a game you never intended to play.

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

So if he hated the game then his opinion would be valid?

Really?

 

It must be shocking to think that a lot of people are actually enjoying their beta experience, despite all the challenges one would expect on a game's first large scale beta.

Are you perhaps guilty of confirmation bias?

At any rate, thank you from taking time away from the Tera forums to contribute to the forums of a game you never intended to play.

His reaction is the same as you will see for any MMO where players start giving games 9 / 10 and 10 / 10.  I don't think he is biased just talking about trend that is soon to follow.

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

So if he hated the game then his opinion would be valid?

Really?

 

It must be shocking to think that a lot of people are actually enjoying their beta experience, despite all the challenges one would expect on a game's first large scale beta.

Are you perhaps guilty of confirmation bias?

At any rate, thank you from taking time away from the Tera forums to contribute to the forums of a game you never intended to play.

His reaction is the same as you will see for any MMO where players start giving games 9 / 10 and 10 / 10.  I don't think he is biased just talking about trend that is soon to follow.

So if a person plays a game, has a great time, and gives an assessment based on a beta experience of anything over 9/10 then we invalide their responses?

Really?

Should we also invalide the responses of anyone that gives the game a 1/10 or under, most of whom are simply saying that they played the game in order to troll it? I've read posts where people say things like: "I'd rather be in prison for 6 months rather than play GW2 for 2" and "The cities are beautiful therefore the PvE is weak". Are these posts somehow more valid than the OP?

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

So if he hated the game then his opinion would be valid?

Really?

 

It must be shocking to think that a lot of people are actually enjoying their beta experience, despite all the challenges one would expect on a game's first large scale beta.

Are you perhaps guilty of confirmation bias?

At any rate, thank you from taking time away from the Tera forums to contribute to the forums of a game you never intended to play.

His reaction is the same as you will see for any MMO where players start giving games 9 / 10 and 10 / 10.  I don't think he is biased just talking about trend that is soon to follow.

So if a person plays a game, has a great time, and gives an assessment based on a beta of anything over 9/10 then we invalide their responses?

Really?

Should we also invalide the responses of anyone that gives the game a 1/10 or under, most of whom are simply saying that they played the game in order to troll it?

When did i say their repsonse is invalid? i am just commenting on you calling him biased. And yes 1/10 is as 'eye roll' worthy as giving 10/10. And that goes for any MMO.

Originally posted by Eir_S

Did you know that it's a "fact" now that 30% of people who pre-purchased want their money back?  

Seriously, with claims like that, who takes haters seriously anyway or cares what they do or do not fear?

I've also heard it claimed that 40-50% of people in the BWE are getting only 10-15 FPS all the time lol :).

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

 

When did i say their repsonse is invalid? i am just commenting on you calling him biased. And yes 1/10 is as 'eye roll' worthy as giving 10/10. And that goes for any MMO.

You didn't, my response was to the poster who did.

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Chrome1980

Originally posted by Charlizzard

Originally posted by Kyleran

He called it a 9.5 /10, all I need to know that I'm reading a fan's review here.

 

 

When did i say their repsonse is invalid? i am just commenting on you calling him biased. And yes 1/10 is as 'eye roll' worthy as giving 10/10. And that goes for any MMO.

You didn't, my response was to the poster who did.

I think the invalidation earlier was due to when people rate something so high after so little a look at, it usually tends to be fan driven.

Personally I didn't think that. I think it is just another case of the skewed rating system people have today. I've seen people list a dozen awful things about a game with a couple good things and rate it a 9.2 lol. Even the mmorpg staff overly rates stuff. It is like when a completely horrible game will get a 7/10 where that use to stand for a decent game to play.

I almost never look at the number scores people give anymore. If I were to see a score in the 8s, I use to be like, wow, great rating, going to have to give this a look. Now, that kind of score is like hmm, it is probably crap, lol.

All that aside, can't really trust any reviews from such little play time, especially in a beta weekend. I usually enjoy betas of new games. Once I play a bit though, that new honeymoon feeling vanishes. Other times I can just tell it sucks though from a particular thing that doesn't work well for me.

Ha, got off on a tangent. None of this has anything to do with the actual play of GW2 though, just the comments and reviewing process.

I'd fear this game as well if I was a hater, it turnt me into a fan last year lmao at PAX.

Though I must say depends on the hater, because some haters have a pride issue or too sorry to admit when they are wrong, and it is also for fanboys too but it's like "OK, so the game wasn't overhyped or as bad as I claimed it was, well I still can't admit that publically, so what is one thing I can say that I don't like hmmm..."

Now of course this goes both ways with fanboys and haters.

Just not afraid to admit things sometimes it helps you out, least you won't have to worry about arguments when admiting when your wrong and what not.