Originally posted by essaidi

Played GW2 and TSW

Still playing: TSW

why? Well its pretty simple for me, I'm not into games that don't get updated regulerly and that suddenly dies out. The fact that Gw 1 and 2 are F2P makes the updates thin' out, since there ain't going to be money in the long run for Dev's to keep making stuff (don't come with your fanboi crap here at start making shit up, you know its true) also people don't seem to care as much for the rules and such when its a F2P game as when they pay monthly to play it. And also (I will get flamed for this) GW2 is a kiddy game compared to TSW, and I played enough WoW, Warhammer,  LoTR, D&D and so on, I'm getting tired of the same old crap (yes it is the same old crap that we all played a million times before) the question you need to ask yourself is simple, If you like an easy "same old" kind'a game, that you don't have to pay monthly for and that has a community full of 10- 16 year old people GW2 is the way to go, If you want to try something brand new something you have not tired before, where you have to pay monthly, and a great adult community you should buy TSW... 

Flame on kiddos!

You're 21...

Anyway, his assumtion that most of the players are going to be 10-16 in GW2 is just bullshit he made up to attempt to trash GW2. I know this thread has a lot of that going both ways already, but you might as well look at some of the data that we have so far about this that has at least some basis in reality instead of pure bullshit.

~27 thousand people took this poll:

http://gw2census.com/charts.php?pie=total÷=agegroup

This is from this site:

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/357769/page/1

Originally posted by Vunak23

Having played both I would have to say TSW offers more in terms of what both games offer. GW2 and TSW both have bad PvP, mainly because both games have terrible combat systems. So if you buy the game for story which is all they really have to offer, TSW trumps GW2 in that aspect 10 fold.

GW2 has some decent things to offer, with its events. But they are not the be all end all that everyone makes them out to be. They repeat quite frequently as well and they will eventually just get old. TSW trumps GW2 in this as well with there investigation missions (if you like to challenge yourself).

TSW has a better designed class system though it does have its negatives. I just would have to say, really do your research before you go one way or another in a ability tree. As for GW2 you can have all the weapon skills unlocked for your class pretty quick and by level 7 or 10 cant remember you get the full feeling of what the combat is like (terrible). You still have your unlockables as you level and spend points, but they don't make all that much of a difference.

If your looking at either of these for PvP or combat, save yourself the trouble and dont buy either. If your looking for amazing story telling go with TSW. If your looking to have no sub fee go with GW2.

Both games have amazing world design, I just happen to like TSW better since it isn't fantasy.

Here is an example of a TSW investigation (No spoilers):

But I had this to decode;

CNGU BS GUR FHA - ERYNGRF

ABG WHFG GB GUR FBYNE OBQL,

OHG GUR GENIRY BS GUR UHZNA

OBQL- OVEGU GB ORLBAQ

 

RVTUG SYNZRF - RVTUG

FGNGVBAF BA GUR CNGU BS

YVSR? NYGUBHTU GUR BEQRE VF

ABG JUNG FRRZRQ VAVGVNYYL

BOIVBHF....

 

No key to use... just had to decode that. I was able to do it no help at all etc. Was probably one of the funnest quests I have ever done. Just because it challenged me.

HAHA thats awesome!

Originally posted by Wizlock23

Does anyone know if they plan to do any kind of player housing ? ihave not found a clear answer to this any place, or any stance on it

I dont know about tsw but i know GW2  that they plan to implement player housing in the future (not at launch)..

Originally posted by Wizlock23

Originally posted by Vunak23

Having played both I would have to say TSW offers more in terms of what both games offer. GW2 and TSW both have bad PvP, mainly because both games have terrible combat systems. So if you buy the game for story which is all they really have to offer, TSW trumps GW2 in that aspect 10 fold.

GW2 has some decent things to offer, with its events. But they are not the be all end all that everyone makes them out to be. They repeat quite frequently as well and they will eventually just get old. TSW trumps GW2 in this as well with there investigation missions (if you like to challenge yourself).

