Well as you all know world of warcraft (WoW) is a much more known MMO than guild wars (GW). Now whenever I review a game or do something like this (compare two games or game systems), remember: how much someone likes a game is completely up to that person. So no matter what I say, it is up to you which you think is better.
I’ll start with just comparing the two games. WoW is $15 a month, while GW free as long as you have an internet connection. The maximum level in WoW is 80, which means more gaming time and things to do. The level cap in GW is only 20, BUT the game’s leveling is way different. For instance, the time it takes you to get to level 20 in GW is about the same amount of time it would take you to get to level 55ish in WoW. WoW is also kind of cartoony, GW isn’t as cartoony. What I mean by this is that WoW is better to look at for a younger person unlike GW where an older (late teens) person might find more entertaining/interesting. WoW is also a little more user friendly, GW has more sophisticated controls. You still use the number keys to use most of you skills and abilities in both games, but the movement in GW is way different than WoW. In GW you can only have 8 skills on your action bars, in WoW you have 5 action bars with about 12 buttons per bar, so GW takes more thinking about what skills you actually need, unlike in WoW where its basically just put every skill you have somewhere on any of you action bars. For PvP and PvE they are both really fun. WoW has world PvP, where you go out to some places and are able to attack the enemy, but in GW its mostly arena based. In GW you have your regular PvP (arena), guild vs. guild, and hall of heroes. WoW just has battle grounds and world PvP. In GW, if you are in a wealthy enough guild, you can get a guild hall, where the GvG battles take place. If you don’t have a hall, then you will be the team attacking another guilds hall. Also, there is the Hall of Heroes, which is for the people who like to take their PvP to the next level and go against people in tournaments and face off with people from different countries even. WoW has the same thing, but its done a lot differently than in GW.
Now I’ll go more into WoW. WoW is equally balanced between solo play and multi-player. There are instances where you need a group to go though (unless you’re high enough level to solo it). To solo it you need to be a much higher level than the enemies inside. Most quests in WoW are very easely soloed. When making you character, you have wide variety of different choices. There are Dwarfs, Humans, Night Elves, Drainei, and Gnomes (The Alliance), and Tauren, Orc, Troll, Undead, and Blood Elves (The Horde). PvP is based off The Alliance fighting The Horde. Also, there are different classes each race can be, but not all races can be each class (i.e. there are no Tauren rogues). There are the Warriors, Warlocks, Mages, Priests, Rogues, Shamans, Death Knights, Druids, Paladins, and Hunters. Each class has a unique set of skills for fighting other players and others that are better for soloing. There are also talent points you will get every level starting at level 10. These talent points are spent on upgrades for your skills. Each class has three different specs that focus on different skills. You can only play the Blood Elves and Drainei if you have the expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and can only play Death Knights if you get the other expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.
Now time for GW. In GW, you can choose between a warrior, elementalist, monk, dervish, ranger, mesmer, necromancer, ritualist, assassain, and paragon. You can only play the assassin and ritualist if you get the expansion Guild Wars: Factions, and can only get to play a dervish and paragon if you get the other expansion, Guild Wars: Nightfall. In Guild Wars, you choose between one of the classes to play, there is only one race (human) but each class has a different way of movement and posture. Once you get to level 3 or 4 you get to choose a second class to be your sub-class. Some class mixes are better than others at certain things. Some hybrids are better for PvP and others for PvE (Player V.S. Environment). But just like WoW, different skills are better than others for PvP and PvE (that’s with any MMO). Once you have your classes chosen, than your adventure with your friends or henchmen (I’ll talk about that in a second). Upon becoming a level 20, you will have learned your classes well and will know the weaknesses and advantages. At level 20 there is still a lot to do. Instead of “instances” in WoW, GW has “missions,” which are basically the same, but can be a little easier than WoW’s instances. The world is HUGE with plenty to discover. There are lots of little towns, cities, and regions in GW, each city with new armor and/or weapons to buy. If you choose to play more solo, there are henchmen you can “hire” to be in your group. The henchmen will take some of the gold (money) that an enemy drops, but it is the same amount as if you have actual people, but you get all the items that drop.
I have played both games. I own a level 80 dwarf paladin in WoW, and a level 20 warrior/ranger in GW. I am currently no longer playing WoW, but I am playing GW. From personal experiance, I can say that both games are loads of fun and can (and most likely will) keep you entertained for hours on end. I say that from experience. It is still all a matter of opinion which game you like more. If you have played one but not the other, please don’t be saying the one is better than the other because you have never played the other, because… how would you know? But if you have played both, feel free to say which you think is better and mention something you liked about one of the games that I might have missed. I know I didn’t talk much about the game play but thats because I’m talking about the basics of each game, not which is better. That part is up to you.
-James
