New vs Old

There is a lot of fresh content or new spins on old tricks in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 game although much is fairly standard for the modern MMO.  Let's break it down!



Old:  The ability to go under water or do combat there - we've all played games where you could continue to fire arrows or stab things underwater just like you can on land.
New:  Radically different combat under water which is independent of battle above water.

What does this mean? 
It means that your entire skill bar changes (and needs to be set up and unlocked just like the regular one) when you jump into the water and duck under the surface so you'll want to unlock those skills and quickly!  I have plans to party with my hunting partner underwater during the first week following release. 

Old:  Armor unique to a character and armor enhancement options.  I hear a lot of people whining that it's ripped off of World of Warcraft but these people must not be gamers - unless they're Blizzard fanboys.  The "Soulbound" of WoW (2004) or GW2 was the Customized of GW1 and the Exclusive of FFXI (2002) - it doesn't take a genius to figure out that World of Warcraft was not the innovator here (and is just as guilty of "ripping off" as anyone else) unless someone in Asia has a time machine (JP Button anyone? - a little FFXI joke).  Enhancing a piece of armor isn't new either - it's also not limited to WoW nor did WoW start it - even GW1 had runes and insignia which could be applied to armor so the only concept being borrowed is that of gems and sockets in addition to runes and insignia (which an ally has confirmed to both be present as well).
New:  A lot of socketed armor seemed to drop and was craftable at low level - I mean, this is pretty much starter gear!  You can customize from level 1 essentially!  Within five minutes of crafting, I was making fully modified armor with sockets.

What does this mean?
It means that you can make completely customized armor to suit your play style and class from day one.

Old:  Inventory was limited, could only be quested or purchased from a vendor unless it was obnoxious to craft in the first place.  FFXI had a series of expensive quests to upgrade all your inventory and personal home space and Guild Wars 1 had a number of swappable bags which were either purchased from NPCs or dropped by monsters.  WoW actually had craftable bags but the progression was slow to start - you had to make a ton of useless junk before you could make a single useful bag.
New:  You can craft very decent sized bags the instant you begin to craft (I tried making a lot of things which were much higher level and couldn't so it's pretty clear to me that all crafting levels are in their final locations).  You'd have to be close to a quarter of the way through your crafting in WoW to make 8 or 10 slot bags - I was making them within seconds.

What does this mean?
It means that you won't need to waste your time leveling a craft if you just wanted a bag twice the size of the one you have (the starting bags are 4-5 slots) to put your junk in.


Old:  Experience for quests and exploration - yes, WoW did the latter and everyone from FFXI to GW1 did the former (yes, there were XP granting quests in FFXI - they involved consumables that gave XP).
New:  World Events are the new quests - and they're better than ever.  They give karma, gold and experience based on your level of participation even if you fail them.  You don't need to talk to an NPC or put them into a log - you just need to be in the right place and pay attention.  You not only get experience for discovering areas but for checking Points of Interest - neat little things that were thrown in for flavor.  You could go to the aquarium or see a fountain or a sculpture or some marvelous natural feature and those landmarks also give you experience.