I picked up GW2 over the weekend and jumped in. Still low level but have to say, it's really nothing new at all. I was in ESO beta so between the two of them I'd flip a coin or add a 3rd possibility. ymmv
This is my second time in gw2. To be fair i haven't given it a fair time.
My first time was a year or so ago with another sale. I lasted about a day and was just bored. Yesterday i started again and about 10 minutes on again I'm just bored.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
I picked up GW2 over the weekend and jumped in. Still low level but have to say, it's really nothing new at all. I was in ESO beta so between the two of them I'd flip a coin or add a 3rd possibility. ymmv
Mhh.. I purchased GW2 over the weekend as well. I'm quite disappointed so far (4 characters at level 7-8). Quests are bland and dialogues are horrible. Graphics are fine but in that regard I like ESO more because it's less cartoony. Combat system is okey.. but I have to say I enjoyed WildStar for an action combat MMO more than GW2. :'(
ESO's leveling can be tedious and mind numbing at times. GW2's leveling is thee best time I've had leveling characters, period. You dont have to go to a bunch of people in each section; in each area there are centers for tasks which you can always see when in the radius of them and you dont have to turn them in either, just walk around, do tasks, get xp and move on. So quick, painless and efficient.
I personally prefer GW2 world events and bosses, lore, environment, and story over ESO's.
Aslo ESO's PvP is pretty much a copy of GW2's World vs World. GW@ will have an expansion soon with a new class and new PvP game type which has MOBA-ish elements but GW2 combat that will be fun to try.
I'd only recommend ESO if you are head over heels for Elder Scrolls lore, besides that I'd say GW2 takes the cake.
ESO's leveling can be tedious and mind numbing at times. GW2's leveling is thee best time I've had leveling characters, period. You dont have to go to a bunch of people in each section; in each area there are centers for tasks which you can always see when in the radius of them and you dont have to turn them in either, just walk around, do tasks, get xp and move on. So quick, painless and efficient.
I personally prefer GW2 world events and bosses, lore, environment, and story over ESO's.
Aslo ESO's PvP is pretty much a copy of GW2's World vs World. GW@ will have an expansion soon with a new class and new PvP game type which has MOBA-ish elements but GW2 combat that will be fun to try.
I'd only recommend ESO if you are head over heels for Elder Scrolls lore, besides that I'd say GW2 takes the cake.
Can this even be classified as personal opinion? If it can imho comparing GW2's WvW to ESO's AvA is like comparing a 1988 Firebird (6 cylinder) to a 2016 Corvette.
I will not compare these two games. They are each their own beast.
However, since GW2 is B2P and regularly goes on sale, and with ESO going B2P soon, you will be able to play both as a pick up and play with no obligations.
Originally posted by Arskaaa "when players learned tacticks in dungeon/raids, its bread".
ESO's leveling can be tedious and mind numbing at times. GW2's leveling is thee best time I've had leveling characters, period. You dont have to go to a bunch of people in each section; in each area there are centers for tasks which you can always see when in the radius of them and you dont have to turn them in either, just walk around, do tasks, get xp and move on. So quick, painless and efficient.
I personally prefer GW2 world events and bosses, lore, environment, and story over ESO's.
Aslo ESO's PvP is pretty much a copy of GW2's World vs World. GW@ will have an expansion soon with a new class and new PvP game type which has MOBA-ish elements but GW2 combat that will be fun to try.
I'd only recommend ESO if you are head over heels for Elder Scrolls lore, besides that I'd say GW2 takes the cake.
This!
...is the problem with so called MMO players today. You have a team which releases a game with an incredible amount of content, and you are rewarded with progression through levels, then veteran levels, and now champion points for alternate advancement.
