I'm just interested why this review is posted in Guild Wars 2 forum, not WoW forum.

It can be just as equally a review of WoW as for GW2.

I get a kick how so many people have "almost all the skills" unlocked by level 30, but there is no way they have all the elites unlocked, and if they have more than 2 elites unlocked than they are missing well over half of the slot skills. They don't even have a chance a reading what the greater elite skills are in the game yet.  They haven't progressed the trait system at all and probably don't know anything about changing trait abilities.  Everybody wants to be a critic though.

Here is a positive for you though. MoP is really looking like it's one of the least anticipated expansions ever. Nobody talks about it, nobody raves about it's greatness or it's weakness. Nobody cares.  And to the previous poster who commented on why it's not in a WoW thread.  Would anyone even read it if it was put in the WoW forums? 

Well-written post, even though I disagree on almost every point.

Particularly re. DEs - I've gone through the same zone with the same character at different times and had quite different DE experiences.  There's often something new; not always, some things are the same, sure, but often some things are different.  Particularly if you hang around a bit and follow a chain unfolding, it can be different at different times depending on whether other DEs elsewhere have failed or succeeded.

So the "texture" of the world definitely feels dynamic rather than static (i.e. quest hub, hoovering quests up via the most efficient "path").

Originally posted by eyelolled

I get a kick how so many people have "almost all the skills" unlocked by level 30, but there is no way they have all the elites unlocked, and if they have more than 2 elites unlocked than they are missing well over half of the slot skills. They don't even have a chance a reading what the greater elite skills are in the game yet.  They haven't progressed the trait system at all and probably don't know anything about changing trait abilities.  Everybody wants to be a critic though.

 

Here is a positive for you though. MoP is really looking like it's one of the least anticipated expansions ever. Nobody talks about it, nobody raves about it's greatness or it's weakness. Nobody cares.  And to the previous poster who commented on why it's not in a WoW thread.  Would anyone even read it if it was put in the WoW forums? 

maybe cause after we play at least 100 hours GW2 , and try to go to WoW it feels like we are playing crappy xiting game! i understand you  m8.

Originally posted by DKLond

Originally posted by Nadia 

i thought you made a good post but regarding this

the yello describes the WOW Dungeon Finder to me

I agree that the dungeon finder is a part of this modern problem with instant gratification being the primary entertainment approach.

It's hard to defend it while saying what I did about communication and social interaction. Truth is... it's a balance. I don't know the perfect balance. I mean, we could do away with all kinds of convenience features - and just let people work hard for every last experience point or copper. But we're past that - and WoW certainly added a ton of convenience features even in vanilla.

I honestly don't know how I feel about the dungeon finder - because it's easy to sidestep it if you have friends. It's there for people who don't have friends to play with regularly - and who don't have the time to gather a group.

I think I'm used to it - and I don't think it would be good to go back to not having it. But I think such features need to be implemented with great care - and I think social interaction and communication should be high priority in most parts of MMO design.

No, it is about regular Blizzard stubborness. They need to merge servers but since they said that is a sign of a failing game in the past they try anything to avoid that. Merging the servers and a good LFG tool would have worked better and still kept th social aspect of the game.

Originally posted by DKLond

Be warned - this is a post that compares GW2 to WoW - and it's made by someone who is not ashamed of still liking WoW.

Believe it or not, I'm playing WoW again. Didn't intend to - I just wanted to check out the latest patch with the new talent system. I stopped playing right before WotLK - and have checked it very briefly a couple of times since then. But for the first time, I'm enjoying myself beyond just a quick check.

As for GW2, I will give it points for trying new things - and I concede that their take on exploration is fantastic for an MMO (can't compare to a good singleplayer RPG, though) - and I really like a few of the things they've added.

I like the scaling system - as it makes all content somewhat relevant at all levels. That said, it's a bit simplistic and sort of a cop-out way of doing it. It mostly serves to point out that the game would probably have made more sense completely without levels. It's like they were confused about wanting a game without gating/grind mechanisms - but still wanted to stay closer to a traditional model, fearing the mainstream audience would not accept anything else.

I like the fluidity of combat - even despite the simplistic nature of the arsenal. I know fans believe that other games have a ton of obsolete powers, but that's not my experience. In WoW, almost all available skills/powers serve a very logical and pragmatic purpose. I won't deny that some games, like EQ2, have a bunch of pointless stuff - but even that game still has a vastly superior arsenal overall. But the actual "feel and flow" of GW2 combat is excellent.

