Guild Wars 2

[Hightower]

I've been playing GW2 off and on since their first expansion back in 2015. Anyone else here play it?

It's a bit of an odd animal. I don't think I'd recommend it to people who enjoy MMOs like WoW or FFXIV but then I thought: This is GS! This game is full of weirdos like me who find something they like even in games that nobody could honestly recommend anyone else play!

Anyway, I record video of some of the things I like to do, so here's a sample of what GW2 game play looks like:


This one is a moderately difficult open world boss. It hits really hard, but it's also large and slow, with obvious telegraphs to its attacks. With proper positioning and timing, you can avoid most of the damage and win! The ability to dodge and potentially avoid 100% of the damage from an attack (if you time it right!) is one of my favorite features of GW2 combat and you can see I am using the heck out of it in this video!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4teBGP1-WGk

~Taverkin

[Taernath]

There's another GW thread buried here somewhere, I played on and off for a while, but off since the last xpac released.

[Seizer]

I've been playing GW2 off and on since their first expansion back in 2015. Anyone else here play it?
~Taverkin

I used to play it a lot when Heart of Thorns first dropped. Did a lot of raiding up to Matthais Gabrel tier. Took a break then kind of started on the next tier, but lost interest. I got so tired of always trying to keep up with current meta for classes I played, or they'd fall out of favor during a tier/fight. I loved playing necromancer, it rocked had tons of utility and nice condi damage, then they nerfed minions. I always did enjoy Fractals of the Mist so, yeah if you like dungeon hopping or Fractals it'd be fun to hang out with a GS player. I actually dragged one of my raid friends from GW2 to GS, an she loves GS quite a bit. She capped in less than a year, where as my lazy ass..... not capped. Sent you a PM.

[Hightower]

I used to play it a lot when Heart of Thorns first dropped. Did a lot of raiding up to Matthais Gabrel tier. Took a break then kind of started on the next tier, but lost interest. I got so tired of always trying to keep up with current meta for classes I played, or they'd fall out of favor during a tier/fight. I loved playing necromancer, it rocked had tons of utility and nice condi damage, then they nerfed minions. I always did enjoy Fractals of the Mist so, yeah if you like dungeon hopping or Fractals it'd be fun to hang out with a GS player. I actually dragged one of my raid friends from GW2 to GS, an she loves GS quite a bit. She capped in less than a year, where as my lazy ass..... not capped. Sent you a PM.


Yeah, I can't get too heavy into the raids in GW2. It's the non-trinity design. It feels like they removed tanking and healing roles and replaced them with nothing. As these were my preferred roles in WoW, I really feel the lack of that group dynamic.

Fractals are a bit better, but they just aren't very difficult. The encounters can be fun, but it's so easy for organized meta comps to trivialize mechanics. The whole thing is just running through, stacking in a pile, with bosses going down in seconds.

The PvP is about as poorly balanced as you'd expect from an MMO and has only one game mode (5v5 with 3 capture points). It has a low population, too, which makes for terrible matchmaking.

Then you have WvW (large scale siege combat), which is a really cool concept that actually makes a PvP game mode appealing to PvE players! But they barely support it, the lag is pretty bad in the BIG battles, the maps look dated af, and don't even get me started about the stupid servers!

So, basically a lot about this game kinda sucks! Why play it? First and foremost, the combat system. It's simply excellent, in my opinion. Fast, fluid, with heavy reliance on actively avoiding damage. I could spend hours dueling other players just for fun in this game! Some of the class designs are pretty wild, too. I've really never seen anything like that Weaver I'm playing in the video. It would take too long to explain how it works, but it's pure insanity.

They do other things really well, too. Their mount system is pure awesome. They call the system it's a part of the "Mastery" system, and it has a lot of other skills. Some are useless filler/contrived time-gating nonsense, but others are really cool (like gliding!). The maps can also be as insane as the classes (this mostly applies to the Heart of Thorns expansion). The map called Tangled Depths is evil genius level (seriously!). You just aren't going to find stuff like this anywhere else, as far as I've seen.

That's just how GW2 is. An odd mix of brilliance and...what the actual fuck were they thinking!?

~Taverkin

[Tgo01]

I got into WoW again a few days after Battle for Azeroth dropped and I played it for several months, then one day just got bored of it.

