Today, at 2011, GW>WoW or ..

not? I played WoW for a couple of years already and left and returned to the game like 5 times. So i tried GW this week and im almost lvl 7 and i liked the concept of 8 abilities at 1 time thingy buuuut the game wasn't that great until now. Before you laugh saying this is only lvl 7, think about leveling up in WoW until lvl 15 or so (about the same time more or less)- in WoW its a lot more organized and fun. Moreover, people interaction is really missing in GW, while in WoW not every exploring area is a lonely instance.
Now i saw in forums that most people say GW>WoW atleast in PVP and graphics. But these Threads were 4-5 years ago...can it be that after so long- WoW, and especially lately with cataclysm expansion, is a better game in every aspect from GW?
For example- WoW graphics are actually better than GW right now, although it's cartoony.

It's apples to oranges, the games are completely different you might as well have compared GW to Tetris.

Also if you are playing the trial of GW you are only seeing a limited part of the game since GW is a grouped game you can't play solo, you have to play with either other players or henchmen/heroes.

WoW has technically better graphics than GW at this point, WoW have updated the engine recently the GW engine hasn't been updated for 3 years or so.

Sorry to disappoint you but im not playing in a trial. I have a real account...
+Whats the problem in comparing between games? If you say you enjoy tetris more than GW it means you think tetris is better (hopefully not), isnt it?
+Isn't playing with henchmen/heroes is the same as playing alone (atleast in the friendly part)?

Comparing games with a completely different style of gameplay is rather hard if not impossible. The only way to compare it would be the common grounds, such as graphics/sound. That would mean everything that almost every game has (most games have graphics...) which is often influenced by opinions (ie. I myself prefer GW graphics over WoW due to the toony thing, you might disagree). As the gameplay doesn't have much ground to compare on, doing it objectively is impossible. Without an objective comparison, you will not be able to call either of them better. If you hate apples but like oranges, it doesn't mean oranges are better.
The reason early parts of the game are rather empty is simple: people aim to reach lvl 20 as fast as possible to go to elite areas. This is easilly possible in an hour, if you know what you are doing. This easier to compare to getting lvl 15 in WoW, except not having any lvls after that. The people who rush to get lvl 20 often aren't interested in doing the story again for the 20th time.
And while playing with heroes removes the social part the same way as playing solo does, the game changes alot if you do try it without them. That is probably what majoho meant. Although you can play solo (without hero/henchman or other players) if you are good enough, it's alot more of a challenge and impossible without experience.

Tetris doesn't have monthly fees as far as I know, only an idiot would continue paying to play a game after they buy it

It's precisely that possibily to "play alone" that makes me love GW so much. And let's not forget the absence of "epic" gear you have to grind ages for. In GW equipment is balanced and that means a lot for people with a casual play style. Last but not least - I couldn't stand WoW's graphics. They're hideous.

I don't think they are really comparable.
Whilst you'll see people say one is better than the other, it is all just opinion

Guild Wars is pay once, play for free. That means the content you buy is all you have (sure there are updates/campaigns etc.)

WoW is a subscription based game, it is designed to keep you playing in order to make money. WoW draws you in and makes you want to carry on playing, because thats how it gains revenue. Its also a well established game, that has sold more copies, giving them a reason to keep people interested.
With that in mind, blizzard will keep people wanting to play the game, because they can make a profit from it.

Guild wars, doesn't need you to keep playing, it makes its money based on you purchasing campaigns. sure it makes some money off of micro-transactions. but once you've bought it, they don't need to keep you playing.

Because of this, WoW appears to be the better game, it can continue to be supported and gain new content.

Guild wars only has a few people working on it, because ANet are at work on Guild Wars 2, which they will make their money from in a similar way.

WoW is an mmorpg, Guild Wars is more of a corpg, that makes them very different games.

