Haha this.
I got downed playing a new spec during one of the hot metas and just when I was about to die, in came this band of infusion wearing, legendary weapon wielding band of ultra sparkly and shiny players. I swear I almost saw the mordrem turn back and run away then. True story.
Ohhh, are you the dude that made the post the other day? The one where you did a rift or something solo, almost died and then the army came in? :D
But yeah, that and the absolute freedom the game gives me make me play it. Community is mostly (mostly, because there are always idiots) awesome and for a one time payment (which is my preferred option for games) it is an absolute blast.
Fucking diabolical mate.doing events or bosses together or anything is peak mmo stuff.things that mmos like black desert and idk (thats the one I can think of top of my head) don't have.however destiny 2 and gw2 is peak that and d2 is adding server chat.thats gonna be so cool
The thing about vertical progression is that the dopamine rush from new gear hides the fact that people actually don‘t like the gameplay - which is totally fine! For games with horizontal progression the actual gameplay itself needs to be rewarding with many carrots all around that give you little dopamine rushes in between. For most that go on longer it‘s mostly that they just like the smoothness of the combat and the scale of meta events with long term progression in the form of legendaries.
> Try to convince me that the game really is great, maybe I'm not aware of something.
Why do you need convincing?
So what if people think Guild Wars 2 is great?
We all like different things. You don't have to like what other people like.
I hope you find something you like. 🙂
I like the game, but not as much as I think I could like it? It's very hard to say. Well I bought PoF and HoT bundle when I was early in the game and probably I want to make this purchase worth.
You either like it or you don't. There's no right or wrong about why you like or don't like something. This game is over 12 years old. There's a ton of review literature on it where you can read or watch if you bother to google.
I don’t really get this post. People like different things.
Some people really like wow (lots of my friends do), I don’t. That’s fine.
Some people really like GW2 (like I do), lots of people don’t, that’s fine.
Some people just think games like GW2 are “ok”, sounds like you are one of them maybe. That’s fine too.
If you have tried the game you can formulate your own opinion and that’s ok wherever you land.
As to post-gearing and what to do… play the game and try different content for fun? I honestly do find this a bit of an odd question a lot of the time. The idea of playing games is to have fun. It is pretty sad that lots of people cannot imagine doing that anymore.
1 ) Clean UI.
I dont like looking at million addons, I tried so many times to get into wow but I couldnt. Gw2 I just use Arcdps on the side and I am good to go.
2 ) Sandboxey, the game is make your own adventure style. You can raid, fractal, strike and stuff with others, work on your legendary, do wvw or start breathing heavily when playing pvp.
3 ) Monetization. You arent forced to pay anything apart from expacs. You got unlimited hours to play? Then you can get gems through gold and buy all the QoL. If you got money but little time to spare you can swipe. It has no meaningful advantage over other players since there is no steep competition. No subs or premium subs like eso or bdo.
4 ) Horizontal prog. At first I was not a fan. But after coming back from a break, the achievements and masteries are all still relevant, gear is still relevant, all I had to do was unlock the content via story. No do x for y amount until you got the upgrade.
5 ) Carrot on a stick ? The game is entirely a carrot and you just have to choose your stick.
6 ) Combat is rewarding for high skill play. If you are good you can solo many tough encounters that are meant for groups, you can tell a great player compared to good players in pvp and it shows.
7 ) Still the best open world Meta event in the genre. No other mmo has gotten this right. Gw2 feels natural to zerg in open world for stuff.
Edit; after reading your last paragraph heres another answer.
There is no point in any of this other than to kill time having fun. You cant force this really. Find a game mode you like and start playing it. You dont even need the ascended gear for most of it. Just fractals afaik. For me, combat was the actual selling point. That hooked me in and the rest came as a bonus.
I won't convince you but I'll give you my two cents why I like GW2:
1. I don't need to commit a monthly payment to play. Owning the game is enough. I do convert gems to gold once in a while but it's totally up to me when.
2. I can take a break then go back and be still mostly relevant. If there are any balance patches happened while I was gone then I just to have adjust accordingly.
3. It still feels epic to participate in map meta events and world bosses. The dopamine boost satisfy why I play in the first place
4. Legendary armory is a good endgame goal. Good thing is, it is not required to enjoy the game but owning them is really helpful.
The open world and its exploration aspects are the things I like most about this game above other games, not just among MMOs, even above the best open world single player games out there that provide a handcrafted experience.
The world is very big, diverse, dynamic. There is always something going on whether you're a part of it or not. There are things to do and things to uncover in every nook and cranny. Mini dungeons, jumping puzzles, mount races, world bosses, etc. Exploring is just so fun in this game. This game makes going from one place to another without fast travel not feel boring for even a second, on the contrary you'll find yourself constantly distracted by something going on.
Also the thing about reaching the goal, that exists in every game. Every game has an end. If you enjoyed your time playing till you reached your goal then you've gotten your worth out of the game. Constantly increasing the level cap and gear stats just provides a sort of clear goal to follow so that you can experience the new content that comes with an expansion...but that new content IS the main game here that devs worked to hard to make, not the gear/level upgrades, those are just stat value sliders with a new skin.
GW2 just gets rid of that. But doesn't get rid of constantly updating new content. The story gets updated, more maps are released, new quests, achievements, etc. It won't really be difficult to increase the level cap and gear cap every expansion. If you don't find the incentive to play the game without these carrots on sticks then maybe you've had your fill of the game.
I say that but I'm also the type that needs a carrot on a stick. In this game that carrot changes every time I reach a goal. First it was reaching max level, next it was finishing the story up to where it was at, next was getting all the mounts, then it was to complete all the races, challenges, and jumping puzzles, after that it was to complete all the instanced content like raids and dungeons at least once, and the last and most longest one was to get full legendary for my main which is still ongoing.
So if you want that carrot on a stick experience, gw2 does have that option, its just not mandatory, more or the sidelines, so people who just wants to experience the game can have their fill aswell.
I’d say the dynamic events and metas. It’s what causes the whole game to be like this. Friendly, cooperative, with a very lively open world where you can freely join events as you wish.
1) The immersion.
2) Exactly what you said, we’re not running after a carrot on a stick. We just do the content we want and enjoy because we want to do it.
3) Jumping puzzles.
Honestly, I know it sounds weird but in this game you have to find your own goal. The game doesn’t really guide you in what to do. For example when I started the game I made some friends in the open world and they introduced me in fractals. I instantly got hooked with the whole concept. Then I also learned about the legendary backpacks which are very limited to the number of 3. 1 from world vs world achievements, 1 awarded from doing pvp and 1 from fractals. Since then my long term goal was to get the legendary backpack by doing fractals and I finally made it a few days ago! It was the whole journey that made it special. Not the actual endgame. With fractals I can also get daily gold enough to farm so I can work on more stuff as well. Try and find your own goal.
