Why GW2? Part II

Part 2 of the highlights of GW2.





7.  Personal Story.  In a previous blog post, I mentioned that many people want to feel like a "special snowflake" even among the millions of other players saving the world.  They want something unique to them, that differentiates them from everyone else.  Story is important in GW2, and each person starts with choices in character creation that will define who your character is.  Those choices cascade out to further quests and further choices.  ArenaNet even gave everyone their own zoned instance inside your race's main city that acts as your personal instance.  The choices you make will affect that instance, whether it be saving an orphanage of children or allowing a hospital to burn to the ground.  From level 1-10, if you include all races, there are a total of 30 story options.  By level 80, that number explodes exponentially. If you aren't impressed, well then, I really don't know what to say.

8. Buy to play.  Seriously, what is the last AAA MMO that has not required a subscription model?  Let's not mention those that have failed and then were forced to go free to play, because well no one was willing to pay for them.  ArenaNet has promised that they will never force you to pay monthly fees to a play a game that you bought.  There is a Cash Shop, and this has caused quite a controversy on many of the major sites and forums around GW2.  I will probably extend the cash shop to its own separate blog post.

9.  No race restrictions on classes.  If I want to be an undead paladin, well God damn it, I'm doing it.  Okay, seriously though, this is great news to RPers, and any person who has ever played an MMO.  Every race can be every profession, and Jeff Grubb and others have ensured that the lore matches every profession.  Yes, a plant can wield a flamethrower, and yes a big, gaping Norn can be a thief.  These things don't seem immersion-breaking, like so many MMOs claim, they just seem to allow you to play the way you want to play.

10. Skill point challenges.  I mean come on now, what game has games within the game?  You can take a break from doing events to navigate a jumping puzzle, or avoid traps and play Indiana Jones for a while.  There's puzzles, challenges, and so much to explore.  Some of these events are out of the way, and you will need to explore to find them.  No themepark MMO rewards you for exploring, and I thinks it just a great idea.