You can get an insight into the combat system with this video from YouTuber MightyTeapot:
Why is this so important to me? The combat system of Guild Wars 2 has spoiled me for many other MMORPGs. If you play well, you can almost avoid all damage from enemies in GW2.
This is fun, and you can set your own challenges and master much stronger bosses or challenges.
In WoW, I often feel that taking damage is part of the calculation. Especially with the warrior, I generally got hit a lot while leveling and that frustrated me.
WoW should not adopt the entire system of Guild Wars 2. That wouldn’t work solely due to the number of abilities. But I would wish for a dodge roll and more “abilities with movement”.
2. World Events and Dynamism
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? When someone asks me what sets Guild Wars 2 apart from other MMORPGs, I say it’s the world events. There are not only many, but some of them are even challenging:
- In almost every area, there is a world boss. You cannot defeat it alone, and players are needed. Fortunately, they appear at certain times, so many players gather there.
- There are dynamic events that simply appear in the world and replace quests. These revolve around protecting a village from attackers or reclaiming it if the event was lost previously.
- The “Dragon’s Resistance” map is essentially a complete boss fight that takes place every 120 minutes and lasts good 60-90 minutes. You conquer a map gradually to ultimately fight against a huge dragon.
Why is this so important to me? MMORPGs provide the opportunity to fight against the world’s dangers with many players.
While many MMORPGs today primarily focus on small groups, Guild Wars 2 manages to pull 50 or even 100 players onto a map with world events. During special events, there are often even multiple maps with many players present.
In Retail WoW, I often quested and leveled alone. Occasionally, a player would cross my path, but there was really no interaction. That’s why I appreciate these huge world events in Guild Wars 2.
3. Mounts
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? For years, Guild Wars 2 did without mounts. After all, there is a fast travel system, and each area is instantiated, making mounts essentially unnecessary.
But with Path of Fire, the developers decided to introduce mounts. And today, I can’t imagine my experience without them. Guild Wars 2 offers 8 types of mounts, and no, I don’t mean skins. Each mount is distinctly different:
- The raptor moves quickly on foot and has a special skill to jump far.
- The jackal is similarly fast but can often teleport over short distances.
- The skimmer is slower but can jump very high to overcome mountains and other obstacles.
- The hoverboard moves quickly above and below water.
- The beetle rolls slowly uphill but very fast downhill. You can also drift with it, and there are special race tracks for it.
- The griffon can glide like a glider in the air.
- The sky scale is also a flying mount but functions more like a helicopter and can hover in the air and cling to mountains.
- The war claw is a special mount in World vs. World, a PvP area, that can even break down fortress gates.
The mounts also have a high degree of physics. They take a moment to reach their speed initially and require a braking distance. Moreover, you are not thrown off in combat and can even activate an attack ability from the mount.
I introduced the raptor myself in this video:
Why is this so important to me? The mounts in WoW simply make me faster. That’s fine, but they don’t bring me anywhere near as much fun as the mounts in Guild Wars 2, which offer skills like jumping and even suitable races.
Even in terms of animation and the various skins, ArenaNet’s MMORPG wins for me as well.
4. Equal Conditions in PvP
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? Guild Wars 2 initially aimed for its PvP system to head in the direction of Esports. You can see this in how you enter PvP.
Basically, you can create a level 1 character and travel to the PvP area “Heart of the Mists” (since 2014, you have to reach level 10 with your first character before it’s unlocked).
In the Heart of the Mists, you are instantly elevated to level 80, have access to all abilities, and special PvP gear so that everyone has the same conditions. I find this to be a very good and fair system.
Why is this so important to me? Admittedly, I didn’t play much PvP in Shadowlands. However, I noticed very negatively in Classic how much the gear influenced PvP. With my warrior, I essentially had no chance against rogues with enchanted weapons.
But just the fact that I can instantly join my friends in high-end PvP with a level 1 character is an important aspect for me. Even if I had a PvP group in Shadowlands, I might have to level and gear a completely new class before I can even play with them.
