Keep in mind that I am using a launch command to play through the provider portal instead of using the actual steam version. The actual number is 2905 hours on the day of this review.

#-#-#

So the game has its ups and downs. The first half of the core story is cool because you can tailor how it will play out during character creation, but once you get past the half time all the personal stories merge into a central plot to kill the big bad. This is where the story suffers a bit in my opinion because of how the game has changed in the past ten years since its release. Power creep has become a thing in the earlier levels and the story could be hardly considered a challenge

The story is just simple, you can do everything solo with even poor builds at least until you get past the main story. Then you have to actually think about how your class is built. In the past, closer to when the game launched it was actually a challenge and The storytelling is meh up until you get closer to the first expansion, at best. but I think the story finally gets interesting during the first and second expansion and the in between living world stories which could be considered mini-expansions. I would say that the story peaks with Living world Season 5 and about the first third of the Ice Brood Saga, but suffers a harsh decline in quality past that due to Arenanet rushing the rest of IBS to get the next expansion out. The End of Dragons expansion attempted to address the power creep complaint with buffing up mobs and stuff, but it went horribly right and now mobs in the expansion tend to feel like damage sponges, especially where group content is concerned.

In terms of PVP, the two modes that support PVP. Are Structured PvP and World Versus World. The former being where you and four others fight five others in an arena format to take control of control points to reach the point cap first. The latter being a more open world experience where your world and two other world fight off in a massive war for territory control fighting over camps, towers, keeps, and in one map, a castle at the center of the map.

Both cater to different styles of fighting where the structured is easier to get into due to using its own unique gear set in place of yours while WvW requires you to actually use your actual gear that you use in PvE.

I've barely covered most of the other PvE modes such as Raids which require a lot of coordination compared to the other content.

Guild Wars 2 uses a horizontal progression system in contrast to the usual vertical progression system of other modes. This means that once you hit the level cap of eighty you never have to worry about gear becoming obsolete. You could put the game down for months to over a year and your gear will still be as valid as the day you left.

The game isn't perfect. It has loot boxes, but the contents are cosmetic or just simply better quality of life stuff. The cash shop is much the same way with 75% of the stuff being cosmetic and the rest being mostly quality of life stuff to expand your account with. One of the best things would probably be the fact that you technically don't have to spend money in the cash shop. You can buy gems (cash shop currency) with gold you've earned in-game. The conversion rate is constantly changing so your millage may vary.

All in all, I like the game, I've met many fantastic people be it through joining guilds or just striking up conversations with random people out in the world.

Just remember that the true end-game is fashion.

Keep in mind that I am using a launch command to play through the provider portal instead of using the actual steam version. The actual number is 2905 hours on the day of this review. #-#-# So the game has its ups and downs. The first half of the core story is cool because you can tailor how it will play out during character creation, but once you get past the half time all the personal stories merge into a central plot to kill the big bad. This is where the story suffers a bit in my opinion because of how the game has changed in the past ten years since its release. Power creep has become a thing in the earlier levels and the story could be hardly considered a challenge The story is just simple, you can do everything solo with even poor builds at least until you get past the main story. Then you have to actually think about how your class is built. In the past, closer to when the game launched it was actually a challenge and The storytelling is meh up until you get closer to the first expansion, at best. but I think the story finally gets interesting during the first and second expansion and the in between living world stories which could be considered mini-expansions. I would say that the story peaks with Living world Season 5 and about the first third of the Ice Brood Saga, but suffers a harsh decline in quality past that due to Arenanet rushing the rest of IBS to get the next expansion out. The End of Dragons expansion attempted to address the power creep complaint with buffing up mobs and stuff, but it went horribly right and now mobs in the expansion tend to feel like damage sponges, especially where group content is concerned. In terms of PVP, the two modes that support PVP. Are Structured PvP and World Versus World. The former being where you and four others fight five others in an arena format to take control of control points to reach the point cap first. The latter being a more open world experience where your world and two other world fight off in a massive war for territory control fighting over camps, towers, keeps, and in one map, a castle at the center of the map. Both cater to different styles of fighting where the structured is easier to get into due to using its own unique gear set in place of yours while WvW requires you to actually use your actual gear that you use in PvE. I've barely covered most of the other PvE modes such as Raids which require a lot of coordination compared to the other content. Guild Wars 2 uses a horizontal progression system in contrast to the usual vertical progression system of other modes. This means that once you hit the level cap of eighty you never have to worry about gear becoming obsolete. You could put the game down for months to over a year and your gear will still be as valid as the day you left. The game isn't perfect. It has loot boxes, but the contents are cosmetic or just simply better quality of life stuff. The cash shop is much the same way with 75% of the stuff being cosmetic and the rest being mostly quality of life stuff to expand your account with. One of the best things would probably be the fact that you technically don't have to spend money in the cash shop. You can buy gems (cash shop currency) with gold you've earned in-game. The conversion rate is constantly changing so your millage may vary. All in all, I like the game, I've met many fantastic people be it through joining guilds or just striking up conversations with random people out in the world. Just remember that the true end-game is fashion.