Guild Wars 2 vs. Wildstar

The leading buy to play MMO versus one of the latest major free MMORPGs.

The Match-Up

The fifth match of the first round pits two leading high quality MMORPGs from NCSoft. However, they do have different business models and settings. Guild Wars 2 is the best buy to play MMORPG right now while Wildstar switch from a full subscription model to the ever popular F2P model. For settings, Guild Wars 2 employs the standard fantasy as opposed to science fiction for Wildstar. This gives Wildstar a more unique feel since not too many MMOs outside of Eve Online have been successful. Tabula Rasa ring a bell? However, that unique feel and great features were not enough for Wildstar to advance against the stalwart Guild Wars 2. Perhaps in a few years if it continues to grow.

Tale of the Tape

Guild Wars 2

Buy to play.
Successful for many years.
Very accessible on all computers.
Has a dedicated forum on GameOgre.com
One of the most popular games on Twitch.
One of the very few successful sequels.
NCSoft game.

Versus

Wildstar

High quality MMORPG.
Player housing.
Unique personality.
Launched in 2014.
Science fiction setting.
Active combat system.
Switch to free-to-play from full subscription model.
NCSoft game.

Select Comments For Guild Wars 2

Rating: 8
Author: Arcturus
Comment: A very enjoyable MMORPG if played in the right mindset. Be careful if you have played Guild Wars 1 and are a big fan of it, because this game is quite different and might not offer as much enjoyment as you would hope. For anyone else, this game is fantastic value and it’s still going strong despite facing a lot of critique and sabotage from dissapointed GW1 fans.

PROS: Impressive visuals for an MMORPG, solid voice acting, regular updates and content, no subscription, interesting lore and places to see and explore, great community

CONS: PvP is somewhat lacking, the main story is mediocre at best, living story content is not always permanent, some performance issues.

Rating: 9
Author: Thedarkboy
Comment: In 2005, all online role players wondered what would happen in the battle between World of Warcraft and the not-so-established variant, Guild Wars. Guild Wars had one last ace up his sleeve that would prove essential to the game’s continued survival, but it was not without having had to compromise significantly.

Guild Wars had no monthly fee. If someone bought the game, you could play whenever you wanted to. But as a result, Arena Net, didn’t have a budget to constant and amazing updates, and at the same time, it was not possible to meet strangers in the world if you had not already been grouped together in one city.

The journey from level 1 to 20 was a bit too monotonous. To be honest I can say that the online roleplaying feeling never really was there fully, although Guild Wars had its obvious qualities. For example, the world was never presented as an open, broad, clear, coherent and vibrant one. The fact that you could not happen to encounter others in the forests did not make things better, and why World of Warcraft was the clear winner in the roleplaying war, wasn’t something that I could question.

Before the sequel came out, it has since day one been clear that Arena Net is no longer going to play in Division 2. The fictional world of Tyria is absolutely huge this time, and where ever my hunter turns around, I meet new players who share my curiosity for what the mildly realistic (but still delightfully twisted) continent has to offer.

There are obvious nods given to the fans of the series but you don’t need to be a rogue veterans to enjoy everything the game has to offer. On the contrary, the layup feels simpler and more inviting than ever. Ugly mission icons and archetypal time workers of anonymous characters has namely been completely removed in favor of a completely new type of dynamic online role-playing – with a focus on collaboration.

Rating: 9
Author: Aaddron
Comment: In many ways Guild Wars 2 is a step away from it’s predecessor rather than a step forward from it. Despite being called Guild Wars 2, other than the world and setting it’s couldn’t be further from anything like the original. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s a lot to adjust too. Guild Wars 2 is much more like a typical MMO than Guild Wars 1 ever was, a lot of the selling points of Guild Wars 1 are now gone and if you loved Guild Wars 1 but aren’t a fan of more traditional MMOs you’re probably going to be severely disappointed with Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars 2 despite it’s massive departure from Guild Wars 1 is still at it’s core a very good MMO. Guild Wars 2 is gorgeous both in technical graphics and art direction, it’s runs very smooth as well. Latency is not a problem, although that is largely based on your internet connection, on my end it runs great and this is coming from someone who’s had problems with other MMOs. Patches are quick and painless, Guild Wars 2 has had very little down time since launch and problems have been fixed pretty rapidly. The development team has been open and continually posting new articles detailing what’s next.

That’s not to say the game is without technical faults, they have been very good at fixing things but bugs still do exist. Bots have been a issue as well. That said ArenaNet has been extremely open about it, they admit Bots do exist and have been clear where they are at in getting rid of them. Fighting Bots is not easy but they are showing effort and we’ve seen some results.

