Guild Wars 2 – the big loser
Where does Guild Wars 2 currently stand?
Guild Wars 2 comes from a weak year 2016. The future plans are not clearly articulated yet.
2015 was not good either, as “Heart of Thorns” did not convince as much as one might have expected. And hardly anything happened with Guild Wars 2 in 2016. There is a feeling that Arenanet is still recovering from the expansion and the improvements that Heart of Thorns required. But we had that feeling a year ago as well – at some point, it has to move on.
Generally, Guild Wars 2 was in a much better place two years ago, before “Heart of Thorns,” than it is right now. Especially as there has been nothing substantial announced for 2017. Although Arenanet has likely been working on the next expansion for a long time, there is nothing definite yet.
Guild Wars 2 has two design ideas that have hardly borne fruit so far:
- on one hand, the strong focus on PvP in the “eSport sense.” The entire gaming industry is moving in this direction, providing a competitive spectacle for Twitch. But whether MMORPGs function that way remains questionable. When thinking of major eSport and Twitch titles, one thinks of MOBAs, shooters, or Hearthstone – Guild Wars 2 does not come to mind.
- the idea of continuing the story of Guild Wars 2 through the “Living World” in seasons. There often lacks the attention wave that a content patch would generate if one only hears “Yes, the next episode in the third season is coming” – announcing “We are bringing a big DLC,” as ESO does, is far more impressive.
What happens next?
Guild Wars 2 has not yet laid its cards on the table compared to Final Fantasy XIV or ESO. We do not yet know the further plans of Guild Wars 2 at the moment.
The season will probably continue and eventually come to an end, then they will have to announce the next expansion that hopefully blows us away and has fantastic, new ideas.
What is the perspective of Guild Wars 2?
Significantly worse than two years ago. Back then, it was the only serious alternative to WoW in the mainstream here in the West. Now it looks different.
Guild Wars 2 has been overtaken on the right by The Elder Scrolls Online, which was probably not anticipated. For years, it was about distinguishing itself from WoW with the “We do not focus on higher, faster, further – we scale everything, we are adventurers and explorers” approach.
All of this is now also present in The Elder Scrolls Online, which is also available on PS4 and Xbox One and is pulling ahead with regular new content.
With “Heart of Thorns,” not much has happened with Guild Wars 2 since then. There is now strong competition in the area where GW2 could always shine and score.
GW2 now needs to deliver something truly impressive. It is difficult to tell what ideas Arenanet is pursuing since “Heart of Thorns” did not become what everyone had hoped.