Trying to compare them is almost like comparing a single player rpg, with an mmo. They are designed in a different way, to achieve different goals.

i used to have this same mentally but lately GW has become sure a bore fest and qq area (b!tch and nag that anet is blah blah blah) i started playing LOTRO and even thought its now F2P i decided to get the VIP option because you know what i dont mind paying a small fee ( what i would spend on a burger and fries in todays market hell or even a single movie ticket) to actually be entertained hell even some games are what 60 bucks for a game most people finish with in hours or days if your a casual

as to the OP yeah GW is declining and until they come out with new content ( WoC ) people will not really be on and heck i never played WoW but i do believe WoW is a little better at this moment ...now if it were a couple years back then hands down GW woulda taken the trophy but as of now i dont think GW can keep up

Having played both games, I'd say there's a lot to like about WoW. Any players who are burned out on GW, could try WoW as something to do until GW2 comes out, but I think that WoW, like GW, has now become something that appeals more to veteran players than to new players. There are too many veterans around (in both games) that either give too much stuff away, and/or "run" people through too many things, and or purposely screw up others.
Btw, I played WoW for about 6 months and got my Mage to level 60. And, as I've said before, I might still be playing WoW if it hadn't been for ganking and crap that goes on on the PvP servers. My clan/guild was on a PvP server so naturally, I too played on a PvP server too.
I the long run, I prefer GW I guess, but WoW is a good game in spite of what some GW fanboys are likely to say.

Graphics-wise I haven't played WoW for a year or more, so I can't say what they are like now, but GW's graphics were a lot better than WoW's back when I played. I would imagine that the comic-book fantasy graphics are still there, but with more effects. I've always preferred the "look" of GW.

Only an idiot would say this. How many people continue to pay monthly for cable even after they've bought the TV and even when they don't watch it. Or, how about paying for a Golf Club membership even after you've bought the clubs and balls. Or how about those connection fees for Xbox? Etc., etc..

You can't really compare the two. Yes they are both MMORPG's, but they are two completely different style games.

I've played WoW to 85, farmed my heroics and knocked out a few raids. Played GW to 20 with a 37/50 HoM and several years learning the ins and outs. They are very VERY different games that can't be compared side by side in a "who is better" war. They are geared towards two different kinds of play styles.

Newbie areas of WoW are just as dead as GW.Play Rift if you want a WoW clone not GW

IMO...

WoW's endgame consists of repetitive raids and achievements. GW's is a wider range of dungeons, elite areas, vanquishes and titles.
WoW's PvP requires specific equipment which creates a gap between pro/noob.
GW's PvP titles create a gab between the two but gear is leveled. More relied on skill (or rank of titles)

WoW's character variety is only a few roles per spec for meta.
GW's character variety is a little more vast.

WoW's areas tend to be 20min walking for a 5min quest.
GW's areas tend to be 5min walking with about 5-10min quest.

Sorry all the things you have mentioned are OPTIONAL extras

U can't really compare both games.
Its personal preference which u like better.

What I like about Guild Wars is the fact that everything is based upon skills and not level/gear.
Especially in PvP this fact shines.

Next to that, from reading your post, i am inclined to believe that u are not part of a guild and play the game solo.
That is doable, but you are missing a lot of fun.

Guild wars (Guild --> get it) is designed (PvE-wise) to play with a group of friends.
When u tackle the missions in a group its much more fun.

Besides, u are only level 7, probably Pre-Searing or maybe just beyond that.
U have only seen a fraction of what this game has to offer.

My advice : get a guild (go to great temple - there is always recruiting going on there), tackle the pve-side first and do some end game content (dungeons etc).
Then go PvP , try Random Arena, Alliance battles and get some experience.
Then try out a GvG, i bet you, your mouth will fall open.

1.which ones you played the game for a certain amount of years it becomes repetitive as well as to why they made zaishen mission bountys and now VQs

2.Rank is the main one rank descrimintaion is here to stay

3.correct

and

4. i beg to differ on some quests its more the annoyance of killing some mobs to get to one little place just to have to go back to the same place you came from


well it IS optional to play a P2P game is it not?

and in my case with lotro it IS optional to P2P considering lotro is now F2P

I had a 85lvl char in WOW too. And GW and WOW are two very different games.

The very reason why I like GW is the same reason why I dislike WOW.

You cannot twist GW into WOW to make a comparison because GW will never be anything near what WOW is. GW is GW and that is that. I have played tons of MMOPRGs, American made, Korean made, Japanese made, Chinese made... you name it... and many are WOW clones. But GW is GW and that is that.

Comparing GW to WOW is like comparing Doctor Who with BSG. The genre may be the same but the two are distinctively different.

