1) and in which mmo in the world, don't you grind the same dungeon, raid, boss, to collect 50/50 or whatever, to craft your new gear? what are you talking about? GW2 gave you choices = get legendary gear through pvp, wvw, raids...it is not just one thing like all the other games >>> more diversity than other mmos. 2) pvp has been changed so many times, professions buffed/nerfed, it looks nothing like pvp with core professions 10 years ago 3) very repetitive? yes, it's the same gear, but taking your character through new maps, bosses, raids wings, new living world maps, new expansions, new specializations so often... 4) fractals? they were so different before, then they added that division into 4 categories 1-25, 25-50... then added fractal 100 which was the top tier hardest content in fractals, then challenge motes, then after than new fractals every now and then dude are we even talking about the same game? :DDD I don't think you should be making GW2 content. make videos for something you understand I have been playing since July 2013, you cannot make these statements Just like lazy peon, when he made a video about Tera and said that diversity of mobs was a PRO, I laughed so hard :D
At some point you'll understand that GW2 is a game designed for you to log in and have fun as it's first priority. And then you'll see the walkthrough the game makes you do if you start having your goals, like legendaries. And still not really needed as you still have the horizontal progression, you can truly always log in to simply have a good time.
This is why Guild Wars 2 has been my favorite game since it came out. I take breaks, sometimes for months, but I always come back and I always enjoy my time in Tyria. On the topic of repetitive content; WoW is basically running the same 8 dungeons on repeat for months hoping to get a +2 item level upgrade. What differs between WoW and GW2 in this is that when a new patch drops and the M+ dungeons are shuffled, everything you have done the past few months become obsolete. In GW2 this is completely different. Things I gathered and did back in 2012 still holds value today. The legendary dagger I crafted in 2013 is still my most used weapon - and the strongest one. This is honestly what keeps me coming back - my time investment isn't pointless, it is valued.
I dunno, I tell people all the time that horizontal progression is a thing and if they're into chasing the power carrot this isn't the game for them. As I've often said: If you're going to make me grind, make it worth my time. Grinding for an item that's going to be meaningless next expansion has less and less value for me as I get older.
That's what I believe as well. Like I get working on it to get majorly better gear buy if it's only like 1% difference imo I need more value for my time!
Im in my mid 30s, I still feel very young and I have a relative active life, no kids but I have a girlfriend and nephews and a niece to tend to. Ive been playing GW2 for a week or so and Im having fun and what I like is that it doesnt feel like work or I dont feel pressure to get better at it
Having no gear grind was honestly the selling point of the game for me at launch as i never liked the gear grind in wow constantly replacing gear just got old after few upgrade cycles back in 2008. The fact that i can earn a gear set(s) and actually play the game and have fun without stress of being left behind is the best part of the game. Personally i do not really care about new pvp maps as long as i have fun in the maps we already have same with WvW just look at how people hated the desert borderlands and still hate it after all these years most people avoid it like a plague (i still like it).
True! At the end of the day it really falls down to what people enjoy and now that I'm in a position where I don't have a ton of time to play this just feels right!
@@CaffeinatedDad For me personally the selling point of GW2 was that there's no open pvp. When I first heard about GW2 at the Cologne Gamescom in 2011, I was just trying to distance myself from my first mmo ever, Aion. In Aion, there are a few secure places, like cities and some rare hubs, but the most part of the game world is open pvp, where a player of the opposing faction can freely assault and wipe the floor with you anytime they want. When it takes abt two hours for you just to get to your quest/level areas, just bcs you keep being ambushed by enemy players whichever route you take, it really takes the fun out of the game for me. So I was looking for something different and Boom there was GW2, fulfilling all my dreams about a fun mmorpg. Which is why I'm still playing it continuously since the first day of pre-release (Sat. August 25th 2012) :)
I respectfully disagree with two of your points: About Core specs: - Your vision is a bit tainted by the fact that you compare 9 core professions to 27 elite specs. There is a fallacy how you created these groups that you compare. Reversely, you could ask a similar question: How many HoT specs do you see in mid-high rated PvP content (compared to all the other specs)? I believe I see more Core specs than HoT... Can we argue then that HoT specs are inferior? In group-PvE content I wholeheartedly agree with you about Core specs. But then why stop at Core specs?? You could continue this list... EoD specs (on average) are significantly better than HoT currently in PvE, right? Can we agree that HoT is garbage, so just play EoD specs? But more imporantly I think, class design, and the fun-factor, IS a really peculiar aspect... The shiny new specs FEEL awesome, and arguably for Marketing Reasons. (And furthermore, everybody just wants to play them, therefore we see more of them). About sPvP updates: - I believe the elite specs and the balance-patches ARE the updates in sPvP. I honestly do not care about a new game mode or a new map. (and I'd wager that if Anet introduced a new sPvP game mode, nobody else would care after 2 weeks either.) We need new mechanics and good balance. You can argue that it's still lacking, but then I'd ask you to name an MMO that does better. (WOTLK and MoP might have did better, sure. But the current MMO-PvP development is about constant shake-ups: in every patch there is a small minority of high-rated viable builds that is rotated around, because achieving perfect balance on all skill-levels is impossible... and those mmo's playerbase just can't keep up with it, therefore stagnant metas are harder to form. But I dont think it's good game-design at all; it infuriates me).
Just a small edit to my sPvP point: Your statement is still VALID tho, that sPvP doesn't recive ~enough~ love. But I still find it in a much better state (from Development point) than most other MMOs currently on the market. This 2 satement can both be valid at the same time... in which we can conclude, that we're mostly talking about the state of MMO-PvP... But this is the same old sad song, aint it? Most of the salty pvp-ers I personally meet, who loudly and vitriolically hate on Gw2's pvp, after some nudging and talking with them, say that they actually don't play other mmos for their PvP itch, they long gave up those. Many of them I talk with, play MOBA and FPS. (My sampling might be biased tho!!!). But then I ask: Are we really hating on Anet ~OR~ the mmo-community for not actually wanting pvp in their mmo? Could we simultaneously say that the lovers of MMO PvP have a hard time in today's world, WHILE also being welcoming into Gw2-PvP with more optimism and positivity knowing it's one hell of a refuge? :)
I attribute most of the PvP-hate to problems in Population (other than problems in perception). Time after time spent in the pvp-lobby, post-after-post on reddit, I had to conclude, that this deep-rooted cynical "Anet-hates-PVP" mentality itself is keeping away enthusiastic nowcommers that are looking for the true mmo-pvp-experience that cannot be found in pressing 6 buttons in a MOBA. ... I mean, sure there are plenty of other reasons, but at least we CAN influence our own mindset, right?
So here is MY one tip for gw2 nowcommers :D "Everywhere you turn regarding gw2 pvp, youtube, reddit, pvp-lobby, there will constantly be a bitter but Vocal minority of players that will tell you that Anet-hates-pvp. While in reality, they don't. And could even be considered arguably one of the best in the mmo-genre currently."
@@Woryen I have maintained since shortly after GW2 release that is has THE best pvp experience you can get in an MMO even today. It's not perfect but it's probably the most balanced I've ever experienced.
True! I do believe the core professions have a better showing in pvp versus every other game mode but I personally have seen very little core professions outside of that specific instance. I do believe that there isn't enough development to go around to be honest. If they get around to updating anything it'll be a momentary jump in interest then settle down unfortunately
Dont listen to this guy, some core specs still slap and situational especially in pvp. Plus it give you different playstyles vs the meta build. If you get bored of the game/game mode play something else. That's the benefit of horizontal progression. What he is not saying in his video is that the quality of life you get from having legendries is more than a stat boost, you permanently have the ability to change stats without spending any more gold or use up another valuable inventory space, build template slots and have these legendries useable across characters, of course they are going to be difficult to get. That's why they are named legendary and when you see someone with one you know how difficult it is to get.
I did mention that the core specs can situationally have the advantage! I had a specific example as well. As far as your point regarding the legendaries, there are players that have no interest in working towards something that will just give them a cosmetic and quality of life boost. Some don't believe it is worth it and perhaps those are not the ones who stay long term with the game
One thing I like about this game is you can make progress towards gear playing pretty much however you want. You aren't forced to grind one specific boss over and over again waiting for one specific item to drop (unless you are looking for a specific skin). You've got a variety of ways to get gear. I come from a game called realm of the mad god where I have sometimes spent upwards of 150 hours grinding a single boss to get a specific item to upgrade my character. Heck there was one item in that game that took me 9 years to get.
GW2 is built from the ground up to value the player's time it seems. Like any game you will get burned out on it after hundreds or thousands of hours, but it remains the best MMO I've ever witnessed. The horizontal progression (while I've come to really love it) perhaps comes as a blessing in disguise as it may attract a more mature playerbase overall. I've once again come back from a long break from the game and am not disappointed at all. Soulbeast main is still crushing it haha
I played wow 18 years and I'm really thinking I may enjoy gw2 more im upset I waited so long to dive in. Expecially being older now I did sod till a few weeks ago but it go so intensive... so many raids. I can't pour that much time anymore...
as a not guild war 2 but general proffesional player: don´t watch too much content on your game. Try to experience it on your own. If you start your journey through the eyes of someone else you´ll unlikely to develop your own...
as someone who came from WoW to guildwars I really like gear progression in guildwars and the horizontal progression in general. for me its about unlocking stuff and just experiening the game rather than only focusing on geting the best gear so I can do end game stuff. it only took me like few days after getting guildwars to get to max level and get gear good enough for raids and strikes
yeah it's a great game IMO. It's a game that respects your time as BiS gear will always be BiS (best in slot) so it just focuses on variety when it comes to content, achievement, rewards & most importantly.. Fun. I hope they make player-owned house in the future as that's another major variety of content & rewards.
I've heard both sides, people who didn't like that there wasn't better gear to strive for, and others who love it because they don't have to. To each their own I suppose!
In my opinion lol if some likes doing the same thing over and over again, day after day they need a psychiatrist not a better game lol. Gear grind needs to go
@@JRussellDay agreed but then Anet has to be really creative with reward space & ideas.. especially now that expansions are coming faster albiet at a smaller scale. I hope they eventually develop a player-owned housing system bcus that's a good rewards space.
As nice as it is to spend all your time overcoming challenges and getting some super nice gear, there’s nothing worse than all your gear being worse than greens when the new expansions release. Gw2 doesn’t have this issue
I think one of the reasons core specs are generally weaker than elite specs isn't necessarily due to the inherent powerlevel, but also partially down to how builds are built, especially in pve. You usually want to focus of a specific thing, such as power or condi damage, or healing output. Most classes only have ~2 traitlines that really support one of those playstyles well, so you end up having a lackluster 3rd choice, while elite spec traitlines often fill those gaps very well. You also simply have more choices, in terms of utility skills, and there's often something there worth taking to fill a slot that might have been meh otherwise. Not to say that elite specs adding extra class mechanics isn't just a straight upgrade in most cases, but that's not all that's to it also, core professions aren't allowed to have quick/alac, so you're kind of limited to pure dps for comp building purposes
i dont keep up with comps but pvp dueling ect Core builds made properly can outwork elite specs. Most elite specs are rather burst filled. they got the juice and tinker out after a while before dumping it on again while core specs generally are well rounded and give consistent endless output. you have seen some build videos for example showing gunblade ect warriors doing massive burst damage and people say omg op build new meta ect. no one counts the seconds that warrior sat before attacking or the utility. while a core build would output constant damage during that whole period and just need one counter for the powerful attack. But i played core builds for over 10 years fighting Top meta players before i finally started dabbling in elite specs and i still find issues in elite spec builds at times compared to core. They specilize a bit to much for their own good at times.
Well, core for me is the ranger. Play bow/sword/pet thats the ranger. Do I want to be a druid? No, I picked a ranger because of the main weapom, in fact I dont even use the other weapons available to rangers as they are outside my concept to be a ranger.