Instead of mentioning how much content each game has, the poster describes the games in terms of which is easier to hit max level and not have to be bothered by completing content. Yes..it must be "mind numbing" to click through quest dialog which you never wanted to play through anyway and I'm sure having to seek out an NPC in order to turn in a quest must be so outdated and a waste of your time. Sorry, but GW2 just made it too easy. Might as well auto walk you to the next heart.
I'm not sure these games are for you if all you want to do is "get your XP and move on". A game with no leveling at all is probably a better bet for you.
Though you most likely didn't intend to do so you did call out a significant difference in the two games. GW2 is easy mode and barely requires attention to get to end game. You can even do it with a numb mind evidently. Definitely more suited to more simple players who do not like more complex gameplay.
ESO is more challenging, has more depth, better lore, better graphics, better audio, more versitle gameplay, more content, and it's not easy mode.
P.S. After re-reading what I had written I want to clarify. If you sense a little hostility in my post it's not directed at any poster in particular, but more of a "type of player" but I think it's relevant to the purpose of the thread to point this out why these games may be for one type of player over another.
I'd put my money on GW2 since they have the Heart of Thorns expansion coming out soonish. I mean they've already announced closed beta testing for it and are giving us tons of info on it. The content coming looks pretty killer and will likely get me back into the game as well.
...is the problem with so called MMO players today. You have a team which releases a game with an incredible amount of content, and you are rewarded with progression through levels, then veteran levels, and now champion points for alternate advancement.
Instead of mentioning how much content each game has, the poster describes the games in terms of which is easier to hit max level and not have to be bothered by completing content. Yes..it must be "mind numbing" to click through quest dialog which you never wanted to play through anyway and I'm sure having to seek out an NPC in order to turn in a quest must be so outdated and a waste of your time. Sorry, but GW2 just made it too easy. Might as well auto walk you to the next heart.
Though you most likely didn't intend to do so you did call out a significant difference in the two games. GW2 is easy mode and barely requires attention to get to end game. You can even do it with a numb mind evidently. Definitely more suited to more simple players who do not like more complex gameplay.
ESO is more challenging, has more depth, better lore, better graphics, better audio, more versitle gameplay, more content, and it's not easy mode.
I would like you to share with us your reasoning, since I'm really curious about the rationale behind your opinions.
- What's "end game" in GW2?
- Why is the lore "better" in ESO? (side question: how much do you know about GW lore?)
- Why is the gameplay more "versatile" in ESO?
- What content is not "easy mode" in ESO?
- Why do you think adding more "progression through levels, veteran levels, champion points" (vertical progression) is better than the proposed GW2 model of horizontal progression (easy to reach level and item cap)? What is the signification of max level in GW2?
- You didn't describe the amount of content each game has. In fact, you only mentioned ESO's "incredible amount of content". What about GW2 then? What amount of content does it have?
Look, if you're going to give lessons to other people and telling them they are the problem with MMORPG today, at least make a solid post with concrete evidence, comparisons, ...
And at the very least, do *yourself* what you tell them they didn't do (compare the amount of content in the two games, as you suggested they should have done).
Because otherwise I only see a typical "my game is better than yours" trash post with dubious arguments and only picking subjective limited experience with one of the two games.
PS: I should add that you have correctly identified one of the main differences between the two games:
- ESO has top quality classic questing and hero story for your individual character. The classic quests happen directly in the game world (solo, connected, questline, phasing in the game world).
- GW2 has "dynamic world event" (group content, disconnected, no real questline, non instanced) as well as a personal classic hero story generally considered average (solo, connected, questline, instanced).
played online games since dawn of man BUT everyone have their own cuppa. SO each of us can only say what we like.
so my 2 cents for these 2 games is that guild wars 2 like someone said before is very easy. jump from heart to heart village to village one click travel and do your s***. Elder scrolls online is far more everything than guild wars 2 is not, world is more immersive and deep.
myself i own both games have not touched gw2 for ages after done all i could for my liking and since eso is going free to play model on 17.3 that will be where im heading and so what im suggesting to you aswell.
