Am I missing something?

Is there something im missing or is this game as "simplisitc as it seems"?
I don't mean to insult it, it's just that after playing WoW im used to seeing all my Statistics (dps, total armor, etc..) lined up. I can't seem to bring anything up to show it...

Do we honestly need all of those numbers? the armor makes sense, the DPS is un needed and in WoW the character panel DPS was always WAY off the mark. All of that stuff just clutters up the interface.

I used to play WOW also and i was really frustrated at first about seeing my full armor stats and my damage per second also, however after playing a while in this game i found that it really doesn't matter as the focus of this game is mainly on gameplay and skill and what happens in the battlefield than how good your armor is. So now i really don't miss it all that much. however at times i guess it would be nice to see exactly my total armor without having to add it all up myself. But trust me it's not really needed in a game that is so focused on skill

Oh, that's only visual.
In reality, the game's not so simple: read This guide, for example.
Other articles in the Guides section would broaden your knowledge.

To be honest, I thought the same thing the first time I played. As an engineer and a veteran of D&D RPG's, stats are very important and, seemingly, a necessary part of the game.

However, after playing for a while (and reading up on the articles mentioned earlier in this thread), I don't find them critical to my understanding of the game. Armor Level is pretty straightforward and DPS is far more reliant on player skill selection than attributes and/or weapon specs. You could deck out identical characters with identical weapons, but different skillbars, and get wildly differing damage capabilites.

Stats and numbers in Guild Wars aren't really that necessary. If you really want your armour, that little amount of math couldn't hurt. Plus, what if the person you are fighting uses sever artery or something? That is not affected by armor. And i find damage per second (and therefore the overall effect of armor) to be greatly based on spells, skills, etc., rather than a weapon. I have a crap weapon but deal much damage per second because I use spells that are low in mana and a couple with low cooldowns.

The reason your character info seems simplistic is b/c it is simplistic. Where you put your attribute points is crucial for how you mean to play, but it doesn't go much further than that.

The way the game is set up, you'd have to try reaally hard, and probably have help if you wanted to skip armor upgrades. Better armor (via Crafting and Collectors) and better weapons (they drop quite frequently) are easy to come by. There is no such thing as "uber armor" as in most MMORPGs, and the "uber" weapons aren't all that better and are relatively common.

What's important in this game, and what makes it fun for the more casual player is the 8 skills you pick for a given situation, and the way you use those skills.

While WoW is a more traditional RPG, with a lot of emphasis on lore, world immersion (which is also in GW), and character creation, GW is an Action RPG, and so the emphasis is much more on gameplay and not the characters. Lvling a character in most MMORPGs takes more than a few months. WoW is more user-friendly in this respect, but still makes you respect your character and makes you really appreciate each lvl. A considerable amount of content awaits you after you've reached the cap (in two weeks for a very casual gamer) in GW, but at the same time, you can easily lvl a character to 20 and go pick up another or build a PvP character w/ the skills unlocked.

The game is almost as simplistic as chess...

Well, I wouldn't say it compares to chess, but Guild Wars' apparent simplicity is certainly deceptive.

I would have said Go - a computer can beat a person at chess for the most part, but despite the apparent simplicity of Go a computer can't beat even a good amateur. Kinda like bots...

More depth would have been nice. At first I thought this was a 3d diablo, i.e. a huge variety of weapons, complex stats, etc.
Seems almost like a console RPG to me

I somewhat agree with that, it seems most of the work was put into the actual engine, environment, and missions then the actual content that will last forever. Such as SOCIAL interaction.

In general, huge variety = no balance.

Too much variance creates an unbalanced PvP system. Too broad a range of levels just means playing time is more valuable than skill. Too broad a range of equipment just means $US$ is more valuable than skill.

Their goal was to create a competitive game, not to create WoW.

I understand their goal in achieving that and it solves some problems seen in previous MMORPGs, however the problem with that is people will be bored with the game rather quickly. Diablo II for example was known to keep players hooked for YEARS, thanks to the incredible depth of weapons, skills, items, etc.

omg... i was sick of D2 in like... a year... lol

but, then i started to play some of the many mods for it, and that kept me hooked for about another year...

but, GW is gunna keep me hooked till i die!!! mmwah

I have never played Go, so I can't judge.
I'd say GW's skills ALONE are comparable to Magic: The Gathering, a game nobody would call "simplistic". You can spend days drooling over your cards and building a deck.
Of course, MTG cards are one-shot, there's graveyard and you draw cards at every turn. Compared to GW where you have 8 multi-use skills, recharge, a pool of up to 75 skills from a class and different attributes. Those two systems are different, yet not by a lot.

dude... Magic: The Gathering is a computerized card game... i dont think its anything like GW at all...

although, ive never played Magic: The Gathering computer game, but i have played the card game...

You don't want to design an online game with no monthly fee to last forever. You want it to last until approximately the release date for the next expansion.

Guild Wars is a game, not a life. You play it, and you replay it, and you go on to something else. Unless you are very much into PvP...

There is nothing wrong with the games with a social life that last forever. Well, apart from the fact that they bore me. They just need some continious income to keep going.

...

GW is a life...

just like EverCrack was...

except, im sure nobody is gunna kill themselves over loosing his "girl" on GW...

and besides, there are endless possibilities for builds in GW, and it will take about... say, 3 years to do them all if your a casual gamer...

i play almost every day, but i dont do much lvling. i usually just go rune farming, or do drakes for items or something, then come back and trade... i keep tryin to get a minor swordsmanship rune, but nobody has them, or doesnt wanna sell them! pisses me off so hardcore...

Honestly, I wouldn't say that Diablo 2 has tremendous depth. What kept people hooked was the simple and addictive gameplay which Guild Wars has in spades. Guild Wars may not have the uber-loot drops or stats shuffling of Diablo 2, but I find the gameplay considerably more interesting and involving because it's about player skill and not just who has the has the most hours logged (and therefore the best stats, weapons, and armor).