Another thing: Lvl 7? Seriously? You need to play a lot more then. Though the level cap is 20, some of the vets here may have over millions of exp points... maybe even tens of millions in exp points in just one of their characters.

I prefer GW over WoW because the core/foundation of GW is skill based instead of "roll your face over the keyboard and win" or "play with a straw from your mouth and win" type of game like WoW is now...

I personally like GW much better than WoW which I have an extreme dislike for.

BUT

GW1 is horribly maintained compared to WoW.

Comparatively, WoW's state of gameplay is much better than GW's. PvE is balanced, difficulty exists in PvE, PvP is more balanced and maintained and alive, the in game economy is better, the game is not dying, etc.

Other than that, its personal preference over what game you like more.


People are gonna come in here and boo hoo about the factual information I have given saying that the state of GW is better than WoW because they are fanboys who ignore logic and factual information.

So be it. I am giving you true facts so you can make ample consideration on GW and WoW.

Just because you don't like WoW, doesn't mean it requires no skill.

Because it requires no skill or talent, you are a feasible top level player in PvE and PvP in WoW right?

I'll take every opportunity to insult and slander WoW because I hate it, but it requires skill.

I was going to make a topic somewhat similar to this but I guess I'll just post here.

I can't for the life of me keep any interest in Guild Wars. I started again when the introduced the 7 hero party stuff and that lasted for two days before I never went back on. I've only really gotten two characters through all the expansions in GW. I can't be bothered to get anymore because it's so repetitive and mind numbingly dull that I simply don't care. I never bothered farming because it was boring and I had terrible luck. People have told me that it's probably because I was broke and couldn't get nice things. Thats where they were wrong. I did surprisingly well and I've NEVER farmed. I don't even farm for the travelers stuff because I can't be bothered. If people in ally chat are giving the mats away for it I'll sometimes take it.

The story line, cutscenes, voice acting(especially) are like nails on a chalkboard for me.
They're so poorly done that it's aggravating. I honestly hope it's better in GW2, which I don't know I should even bother buying as I regret buying anything past the original GW.

As for WoW, they've definitely mastered the art of MMO's. It's a good game and will probably continue to flourish for alot longer. It's alot different now than what it used to be and that's good. I can sit here and make a 10 page list on why WoW is better but I'm not going to.

WoW pve > GW pve
GW pvp > WoW pvp

too many buttons in pvp in WoW, i find the need to buy a gaming mouse/keyboard silly because i have to bind over 20 keys. really, it's dumb. stuns & cc in pvp are retarded, kiting is way retarded casterwise (COUGH LOLFRSTMAEG) dumb mechanics where you need to be behind target for certain attacks and them only needing to backpedal their way to victory is absolutely terrible, i quit a whole class because of it. blizzard caring only about money and their devs being biased depending on what character they play is really silly, which both have been proven time and time again so no need to argue with me there. there are plenty more cons but those in my eyes are the worst, on the upside, the game has turned insanely casual compared to what it used to be. basically i only log on to raid 8 hours a week with my brother & the rest of the guild on my dk otherwise i'm playing diablo 2 because it's less dead than GW.

cons about GW for me would only include lack of updates (this includes balance) lack of devs giving a shit otherwise it's the perfect game for me.
personally i believe the 7 heroes didn't ruin the game, it was already ruined from negligence on the devs side, so it doesn't really matter. it gives people who have been playing for 5+ years something to mess around with until GW2 and anet knows that. btw i believe the april fools for this game was better than ANY other game including WoW. oh i forgot to add one thing about GW i've never EVER been into lore, in any game. GW lore actually caught my eye and i catch myself ACTUALLY READING QUEST TEXT which would never happen in WoW where every quest is TL;DR GOTTA KILL 10 BOARS. plus blizz changes lore 24/7 on a whim based on what random shit they wanna throw in the game and all the fanbois gobble it up like cake, i think it's funny.

While certain aspects of each game can be compared the two don't have enough in common to do a complete line up side by side and state equivically that one is greater then the other.

There will always be bits of each game that people love/hate and it only takes one to either keep you playing or push you away forever.

You cannot compare the two. I play GW now to avoid the very things some people consider "better" in WoW. I don't like sharing zones with 20 farmbots, I don't like being gated from content unless I pug, I don't like running an instance 50 times for a "must have" pair of gloves.

