World versus World is. For thousands of players, the crown jewel of Guild Wars 2, and is something that has drawn diehard fans from across the world together in a unique experience. Players gather in their thousands across their worlds to compete and celebrate game that glorifies strategy, combat and community. There is room for improvement, and nothing is perfect, but today is about taking a break from criticism and frustration. This article is here to praise the World versus World game mode for what it was and what it remains to be, and to encourage new players to jump in and give an extremely fun and surprisingly in depth game mode a try. And in the spirit if praise, we have over 6000 gems to give away to anyone who shows themselves jumping in to WvW!
Having a big open PvP format that takes place across huge fields, steep hills, deadly cliffs and towering structures makes WvW the most strategic game mode when it comes to how you fight. You could lose to a group, only to flatten them next time as you take them down from a hill while they struggle up towards you. Choosing your battlefield, and making the most of the terrain, whilst not new the MMO genre, is utilized extremely well in GW2. The structures themselves become amazing battlegrounds, defending ramps and walls from invaders, knowing every inch you give up brings them closer to a capture, creates high stakes and intense fights. The siege in the game adds another dynamic layer to the strategy of the game, undeniably changing the course of a defending fight or breaking down walls that lets you take the fight to the enemy. All these rogue factors, the versatility, have created a game mode that offers fun for many play styles and roles.
The combat system Guild Wars 2 offers is one of the most intricate for group gameplay of any current MMO, and a system like that is one of the pillars of the game mode. Players can provide boons to allies, conditions to enemies, meaningful CC, huge damage or healing on any of the classes, which made the doorway for builds the biggest in any game mode. A great deal of the high damage abilities in the game come in large AoE circles, which means that a skilled, attentive player can avoid a great deal of damage just by moving, making CC and timing extremely important to secure a kill. Every player feels like they’re having a big impact with well-timed CC, or damage, or giving out boons at the right time, and that makes WvW extremely rewarding to play no matter what role you decide you want to play with your team. Even outside of combat, this idea that you can contribute without being an amazing fighter is deeply embedded in WvW, where players are valued for scouting objectives for their team, keeping track of enemies or disrupting supply lines from behind by themselves as well as their ability to bust some zergs.
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Group play, and an idea of community and server participation has made the game mode strongest to put the ‘Guild’ in Guild Wars 2, with many PvX and strictly WvW guilds that have built extremely strong and close knit communities lasting years. To me especially, WvW was the first time I ever had the feeling that my actions were for the guild, and not just for myself, where our success and our failures were shared with all the members, requiring teamwork and persistence to grow and to be successful. Unlike in PvE, especially before the Guild Hall, where having a guild helped you gain better individual rewards with a social element, a World versus World guild exists to support each other, everyone filling a role in the squad. Whether you’re supporting on your guardian or blowing up people on your necro, it’s always been a team effort, and that feeling of reliance on your team can create powerful bonds between players. And of course, there were the rivalries, guilds who played at the same time figuring one another out and evolving to try take the advantage, or servers with competition spanning weeks, a server always being kicked to third place finally pushing their way to a win one week.
Sure, for all the high sodium players out there, WvW isn’t perfect. It’s a game mode that has seen a fairly small amount of attention and updates through the years, and of course it could be better, everyone has their own ideas how. But at the close, the game mode has been an amazing part of the gaming experience of thousands that has left them wanting more and more, and remains to be the home of many guilds and players that simply love what has been created here.
So, to honor what has been and remains to be a fantastic game mode, we have a giveaway for anyone that wants to go in and give WvW a try! MMORPG.com worked with the artist Vasburg, who created for us an absolutely incredible piece of World versus World artwork, and we want to add to that collection! We’d like you to show us your best screenshots of your favorite or main character in World versus World, whether you’re soloing a camp or taking on a zerg. In return, courtesy of Arenanet, we’ll be giving away over 6000 gems to lucky winners!
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To enter our giveaway, all you need to do is post a screenshot in the comments below of your favorite character in World versus World. It’s that easy! One entry per person, and it must be in World versus World to able to win. We will announce our winners this time next week, so you have 7 days from now to capture your character at their very best! The three prizes will be awarded for the following:
First prize – 3600 Gems. In true MMO fashion, we’ll let RNG decide this one, randomly drawing one extremely lucky contestant’s shot as the grand prize winner!
Second prize – 2400 Gems. To celebrate our amazing artist, Vasburg will be choosing an ‘artist’s choice’ for the best-looking shot entered.
Third prize – 1200 Gems. This one goes to whoever can give us the screenshot that best exemplifies the dynamic, community and combat driven battlefield of WvW. Think guild groups, think great big keep fights, think flashy finishers!
That’s it! Good luck to everyone that enters, and if you want to check out some more work by the talented Vasburg for inspiration or just to admire some great work, check out http://www.vasburg.com/ for brilliant art works!