1. Elite specializations - they should be more powerful than basic ones. In GW2 there is no free play game - this is a TRIAL version, for review. With story, game mechanics, class mechanics and different types of content. 2. Vertical progression = with each new gear you do NOT get something new, you get everything the same, only: * boss has more HP * you deal more damage * you heal more Everything else is the same as before! The only difference is in the above. I've played vertical progression games for quite a long time (Hi Lost Ark! - 3 years and 3 accounts) and I can tell you one thing, in this situation, players are more concerned about increasing gear than having fun in the game. 3. The main thing to focus on - new content - raids, strikes, fractals and I would return the relevance of the dungeons. And on unique rewards for all this! In all other respects, GW2 is perhaps the most balanced game in terms of the type (quantity) of content - pve in the open world, pve in instances, structured pvp, mass pvp and much more
I think for new players who have not played hundreds of hours yet stuff will not get repetitive. Acquiring mounts gear doing all the meta events and just playing the endgame content will have a lot of different stuff to do. Especially acquiring ascended armor is not. Just for the record: obtaining ascended gear is usually done through raids strikes pvp and fractals for most. There are 100 fractals so that can’t get repetitive quickly it will take you plenty of time to get through that. for a new player like you said pvp is always with new people and you can play nine different classes technically 36 for specializations. There are many different strikes in the game with new once being added but usually strikes are easier so new players can come practice in them and than move on to raids. And for raids if you want to get ascended armor it shouldn’t take more than twenty boss kills which means you won’t even kill every raid boss once. Now yes stuff does get repetitive after you spend hundreds of hours on these game modes but I think that’s enough time to enjoy a game.
Well put! I suppose from my perspective I tend to get a bit bored but I have also done a lot of games that have strong repetitiveness and time commitments (wow)
Thank you, so it's not repetitive at all, for me I'm coming from wotlk where only 3 raid instances matter ICC, Rs, and toc. And I played these 3 raids for over 9 years. 😂😂
My problem with gw2 is..there's barely any guild wars. At this point they could name it Dragon wars 2 or something more appropriate. I think they should make WvW the ultimate endgame like raids and cm strikes. Push new WvW content updates(new sieges, maps or idk some fun themes) instead of just balance updates. It could be such an unique and fun game mode but it needs more love.
I understand your desire for WvW to be the main focus of the game, but it's pretty clear that GW2 currently (and for the past many years) has more players who avoid WvW (and PvP), than players like you who wish that those game modes were the central focus of the developers. Would more players switch their play style and begin enjoying the WvW and PvP game modes if Anet put more developer resources into those game modes? Maybe, but probably not. Would Anet make more income from the existing player base, or from new players coming into the game, if Anet put more developer resources into WvW and PvP? Maybe, but probably not. Is GW2 already too dependent on the "Casual Player" community sustaining the game at this point in time to allow for a change? Maybe not, but probably YES. Sad for WvW and PvP players, but probably true. But, with the current management at Anet, there is some hope for improvement in both WvW and PvP, so don't give up and despair. As some others have commented, PvP and WvW in GW2 is probably the best there is in any MMORPG currently available.
New wvw content won't really happen til the hardcore scene stops being babies and accept change. When eotm came out they were excited then said screw it and would yell at ppl to take their karma trains their. When desert borderland came out they said screw it, give us alpine or give us nothing those are the ppl anet caters to for wvw....they wanted a gvg area that wasn't behind south camp, so they redesigned obsidian for them to have an area it's barely used... they blamed crafting stations for map que (barely more then 3 ppl at them) so anet removed them to please that crowd. That's why anet is afraid to make new maps/sieges and why alliances are taking so long because they're trying to make sure to do it right to please them. Even though they could have just used eotm colour system called them factions, ur guild chooses a faction and bingo a soft alliance system created, could even make 3 new maps for it, but cuz its not alpine it wouldn't fly lol
Was expecting some cool tips, not a rant. Should play ESO. PvP got like 2 updates since 2014. The gear I made in 2015 is still considered strong in 2023. Want a piece of gear from a dungeon? There’s no currency, better farm that same boss over and over and over until it drops with the stats you want. GW2 has it way better than some other MMOs.
When I started at launch my first character was a Core Guardian. I quit the game for a long time only coming back at the tail end of IBS and switched to Rev and haven’t looked back I just dig the aesthetic and combat flow.
When it comes to gearing, if any new players are reading this (just my opinion) I feel like strikes are probably the slowest way to get yourself ascended gear, the amount of currency you get is very small and by the time u get to buy 2 pieces lets say you already had time to craft a whole set and farm trinkets. IMO crafting, raids, certain achievements and fractals are the easiest ways to get ascended gear. I remember when I started I got intro strikes thinking I could gear my first character that way and I felt stuck, then I changed to crafting and progressing in fractals which changed the paced at which I got gear quite a lot. Just as an added tip, you can also change ascended armor/weapons' stats on the mystic forge, you can wiki the recipe for it.
Had to pause the video at 4:06 to refute the comment that PvP hasn't been updated since launch and that it doesn't get any developer attention, NOT TRUE! How many balance patches has GW2 gotten over the past 10+ years? How many of those dozens and dozens of balance patches have been mostly about PvP, and/or WvW balance, instead of PvE balance? I would say that most balance patches are for PvP and WvW, where balancing the game is probably more important. So, you can't really say that there hasn't been any developer attention on PvP or WvW. Have there been much fewer new maps or content for PvP and WvW, yes, absolutely, but that does not equal zero developer attention towards thos two game modes. Could more be done to make the PvP and WvW players feel that their concerns are being addressed by Anet? Absolutely! End Rant:
Oh I absolutely understand your point, balance patches are of course required for most pvp seasons as one profession will get significantly overpowered in comparison to the following season with a lateral nerf. I'm meaning in the sense of new pvp maps, game modes in pvp (capture the flag, king of the hill) things of that sort!
I've been playing since GW1 alpha and the main draw is that you can take really long breaks and come back for the big releases and not feel like you are way behind. The downside is that once you've seen the new stuff it becomes a daily check list that gets old really fast.
It depends on how you view the game. For me (someone who has been playing nonstop since shortly after launch) GW2 still has tons of things to do and lots of enjoyment in repeating some parts of the game occasionally that I enjoy the most. GW2 has become so huge now, that I don't see myself ever becoming bored playing it, as I can always switch to some other part of the game I haven't experienced in a while, and enjoy that part again, maybe on a new character, or a different profession than the previous time I played it. The variety in the game and the huge variation available in the build system continue to make the game feel fresh, even after 10+ years. The multiple choices of story branches during character creation, give players multiple ways to experience the core story. I'm glad that some players like GW2 because they can step away from the game for short or long periods of time and return knowing that they haven't fallen behind other players who continued to play the whole time they were away, but at least for me, I've never felt the urge to leave and have enjoyed the (multiple) journeys I have taken through Tyria. My suggestion to all players is don't burn yourself out, take your time and explore everything that GW2 has to offer. Players who rush to consume the game as quickly as they can are often the ones who feel lost, not knowing what to do in the game, because they think they have seen everything already (but probably have missed a lot).
I mean I played Old school RuneScape and nearly maxed my Ironman, almost all end game items but grinding the same boss just to get a +1 higher hit was so bad and the bosses get more annoying the further end game you get, gw2 I’ve played for like a week and it so engaging so much content and even tho I’m a noob I feel I can do all content even with the gear I have. Can’t believe it’s 11 years old, it’s brilliant. I feel I haven’t scratched the surface yet. And the cosmetics are so good. Still a solid 9/10 don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of content just literally give it a week and explore some crazy stuff. It honestly has so much more than games that are being released in 2023! Would recommend.
7:00 - That is exactly why I like GW2 out of all the other MMOs I've tried. I don't like chasing tiny gear stat increases. I have a life and don't sit at a game all day everyday. GW2 respects my time and I play for the fluid combat, not for the carrot on the stick. I enjoy the world, music, and combat. It's like playing a FPS game for only the battlepass skins... I play FPS games for the gameplay of aiming down sights, controlling recoil, and flanking enemies... Legendary crafting is what I sink my rewards into. I do wish there were some fresh new fractals though since I do those daily for liquid gold.
It's really the dunning Kruger effect. It's not that we won't tell you it's that we view the info as so basic we forgot It needs to be told. Things that a beginner or even a more moderately advanced player would find super relevant we would brush off as common knowledge.
What really took me by surprise is that, at lvl 80, you're elite spec doesn't just fall into your lap. No sir; you're going to be playing your core spec for a long, long time after 80 to unlock that elite spec you were so excited about when you made your character.
@@adrianvictorvif you care about story progression then you have to play LWS1 and 2 first. Mounts are gated further. Basically all the cool stuff is gated by these dumb living worlds
As a gaming addict, repetition rarely bothers me. I see it as one of the "features" of an RPGs (especially JRPGs) that you learn to deal with. Enjoy a game for what it is and accepts it faults. Games are a lot more fun that way. : P
I am looking forward to play gs2 first time today, and juding by the videos i have seen it seems like so much fun! Can't wait till my shift is over to give it a shot
just play the content you want and craft your ascended gear from the mats you get from it, I don't see the issue if you don't want to beat the same strikes over and over again, just don't do it there are other ways to earn the gear
There is plenty of ways to get gear and enjoy the game modes you want to! Personally I got bored quite fast with strikes and raids but that could be because I raided for years in wow. Perhaps I have a outlier view?
As a fellow gaming dad, I absolutely love horizontal progression. I came from WoW, and one reason I chose GW2 over FF was the horizontal nature of it. I strongly prefer it.
I used to disagree until like 5 years ago. Got burned out playing wow for more than a decade. Dropped MMO's for 5 years. Started playing GW2 and then "hey this horizontal progression is really cool... it respects my time" So my opinion that I had for an extremely long time flipped on its head by getting burned out on vertical progression and a long break.
repetitive game play has to exist to farm large number of items needed to make legendary gear- if we didn't have that repeat process the game would not have constant community participation and item cost would have massive inflation. Much of guild activity is organizing the fun of farming these activities over and over. its great
Absolutely correct! One of my favorite things is the start stop capabilities of the game. Now that's not to say that I wouldn't like newer content to do but I see why it is a necessity in Guild Wars 2!
I realize this was posted some time ago, but it just popped up on my TH-cam grazing. Hearing you talk about doing "gear grind" for ascended... You do realize that you can craft ascended gear. My apologies if this has already come up, but here's my two cents on the topic. Crafting will not only lead to ascended gear, it is a good way to lvl. Don't feel that you have to reach top crafting lvl all in one shot. You can get what you need to lvl your crafting just by playing, using salvage kits and stowing matts. You'll get plenty of raw materials. You are free to do whatever game play you want to get matts. Mix it up, have fun! You'll earn gold and hopefully enjoy playing the game as well. You can, in very short order, craft exotic gear, and then work your way to crafting ascended. Once you have trained in the 3 armor disciplines, that's it you never have to train those up again. Same goes for ascended weapons, craft them! You will also learn runes and sigils and bag crafting. Crafting can also make you gold, where do you think those bags, exotic gear, runes and sigils come from on the TP? It's an across the board win and I rarely see it discussed/presented by streamers. As a vet player and alt-aholic, I can fully gear up any toon to ascended in short order without any "grind". Just something to keep in mind.
Hadn't played in a little while, to come back and feel welcomed by the system as I can access Bladesworn spec and get my Decades devotion title was one hell of a way to remind me how different this game is to the likes of Warcraft.
Easiest ways to get Ascended gear is T3 and T4 Fractals. If item is not your stats, then change them in the mystic forge. Also crafting ascended gear is quite quick and doesn't take months either.
GW2 is shaping up to sound really dope. I’m messing with it, only level 22 but I love what I’m hearing and the community here. I think GW2 is off putting because like you said, people expect to have to grind for each expansion’s gear.. but GW2 doesn’t do that. Which to me means the gameplay has to be crazy fun. Which is doable - look at franchises like Halo and games like Fortnite / Rocket League / CS… people play for thousands of hours and still keep playing, even though those games have basically 0 grind for better stats. The gameplay itself is just THAT fun, that you don’t need to grind for gear. There’s nothing wrong with grinding for stuff, *especially* collectible cosmetics, but imo my favorite model of game is: make it stupid fun just to strictly press the ability buttons and move correctly, and then you can focus on dope collectibles & such. Idk if there is longevity with that model but it kind of seems GW2 is shaping up to be that way from what I have learned. Thanks for all your content Caff Dad!!! CD for short! Been really enjoying your stuff - it feels very wholesome as the kids would say.
First thank you for your comment! I do think as you spend time in the game you'll find more enjoyment in just hanging out, doing small little tasks and collections versus only the endgame pve or pvp. I like the fact that I can just do what I need tondo and be OK and it sounds like you are along that route! Again thank you again for your kind words!
Whaaat? Much of this seems quite a reach. But I gotta say the main one is to suggest that people don't like that they earn gear and then it's good for ever and the next expansion won't add better tier armour. I'm pretty certain that's something many people love. The next expansion doesn't suddenly effectively weaken every player forcing them to grind again just to be back to where they were.
Absolutely agree, and as i stated in the video I'm one of those people who love the earn once keep forever progression styles. I have personally seen many commentary from Newer players who find boredom being off that treadmill!
