Why Guild Wars 2 Will Be Better Than The Old Republic
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Take combat; while The Old Republic has a wide selection of classes that allow players to live out their favorite Star Wars fantasies, they all still hold true to the "holy trinity" of MMOs -- that is DPS, healer, and tank. Players will be able to survive on their own, but only in solo quests or out in the wild, and can heal themselves outside of combat.
In Guild Wars 2, the "holy trinity" is non-existent. There is no dedicated healer, DPS, or tank. Players can assume that role if they wish, but it's not required or even recommended for them to survive in even the toughest of dungeons and quests. Each player has a slot dedicated to healing that they must bring, so all classes can heal themselves and/or teammates. Since there are no resurrection spells, each player can simply walk up to a downed companion and hold a button to revive them. It eliminates the desire to lean on one or two specific players in a group. It's a huge change for an MMO and makes grouping feel less like a stress-filled chore and more like the formation of a fellowship.
Another massive difference between the two is how the quest system is structured. Though it's prettied up with the wonderful story scenes and dialogue of a classic BioWare RPG, The Old Republic still seems to center itself on kill and fetch quests. Though some of the bigger events will feature massive battles to stave off an invasion, all the small ones leading up to it feature that same repetitive structure found in most MMOs. Go to this area, grab something or kill these enemies, come back and get your reward.
Guild Wars 2 will be handling things quite differently thanks to the game's dynamic events system. Quests won't be grabbed by people who stand around with exclamation marks over their heads, they will happen organically. You will see towns being invaded or ravaged by pirates, farms being lit ablaze by bandits, and dragonspawn attacking battlements. It is up to you and the players around you to stop them. Whether or not you do, another new event will kick off immediately afterwards, giving the game world a sense that it truly lives and breathes. Cooperation in Guild Wars 2 is highly encouraged, and any means to keep players from cheating off of each other will be eliminated. Everyone can help out anyone and will get their own rewards for doing so.