TSW has a better designed class system though it does have its negatives. I just would have to say, really do your research before you go one way or another in a ability tree. As for GW2 you can have all the weapon skills unlocked for your class pretty quick and by level 7 or 10 cant remember you get the full feeling of what the combat is like (terrible). You still have your unlockables as you level and spend points, but they don't make all that much of a difference.

If your looking at either of these for PvP or combat, save yourself the trouble and dont buy either. If your looking for amazing story telling go with TSW. If your looking to have no sub fee go with GW2.

Both games have amazing world design, I just happen to like TSW better since it isn't fantasy.

Here is an example of a TSW investigation (No spoilers):

But I had this to decode;

CNGU BS GUR FHA - ERYNGRF

ABG WHFG GB GUR FBYNE OBQL,

OHG GUR GENIRY BS GUR UHZNA

OBQL- OVEGU GB ORLBAQ

 

RVTUG SYNZRF - RVTUG

FGNGVBAF BA GUR CNGU BS

YVSR? NYGUBHTU GUR BEQRE VF

ABG JUNG FRRZRQ VAVGVNYYL

BOIVBHF....

 

No key to use... just had to decode that. I was able to do it no help at all etc. Was probably one of the funnest quests I have ever done. Just because it challenged me.

HAHA thats awesome!

Thing is... this is actually probably one of the easier Investigations I have done in the game yet. It was just extremely fun, sitting there watching people randomly try and figure it out. While I was writing all the letters down on my notepad and picking out multiple occurences of the same letter/group of letters etc. It was just amazingly fun to get it all wrote out and decoded and reading the message back to myself. Very good experience.

Originally posted by essaidi

Played GW2 and TSW

Still playing: TSW

why? Well its pretty simple for me, I'm not into games that don't get updated regulerly and that suddenly dies out. The fact that Gw 1 and 2 are F2P makes the updates thin' out, since there ain't going to be money in the long run for Dev's to keep making stuff (don't come with your fanboi crap here at start making shit up, you know its true) also people don't seem to care as much for the rules and such when its a F2P game as when they pay monthly to play it. And also (I will get flamed for this) GW2 is a kiddy game compared to TSW, and I played enough WoW, Warhammer,  LoTR, D&D and so on, I'm getting tired of the same old crap (yes it is the same old crap that we all played a million times before) the question you need to ask yourself is simple, If you like an easy "same old" kind'a game, that you don't have to pay monthly for and that has a community full of 10- 16 year old people GW2 is the way to go, If you want to try something brand new something you have not tired before, where you have to pay monthly, and a great adult community you should buy TSW... 

Flame on kiddos!

maybe you should check guildwars.com update log and then tell it isnt updated regulary :D

http://guildwars.com/support/gameupdates/default.php

and the "same old" argument is wrong, whats new TSW have to offer?

GW2 is a game where you can do anything and it rewards you for exploring the game not just doing a quest

community of 10-16 year old? maybe you should check other topic where it stands that there are a lot more players betwen 18-50 than kids, KIDS got bored of GW2 becouse they are not old mmo players where exploring was a big part of the world, they want to pwn others in PVP with thiers ELITE gear and have a quest system like WoW that keep telling you where to go and what to do

im not telling TSW is a bad game, these are two different games

if you have a heart of explorer and want to check every corner of the world, have fun in PVP where gear doesnt make you a Superman pick GW2

Both are great game. If your choosing between the 2 then go gw2 due to it's b2p model. If money is no objection then play both as tsw have a very interesting setting and atmosphere

Please don't turn this into yet another GW2 vs TSW thread :)

To OP I'd suggest watching some TSW gameplay vids and getting a hold on a buddy key as I said before. I really like TSW but I also understand why this game is not for everyone (a buddy of mine just lagging behind and dying on every harder solo mission because he cannot understand the skill system and synergy between different skills). If you don't have money to waste then don't buy games blindly. I think that both TSW and GW2 are good MMOs but they are different enough to like one and dislike the other one.