I'm loving on the Virtuoso atm. Very fun elite mesmer that is great both solo open world and world bosses. I'm not a raider, pvp, or fractals so cant address the playability but I suspect that specter would be fine in those venues.
The slow drip feed of content is irritating for veterans but there is a silver lining to the drip feed's cloud - a relaxed pace of unlocking. Not trying to white knight, but it also gives newer players a chance to do older content and unlock stuff that they missed its initial release while still participating in the current event. There's no pressure to unlock everything immediately for fear of missing out on any active events and there's ample time to get the main items/achievements and go back to work on your own goals. There have been some content droughts, I'm not denying that, but that also frees up time to actually go through the achievement list to find stuff that you choose to do, rather than focusing on grinding out the flavor of the month event.
Honestly thats a fantastic point! The endless grind and brand new content always felt like I was sprinting on a treadmill and couldn't go and do the fun things on the side without being left behind. Excellent comment!
th-cam.com/video/elo9Z1CB_KA/w-d-xo.html this is an extreme try hard by the way and they're only doing 30k I can't find any other benchmark on another core profession but core specs are all significantly less damage than any build on snow crows even boon dps builds bench higher than this
my favorite core profession is thief though I don't know how much of that is driven by the fact it was the first ever profession I played and the asociation between me starting to play GW2 and the profession
I came from other MMO in guilds that went for world first. I was the top healer but that in it self was a lot of preassure when new expansions came out. Had to grind gear in dungeons to have the stats enough for the new raid. Had to farm something that had a drop with a few more spellpower and i had to get it or we would be slowed down. I remember spending 48 hours nonstop farming a special event that gave me extra and i was so tired of it that i felt like throwing up but i went on and on during the night and day to get it. And then the notieriety or what ever it was depending on the mmo, also that had to go fast. Then family happen and i kept on going until i realised that it effected my family when this farrming of dungeons, and events and then stressing raids to get the world first which could go on for days without sleep. This was my life at that point but i realised my kids needed me more then i needed to be the healer who got my guild through raids. So i quit. Looking at the farming in GW2 and comparae that to other mmo who have raids, it just is not on the same page. With that said, grinding is always boring in the end. So there are times in GW2 that i get fed up and then i drop it for a while because nothing in GW2 is a must. It is about what i want. And how much time i want to spend on it and in the other mmo i had a very short timetable to get raid ready, whilst in GW2 this is not the case. And that is why i now even with kids growing up and are now adults i still keep to GW2. I am old now and i want to feel that i can log off at any point without letting people down or feel i holding my guild back because i can not raid, which i actually only done for shits and giggle, and are a WvW player now more then anything else, but either way, i have freedom in GW2 that i never felt in other mmo where you hardcore raid. That is very important to me.
Your in the same boat as me. I tried raiding when I had my first kid and jt was just impossibly hard. There was so much dedication to world of warcraft that I could not provide for both the game and my family so the game had to go. Gw2 does it perfectly as you have said, I don't have to feel like I'm holding anyone back or I'm falling behind because I'm a parent. Thank you for your time and comment!
@@CaffeinatedDad th-cam.com/video/n9jy40yFqzs/w-d-xo.html Engineers had a turret build where they would plant themselves in the middle of the map and they would become untouchable lol it was a huge mess but it was a lot of fun. Also, back then it was 10v10, not 5v5, so extra messy lol but arguably, extra fun too
Maybe I am just a old lady player who doesn’t have tons of time to play but I like the achievements. There are endless achievements that I still have left to accomplish despite playing from the beginning. To me that is my end game content. Some require repetition but some don’t. I doubt if I will ever have time or inclination to really get into PVP or fractals but I do enjoy always having some little challenge to complete in my own time frame. Thanks for your videos. I really enjoy your conversational style.
That's the beauty of the game! You can just have this little tithe of time and effort for what you deem worthy and not be forced into what you feel you are required or forced to so! Also thank you for the kind words!
The key to good gear is CRAFTING Ascended Armor and Weapons. Legendary items do NOT have stats any better than Ascended items, but Legendary items can be shared and used by multiple toons at the same time. The cost and time to make 1 Legendary weapon in equal to making 7-10 Ascended weapons. Not advised for the light player. To justify the time and cost of a Legendary weapon you have to REALLY like the look or animation of a Legendary item, or plan to get the use of it by using it on numerous toons. I have 56 level 80 toons of the different elite specialization. A Legendary pistol such as HOPE, I can use with 30+ toon all at once, so it is easier to justify the time and money, plus unlike new players I have the materials and special components in the bank to make it less painful of a grind. As you mentioned, it is a grind to get the materials. Getting Ascended items through doing events is a waste of time, since most the time the ones that drop might not have the stats you want and you have to do crafting to change them anyways. Crafting is the key.
about armor, i put my berzerker equip at day 1 and NEVER removed it since today, in pve, whole swaping thing was made especialy for raids whiner, and for arenanet selling gear slots
Been a core warrior main since launch, the fun is making it work despite not being incredibly optimal. I've been able to maintain high gold/low plat in SPVP with it.
For PVE solo I have really good sustain cuz I run a shout heal build, works well for small group content as well. For strike missions I usually play dual axe banner build, which can be done with core n zerker spec
I'm pretty new and I've been trying out firebrand, but have been getting stomped due to not really knowing/understand what all the abilities do..Have definitely been having a better time with core guardian atm..
@@CaffeinatedDad Thanks for the reply! After finally getting a grasp on everything I'm gonna give it another go. But yeah I feel more comfortable on core guardian for sure.
Elite specialisations outpacing core is such a pain, and a clear sign of power creep. There's some core specs I'd really like to play (i.e. Warrior), but the e-spec is a pure upgrade (i.e. Spellbreaker). As to the PvP, it's a real shame that they didn't flesh it out in GW2. GW1 had a *great* PvP experience and a *great* story/campaign experience.
I agree, I think at one point they really wanted pvp to be a big thing but it just never was able to stick the way they wanted to. Also agrees on power creep
@@CaffeinatedDad I do remember there being talk in the beta and the early days of it turning into an e-sport. The problem there is that the fast paced and flashy nature made it quite difficult for viewers to really discern what was going on. It's a real shame that they didn't bother adding a form of Alliance Battle or Heroes' Ascent into 2. I wasted so much time back in the day doing those in 1.
I played a lot of pve and wvw in vanilla. I came back from years of not playing, specifically for the pvp. Really enjoying it but I wish there would have been something new.
Core guard is great, I played scepter cata before the nerf and got capped at G3 (solo queue) in PVP Now that I’m maining core guard in PvP I float around plat 1-2 (also solo queue)
Pretty much agree with most of this...apart from the ascended gear part. There's a variety of ways to earn ascended gear in PvE (achievement rewards, collecting mats from varied content and crafting etc.). Where the content gets repetitive is for some legendary gear - I'm looking at you, 'Wayfarer's Henge', and you, 'Funerary Incense'...and also grinding raids for LI for the armour. Although there's a semi-decent gold return from doing raids (along with ascended drops).
These things are such a reach lol. Also, majority of veterans are really transparent and don’t keep things from new players. So don’t agree with even the premise of your video lol. It honestly looks like you made this video because you didn’t know what to talk about and trying to sound like you’re saying something profound lol.
Nah, it's not meant to sound profound! And by your comment, it seems that this video wasn't directed to you! I do appreciate you taking the time to comment and watch my video.
Crafting ascended equimpent, My to play time is limited, hence I cant commit to instance gameplay, so I just login craft the time gated materials, and play wherever content I want this give me passive gold and materials, when I have enough of the time gated materials I craft and move to the next item. I have hear that instance content is even faster but after seeing this video Im confused :/
Instanced content can be very fast at unlocking ascended gear depending on how much play time you can put in. To achieve it fast , especially through strike missions you will have to do quite a few to earn the materials and if you don't have alot of time to play then this method may not be good for you. My first ascended gear was crafted and I did as you did, waiting for the piece to come in bit by bit it wasn't super fast but it was definitely my pace!
Core Specs can actually be very effective, more so than elite specs, depending on your build's goal. Elite specs just have the "shiny!" factor for many people so they overlook the potential that Core builds can have. On my main character I actually run a Core Guardian build for most of my stuff (I sub DH in for one of the speclines for WvW for the 5 second block and the leap on my F3 and F2 skills). I run a hybrid power/condi build I've been working on/tweaking for a long time, and in my pursuit to make it better for longer fights on single targets, but still capable of the massive burning burst vs clusters of foes that I designed it for, I found that taking 3 Core speclines was the best (sure I can't hit 75 burnstacks peak with Core, but having the targets live long enough to even see 75 stacks was a rare thing anyway). I'll never be top dps vs singular meta bosses etc (I'm usually in the top 20-25%% in a squad on damage with 22-24k dps on a single target long fight) but the build absolutely shines in the situations where I designed it to shine. In situations where there are multiple mobs I can cleave, I'll often be in the top 3 of a squad on dps as I run around essentially roleplaying hellfire incarnate. Openworld stuff in general/meta event chains. If it's an event that spawns at least a handful of mobs I can pull/kite together, I can roast them in seconds without even using the full possble rotation. Even in metas where the mobs scale up quite a bit due to number of players (Kaineng Blackout as an example) the build unleashes frequent bursts of insane burning damage that lets me melt even those scaled-up mobs with relative ease. (In Kaineng meta vs the spawns of Brotherhood/Purists/jademechs, for the 10 seconds the mobs will be alive for at most, I'll be chugging along at 100-130k+ dps for those short/bursty fights if I unload the full opening rotation. That full rotation is available to me every 45 seconds, and the filler/partial rotation (which honestly is still overkill for most things and ticks over at about 80-100k for those short mass fights where I can cleave things) I have available to me on a 12-15 second loop (or less if I have alacrity). Don't underestmate Core builds' potential. You can have some seriously good fun with them if you think outside the box :)
Oh I never said that core professions don't have a place or even that they can't compete. What I am stressing at is that areanet has kept the power creep moving forward which makes it overall more difficult for core to keep up!
I keep coming back to core necro, my love for the original shroud just grows stronger everyday and I have a lot of experience on it so I don't feel like I'm any behind anyone when it comes to pvp or wvw, in fact it's very rare for me to lose a 1v1 with core necro as its the tankiest spec for necro
I have play gw2 for a year and a couple months more, the way it feel is that the leveling is horizontal and very fun, but wen you hit level 80, the end game feel like you are climbing a big mauntain, I want to get ascended armor gear and I start in fractals which I quit after see how slow is to obtain those relics and ones you have it well you have to buy more agoni place for your rings, then I muve to wvw super slow to, I spent haurs and haurs in that game mode were I faund is that if your server does not play wvw you gona go waist your time there, I start now with pvp the progretion is good but if you change the stats of the ascended armor it will no longer be a legendary precursor, so the end game of gw2 feels more like a nightmare not horizontal at all, is horizontal ones you have collect everithing
I do believe that jt doesn't fit everyone and honestly a lot of players prefer that constant feed of striving for gear. It's only gw2 that breaks the norm!
Which class was the first class tier got you hooked? I have played off and on since beta, however I have only ever made it to PoF as far as story goes. I’ve only dipped into fractals. Point being I have tried for years and years and can not find a main class that I just absolutely love playing. I have sung GW2 praises for years, and yet never really got into it as much as I would like. Also you have the best GW2 content out there! I love your videos. I’m a fellow father of 3 and I appreciate what you do!
Hmm, the first one to get me truly hooked was actually my thief. Once , leveled my thief and made a deadeye I was in. Now I transferred mains to others but absolutely I liked the medium tier. I now focus on an elementalist as my main and have a great time! Also thank you for your kind words!
Working on my Power Reaper (I know, I know, I'm determined to work on ONE character and do content chronologically, I'm an idiot) but the leap from Minionmancer to Power Reaper is huge. Sheer damage as I work on Core Map Completion is a massive upgrade. Doesn't make getting the Mastery Points any easier. Please can I have Autoloot already?
I see your point about Core spec and eltie spec, but even tho as a pvper and explorer my 2 main are Core support guardian and core condi necro. In my opinion the point is not to multitask but to do one thing really well and let your team do their role well too. It like you said firebrand quick heal fall off in pvp because he cant do his one job really well even if he does bring more ''diversified'' utility in his build. i've personnally always tend prefer core spec (except mechanist like wth this is strong) even if i have every expansion.
Oh I had to bring up the core guardian in pvp for that matter. In spvp core professions can absolutely thrive! But in other content elite specs usually have an upperhand. Thank you for your comment!