I own both games, so these are the reasons i like GW2 the most:
1. Better skill animations, moving, running etc
2. More polished
3. Easiest grouping
4. Better reward system through any activity
5. More stable client, especially when many ppl in map
6. I don't care about lore, voice overs etc in mmo's
7. Better and more fluid combat (for my tastes ofc)
8. Better and more complex world
9. Instanced PvP
10. Better megaserver tech, especially when it comes to phasing
11. Better guild system
12. AH (i hate trading guilds etc)
13. Better UI (i also hate ES UI for an mmo. for a single player game i find it ok)
14. Underwater world & Underwater combat
15. HoT Expansion is coming alongside Guild Housing / Max lvl Skill based Char progression / Strongholds / New WvW / New Challenging Group Content and other stuff.
Thats me and why i prefer GW2. Ofc after ESO goes b2p i ll play it more often
All Time Favorites: EQ1, WoW, EvE, GW1 Playing Now: WoW, ESO, GW2
...is the problem with so called MMO players today. You have a team which releases a game with an incredible amount of content, and you are rewarded with progression through levels, then veteran levels, and now champion points for alternate advancement.
Instead of mentioning how much content each game has, the poster describes the games in terms of which is easier to hit max level and not have to be bothered by completing content. Yes..it must be "mind numbing" to click through quest dialog which you never wanted to play through anyway and I'm sure having to seek out an NPC in order to turn in a quest must be so outdated and a waste of your time. Sorry, but GW2 just made it too easy. Might as well auto walk you to the next heart.
I'm not sure these games are for you if all you want to do is "get your XP and move on". A game with no leveling at all is probably a better bet for you.
Though you most likely didn't intend to do so you did call out a significant difference in the two games. GW2 is easy mode and barely requires attention to get to end game. You can even do it with a numb mind evidently. Definitely more suited to more simple players who do not like more complex gameplay.
ESO [in my personal opinion] is more challenging, has more depth, better lore, better graphics, better audio, more versitle gameplay, more content, and it's not easy mode.
P.S. After re-reading what I had written I want to clarify. If you sense a little hostility in my post it's not directed at any poster in particular, but more of a "type of player" but I think it's relevant to the purpose of the thread to point this out why these games may be for one type of player over another.
I had to add in that part about your opinion for that paragraph of lust for ESO, as it's just that: your personal opinion. Just the same is the personal opinion of the person which you're quoting. Getting to 80 by no means is anything 100% special for Guild Wars 2, it just puts you on mostly even playing field as others in WvW. Getting a set of Exotic armor to fully deck out takes but a day or two, however getting an extra 5% through Ascended gear is going to take months + at the least through a variety of different gameplay options. And obtaining specific sets of gear skins that appeal to your personal aesthetic style will also take a while in the game as well.
Now for a second take a look at what "end game" is for Guild Wars 2. There is no "the end" to it. Character progression for WvW is never-ending with the WvW Mastery Points that improve character progression through a variety of offensive and defensive choices within that section of the game. Collections and Achievements both offer high long-term PvE goals that again require time investment and effort. Ever heard of Mawdrey? That takes completion of the S2 Chapters, a ton of Geodes collected from Dry Top, level 500 crafting items, and/or a huge gold investment.
Thanks to down-scaling of the player's level, a person never truly "out levels" an area for GW2 (something that cannot be said for TESO). This means the entire game can be played however the player wants to whatever zones they'd like to go through to progress in. Rewards and XP scale to your player character level, not to the level of the zone you are in.
Now to address each of those opinions:
More Challenging:
That really depends on taste as well as gameplay style. Ever done a Fractal up in the 30's? Welcome to nightmare mode! Even those fights against Te'Quatl are freakishly hard, and some try to describe it as "zerg fight" (which I laugh at that idea, hasn't been that way in years).