I think you'll get a much better value with GW2. From the beta events it seems to have a large variety of content that is all well polished, so it can appeal to a lot of different types of players and keep you busy with things to do. Attention has been given across the board whether it is through pve, pvp, crafting, exploration, and you are rewarded for participating in any of it. I was surprised to find this last event that they had added all these  fun jumping/plateforming puzzles to every zone that was part of the map exploration rewards, it was a nice diversion during play and tickled my OCD for checking off all the map goals. And I got some great equipment upgrades when I completed them all.

 TSW's one strength seems to be its story. Sometimes to the expense of everything else, so there is a concern of how much variation you have available to you other than burning through story. The focus on only story is a problem to me for several reasons, and why I would hesitate to recommend it. For starters, whether you can enjoy the story is pretty subjective so its a gamble to get the game on only that merit. Even a good story can not be enjoyable if the setting or characters aren't your cup of tea. Story is also a one time canned experience, so once you've gone through it, there really isn't any reason to do it again, and it can be a downright grind to do it again on another character. And knowing Funcom's track record, there is no gaurentee they will produce more content for it in a timely manner, though whether this is an issue for you would depend a lot on your play schedule.

Really if story is the only thing you are looking for (and imo given the state of its other aspects its the only reason why someone would find it appealing) TSW may work for you... but I would wonder why someone wouldn't just watch a lets play of TSW or something on youtube as you can experience it all just as easily. But story by itself doesn't seem worthy of a subscription fee. On the other hand, when you've got a game that is kind of a total package like GW2, the only way you can experience it is to play it. That it has no subscription fee, and delivers more than just story... seems like a no brainer to me.

My personal preference will be Guild Wars 2, by a huge margin. I've both on pre-order so i have tested Guild Wars 2 and TSW. For some reason, TSW bores me after a few hours into the game. The combat system on TSW gives you lots of possible combinations, (albeit im pretty sure there will be cookie-cutter builds and combinations that simply does not work later), but i feel that the combat feels.. weird compared to Guild Wars 2. It's nowhere near as fluid, i do not know how to explain this, but if you have played Guild wars 2 and manage to try out TSO, you will probably know what i mean. 

The world zone differs a lot too, from a realistic TSW to a more fantasy based settings on GW2. This, i would prefer GW2. I do not care much for realism in an MMORPG, but its preferrential so its up to you. GW2 has an event based system which you should have read about, things you do or don't do in the zones trigger events and could lead to another, making the pve much more logical. TSW is more typical, or at least i feel that way. Going to someone with 3 quest ( 2 which i can pickup immediately, 1 which needs the first two to be done) , running around the city shooting at zombies, going back to that same NPC and picking up the final quest and then more walking around the city with still more zombies and nothing changing.. feels.. stale after playing Guild Wars 2. 

There's also the question on the direction Guild Wars 2 decided on, in which skill and timing plays more of an aspect than gears. There's no such thing as getting gears for requirement to do a kara run, after which u have to do 40 more kara runs in order to proceed to the next stage. Same for pvp. Its only a difference in cosmetics. I think this is one factor you seriously have to consider, which do you prefer?

Originally posted by Piiritus

Originally posted by Elikal

I can hardly imagine anyone who played/tried both would actually suggest TSW over GW2. No, seriously.

TSW isn't a bad game, but it is so... limited. I continually ran into things I could not do, I failed at or which simply where hard in the boring way, not challanging in the exciting way, but in the tiresome way. Animations and sounds effects are simply horrible. Sure, TSW has it's charm, but I never got into that mental state called "flow", which is usually associated with having fun in games. (Look the term "flow" in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29  ) All factions have the same zones, which makes replay worthless. The ability wheel means you can make 100s of trash combinations and you can essentially forget balance. TSW has it's merits but it just isn't a fluid experience and gets frustrating in the mid game.

GW2 on the other hand immediately had addictive qualities. It is a pleasure to look at, has so unique races and so different and fun to play classes. Everything is round and I immediately got into the flow feeling.