I play core necro on my main in pvp. It’s way durable and used to be intended as such back in the core days. Play since release. Still my favorite class
@@CaffeinatedDad I don’t like minions anything in my game and if presented with decent no summon option, I go for it. That’s why I only play Soulbeast ranger and don’t even try to raid in ESO when sorc with familiar dominates meta. But I generally enjoyed earlier versions of necro shroud that gave you separate health bar and skills compared to Scourge and self-affliction of the harbinger.
even in wvw, i pretend to be those minion-mancer just roaming taking camps and sentries but my real build is really boon-corruptions, those damn eles are so easier to kill with core necro compared when i'm using other specs
@@2Btoobee core condi necro is superior to glassy scourge, you have less corruption and burning and torment, but so much more durability to survive damage spikes. Also condi transfer and removal when gooing in and out of shroud is really better with second health bar. I randomly killed a lot of mechs and eles and thieves engaging me thinking I am just a grasseating noob (I am kinda noob in pvp with 240 ranks, but I know how my class works.)
My main is a core guardian. However I have tweaked my build a bit to make it more effective in all game modes. I use rune the warrior for added toughness and vitality as well. I have all the elite specs for guardian unlocked on her, but I still prefer core.
The unfortunate side effects of elite specializations is that they inherently tend to be better even if slightly then their core variations. Not the rule but most of the time I'd say
My favorite core as a veteran is ironically revenant, I say ironically cause as the new addition to professions, it took me a while to enjoy it since the utility skills have a different rhythm to it, but when it got reworked and the f2 now gave you extra energy I dreamed of the day I could use staff and short bow without having to be a renegade. And now with weapon master not only did that dream came true, now I can use great sword and short bow as well, in the beta weekend I had a blast with Ventarí and Jalis, in my opinion a good offense/support-sustainability build for open world.
There are parts of guildwars 2 that anet doesn't have the ability to update or renew, they simply don't know the code. The pvp team was axed by ncsoft early on because it failed to hit the esports market like its competitors and they saw no value in it going forward. the core game itself is only about 60% complete before they lost key people to other projects, firings or they quit. almost every system in the game is imcomplete.
why wouldn't veterans tell you this? make a real video on the REAL shit they wont tell you- 1- hackers 2-= buying gold and items 3- out side websites instead of in game broker 4- business guilds 5- using discord group to win in pvp 6- special builds not shared 7- bots and farming - THESE ARE THE DARK THINGS THAT IF EVERYONE DID WOULD RUIN AND WRECK THE GAME BUT IF ONLY A FEW DO THE GAME SURIVIVES. Oligarchy vs. Regular players
True, but out of all video games, how often do you not see this? And honestly arenanet can't help but be painfully aware of that situations but I don't know if they have to capacity to do more!
This maybe out of context or even out of place for me to say this, but the long hours of grinding is what really drives me. coming from a mobile game like COC i mean grinding for endgame is just a masterpiece for me
Horizontal progression is not just gear progression. It's also what you do as part of the endgame loop. For GW2, it's meaningful achievements (to unlock mounts and more character skills), and the separate reward tracks. I got all my ascendancy gear from sPvP and that didn't require me to have any gear to start. I think your grievance is more about the lack of new content and how that creates redundancy in the end game loop. Your criticism seemed to have fallen on "horizontal progression" in itself, but there is nothing about horizontal progression that creates redundancy. If anything it's meant to break up the more traditional mmo end game of looped raiding between content additions (WoW). Having multiple different options to progress your character end game is only a good thing. I play Destiny 2 now because it's endgame loop is very similar to GW2, in that it has a horizontal progression system. You might like it more because it constantly gets new content. I wish more games of all kinds drew from GW2's endgame example. I could never revert back to a WoW model, that's just a time/age thing.
PVP exists in gw2. It is pretty decent, but some specializations are monsters while most are ok. WVW is alot of fun, but again some specializations are monsters while most are ok. Also I will say I do kinda miss getting better and better gear, but it is so tedious and stressful. GW2 has a very clear track to follow for gear and removes the rat race for slightly better gear for.. forever.
I like doing the same instances for ascended versus relying on RNG. For example ESO has it's monster sets based off of chest you open for completing pledges so even though you complete the pledge you still have to gamble for the gear. That type of horizontal progression sucks where GW2 has that but it also has currencies geared toward strikes raids and fractals like you say. As you put it horizontal progression but I don't want to gamble for my main pieces. And you know what either should you because its greasy.
Bro, it’s Way faster and easier to craft your ascended gear. Just make sure to craft your daily base mats, every day, and you’ll build up a stockpile of materials to be able to craft any set of armor and weapons any time in minutes.
As a very, very long term veteran, who had always kept up, I disagree with the last 3rd regarding the repetition. I am also a father, of many, and have always little play time (but it all has gone to GW2), and I hate farming, and refuse to do the repetition. I have screwed around, and do all content, now and then, primarily just wandering the land and helping people (not lucrative). Yet! I always have enough for everything I want, be it legendary weapons or ascended gear, without farming/repetition. That being said, it's many years of playing without repetition. This is all to say, your are right if you want to rush a particular thing - farming will be fastest. But for nearly everything, relax and play - as you stated, rushing something is not going to get you stronger.
I just started like 2 weeks ago. And Im playing a Necro. And its 100% my favorite lol just cuz i LOVE being a DoT caster. And i know that Ill love playing all of its elite specs. Its also the only class that my eyes arent aiming towards the endgoal. By which i mean every other class im interested in, all im thinking about is what elite spec i wanna specialize in. Necro I might like the core class way more than the subclass.
When I play the game I get right into it because that's the way I play it's kill time but your right good armor helps. I want a lazor weapon not the crapy pea shooter I have. and it's should be one or two shoots in the pumpkin and your gone not on and on and on like a merry-go-round if you know what I mean. Like how many times do you have to kill the dragon.
Favorite core class has got to be the Mesmer, so unique and fun to play. Been my main since I downloaded the game back at release. Unfortunately I took..about a decade off and I’m only just now getting back into it. Do people still need me to speed run them through citadel of flame?😅
I’m not completely lost, I’m well through heart of thorns, about half my carrion gear has been swapped for vipers, and I’ve mastered mirage 😬 but wow a lot has changed❤
Still love core ranger for all game modes... having access to marksmanship, wilderness survival and beastmastery still rocks. That being said, elite specs are usually better at filling almost every role than core specs. PvP has been updated only through balance patches, though to be honest balance patches are very exciting for PvPers b/c it changes the meta... I think you may misunderstand the horizontal progression idea... it's more about expanding your characters to give you more options or more capabilities, without discounting the work you've already done (though your point regarding it may not be for everyone is definitely true... some people like the grind and reward for constant play). The end game content can be repetitive (especially if you are working hard towards a specific goal)... sadly it's not something ANet has solved within the MMO genre. The way I personally deal with that is to mix up what I do (so I'm not doing the same thing every day, all day) and work on several pieces of gear/achievements/game goals at the same time. Given the wide range of content currently available, I usually don't get bogged down in repetition (though that may not be for everyone... some people like to work on a chosen singular goal until it's completed). Great content and thank you for bringing these elements to attention in a fair and reasonable way :)
Honestly well said! I've talked a number of times about how and why this game is great about making your previous successes not feel wasted by immediately replacing them a patch later. I appreciate your kind words! Thank you!
Guild wars has everything you need to enjoy the game, you can play solos and still do group co tent on workd events, dungeons are fun, and the progression is easy enough it gives you a lot of armor and weapons levelling up and now i e finally hit 80 on my necro I'm enjoying the hunt for hero points working towards the reaper and I've not even finished rhe content or got close I still have the living and all the expa sion story stuff to play through. Raids and strikes are my next goal to work towards I ha e legendary gear just haven't got a raid group or a guild yet so this may be a bit trickier to get into.
"You collected them all" - A lot of time for the last 10 years? Fair enough :D But you need to have like reeeeeally a lot of time to collect them all ^^
I'm a new player who picked up the engineer core profession, and then I watched a video (actually come to think of it pretty sure it was yours😂) and it said engi is one of the hardest professions to do well as a new player, I looked back at my charr enigineer and was like well I'm already level 20, I'm stickin with it, no regrets just, wish I could decide what I want to focus on, because I like it all, turrets, bombs grenades, Flamethrower, chemicals, I can't decide which war crimes I want to commit
I stress in all videos that they can be challenging but incredibly rewarding. That video I made about the engineer was trying to explain its low percentage of player base. Again though that was pre EoD
@@CaffeinatedDad Good to know thanks, I'm really enjoying the game, both your videos and Preach's Project MMO coverage of the game have helped me make the decision to buy the first 2 expansions, with the intent to buy EoD in the future, so thank you for that as well. Now I'm going to make a caffeinated beverage and play some Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 is my fun game, I love map completion and hanging with friends. I'm not interested in crafting legendary gear etc. I have ESO for my end-game content and have all the shinies there, I love that with GW2 I can take a break and hop back in when I want too.
6 things I wish I knew sooner about Guild Wars 2
th-cam.com/video/gHJCLdUSWn8/w-d-xo.html
You should update this for 2023, core specializations have returned according to the forums.
1) and in which mmo in the world, don't you grind the same dungeon, raid, boss, to collect 50/50 or whatever, to craft your new gear?
what are you talking about?
GW2 gave you choices = get legendary gear through pvp, wvw, raids...it is not just one thing like all the other games >>> more diversity than other mmos.
2) pvp has been changed so many times, professions buffed/nerfed, it looks nothing like pvp with core professions 10 years ago
3) very repetitive? yes, it's the same gear, but taking your character through new maps, bosses, raids wings, new living world maps, new expansions, new specializations so often...
4) fractals? they were so different before, then they added that division into 4 categories 1-25, 25-50...
then added fractal 100 which was the top tier hardest content in fractals, then challenge motes, then after than new fractals every now and then
dude are we even talking about the same game? :DDD
I don't think you should be making GW2 content. make videos for something you understand
I have been playing since July 2013, you cannot make these statements
Just like lazy peon, when he made a video about Tera and said that diversity of mobs was a PRO, I laughed so hard :D
At some point you'll understand that GW2 is a game designed for you to log in and have fun as it's first priority. And then you'll see the walkthrough the game makes you do if you start having your goals, like legendaries. And still not really needed as you still have the horizontal progression, you can truly always log in to simply have a good time.
Honestly well said!
This is why Guild Wars 2 has been my favorite game since it came out. I take breaks, sometimes for months, but I always come back and I always enjoy my time in Tyria.
On the topic of repetitive content; WoW is basically running the same 8 dungeons on repeat for months hoping to get a +2 item level upgrade. What differs between WoW and GW2 in this is that when a new patch drops and the M+ dungeons are shuffled, everything you have done the past few months become obsolete. In GW2 this is completely different. Things I gathered and did back in 2012 still holds value today. The legendary dagger I crafted in 2013 is still my most used weapon - and the strongest one. This is honestly what keeps me coming back - my time investment isn't pointless, it is valued.
@@Geiir I feel like you would also love OSRS
A game designed to maximize fun? How can they get away with this?
@@AyoItsAntony OSRS is also fun indeed, I'd love a more modern OSRS (not RS3...just no)
I dunno, I tell people all the time that horizontal progression is a thing and if they're into chasing the power carrot this isn't the game for them. As I've often said: If you're going to make me grind, make it worth my time. Grinding for an item that's going to be meaningless next expansion has less and less value for me as I get older.
WoW = hamster upgrade treadmill.
Next expansion green items > last expansion blue item. /s
That's what I believe as well. Like I get working on it to get majorly better gear buy if it's only like 1% difference imo I need more value for my time!
Yes very well said
Im in my mid 30s, I still feel very young and I have a relative active life, no kids but I have a girlfriend and nephews and a niece to tend to. Ive been playing GW2 for a week or so and Im having fun and what I like is that it doesnt feel like work or I dont feel pressure to get better at it
Having no gear grind was honestly the selling point of the game for me at launch as i never liked the gear grind in wow constantly replacing gear just got old after few upgrade cycles back in 2008. The fact that i can earn a gear set(s) and actually play the game and have fun without stress of being left behind is the best part of the game.
Personally i do not really care about new pvp maps as long as i have fun in the maps we already have same with WvW just look at how people hated the desert borderlands and still hate it after all these years most people avoid it like a plague (i still like it).
True! At the end of the day it really falls down to what people enjoy and now that I'm in a position where I don't have a ton of time to play this just feels right!
@@CaffeinatedDad For me personally the selling point of GW2 was that there's no open pvp.
When I first heard about GW2 at the Cologne Gamescom in 2011, I was just trying to distance myself from my first mmo ever, Aion. In Aion, there are a few secure places, like cities and some rare hubs, but the most part of the game world is open pvp, where a player of the opposing faction can freely assault and wipe the floor with you anytime they want. When it takes abt two hours for you just to get to your quest/level areas, just bcs you keep being ambushed by enemy players whichever route you take, it really takes the fun out of the game for me.
