Comparing WoW and GW - Guild Wars Forums

inic · May 04, 2005, 08:26 AM // 08:26

I just canceled my WoW account. It just got too boring and tedious for me. I had 3 60s and a 50 and pretty much did everything there is to do. I'm just wondering what are the similarities/differences between the two games. I don't see a demo or anything so i'm hestitant to buy GW before trying it first.
My main turnoffs in WoW are:
1-pvp is a joke, even with the new honor system
2- once you get your end game gear, there's literally nothing to do
3- storyline just stops completely at the end. My main char only has 3 quests left :/
4- Basically the game was all about grinding. Grinding honor, $, gear, faction, whatever. It was just grinding and it got way too repetitive.

My main concern with GW is this "instance" thing. Can someone explain this more in detail and exactly how much of the world is in an "instance"

Arianna Fairfeather · May 04, 2005, 08:36 AM // 08:36

As soon as you leave town, you are in an instanced area. So you won't see any other players around. I personally quite like it since it means there is no griefing or KSing when you are trying to do a quest. I guess it also helps with lag.

βlitzkrieg · May 04, 2005, 08:45 AM // 08:45

And the PvP in GW is the best in the world.

Barkam · May 04, 2005, 09:15 AM // 09:15

From the sound of your post, you'll love GW.

melanko · May 04, 2005, 09:18 AM // 09:18

I am the same as you, a WOW convert. I was skeptical at first, but now that I am playing the game, I am really happy that I bought it. Really worth the money.

ShaneFalco · May 04, 2005, 10:27 AM // 10:27

I'm from WoW, too.

Guild Wars PvP is focused on Arenas and Guild vs Guild battles. Arenas are for teams to challenge others, and test their skills in a group. The Guild vs Guild battles are great though. Guilds with Guild Halls can duke it out, and try to kill each other's Guild Lord in order to win. Everything has a point. For guilds, it's bragging rights, and for random teams, it's the chance to keep going as that team. Temas from different countries can also fight each other, and try to take the global favor of the gods for their region (America, Europe and Korea), but I'm not sure if this has any effect on the gameplay.

Everything is instanced except towns. Towns are major social points, and are divinded up into "districts." The districts are seperate copies of each town, and are used to spread out the population, so we don't get problems like Lagforge.

When you leave a town, you will get your own personal copy of the game. You will be alone, which elimates ganking and all that garbage. If you wish to play with a team, just group in a city, and when you leave, you'll have a copy of the game with the people you grouped with.

The storyline is amazing. There are seperate quests from the main storyline, in which you can just help the populace. Some are Fed-Ex quests, some are exploration quests, and most of the quests give item rewards. Some quests even give you new spells, which saves you the cost of purchasing them yourself. The main storyline is a blast. It is essentially made up of cooperative missions that you and friends can play, or you can just grab some NPC minions and go at it alone. The best part is that (with the exception of one coop mission, the Academy) you can return to the other parts of the world and continue to quest there if you wish. The coop quests also help to move the pace of the game, as a coop-quest will lead you to the next city.

Grinding is pretty much non-existant here. Other than in the first segment, when you might want to grind to get some items for the trading collectors so you can get your second set of armor, leveling can come solely off of quests. There is absolutely no reason to not have a quest in this game. If you can't find a quest, its time to do the next coop mission, which will take you to a new area of the game for more quests!

I hope this helps you make your own decision. I admit, I am biased, but the game is vastly superior to WoW. The patching system is by far superior. When you enter a new instanced sectio, the server checks for new files, and downloads in about 15 secs right there. They are then installed, and you can go about playing without having to restart the game! The only times you must restart is when Arenanet releases a new build of the game.

howler · May 04, 2005, 10:36 AM // 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaneFalco

The only times you must restart is when Arenanet releases a new build of the game.

and even then you dont have to restart, you can choose to do it when you are ready, so if you are in the middle of something important like a coop mission you can wait until you are finished.

Most clever Updating system ever by far.

The coop missions are brilliant, they start off fairly tame but get really cool quickly

Taranis · May 04, 2005, 11:09 AM // 11:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by howler

and even then you dont have to restart, you can choose to do it when you are ready, so if you are in the middle of something important like a coop mission you can wait until you are finished.

They're spamming some message tho...and you can't really compare GW to WoW, there's just the "GW is better" statement on a GW-Fansite-Forum anyways.....still it is better tho hehe...

Madallaw · May 04, 2005, 11:23 AM // 11:23

I am glad I not the only one that was tired of WoW. I like the casual play, yes even the instanced world... It's MY world to travel and kill in. It's even cool if I feel like PvP, I can just make a level 20 (highest) char and jump right into battle. But yeah, the two are different... and its FREE per month. Can't beat it. The only thing I have trouble with is getting a party besides the henchmen, no one replies to my requests... =(

Sekkira · May 04, 2005, 12:02 PM // 12:02

You can't really compare WoW and GW as such. They're both probably ( I say probably because I wanted to try out WoW in the beta but cbf downloading 3+ gig. As well as it would be pay per month, which I knew I couldn't afford. So if I got into it, it probably would have been a let down because I'd have to give it up when it went retail. ) really decent games and fun to play in their own way.

But it's because they're fun in they're own way that they can't be comparable. They are completely different and have completely different styles of play. So if you say WoW is better then GW, then of course it is, because you either prefer the style of gameplay WoW offers over GW or you're just a fanboy. This goes visi-versa aswell.

Because of this fact, I have come to the conclusion that I dislike that type of comparison and have a message for all who try to compare the two and/or drone on about which one is better:

SHUT THE HELL UP AND GO BACK TO YOUR OWN FORUM! IF THIS IS YOUR FORUM, SHUT UP ANYWAY AND PLAY YOUR FAVOURITE GAME!