The best part of GW2 is that it reminded me of why I normally enjoy playing these games in the first place, and that I'm actually a big fan of power progression and the social requirement that goes into not having everything automated regardless of your personal dedication. Honestly, I really like that other people have the opportunity to be assholes and to annoy me - and that's also why I play on a PvP server in WoW. People SHOULD be able to act in accordance with their nature - because that brings out meaningful social interaction. I like meeting people and I like that it takes something to help others, because it clearly demonstrates that you're a nice person - and not just doing it for extra XP. Social interaction should definitely NOT be forcibly pleasant. It's just such a weak and watered down approach in GW2.

I find that I'm NOT a fan of automatic grouping with no communication required - and I'm NOT a fan of having 95% of PvE be about spamming two abilities without worrying about my role in the encounter.

I'm NOT a fan of having a limited arsenal and having it be almost fully available at level 30. I love having toys to look forward to, and I love the complexity of a ton of meaningful skills and abilities to choose from.

Funny thing is that the levelling process is much more pleasant in WoW these days, and I detect almost no "blatant grind". It's just that there are things to work towards if you want them, but you can gear up rather fast - and you can have a max level character in about a week.

The quests are much better today, as well. Certainly much more engaging than the cyclical repetition of a handful of dynamic events in GW2. I'm enjoying the light-hearted "detective story" in Westfall more than anything I experienced in my personal story in GW2.

Sure, it's still WoW at the core - and it's still a game that can take up a lot of time if you let it, but I find that it's vastly superior to GW2 in almost every single way. It doesn't hurt that it's got an insane amount of content after 8 years of being the most popular MMO 

Still, it's a very old game - and I can't blame anyone for being sick of it. Nothing can last forever - but it's amazing that I can still be so entertained by WoW. I played it intensely for 3 years back with Vanilla and TBC - and I never thought I'd be back in any real way. It says something about the quality of the core design and mechanics - and I think people are being incredibly emotional when they lash out against it - as so many seem to do these days.

I'm even contemplating getting Mists of Pandaria - even if I absolutely hate the idea of having Kung Fu Pandas in my RPG.

i liked reading ur post. maybe im wrong but while readign it i always felt like you are excusing yourself for liking WoW. there is absolutely no need for that. i love WoW and i played it since 2007 with some breaks (few months) and i still like it alot because it still is the best MMORPG out there u can buy for money  and no other game managed to change that sofar (god knows many many tried).

the problem why many ppl get sick with it after years its because they need a CHANGE and they play it night and day for months nonstop.. if u do that u get sick of ANY game..ive been there!

Play some WoW..play some f2p game maybe (i love to play world of tanks..such a great game to play for a few hours) then maybe play some GW2 or whatever u want..i play many single player games to mix it up.

i also quite agree to some of your points. just dont care about ppl hating wow..

To throw my 2copper in. I am having a hard time finding a class that I REALLY enjoy, not just kind of enjoy, but one that grabs me and makes me identify with it. The professions all feel meh. 

I really feel like I made a bad decision focusing on the Ranger at first. That class just frustrates the hell out of me. The problem is, all of the other classes have seemed very underwhelming as well. I am going to give the Thief a go and see if it can keep my interest.

The combat and controls are also very frustrating at times, at least on on my Ranger, whom I should have named Obstructed. I love the dodge mechanic, but rest of the controls feel clunky and I don't really feel like I am in CONTROL of my character alot of  the time. This became even more apparant when I logged into my WoW account. WoW has problems, but character control is not one of them. It amazes me how every new MMO that comes out fails so hard at living up to that standard. To me that is the most important basic foundation of an MMORPG and I feel it's lacking in GW2. 

On a positive note, the other parts of the game are fantastic. The graphics and lighting, the way its all put together. I love the way the questing works. I can just start running out of any city and keep going finding tons of events and things to do. It's great fun doing that.

I think they did a fantasitc job on the art design. I think the music is top notch. The voice acting is ok at times and brilliant at others. I particularly liked Magister whatsherface, the air head Sylvari archeologist lady in the personal story. I wish there was more of her :(

There are a few characters in the game where I thought it was some of the best voice acting in any game outside of Fallout Vegas.

It's just the gameplay that has me frustrated the most.