Comparing similar games.. WoW is the least attractive of the Sub based MMOs to me, gameplay, graphics, lore is very second rate compared to AoC, EQ2, Vanguard or LoTRO. If I go back to a gear and grind forced group Traditional MMO it would never be WoW.

GW is the only MMO I currently enjoy, I've gotten so sick of how endgame oriented MMO's have become these days - everyone is rushing through the game so they can be at max level and sit around in the capital cities and raid once in a while... BOOORING.


For the record I did play WoW and I'm embarrassed to say that I have five 85's and seven further chars between 80 and 84 - since I'm not into raiding I'm just rerolling.



And by PvE you MUST mean raiding because PvE in WoW isn't remotely close to GW, GW actually has you play a story WoW only recently got decent questing. In vanilla WoW you basically just ran around doing all kinds of dumb kill quests without any purpose.

Lvl 20 is basically you're starter. Unlike wow were most of the development comes from lvling most of the developments in gw are after lvl 20. Soooo basically you barely scratched the surface.

I play both, ATM. Ive played Guild Wars since one month after launch. ( although i've had a few random breaks in there). I've played wow since BC's launch.

At this point in the games, If I want to pvp or play by myself I play Guild Wars...sometimes There are friends on but usually, nada. I actually got excited when a real person loaded in on the other side of Viz Square the other day. I used to be alot more hardcore into the Guild Wars pvp than I am now. after a year break or so I am way behind in whats meta, and who's who. When i got my last HA rank (6), SoJ spike was in. yeahhh.

But to sum it up for ya. If you want to depend constantly on others, and not be able to get endgame gear without help of friends, WoW is for you. WoW PvP is a joke, if you ask me. unbalanced, completely gear based at lower to middle levels of play. I enjoy raiding, but I have dependable friends that play with me for the gear, and I enjoy them more than the loot

GW has really turned into a solo style of play. I recently tried to join a large pvx guild but without knowing anyone it really wasnt very helpful. Didn't get picked for groups, couldnt get groups started, etc. I actually rerolled a new main for title grind for my HoM...I'm just keeping my minis/weapons on my original main.

Short version for people who don't like text: Wanna raid/depend on others to play a game? WoW. Wanna pvp, play casually?, be able to achieve end game things by yourself? GW.

WoW has a different artstyle.

Arenanet's artists have won numerous Spectrum awards and Ghosts of Ascalon won a literary award. So I'd say their graphics aren't as good as GW.

Besides, if I were to pay the monthly fee for WoW I would've been down a thousand dollars at least...seeing how my account is 71 months. Double that if you count the 2nd collector's edition for another account (granted only since EoTN).

The numerous times I've played a few hours in a month on GW is rather high...

Just came back to GW from a long hiatus. Played WoW for like 3 months. Could not stand it. Boring repititive quests. Also tried Rift. Rift = WoW 2.0. I also think WoW's graphics are garbage. GW's world is beautiful. WoW is a cartoon.

That being said, the whole game is instanced. Sometimes I would like to occasionally run into someone out there....

And to sum it up:

1) GW has way better artists.
2) GW has way better story.
3) GW has way better quests...
4) GW is more like rpg games, less like mmos.
5) GW is way better at not making players lose their money.
6) GW can be played and finished alone or with friends. I have not played a mmo that allows that before.
7) GW gives you the choice to not grind if you don't want to.
8) GW is all about how you use the limited skills. (Goosh some players in GW are geniuses in this area. And that shows the intelligences we have playing the game, and I absolutely love that.)

And WOW, all I could say when I played it were, 'Wow, that is a lot of money I have to spend for it.... Wow I have to pay for another expansion....Wow wth happened to the story....Wow the graphics reminds me of some really low grade cartoons I saw on tv when I was young...'

Many people have stated valid points. With many of these points I agree Here are the ones that stand out to me:
Played WoW for 3 years, have played GW for 2.

