ESO Expansion vs. GW2 Expansion

Rastafariel · July 2015

Greetings All!

I haven't been back long, and I haven't religiously posted for a while. ESO vs GW2 has been on my mind because they both have some good parts to them, and some bad. Obviously, this is all my opinion. Lets start with the basics:

ESO

Pros:
- ESO your lore is supreme. (I played Arena, Daggerfall, Battlespire, Redguard, Morrowind, Oblivion & Skyrim. I like the lore.)
- ESO your graphics are realistic and un-cartoony. Thank the Nine.
- ESO is not tab targeting, and I can dodge things (same as GW2 but still worth mentioning as a relief from tired 1998 MMO building)
- ESO your weapons and armor fit the world and especially are not FF style and too large to be wielded even by a fantasy orc, or troll, or giant.
- PvP is a good premise, but Emperor status, etc makes battles unbalanced.
- 1-50 SP "game" has good storytelling and interesting quests for the most part.
- VR1-14 mats and crafting is fairly straightforward
- No sub, no content gates if un-subbed

Cons:
-I played beta. In Beta & up to around 6 mo. after release you could play a sword wielding sorceror in light armor and have a staff for ranged combat and dungeons dps. (sword & shield line supported this, some skills were useable even if you didnt have a shield in hand. Now, no skills are useable. Where is the 1 handed skill line?) I'm an RPer, I like my character to be able to wield a sword and cast spells. Since that time, I cannot. So, I cannot "play my way"
-ESO is still difficult to play with friends in a group setting unless you are doing dungeons or PvP or Craglorn.
-IC: most content, to be played as intended, requires you to be VR16. We still dont know if VR is going away. Zenimax says they are phasing it out.... ahem. VR +2 doesn't seem like that to me.
- most RPers have left.
- lack of dedicated RP "server" or even RP tags for instancing us all in one shard etc.
- PvP battles are unbalanced (see above)
- Everyone fights over the same resources.
- Could use more puzzles in quests or dungeons
- VR16 mats are insane to collect
- Expansion (IC) is mostly a PvP expansion, must wait for Orsinium for world/exploring content
- We have been promised Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood since launch.

GW2

Pros:
-I can always "group" with friends because zones down-level you to the zone.
-Its not a zero sum game, nodes are shared, helping players is routine and everyone is rewarded.
-Has cool, frustrating & fun jumping puzzles. Some are not so puzzly and much more jumpy.
-its B2P, and always has been.
-Its the largest MMO besides WoW for NA etc.
-Expansion has some single player & some group play packed in.
-No sub required

Cons:
-Its cartoony
-Lore is nothing special
-Other NPC heroes are doing lots of stuff
-Getting endgame crafting mats & gear is a bit confusing & slow
-most RPers have left
-I have to pay $50 for the expansion, even though I own the original game. (Grand scheme of things, I would MUCH rather do this than sub)

I will edit this page as I come up with more, but for now, GW2 is winning simply because ESO is loosing. That is to say, ESO, you have to many negatives. If I can't play the way I want, if the mechanics/setup/RP of my character don't excite me, why should I play? Mix & match is great - you should allow more of it, not less. I don't like that in GW2 you can't pick your skills, but at least I can pick a class that resembles the character I want to play. For having more skill choices and plug and play, its sad that ESO looses this battle in my case.

I will likely check back in when Orsinium releases. Maybe they will release a 1 handed skill line or revert to how the game was played at launch & beta tested.

To whomever read this all the way through, thanks for reading.

KerinKor · July 2015

ESO doesn't have expansions, ZOS don't work in that way, so comparing a DLC update to a full GW2 expansion is kind of apples and oranges, IMO.

As for the games themselves, they're both generic theme-park MMOs where leveling is a solo experience and end-game is group-or-die .. I play both, enjoy them both but find GW2 more satisfying due to regular content updates whereas I've had no new content I want to play in ESO since launch: I hate 1990s group-or-die to level and that's what EOS's become.

Seth_Black · July 2015

Most stupid idea EVER ...but you're not the first one.
Comparing completely different games! It makes no sense whatsoever.
and btw... since GW2 works in 'Forever Beta' mode comparing it to ESO is simply offensive for ESO.
If you like other game more ...JUST PLAY IT.
ESO is different, we want it to stay different and we don't need dumb stuff from GW2 to be in it at all.
And who the hell cares about what you want/like to play more anyway?
Since when whole community and forums must be filled with that trash about someones subjective opinions,
dumb ideas and so 'creative and smart' suggestions that in most cases don't make any sense at all.

