The game is obviously ready. GW2 is not like TSW where you've only got one month of content ready for release.

The GW2 client is still not fully optimized but still runs at 30-60fps on a 4 year old computer at high (not maxed) graphics settings ( I checked it tonight, August 2nd 2012, during the stress test ).

Some people are still having performance problems and will likely have problems at release. If you are one of these people then you've got 3 weeks to figure out why your system can't keep up (old or failing components, overheating, outdated drivers, not enough RAM, too many background apps running, etc).

Thanks to GW2, I found out my 2 year old computer had heat problems. I replaced the stock CPU heatsink with an aftermarket heatsink and now everything runs better and my computer's processor runs 20-30° cooler even when taxed.

The client could be better optimized at this point and include a DX11 option but GW2 is definitely ready for release and the client will be updated as time goes on.

Well... what I have played of it is more than ready. Sadly, I've barely scratched the surface.

What I have seen I have absolutely fallen in love with. But I will have to trust those who have seen more as far as the rest goes.

As much as I am loving this game, I was loving Warhammer in beta as well, and then at live when I hit tier 3 and 4... UGH! I hated it! Luckily I trust ArenaNet a LOT more than I trust EA...

Originally posted by Distopia
I always get a little curious when a game launches without any showcasing of the latter game-play, activities or areas. Which has been the case far too often. With TOR's beta we got to see 1-50 of the leveling process yet we never saw Ilum, look how that turned out, AOC and WAR same deal, I hope things are different this time around, or we'll have yet another exodus on our hands.

Yep, it makes you wonder... but people said the same thing about the Asura and Sylvan starter areas, that they weren't ready and that's why ANet held them back, yet during BWE3 I played both all the way through and both were completely stuffed with content (although I did find a couple bugs ^^). It was clear that these zones were not rushed or lacking in content in any way.

I agree with you though. We've gotten use to betas being demos of a game and players being allowed to experience the *entire* game, start to finish, before release. And for a horror story just look at SWTOR, we didn't know nearly enough about the end-game before release and look what happened.

I think this is different. I know that sounds like a stupid fanboi thing to say, but I honestly believe that ANet is holding the rest of the game back because they want it to be fresh when the game goes live instead of old hat before it's even released. The reason I hold this view is little things like the amazing amount of detail in what we've been shown as well as end of beta events. Why spend development time to close out a beta if you've got unfinished areas and a looming release date?

End-game content will likely be somewhat buggy since it's only been exposed to internal testers but I expect it to be finished and feel as polished as the rest of the game.

Oh, and of course WvW and sPvP.. we can't discount them. In *other MMOs* you had to get to max level to participate in max level PvP. ANet has clearly demonstrated that WvW and sPvP are ready for prime time.

Originally posted by OldManFunk

Originally posted by Distopia
I always get a little curious when a game launches without any showcasing of the latter game-play, activities or areas. Which has been the case far too often. With TOR's beta we got to see 1-50 of the leveling process yet we never saw Ilum, look how that turned out, AOC and WAR same deal, I hope things are different this time around, or we'll have yet another exodus on our hands.

Yep, it makes you wonder... but people said the same thing about the Asura and Sylvan starter areas, that they weren't ready and that's why ANet held them back, yet during BWE3 I played both all the way through and both were completely stuffed with content (although I did find a couple bugs ^^). It was clear that these zones were not rushed or lacking in content in any way.

 

I agree with you though. We've gotten use to betas being demos of a game and players being allowed to experience the *entire* game, start to finish, before release. And for a horror story just look at SWTOR, we didn't know nearly enough about the end-game before release and look what happened.

 

I think this is different. I know that sounds like a stupid fanboi thing to say, but I honestly believe that ANet is holding the rest of the game back because they want it to be fresh when the game goes live instead of old hat before it's even released. The reason I hold this view is little things like the amazing amount of detail in what we've been shown as well as end of beta events. Why spend development time to close out a beta if you've got unfinished areas and a looming release date?

 

End-game content will likely be somewhat buggy since it's only been exposed to internal testers but I expect it to be finished and feel as polished as the rest of the game.

 

Oh, and of course WvW and sPvP.. we can't discount them. In *other MMOs* you had to get to max level to participate in max level PvP. ANet has clearly demonstrated that WvW and sPvP are ready for prime time.

If the above does turn out to be the case (my post) there are a few things different this time around. First being, acceptable PVP to launch with. That alone can tide many over until things are worked out. There's also the scale down/dynamic content that a person may have missed on the way up. Although I do question the longevity of dynamic content it does offer a level up from static.

Originally posted by judex99
I play mostly in pvp and i feel the responsiveness (sp?) of the skills not very smooth, at the end you get used to it, but it feels cheap compared to other games, the last BW were a mess also on server stability on pvp, they were more time down than up, anyway it feels as ready as other MMO releases, take that as a good or bad thing.

You sure the skill responsiveness complains aren't based on the fact you are used to play games with GCD?