More Depth:
If by 'depth' you mean a more serious tone, then yes, TESO does have that. GW2 does add in wacky things like last year's April Fools bobbleheads table, Fun Boxes, and costume dueling. These are tools to add a bit that breaks up the monotony of doing the same thing throughout and having the same, serious, dull tone.
Better Lore:
Subjective. One has Elder Scrolls Lore and the other has Guild Wars lore. And each game has in-game books, items, and other such things scattered throughout that fleshes out their particular stories. It is a matter of preference for one or the other. But for TESO, the game's setting is in the past [to the other ES games] so it's "lore" hasn't yet even applied to the game and can be discarded as nothing more than "events that might happen" but have no reflection on the game's setting or events as the occur for the player.
Better Graphics:
Yes, TESO does have better "graphics" (technical aspects related to how the game renders). I will concede that it can run in DX11 which GW2 cannot. However the aesthetics are bland and unappealing to a point that much of it is just high rendered mud and rocks. Compared to the GW2 aesthetics, which is that of an artistic painters brush style and looks beautiful in most every conceivable way (save for the very ugly Orr). This is opinion, of course, however not only my own but shared by may media outlets and reviewers that have touched both games.
Better Audio:
Ironic that you mention this when Jeremy Soule did music for both games. However it looks like he did full musical sound track for GW2 and only did the Main Theme song for TESO. GW2 has released new music and sounds with each Living Story update that relates to the theme and enemy attacks. Beyond hiring Soule for the initial sound track, they've had full time audio technicians doing those additional musical numbers and audio triggers( which they've released on sound cloud and have done indepth shows about the audio production too); haven't heard TESO doing anything similar at all.
More Versatile Gameplay:
This on I'm going to straight up say "no" to. TESO doesn't have underwater combat, while GW2 has. That right there is 50% more gameplay options. All the mini-games can be added into the mix beyond the questing choices, personal stories, WvW, sPvP, crafting, exploration, jumping puzzles, and so on. There is far more variety of gameplay options in GW2 than there is for TESO hands down (FYI, that is what versatile means). Environmental weapons, triggers, transformations, and other such things ooze out of the game for player options.
More Content:
How many starting areas for TESO? 1, the same no matter race or profession How many for GW2? 5, one per each race within the game. Capital cities? TESO has 3 (one per faction) GW2 has 5 (one per race); in comparison, each TESO city is about 1/2 that of a single GW2 city. GW2 has 5 maps for it's WvW where as TESO has 1 map for it's RvR. GW2 has about 7 sPvP maps and TESO has...oh, 0? Okay, so nothing of that gamplay content for TESO. I'm confused as to this point?
Not Easy Mode:
What is "easy mode"? Sure, I found TESO's questing to be much harder than GW2. But not in a good way, either. It was a pain in the rear that players could 'tag' a mob that just spawn and I was about to kill, giving me 0 credit even if I did help. Questing progress felt stalled and painful because it was in direct competition with other players of even my own faction [allies]. I guess it is "easy mode" for GW2 to be able to share credit and help out ally players in completing quests, killing bosses, and even resurrecting the dead.
TLDR version: TESO is a one-trick pony and that trick is that it's an Elder Scrolls game. GW2 has variety, options, a plethora of content, and is FUN to play with your fellow game rather than against (unless it is in the PvP maps, then it's fun both ways!).
Originally posted by evilprey GW2 is not the perfect mmo ever but is definitly the best mmo at the martket in the last 2 years and is greatest succes after Wow
Both games are pretty good. I prefer ESO since I like to play support roles such as Tank and Heals and those are more prevelant in ESO while still maintaining the same action oriented combat.
I also prefer the flexibility ESO offers compared to GW2. I like the fact that both have weapon swapping but ESO allows you to unlock a bunch of different skills then complete your action bar as you see fit. One of the things that really annoyed me about GW2 is the locking in of skills. I couldn't move them around or choose which ones I wanted and where.