Missing good old times when forums were made for reporting REAL issues and ways to fix them, building strong in game community and providing support. Now it's just crying for nerfs and 'wishlists'.
Degradation of gaming community in progress ...thx to whiny players never satisfied with anything.

Wifeaggro13 · July 2015

Rastafariel wrote: »

Greetings All!

I haven't been back long, and I haven't religiously posted for a while. ESO vs GW2 has been on my mind because they both have some good parts to them, and some bad. Obviously, this is all my opinion. Lets start with the basics:

ESO

Pros:
- ESO your lore is supreme. (I played Arena, Daggerfall, Battlespire, Redguard, Morrowind, Oblivion & Skyrim. I like the lore.)
- ESO your graphics are realistic and un-cartoony. Thank the Nine.
- ESO is not tab targeting, and I can dodge things (same as GW2 but still worth mentioning as a relief from tired 1998 MMO building)
- ESO your weapons and armor fit the world and especially are not FF style and too large to be wielded even by a fantasy orc, or troll, or giant.
- PvP is a good premise, but Emperor status, etc makes battles unbalanced.
- 1-50 SP "game" has good storytelling and interesting quests for the most part.
- VR1-14 mats and crafting is fairly straightforward
- No sub, no content gates if un-subbed

Cons:
-I played beta. In Beta & up to around 6 mo. after release you could play a sword wielding sorceror in light armor and have a staff for ranged combat and dungeons dps. (sword & shield line supported this, some skills were useable even if you didnt have a shield in hand. Now, no skills are useable. Where is the 1 handed skill line?) I'm an RPer, I like my character to be able to wield a sword and cast spells. Since that time, I cannot. So, I cannot "play my way"
-ESO is still difficult to play with friends in a group setting unless you are doing dungeons or PvP or Craglorn.
-IC: most content, to be played as intended, requires you to be VR16. We still dont know if VR is going away. Zenimax says they are phasing it out.... ahem. VR +2 doesn't seem like that to me.
- most RPers have left.
- lack of dedicated RP "server" or even RP tags for instancing us all in one shard etc.
- PvP battles are unbalanced (see above)
- Everyone fights over the same resources.
- Could use more puzzles in quests or dungeons
- VR16 mats are insane to collect
- Expansion (IC) is mostly a PvP expansion, must wait for Orsinium for world/exploring content
- We have been promised Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood since launch.

GW2

Pros:
-I can always "group" with friends because zones down-level you to the zone.
-Its not a zero sum game, nodes are shared, helping players is routine and everyone is rewarded.
-Has cool, frustrating & fun jumping puzzles. Some are not so puzzly and much more jumpy.
-its B2P, and always has been.
-Its the largest MMO besides WoW for NA etc.
-Expansion has some single player & some group play packed in.
-No sub required

Cons:
-Its cartoony
-Lore is nothing special
-Other NPC heroes are doing lots of stuff
-Getting endgame crafting mats & gear is a bit confusing & slow
-most RPers have left
-I have to pay $50 for the expansion, even though I own the original game. (Grand scheme of things, I would MUCH rather do this than sub)

I will edit this page as I come up with more, but for now, GW2 is winning simply because ESO is loosing. That is to say, ESO, you have to many negatives. If I can't play the way I want, if the mechanics/setup/RP of my character don't excite me, why should I play? Mix & match is great - you should allow more of it, not less. I don't like that in GW2 you can't pick your skills, but at least I can pick a class that resembles the character I want to play. For having more skill choices and plug and play, its sad that ESO looses this battle in my case.

I will likely check back in when Orsinium releases. Maybe they will release a 1 handed skill line or revert to how the game was played at launch & beta tested.

To whomever read this all the way through, thanks for reading.

To me its not even a comparison. I am not even currently playing ESO. GW2 group play is straight DPS Zerg respawn over and over until open world boss is dead. same with its dungeons. the end game is garbage . It is also a very P2W , you can try to argue its not but it is. you pay for features in the game not just outfits.