So I was looking for something different and Boom there was GW2, fulfilling all my dreams about a fun mmorpg. Which is why I'm still playing it continuously since the first day of pre-release (Sat. August 25th 2012) :)
I respectfully disagree with two of your points:
About Core specs:
- Your vision is a bit tainted by the fact that you compare 9 core professions to 27 elite specs.
There is a fallacy how you created these groups that you compare.
Reversely, you could ask a similar question: How many HoT specs do you see in mid-high rated PvP content (compared to all the other specs)? I believe I see more Core specs than HoT... Can we argue then that HoT specs are inferior?
In group-PvE content I wholeheartedly agree with you about Core specs. But then why stop at Core specs?? You could continue this list... EoD specs (on average) are significantly better than HoT currently in PvE, right? Can we agree that HoT is garbage, so just play EoD specs?
But more imporantly I think, class design, and the fun-factor, IS a really peculiar aspect... The shiny new specs FEEL awesome, and arguably for Marketing Reasons. (And furthermore, everybody just wants to play them, therefore we see more of them).
About sPvP updates:
- I believe the elite specs and the balance-patches ARE the updates in sPvP. I honestly do not care about a new game mode or a new map. (and I'd wager that if Anet introduced a new sPvP game mode, nobody else would care after 2 weeks either.)
We need new mechanics and good balance.
You can argue that it's still lacking, but then I'd ask you to name an MMO that does better. (WOTLK and MoP might have did better, sure. But the current MMO-PvP development is about constant shake-ups: in every patch there is a small minority of high-rated viable builds that is rotated around, because achieving perfect balance on all skill-levels is impossible... and those mmo's playerbase just can't keep up with it, therefore stagnant metas are harder to form. But I dont think it's good game-design at all; it infuriates me).
Just a small edit to my sPvP point:
Your statement is still VALID tho, that sPvP doesn't recive ~enough~ love. But I still find it in a much better state (from Development point) than most other MMOs currently on the market.
This 2 satement can both be valid at the same time... in which we can conclude, that we're mostly talking about the state of MMO-PvP...
But this is the same old sad song, aint it?
Most of the salty pvp-ers I personally meet, who loudly and vitriolically hate on Gw2's pvp, after some nudging and talking with them, say that they actually don't play other mmos for their PvP itch, they long gave up those. Many of them I talk with, play MOBA and FPS. (My sampling might be biased tho!!!).
But then I ask: Are we really hating on Anet ~OR~ the mmo-community for not actually wanting pvp in their mmo? Could we simultaneously say that the lovers of MMO PvP have a hard time in today's world, WHILE also being welcoming into Gw2-PvP with more optimism and positivity knowing it's one hell of a refuge? :)
I attribute most of the PvP-hate to problems in Population (other than problems in perception).
Time after time spent in the pvp-lobby, post-after-post on reddit, I had to conclude, that this deep-rooted cynical "Anet-hates-PVP" mentality itself is keeping away enthusiastic nowcommers that are looking for the true mmo-pvp-experience that cannot be found in pressing 6 buttons in a MOBA.
... I mean, sure there are plenty of other reasons, but at least we CAN influence our own mindset, right?
So here is MY one tip for gw2 nowcommers :D
"Everywhere you turn regarding gw2 pvp, youtube, reddit, pvp-lobby, there will constantly be a bitter but Vocal minority of players that will tell you that Anet-hates-pvp. While in reality, they don't. And could even be considered arguably one of the best in the mmo-genre currently."
@@Woryen I have maintained since shortly after GW2 release that is has THE best pvp experience you can get in an MMO even today. It's not perfect but it's probably the most balanced I've ever experienced.
True! I do believe the core professions have a better showing in pvp versus every other game mode but I personally have seen very little core professions outside of that specific instance.
I do believe that there isn't enough development to go around to be honest. If they get around to updating anything it'll be a momentary jump in interest then settle down unfortunately
Dont listen to this guy, some core specs still slap and situational especially in pvp. Plus it give you different playstyles vs the meta build. If you get bored of the game/game mode play something else. That's the benefit of horizontal progression.
What he is not saying in his video is that the quality of life you get from having legendries is more than a stat boost, you permanently have the ability to change stats without spending any more gold or use up another valuable inventory space, build template slots and have these legendries useable across characters, of course they are going to be difficult to get. That's why they are named legendary and when you see someone with one you know how difficult it is to get.
I did mention that the core specs can situationally have the advantage! I had a specific example as well.
As far as your point regarding the legendaries, there are players that have no interest in working towards something that will just give them a cosmetic and quality of life boost. Some don't believe it is worth it and perhaps those are not the ones who stay long term with the game
One thing I like about this game is you can make progress towards gear playing pretty much however you want. You aren't forced to grind one specific boss over and over again waiting for one specific item to drop (unless you are looking for a specific skin). You've got a variety of ways to get gear. I come from a game called realm of the mad god where I have sometimes spent upwards of 150 hours grinding a single boss to get a specific item to upgrade my character. Heck there was one item in that game that took me 9 years to get.
That's what I personally love about gw2, the fact that I have it, it's in my wardrobe and I'm good forever! Great point jerod!
RoTMG has been going downhill since it's launch.
GW2 is built from the ground up to value the player's time it seems. Like any game you will get burned out on it after hundreds or thousands of hours, but it remains the best MMO I've ever witnessed. The horizontal progression (while I've come to really love it) perhaps comes as a blessing in disguise as it may attract a more mature playerbase overall. I've once again come back from a long break from the game and am not disappointed at all. Soulbeast main is still crushing it haha
Haha I'm in the same thiught process, I like having my game be saved ready for when I can pick it up again! That's the beauty of Guild Wars 2!
I played wow 18 years and I'm really thinking I may enjoy gw2 more im upset I waited so long to dive in. Expecially being older now I did sod till a few weeks ago but it go so intensive... so many raids. I can't pour that much time anymore...
as a not guild war 2 but general proffesional player:
don´t watch too much content on your game. Try to experience it on your own.
If you start your journey through the eyes of someone else
you´ll unlikely to develop your own...
as someone who came from WoW to guildwars I really like gear progression in guildwars and the horizontal progression in general. for me its about unlocking stuff and just experiening the game rather than only focusing on geting the best gear so I can do end game stuff. it only took me like few days after getting guildwars to get to max level and get gear good enough for raids and strikes
yeah it's a great game IMO. It's a game that respects your time as BiS gear will always be BiS (best in slot) so it just focuses on variety when it comes to content, achievement, rewards & most importantly.. Fun. I hope they make player-owned house in the future as that's another major variety of content & rewards.
I've heard both sides, people who didn't like that there wasn't better gear to strive for, and others who love it because they don't have to.
To each their own I suppose!
In my opinion lol if some likes doing the same thing over and over again, day after day they need a psychiatrist not a better game lol. Gear grind needs to go
@@JRussellDay agreed but then Anet has to be really creative with reward space & ideas.. especially now that expansions are coming faster albiet at a smaller scale. I hope they eventually develop a player-owned housing system bcus that's a good rewards space.
As nice as it is to spend all your time overcoming challenges and getting some super nice gear, there’s nothing worse than all your gear being worse than greens when the new expansions release. Gw2 doesn’t have this issue
I think one of the reasons core specs are generally weaker than elite specs isn't necessarily due to the inherent powerlevel, but also partially down to how builds are built, especially in pve. You usually want to focus of a specific thing, such as power or condi damage, or healing output. Most classes only have ~2 traitlines that really support one of those playstyles well, so you end up having a lackluster 3rd choice, while elite spec traitlines often fill those gaps very well. You also simply have more choices, in terms of utility skills, and there's often something there worth taking to fill a slot that might have been meh otherwise. Not to say that elite specs adding extra class mechanics isn't just a straight upgrade in most cases, but that's not all that's to it
also, core professions aren't allowed to have quick/alac, so you're kind of limited to pure dps for comp building purposes
i dont keep up with comps but pvp dueling ect Core builds made properly can outwork elite specs. Most elite specs are rather burst filled. they got the juice and tinker out after a while before dumping it on again while core specs generally are well rounded and give consistent endless output. you have seen some build videos for example showing gunblade ect warriors doing massive burst damage and people say omg op build new meta ect. no one counts the seconds that warrior sat before attacking or the utility. while a core build would output constant damage during that whole period and just need one counter for the powerful attack. But i played core builds for over 10 years fighting Top meta players before i finally started dabbling in elite specs and i still find issues in elite spec builds at times compared to core. They specilize a bit to much for their own good at times.
Well, core for me is the ranger. Play bow/sword/pet thats the ranger. Do I want to be a druid? No, I picked a ranger because of the main weapom, in fact I dont even use the other weapons available to rangers as they are outside my concept to be a ranger.
This! I play the Ranger with a bow nearly all the time either lomg or short bow depending the situation!
Just bought all three expansions yesternight.
My plan was to only play solo and casual
Honestly if that's how you want to handle the game then it's built just for you. The game is great for picking up and putting down!
1. Elite specializations - they should be more powerful than basic ones. In GW2 there is no free play game - this is a TRIAL version, for review. With story, game mechanics, class mechanics and different types of content.
2. Vertical progression = with each new gear you do NOT get something new, you get everything the same, only:
* boss has more HP
* you deal more damage
* you heal more
Everything else is the same as before! The only difference is in the above. I've played vertical progression games for quite a long time (Hi Lost Ark! - 3 years and 3 accounts) and I can tell you one thing, in this situation, players are more concerned about increasing gear than having fun in the game.
3. The main thing to focus on - new content - raids, strikes, fractals and I would return the relevance of the dungeons. And on unique rewards for all this!
In all other respects, GW2 is perhaps the most balanced game in terms of the type (quantity) of content - pve in the open world, pve in instances, structured pvp, mass pvp and much more
1000%
Well said!
I think for new players who have not played hundreds of hours yet stuff will not get repetitive. Acquiring mounts gear doing all the meta events and just playing the endgame content will have a lot of different stuff to do. Especially acquiring ascended armor is not. Just for the record:
obtaining ascended gear is usually done through raids strikes pvp and fractals for most. There are 100 fractals so that can’t get repetitive quickly it will take you plenty of time to get through that. for a new player like you said pvp is always with new people and you can play nine different classes technically 36 for specializations. There are many different strikes in the game with new once being added but usually strikes are easier so new players can come practice in them and than move on to raids. And for raids if you want to get ascended armor it shouldn’t take more than twenty boss kills which means you won’t even kill every raid boss once. Now yes stuff does get repetitive after you spend hundreds of hours on these game modes but I think that’s enough time to enjoy a game.
Well put! I suppose from my perspective I tend to get a bit bored but I have also done a lot of games that have strong repetitiveness and time commitments (wow)
Thank you, so it's not repetitive at all, for me I'm coming from wotlk where only 3 raid instances matter ICC, Rs, and toc. And I played these 3 raids for over 9 years. 😂😂
My problem with gw2 is..there's barely any guild wars. At this point they could name it Dragon wars 2 or something more appropriate. I think they should make WvW the ultimate endgame like raids and cm strikes. Push new WvW content updates(new sieges, maps or idk some fun themes) instead of just balance updates. It could be such an unique and fun game mode but it needs more love.
Dragon wars 2 lol honestly I agree they would do a ton better if they focused on the guild wars aspect or rather the lack there of!
I understand your desire for WvW to be the main focus of the game, but it's pretty clear that GW2 currently (and for the past many years) has more players who avoid WvW (and PvP), than players like you who wish that those game modes were the central focus of the developers. Would more players switch their play style and begin enjoying the WvW and PvP game modes if Anet put more developer resources into those game modes? Maybe, but probably not. Would Anet make more income from the existing player base, or from new players coming into the game, if Anet put more developer resources into WvW and PvP? Maybe, but probably not. Is GW2 already too dependent on the "Casual Player" community sustaining the game at this point in time to allow for a change? Maybe not, but probably YES. Sad for WvW and PvP players, but probably true. But, with the current management at Anet, there is some hope for improvement in both WvW and PvP, so don't give up and despair. As some others have commented, PvP and WvW in GW2 is probably the best there is in any MMORPG currently available.