Then about a month ago I got into it again and was all excited for the expansion pack coming out this year, but I've already grown bored with it again so not sure.

Never played GW or GW2 though. I don't know, just doesn't look like my type of game.

[Seizer]

I got into WoW again a few days after Battle for Azeroth dropped and I played it for several months, then one day just got bored of it.

Then about a month ago I got into it again and was all excited for the expansion pack coming out this year, but I've already grown bored with it again so not sure.

Never played GW or GW2 though. I don't know, just doesn't look like my type of game.
Don’t be a baby and just play FF14. Oh wait this is guild wars 2 thread my mistake!

[Tgo01]

Don’t be a baby and just play FF14. Oh wait this is guild wars 2 thread my mistake!

I loved FF parts 1-10 but I never got into any of the ones past 10. I don't even know which ones are the online ones, aren't there like 2 of hem now? FF12 and 14?

[Seizer]

I loved FF parts 1-10 but I never got into any of the ones past 10. I don't even know which ones are the online ones, aren't there like 2 of hem now? FF12 and 14?
12 is dead. 14 they are still releasing content. Newish raid tier came out few months ago along with more story.

[Hightower]

Don’t be a baby and just play FF14. Oh wait this is guild wars 2 thread my mistake!

That's alright! Always glad to hear perspectives on other MMOs. I tried FFXIV briefly, but that monster 2.5s GCD and the industry's most generic intro scared me away. I hear the later game is better. But that's also true of GW2, where the core game is pretty bland and faceroll, but gets better in the expansions.

[Seizer]

That's alright! Always glad to hear perspectives on other MMOs. I tried FFXIV briefly, but that monster 2.5s GCD and the industry's most generic intro scared me away. I hear the later game is better. But that's also true of GW2, where the core game is pretty bland and faceroll, but gets better in the expansions.
Man you’re tough to please Hightower. 2.5 isn’t that bad and you can always meld more skill speed to reduce GCD. Since my internet connection tends not to be the best I’ve had to use off builds with 2.55 GCD so rotation lines up for buffs and such.

Once you get to Heavensward the game turns way more fun. ARR content meh yeah it’s boring and annoying. You can always cheat and buy a level boost that will let you skip all that content. I think you can even skip Heavensward now and go straight into Stormblood which is tons of fun.

[Hightower]

Man you’re tough to please Hightower. 2.5 isn’t that bad and you can always meld more skill speed to reduce GCD. Since my internet connection tends not to be the best I’ve had to use off builds with 2.55 GCD so rotation lines up for buffs and such.

Once you get to Heavensward the game turns way more fun. ARR content meh yeah it’s boring and annoying. You can always cheat and buy a level boost that will let you skip all that content. I think you can even skip Heavensward now and go straight into Stormblood which is tons of fun.

I don't think that makes me tough to please! 2.5s GCD is really long. WoW had a 1.5s GCD which could be reduced to 1s, last I checked. GW2 doesn't even seem to have a GCD. It's rolled into skill animations (which is kind of harder to follow, but feels more fluid than the hard limit of a GCD).

[Seizer]

I don't think that makes me tough to please! 2.5s GCD is really long. WoW had a 1.5s GCD which could be reduced to 1s, last I checked. GW2 doesn't even seem to have a GCD. It's rolled into skill animations (which is kind of harder to follow, but feels more fluid than the hard limit of a GCD).
Your main skill in GW doesn’t really have a CD, reminds me of a player in WvW who’s name is IOnlyPress1. I might be remembering incorrectly in that most of your left bar skills do have a slight CD. Guild Wars 2 does have some great features other MMOs can learn from. The mega servers would be my first choice, FF14 kind of does this now. Not as well as GW2 eventually did. The market system and crafting system would be next choice.

I forgot to ask Hightower which server are you on? Maybe hit some WvW sometime or even if it’s not the true WvW the mist thing where we can cause a ruckus.

[Hightower]

Your main skill in GW doesn’t really have a CD, reminds me of a player in WvW who’s name is IOnlyPress1. I might be remembering incorrectly in that most of your left bar skills do have a slight CD. Guild Wars 2 does have some great features other MMOs can learn from. The mega servers would be my first choice, FF14 kind of does this now. Not as well as GW2 eventually did. The market system and crafting system would be next choice.

I forgot to ask Hightower which server are you on? Maybe hit some WvW sometime or even if it’s not the true WvW the mist thing where we can cause a ruckus.