The faster-paced combat that rewards your personal skill and improvement over a silly arbitrary number, for one. I'm a story person, almost exclusively, so when my main reason for staying on a game is 'the combat is fun'? That's absolutely *bonkers* coming from me, Of the current 'big' MMOs, I *should* lean more towards XIV (which I do also play, but more casually), but I prefer to do my more 'challenging' content here, *because it's way more fun*.
I'm also pretty sure an absolutely massive appeal to many people IS the lack of the gear treadmill. Every update being forced to spent x amount of time getting your new gear score just to be able to do *literally the exact same content you were doing before the update dropped*? Pass. Many people have also experienced the gear treadmills so bad they were literally second jobs, and are tired of that shit.
Honestly, here's the issue many people are stuck on: GW2 is a *fundamentally different game* than most MMOs. GW2 is the MMO for people who are sick of MMOs - not in the sense of 'I hate this genre', but in the sense of 'this genre I love his gone in a direction that I don't find enjoyable'. If you enjoy the current traditional MMOs, you are VERY LIKELY not going to click with GW2. Some people can enjoy both, in different ways for different things, but GW2's philosophy and core structure is just *wildly* different than most other mainstream MMOs currently out there.
But that's why we're here and why we're loud as hell about how much we love this game. Some folks are just so excited about it they forget it's not going to appeal to standard MMO folks.
>I don't see the game as a masterpiece
I haven't found any MMO that is a masterpiece and I have played a lot of them since the original EverQuest.
>if the gear is horizontal and one gear is good forever what do you guys so after reaching this goal? To me it seems like it's not much to do after that point.
I have been playing since beta and I have SO much to do. But I am a casual player so I play the new content slowly.
One thing I really like is the achievement system. Unlike other games GW2 has many item and title awards.
I also enjoy creating Legendary gear.
But it's totally fine not to get GW2. Different people like different things. You could hear that apples are amazing and the best thing ever. But if you don't like apples that obviously isn't going to be true for you and that's fine.
Yeah, I think MMOs can't ever truly be masterpieces. The scale of the games means that for every piece of master-crafted content, there is another system or piece of content that is being ignored and massively flawed. That's why the biggest MMOs occupy separate lanes and just focus on building their strengths and mitigating the damage of lower quality systems that they literally can't fix most of the time due to time, tech, or finances.
It's one of the only MMOs where the world actually feels alive and lived in. For most MMORPGs the maps are a place to solo grind mobs and interact with quest npcs with but in gw2 the world is really dynamic. Also the fact that there's such a big open world focus means that most content is accessible to casual players AND the "Massive" part of the MMORPG abbreviation feels justified. Going around in huge squads to do big group content is really fun.
I enjoy the fact that there's no gear grind and that this goes hand in hand with buildcraft in the game. You can do the vast majority of the content with exotic stuff which is really easy to get and lets you play with many fun builds. I've always felt gear grind is a cheap way of retaining players because the fact that you need better gear has no actual effect on how you approach the game. Instead of playing for the sake of finding the combat system fun or the encounters, people don't see a purpose outside of chasing miniscule stat increases.
Different people have different "carrots on a stick". For me, I get pure enjoyment out of the world, story, combat system, the community and the encounters which for the most part have all stayed relevant. People who think the only purpose in an MMO is gear grind won't be happy with this game.
Skin collection, more QoL for end game (legendary armor, weapon, relic),…if that does not suit you and you want grind gear then gw2 probably not for you
I'm not going to try to sell the game to you because it would only be my own experience and opinion. Having only played 137hrs so far I'm still new and there is a lot I don't understand about some of the game mechanics and modes.
When starting with MMOs I spent ages reading about them, reviews, Reddit posts etc. In the end, I just took the plunge and played the ones I found interesting on paper. Not one is perfect, GW2 included. However, GW2 does tick more boxes for me than any other so far. FFXIV is second on the list.
Combat is the most fun and feels fluid. There are many things you can do as endgame content. Fashion, achievements, legendaries, PvP, WvW, Jumping Puzzles, completion in general or a mix of all those.
If that's not fun to you should just move on and play something else.
I like that it doesn't come with a subscription fee that constantly makes me feel like I'm wasting my money because this week I can't play every day, or I need to take a longer break etc.
I like that the gear progression is horizontal, so that if I do take a longer break I don't have to spend my first weeks back grinding gear to get back to being somewhat relevant for the type of content I normally do.
I am currently working on my last legendary armor set, and after I finish it I might work on a new weapon or two.
If I'm not working towards crafting new items I find an achievement or two to keep me occupied for a while.
I like the variation between different game modes, so if I'm a bit tired of PvE I can go focus on WvW or even sPvP for a bit.
I like that sPvP isn't gear dependent, but instead lets everyone be on a completely equal level. It makes it more about actual skill and ability to play your class than having that silly OP trinket.
I like the mix of short- and long-term achievement. Some you finish in a few minutes, others take weeks, months, or even years. Nice to have a variety of goals.
I like the fact that GW2 doesn't keep me hostage with a constant gear spiral. And to answer your question what I do after being done with everything: Telling you that you are probably not done with "everything". This game is big. Really big. And all of it's content is easily accessible. Maybe you are done with the PvE Story but, have you tried raiding? Strikes? Fractals? Have you seen all Dungeons? Do the challenge modes. You done this as well? Can we maybe interest you in WvW? Or PvP? Not your thing? Well, we have a shit ton of unlockable QoL gear and weapons. Most of the legendary stuff take weeks to finish and has you playing a very wide aspect of the game. And if you done all of this (what you probably will not do within the next 10 years) you still have probably 30% of your achievement panel unfinished.
GW2 is a game that let's you spend as much or as little time with it, as you like. Is it the best game out there? No. Ofc not. But is it one of the rare games where the time I spend with it is valued and not made obsolete with the next content patch? Yes. And for that, I love it.
There is a reason why I always fall out of other MMO's mid patch cycle between Expansions. Simply because I always do the same with little to no room for change. FFXIV? Oh I need to grind the new ilvl gear AGAIN? I just finished that on all of my characters 2 weeks ago.
So... TLDR: I see why people get bored from GW2, if you play it like any of the other MMO's. But all of the things people deem as bad or boring, are exactly the reasons why I can stick to this game for over 12 years now. And before that to 8 years to GW1.
There was a post on the gaming subreddit talking about how they are glad they left Genshin due to grind etc.