WoW:
1.) Amazing diversity of quests, zones, and interaction with other players [Great]
2.) Graphics, while cartoony, are exceptional and the "Real" z-axis / flight / jumping / falling [Good]
3.) Nearly unlimited progression, always something still to do even if it is grinding for that next "epic" gear piece that will push up your dps/hps/etc by 1 point [Good AND Bad]
4.) Constant access to all skills and abilities as they are learned at each level... [TERRIBLE] (explanation: balancing a game with that many skills is a nightmare, and while the ability to be infinitely flexible is sometimes fun, it eventually grows tiresome)
5.) Combat Log > the ability to look back and know exactly how damage was dealt, recieved, and mitigated. [Good AND Bad] I liked tweaking my skills and ensuring that I was doing exactly what I should when I should... but as with category #4 this actually removes a lot of freedom or dynamic play, and in many ways makes the process of learning to be better... too easy to be fun (after a while) also leads to even greater "Elitism" than in some other games without a combat log.

GW:
1.) amazing graphics for its age and longevity (after two years and all 3 chapters +eotn) I still find pretty places i never noticed before [Great]
2.) no z-axis and no jumping/falling/flying etc. But with collision detection! [Good and Bad] at first this was the biggest irritation to me after leaving WoW, now though, I find i love sidestepping in front of a mob to block them, and the whole "no taunt" form of aggro management in GW as a higher difficulty and skill level than many such things in WoW
3.) 8 skills 2 professions and the hunt for skills and builds [Awesome] This alone is probably the greatest boon in my opinion, for GW. By intentionally limiting your skill number, and allowing cross profession combos of skills which compliment each other... It is really impossible to make yourself invulnerable or unstoppable (::cough:: Dervish nerf-bat 2 incoming ::cough cough: as it is in other games... there is almost always someone who has that skill or skills which counter your most creative combo.

In all, i while I disagree that comparing the two is apples and oranges, it may be apples and pears.
2.)

While competition is healthy and inevitable, this isn't the philosophy at ArenaNet. Colin himself said GW2 is not going head-to-head with WoW. They are not trying to compete and "steal" player bases. GW's subscription-free design allows you to play WoW, if you like, and jump in GW whenever you want without obligation.

If you like WoW, play it. If you also like GW, you can play that, too, but this is a fan war only. Anet, a company of gamers like us, doesn't see it this way. Think about that for a minute.

nope.

currently, comparisons can and must be made. ie: coke vs 7-up.

wow is the clear #1 subscription wise and gw is probably #2 in popularity though it's been fading for years. what game is better? maybe at this point wow is. but i started playing gw 6 years ago on and off. i bought the original, both expansions, eotn, and bmp. so maybe i spent $200 total. some people got them for less, some paid more. how many years of wow would i have gotten for $200? 1 maybe? at the time of launch and through eotn, gw was probably the superior game to me. i could use a 5-20k maxed weapon set and compete at the same level as someone using a 100k+ weapons. anyone could come in today, start playing, and have identical stats as my 6 year old toon in a month or less. i don't see that happening in wow. i see you finding or buying the most powerful weapons just to compete. in gw pve was easy to learn. learning to do it well took a little skill and time. but you could get the most powerful equipment in the game for pretty low prices/time invested. gw pvp has a steep learning curve and is more challenging than anything wow has or ever will have to offer. wow may have nicer graphics now. but you pay for it (have been paying for it) and needing to have a rare weapon just to compete, sucks, imo. d2 was like that and d3 will be too. which is where the more accurate comparison will be from now on. gw2 vs d3 = coke vs pepsi.

since you have gw, why not play through it and see why it was so poplular for so long with only 2.5 expansions. also join a good guild and try some pvp. good guild makes a world of difference.

questing in GW is actually good compared to wow questing and idk what you mean by only recently got good quests cata did not change the typical "kill 10 boars" quests, even in the 84-85 content which really made me laugh. you'd think blizzard could come up with something original after 6 years, but nah. and of course i was referring to raiding, there is really no other reason to play wow because it sucks in every other aspect. gws only problem is it's dead (inb4 IT'S NOT DEADLOL)

These threads are always fun. Played GW since day Prophecies went live. Played WoW since two weeks after it went live.

Like both games, each great in its own way; each has its downsides. GW is home because no monthly fee account to keep up with.

Apples and oranges, like 'em both.

Comparing the two games is assinine. They both follow completely different game design choices which makes them appeal to different people.

As a player who has played both games extensively (my WoW knowledge might be outdated though) they are both great games with avid development teams (okay so one is 1/100th of the size of the other, they are still churning updates), choose one or both and have fun.