Guild Wars 2 has taken the MMO formula and added a few twists. Personal Story is the first big twist, when you create a character you’re asked questions. Depending on how you answer and which race you choose it changes your Personal Story. Following the Story eventually all the starter paths come back together and you’ll get to choose one of three factions. Each faction has different missions and dialogue. The Story continues to branch and come together until the end, it’s an interest attempt and works pretty well. Personal Story can be soloed but some missions can get cheap hard on your own. I can’t say I was all that impressed with some of the mission design but there are a few gems. Story wise, it’s not bad but it didn’t blow me away.

The next big twist is they’ve thrown out the Quest Log and ! above NPC’s heads in favor of hearts, get near a heart and you’ll automatically be updated on what do you, not exactly immersive but the system works. If you go to the actual hearts themselves you can talk to an NPC that will give you more information on what you need to do and why you are doing it. My biggest gripe with hearts is they don’t exactly fit. The games goes a long way to encourage working together but with hearts you’re working alone and it just feels out of place.

Next “Quest” like feature is Dynamic Events, these will randomly pop up on your map when you wonder near them. Some are completely random, others are started by talking to an NPC. Dynamic Events are the ultimate in group play without grouping. When a Dynamic Event starts it appears on the map of everyone in the area, everyone in the area of the Dynamic Event are now essentially grouped together and can work together to complete the event. Your scored on your contribution to the event and awarded appropriately when it ends. These Events range from simple escort missions to fighting giant “world” like bosses. All Events scale to the number of players participating as well. Some Dynamic Events chain 2-3-4-5 times and can change based on if the players succeed or fail. Dynamic Events are a really fun addition, they are far from perfect and they tend to repeat too often but it’s a fun way to jump in and have fun with other people without having to go through finding a group.

Dungeons are in, at lower tiers they can be prone to plowing through them but higher tiers can get pretty challenging. They look great and are designed pretty well with stories and cutscenes. They lack a party finder though so be prepared to stand around saying LFG.

SPvP is 1v1, 5v5 or 10v10 arena style PvP. It’s actually pretty bare bones compared to Guild Wars 1 with only 1 game mode and 6 maps but they’ve said new stuff is on the way. Conquest is the only game mode available at the moment, it’s mostly typical but they’ve added a few additional objectives to some maps to spice it up.

WvWvW is quite a huge addition to the game, it’s call World vs World vs World because it pits 3 servers against each other. WvWvW takes place on it’s own playing field completely separate from the PvE world. It’s a huge playing field with one whole zone for each server. Each team is fighting for control over forts, points etc I admittedly am not a huge PvP guy so I can’t say a whole lot on it but there’s quite a bit of stuff to do even for non PvPers. The only issues I’ve came across are it’s hard to see what’s going on in larger fights. You’ll need a beefy computer or turn down the settings quite a bit vs the rest of the game to not run into a slideshow in larger battles and the game currently struggles with ghosting were some players are mostly invisible when you have fights with large groups of people. ArenaNet has acknowledged this fault but doesn’t yet have a fix yet as it’s a very complicated issue.

Character development is handled pretty well, it’s simple but still allows choice. Each level up you get a skill point and a trait point. Traits are used to enhance your stats for example Rangers has 5 Traits and each one gives a different bonus for example Marksmanship gives +10 Power and +1% Condition Duration per point invested up to the max of 30. Every five Trait points invested you get a Minor or Major trait. It goes Minor, Major, Minor, Major etc. Minor and Major Traits are like little perks you can apply, one example is Steady Focus – “Damage increases by 10% when endurance is full.” At 5 – 15 – 25 Points invested you also get one set trait.

Skill Points are used to unlock Skills. Weapon skills are unlocked automatically by using a weapon. You skill bar is locked at 10, 5 weapon skills, 1 heal, 3 skills and 1 elite skill. Skills are unlocked via a menu and can be swapped out at anytime other than in battle. Skills are generally a pretty broad range of effects allowing each class to fill multiple roles, there are roughly 25 skills per class. You won’t earn enough skill points going to level 80 to unlock them all but at level 80 you’ll continue to “level” and gain skill points. You also get quite a few skill points through skill point challenges spread throughout the world making unlocking all the Skills possible.

Combat is mostly the standard fair but they’ve add dodging and a roll mechanic into the mix. The roll mechanic is linked to a endurance meter. The meter allows for up to two rolls in a row. The Combat can be nice, especially on harder foes but the lack of attack skills and monster density in some zones still can make it feel more like a typical MMO in PvE. I really miss the large amount of skills in Guild Wars 1. It definitely helps spice up PvP a bit.

The world of Tyria is massive, it’s split into huge Zones so it’s not truly open world. Zones have a set level range and your level will scale down to match it. The game features Fast Travel to Waypoints that you must travel on foot too first before use, it’s a bit too expensive in my opinion and kinda an immersion breaker but given the worlds size it’s nice to have them. The game features no way to directly trade with other players, quite odd but it does have a mail system to easily send friends items and for trading they have a Auction House that can be accessed at anytime. Items can be put on the Auction House and Bought from anywhere but you’ll need to travel to an actual Auction House to pick up any money or items.