New wvw content won't really happen til the hardcore scene stops being babies and accept change. When eotm came out they were excited then said screw it and would yell at ppl to take their karma trains their. When desert borderland came out they said screw it, give us alpine or give us nothing those are the ppl anet caters to for wvw....they wanted a gvg area that wasn't behind south camp, so they redesigned obsidian for them to have an area it's barely used... they blamed crafting stations for map que (barely more then 3 ppl at them) so anet removed them to please that crowd. That's why anet is afraid to make new maps/sieges and why alliances are taking so long because they're trying to make sure to do it right to please them. Even though they could have just used eotm colour system called them factions, ur guild chooses a faction and bingo a soft alliance system created, could even make 3 new maps for it, but cuz its not alpine it wouldn't fly lol
Was expecting some cool tips, not a rant.
Should play ESO. PvP got like 2 updates since 2014. The gear I made in 2015 is still considered strong in 2023. Want a piece of gear from a dungeon? There’s no currency, better farm that same boss over and over and over until it drops with the stats you want.
GW2 has it way better than some other MMOs.
I've heard great things from ESO! I have a few people in my community who play and say great things
I have a lot of time for my Core Guardian - opened up the Elite specs and they never really tempted me :)
Thats the beautiful but from gw2. Is that all professions can do well and if you only want to play core, then play core!
When I started at launch my first character was a Core Guardian. I quit the game for a long time only coming back at the tail end of IBS and switched to Rev and haven’t looked back I just dig the aesthetic and combat flow.
Honestly after playing revenant for a while I see what you mean! It's a blast!
I've been wearing the same set of acended gear for like 4 years, so nice that my gear isn't suddenly moot after an expack,
Agreed!
When it comes to gearing, if any new players are reading this (just my opinion) I feel like strikes are probably the slowest way to get yourself ascended gear, the amount of currency you get is very small and by the time u get to buy 2 pieces lets say you already had time to craft a whole set and farm trinkets. IMO crafting, raids, certain achievements and fractals are the easiest ways to get ascended gear. I remember when I started I got intro strikes thinking I could gear my first character that way and I felt stuck, then I changed to crafting and progressing in fractals which changed the paced at which I got gear quite a lot. Just as an added tip, you can also change ascended armor/weapons' stats on the mystic forge, you can wiki the recipe for it.
Had to pause the video at 4:06 to refute the comment that PvP hasn't been updated since launch and that it doesn't get any developer attention, NOT TRUE! How many balance patches has GW2 gotten over the past 10+ years? How many of those dozens and dozens of balance patches have been mostly about PvP, and/or WvW balance, instead of PvE balance? I would say that most balance patches are for PvP and WvW, where balancing the game is probably more important. So, you can't really say that there hasn't been any developer attention on PvP or WvW. Have there been much fewer new maps or content for PvP and WvW, yes, absolutely, but that does not equal zero developer attention towards thos two game modes. Could more be done to make the PvP and WvW players feel that their concerns are being addressed by Anet? Absolutely! End Rant:
Oh I absolutely understand your point, balance patches are of course required for most pvp seasons as one profession will get significantly overpowered in comparison to the following season with a lateral nerf.
I'm meaning in the sense of new pvp maps, game modes in pvp (capture the flag, king of the hill) things of that sort!
I've been playing since GW1 alpha and the main draw is that you can take really long breaks and come back for the big releases and not feel like you are way behind. The downside is that once you've seen the new stuff it becomes a daily check list that gets old really fast.
Agreed, it's been quite a few months since old Lions Arch came out so it feels slow paced right now
It depends on how you view the game. For me (someone who has been playing nonstop since shortly after launch) GW2 still has tons of things to do and lots of enjoyment in repeating some parts of the game occasionally that I enjoy the most. GW2 has become so huge now, that I don't see myself ever becoming bored playing it, as I can always switch to some other part of the game I haven't experienced in a while, and enjoy that part again, maybe on a new character, or a different profession than the previous time I played it. The variety in the game and the huge variation available in the build system continue to make the game feel fresh, even after 10+ years. The multiple choices of story branches during character creation, give players multiple ways to experience the core story. I'm glad that some players like GW2 because they can step away from the game for short or long periods of time and return knowing that they haven't fallen behind other players who continued to play the whole time they were away, but at least for me, I've never felt the urge to leave and have enjoyed the (multiple) journeys I have taken through Tyria. My suggestion to all players is don't burn yourself out, take your time and explore everything that GW2 has to offer. Players who rush to consume the game as quickly as they can are often the ones who feel lost, not knowing what to do in the game, because they think they have seen everything already (but probably have missed a lot).
I mean I played Old school RuneScape and nearly maxed my Ironman, almost all end game items but grinding the same boss just to get a +1 higher hit was so bad and the bosses get more annoying the further end game you get, gw2 I’ve played for like a week and it so engaging so much content and even tho I’m a noob I feel I can do all content even with the gear I have. Can’t believe it’s 11 years old, it’s brilliant. I feel I haven’t scratched the surface yet. And the cosmetics are so good. Still a solid 9/10 don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of content just literally give it a week and explore some crazy stuff. It honestly has so much more than games that are being released in 2023! Would recommend.
Well damn. That was amazing put! Thank you for your time and comment!
7:00 - That is exactly why I like GW2 out of all the other MMOs I've tried. I don't like chasing tiny gear stat increases. I have a life and don't sit at a game all day everyday. GW2 respects my time and I play for the fluid combat, not for the carrot on the stick. I enjoy the world, music, and combat. It's like playing a FPS game for only the battlepass skins... I play FPS games for the gameplay of aiming down sights, controlling recoil, and flanking enemies... Legendary crafting is what I sink my rewards into. I do wish there were some fresh new fractals though since I do those daily for liquid gold.
Of course many players are hoping for some improvements in either content or new features but overall the game is still in a fantastic place!
Sandsark is my favorite PoF enemy. It teaches you about cc and dodging pretty early on.
True! Especially as quick tutorial it's super effective!
I just enjoy using my Engineer Shield 4 skill and yeeting it away when it does its spin 🤣
It's really the dunning Kruger effect. It's not that we won't tell you it's that we view the info as so basic we forgot It needs to be told. Things that a beginner or even a more moderately advanced player would find super relevant we would brush off as common knowledge.
Ha! That's actually a great point!
What really took me by surprise is that, at lvl 80, you're elite spec doesn't just fall into your lap. No sir; you're going to be playing your core spec for a long, long time after 80 to unlock that elite spec you were so excited about when you made your character.
True that does kinda make it seem like we'll more grinding but luckily the unlocks are fairly straight forward
Or just join a train and they're all maxed out in a few hours.
@@adrianvictorvif you care about story progression then you have to play LWS1 and 2 first. Mounts are gated further. Basically all the cool stuff is gated by these dumb living worlds
As a gaming addict, repetition rarely bothers me. I see it as one of the "features" of an RPGs (especially JRPGs) that you learn to deal with. Enjoy a game for what it is and accepts it faults. Games are a lot more fun that way. : P
I swear coming into this game with low expectations has been an absolute godsend!
@@CaffeinatedDad heha, another way to look at it. XD
Gw2 has vertical progression..that progression is called player skill. That's what matters.
True! But at the top end of the gameplay, how many people actually experience it?
@@CaffeinatedDad All of them ?
I am looking forward to play gs2 first time today, and juding by the videos i have seen it seems like so much fun! Can't wait till my shift is over to give it a shot
It is quite a game ngl. There is plenty ty of things going on so I suggest you take it at your own pace!
just play the content you want and craft your ascended gear from the mats you get from it, I don't see the issue
if you don't want to beat the same strikes over and over again, just don't do it there are other ways to earn the gear
There is plenty of ways to get gear and enjoy the game modes you want to! Personally I got bored quite fast with strikes and raids but that could be because I raided for years in wow. Perhaps I have a outlier view?
As a fellow gaming dad, I absolutely love horizontal progression. I came from WoW, and one reason I chose GW2 over FF was the horizontal nature of it. I strongly prefer it.
I used to disagree until like 5 years ago. Got burned out playing wow for more than a decade. Dropped MMO's for 5 years. Started playing GW2 and then "hey this horizontal progression is really cool... it respects my time"
So my opinion that I had for an extremely long time flipped on its head by getting burned out on vertical progression and a long break.
Core warrior. It’s enjoyable and does just fine imo. Axe/axe main bar mace/shield back bar.
I put out a unkillable warrior build and to this day I still use it!
Minionmancer Necro, let's go!
Fantastic choice!
repetitive game play has to exist to farm large number of items needed to make legendary gear- if we didn't have that repeat process the game would not have constant community participation and item cost would have massive inflation. Much of guild activity is organizing the fun of farming these activities over and over. its great
Absolutely correct! One of my favorite things is the start stop capabilities of the game. Now that's not to say that I wouldn't like newer content to do but I see why it is a necessity in Guild Wars 2!
I realize this was posted some time ago, but it just popped up on my TH-cam grazing. Hearing you talk about doing "gear grind" for ascended... You do realize that you can craft ascended gear. My apologies if this has already come up, but here's my two cents on the topic. Crafting will not only lead to ascended gear, it is a good way to lvl. Don't feel that you have to reach top crafting lvl all in one shot. You can get what you need to lvl your crafting just by playing, using salvage kits and stowing matts. You'll get plenty of raw materials. You are free to do whatever game play you want to get matts. Mix it up, have fun! You'll earn gold and hopefully enjoy playing the game as well. You can, in very short order, craft exotic gear, and then work your way to crafting ascended. Once you have trained in the 3 armor disciplines, that's it you never have to train those up again. Same goes for ascended weapons, craft them! You will also learn runes and sigils and bag crafting. Crafting can also make you gold, where do you think those bags, exotic gear, runes and sigils come from on the TP? It's an across the board win and I rarely see it discussed/presented by streamers. As a vet player and alt-aholic, I can fully gear up any toon to ascended in short order without any "grind". Just something to keep in mind.
I’ve been watching all of your videos the past few days and trying to catch up! Thanks again.
Hey thank you for the kind words! I appreciate the support!
Hadn't played in a little while, to come back and feel welcomed by the system as I can access Bladesworn spec and get my Decades devotion title was one hell of a way to remind me how different this game is to the likes of Warcraft.
It is great to come back to isn't it?
Easiest ways to get Ascended gear is T3 and T4 Fractals. If item is not your stats, then change them in the mystic forge. Also crafting ascended gear is quite quick and doesn't take months either.
Agreed! I have seen now faster ways to unlock ascended without working overly hard!
GW2 is shaping up to sound really dope. I’m messing with it, only level 22 but I love what I’m hearing and the community here. I think GW2 is off putting because like you said, people expect to have to grind for each expansion’s gear.. but GW2 doesn’t do that. Which to me means the gameplay has to be crazy fun. Which is doable - look at franchises like Halo and games like Fortnite / Rocket League / CS… people play for thousands of hours and still keep playing, even though those games have basically 0 grind for better stats. The gameplay itself is just THAT fun, that you don’t need to grind for gear.
There’s nothing wrong with grinding for stuff, *especially* collectible cosmetics, but imo my favorite model of game is: make it stupid fun just to strictly press the ability buttons and move correctly, and then you can focus on dope collectibles & such. Idk if there is longevity with that model but it kind of seems GW2 is shaping up to be that way from what I have learned.
Thanks for all your content Caff Dad!!! CD for short! Been really enjoying your stuff - it feels very wholesome as the kids would say.
First thank you for your comment! I do think as you spend time in the game you'll find more enjoyment in just hanging out, doing small little tasks and collections versus only the endgame pve or pvp. I like the fact that I can just do what I need tondo and be OK and it sounds like you are along that route!
Again thank you again for your kind words!
Whaaat? Much of this seems quite a reach. But I gotta say the main one is to suggest that people don't like that they earn gear and then it's good for ever and the next expansion won't add better tier armour. I'm pretty certain that's something many people love. The next expansion doesn't suddenly effectively weaken every player forcing them to grind again just to be back to where they were.
Absolutely agree, and as i stated in the video I'm one of those people who love the earn once keep forever progression styles.
I have personally seen many commentary from Newer players who find boredom being off that treadmill!
literally just downloaded the game a day or 2 before and i made an elementalist account since i want to explore more magic caster type of gameplay
Elementalist is a caster but it's a fast paced caster, doing alot of different things in each attunement. Hope you are enjoying your time!
I'm loving on the Virtuoso atm. Very fun elite mesmer that is great both solo open world and world bosses. I'm not a raider, pvp, or fractals so cant address the playability but I suspect that specter would be fine in those venues.
The specter I've seen a few times in the open world and they were able to do alright on their ownA
The slow drip feed of content is irritating for veterans but there is a silver lining to the drip feed's cloud - a relaxed pace of unlocking. Not trying to white knight, but it also gives newer players a chance to do older content and unlock stuff that they missed its initial release while still participating in the current event. There's no pressure to unlock everything immediately for fear of missing out on any active events and there's ample time to get the main items/achievements and go back to work on your own goals. There have been some content droughts, I'm not denying that, but that also frees up time to actually go through the achievement list to find stuff that you choose to do, rather than focusing on grinding out the flavor of the month event.