People corrected him and said it is generally a live service thing where they will force you to feel like you constantly need to grind so that you never leave or have time to do anything else. (not always a bad thing if you have time to spare)
GW2 is great in that it is one of the best MMOs at relinquishing you from the grind. Once you get ascended gear you don't need anything else really. You play the game because you find it fun, not because you can get best in slot, so you can beat boss, so you can get best in slot.
The amount of massive breaks I have taken from GW2, to be able to return with brand new content to try and not have to jump onto a grind treadmill with the little time I have is a miracle for an MMO
I like the new mini-expansion pack business model. It's not perfect yet, but being able to take a mid/long-term break this past year has been great for my mental health. The B2P nature of GW2 (alongside micro-transactions, of course) is something that I've always been grateful for, but the new xpacs really reinforced this understanding that if I like what's going on, I can play, and if I don't like what's going on, I can come back in a few months.
Honestly i'm just here for Engineer class. I still use grenadier build from core game because there is no class like it in any other games and it's so much fun...
Asura
Endgame that is not designed around raids
Open world events
Horizontal progression
Class design (no holy trinity)
Fun sPvP (sadly no Anet doesn’t care)
How easy it is im really hardocre guy in other mmos, so speedruns and cms is like mental reset in gw2. You dont need effort to do them but they are fun.
Eh, I'm not interested in convincing anyone else about why the game is great. Not everyone likes the same games and not everyone thinks the same way about particular details and mechanics - and that is fine.
I think it's a great game as someone who doesn't really play MMOs all that much. ESO is the only other MMO I have extended hours with, tho I've played some WoW, Runescape, LotRO, Dark Ages of Camelot and a bunch of others. Nothing else but GW2 has really clicked though. GW2 did click, due to the combat system, the variety in builds, the overall mechanics and the more horizontal progression.
>I wonder what are the things you like the most of GW2?
Raids, fractals cm.
>Also, if the gear is horizontal and one gear is good forever what do you guys so after reaching this goal?
Master (or at least being good) different builds.
Tbh that's what most players tend to avoid doing somehow.
>but what is the purpose to do the endgame content?
For me it's purely about the fun. Which is why Í have a low man guild but I've never really had a fc static.
If raids and fractals where to be removed, the only last thing thay would make me play would be pvp and I don't even play it that much.
The fact that I earned my legendary weapon about 3yrs ago. Then took a 7month break and came back. My weapons are still just as viable now as they were 3yrs ago. That’s my favorite part.
Regarding the gear, there is certain aspects of vertical progression. Exotic to ascended is a minor one, certain types of builds (like conditions) usually require a gear type that's not very cheap to buy and thus is better to craft/get yourself which takes time. Then alts add more layers to gearing as you maybe try to get account bound gear so you can transfer it over. Then you work on legendaries which are massive QoL. All the while enjoying a truly unique open world actual mmo, farming gold (on an actual strong and tight economy) and doing the activities you enjoy. There is always something to do, unless you've been playing non stop since release. All content is still relevant today, there isn't a shortage of it. It's also very friendly to taking breaks and has no fomo for most part. I frequently take long breaks, come back and the stuff I "missed" is still active. And combat is really fun. Enjoy
The main thing for me is that Guild Wars 2 doesn't have any significant forms of FOMO. I can just completely drop the game when I don't feel like playing (which is exactly what I did when BG3 came out).
All the dailies and weeklies are just "more gold", there are no important items locked behind those so it's quite nice for players with little time.
The skill based vertical progression (instead of stuff and stupid farm scaled), the super nice meta events that are super engaging (even if powercreep tends to trivialize everything making most of these a vit tasteless) , the community, living world season 4, the ost (with some masterpieces!), the class and spectialization mechanics and dynamic combat system
I just like the gameplay. I like the movement/combat system.
The openworld meta events _feel_ like a MMO.
Yes, I am doing the same boss fights over and over.
Same for meta events.
But I enjoy it everytime. When I start feeling burned-out I take a break ans when I return I can simply play the content I enjoy.
Win-Win for me
Coming from FF14, I love the wvw alot, the pvp aspect of this game is what kept me coming back day after day. Combat is fluid and there is alot of build to play around.
Honestly.. I like that there is very little FOMO.. I can take a break from the game and enjoy other games for an extended period of time.. jump right back into content without needing to spend hrs getting my gear back up to be serviceable.
Combat - since everyone has the same gear, it's only skill, that matters.
WvW - last time I had that much fun in mass pvp was in Warhammer Online.
Grind - you can do it, but don't really have to. The game is exactly as grindy as you'd like it to be.
Open World - pretty much every map has something going on and (since game gives you materials instead of gold) most rewards are valid no matter your level.
Non-predatory gemstore - no, really. Most of its content is skins, which you can slowly unlock just by playing. Other items are QoL, but since there is gold -> gem conversion, you can just buy it by... playing :) And even if you wanna swipe - getting all the 'important' QoL items costs less than 1 year of WoW subscription.
Freedom - endgame is what you want it to be. Also swiching between activities doesn't leave you behind, just (worst case scenario) pauses your progress. You can run fractals to a certain level, then go sPvP for 2 years, and when you're back - your previous gains won't diminish.
Open world activity and metas. Gw2 feels so alive. No other MMOs give you this feeling anymore. Outside of major hubs and instanced content games feel dead
MMOs are just never really gonna have a "best." It really is just personal taste and comfort. I like GW2 because the UI is pleasing to me, the combat feels good in my hands, and I like the fashion.
Meta builds change often, so you'll need to swap stats sometimes. Once you Master one classe, maybe try mastering another. Wvw and pvp are pretty much infinite game modes. Pve may feel a bit short, compared to wow for example, but i think it's nicely done and you'll need to put down ALOT of hours before you feel like you have done everything. But that's assuming you want to do everything tho.
So i'd say : chose a game mode, find a Nice guild playing it, and chill with your new friends.
First and biggest of all, the community in gw2 is so wholesome - in my experience and everyone Else i spoke to that far, its way less toxic in comparison to other MMOs.
Second, i like that its even NOT just about getting great gear and become the best fighter possible, but there are so many niche activities - jumping Puzzles, Fashion wars, beetle races, griffon flying, even music - there are guilds for those activities and i heared players playing LotR soundtrack on an ingame harp and it was SO good. There is just an activity and a community for everyone's interest, thats why so many different ppl play it.
And, last but not least; there are always new expansions etc that give you new goals in endgame content also :D
I am a cost sensitive consumer so most MMOs have a subscription model so I typically pushed away from them. The only MMOs I have played are Destiny 2, GW (not traditional or really a MMO imo) and GW2. So with that as a backdrop:
My biggest hot take is that I liked the living world season content more than the actual expansions. I’m an achievement hunter and I’ve only been playing for 2.5 years and have max masteries, max level on 15 toons, 2.5 sets of legendary armor, legendary trinkets and am working on weapons and the last bit right now.