GW2 questing was better over all IMO since it allowed you to easily group up with people and do things together. The dynamic events are also fun. ESO questing is so different its almost not even worth comparing since its so much apples and oranges. This point is just a matter of personal opinion.
I don't know all that much about GW2 PVE group content but I do know that ESO is very challenging at higher levels. The Vet dungeons you start running at Vet rank 1 are very difficult but fair and are not for the feint of heart. I often find that all members of the party need to be competent in their roles and that you really can't carry anyone through. I like this as it challenges me to always get better at my role so I am not the weak link. Not everyone enjoys getting better at playing the game and therefore can't complete the content which I think is awesome. I like the fact it rewards good players for getting better.
Plan on playing them both eventually. GW2 is probably the best mmo ever created. ESO has one of the best combat systems. GW2 you will never feel like you are grinding to get levels. ESO is one miserable grind when you reach vet levels. GW2 massive pvp depends if you are on the correct server and server transfers will cost you 20$. ESO if you are in the wrong massive pvp map then you can just switch to another. GW2 has a very basic control scheme with minimal customization. ESO has one of the best UI control schemes. GW2 has massive PVE events. ESO has no massive PVE that I know of.
I know most of the positives and negatives of both but I wanted some subjective opinions to sway me to one or the other?
Any ideas?
GW2 : If you just like to level up do stupid boring mini games , jump around for puzzles and have no end game or any competitive elements or pvp than go for it. -i know there is nothing more game can offer endgame so it put's me down continuing playing it even do i really enjoy it at the moment to just hang around level up. Even do I really enjoy it I won't spend time in a game that has no end game or real pvp or pve.
ESO: after gw2 fail and bad reputation didn't even try it, it's enough to hear that's a single player experience in an mmo, so there is no pvp again.
God i hate the direction the games went check this list mmos are nowhere this days in west except wow.
I play both and i can say buy both wait till the next deal for GW2 it only cost 10 Euro not long ago and buy TESO too.
I play Teso for PvE and a bit PvP but for me AvA is very laggy. I play Teso when i want to play solo cause playing PvE with friends is difficult cause of phasing in later Conent it is better.
GW2 i play for PvP/WvW and Event (with many People) PvE the new Events are great no Gear Grind needed just very casual and WvW is better then ESO AvA. In GW2 i never needed to pay for any content and it is definitely worth the cost, with two good storylines (one of it you must buy cause it was only available for free during the launch of the Episode).
I bought Teso on Console too, cause the PvE Stories are fun to play.
It is a hard decision but i would buy both, if i had to choose i would prefer GW2.
I know most of the positives and negatives of both but I wanted some subjective opinions to sway me to one or the other?
Any ideas?
GW2 : If you just like to level up do stupid boring mini games , jump around for puzzles and have no end game or any competitive elements or pvp than go for it. -i know there is nothing more game can offer endgame so it put's me down continuing playing it even do i really enjoy it at the moment to just hang around level up. Even do I really enjoy it I won't spend time in a game that has no end game or real pvp or pve.
ESO: after gw2 fail and bad reputation didn't even try it, it's enough to hear that's a single player experience in an mmo, so there is no pvp again.
God i hate the direction the games went check this list mmos are nowhere this days in west except wow.
I would say GW2 I played since Beta but after getting to that dreadful area of Cursed Shore where you couldn't move 1 step without getting rooted, stomped and killed by 25 mobs per inch of ground, that was the last straw for me.
Now I heard a lot about the new charges etc etc and I am not going back there. Plus the lack of trinity etc etc
I have played both games for a long time, GW2 was alot of fun but i find the game is rather empty now, but i did enjoy there dungeon system as it gave ppl a reason to repeat dungeons so finding parties was easier. GW2 also has a decent party finder option which doesnt really work in ESO
ESO i very populated now, its alot of fun, the characters are kinda ugly though, its really hard to make one that looks good imo.