Guild Wars 2 features Vistas which are scattered around the world, they are short cutscenes that show off Guild Wars 2’s impressive art. Speaking of which one benefit of having Zones is each has a completion tracker. As you find Vistas, Points of Interest, complete Skill Point Challenges and Hearts you’ll be updated on how close you are to completing the Zone. Once you do you’re rewarded with a chest of goodies, experience and money. It also tracks how close you are to 100% map completion, a task that’s sure to keep the explorer in you busy for quite a while.

Crafting is another big feature, I’m not a big crafter myself but the system is polished and works well. It’s not overly complicated but still deep enough to satisfy. You gain experience for crafting as well so technically it’s possible to level from 1 to 80 purely on crafting alone. Achievements are also in, featuring daily and monthly goals plus tons of individual ones for killing bosses, completing Jumping Puzzles… participating in Events etc. It works well and your total is account wide. Speaking of Jumping Puzzles… there are quite a few of these in the game. It’s definitely unique, they can be a lot of fun while really frustrating too haha. Each one awards an achievement upon completion and you get a chest of random loot as well.

Guild Wars 2 is absolutely brimming with content. For Guild Wars 1 fans the journey back to Tyria can be wonderful but you might end up with culture shock as it’s a huge departure from the first game in pretty much every way. MMO fans will find a lot to love here but for everything Guild Wars 2 does right it’s low amount of skills especially attack skills and high monster density resulting in some Zones being fight after fight you might find yourself hitting the same repetitive wall as other MMOs.

Regardless of your tastes you’ll find a MMO that’s trying new things with art you have to see to believe. Guild Wars 2 is a genre changing MMO, it’s more an evolution than a revolution but I think it’s sparked a change and will have every MMO released from now on rethinking the typical MMO formula.

Select Comments for Wildstar

Rating: 9
Author: paksupro4
Comment: WildStar is new MMORPG behind stays some people who have worked on World Of Warcraft series. Developer is Carbine Studios and publisher and NCSOFT . I will say on the start the bad thing of this game and that is monthly subscription , that will be worst thing for this beautifull game .

In WildStar is described fight universes between Dominions and Exiles for planet Nexus. Exil are good guys who are forced to emigrate to the Nexus because they were expelled from their homes , and Dominions want to go on Nexus because their ancestors inhabited this planet before. Yet behind this is, in fact, lies the great quest for artifacts mentioned forgotten race that is called Eldan, and these findings could be very expensive resource.

On the start of playing you will meet very good system for creating your character. You can make a unique character on the basis of eight races ( in Dominions –Cassian, Draken, Mechari and Chua and in Exiles -Exile Humans, Granok, Aurin and Mordesh) and six classes (The Warrior, The EsperThe, Spellslinger, The Stalker ,The Medic and The Engineer ) which cover all modes of play, from Tanks, Healer and DPSs. In the game there is system of paths, there are four paths in game : Soldier, Explorer, Settler and Scientist and you get special mission for every path you choes.
Soldier – Soldiers are the primary military force ,and they are focused on killing and assassing and protection.
Explorer – they are discovering and mapping the unexplored areas of nexus. The quests in this path are focusing on discovering and finding new locations .
Settler – they are improving towns and they are working buildings and that are helping other players. Their missions and based on public servies ,expansion ,supply cache and more.
Scientist – The are focusing on learnig more about Nexus. Their missions are focusing on analysis , archaeology , biology , chemistry and more.

After that is going an introduction, through which passes quickly and you starting playing for real. Progressing through the levels is made so that progressively opens up all the possibilities of the game, making it so always fresh and interesting. After the sixth level the is opening PvP modes, after the tenth WildStars system of crafting, and after 14 you can build your own houses ( and I think that is so cool ), after 15 the adventures and after 20 Dungeon system, and so on until the top 50 levels.

WildStar is more active game thanks telegraphs and they are markings on the field that mark the area that will draw the enemy the next attack. Similar are for the player, and in this case it is evident how much the opponents may include one attack or how friendly characters can be treated, and so on. PvE content is rich, and in the game there are a lot of missions in each zone, which are different.PvP combat in WildStar are excellent. The mode War Plots can grow to matches 40 vs 40 and that is great experience.

Rating: 5
Author: GraceHolly
Comment: So many people around me are playing this game and we all have fun.

Rating: 7
Author: Webber
Comment: Looks awesome but it cost money to buy and to play :(. I would rather it be free 2 play!

The Showdown

Cheaper to Play = Wildstar

Better Multiplayer = Wildstar

More Popular = Guild Wars 2

Better User Created Content = Guild Wars 2

Better for Livestreams/Videos = Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 received a total score of 3
Wildstar received a total score of 2

The Result

Guild Wars 2 Wins!