5. Account-wide Progress
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? Everything I earn and experience in Guild Wars 2 applies to my account. This includes:
- The masteries that allow new abilities in the endgame
- The unlocked mounts and skins
- Achievement points
- The wardrobe with all skins
- My guilds
- The bank and the auction house
- Even some endgame armor pieces are account-bound and can be shared between characters
Why is this so important to me? I am a player who loves trying out different classes and leveling twinks. In Guild Wars 2, I have every class at max level and outfitted with the best gear.
It would have been significantly more exhausting if I couldn’t build off the earned advantages of my other characters.
Is Guild Wars 2 better than WoW?
No, not in all areas. Because World of Warcraft also has some advantages over GW2, including:
- Better dungeons and raids (especially I’ve always envied WoW for the World-First races)
- More races, classes, and abilities for the classes
- A different and often better way of storytelling
- More regular and larger expansions
- An iconic world that even non-players hear about
There are therefore things that both sides could learn from each other. However, I have recently noticed these aspects more while spending time in Shadowlands.
What do you think? Are there other points that the two MMORPGs could learn from each other? Or are there other MMORPGs that get one of these points even better?
Learn more about good MMOs and MMORPGs here: The 15 currently best MMOs and MMORPGs 2021.
World of Warcraft is also the king of MMORPGs in the West in 2021. However, there are some things the game could learn from the competitor Guild Wars 2, says MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch.
Since 2006, my heart belongs to the Guild Wars series. I have accumulated over 17,000 playing hours across both installments. However, particularly in recent years, I have increasingly tried other MMORPGs and also discovered my love for WoW Classic and Retail WoW with Shadowlands.
In both games, I now have characters at level 60, have been in dungeons and the first raids.
But the more time I spend in Blizzard’s titles, the more I miss features that make Guild Wars 2 so special and that WoW, in my opinion, should take inspiration from.
I am not looking to completely change the game, but simply make WoW more modern.
1. The Combat System
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? Both World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 fundamentally rely on a tab-targeting combat system. However, ArenaNet’s MMORPG leverages this system much more effectively:
- The dodge roll makes combat feel much more dynamic overall
- The weapon switch in combat allows me to seamlessly switch between melee and ranged
- There are many abilities related to movement (jumps, rolls to the side, teleports, etc.)
- There is no global cooldown on abilities
Furthermore, Guild Wars 2 features an interesting combo system. Certain abilities like fire walls or lava fountains count as so-called “fields.” Using a finisher in such a field creates an additional effect, like a fire explosion or burning arrows when shooting through.
You can get an insight into the combat system with this video from YouTuber MightyTeapot:
Why is this so important to me? The combat system of Guild Wars 2 has spoiled me for many other MMORPGs. If you play well, you can almost avoid all damage from enemies in GW2.
This is fun, and you can set your own challenges and master much stronger bosses or challenges.
In WoW, I often feel that taking damage is part of the calculation. Especially with the warrior, I generally got hit a lot while leveling and that frustrated me.
WoW should not adopt the entire system of Guild Wars 2. That wouldn’t work solely due to the number of abilities. But I would wish for a dodge roll and more “abilities with movement”.
2. World Events and Dynamism
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? When someone asks me what sets Guild Wars 2 apart from other MMORPGs, I say it’s the world events. There are not only many, but some of them are even challenging:
- In almost every area, there is a world boss. You cannot defeat it alone, and players are needed. Fortunately, they appear at certain times, so many players gather there.
- There are dynamic events that simply appear in the world and replace quests. These revolve around protecting a village from attackers or reclaiming it if the event was lost previously.
- The “Dragon’s Resistance” map is essentially a complete boss fight that takes place every 120 minutes and lasts good 60-90 minutes. You conquer a map gradually to ultimately fight against a huge dragon.
Why is this so important to me? MMORPGs provide the opportunity to fight against the world’s dangers with many players.
