About to play GW2 for the first time

[JJJJ]

Are there any P2W aspects in this game that make things unbalanced? I've been looking for a fun new MMORPG since OSRS and WoW for a while now and finally got some time to spend and would love to give GW2 a try

**
Thanks for all the replies guys, i will give it a shot!

[SinisterSlay]

No pay to win

[Bladestorm]

Yes. Multiplayer. Make sure that you buy the expansions first if you plan to play the pvp/wvw modes.

Do NOT listen to any player on these forums, on the official forums, on Reddit or on social media when they encourage you to "jump in". They are setting you up to lose. A lot of them are just looking to farm new players like yourself.

[Zethell]

There is some p2w, but it's very very minor.

It involves the Gems to Gold conversion.
But it's not something you need to worry about, extremely insignificant p2w.
But anyone saying otherwise is

Nothing that makes things unbalanced though, just progression & gear skips.

Although technically the elite specs could be considered p2w.. Not sure.

[ຊคrtนrคēl]

Originalmente postado por J:

Are there any P2W aspects in this game that make things unbalanced? I've been looking for a fun new MMORPG since OSRS and WoW for a while now and finally got some time to spend and would love to give GW2 a try

There is nothing you can buy in the in-game shop that'll make you "win" more than the average person would. The gear you can buy in the in-game store is cosmetic-only

Some people consider the fact that you can buy gems and convert it to gold p2w, as the person above mentions, but honestly, getting gold and buying gear that way wouldn't really provide you any significant advantages over other people, because ascended gear (gear with the highest stats) is quite easy to get in this game

And especially in competitive PvP for example it's even less relevant, because everyone gets set to the same level and gets to pick between the same stats, so gear plays no role whatsoever

So basically, no actual pay to win, because you can pay as much as you want but it ain't gonna make ya win more ^^

[cannabis]

Originalmente postado por J:

Are there any P2W aspects in this game that make things unbalanced? I've been looking for a fun new MMORPG since OSRS and WoW for a while now and finally got some time to spend and would love to give GW2 a try

Please ignore Bladestorm, he is known troll spreading misinformation about Guild wars 2.

0 pay to win, period.

You can buy gold with RMT, that's it

You can't buy ascended gear with gold only, source :

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_equipment

Everything else in the gem store are either cosmetic or QoL stuff (example Unlimited gathering tools)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gathering_tool

Moreover, you have the possibility to exchange your gold into gem to buy anything in the gem store (if you like farming instead of using your credit card, you can !)

In conclusion, it is not possible for anyone to have more power using RMT.

[Threm Tahei]

Look the fanboys will tell ya that the game is great without any expantion but that´s not the case, just look at their profiles and you will find they play with all of the expantions or almost all of them I consider this game without expantions as a beta you can play the game, learn the basics, check out clases and know if you like the gameplay.
As for pay to win i will say like most of the coments here that it is, but just a bit like on the elite specializations and more room for materials which you don´t have on a free acount, there´s also the mounts, the skiff and other stuffs involved with expantion packs like the glider and so on which are a great help to just play the game any map once you know all that I still say that this is one of the best MMO on the actual market, expanstions aren´t that expensive and always make great discounts for the first 3 which you should look at if you enjoy the game also once you buy one is your´s forever (Well till the servers get close, so is your call) but the greatest thing is that you don´t lose any item after getting defeated by other players in pvp modes so you can farm and play throu all the game without worryng about losing your items. A con will be that most of the end game is base on group content, well is called guild wars you should expect these things, a pro about that is that you can look for groups to help you out on the looking for group tool and the comunity is always ready to help a new player so you can ask for help in game chat and most players will help you out and as any other enviroment that involves people some player will just troll you or make fun of you cause you can´t change human nature, there a few more things that i left out cause i can´t remember all but that´s the basic idea, just try the game and if you liked buy the expantions and you´ll be just fine

[Maquero]

Originalmente postado por Threm Tahei:

Look the fanboys will tell ya that the game is great without any expantion but that´s not the case, just look at their profiles and you will find they play with all of the expantions or almost all of them I consider this game without expantions as a beta you can play the game, learn the basics, check out clases and know if you like the gameplay.
As for pay to win i will say like most of the coments here that it is, but just a bit like on the elite specializations and more room for materials which you don´t have on a free acount, there´s also the mounts, the skiff and other stuffs involved with expantion packs like the glider and so on which are a great help to just play the game any map once you know all that I still say that this is one of the best MMO on the actual market, expanstions aren´t that expensive and always make great discounts for the first 3 which you should look at if you enjoy the game also once you buy one is your´s forever (Well till the servers get close, so is your call) but the greatest thing is that you don´t lose any item after getting defeated by other players in pvp modes so you can farm and play throu all the game without worryng about losing your items. A con will be that most of the end game is base on group content, well is called guild wars you should expect these things, a pro about that is that you can look for groups to help you out on the looking for group tool and the comunity is always ready to help a new player so you can ask for help in game chat and most players will help you out and as any other enviroment that involves people some player will just troll you or make fun of you cause you can´t change human nature, there a few more things that i left out cause i can´t remember all but that´s the basic idea, just try the game and if you liked buy the expantions and you´ll be just fine

The person asked about the existence of p2w mechanics in the game, not about the differences between free to play accounts and playing with unlocked expansion content.
And no offence but I don't think you even understand what P2W even means, you're just completely off-point
It's literally in the name "pay to win", meaning that you can pay for an advantage over others

Getting elite specialisations doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has them
Having a glider doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
Having more room for materials doesn't give anyone an advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
Having a skiff doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
etc.
That's just expansion content you can unlock

So, in short, the differences between free accounts and stuff unlocked with expansions is not the same as p2w mechanics

[Threm Tahei]

Originalmente postado por Maquero:

Originalmente postado por Threm Tahei:

Look the fanboys will tell ya that the game is great without any expantion but that´s not the case, just look at their profiles and you will find they play with all of the expantions or almost all of them I consider this game without expantions as a beta you can play the game, learn the basics, check out clases and know if you like the gameplay.
As for pay to win i will say like most of the coments here that it is, but just a bit like on the elite specializations and more room for materials which you don´t have on a free acount, there´s also the mounts, the skiff and other stuffs involved with expantion packs like the glider and so on which are a great help to just play the game any map once you know all that I still say that this is one of the best MMO on the actual market, expanstions aren´t that expensive and always make great discounts for the first 3 which you should look at if you enjoy the game also once you buy one is your´s forever (Well till the servers get close, so is your call) but the greatest thing is that you don´t lose any item after getting defeated by other players in pvp modes so you can farm and play throu all the game without worryng about losing your items. A con will be that most of the end game is base on group content, well is called guild wars you should expect these things, a pro about that is that you can look for groups to help you out on the looking for group tool and the comunity is always ready to help a new player so you can ask for help in game chat and most players will help you out and as any other enviroment that involves people some player will just troll you or make fun of you cause you can´t change human nature, there a few more things that i left out cause i can´t remember all but that´s the basic idea, just try the game and if you liked buy the expantions and you´ll be just fine

The person asked about the existence of p2w mechanics in the game, not about the differences between free to play accounts and playing with unlocked expansion content.
And no offence but I don't think you even understand what P2W even means, you're just completely off-point
It's literally in the name "pay to win", meaning that you can pay for an advantage over others

Getting elite specialisations doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has them
Having a glider doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
Having more room for materials doesn't give anyone an advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
Having a skiff doesn't give anyone a competitive advantage, it puts them on the same play field like everyone else that has it
etc.
That's just expansion content you can unlock

So, in short, the differences between free accounts and stuff unlocked with expansions is not the same as p2w mechanics

Actually the Elite spec are better than the core builds i play the game myself so i know what i´m talking about also a pay to win mechanic will be farming mat´s with easy what mounts and skiffs allow you to do better mats = better gear, or less time farming to get the gear is a pay to win mechanic wheater you like it or not, let´s say you and i start the game today and i don´t have any expantion and you alredy has all the expantions it will take me more time to farm and do content as raids, fractals, dungeons and even the pvp, people just think that pay to win is just to win a pvp battle, but the pay to win nowdays involved all in the game, anyways think as wenever you want i didn´t say anything that wasn´t true about the game so i won´t take it back my coment, have a nice rest of the day

[cannabis]

As Maquero stated :

Free to play is more a free to try, I advise you starting the game and level up to the max level (80), if you still like the game, go for the bundle Path of Fire + Hearth of thorn, from there you will have access to the elite spec and put you on the same level field and no amount of RMT will ever give you more power on anyone else.