If you press a skill while performing an action, the game will finish the first action and only then execute the other skill. If the skill doesn't have an animation, like shout skills, the game will perform the action immediately. 

This is amplified if people have the #1 skill on auto-attack.

It's more "ready" than any other MMO I've played so far

PS: Depends on how the zones we haven't seen yet are

Yes, it's ready for release. It's in a solid state atm. I had a few crash issues with the Stress test earlier tonight, but after they deployed the new build I didn't have a single issue.

PvP looks like it's in a good position for start. Glaring balance issues don't really rear their ugly heads until after a number of folks have really gotten their teeth into the system. I have no doubt things will change as issues arise.

PvE - Dynamic Events feel ready. They do what they are designed to do, and I can't recall have any major issues with any of them (like bugging out in the middle and failing to complete).

The limited amount of crafting I did felt good. It's a nice system that does require a fair amount of work.

My only concerns are the dungeons and higher level areas, but the closed testing group seemingly did their jobs with the Sylvari and Asura areas (both were excellent when implemented in BWE3). So, I have a decent amount of confidence that the stuff we haven't seen is ready to go.

All that really remains to be seen is how the login servers hold up vs. the unwashed masses :P

The game certainly feels ready. It still needs a fair bit of optimization, though it looks like they did do a fair bit of optimization between last BWE and yesterday. With the same settings I was getting around 20 fps higher than in previous BWE, and with everything (except shadows at medium) maxed out, I was getting a constant 30 fps. Not ideal, but definitely playable, as it didn't ever really drop from that. Even if nothing improves between now and launch, I'd have no issues playing the game.

Content-wise the game feels ready. Though, I really do hope they add in the rest of the emotes by launch. I've been trying /dance every time to see what kind of cool stuff we get this time around. =P

Originally posted by Magnum2103
Needs more testing.  Mainly queue issues and loads of balance issues right now.  I think it could be release ready, but I worry it won't be due to lack of public testing.

The queues need to be fixed or adjusted somehow.  That is a big issue that needs resolution before release.  Otherwise game is fine other than various tweaks here and there.

There are fundamental things I wish they would reconsider like a face-to-face trading system that I believe will be added once players find themselves in situations where giving/acquiring/trading for items while out in the game is actually meaningful.  Just because there are viable alternatives doesn't mean the alternatives are better.  See the USPS or pay phones.

My personal sense is that they still haven't figured out the proper balance for a lot of the game's content and that much of it will go through adjustments on a weekly basis.  I thought they should have used at least one BWE to spread out the population among all the zones to get a better idea how things like the DEs are functioning under the conditions the game will see after a couple weeks of play.

In terms of the quality of high-level content, I'm actually much more concerned that a lot of players who can't get enough of what GW2 offers on paper will find things play out quite differently after people have had more than a week with the game.  I suspect a great many players who currently believe GW2 is the end all be all of MMOs will wind up as WvWvW casuals and won't ever actually see much of the PvE content they've lauded, but we'll see in a couple months.

Besides that, minor bugs related to mobs, abilities, etc. will exist in any big game at release and will get ironed out. I'm not concerned about those at all.  

Over the summer they've added most of the features I was looking for, I've found a couple classes I enjoy playing, and I haven't encountered "broken" content, so yes, I would say the game is release ready. 

Originally posted by Aerowyn
feels more ready than most any other MMO i beta tested and Iv'e beta tested pretty much them all.. almost heh

Agreed. Compared to many games (noteworthy: WAR, AoC, SWTOR, Aion), GW2 is much more polished. I'm not saying it will be perfect and without a single bug upon release and a few weeks afterwards, but it certainly is very well put together. I think people should have high expectations yet realize that GW2 still has much more to grow.

GW2 is definitely ready for release, More so than any game i have seen for years..

Balance issues will be dealt with quickly once live and due to the way this game is designed there is no game breaking bugs only minor annoyances from time to time from what i have seen..

But more importantly i trust anet to fix things and add solutions sooner rather than later..

Originally posted by Gaia_Hunter

Originally posted by judex99
I play mostly in pvp and i feel the responsiveness (sp?) of the skills not very smooth, at the end you get used to it, but it feels cheap compared to other games, the last BW were a mess also on server stability on pvp, they were more time down than up, anyway it feels as ready as other MMO releases, take that as a good or bad thing.

You sure the skill responsiveness complains aren't based on the fact you are used to play games with GCD?

If you press a skill while performing an action, the game will finish the first action and only then execute the other skill. If the skill doesn't have an animation, like shout skills, the game will perform the action immediately. 

This is amplified if people have the #1 skill on auto-attack.

Its absolutely the most responsive skill system i ever played around. 

if there is one thing this whole topic prooves, its the fact that the game is more then ready to realease.  So far Lotro has the smoothest release closely followed by TSW (Yes for those that remember WoW release was far from smooth), but i think GW2 will beat them all.  The only thing that can ruin some fun in the long run might be long queues for WvWvW on certain servers.