Honestly thats a fantastic point! The endless grind and brand new content always felt like I was sprinting on a treadmill and couldn't go and do the fun things on the side without being left behind.
Excellent comment!
I havent been playing for some time, but I've been clearing CM Ankka with core warrior build, its easy and still does good dmg
Oh for sure! But I wonder if you may be the exception rather than the rule? I seldomly see a core.. well anything lol
th-cam.com/video/elo9Z1CB_KA/w-d-xo.html
this is an extreme try hard by the way and they're only doing 30k I can't find any other benchmark on another core profession but core specs are all significantly less damage than any build on snow crows even boon dps builds bench higher than this
my favorite core profession is thief though I don't know how much of that is driven by the fact it was the first ever profession I played and the asociation between me starting to play GW2 and the profession
Hey when you know, you know! I thiught I was going to be a ranger main until I started playing elementalist!
I came from other MMO in guilds that went for world first. I was the top healer but that in it self was a lot of preassure when new expansions came out. Had to grind gear in dungeons to have the stats enough for the new raid. Had to farm something that had a drop with a few more spellpower and i had to get it or we would be slowed down. I remember spending 48 hours nonstop farming a special event that gave me extra and i was so tired of it that i felt like throwing up but i went on and on during the night and day to get it. And then the notieriety or what ever it was depending on the mmo, also that had to go fast.
Then family happen and i kept on going until i realised that it effected my family when this farrming of dungeons, and events and then stressing raids to get the world first which could go on for days without sleep. This was my life at that point but i realised my kids needed me more then i needed to be the healer who got my guild through raids. So i quit.
Looking at the farming in GW2 and comparae that to other mmo who have raids, it just is not on the same page. With that said, grinding is always boring in the end. So there are times in GW2 that i get fed up and then i drop it for a while because nothing in GW2 is a must. It is about what i want. And how much time i want to spend on it and in the other mmo i had a very short timetable to get raid ready, whilst in GW2 this is not the case. And that is why i now even with kids growing up and are now adults i still keep to GW2. I am old now and i want to feel that i can log off at any point without letting people down or feel i holding my guild back because i can not raid, which i actually only done for shits and giggle, and are a WvW player now more then anything else, but either way, i have freedom in GW2 that i never felt in other mmo where you hardcore raid. That is very important to me.
Your in the same boat as me. I tried raiding when I had my first kid and jt was just impossibly hard. There was so much dedication to world of warcraft that I could not provide for both the game and my family so the game had to go.
Gw2 does it perfectly as you have said, I don't have to feel like I'm holding anyone back or I'm falling behind because I'm a parent.
Thank you for your time and comment!
I miss the old Revenge of Capricorn map, thats the only change I wish they reverted back in SPVP LOL but no underwater please, keep that change out :(
Wait old Capricorn had underwater combat?!?!
@@CaffeinatedDad th-cam.com/video/n9jy40yFqzs/w-d-xo.html Engineers had a turret build where they would plant themselves in the middle of the map and they would become untouchable lol it was a huge mess but it was a lot of fun. Also, back then it was 10v10, not 5v5, so extra messy lol but arguably, extra fun too
Maybe I am just a old lady player who doesn’t have tons of time to play but I like the achievements. There are endless achievements that I still have left to accomplish despite playing from the beginning. To me that is my end game content. Some require repetition but some don’t. I doubt if I will ever have time or inclination to really get into PVP or fractals but I do enjoy always having some little challenge to complete in my own time frame. Thanks for your videos. I really enjoy your conversational style.
That's the beauty of the game! You can just have this little tithe of time and effort for what you deem worthy and not be forced into what you feel you are required or forced to so!
Also thank you for the kind words!
The key to good gear is CRAFTING Ascended Armor and Weapons. Legendary items do NOT have stats any better than Ascended items, but Legendary items can be shared and used by multiple toons at the same time. The cost and time to make 1 Legendary weapon in equal to making 7-10 Ascended weapons. Not advised for the light player. To justify the time and cost of a Legendary weapon you have to REALLY like the look or animation of a Legendary item, or plan to get the use of it by using it on numerous toons. I have 56 level 80 toons of the different elite specialization. A Legendary pistol such as HOPE, I can use with 30+ toon all at once, so it is easier to justify the time and money, plus unlike new players I have the materials and special components in the bank to make it less painful of a grind. As you mentioned, it is a grind to get the materials. Getting Ascended items through doing events is a waste of time, since most the time the ones that drop might not have the stats you want and you have to do crafting to change them anyways. Crafting is the key.
about armor, i put my berzerker equip at day 1 and NEVER removed it since today, in pve, whole swaping thing was made especialy for raids whiner, and for arenanet selling gear slots
Honestly zerkers is never a bad option! I have that on my warrior and never need to swap!
Been a core warrior main since launch, the fun is making it work despite not being incredibly optimal. I've been able to maintain high gold/low plat in SPVP with it.
Oh pvp tends to be a different case, hence I mentioned the core support guardian, but how does your warrior do in pve?
For PVE solo I have really good sustain cuz I run a shout heal build, works well for small group content as well. For strike missions I usually play dual axe banner build, which can be done with core n zerker spec
@@Phreephur I'm looking at setting up a shouthealer warrior build, any chance you could share your build?
Just an additional note: you can craft ascended armor too, I got most of mine from crafting
I'm pretty new and I've been trying out firebrand, but have been getting stomped due to not really knowing/understand what all the abilities do..Have definitely been having a better time with core guardian atm..
Firebrand doesn't seem to perform as well as say core guardian for some reason. It's a shame too cause the concept is awesome!
@@CaffeinatedDad Thanks for the reply! After finally getting a grasp on everything I'm gonna give it another go. But yeah I feel more comfortable on core guardian for sure.
Elite specialisations outpacing core is such a pain, and a clear sign of power creep.
There's some core specs I'd really like to play (i.e. Warrior), but the e-spec is a pure upgrade (i.e. Spellbreaker).
As to the PvP, it's a real shame that they didn't flesh it out in GW2. GW1 had a *great* PvP experience and a *great* story/campaign experience.
I agree, I think at one point they really wanted pvp to be a big thing but it just never was able to stick the way they wanted to. Also agrees on power creep
@@CaffeinatedDad I do remember there being talk in the beta and the early days of it turning into an e-sport. The problem there is that the fast paced and flashy nature made it quite difficult for viewers to really discern what was going on.
It's a real shame that they didn't bother adding a form of Alliance Battle or Heroes' Ascent into 2. I wasted so much time back in the day doing those in 1.
I played a lot of pve and wvw in vanilla. I came back from years of not playing, specifically for the pvp. Really enjoying it but I wish there would have been something new.
I've recently started messing around in wvw and it has been great fun! I think the funnest bit is catching a player off guard!
The hardest thing for me was no tank, heal, dps in dungeons. Just a free for all so if you plan to heal you best be able to take a hit
So fun fact with legendaries. They used to never be that way. Back in the day, they used to be soulbound items
I heard that! They didn't use to have the legendary armory!
@@CaffeinatedDad I'm glad it's changed over the years. Imagine how annoying it would be if they were still soulbound to this day😅
core warrior, necro, guardian and probably some other can still bend over elite specs in pvp as core builds are generally more well rounded.
Core guard is great, I played scepter cata before the nerf and got capped at G3 (solo queue) in PVP
Now that I’m maining core guard in PvP I float around plat 1-2 (also solo queue)
That's really why u had to mention it! Core guard is a beast in pvp while in pve it unfortunately doesn't do enough
Pretty much agree with most of this...apart from the ascended gear part. There's a variety of ways to earn ascended gear in PvE (achievement rewards, collecting mats from varied content and crafting etc.). Where the content gets repetitive is for some legendary gear - I'm looking at you, 'Wayfarer's Henge', and you, 'Funerary Incense'...and also grinding raids for LI for the armour. Although there's a semi-decent gold return from doing raids (along with ascended drops).
Oh agreed! The random drop ones are awesome too! But I agree it's nice to have a number of ways to get the best gear!
Thank you for leaving a comment!
it took me 3 hours to collect all 250 funerary tokens😝👌
Join the legendary bounty train or create your own
These things are such a reach lol. Also, majority of veterans are really transparent and don’t keep things from new players. So don’t agree with even the premise of your video lol. It honestly looks like you made this video because you didn’t know what to talk about and trying to sound like you’re saying something profound lol.
Nah, it's not meant to sound profound! And by your comment, it seems that this video wasn't directed to you! I do appreciate you taking the time to comment and watch my video.
Crafting ascended equimpent, My to play time is limited, hence I cant commit to instance gameplay, so I just login craft the time gated materials, and play wherever content I want this give me passive gold and materials, when I have enough of the time gated materials I craft and move to the next item. I have hear that instance content is even faster but after seeing this video Im confused :/
Instanced content can be very fast at unlocking ascended gear depending on how much play time you can put in. To achieve it fast
, especially through strike missions you will have to do quite a few to earn the materials and if you don't have alot of time to play then this method may not be good for you.
My first ascended gear was crafted and I did as you did, waiting for the piece to come in bit by bit it wasn't super fast but it was definitely my pace!
Core Specs can actually be very effective, more so than elite specs, depending on your build's goal. Elite specs just have the "shiny!" factor for many people so they overlook the potential that Core builds can have.
On my main character I actually run a Core Guardian build for most of my stuff (I sub DH in for one of the speclines for WvW for the 5 second block and the leap on my F3 and F2 skills). I run a hybrid power/condi build I've been working on/tweaking for a long time, and in my pursuit to make it better for longer fights on single targets, but still capable of the massive burning burst vs clusters of foes that I designed it for, I found that taking 3 Core speclines was the best (sure I can't hit 75 burnstacks peak with Core, but having the targets live long enough to even see 75 stacks was a rare thing anyway). I'll never be top dps vs singular meta bosses etc (I'm usually in the top 20-25%% in a squad on damage with 22-24k dps on a single target long fight) but the build absolutely shines in the situations where I designed it to shine. In situations where there are multiple mobs I can cleave, I'll often be in the top 3 of a squad on dps as I run around essentially roleplaying hellfire incarnate.
Openworld stuff in general/meta event chains. If it's an event that spawns at least a handful of mobs I can pull/kite together, I can roast them in seconds without even using the full possble rotation. Even in metas where the mobs scale up quite a bit due to number of players (Kaineng Blackout as an example) the build unleashes frequent bursts of insane burning damage that lets me melt even those scaled-up mobs with relative ease. (In Kaineng meta vs the spawns of Brotherhood/Purists/jademechs, for the 10 seconds the mobs will be alive for at most, I'll be chugging along at 100-130k+ dps for those short/bursty fights if I unload the full opening rotation. That full rotation is available to me every 45 seconds, and the filler/partial rotation (which honestly is still overkill for most things and ticks over at about 80-100k for those short mass fights where I can cleave things) I have available to me on a 12-15 second loop (or less if I have alacrity).
Don't underestmate Core builds' potential. You can have some seriously good fun with them if you think outside the box :)
Oh I never said that core professions don't have a place or even that they can't compete. What I am stressing at is that areanet has kept the power creep moving forward which makes it overall more difficult for core to keep up!
Coming from eso I personally would like guild wars to add regular new dungeons/fractals
100% agree!
Core necro minionmancer is still a really good core class for most things
Honestly it still does quite a few things very well!
I keep coming back to core necro, my love for the original shroud just grows stronger everyday and I have a lot of experience on it so I don't feel like I'm any behind anyone when it comes to pvp or wvw, in fact it's very rare for me to lose a 1v1 with core necro as its the tankiest spec for necro
I have play gw2 for a year and a couple months more, the way it feel is that the leveling is horizontal and very fun, but wen you hit level 80, the end game feel like you are climbing a big mauntain, I want to get ascended armor gear and I start in fractals which I quit after see how slow is to obtain those relics and ones you have it well you have to buy more agoni place for your rings, then I muve to wvw super slow to, I spent haurs and haurs in that game mode were I faund is that if your server does not play wvw you gona go waist your time there, I start now with pvp the progretion is good but if you change the stats of the ascended armor it will no longer be a legendary precursor, so the end game of gw2 feels more like a nightmare not horizontal at all, is horizontal ones you have collect everithing
I do believe that jt doesn't fit everyone and honestly a lot of players prefer that constant feed of striving for gear. It's only gw2 that breaks the norm!