This message was brought to you by keenex.

Inde · May 04, 2005, 12:06 PM // 12:06

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...ars-id1290.php

May 04, 2005, 08:26 AM // 08:26	#1
inic Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: May 2005	Comparing WoW and GW I just canceled my WoW account. It just got too boring and tedious for me. I had 3 60s and a 50 and pretty much did everything there is to do. I'm just wondering what are the similarities/differences between the two games. I don't see a demo or anything so i'm hestitant to buy GW before trying it first. My main turnoffs in WoW are: 1-pvp is a joke, even with the new honor system 2- once you get your end game gear, there's literally nothing to do 3- storyline just stops completely at the end. My main char only has 3 quests left :/ 4- Basically the game was all about grinding. Grinding honor, $, gear, faction, whatever. It was just grinding and it got way too repetitive. My main concern with GW is this "instance" thing. Can someone explain this more in detail and exactly how much of the world is in an "instance"

May 04, 2005, 08:36 AM // 08:36	#2
Arianna Fairfeather Ascalonian Squire Join Date: May 2005	As soon as you leave town, you are in an instanced area. So you won't see any other players around. I personally quite like it since it means there is no griefing or KSing when you are trying to do a quest. I guess it also helps with lag.

May 04, 2005, 08:45 AM // 08:45	#3
βlitzkrieg Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Zealand Guild: The Obsidian Kings Profession: Me/N	And the PvP in GW is the best in the world.

May 04, 2005, 09:15 AM // 09:15	#4
Barkam Academy Page Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: California, USA Guild: The Cornerstone	From the sound of your post, you'll love GW.

May 04, 2005, 09:18 AM // 09:18	#5
melanko Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Apr 2005	I am the same as you, a WOW convert. I was skeptical at first, but now that I am playing the game, I am really happy that I bought it. Really worth the money.

May 04, 2005, 10:27 AM // 10:27	#6
ShaneFalco Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Apr 2005	I'm from WoW, too. Guild Wars PvP is focused on Arenas and Guild vs Guild battles. Arenas are for teams to challenge others, and test their skills in a group. The Guild vs Guild battles are great though. Guilds with Guild Halls can duke it out, and try to kill each other's Guild Lord in order to win. Everything has a point. For guilds, it's bragging rights, and for random teams, it's the chance to keep going as that team. Temas from different countries can also fight each other, and try to take the global favor of the gods for their region (America, Europe and Korea), but I'm not sure if this has any effect on the gameplay. Everything is instanced except towns. Towns are major social points, and are divinded up into "districts." The districts are seperate copies of each town, and are used to spread out the population, so we don't get problems like Lagforge. When you leave a town, you will get your own personal copy of the game. You will be alone, which elimates ganking and all that garbage. If you wish to play with a team, just group in a city, and when you leave, you'll have a copy of the game with the people you grouped with. The storyline is amazing. There are seperate quests from the main storyline, in which you can just help the populace. Some are Fed-Ex quests, some are exploration quests, and most of the quests give item rewards. Some quests even give you new spells, which saves you the cost of purchasing them yourself. The main storyline is a blast. It is essentially made up of cooperative missions that you and friends can play, or you can just grab some NPC minions and go at it alone. The best part is that (with the exception of one coop mission, the Academy) you can return to the other parts of the world and continue to quest there if you wish. The coop quests also help to move the pace of the game, as a coop-quest will lead you to the next city. Grinding is pretty much non-existant here. Other than in the first segment, when you might want to grind to get some items for the trading collectors so you can get your second set of armor, leveling can come solely off of quests. There is absolutely no reason to not have a quest in this game. If you can't find a quest, its time to do the next coop mission, which will take you to a new area of the game for more quests! I hope this helps you make your own decision. I admit, I am biased, but the game is vastly superior to WoW. The patching system is by far superior. When you enter a new instanced sectio, the server checks for new files, and downloads in about 15 secs right there. They are then installed, and you can go about playing without having to restart the game! The only times you must restart is when Arenanet releases a new build of the game.

May 04, 2005, 11:23 AM // 11:23	#9
Madallaw Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Apr 2005	I am glad I not the only one that was tired of WoW. I like the casual play, yes even the instanced world... It's MY world to travel and kill in. It's even cool if I feel like PvP, I can just make a level 20 (highest) char and jump right into battle. But yeah, the two are different... and its FREE per month. Can't beat it. The only thing I have trouble with is getting a party besides the henchmen, no one replies to my requests... =(

May 04, 2005, 12:02 PM // 12:02	#10
Sekkira Forge Runner Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Canberra, AU	You can't really compare WoW and GW as such. They're both probably ( I say probably because I wanted to try out WoW in the beta but cbf downloading 3+ gig. As well as it would be pay per month, which I knew I couldn't afford. So if I got into it, it probably would have been a let down because I'd have to give it up when it went retail. ) really decent games and fun to play in their own way. But it's because they're fun in they're own way that they can't be comparable. They are completely different and have completely different styles of play. So if you say WoW is better then GW, then of course it is, because you either prefer the style of gameplay WoW offers over GW or you're just a fanboy. This goes visi-versa aswell. Because of this fact, I have come to the conclusion that I dislike that type of comparison and have a message for all who try to compare the two and/or drone on about which one is better: SHUT THE HELL UP AND GO BACK TO YOUR OWN FORUM! IF THIS IS YOUR FORUM, SHUT UP ANYWAY AND PLAY YOUR FAVOURITE GAME! This message was brought to you by keenex.

May 04, 2005, 12:06 PM // 12:06	#11
Inde Site Contributor Join Date: Dec 2004	http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...ars-id1290.php