http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/337506/Guild-Wars-2-Mass-info-for-the-uninitiated.html

This is a very long read, and some of the info is outdated, but it's still a very good compliation of how the game works and what it's about. Give it a look.

lol rift , rift sucks they have a few dedicated fans on this site but thats about it . Guild Wars 2 is leagues better then Rift ever was or is. Its funny how after Guild Wars 2 releases all the information on their world vs world here comes rift with a revamped map with 3 faction pvp....

This is not even a fair assessment to compare guild wars 2 . Combat story pvp all leagues better then rift ever was.

i'd also suggest his videos for more info on PVE

http://www.youtube.com/user/CaraEmm/videos?view=0

Originally posted by Tutu2
Is this a fair assessment? I keep hearing the story and voice acting is somewhat lucklustre, which is concerning me also. 

You really can´t compare GW2 to any WoW clone.

And story and voice acting are not lackluster, its just a different style then we got used to in SWTOR and TSW, but its still far beyound what Rift delivers. Some of the story parts are a bit generic, but overall it provides a good beckground for character immersion. I like how they do the Personal story, and the stories the Dynamic events telll feel just so much more realistic because how these events work.

All other components like combat, Dynamic open world, PvP, dungeons are on a whole different level then rift.  And then there is

Far from it. Idk if you have yet but take a look at some of the sylvari starter personal story quests. Take a look at the skill system as well. Very different. The concept of rifts popping up may well feel like the dynamic events but other than that they're pretty different. 

Might just be me but I feel like this starter zone sells the game and gives a good indication of what the rest of the game might be like. Mind you though, even though it seems like they on seem to emphasive on personal story like SwTOR they don't but yah here's a link to the sylvari starter mission video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUBSWZhWLVA

I will put it this way....

I got a 6 month sub to Rift about month before the first Beta weekend event, thinking it would fill the void until GW2 release. I have not touched Rift since then because I just could not bring myself to play anymore. Stupid maybe but there it is. They are nothing alike and only people that  have not tried it or even watched the masses of youtube vids would think so or believe it when someone says so.

Originally posted by x5100

Far from it. Idk if you have yet but take a look at some of the sylvari starter personal story quests. Take a look at the skill system as well. Very different. The concept of rifts popping up may well feel like the dynamic events but other than that they're pretty different. 

Might just be me but I feel like this starter zone sells the game and gives a good indication of what the rest of the game might be like. Mind you though, even though it seems like they on seem to emphasive on personal story like SwTOR they don't but yah here's a link to the sylvari starter mission video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUBSWZhWLVA

Mmmm, yes and no.

From what we know the higher level zones start to use less renown hearts and more events.

There's a bunch of hearts in the early zones so people can have a clear path at the start, learn the ropes and get an idea of what to look for / do.

the voice acting is fine, although i am not a fan of the way they implement the cut scenes.

Guild Wars 2 is based on a semi-underground game known as "Guild Wars".  In this game, you explore Tyria while trying to finish quests and grow more powerful.  Epic and revolutionary stuff.  In this "Sequel" known only as "Guild Wars 2", it continues the great lore set down in the first one (which probably did NOT copy Rift, you'll have to check with the Rift devs directly though for confirmation) and brings it into a non-instanced world with lots of other players roaming around.

They have a pretty basic site, but you can check it out and dig for information (if you're lucky enough to find it).  I BELIEVE it's guildwars2.com, but it's hard to tell.

GW2 is light years ahead of Rift. Rift's Rifts are a basic form of Dynamic content. GW2 eveolves Dynamic Content way beyond Warhammer PQs and Rift's Rifts, managing to truly achieve the illusion of a living, organic world. In every other element of MMO game design, world space and content, GW2 trumps Rift.

I liked Rift for a month or two, but Rifts were all basically the same and it was pretty obvious even during beta that there were not enough game zones for long term play. The factional split of the world space greatly amplified those shortcomings.

GW2 zones are much bigger and there are many more of them, (25 PvE zones at launch, excluding the six massive cities). Dynamic Events make up the majority of the PvE content and there is great variety in those Dynamic Events. There is so much content here that even after 129+ hours of play testing, I'm in awe of the massive amount of world space and content I still have to look forward to.

GW2 also has tremendous production value, superb art direction and a wider range of well presented MMO features and game play.

Rift may have given us a small hint of the potential of dynamic content, but the two games are not at all compareable. GW2 is in a league of it's own. (Just to be clear, GW2 has been in development for almost 5 1/2 years and the decision to base the game on Dynamic Content was made before production of the game actually began. GW2 didn't take PQs and Rifts as inspiration. Arenanet took the same concept of Dynamic Content and developed it much, much more fully than the competition).

I like Rift alot, but after playing GW2 I couldn't go back to Rift. GW2 is in a whole different league really. I still like Trion and what they're doing over there, but it's like night and day for me.

Come on 8/25. This has been a hellish wait already and I wasn't even a big fan until the 3rd beta weekend recently. I can't imagine how you guys & gals feel who have been waiting years...

I think people referencing GW2 to Rift is because of the open grouping these games do, WAR as well.  The world always does feel alive and can change if yo do not react in time, the same goes for GW2, hovever, GW2 just took these tools of open instancing/dynamic events, and put it to better use in their game.  Same can be said about WAR.  They all require teamwork to a degree, and all try to get players from soloing to joining the open group in the area, with the press of a button/or not.

What do you think?

Originally posted by Tutu2
Is this a fair assessment? I keep hearing the story and voice acting is somewhat lucklustre, which is concerning me also. 

Both games are fantasy games, have levels and DEs.

Rifts DEs are however just random spawns that you need to kill while you quests while GW2s are complicated and instead of questing.

The games feels nothing the same to play, but there are some basic likenesses, but GW2 is closer to DaoC and AC than Rift. Not that close, but closer.