 

I am a bit too lazy now to go into greater detail, but I'd pick GW2 over TSW any day. It depends a bit on what you seek in a MMO, of course, but for me GW2 is leagues better than TSW, and if you see my posting history here, you know I am very critical and NOT easy to satisfy. I didn't have so much fun with a MMO as I had with GW2 in years. Of course I only saw the early 15 levels, as far as open beta went. So take it with a grain of salt.

(The F2P argument doesn't really interest me, I play a game because it's good, not because it's free. If a game is worth a monthly fee, I pay it.)

 

EDIT: I played TSW beta and I bought it and had played it ~ 4 weeks after launch into mid game. I played GW2 extensively over 3 beta weekends. Just so you have a referrence how far my experience with these games goes. ;)

To each his own but please stop already complaining that you were unable to choose right skills and fight in a bit harder zone. I've read your posts and I know that the problem is yours because I ran into same problems but solved them after reviewing skills I used and making some adjustments. If you don't like TSW then fine but stop this complaining already.

You assume too much.

I play MMOs for 8 years, and computer games for 25 years. So I can claim not to be a total noob. I gave the skills considerably time. I even made ALL the quests of an entire zone (Savage Coast) a second time to pimp my char and learn additional skills. Sure, they MAY be a way to make it all work. But when I put so much work into understanding the skill wheel AND even making an entire zone 2 times, I think I can claim I put reasonable effort into TSW. You may disagree, but that is MY opinion, and the OP asked for opinions. Don't like it, fine, but instead of attacking me you could write your OWN comparision. I think that would help the OP more than baseless name calling me, muchacho.

NOTE: I don't understand how anyone can even say TSW PVP would be equal or better! The only PVP TSW has are 2 arenas and a larger zone. The arenas are pure zergfests and the larger zone is just with mediocre layout and design, whereas GW2 has 5 VS 5 for the small quick appetite, a medium size castle siege and THREE large castle siege battlefields. The GW2 PVP areas are so much more complex and interesting compared to TSW. Sorry, but this isn't hating or loving, it is a simple fact. GW2 PVP may not yet be perfect, but it is leagues ahead of all the simplistic arena zergs we have seen in MMOs inthe last few years.

The only thing TSW does better is, it has logic puzzles, and really difficult ones.

gw2

/endthread

Originally posted by Elikal

You assume too much.

I play MMOs for 8 years, and computer games for 25 years. So I can claim not to be a total noob. I gave the skills considerably time. I even made ALL the quests of an entire zone (Savage Coast) a second time to pimp my char and learn additional skills. Sure, they MAY be a way to make it all work. But when I put so much work into understanding the skill wheel AND even making an entire zone 2 times, I think I can claim I put reasonable effort into TSW. You may disagree, but that is MY opinion, and the OP asked for opinions. Don't like it, fine, but instead of attacking me you could write your OWN comparision. I think that would help the OP more than baseless name calling me, muchacho.

People in Germany say muchacho? I think the world is a better place for that.

Originally posted by colddog04

Originally posted by Elikal

You assume too much.

I play MMOs for 8 years, and computer games for 25 years. So I can claim not to be a total noob. I gave the skills considerably time. I even made ALL the quests of an entire zone (Savage Coast) a second time to pimp my char and learn additional skills. Sure, they MAY be a way to make it all work. But when I put so much work into understanding the skill wheel AND even making an entire zone 2 times, I think I can claim I put reasonable effort into TSW. You may disagree, but that is MY opinion, and the OP asked for opinions. Don't like it, fine, but instead of attacking me you could write your OWN comparision. I think that would help the OP more than baseless name calling me, muchacho.

People in Germany say muchacho? I think the world is a better place for that.

Germany doesn't exist anymore, safe on paper. Aren't we all a happy, global, multicultural mishmash today? ;)

People use Anglicisms all over the world. Why not Spanicisms? Or Francicisms? Or Japanocisms?

Why so serious, Kumpel?

I guess it depends on which world you like best.

I have already bought GW2, it works better for me.

The bad thing about TSW is the fact that FunCom probably will be as slow adding new content as they were in AoC. ANET can create really fast as they shown with Factions and Nightfall.