H3Li0S · July 2015

Here is my own comparison.

ESO: I like

GW2 : I don't

Rev Rielle · July 2015

It's actually a really difficult decision to be honest.

Troneon · July 2015

I was a GW1 fanboi and used to play GW2 with thousands of gameplay hours....

I much prefer Guild Wars 1 over both games.

GW2 is not made by the original Anet, I would not even call GW2 a Guild Wars game, it's made by the crappy Anet 2.0 company and is a horrible empty shell of what Guild Wars 1 version 2 could of been....

I really wish the original Anet team that worked on GW1 were the one's who made GW2, would of been a much better game.

I stopped playing GW2 and started playing ESO instead and apart from ZOS's bad decisions, unbalanced champion system and marketing strategies or broken LFG tool and annoying selling and buying system, ESO is a good game.

I won't be buying GW2's expansion, if you can even call it that....I am pretty bitter over how GW2 turned out, huge disappointment. I got my moneys worth but they screwed it up and made something that is not even close to a guild wars game...everything revolves around the gem store and buying everything with your credit card through gems>gold>auction house....

They also made the game heavily for casuals with credit cards and with no real challenge.

I am liking ESO more because is it not so heavily infested with microtransactions yet as GW2 is, but with crown store and the latest datamined stuff, I may be leaving ESO as well if it becomes another freemium cash shop trash game...

The main game im looking forward to and I am heavily invested in, is Star Citizen / Squadron 42. That game is going to be my Freelancer 2. Ok now iv lost anyone who read this far lol Probably have no idea what those games are

.

doggie · July 2015

GW2 is a successfull game and they do their thing, I have nothing against the game, I prefer games with better updates myself.

What happend to ESO is sad. I think the main factors are;

- Really cool and good race put behind paywall
- Making 1-50 zones for 3 factions was a big mistake, doing 1-20 each then 20-50 for everyone would have saved them a lot of work.
- VR made a lot of people leave early.
- No pvp minigames
- No auction house
- - broken dungeon finder

If they had just changed their priorities early on I think the game would have done better, because there are many good things about ESO, the game looks great, and the dungeons are fun.

JD2013 · July 2015

I think the moral of the story is if you prefer another game, go and play that as opposed to trying to turn another game into a copy of the game you prefer.

MCMancub · July 2015

You forgot the part where there's no reason to do any of the content in GW2 at end game once you craft your max gear 10 levels before you reach max level other than personal enjoyment. Personally, I won't do content simply because "it's fun", especially when there is no reward that makes me feel like my character is progressing vertically.

That was the reason I quit GW2 in the first place. "Progression" at end game is nothing more than aesthetics.

Callous2208 · July 2015

All of you guys are echoing what I've been saying for years. GW1 was my life back in the day. Wow, what a game it was. I was sooo hyped for GW2. Got max level, got geared, started to realize I was only changing how I looked. Started seeing that I could tap a world boss and /dance through the rest of the fight and get the same crap loots. Noticed every dungeon was a corpse run because hey, combat is a dodge simulator due to having no trinity whatsoever. Discovered every class, every build, every weapon did the same thing with different animations. I think the zero punctuation guy on youtube summed it up best when he said gw2 is like giving a bunch of kids a nerf bat and having them run around in a zerg wacking on things for 1 dmg till their dead. In my opinion, Guild Wars 2 is one of the biggest disappointments in modern gaming sequels. It is, to me, a dress up game, devoid of story, tactics, progression or challenge. They do a great job however of pushing you towards buying gems for pretty costumes and cute backpacks...no thanks.

MCMancub · July 2015

Callous2208 wrote: »

All of you guys are echoing what I've been saying for years. GW1 was my life back in the day. Wow, what a game it was. I was sooo hyped for GW2. Got max level, got geared, started to realize I was only changing how I looked. Started seeing that I could tap a world boss and /dance through the rest of the fight and get the same crap loots. Noticed every dungeon was a corpse run because hey, combat is a dodge simulator due to having no trinity whatsoever. Discovered every class, every build, every weapon did the same thing with different animations. I think the zero punctuation guy on youtube summed it up best when he said gw2 is like giving a bunch of kids a nerf bat and having them run around in a zerg wacking on things for 1 dmg till their dead. In my opinion, Guild Wars 2 is one of the biggest disappointments in modern gaming sequels. It is, to me, a dress up game, devoid of story, tactics, progression or challenge. They do a great job however of pushing you towards buying gems for pretty costumes and cute backpacks...no thanks.