A global cooldown (GCD) is not the same thing as an individual skill cooldown. Where CDs prevent skill overlap by ensuring that you can't just spam the same skill back-to-back-to-back, GCDs apply their cooldown to all skills with the exception of effects that have no cast time.

The problem I have with a 2.5s GCD is that, unless I have skills to fill that time, it feels like I am always waiting before I can use another skill. In WoW it's not quite as bad, since the GCD is much shorter. But I much prefer GW2's animation-based system as it feels faster and more fluid. You can't just spam every skill. Instead, each skill has unique timing and you have to learn by feel which ones you chain together without waiting or canceling a cast.

I'm on Henge of Denravi. So if you happen to be on that server, I'd love to roam with you (or anyone else who plays GW2!). If not, I'm down for some PvP instead. I absolutely love fighting other players (in fact, I just spent my entire day just dueling in the PvP lobby arena for no gain! LoL). So just say the word!

~Taverkin

[Seizer]

A global cooldown (GCD) is not the same thing as an individual skill cooldown. Where CDs prevent skill overlap by ensuring that you can't just spam the same skill back-to-back-to-back, GCDs apply their cooldown to all skills with the exception of effects that have no cast time.

The problem I have with a 2.5s GCD is that, unless I have skills to fill that time, it feels like I am always waiting before I can use another skill. In WoW it's not quite as bad, since the GCD is much shorter. But I much prefer GW2's animation-based system as it feels faster and more fluid. You can't just spam every skill. Instead, each skill has unique timing and you have to learn by feel which ones you chain together without waiting or canceling a cast.

I'm on Henge of Denravi. So if you happen to be on that server, I'd love to roam with you (or anyone else who plays GW2!). If not, I'm down for some PvP instead. I absolutely love fighting other players (in fact, I just spent my entire day just dueling in the PvP lobby arena for no gain! LoL). So just say the word!

~Taverkin
PvP against your weaver? No thanks you’d destroy me. I never did well at solo PvP due to glass cannon type builds. Where I would succeed was in WvW running with a pack of three to four people. We’d compliment each other’s builds in a way to wreak havoc as a marauding scout group. I have some awesome memories of WvW with guild mates. The only character I made that would survive solo was engineer. This was way before heart of thorns dropped. I don’t think I’ve touched engineer since then, along with my elementalist.

I don’t know why but after running around the game the other night and chatting with guild friends, it just doesn’t have the fun factor to it for me. I guess that happens when you play a game for years then, let the rust settle for a year and try and hop back in.

[Hightower]

PvP against your weaver? No thanks you’d destroy me. I never did well at solo PvP due to glass cannon type builds. Where I would succeed was in WvW running with a pack of three to four people. We’d compliment each other’s builds in a way to wreak havoc as a marauding scout group. I have some awesome memories of WvW with guild mates. The only character I made that would survive solo was engineer. This was way before heart of thorns dropped. I don’t think I’ve touched engineer since then, along with my elementalist.

I don’t know why but after running around the game the other night and chatting with guild friends, it just doesn’t have the fun factor to it for me. I guess that happens when you play a game for years then, let the rust settle for a year and try and hop back in.

It can be that way. I somehow managed to recapture the magic when I started Taverkin, though I had previously played for many years and was probably away for nearly as many. But when I left again, coming back wasn't the same. The game has just never held my interest since then and I don't know if that's because the game has changed or I have.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. There aren't all that many people who know about GSIV in this world. It's kind of cool when GS people come play MMOs with me! If I decide to go on a quest for another MMO, maybe you can show me why I should play FFXIV! I wanted to like that game. But I feel like maybe I didn't give it a fair chance (that GCD though...).

Also, I meant we could queue up for some unranked PvP together (5v5 Conquest) or, if you happen to be on HoD server, I'm a pretty sick roamer, too. I mean, don't get me wrong. I will duel anyone. In fact, the other day I managed to beat a player with "God of PvP" title (signifies a player who has previously finished a ranked season in PvP as the #1 player in the game!). Unfortunately, I didn't record that. However, I do have this one from last month where I beat a guy who had just finished the 3v3 arena season #2 in the game (Demigod of PvP). I'm not on his level, but I can be a threat and sometimes win that fight!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=allK7zVWplo