Which class was the first class tier got you hooked? I have played off and on since beta, however I have only ever made it to PoF as far as story goes. I’ve only dipped into fractals. Point being I have tried for years and years and can not find a main class that I just absolutely love playing. I have sung GW2 praises for years, and yet never really got into it as much as I would like.
Also you have the best GW2 content out there! I love your videos. I’m a fellow father of 3 and I appreciate what you do!
Hmm, the first one to get me truly hooked was actually my thief. Once , leveled my thief and made a deadeye I was in. Now I transferred mains to others but absolutely I liked the medium tier. I now focus on an elementalist as my main and have a great time! Also thank you for your kind words!
Working on my Power Reaper (I know, I know, I'm determined to work on ONE character and do content chronologically, I'm an idiot) but the leap from Minionmancer to Power Reaper is huge. Sheer damage as I work on Core Map Completion is a massive upgrade. Doesn't make getting the Mastery Points any easier. Please can I have Autoloot already?
Hahaha reaper will take you on a ride for sure! But your not an idiot for wanted to experience the story as they have shown it to be!
I see your point about Core spec and eltie spec, but even tho as a pvper and explorer my 2 main are Core support guardian and core condi necro. In my opinion the point is not to multitask but to do one thing really well and let your team do their role well too. It like you said firebrand quick heal fall off in pvp because he cant do his one job really well even if he does bring more ''diversified'' utility in his build. i've personnally always tend prefer core spec (except mechanist like wth this is strong) even if i have every expansion.
Oh I had to bring up the core guardian in pvp for that matter. In spvp core professions can absolutely thrive! But in other content elite specs usually have an upperhand.
Thank you for your comment!
I play core necro on my main in pvp. It’s way durable and used to be intended as such back in the core days. Play since release. Still my favorite class
Honestly can agree, the core necromancer is still a blast in pvp! There's a core necromancer build that still uses minions!
@@CaffeinatedDad I don’t like minions anything in my game and if presented with decent no summon option, I go for it. That’s why I only play Soulbeast ranger and don’t even try to raid in ESO when sorc with familiar dominates meta. But I generally enjoyed earlier versions of necro shroud that gave you separate health bar and skills compared to Scourge and self-affliction of the harbinger.
even in wvw, i pretend to be those minion-mancer just roaming taking camps and sentries but my real build is really boon-corruptions, those damn eles are so easier to kill with core necro compared when i'm using other specs
@@2Btoobee core condi necro is superior to glassy scourge, you have less corruption and burning and torment, but so much more durability to survive damage spikes. Also condi transfer and removal when gooing in and out of shroud is really better with second health bar. I randomly killed a lot of mechs and eles and thieves engaging me thinking I am just a grasseating noob (I am kinda noob in pvp with 240 ranks, but I know how my class works.)
My main is a core guardian. However I have tweaked my build a bit to make it more effective in all game modes. I use rune the warrior for added toughness and vitality as well. I have all the elite specs for guardian unlocked on her, but I still prefer core.
The unfortunate side effects of elite specializations is that they inherently tend to be better even if slightly then their core variations. Not the rule but most of the time I'd say
My favorite core as a veteran is ironically revenant, I say ironically cause as the new addition to professions, it took me a while to enjoy it since the utility skills have a different rhythm to it, but when it got reworked and the f2 now gave you extra energy I dreamed of the day I could use staff and short bow without having to be a renegade. And now with weapon master not only did that dream came true, now I can use great sword and short bow as well, in the beta weekend I had a blast with Ventarí and Jalis, in my opinion a good offense/support-sustainability build for open world.
There are parts of guildwars 2 that anet doesn't have the ability to update or renew, they simply don't know the code. The pvp team was axed by ncsoft early on because it failed to hit the esports market like its competitors and they saw no value in it going forward. the core game itself is only about 60% complete before they lost key people to other projects, firings or they quit. almost every system in the game is imcomplete.
I can understand this tbh. There are tim3s where the game just feels clunky and disconnected and especially in pvp
why wouldn't veterans tell you this? make a real video on the REAL shit they wont tell you- 1- hackers 2-= buying gold and items 3- out side websites instead of in game broker 4- business guilds 5- using discord group to win in pvp 6- special builds not shared 7- bots and farming - THESE ARE THE DARK THINGS THAT IF EVERYONE DID WOULD RUIN AND WRECK THE GAME BUT IF ONLY A FEW DO THE GAME SURIVIVES. Oligarchy vs. Regular players
True, but out of all video games, how often do you not see this? And honestly arenanet can't help but be painfully aware of that situations but I don't know if they have to capacity to do more!
This maybe out of context or even out of place for me to say this, but the long hours of grinding is what really drives me. coming from a mobile game like COC i mean grinding for endgame is just a masterpiece for me
Ive played GW1 for 17 year's and GW2 since beta DPS means nothing and has NO PLACE in guild wars (unless you raid)
True! Raiding where you have certain timers is the only place that dps is required!
Core necro is very good at pve all around for roaming and world completion
Oh it's fantastic at a number of things! Minions OP!
I wish they'd add polymock arenas, give the minitures a purpose other than collecting ;u;
That would be awesome!
Horizontal progression is not just gear progression. It's also what you do as part of the endgame loop. For GW2, it's meaningful achievements (to unlock mounts and more character skills), and the separate reward tracks. I got all my ascendancy gear from sPvP and that didn't require me to have any gear to start. I think your grievance is more about the lack of new content and how that creates redundancy in the end game loop. Your criticism seemed to have fallen on "horizontal progression" in itself, but there is nothing about horizontal progression that creates redundancy. If anything it's meant to break up the more traditional mmo end game of looped raiding between content additions (WoW). Having multiple different options to progress your character end game is only a good thing.
I play Destiny 2 now because it's endgame loop is very similar to GW2, in that it has a horizontal progression system. You might like it more because it constantly gets new content. I wish more games of all kinds drew from GW2's endgame example. I could never revert back to a WoW model, that's just a time/age thing.
Wrong. Destiny 2 has shit endgame loop. Play same missions for a season. 5 years later. Still doing same missions and grinding to hear cap
PVP exists in gw2. It is pretty decent, but some specializations are monsters while most are ok. WVW is alot of fun, but again some specializations are monsters while most are ok. Also I will say I do kinda miss getting better and better gear, but it is so tedious and stressful. GW2 has a very clear track to follow for gear and removes the rat race for slightly better gear for.. forever.
I agree, I do miss that sense of progress overtime as well. But that's snipped because I haven't even finished getting all my legendaries either lol
Wow, the first secret got me. I just asked that a few days ago and the common answer was: they're all good, don't worry!! :0
Watching this while drinking my coffee
THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!!!
I like doing the same instances for ascended versus relying on RNG. For example ESO has it's monster sets based off of chest you open for completing pledges so even though you complete the pledge you still have to gamble for the gear. That type of horizontal progression sucks where GW2 has that but it also has currencies geared toward strikes raids and fractals like you say. As you put it horizontal progression but I don't want to gamble for my main pieces. And you know what either should you because its greasy.
Bro, it’s Way faster and easier to craft your ascended gear. Just make sure to craft your daily base mats, every day, and you’ll build up a stockpile of materials to be able to craft any set of armor and weapons any time in minutes.
As a very, very long term veteran, who had always kept up, I disagree with the last 3rd regarding the repetition.
I am also a father, of many, and have always little play time (but it all has gone to GW2), and I hate farming, and refuse to do the repetition. I have screwed around, and do all content, now and then, primarily just wandering the land and helping people (not lucrative). Yet! I always have enough for everything I want, be it legendary weapons or ascended gear, without farming/repetition. That being said, it's many years of playing without repetition.
This is all to say, your are right if you want to rush a particular thing - farming will be fastest. But for nearly everything, relax and play - as you stated, rushing something is not going to get you stronger.
As of 30 Nov 2023, ArenaNet's revenue is $111.0 million, with Guilded and Square Enix being its top competitors.
Actually that's really not bad lol
I just started like 2 weeks ago. And Im playing a Necro. And its 100% my favorite lol just cuz i LOVE being a DoT caster. And i know that Ill love playing all of its elite specs. Its also the only class that my eyes arent aiming towards the endgoal. By which i mean every other class im interested in, all im thinking about is what elite spec i wanna specialize in. Necro I might like the core class way more than the subclass.
Core necromancer us surprisingly amazing even now.ive heard the reaper is great fun!
When I play the game I get right into it because that's the way I play it's kill time but your right good armor helps. I want a lazor weapon not the crapy pea shooter I have. and it's should be one or two shoots in the pumpkin and your gone not on and on and on like a merry-go-round if you know what I mean. Like how many times do you have to kill the dragon.
I vaguely understand?
Favorite core class has got to be the Mesmer, so unique and fun to play. Been my main since I downloaded the game back at release. Unfortunately I took..about a decade off and I’m only just now getting back into it. Do people still need me to speed run them through citadel of flame?😅
I’m not completely lost, I’m well through heart of thorns, about half my carrion gear has been swapped for vipers, and I’ve mastered mirage 😬 but wow a lot has changed❤
Haha that may be a thing I'm not sure! The collectable armor is pretty awesome though!
Still love core ranger for all game modes... having access to marksmanship, wilderness survival and beastmastery still rocks. That being said, elite specs are usually better at filling almost every role than core specs.
PvP has been updated only through balance patches, though to be honest balance patches are very exciting for PvPers b/c it changes the meta...
I think you may misunderstand the horizontal progression idea... it's more about expanding your characters to give you more options or more capabilities, without discounting the work you've already done (though your point regarding it may not be for everyone is definitely true... some people like the grind and reward for constant play).
The end game content can be repetitive (especially if you are working hard towards a specific goal)... sadly it's not something ANet has solved within the MMO genre. The way I personally deal with that is to mix up what I do (so I'm not doing the same thing every day, all day) and work on several pieces of gear/achievements/game goals at the same time. Given the wide range of content currently available, I usually don't get bogged down in repetition (though that may not be for everyone... some people like to work on a chosen singular goal until it's completed).
Great content and thank you for bringing these elements to attention in a fair and reasonable way :)
Honestly well said! I've talked a number of times about how and why this game is great about making your previous successes not feel wasted by immediately replacing them a patch later.
I appreciate your kind words! Thank you!
Guild wars has everything you need to enjoy the game, you can play solos and still do group co tent on workd events, dungeons are fun, and the progression is easy enough it gives you a lot of armor and weapons levelling up and now i e finally hit 80 on my necro I'm enjoying the hunt for hero points working towards the reaper and I've not even finished rhe content or got close I still have the living and all the expa sion story stuff to play through. Raids and strikes are my next goal to work towards I ha e legendary gear just haven't got a raid group or a guild yet so this may be a bit trickier to get into.
"You collected them all" - A lot of time for the last 10 years? Fair enough :D But you need to have like reeeeeally a lot of time to collect them all ^^
Oh for sure, I'd your looking for that 100% it will take a long time!
I'm a new player who picked up the engineer core profession, and then I watched a video (actually come to think of it pretty sure it was yours😂) and it said engi is one of the hardest professions to do well as a new player, I looked back at my charr enigineer and was like well I'm already level 20, I'm stickin with it, no regrets just, wish I could decide what I want to focus on, because I like it all, turrets, bombs grenades, Flamethrower, chemicals, I can't decide which war crimes I want to commit
I stress in all videos that they can be challenging but incredibly rewarding. That video I made about the engineer was trying to explain its low percentage of player base. Again though that was pre EoD
@@CaffeinatedDad Good to know thanks, I'm really enjoying the game, both your videos and Preach's Project MMO coverage of the game have helped me make the decision to buy the first 2 expansions, with the intent to buy EoD in the future, so thank you for that as well. Now I'm going to make a caffeinated beverage and play some Guild Wars 2
gw2 has always felt like a side game you play rarely.
Really? I must be gaming wrong lol
This game does have vertical progression. It's called skill and build crafting.
True, but that window is very tiny in my opinion, many players won't ever want to play the challenge mode strikes where perfection is needed!
Being a new player and formally hardcore destiny 1 and 2 beta player. I doubt I will do the same for this game. Map clear and maybe some dungeon
Guild Wars 2 is my fun game, I love map completion and hanging with friends. I'm not interested in crafting legendary gear etc. I have ESO for my end-game content and have all the shinies there, I love that with GW2 I can take a break and hop back in when I want too.
Without a doubt the best part of the game, no inherent rush to get the content done. Pick up and play at its finest!
My favorite core profession is Guardian, I play it because it's nice to have all kinds of buffs. It feels like a paladin I like paladin.
It's about as much of a gw2 paladin as you can get!