When comparing Guild Wars 2 vs World of Warcraft, the Slant community recommends Guild Wars 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best fantasy MMORPGs for PC?” Guild Wars 2 is ranked 1st while World of Warcraft is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Guild Wars 2 is:
There is no monthly recurring fee, and the original GW2 is now completely free. The expansion pack, Heart of Thorns is available for [purchase](http://buy.guildwars2.com/store/gw2/en_US/html/pbPage.heartofthorns) though.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Original GW2 is now free
There is no monthly recurring fee, and the original GW2 is now completely free. The expansion pack, Heart of Thorns is available for purchase though.
Pro Deep story, customized per character
Depending on your race, your profession, and a few other choices you make when you create a character, you will have a unique story arc that unfolds with you as you level up.
Pro Graphics are outstanding
Every moment of play is very good. Vista points can be stunningly beautiful.
Pro Very polished
The game is very old now but has been under constant development since release so despite its age it still looks and plays very well.
Pro Most recognized MMO in existence
WoW is the defacto MMO, almost every MMO created after it came out has been influenced by it in some way. Still to this day it is one of the most played MMO's online and has one of the largest brands tied to its name.
Pro Constant stream of new content
Title says it all. Best MMO ever made.
Pro Low system requirements
Due to the stylised 'cartoon' graphics you won't need a top end gaming rig to be able to play WoW and have it look good.
Cons
Con Tedious experience
WoW doesn't offer an engaging story [until endgame] or anything beyond point-and-click gameplay, especially with the many other MMORPGs following its model, which leads it to quickly become tedious.
Con Class homogenisation
In the early days of WoW there were significant differences between the classes; classes had unique skills which defined that class and giving it its identity. Unfortunately, over the years, most of that variety has been stripped away and now all of the classes have minimal differences other than being ranged, melee, healer or tank.
While this was done to (unsuccessfully) bring balance to the classes, it ultimately resulted in a lot of the flavour of the game being stripped away leaving a much blander experience overall.
Con It's all about the destination, not the journey
Vanilla Wow used to have a very slow leveling process, this allowed people to experience and enjoy the world and dungeons as they leveled up. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case and the leveling process has been completely destroyed by being made trivial. It is so fast that if you enter a dungeon you will almost certainly have out leveled any loot you find by the time you finish it. Not that most people worry about loot while leveling as most players have access to heirlooms which further trivialise the leveling process and turn your character into a leveling God.
Con Subscription required
WoW requires a $15-a-month sub to play. This can definitely deter some people from playing. There is a trial mode, but it is very restrictive.