While many MMORPGs today primarily focus on small groups, Guild Wars 2 manages to pull 50 or even 100 players onto a map with world events. During special events, there are often even multiple maps with many players present.
In Retail WoW, I often quested and leveled alone. Occasionally, a player would cross my path, but there was really no interaction. That’s why I appreciate these huge world events in Guild Wars 2.
3. Mounts
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? For years, Guild Wars 2 did without mounts. After all, there is a fast travel system, and each area is instantiated, making mounts essentially unnecessary.
But with Path of Fire, the developers decided to introduce mounts. And today, I can’t imagine my experience without them. Guild Wars 2 offers 8 types of mounts, and no, I don’t mean skins. Each mount is distinctly different:
- The raptor moves quickly on foot and has a special skill to jump far.
- The jackal is similarly fast but can often teleport over short distances.
- The skimmer is slower but can jump very high to overcome mountains and other obstacles.
- The hoverboard moves quickly above and below water.
- The beetle rolls slowly uphill but very fast downhill. You can also drift with it, and there are special race tracks for it.
- The griffon can glide like a glider in the air.
- The sky scale is also a flying mount but functions more like a helicopter and can hover in the air and cling to mountains.
- The war claw is a special mount in World vs. World, a PvP area, that can even break down fortress gates.
The mounts also have a high degree of physics. They take a moment to reach their speed initially and require a braking distance. Moreover, you are not thrown off in combat and can even activate an attack ability from the mount.
I introduced the raptor myself in this video:
Why is this so important to me? The mounts in WoW simply make me faster. That’s fine, but they don’t bring me anywhere near as much fun as the mounts in Guild Wars 2, which offer skills like jumping and even suitable races.
Even in terms of animation and the various skins, ArenaNet’s MMORPG wins for me as well.
4. Equal Conditions in PvP
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? Guild Wars 2 initially aimed for its PvP system to head in the direction of Esports. You can see this in how you enter PvP.
Basically, you can create a level 1 character and travel to the PvP area “Heart of the Mists” (since 2014, you have to reach level 10 with your first character before it’s unlocked).
In the Heart of the Mists, you are instantly elevated to level 80, have access to all abilities, and special PvP gear so that everyone has the same conditions. I find this to be a very good and fair system.
Why is this so important to me? Admittedly, I didn’t play much PvP in Shadowlands. However, I noticed very negatively in Classic how much the gear influenced PvP. With my warrior, I essentially had no chance against rogues with enchanted weapons.
But just the fact that I can instantly join my friends in high-end PvP with a level 1 character is an important aspect for me. Even if I had a PvP group in Shadowlands, I might have to level and gear a completely new class before I can even play with them.
5. Account-wide Progress
What does Guild Wars 2 do better? Everything I earn and experience in Guild Wars 2 applies to my account. This includes:
- The masteries that allow new abilities in the endgame
- The unlocked mounts and skins
- Achievement points
- The wardrobe with all skins
- My guilds
- The bank and the auction house
- Even some endgame armor pieces are account-bound and can be shared between characters
Why is this so important to me? I am a player who loves trying out different classes and leveling twinks. In Guild Wars 2, I have every class at max level and outfitted with the best gear.
It would have been significantly more exhausting if I couldn’t build off the earned advantages of my other characters.
Is Guild Wars 2 better than WoW?
No, not in all areas. Because World of Warcraft also has some advantages over GW2, including:
- Better dungeons and raids (especially I’ve always envied WoW for the World-First races)
- More races, classes, and abilities for the classes
- A different and often better way of storytelling
- More regular and larger expansions
- An iconic world that even non-players hear about
There are therefore things that both sides could learn from each other. However, I have recently noticed these aspects more while spending time in Shadowlands.
What do you think? Are there other points that the two MMORPGs could learn from each other? Or are there other MMORPGs that get one of these points even better?
Learn more about good MMOs and MMORPGs here: The 15 currently best MMOs and MMORPGs 2021.