The biggest problem i have with ESO is that theres no real motivation to do dungeons so i often find myself spamming all chats looking for groups for hours with no luck, and im a tank so it should be easier to find a group.
If i had to choose i would say go with ESO as there is a large community already and lots of new players you can lvl with.
Comments
I picked up GW2 over the weekend and jumped in. Still low level but have to say, it's really nothing new at all. I was in ESO beta so between the two of them I'd flip a coin or add a 3rd possibility. ymmv
My first time was a year or so ago with another sale. I lasted about a day and was just bored. Yesterday i started again and about 10 minutes on again I'm just bored.
Mhh.. I purchased GW2 over the weekend as well. I'm quite disappointed so far (4 characters at level 7-8). Quests are bland and dialogues are horrible. Graphics are fine but in that regard I like ESO more because it's less cartoony. Combat system is okey.. but I have to say I enjoyed WildStar for an action combat MMO more than GW2. :'(
Elite: Dangerous - Space Exploration & Trading.
I'd personally say GW2.
ESO's leveling can be tedious and mind numbing at times. GW2's leveling is thee best time I've had leveling characters, period. You dont have to go to a bunch of people in each section; in each area there are centers for tasks which you can always see when in the radius of them and you dont have to turn them in either, just walk around, do tasks, get xp and move on. So quick, painless and efficient.
I personally prefer GW2 world events and bosses, lore, environment, and story over ESO's.
Aslo ESO's PvP is pretty much a copy of GW2's World vs World. GW@ will have an expansion soon with a new class and new PvP game type which has MOBA-ish elements but GW2 combat that will be fun to try.
I'd only recommend ESO if you are head over heels for Elder Scrolls lore, besides that I'd say GW2 takes the cake.
Can this even be classified as personal opinion? If it can imho comparing GW2's WvW to ESO's AvA is like comparing a 1988 Firebird (6 cylinder) to a 2016 Corvette.
I will not compare these two games. They are each their own beast.
However, since GW2 is B2P and regularly goes on sale, and with ESO going B2P soon, you will be able to play both as a pick up and play with no obligations.
Originally posted by Arskaaa
"when players learned tacticks in dungeon/raids, its bread".
This!
...is the problem with so called MMO players today. You have a team which releases a game with an incredible amount of content, and you are rewarded with progression through levels, then veteran levels, and now champion points for alternate advancement.
Instead of mentioning how much content each game has, the poster describes the games in terms of which is easier to hit max level and not have to be bothered by completing content. Yes..it must be "mind numbing" to click through quest dialog which you never wanted to play through anyway and I'm sure having to seek out an NPC in order to turn in a quest must be so outdated and a waste of your time. Sorry, but GW2 just made it too easy. Might as well auto walk you to the next heart.
I'm not sure these games are for you if all you want to do is "get your XP and move on". A game with no leveling at all is probably a better bet for you.
Though you most likely didn't intend to do so you did call out a significant difference in the two games. GW2 is easy mode and barely requires attention to get to end game. You can even do it with a numb mind evidently. Definitely more suited to more simple players who do not like more complex gameplay.
ESO is more challenging, has more depth, better lore, better graphics, better audio, more versitle gameplay, more content, and it's not easy mode.
P.S. After re-reading what I had written I want to clarify. If you sense a little hostility in my post it's not directed at any poster in particular, but more of a "type of player" but I think it's relevant to the purpose of the thread to point this out why these games may be for one type of player over another.
I'd put my money on GW2 since they have the Heart of Thorns expansion coming out soonish. I mean they've already announced closed beta testing for it and are giving us tons of info on it. The content coming looks pretty killer and will likely get me back into the game as well.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
I would like you to share with us your reasoning, since I'm really curious about the rationale behind your opinions.
- What's "end game" in GW2?
- Why is the lore "better" in ESO? (side question: how much do you know about GW lore?)
- Why is the gameplay more "versatile" in ESO?
