Since I quit WoW a few years ago I have tried Aion and Rift but they just didn't have that certain 'something' that I felt WoW had when I played 2005-2007.
Has anyone here played Rift or Aion and also GW2 and could you describe your experiences?
I loved Aion's art style and combat animations - But the actual game was a let down, the PvP mechanics, the flying combat, I just found it annoying.
With Rift I like the art style, it's very pretty, but also very similar to WoW in it's direction (Although it is much more detailed.) The combat I found standard MMO, enjoyable but nothing new or innovative. Overall I think it was the best MMO since WoW, but also the most comparable (Except SWTOR, but I don't class that as it was a train wreck of a game!)
With GW2, I absolutely love the art style, it's just beautiful! The combat is a good mix of the old, standard style, with the newer, targeted abilities - The dodging is a good addition, and I think will increase the skill cap of the game. The combat animations feel a little "clunky" IMO, though that may be down to lag, or just lack of optimisation. The story telling is absolutely fantastic though, best I've seen in an MMO to date.
In Rift, WoW, Aion and SWTOR I have top level characters in one or more characters.. None of them are perfect, but GW2 does tick more boxes for me than the others. I know this probably isn't very helpful, but I've had a drink and I'm very tired!