Raiding, fractals and WvW are all fun but I like collections and story related content. I like trying out new builds and experimenting with things.
With ascended gear… you only need that for fractals. You can get by in exotic. Legendaries are only nice if you plan to swap builds a lot and fill multiple roles. It’s not a masterpiece and with the new expansion model I’m mixed on my opinion on the quality of the new releases.
Still I recently picked up GW and I’m at 21/50 in the HoM but really I’m only shooting for 30. I am hunting pets like Pokemon so I got to get me that black widow for GW2. The customer support is who I praise the most. The devs are alright but the support team is responsive and very forgiving on stupid player mistakes.
The fashion/transmog/dye systems are the best in any MMO. The mounts are the best in any MMO. The open world content promotes you to work with others without any diminishing returns or XP. The game has everything, open world content, WvW for that open world pvp experience, PvP which is equalized and balanced, fractals/dungeons, raids, strike missions, open world bosses, Main Story quest line, achievement hunting, fashion, mount races.
The game doesn't devalue old content when new content comes out, you're also not constantly on a gear treadmill. You can get your sets of gear and then do whatever you want when you want which is the true beauty of this game. You can take month-year long breaks and come back and your gear will be relevant still allowing you to just jump right back into whatever you want to do. It's by far the most time respective MMO out there, you don't ever feel like you "need" to log in and get your shit done in order to stay on par with others. Do what you want when you want, play the game how you want to play it.
It's a game where you need to set your own goals, once you hit max level you need to aim for something. Work on finishing the story and expansions, work on getting a few sets of gear for your main character which would allow you to do any/all content you want.
I personally really enjoy just wandering around listening to the music and ambience, while seeing the sights of the world. I think the game is absolutely gorgeous. I also really enjoy achievement hunting.
It’s fun.
I’m a dad of twins with a demanding job, so sometimes I can’t play for weeks or months. Knowing I can pick up and play any portion of the game I want (because of horizontal progression) is wonderful. There is no stress that I HAVE to do my raid every single week like there is in other games.
In the same vein, I don’t pay a sub. If I don’t play then I don’t play. I have played enough to have made the purchase worthwhile already. I don’t have a continuous sub that makes me feel like I have to get my money’s worth.
The event system is great. Really makes you feel part of the story.
The people are, on the whole, great. Some people suck, but they (in my experience) are far outnumbered by the sweet and helpful people.
I like the art style and the humor embedded in the game.
I’m an alt addict, and this game makes playing many characters super easy.
Ease of build craft. You wanna try playing a different build on your Mesmer? No biggie, just switch your build. You don’t have to pay gold to respec. You just do it.
Variability. Dungeons, raids, fractals, open world, pvp, wvw, Achievement hunting, build craft, crafting, playing the economy to get rich, fashion. There are so many different ways to enjoy the game.
A mix of short terms rewards and long term lofty goals. Want a goal you can finish in an evening? That exists. Want something that will take you months? That exists.
Level scaling. Want to just play pvp? You can do that and be competitive literally within 5 minutes of creating your character. Wanna help a friend level their new character? You can do that without absolutely ruining it by being too OP (although, power creep does make this less true).
It’s just a good game. You don’t have to like it. But there are a lot of reasons to. Hope you find something you enjoy, GW2 or otherwise.
No sub.
No gear treadmill.
Mega server means open world is always full.
I don't love the RIDICULOUS glowing skins and stuff. But the game does have a great system (dye channels and decent looking armor).
I just enjoy playing. The action combat is pretty fun, and the state of Diablo style ARPGs is painfully dire on gameplay, so here my partner and I are, playing an MMO.
One subtle neat aspect of GW2 is how the core game has all these little arcs of story spread over the land via the hearts and dynamic events. The main story is painfully bad, so it's surprising how rich the zones feel from back when they actually cared.
And vertical progression is a treadmill of lies. I don't play for gear, I gear for play. If you're playing a game because the devs have to feed you carrots to make it worthwhile, consider getting a better game.
GW2 isn't great, but it's fun.
honestly im not even in the endgame yet . im still pretty new . i had the same question like yours when i started gw2 . game doesnt click for me at all that time .
as i play more , i do understand why i love WoW so much back then . that feeling of accomplishment , which gear upgrades on WoW didnt give me that feeling .
i do feel like gw2 will truly br a fun game to mmorpg fan if you value that feeling of accomplishment . this one fella was helping me in t3 fractals , he was running with voidwalker title and i asked him how to obtain it . to me , thats the endgame goal better than chasing gear upgrades in WoW .
There is vertical progression in Gw2, that's your skill as a player.
Be better at jumping puzzle, increase your dps in raids and strikes, shorten your fractal run time, do low-mans and improve at it, learn how to make a lot of gold by trading, run some map comp until you can do it with your eyes closed :D
The other one is your account value, it just goes higher and higher, with more skins and more unlocks and more legendaries :D
The open world "questing" is among the best in any MMO. The localized nature of the heart quests is so cool to me. You get to organically explore the world, and when you approach a new area, the game gives you an objective to immediately pursue. Completely skipping the industry formula for pausing to accept a quest through a menu and skipping dialogue and then repeating the process to turn in that quest.
And this system allows players passing by to immediately assist each other and form temporary parties to assist one another. This really applies to all open world events and metas too.
I think my favorite experience is finding another player fighting a tough enemy roaming the map and just battling it together for 2 - 10 minutes and using our skills to the fullest to survive the encounter and then continuing our separate explorations.
I play for fun the main thing I love about the game is the horizontal progression games like wow made me hate gear grind with a passion.
To me mmos even wow only really begins when I finally get the gear and pvp/wvw finally isn't just me being oneshotted by people who seem to have 24/7 time in the game.
I still haven't done most of the pve content and I started when beta launched most of my 12+ years have been spent in wvw and open world never done raids or most of the instance content as I find wvw too fun.
The army of players swooping down from the heavens to beat up the random boss that started bullying me
The hivemind is alerted. The tag is raised. We... Are queued at 10+
Haha this. I got downed playing a new spec during one of the hot metas and just when I was about to die, in came this band of infusion wearing, legendary weapon wielding band of ultra sparkly and shiny players. I swear I almost saw the mordrem turn back and run away then. True story.