I think you probably should try TSW before deciding if you are unsure.

Originally posted by Loke666

I guess it depends on which world you like best.

I have already bought GW2, it works better for me.

The bad thing about TSW is the fact that FunCom probably will be as slow adding new content as they were in AoC. ANET can create really fast as they shown with Factions and Nightfall.

I think you probably should try TSW before deciding if you are unsure.

TSW has better intense gameplay but GW2 will have lasting power. Once you are through the main stories in TSW there is little reason to continue to play the game which is sad because its one of the best MMO experiences you _can_ have atm, but there simply isn't a viable endgame.

GW2 automatically make you cooperate with anyone in the area since all events are area based where the area changes there is no indivdual quests as such in the game except for your personal story so whoever is in the area automatically counts as your own group for completion. And GW2 has a viable 3 side non-battleground PvP that feels almost like old DaoC.

GW2 also really HAVE done away with the Trinity, there is no tank / healer / dps roles in the game at all.

TSW otoh has tried to break some of the standard mold, by not having classes and levels, the character development system is extremely similar to old starwars galaxies, but you still have the traditional tank/healer/dps builds you make and the entire endgame is build around item grinding with the trinity sadly.

Originally posted by Johnnymmo
Get both. Btw there is no plans for player housing in gw2 as someone stated above.

They actually said they are going to implement player housing sometime after launch.

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/18447-guild-info-discussion-thread/page__st__180__p__887047#entry887047

I have played both pretty extensively. I bought TSW to cover grounds until GW2 released, so I have played quite a bit of both.

The majority of this will be opinion based, so as usual, take this as someone elses point of view, not yours.

Combat---

Both feature a more actiony combat than the standard mmo. Both feature a dodge. Both feature a deck of equally powerful skills that you chose from. There is pretty much no tiered skills in either game. A skill I unlock at level 3 (or third skill in TSW) will often be just as powerful as a level 10 skill (or tenth skill in TSW.) This is different from the standard where I unlock a skill at level 3, only to replace that skill at level 10.

GW2 ultimately WILL have more depth. TSW will give you 8 active and 8 passive. From these, you can build many decks, but once you build a deck, your deck is very set in stone. That deck, will be that deck, and nothing more. The only way to change this is actually change your deck. But again, chosing a different deck will only change the deck, not the depth.

GW2 however, offers 10 skills, which are active and passive, depending on what you chose to bring along. Every passive skill also has an active skill once you activate it. The difference comes into play when you take a look at each skill. A lot of the skills come with little tidbits on them that make them have more depth. A skill may do so and so damage when you use it. But if you use it again in succession, it will cause bleeding. If you use it a third time, it will knockdown if the opponent is bleeding. At first glance, this is not that incredible. But it is, because it basically takes 3 skills and puts them into one skill. So skills can be and often are multiple skills layered into one. The other big difference is the amount of situational use that GW2 forces upon you. A skill may do this in a regular setting, but in a slightly different situation, it will do something entirely different. This is also true in TSW, but pretty much the entire GW2 engine and combat is designed to exploit these little changes.

The last and most important thing to me, is the control of your character. While the TSW uses active combat, it also uses a lot of dice rolls. With each roll, you take a little bit of control away from your character. GW2 offers a more direct control then a dice rolling game. When you are blinded, you don't have a chance of missing, you simply miss the next three attacks. When you block, it isn't because the dice rolled and blocked for your character, it is because you used a skill to block. Actually, the only thing that I can think of that uses RNG in GW2 is criticals. Criticals, cannot be manual in a third person game though. In a first person game, a critical can happen when you hit the legs or the neck or whatever, but in a third person game, having manual criticals is very difficult.

Story/Lore/Setting---

The story in both games a actually pretty similar. The settings are vastly different, but the story is more alike then one might think. In both games, there are multiple factions fighting some great evil. In both games, you are assisting and/or uniting the factions to overcome this great evil.

Though the lore in GW2 is vast and detailed, it is still a generic fantasy setting. Mages, dragons, swords, castles. They have different races to fill different taste, but the setting will always be high magical fantasy.

