Not sure GW2 has the best water but love the underwater combat. You change combat skills underwater and equip spears and tridents. I would actually love to see a huge underwater expansion for the game: The Quaggan Kingdom.
ESO has good water but it's a mix. Some places are ok, others are great.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
ESO has good water but it's a mix. Some places are ok, others are great.
I'd agree with that. I really like the way some spots are crystal clear and you can see the rocks beneath and then I can go into a swamp and the water looks murky and stagnant. I'm no huge fanboy of ESO but when it comes to scenery I can turn off my music and just leave ambient sounds on then run through a forest along a river and feel transported to another world. If I remember right Age of Conan gave me the same feel.
AoC is old but the water effects are great. Sadly there is really nothing in the water there, in that department GW2 wins easily even if the expansion was seriously lacking in underwater content.
Water as we know it is just a fake water zone,nothing more than a normal above ground zone with fog lighting and maybe some splash effects.It is possible with some hard work to make some nice water effects like waterfalls and stuff but even still if you know how it is done it is not so amazing anymore.
I don't think any game has the best,at least not that i can think of.To be given a title of BEST it would have to utilize water type physics and properties which to my knowledge no game is doing so fake water and fake properties hardly makes water zones worthwhile.
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If you crank up BDO and ESO to max graphics, ESO has the best water. I will put a vote in for the waterfalls in Age of Conan, they are quite spectacular, although I have not played that in 5 years.
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Water as we know it is just a fake water zone,nothing more than a normal above ground zone with fog lighting and maybe some splash effects.It is possible with some hard work to make some nice water effects like waterfalls and stuff but even still if you know how it is done it is not so amazing anymore.
I don't think any game has the best,at least not that i can think of.To be given a title of BEST it would have to utilize water type physics and properties which to my knowledge no game is doing so fake water and fake properties hardly makes water zones worthwhile.
That isn't exactly true, some games have ships and others do have underwater zones with distinct content and in GW2s case even unique weapons and abilities.
I am not sure that is what OP mean or how the lakes and sea actually look though.
You are right about many games though, have been that way since EQ but some do have improved things.
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Graphically speaking, I'd probably vote for AoC... though, I haven't played that game since it's launch year. If I recall correctly, EQ2 had a nice submerging effect on the camera also.
I think there aren't enough underwater zones in MMOs, in general. The trick is making them unique and alien without making them super tedious from the sluggishness of being in water. I guess most studios don't want to bother trying to walk that line.
I don't really remember any memorable water in mmorpgs recently. ESO didn't stand out to me. I barely look at the water in BDO. Only thing that sticks out to me for ambiance is how BDO handles weather. Rain and thunder feel authentic, same with nights. Maybe I will look at it when I play this weekend. To put it in perspective, I have been running mods in Fallout 4 including changes to the water and weather system. So its a bit hard to impress me with most attempts mmos make. Although Fallout4 does lack a bit of dynamicness to the water.
Like good weather; it's something you care about a lot more if you've just spent 200 bones on the latest GPU.
Otherwise, meh.
Good weather effects do add atmosphere to the game and can create an interesting illusion but that only works if you don't overuse it. If you constantly have rain and storms people tend to ignore it, but if you have it now and then and maybe spawn certain rare spawns it is really nice.
And yes, it is mainly interesting for people wth good hardware, people with bad tend to turn stuff like that off anyways. But it still is pretty neat.
I think the best water and reflections on water GW2 Wins hands down. and the inside the water is still very impressive. BDO is very close as well but inferior just a tiny bit and i think the reflections are not accurate (reflections in general in BDO are not accurate i think). Also swimming in Guild Wars 2 is amazing and has the best control. BDO on the other hand is horrible.. the worst swimming control... i think the worst control in water i have experienced it on GTA games.. Anyway Tera was very nice as well...but nearly nothing special in the water... bad swimming control there as well...
Moonlight Blade online, dynamic weather conditions, general the rain effects,...just stunning, there gives no mmos which would offer something like that, even not many (new) offline pc/ps4 games. Gta V rain,... looks almost ancient compare it to Moonlight Blade. Unlike new mmos like BDO, where you need quantum computer to run it on decent settings, you are able to run Moonlight Blade with dual core processor, the game is less hardware demanding as GW2, when It comes to graphics & optimization, set the game new standards for mmos, but I quess it's because a billion $$ company is behind it, and they have pay Nvidia to optimize the game for them, while not many other (mmo)companys can afford such things.
Archeage had the best water when it came to gameplay. The fishing, sailing, and diving was just leagues ahead of any mmo i have ever seen. The graphics well I guess there is better. Water had more of a purpose then just looks in this game.
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"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
I'd agree with that. I really like the way some spots are crystal clear and you can see the rocks beneath and then I can go into a swamp and the water looks murky and stagnant. I'm no huge fanboy of ESO but when it comes to scenery I can turn off my music and just leave ambient sounds on then run through a forest along a river and feel transported to another world. If I remember right Age of Conan gave me the same feel.
I don't think any game has the best,at least not that i can think of.To be given a title of BEST it would have to utilize water type physics and properties which to my knowledge no game is doing so fake water and fake properties hardly makes water zones worthwhile.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!
I am not sure that is what OP mean or how the lakes and sea actually look though.
You are right about many games though, have been that way since EQ but some do have improved things.
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Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
I think there aren't enough underwater zones in MMOs, in general. The trick is making them unique and alien without making them super tedious from the sluggishness of being in water. I guess most studios don't want to bother trying to walk that line.
Black desert water is kinda similar too....
Lotro was impressive back then nowdays is "ok"
AoC i was impressed with the water the 1 time i played , and still is one of the coolest waters.
ESO , water is awesome , too bad u cant "enjoy it" , underwater zones please?
Worse waters ever imo : Rift....close 2nd Eq2
To put it in perspective, I have been running mods in Fallout 4 including changes to the water and weather system. So its a bit hard to impress me with most attempts mmos make. Although Fallout4 does lack a bit of dynamicness to the water.
Otherwise, meh.
And yes, it is mainly interesting for people wth good hardware, people with bad tend to turn stuff like that off anyways. But it still is pretty neat.
Also swimming in Guild Wars 2 is amazing and has the best control. BDO on the other hand is horrible.. the worst swimming control... i think the worst control in water i have experienced it on GTA games.. Anyway Tera was very nice as well...but nearly nothing special in the water... bad swimming control there as well...
Looking forward to: Crowfall / Lost Ark / Black Desert Mobile
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
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