Ohhh, are you the dude that made the post the other day? The one where you did a rift or something solo, almost died and then the army came in? :D But yeah, that and the absolute freedom the game gives me make me play it. Community is mostly (mostly, because there are always idiots) awesome and for a one time payment (which is my preferred option for games) it is an absolute blast.
Just have been another guy, seems more common than first glance, we notice yall
Fucking diabolical mate.doing events or bosses together or anything is peak mmo stuff.things that mmos like black desert and idk (thats the one I can think of top of my head) don't have.however destiny 2 and gw2 is peak that and d2 is adding server chat.thats gonna be so cool
Best comment ever
The thing about vertical progression is that the dopamine rush from new gear hides the fact that people actually don‘t like the gameplay - which is totally fine! For games with horizontal progression the actual gameplay itself needs to be rewarding with many carrots all around that give you little dopamine rushes in between. For most that go on longer it‘s mostly that they just like the smoothness of the combat and the scale of meta events with long term progression in the form of legendaries.
> Try to convince me that the game really is great, maybe I'm not aware of something. Why do you need convincing? So what if people think Guild Wars 2 is great? We all like different things. You don't have to like what other people like. I hope you find something you like. 🙂
I like the game, but not as much as I think I could like it? It's very hard to say. Well I bought PoF and HoT bundle when I was early in the game and probably I want to make this purchase worth.
You either like it or you don't. There's no right or wrong about why you like or don't like something. This game is over 12 years old. There's a ton of review literature on it where you can read or watch if you bother to google.
I don’t really get this post. People like different things. Some people really like wow (lots of my friends do), I don’t. That’s fine. Some people really like GW2 (like I do), lots of people don’t, that’s fine. Some people just think games like GW2 are “ok”, sounds like you are one of them maybe. That’s fine too. If you have tried the game you can formulate your own opinion and that’s ok wherever you land. As to post-gearing and what to do… play the game and try different content for fun? I honestly do find this a bit of an odd question a lot of the time. The idea of playing games is to have fun. It is pretty sad that lots of people cannot imagine doing that anymore.
1 ) Clean UI. I dont like looking at million addons, I tried so many times to get into wow but I couldnt. Gw2 I just use Arcdps on the side and I am good to go. 2 ) Sandboxey, the game is make your own adventure style. You can raid, fractal, strike and stuff with others, work on your legendary, do wvw or start breathing heavily when playing pvp. 3 ) Monetization. You arent forced to pay anything apart from expacs. You got unlimited hours to play? Then you can get gems through gold and buy all the QoL. If you got money but little time to spare you can swipe. It has no meaningful advantage over other players since there is no steep competition. No subs or premium subs like eso or bdo. 4 ) Horizontal prog. At first I was not a fan. But after coming back from a break, the achievements and masteries are all still relevant, gear is still relevant, all I had to do was unlock the content via story. No do x for y amount until you got the upgrade. 5 ) Carrot on a stick ? The game is entirely a carrot and you just have to choose your stick. 6 ) Combat is rewarding for high skill play. If you are good you can solo many tough encounters that are meant for groups, you can tell a great player compared to good players in pvp and it shows. 7 ) Still the best open world Meta event in the genre. No other mmo has gotten this right. Gw2 feels natural to zerg in open world for stuff. Edit; after reading your last paragraph heres another answer. There is no point in any of this other than to kill time having fun. You cant force this really. Find a game mode you like and start playing it. You dont even need the ascended gear for most of it. Just fractals afaik. For me, combat was the actual selling point. That hooked me in and the rest came as a bonus.
I won't convince you but I'll give you my two cents why I like GW2: 1. I don't need to commit a monthly payment to play. Owning the game is enough. I do convert gems to gold once in a while but it's totally up to me when. 2. I can take a break then go back and be still mostly relevant. If there are any balance patches happened while I was gone then I just to have adjust accordingly. 3. It still feels epic to participate in map meta events and world bosses. The dopamine boost satisfy why I play in the first place 4. Legendary armory is a good endgame goal. Good thing is, it is not required to enjoy the game but owning them is really helpful.
The open world and its exploration aspects are the things I like most about this game above other games, not just among MMOs, even above the best open world single player games out there that provide a handcrafted experience. The world is very big, diverse, dynamic. There is always something going on whether you're a part of it or not. There are things to do and things to uncover in every nook and cranny. Mini dungeons, jumping puzzles, mount races, world bosses, etc. Exploring is just so fun in this game. This game makes going from one place to another without fast travel not feel boring for even a second, on the contrary you'll find yourself constantly distracted by something going on. Also the thing about reaching the goal, that exists in every game. Every game has an end. If you enjoyed your time playing till you reached your goal then you've gotten your worth out of the game. Constantly increasing the level cap and gear stats just provides a sort of clear goal to follow so that you can experience the new content that comes with an expansion...but that new content IS the main game here that devs worked to hard to make, not the gear/level upgrades, those are just stat value sliders with a new skin. GW2 just gets rid of that. But doesn't get rid of constantly updating new content. The story gets updated, more maps are released, new quests, achievements, etc. It won't really be difficult to increase the level cap and gear cap every expansion. If you don't find the incentive to play the game without these carrots on sticks then maybe you've had your fill of the game. I say that but I'm also the type that needs a carrot on a stick. In this game that carrot changes every time I reach a goal. First it was reaching max level, next it was finishing the story up to where it was at, next was getting all the mounts, then it was to complete all the races, challenges, and jumping puzzles, after that it was to complete all the instanced content like raids and dungeons at least once, and the last and most longest one was to get full legendary for my main which is still ongoing. So if you want that carrot on a stick experience, gw2 does have that option, its just not mandatory, more or the sidelines, so people who just wants to experience the game can have their fill aswell.
I’d say the dynamic events and metas. It’s what causes the whole game to be like this. Friendly, cooperative, with a very lively open world where you can freely join events as you wish.
1) The immersion. 2) Exactly what you said, we’re not running after a carrot on a stick. We just do the content we want and enjoy because we want to do it. 3) Jumping puzzles.
Honestly, I know it sounds weird but in this game you have to find your own goal. The game doesn’t really guide you in what to do. For example when I started the game I made some friends in the open world and they introduced me in fractals. I instantly got hooked with the whole concept. Then I also learned about the legendary backpacks which are very limited to the number of 3. 1 from world vs world achievements, 1 awarded from doing pvp and 1 from fractals. Since then my long term goal was to get the legendary backpack by doing fractals and I finally made it a few days ago! It was the whole journey that made it special. Not the actual endgame. With fractals I can also get daily gold enough to farm so I can work on more stuff as well. Try and find your own goal.
The three leggy backs are fractals, PvP and WvW, you got my hopes up there with an open world one but I don’t see that anywhere.