This is the biggest selling point for me about TSW. The setting is modern and filled with conspiracies. There is no need for a back drop, because we all know the story already. We know about Area 51, we know about Stonehenge, we know London, New York, Tokyo, and Paris. The setting in the TSW is fresh but not so fresh that we get lost.

PvE---

Both are incredibly strong in this aspect, and I would advise against believing anyone who says either game has weak PvE.

Both games are very open. They are very non-linear, and very explorable. Neither game directs you to a location before you can advance. You simply play the PvE and move on if you need to. There is no requirement for doing quests or any of the "artificial" limitations that exists with quest hubs.

TSW does this very well by using open, tiered quests and by limiting them. You can have your main story quest, one major quest, and a few minor quests. Though it seems small, this is actually very clean and organized. This system tells you where you are on your story, where you should go next, and where you can goof around. It keeps the game organized and it "forces" you to miss some quests. This is good, because if you had to complete every quest in that zone, the game would become very stale and very static. So with this sytem, you can only help out so much. You will always come back and find some quests that you missed because you couldn't pick them up. Youll also have a lot of exploring to do, because quests are scattered around, even in the deepest of corners. There are no hubs, just random quests lying around the world.

GW2 does not underperform either. GW2 uses a different system, but accomplishes the same type of gameplay. You have your main story, which you can do whenever you want. You also have a few renown hearts around the map, which are very basic questing used to pull you off the beaten path. It is only until you get into dynamic events that you appreciate the world. You cannot store events in a quest log. They just happen. You will miss lots and lots of events as you progress, which like I said, I prefer. This, like in TSW, will always "force" you to skip some and comeback later. Events are triggered randomly, by players, and by world status (weather, time...) Events are also scattered in the deepest parts of the sea and darkest parts of corners.

Both systems will have you exploring all over if you want to see what happens.

It's hard to give an edge to either game. TSW presents its PvE a lot better than GW2. They have excellent cutscenes that really pull you into the quests you do. However, TSW falls victim to a very static world. Nothing changes, nothing moves. I will give a quick example for quests that would be identical in both games.

Say you have to go to a mansion and kill some ghosts.

In the TSW, you would most likely start off with an excellent cutscene. The quest would have you go and kill 15 ghosts. After this, you might have to go back and remove some ancient books from the mansion to help ease the haunting. The problem is, like many mmos before it, you don't actually kill all the spirits. Nor did you actually effect the world. Someone could literally come by seconds behind you and pick up the same quest and kill the exact same ghosts.

In GW2, if this was the quest. You would have to the mansion and fight off until every single ghost was defeated. Some players would be killing spirits, while others would be burning ancient books. You would walk away and know that the mansion is no longer infested with eveil spirits. Players who come by after you wouldn't even know that spirits normally infest that building. Slowly, over the course of several hours (or days or weeks depending on the event) spirits would manifest themselves until they again infested the mansion. Only then would the event kick off again.

PvP---

I cannot say much about the PvP because not enough players (including me) are good enough to actually give an accurate overall feeling of how the PvP will be in the long run. GW2 is aiming for an e-sport like PvP. They balance their skills differently for both PvE and PvP making sure PvP is absolutely balanced and fair as can be. I could say a lot about the TSW world PvP, and it is great, but I have not played enough of the GW2 PvP to make a comparison.

General Gameplay---

TSW is designed for a mature audience. It's erie and dark as hell. It is not a horror game by any means, but it's not a game you'd want your third grader to be playing. The game has the freshest setting in all the recent mmo's simply because it is designed for an older group.

GW2 shines in its vastness. GW2 will no doubt, emcompass a larger array of gaming then TSW. TSW is designed to be played as a story and solve the game until the end. There are very tiny bits of extras tossed in here and there. You craft, PvP, and do a few other things, but just subtly. GW2 will offer much more, and offer in a more integrated way. From the samllest things like minigames, in-game sports, to full blown global tournaments. The game will simply, in my opinion, fill a larger plate than that of TSW.