Very well said. The game is just layers upon layers of abstraction. Everyone can do everything with little to no effort. It only looks different.

MikeB · July 2015

ESO has been out on PC for 1 year, 3 months and 18 days, its been out on console for 1 month and 23 days and the other MMO's people compare it to now were just as buggy and broken at the same time in their lifespan. WoW has been out for 10 years and 8 months, GW2 2 years and 11 months and GW1 10 years 3 months and were all broken and buggy as can be when they were at 1 year 3 months. WoW is STILL buggy and broken to this day. Stop comparing different MMO's to one another when they arent even close to the same development time

Callous2208 · July 2015

Also, and I don't mean to be rude to op but, the RP scene is alive and kicking in ESO. The tools for RP in ESO are also far beyond that of anything GW2 could offer IMHO. Secondly, I don't understand your comment about not being able to build a character the way you want. There are quite a few options in eso. Are you saying you prefer the character building in GW2 because you don't have to worry about what you choose since every class and build does the same damage, heal, tank, ect?

technohic · July 2015

Meh; never could get into GW2 just because using ESO as an example; ESOs graphics, art style, combat mechanics and skill customization concepts are all better by far. RvRvR is bigger and the ideas behind it is better. but the implementation (bugs, balance issues, lag) kills a lot of it and the grindy feel kills most of what is left.

That doesn't lead me to GW2 because I do not see much better there. I just keep watching hoping ESO gets better. So far; I am more losing hope than gaining.

Rastafariel · February 2017

I'm back w/ ESO after a break. With the combo of 1 Tamriel, plus the promise of MW I am reinvigorated for ESO and plan to be here a long time.

Additionally, with the changes to GW2, it seems ESO is poised to be #2 mmo in NA.

I wish Zenimax all the luck & success in the world.

p.s. really hoping the data mining on 1 hand & rune for MW are true!

Cpt_Teemo · February 2017

You do realise this thread was 2 years old, lol

Pixel_Zealot · February 2017

You only had to wait 2 years for one hand and totem. Lel.

IcyDeadPeople · February 2017

Magicka sorcerer with destro staff + Sword & Shield is still quite viable in PVP at least.

I have no clue about GW2, but the options for coming up with an interesting build in ESO are rather numerous, and just takes time to plan and test ideas. Many builds you can put together with no grinding at all.

WalkingLegacy · February 2017

Kyle1983b14_ESO wrote: »

You do realise this thread was 2 years old, lol

Right and if you read it and his new post, it's pretty relevant to the whole game and post as a whole.

Some features he didn't like were fixed with One Tamriel. He's saying good job to the devs for bring the game up to the new standards.

borgking · February 2017

I played GW1 for 4 years and to me was the best game ever..couldnt wait for the release of GW2..but i simply never bought it...to this day i dont know why...
i cant make any comparison between GW2 and ESO I can make a comparison between GW1 and ESO but I wont cos this aint thew topic of this thread (GW1 kicks ESO butt tho)
But for all the flaws of ESO I cant stop playing the bloody thing...but I do wonder whether I might not go over to morrowind for the same reasons I never went over to GW2
but the differences bewteen the 2 games are huge and have to agree with some posters that its wrong to make a comparison..after all it comes down to the the individual preferences.
I like and liked both games...simple as that.

CapnPhoton · February 2017

H3Li0S wrote: »

Here is my own comparison.

ESO: I like

GW2 : I don't

Well at least its not another ESO vs. WoW post...

ZOS_CoriJ · February 2017

As already mentioned this discussion is well out of date with the current state of the game and the topic of discussion itself is on an expansion that dated closer to when this was created. As such, we are shutting down the necromancy here.

If you would like to open a new comparison thread to discuss pros and cons please start a new thread on this topic. Alternatively, some topics that have discussed ESO in comparison to GW2 recently:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/322373/
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/312734/
There are also some threads asking for things other games do better, etc. -- Thanks all.

*Note: If you are using the search feature you can narrow down your results to more recent threads by hitting the down arrow on your search keyword from the search results page.