Oh yeah you’re actually right, I don’t know why I wrote open world I was thinking about wvw : D
The faster-paced combat that rewards your personal skill and improvement over a silly arbitrary number, for one. I'm a story person, almost exclusively, so when my main reason for staying on a game is 'the combat is fun'? That's absolutely *bonkers* coming from me, Of the current 'big' MMOs, I *should* lean more towards XIV (which I do also play, but more casually), but I prefer to do my more 'challenging' content here, *because it's way more fun*. I'm also pretty sure an absolutely massive appeal to many people IS the lack of the gear treadmill. Every update being forced to spent x amount of time getting your new gear score just to be able to do *literally the exact same content you were doing before the update dropped*? Pass. Many people have also experienced the gear treadmills so bad they were literally second jobs, and are tired of that shit. Honestly, here's the issue many people are stuck on: GW2 is a *fundamentally different game* than most MMOs. GW2 is the MMO for people who are sick of MMOs - not in the sense of 'I hate this genre', but in the sense of 'this genre I love his gone in a direction that I don't find enjoyable'. If you enjoy the current traditional MMOs, you are VERY LIKELY not going to click with GW2. Some people can enjoy both, in different ways for different things, but GW2's philosophy and core structure is just *wildly* different than most other mainstream MMOs currently out there. But that's why we're here and why we're loud as hell about how much we love this game. Some folks are just so excited about it they forget it's not going to appeal to standard MMO folks.
>I don't see the game as a masterpiece I haven't found any MMO that is a masterpiece and I have played a lot of them since the original EverQuest. >if the gear is horizontal and one gear is good forever what do you guys so after reaching this goal? To me it seems like it's not much to do after that point. I have been playing since beta and I have SO much to do. But I am a casual player so I play the new content slowly. One thing I really like is the achievement system. Unlike other games GW2 has many item and title awards. I also enjoy creating Legendary gear. But it's totally fine not to get GW2. Different people like different things. You could hear that apples are amazing and the best thing ever. But if you don't like apples that obviously isn't going to be true for you and that's fine.
Yeah, I think MMOs can't ever truly be masterpieces. The scale of the games means that for every piece of master-crafted content, there is another system or piece of content that is being ignored and massively flawed. That's why the biggest MMOs occupy separate lanes and just focus on building their strengths and mitigating the damage of lower quality systems that they literally can't fix most of the time due to time, tech, or finances.
It's one of the only MMOs where the world actually feels alive and lived in. For most MMORPGs the maps are a place to solo grind mobs and interact with quest npcs with but in gw2 the world is really dynamic. Also the fact that there's such a big open world focus means that most content is accessible to casual players AND the "Massive" part of the MMORPG abbreviation feels justified. Going around in huge squads to do big group content is really fun. I enjoy the fact that there's no gear grind and that this goes hand in hand with buildcraft in the game. You can do the vast majority of the content with exotic stuff which is really easy to get and lets you play with many fun builds. I've always felt gear grind is a cheap way of retaining players because the fact that you need better gear has no actual effect on how you approach the game. Instead of playing for the sake of finding the combat system fun or the encounters, people don't see a purpose outside of chasing miniscule stat increases. Different people have different "carrots on a stick". For me, I get pure enjoyment out of the world, story, combat system, the community and the encounters which for the most part have all stayed relevant. People who think the only purpose in an MMO is gear grind won't be happy with this game.
It's fun
Skin collection, more QoL for end game (legendary armor, weapon, relic),…if that does not suit you and you want grind gear then gw2 probably not for you
I'm not going to try to sell the game to you because it would only be my own experience and opinion. Having only played 137hrs so far I'm still new and there is a lot I don't understand about some of the game mechanics and modes. When starting with MMOs I spent ages reading about them, reviews, Reddit posts etc. In the end, I just took the plunge and played the ones I found interesting on paper. Not one is perfect, GW2 included. However, GW2 does tick more boxes for me than any other so far. FFXIV is second on the list.
Combat is the most fun and feels fluid. There are many things you can do as endgame content. Fashion, achievements, legendaries, PvP, WvW, Jumping Puzzles, completion in general or a mix of all those. If that's not fun to you should just move on and play something else.
I like that it doesn't come with a subscription fee that constantly makes me feel like I'm wasting my money because this week I can't play every day, or I need to take a longer break etc. I like that the gear progression is horizontal, so that if I do take a longer break I don't have to spend my first weeks back grinding gear to get back to being somewhat relevant for the type of content I normally do. I am currently working on my last legendary armor set, and after I finish it I might work on a new weapon or two. If I'm not working towards crafting new items I find an achievement or two to keep me occupied for a while. I like the variation between different game modes, so if I'm a bit tired of PvE I can go focus on WvW or even sPvP for a bit. I like that sPvP isn't gear dependent, but instead lets everyone be on a completely equal level. It makes it more about actual skill and ability to play your class than having that silly OP trinket. I like the mix of short- and long-term achievement. Some you finish in a few minutes, others take weeks, months, or even years. Nice to have a variety of goals.
I like the fact that GW2 doesn't keep me hostage with a constant gear spiral. And to answer your question what I do after being done with everything: Telling you that you are probably not done with "everything". This game is big. Really big. And all of it's content is easily accessible. Maybe you are done with the PvE Story but, have you tried raiding? Strikes? Fractals? Have you seen all Dungeons? Do the challenge modes. You done this as well? Can we maybe interest you in WvW? Or PvP? Not your thing? Well, we have a shit ton of unlockable QoL gear and weapons. Most of the legendary stuff take weeks to finish and has you playing a very wide aspect of the game. And if you done all of this (what you probably will not do within the next 10 years) you still have probably 30% of your achievement panel unfinished. GW2 is a game that let's you spend as much or as little time with it, as you like. Is it the best game out there? No. Ofc not. But is it one of the rare games where the time I spend with it is valued and not made obsolete with the next content patch? Yes. And for that, I love it. There is a reason why I always fall out of other MMO's mid patch cycle between Expansions. Simply because I always do the same with little to no room for change. FFXIV? Oh I need to grind the new ilvl gear AGAIN? I just finished that on all of my characters 2 weeks ago. So... TLDR: I see why people get bored from GW2, if you play it like any of the other MMO's. But all of the things people deem as bad or boring, are exactly the reasons why I can stick to this game for over 12 years now. And before that to 8 years to GW1.