- What content is not "easy mode" in ESO?
- Why do you think adding more "progression through levels, veteran levels, champion points" (vertical progression) is better than the proposed GW2 model of horizontal progression (easy to reach level and item cap)? What is the signification of max level in GW2?
- You didn't describe the amount of content each game has. In fact, you only mentioned ESO's "incredible amount of content". What about GW2 then? What amount of content does it have?
Look, if you're going to give lessons to other people and telling them they are the problem with MMORPG today, at least make a solid post with concrete evidence, comparisons, ...
And at the very least, do *yourself* what you tell them they didn't do (compare the amount of content in the two games, as you suggested they should have done).
Because otherwise I only see a typical "my game is better than yours" trash post with dubious arguments and only picking subjective limited experience with one of the two games.
PS: I should add that you have correctly identified one of the main differences between the two games:
- ESO has top quality classic questing and hero story for your individual character. The classic quests happen directly in the game world (solo, connected, questline, phasing in the game world).
- GW2 has "dynamic world event" (group content, disconnected, no real questline, non instanced) as well as a personal classic hero story generally considered average (solo, connected, questline, instanced).
played online games since dawn of man BUT everyone have their own cuppa. SO each of us can only say what we like.
so my 2 cents for these 2 games is that guild wars 2 like someone said before is very easy. jump from heart to heart village to village one click travel and do your s***. Elder scrolls online is far more everything than guild wars 2 is not, world is more immersive and deep.
myself i own both games have not touched gw2 for ages after done all i could for my liking and since eso is going free to play model on 17.3 that will be where im heading and so what im suggesting to you aswell.
I own both games, so these are the reasons i like GW2 the most:
1. Better skill animations, moving, running etc
2. More polished
3. Easiest grouping
4. Better reward system through any activity
5. More stable client, especially when many ppl in map
6. I don't care about lore, voice overs etc in mmo's
7. Better and more fluid combat (for my tastes ofc)
8. Better and more complex world
9. Instanced PvP
10. Better megaserver tech, especially when it comes to phasing
11. Better guild system
12. AH (i hate trading guilds etc)
13. Better UI (i also hate ES UI for an mmo. for a single player game i find it ok)
14. Underwater world & Underwater combat
15. HoT Expansion is coming alongside Guild Housing / Max lvl Skill based Char progression / Strongholds / New WvW / New Challenging Group Content and other stuff.
Thats me and why i prefer GW2. Ofc after ESO goes b2p i ll play it more often
All Time Favorites: EQ1, WoW, EvE, GW1
Playing Now: WoW, ESO, GW2
I had to add in that part about your opinion for that paragraph of lust for ESO, as it's just that: your personal opinion. Just the same is the personal opinion of the person which you're quoting. Getting to 80 by no means is anything 100% special for Guild Wars 2, it just puts you on mostly even playing field as others in WvW. Getting a set of Exotic armor to fully deck out takes but a day or two, however getting an extra 5% through Ascended gear is going to take months + at the least through a variety of different gameplay options. And obtaining specific sets of gear skins that appeal to your personal aesthetic style will also take a while in the game as well.
Now for a second take a look at what "end game" is for Guild Wars 2. There is no "the end" to it. Character progression for WvW is never-ending with the WvW Mastery Points that improve character progression through a variety of offensive and defensive choices within that section of the game. Collections and Achievements both offer high long-term PvE goals that again require time investment and effort. Ever heard of Mawdrey? That takes completion of the S2 Chapters, a ton of Geodes collected from Dry Top, level 500 crafting items, and/or a huge gold investment.
Thanks to down-scaling of the player's level, a person never truly "out levels" an area for GW2 (something that cannot be said for TESO). This means the entire game can be played however the player wants to whatever zones they'd like to go through to progress in. Rewards and XP scale to your player character level, not to the level of the zone you are in.
