First round battle in the MMORPG Showdown series. 

The Match-Up

Since both World of Warcraft and EverQuest 2 are both pay-to-play, this marks the first time in the series where a P2P MMO battles a free MMO. As can be seen by the comments and final score below, the winning game won by a landslide. This particular match-up was very interesting because both games rely so much much on instanced content, but one charges a monthly fee and the other does not. Guild Wars offers more solo-friendly action and is in many ways the Diablo of MMORPGs, while Dungeons & Dragons Online is more about role playing in a group. 

Tale of the Tape

Guild Wars

• Free game play after buying the game.
• Primarily instanced content.
• One successful expansion/sequel with another on the way.
• Over 2 million players.
• Henchmen system enables more solo play.

Versus 

Dungeons & Dragons Online

• Must pay a monthly fee in order to play. 

• Primarily instanced content.

• Dungeons & Dragons is one of the top fantasy franchises ever.

• Built primarily for playing in groups.

• Has been improving with more solo content.

• Dungeon masters help provide a pen-and-paper type experience.

Select Comments For Guild Wars (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 10
Author: gwraistlin
Comment: Guild Wars is definitely the winner hands down. No game in the MMO industry has a better PvP system and the PvE content is plain awesome. Guild Wars allows you to enjoy the best of a MMO world without its hassles such as kill-stealing, spawn-camping, and fees.

Rating: 10
Author: zano421
Comment: I am not favoring any game here, but Guild Wars is definitely better. Sure the PVE can use a little work, but what game doesn't need work! The PvP is excellent and really the most organized that I have seen in any game. The graphics are really good too. Once u pay for the game, there are no monthly fee so you really get more bang for your buck.

Rating: 9
Author: Big Mo
Comment: Way better than DDO and its free. Can't say its perfect though, because I like WoW best.

Select Comments for Dungeons & Dragons Online (Edited for Presentation)

Rating: 1
Author: Big Mo
Comment: Having everything instanced like Guild Wars and then charging blows it for me.

Rating: 3
Author: Mista Magic Buffy Willer
Comment: I have been playing this game for a month and I am about to cancel my subscription. Let me tell you why:

1. I know DDO is a team-based game, but would it have killed them to put PvP? I mean only being able to PvE gets boring after awhile. 

2. The fact is you need all the classes in order to have a chance. If you try to go in by yourself or less people, you are not going to make it.

3. This game forces you to be a team and sometimes finding a team can get dull because of waiting. 

If you are a fan of Dungeons and Dragons you will like it, but PvP-loving loners should skip this game.

The Voting

Guild Wars received a total score of 9.75

Dungeons & Dragons Online received a total score of 4.67

The Result

Guild Wars Wins!