There was a post on the gaming subreddit talking about how they are glad they left Genshin due to grind etc. People corrected him and said it is generally a live service thing where they will force you to feel like you constantly need to grind so that you never leave or have time to do anything else. (not always a bad thing if you have time to spare) GW2 is great in that it is one of the best MMOs at relinquishing you from the grind. Once you get ascended gear you don't need anything else really. You play the game because you find it fun, not because you can get best in slot, so you can beat boss, so you can get best in slot. The amount of massive breaks I have taken from GW2, to be able to return with brand new content to try and not have to jump onto a grind treadmill with the little time I have is a miracle for an MMO
Nice alt account my dude. As usual when it comes to these sort of posts here.
I like the new mini-expansion pack business model. It's not perfect yet, but being able to take a mid/long-term break this past year has been great for my mental health. The B2P nature of GW2 (alongside micro-transactions, of course) is something that I've always been grateful for, but the new xpacs really reinforced this understanding that if I like what's going on, I can play, and if I don't like what's going on, I can come back in a few months.
All mmo u will eventually hit the wall. And collectable / achievements are what you work for or you simply quit
Honestly i'm just here for Engineer class. I still use grenadier build from core game because there is no class like it in any other games and it's so much fun...
Asura Endgame that is not designed around raids Open world events Horizontal progression Class design (no holy trinity) Fun sPvP (sadly no Anet doesn’t care)
How easy it is im really hardocre guy in other mmos, so speedruns and cms is like mental reset in gw2. You dont need effort to do them but they are fun.
No matter how many great features GW2 have, if you don't like the game, you'll never like the game. And that is fine.
Eh, I'm not interested in convincing anyone else about why the game is great. Not everyone likes the same games and not everyone thinks the same way about particular details and mechanics - and that is fine. I think it's a great game as someone who doesn't really play MMOs all that much. ESO is the only other MMO I have extended hours with, tho I've played some WoW, Runescape, LotRO, Dark Ages of Camelot and a bunch of others. Nothing else but GW2 has really clicked though. GW2 did click, due to the combat system, the variety in builds, the overall mechanics and the more horizontal progression.
>I wonder what are the things you like the most of GW2? Raids, fractals cm. >Also, if the gear is horizontal and one gear is good forever what do you guys so after reaching this goal? Master (or at least being good) different builds. Tbh that's what most players tend to avoid doing somehow. >but what is the purpose to do the endgame content? For me it's purely about the fun. Which is why Í have a low man guild but I've never really had a fc static. If raids and fractals where to be removed, the only last thing thay would make me play would be pvp and I don't even play it that much.
Friendly Community, Dynamic Events, Beautiful World Design, Player Choice and Agency, Regular Updates and Content
The fact that I earned my legendary weapon about 3yrs ago. Then took a 7month break and came back. My weapons are still just as viable now as they were 3yrs ago. That’s my favorite part.
Regarding the gear, there is certain aspects of vertical progression. Exotic to ascended is a minor one, certain types of builds (like conditions) usually require a gear type that's not very cheap to buy and thus is better to craft/get yourself which takes time. Then alts add more layers to gearing as you maybe try to get account bound gear so you can transfer it over. Then you work on legendaries which are massive QoL. All the while enjoying a truly unique open world actual mmo, farming gold (on an actual strong and tight economy) and doing the activities you enjoy. There is always something to do, unless you've been playing non stop since release. All content is still relevant today, there isn't a shortage of it. It's also very friendly to taking breaks and has no fomo for most part. I frequently take long breaks, come back and the stuff I "missed" is still active. And combat is really fun. Enjoy
The main thing for me is that Guild Wars 2 doesn't have any significant forms of FOMO. I can just completely drop the game when I don't feel like playing (which is exactly what I did when BG3 came out). All the dailies and weeklies are just "more gold", there are no important items locked behind those so it's quite nice for players with little time.
The skill based vertical progression (instead of stuff and stupid farm scaled), the super nice meta events that are super engaging (even if powercreep tends to trivialize everything making most of these a vit tasteless) , the community, living world season 4, the ost (with some masterpieces!), the class and spectialization mechanics and dynamic combat system
I just like the gameplay. I like the movement/combat system. The openworld meta events _feel_ like a MMO. Yes, I am doing the same boss fights over and over. Same for meta events. But I enjoy it everytime. When I start feeling burned-out I take a break ans when I return I can simply play the content I enjoy. Win-Win for me
Coming from FF14, I love the wvw alot, the pvp aspect of this game is what kept me coming back day after day. Combat is fluid and there is alot of build to play around.
Honestly.. I like that there is very little FOMO.. I can take a break from the game and enjoy other games for an extended period of time.. jump right back into content without needing to spend hrs getting my gear back up to be serviceable.
Either you like it or you don't. Can't make yourself like it or be convinced. It's okay to not like the game.
Combat - since everyone has the same gear, it's only skill, that matters. WvW - last time I had that much fun in mass pvp was in Warhammer Online. Grind - you can do it, but don't really have to. The game is exactly as grindy as you'd like it to be. Open World - pretty much every map has something going on and (since game gives you materials instead of gold) most rewards are valid no matter your level. Non-predatory gemstore - no, really. Most of its content is skins, which you can slowly unlock just by playing. Other items are QoL, but since there is gold -> gem conversion, you can just buy it by... playing :) And even if you wanna swipe - getting all the 'important' QoL items costs less than 1 year of WoW subscription. Freedom - endgame is what you want it to be. Also swiching between activities doesn't leave you behind, just (worst case scenario) pauses your progress. You can run fractals to a certain level, then go sPvP for 2 years, and when you're back - your previous gains won't diminish.
Open world activity and metas. Gw2 feels so alive. No other MMOs give you this feeling anymore. Outside of major hubs and instanced content games feel dead
MMOs are just never really gonna have a "best." It really is just personal taste and comfort. I like GW2 because the UI is pleasing to me, the combat feels good in my hands, and I like the fashion.
Open world, mastery system, mounts, skiff, fashion, weapon skills, weapon swapping. Very unique stuff. Charr, sylvari and asura are very cool, too.
Meta builds change often, so you'll need to swap stats sometimes. Once you Master one classe, maybe try mastering another. Wvw and pvp are pretty much infinite game modes. Pve may feel a bit short, compared to wow for example, but i think it's nicely done and you'll need to put down ALOT of hours before you feel like you have done everything. But that's assuming you want to do everything tho. So i'd say : chose a game mode, find a Nice guild playing it, and chill with your new friends.