Now to address each of those opinions:
I disagree with the opinion you stated as a fact.
Both games are pretty good. I prefer ESO since I like to play support roles such as Tank and Heals and those are more prevelant in ESO while still maintaining the same action oriented combat.
I also prefer the flexibility ESO offers compared to GW2. I like the fact that both have weapon swapping but ESO allows you to unlock a bunch of different skills then complete your action bar as you see fit. One of the things that really annoyed me about GW2 is the locking in of skills. I couldn't move them around or choose which ones I wanted and where.
GW2 questing was better over all IMO since it allowed you to easily group up with people and do things together. The dynamic events are also fun. ESO questing is so different its almost not even worth comparing since its so much apples and oranges. This point is just a matter of personal opinion.
I don't know all that much about GW2 PVE group content but I do know that ESO is very challenging at higher levels. The Vet dungeons you start running at Vet rank 1 are very difficult but fair and are not for the feint of heart. I often find that all members of the party need to be competent in their roles and that you really can't carry anyone through. I like this as it challenges me to always get better at my role so I am not the weak link. Not everyone enjoys getting better at playing the game and therefore can't complete the content which I think is awesome. I like the fact it rewards good players for getting better.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
GW2 : If you just like to level up do stupid boring mini games , jump around for puzzles and have no end game or any competitive elements or pvp than go for it. -i know there is nothing more game can offer endgame so it put's me down continuing playing it even do i really enjoy it at the moment to just hang around level up. Even do I really enjoy it I won't spend time in a game that has no end game or real pvp or pve.
ESO: after gw2 fail and bad reputation didn't even try it, it's enough to hear that's a single player experience in an mmo, so there is no pvp again.
God i hate the direction the games went check this list mmos are nowhere this days in west except wow.
http://caas.raptr.com/most-played-pc-games-december-2014-dragon-age-rises-archeage-and-diablo-iii-stumble/
Kick to the Face.
ESO, GW2, TSW.... All three! They're all awesome!
You won't lose with any of those.
I play both and i can say buy both wait till the next deal for GW2 it only cost 10 Euro not long ago and buy TESO too.
I play Teso for PvE and a bit PvP but for me AvA is very laggy. I play Teso when i want to play solo cause playing PvE with friends is difficult cause of phasing in later Conent it is better.
GW2 i play for PvP/WvW and Event (with many People) PvE the new Events are great no Gear Grind needed just very casual and WvW is better then ESO AvA. In GW2 i never needed to pay for any content and it is definitely worth the cost, with two good storylines (one of it you must buy cause it was only available for free during the launch of the Episode).
I bought Teso on Console too, cause the PvE Stories are fun to play.
It is a hard decision but i would buy both, if i had to choose i would prefer GW2.
It is an old statistic GW2, FFIXV, SWTOR are also in this list now.
http://caas.raptr.com/most-played-pc-games-march-2015-heroes-of-the-storm-on-the-rise/
I would say GW2 I played since Beta but after getting to that dreadful area of Cursed Shore where you couldn't move 1 step without getting rooted, stomped and killed by 25 mobs per inch of ground, that was the last straw for me.
Now I heard a lot about the new charges etc etc and I am not going back there. Plus the lack of trinity etc etc
want 7 free days of playing? Try this
http://www.swtor.com/r/ZptVnY
I have played both games for a long time, GW2 was alot of fun but i find the game is rather empty now, but i did enjoy there dungeon system as it gave ppl a reason to repeat dungeons so finding parties was easier. GW2 also has a decent party finder option which doesnt really work in ESO
ESO i very populated now, its alot of fun, the characters are kinda ugly though, its really hard to make one that looks good imo.
The biggest problem i have with ESO is that theres no real motivation to do dungeons so i often find myself spamming all chats looking for groups for hours with no luck, and im a tank so it should be easier to find a group.
If i had to choose i would say go with ESO as there is a large community already and lots of new players you can lvl with.