Since 2012, I have occasionally played Guild Wars 2. Thanks to the absence of an item spiral, this is going quite well. However, lately, there have been growing calls for even more content. We take the feature release in September as an opportunity to ask ourselves: Is Guild Wars 2 still worth it?
2 Years of Guild Wars 2 – What’s Happening?
Admittedly, this question carries a certain accusation. But it must be directed at the game and ArenaNet as well. In China, the game had a strong launch this year, despite inaccurate player numbers. In Europe and North America, however, players have already experienced 2 years of living story and world vs. world battles. At least the living story regularly provides refreshing content. When the malevolent Sylvari Scarlet Briar attacked Lion’s Arch in the spring and laid waste to the capital, I had just jumped back into the adventure that is Guild Wars 2. By the way, Scarlet was also killed, but she didn’t hesitate to awaken an ancient dragon. So, future adventures following the living story, which change entire regions in Guild Wars 2, are ensured.
The Thing with PvP
Contrary to the positive trend of Guild Wars 2, there are also many threads in the official forum predicting doom for this MMO. I have particularly noticed criticism of the PvP system. The structured PvP is said to be too monotonous, there are too few skills, and new maps would also be desirable. On the other hand, there is the grand adventure called World vs. World. Three servers battling for a week, and with a victory, they climb the rankings. I spent a large part of my Guild Wars 2 time in WvW and often found myself among the winners as a riverbank player. Once you have captured every fort and fought through countless battles, often being yelled at in the server’s TeamSpeak, WvW also becomes monotonous. Nevertheless, it offers a unique PvP experience in the MMO world that I haven’t encountered before.
…and what else is new in Guild Wars 2?
With regular feature releases, efforts are made to bring some momentum to the operations of Guild Wars 2. The first one was in April and the second followed in September. Especially the changes to the Trading Post were absolutely necessary to stay up-to-date in the MMO market. The world of Guild Wars 2 is made more beginner-friendly through the feature release. Similar to Wildstar, players now receive a reward for each level they ascend. Great for the new players in China, but less interesting for Europeans.
Several improvements have also been made in WvW and with the WvW Autumn tournament a new event has been announced. “Bye, Bye WvW Rally” – it will once again be about fame and honor between Spaniards, French, English, and Germans! GW2 knows how to handle cross-border feuds skillfully.
Buy-to-play and Improved Trading Post
I consider the Buy-to-play model in Guild Wars 2 to be very successful. This payment model is rare, but it works wonderfully for the ArenaNet title. Once purchased, you are not dependent on a subscription and can log in when you feel like it.
To keep customers satisfied and especially engaged with the in-game shop, regular updates are essential and can rarely be postponed for weeks as seen with Wildstar. The more players are logged in, the more costumes and other useful items are sold through the Trading Post. This was fundamentally improved during the feature release which was very comprehensive. You buy once, you play forever. This model is the most customer-friendly form of distribution as a quick look at new content is always possible.
Guild Wars 2 Is Worth It… But Differently
Two years have passed for the game now, and right at the start, players (myself included) wondered how an MMO could survive without a clear item spiral. Guild Wars 2 has managed exactly that and provides the community with regular updates, whether with content for the PvE area or feature releases for all other areas. However, the content runs out quickly, so one can only say to a limited extent that the game is still worth it or even generally worthwhile: Hardcore gamers will quickly find themselves running out of steam, especially when they have leveled all classes to 80. It is particularly here that the calls for an expansion are becoming louder.
Casuals and occasional players will continue to have their fun, as there will always be something new to discover in Guild Wars 2. The advancement of the living story alone invites players to check back every two weeks. Additionally, the buy-to-play model does not bother with annoying subscription costs. So yes, Guild Wars 2 is worth it and as the Raptr numbers or trending data from Google confirm, the game still belongs to the most popular MMOs on the market.
If you want more information about the online role-playing game, feel free to read our review of GW2. For another perspective, the article for whom Guild Wars 2 is not worth it is also recommendable.
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