imkranely7230: Kinda glad I watched this because I wasn't sure if I'd like the raiding in this game, but now that I have seen it, I wish I didn't so I could go into it all blind.

Etzlo1: world bosses are hard, yeah, but GW2 is probably the one MMO that has got them right, they're great

TypicalKek: Got a vid to watch while I work today, W

svsva-ey2ux: w max

davidp2391: Lol, " join 20 million players!" Ok bro

soulbound5732: Allot of people watching these benchmark dps videos about the classes/spec they wanna play and they are like oh this is easy he can do 55k-60k dps but they standing still as someone that is new and watching that they wont come close in a real raid scenario to get that dps at all. But these Speedfarm prog groups are insane their dps is always on par and consistent, so yeah is day and night difference.

R00m1o6C: World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 take fundamentally different approaches.

In GW2, raid lockouts are account-bound, which means there is no downside to playing different classes for different bosses. Items can be purchased with raid currency, and drops are account-bound as well.

This allows all 36 elite specializations (9 professions with 4 elite specs each) to be viewed as one large toolkit. Progress is driven less by gear and more by player skill — perfectly reflecting the motto: “Easy to play, hard to master.".

The biggest difference is the gear system. In GW2, Ascended gear is essentially the item level cap. Think of it like: you get your Mythic raid gear once, and after that there is no higher ilvl chase. Stats are fixed (but can be rerolled), and the items are account-bound. Reaching this level realistically takes weeks to a few months, not years.

Legendary gear is not a power upgrade, but pure quality-of-life progression:

You can change stats, runes, and infusions out of combat at any time (basically free respecs with no cost)

Once unlocked, the gear is usable simultaneously on multiple characters → very similar to WoW heirlooms

On top of that, Legendary items have unique visuals and animations, comparable to iconic WoW tier sets or legendaries

Why does this matter?

In GW2, professions aren’t locked into rigid roles like in WoW, but each spec clearly dictates which stats it wants to be played with, similar to how a WoW spec has its preferred secondary stats.

For example:

Power DPS specs favor burst-oriented stats (Power, Precision, Ferocity)

Condi DPS specs rely on DoT-focused stats (Condition Damage, Expertise)

Support / Boon specs prioritize boon duration and utility stats (roughly your Haste/Versa-style value)

Healer specs focus on healing power and support-oriented stat combinations

If you enjoy playing multiple specs on the same class, you’ll naturally end up needing different stat sets — and that’s exactly where Legendary gear shines, since it lets you swap stats instantly without maintaining multiple physical gear sets.

Endgame content:

Raids & Strike Missions (10-player)

Normal ≈ Heroic

Challenge Mode ≈ Mythic

Legendary CM = an unnerfed World First–style mode that stays hard forever

Fractals ≈ a mix of Mythic and mini-raids

Open-world metas ≈ large, coordinated world boss events

The most important difference to WoW: content doesn’t expire. Old raids and strikes stay relevant, there’s no hard reset. You can skip a patch or even an expansion and still jump straight back into endgame.

Group finding is also improving:

In early 2026, GW2 is getting a new LFG / Quickplay system, making raids and strikes much more accessible — especially if you don’t have a fixed raid guild.

Short version:

WoW = gear treadmill, focus on the next raid tier

GW2 = hit the gear cap once, then master builds, mechanics, and execution

If you like that model, GW2 feels incredibly refreshing.

Jan 01 2026

Buy WOW Classic Gold (lvl60)