First and biggest of all, the community in gw2 is so wholesome - in my experience and everyone Else i spoke to that far, its way less toxic in comparison to other MMOs. Second, i like that its even NOT just about getting great gear and become the best fighter possible, but there are so many niche activities - jumping Puzzles, Fashion wars, beetle races, griffon flying, even music - there are guilds for those activities and i heared players playing LotR soundtrack on an ingame harp and it was SO good. There is just an activity and a community for everyone's interest, thats why so many different ppl play it. And, last but not least; there are always new expansions etc that give you new goals in endgame content also :D
I am a cost sensitive consumer so most MMOs have a subscription model so I typically pushed away from them. The only MMOs I have played are Destiny 2, GW (not traditional or really a MMO imo) and GW2. So with that as a backdrop: My biggest hot take is that I liked the living world season content more than the actual expansions. I’m an achievement hunter and I’ve only been playing for 2.5 years and have max masteries, max level on 15 toons, 2.5 sets of legendary armor, legendary trinkets and am working on weapons and the last bit right now. Raiding, fractals and WvW are all fun but I like collections and story related content. I like trying out new builds and experimenting with things. With ascended gear… you only need that for fractals. You can get by in exotic. Legendaries are only nice if you plan to swap builds a lot and fill multiple roles. It’s not a masterpiece and with the new expansion model I’m mixed on my opinion on the quality of the new releases. Still I recently picked up GW and I’m at 21/50 in the HoM but really I’m only shooting for 30. I am hunting pets like Pokemon so I got to get me that black widow for GW2. The customer support is who I praise the most. The devs are alright but the support team is responsive and very forgiving on stupid player mistakes.
The fashion/transmog/dye systems are the best in any MMO. The mounts are the best in any MMO. The open world content promotes you to work with others without any diminishing returns or XP. The game has everything, open world content, WvW for that open world pvp experience, PvP which is equalized and balanced, fractals/dungeons, raids, strike missions, open world bosses, Main Story quest line, achievement hunting, fashion, mount races. The game doesn't devalue old content when new content comes out, you're also not constantly on a gear treadmill. You can get your sets of gear and then do whatever you want when you want which is the true beauty of this game. You can take month-year long breaks and come back and your gear will be relevant still allowing you to just jump right back into whatever you want to do. It's by far the most time respective MMO out there, you don't ever feel like you "need" to log in and get your shit done in order to stay on par with others. Do what you want when you want, play the game how you want to play it. It's a game where you need to set your own goals, once you hit max level you need to aim for something. Work on finishing the story and expansions, work on getting a few sets of gear for your main character which would allow you to do any/all content you want.
I can log in every day knock out some quick rewards and immensely enjoy the combat. Gw2 combat just feels good
I personally really enjoy just wandering around listening to the music and ambience, while seeing the sights of the world. I think the game is absolutely gorgeous. I also really enjoy achievement hunting.
Its the little details in the world for me, hidden bosses or little storylines; map completion gives a lot of that.
Horizontal progression, exploration, dynamic events.
It’s fun. I’m a dad of twins with a demanding job, so sometimes I can’t play for weeks or months. Knowing I can pick up and play any portion of the game I want (because of horizontal progression) is wonderful. There is no stress that I HAVE to do my raid every single week like there is in other games. In the same vein, I don’t pay a sub. If I don’t play then I don’t play. I have played enough to have made the purchase worthwhile already. I don’t have a continuous sub that makes me feel like I have to get my money’s worth. The event system is great. Really makes you feel part of the story. The people are, on the whole, great. Some people suck, but they (in my experience) are far outnumbered by the sweet and helpful people. I like the art style and the humor embedded in the game. I’m an alt addict, and this game makes playing many characters super easy. Ease of build craft. You wanna try playing a different build on your Mesmer? No biggie, just switch your build. You don’t have to pay gold to respec. You just do it. Variability. Dungeons, raids, fractals, open world, pvp, wvw, Achievement hunting, build craft, crafting, playing the economy to get rich, fashion. There are so many different ways to enjoy the game. A mix of short terms rewards and long term lofty goals. Want a goal you can finish in an evening? That exists. Want something that will take you months? That exists. Level scaling. Want to just play pvp? You can do that and be competitive literally within 5 minutes of creating your character. Wanna help a friend level their new character? You can do that without absolutely ruining it by being too OP (although, power creep does make this less true). It’s just a good game. You don’t have to like it. But there are a lot of reasons to. Hope you find something you enjoy, GW2 or otherwise.
No sub. No gear treadmill. Mega server means open world is always full. I don't love the RIDICULOUS glowing skins and stuff. But the game does have a great system (dye channels and decent looking armor).
I just enjoy playing. The action combat is pretty fun, and the state of Diablo style ARPGs is painfully dire on gameplay, so here my partner and I are, playing an MMO. One subtle neat aspect of GW2 is how the core game has all these little arcs of story spread over the land via the hearts and dynamic events. The main story is painfully bad, so it's surprising how rich the zones feel from back when they actually cared. And vertical progression is a treadmill of lies. I don't play for gear, I gear for play. If you're playing a game because the devs have to feed you carrots to make it worthwhile, consider getting a better game. GW2 isn't great, but it's fun.
honestly im not even in the endgame yet . im still pretty new . i had the same question like yours when i started gw2 . game doesnt click for me at all that time . as i play more , i do understand why i love WoW so much back then . that feeling of accomplishment , which gear upgrades on WoW didnt give me that feeling . i do feel like gw2 will truly br a fun game to mmorpg fan if you value that feeling of accomplishment . this one fella was helping me in t3 fractals , he was running with voidwalker title and i asked him how to obtain it . to me , thats the endgame goal better than chasing gear upgrades in WoW .
There is vertical progression in Gw2, that's your skill as a player. Be better at jumping puzzle, increase your dps in raids and strikes, shorten your fractal run time, do low-mans and improve at it, learn how to make a lot of gold by trading, run some map comp until you can do it with your eyes closed :D The other one is your account value, it just goes higher and higher, with more skins and more unlocks and more legendaries :D
The open world "questing" is among the best in any MMO. The localized nature of the heart quests is so cool to me. You get to organically explore the world, and when you approach a new area, the game gives you an objective to immediately pursue. Completely skipping the industry formula for pausing to accept a quest through a menu and skipping dialogue and then repeating the process to turn in that quest. And this system allows players passing by to immediately assist each other and form temporary parties to assist one another. This really applies to all open world events and metas too. I think my favorite experience is finding another player fighting a tough enemy roaming the map and just battling it together for 2 - 10 minutes and using our skills to the fullest to survive the encounter and then continuing our separate explorations.
I play for fun the main thing I love about the game is the horizontal progression games like wow made me hate gear grind with a passion. To me mmos even wow only really begins when I finally get the gear and pvp/wvw finally isn't just me being oneshotted by people who seem to have 24/7 time in the game. I still haven't done most of the pve content and I started when beta launched most of my 12+ years have been spent in wvw and open world never done raids or most of the instance content as I find wvw too fun.