In conclusion :

Guild Wars 2 free to play is a free to try

Guild Wars 2 with expansion is a Pay to Play (you buy 1 time the expansion and never have to spend another dime)

I was a long time WoW player too, switched to GW2 and never have to find another MMORPG since.

[Maquero]

Originalmente postado por Threm Tahei:

Actually the Elite spec are better than the core builds i play the game myself so i know what i´m talking about also a pay to win mechanic will be farming mat´s with easy what mounts and skiffs allow you to do better mats = better gear, or less time farming to get the gear is a pay to win mechanic wheater you like it or not, let´s say you and i start the game today and i don´t have any expantion and you alredy has all the expantions it will take me more time to farm and do content as raids, fractals, dungeons and even the pvp, people just think that pay to win is just to win a pvp battle, but the pay to win nowdays involved all in the game, anyways think as werever you want i didn´t say anything that wasn´t true about the game so i won´t take it back my coment, have a nice rest of the day

You do not understand P2W. I compared elite to other people with elite, I did not compare core with elite, etc.

Pay to win would mean for example that you can open the in-game shop and you buy gear that has bigger and better stats than something people in-game can get and you start one shotting them because you paid for that item.

Unlocking the same things other people have unlocked through expansions as well is not P2W

[cannabis]

Elite spec aren't p2w, they are designed to be play in expansion contents, if you don't own expansion, you don't own elite spec.

Core spec are designed for the core base game (which is now free)

Simple as that.

[Threm Tahei]

Originalmente postado por Maquero:

Originalmente postado por Threm Tahei:

Actually the Elite spec are better than the core builds i play the game myself so i know what i´m talking about also a pay to win mechanic will be farming mat´s with easy what mounts and skiffs allow you to do better mats = better gear, or less time farming to get the gear is a pay to win mechanic wheater you like it or not, let´s say you and i start the game today and i don´t have any expantion and you alredy has all the expantions it will take me more time to farm and do content as raids, fractals, dungeons and even the pvp, people just think that pay to win is just to win a pvp battle, but the pay to win nowdays involved all in the game, anyways think as werever you want i didn´t say anything that wasn´t true about the game so i won´t take it back my coment, have a nice rest of the day

You do not understand P2W. I compared elite to other people with elite, I did not compare core with elite, etc.

Pay to win would mean for example that you can open the in-game shop and you buy gear that has bigger and better stats than something people in-game can get and you start one shotting them because you paid for that item.

Unlocking the same things other people have unlocked through expansions as well is not P2W

Look man maybe i am a little wrong, maybe you are, the thing is we both like the game, just enjoy the game, my bad if i say something that bother you I just belive that is better that new players have a realistc idea of what the game has instead of just fanboy data that says: ¨is pretty funny without expantions, there are no diferences between a free acount and one with the expantions¨ and then all buy the expansions If they are no diferences Why anyone will bother in buying the expansion? The game without them is pretty limited in a whole aspects also i know that they are people just trowing hate to the game cause they can and no real reason but like as i say before nothing of what i just wrote was a lie so i won´t be retracting and for the last time have a very nice end of the day
Captain Threm Tahei = Best solo player : P
;D

[Maquero]

Originalmente postado por Threm Tahei:

Originalmente postado por Maquero:

You do not understand P2W. I compared elite to other people with elite, I did not compare core with elite, etc.

Pay to win would mean for example that you can open the in-game shop and you buy gear that has bigger and better stats than something people in-game can get and you start one shotting them because you paid for that item.

Unlocking the same things other people have unlocked through expansions as well is not P2W

Look man maybe i am a little wrong, maybe you are, the thing is we both like the game, just enjoy the game, my bad if i say something that bother you I just belive that is better that new players have a realistc idea of what the game has instead of just fanboy data that says is pretty funny without expantions, there are no diferences between a free acount and one with the expantions then all buy the expansions if they are no diferences why anyone will bother in buying the expansion, the game without them is pretty limited in a whole aspects also i know that they are people just trowing hate to the game cause they can and no real reason but like as i say before nothing of what i just wrote was a lie so i won´t be retracting and for the last time have a very nice end of the day
Captain Threm Tahei = Best solo player : P
;D

Nooo, nothing is bothering me, don't misunderstand me
I was just trying to explain it, I'm not angry or anything

I sometimes forget how hard it is to get emotions across through written text lol

And that's what I mean, just because there's differences between free accounts and ones with expansions, even if it's huge convenience differences sometimes, doesn't mean it's the same as p2w mechanics heh

But I hope you get me now, P2w literally means being able to get stuff with real money that gives you huge advantages over others, such as OP gear, OP weapons etc. :D

[Eldeeo]

Ive played the game since 2012, so I dont have steam to back me up here.
So, please note that while I know the game well, I only know the game up to the first 3 expansions, and there have been two expansions since if I remember correctly. So what Im about to say could be wrong or misleading.

The only thing that I can think of that could be placed under the P2W would be some of the unlimited/unbreakable gathering tools you can buy in the gem store (gems are the premium currency for future reference). Though this point is already reaching as it is, as it only affects the player. You can buy bundles of tools at most merchants throughout the game, so you it pay to win in a sense of convenience rather than advantage over others. The example I want to use are the Infinite Unbound Magic Gathering Tools, where while you get unlimited tools with a new animation, it also provides the player with additional specific in-game currency (in this case, Unbound Magic) as an extra reward when you harvest, mine, or chop wood.

Otherwise, the gem store in GW2 provides utility options as well as cosmetics. An example of that would be more inventory space, shared inventory space (inventory slots across characters in one account), additional character slots, and even waypoint packages to unlock all waypoints in certain areas.

There isn't really a P2W aspect in GW2 as we would normally see in MMO's, but the unlimited tools is the closest thing I can think of from what I know of the game.

Here is a link to the contents of the gem store, as well as the tools mentioned;
Gem store: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gem_Store#gemstore1029
Tools: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Infinite_Unbound_Magic_Gathering_Tools

Gw2 is a fantastic MMO, and I would encourage you to try it out. Even if it isn't your style in the end, the game is good enough that I believe it deserves an honest chance from players.

[cannabis]

Originalmente postado por Eldeeo:

Ive played the game since 2012, so I dont have steam to back me up here.
So, please note that while I know the game well, I only know the game up to the first 3 expansions, and there have been two expansions since if I remember correctly. So what Im about to say could be wrong or misleading.

The only thing that I can think of that could be placed under the P2W would be some of the unlimited/unbreakable gathering tools you can buy in the gem store (gems are the premium currency for future reference). Though this point is already reaching as it is, as it only affects the player. You can buy bundles of tools at most merchants throughout the game, so you it pay to win in a sense of convenience rather than advantage over others. The example I want to use are the Infinite Unbound Magic Gathering Tools, where while you get unlimited tools with a new animation, it also provides the player with additional specific in-game currency (in this case, Unbound Magic) as an extra reward when you harvest, mine, or chop wood.

Otherwise, the gem store in GW2 provides utility options as well as cosmetics. An example of that would be more inventory space, shared inventory space (inventory slots across characters in one account), additional character slots, and even waypoint packages to unlock all waypoints in certain areas.

There isn't really a P2W aspect in GW2 as we would normally see in MMO's, but the unlimited tools is the closest thing I can think of from what I know of the game.

Here is a link to the contents of the gem store, as well as the tools mentioned;
Gem store: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gem_Store#gemstore1029
Tools: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Infinite_Unbound_Magic_Gathering_Tools

Gw2 is a fantastic MMO, and I would encourage you to try it out. Even if it isn't your style in the end, the game is good enough that I believe it deserves an honest chance from players.

The unlimited gathering tool (I pointed out early in my post)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gathering_tool

This is not p2w, it's QoL and you can get it with gold (I got my converting my hard earning gold to gem), so you don't even have to use RMT to get them