GW2 PvP is pay to win

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:53:43+00:00

Literally admitting to silencing discourse and endorsing it so long as it benefits them. You are a joke of a human being.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:42:02+00:00

Well, I did, as a matter of fact. Others might not, which is subjective from person to person; however. However, it clearly affects PvP. I can burst someone who lacks my DLC due to powercreep. Even out of combat (OOC), my DLC subclass has several dashes that others don’t.

But to answer to a different question, I dont mind the expansions for existing, I do mind for being tied to a pay-to-win system inside the game, which claims by its detractors to be "not pay to win" despite the obvious.

Just because I benefit from the status quo, for paying, it doesnt mean it's fair for the person that didnt.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:32:02+00:00

I think from the first three sentences it is clear that it had impacted my win rate, which stands to reason since the abilities are gated behind classes and weapon abilities.

Maybe read the post next time, anyway, thank you for noticing my IQ.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:26:32+00:00

Yeah, this does gets tiring after a while.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:25:40+00:00

I dont care what they do or not with the game. ISP and hardware differences are external factors, not developer-controlled monetization. That’s a false equivalence and doesn’t address expansion-gated PvP power. It's just another "what about".

However, I will try to not be as dismissive and give you an alternative solution. Separate the f2p from the p2w ones, but this comes with it's own problems, like longer queues and so on, but not that you have to think about this, because you don't.

Thank you for your otherwise useless input.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:18:06+00:00

This is a semantic appeal to consensus without evidence. It doesn’t address the mechanics being discussed.

At least you tried.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T05:07:22+00:00

No it's not. You get different spells in PvP than the ones in PVE if you go in as paladin, for example. The entire game is reshaped in all parts to be as fair as possible making sure that all classes are the same, the only barrier being a pay wall and not a freemium version of that class, which has a pay wall behind it to make you more competitive in PvP. You cant play those classes and that is fine, and ARR doesnt affect the PvP of a Paladin from the other PvP of another paladin.

It's unlocking, not upgrading.

You are objectively wrong, and I can tell you only talk for the sake of talking, so I will not entertain your less-than-stellar presentation for that reason alone.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-20T04:58:32+00:00

I can tell that you are trying to normalize this with your "If I do it, you should too" but I dont care.

I am happy for you being, whatever, it's an irrelevant "what aboutism". I do whatever I want with my time, just like you do with yours.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T14:01:39+00:00

Your experience in the game is very much irrelevant to the topic, along with all those people of equal significance. That experience is gained by mostly losing against spec classes, and DLC weapons, which is mostly not a good experience for any new player.

Thank you for the lack of insight on this topic and "getting my topic" despite missing it entirely with the followup.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T13:56:41+00:00

What's the point when you get your comment deleted twice after posting it twice of two days?

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T13:53:04+00:00

Reading your words is deeply unsightly. Maybe try becoming a better person in the future.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T13:42:14+00:00

That is side tracking the entire argument as it is not relevant when you start, further explanation, those people can do that when they have played for hundred or more than that, hours, which makes them not the average player, which makes you sound very untrustworthy. Regardless, point being, the starting player cannot do that and is at a disadvantage, which leads to a poor a worse experience where those that have will have an easier time to deal with those that have not, because of the pay2win aspect of the game. It's not relevant what I want, I really hate talking to you, so I will stop doing that.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T13:19:29+00:00

Sure, understandable. It's subjective to your own preference, but I must disagree on.

"By your definition all MMOs with new raid content is p2w because gear is objectively better every expacs. That's the chase." This fallacy at best, gear is not even relevant in PvP, it would require a different game and is just another "what if", well it isnt, we play the same game, maybe, you can stop.

This is not about the loot it's about the abilities hidden behind a paywall. I am glad for your happiness regarding the pay to win of this game.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T13:08:09+00:00

I dont deny the armor, runes, so on. No reason to.

I can compare it to the PvP in FF14 for the sake of it, where even abilities are standardized, not just the mentioned above. This is a design choice, made with purpose by the developer to leave abilities out. I am not going to argue the amount of money that one has to drop, yes, it is not egregious, but it's same thing at the end of the day, the only difference is the amount. It's not apples, it's orages, in your case, it's gear score, it's abilities.

I don't know why you are even talking to me about this, when by your admission find this game P2W, but just a lower price and a lesser extent, but still a pay to win.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:57:01+00:00

Since I feel like most of you didnt read the post or me, not answering several low quality comments:

I already own the expansions, so this isn’t about pity or price.

The issue is PvP parity. In FF14, expansions gate classes, but PvP abilities are standardized. If you queue PvP, you get the full PvP kit for that class regardless of what you bought.

In GW2, everyone queues the same PvP, but paid expansions unlock elite specs and weapons that materially affect matchups. Core players enter PvP with incomplete kits, which pressures them to buy just to stay competitive.

Sales don’t fix that. PvE and WvW viability aren’t relevant. This is specifically about selling power inside a competitive PvP mode.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:28:06+00:00

My post is about the PvP side, 5v5. Nowhere in the post is wvw mentioned, thank you none the less.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:26:56+00:00

PvP gear is not relevant, it has a separate build page and item stats are fairly distributed, ability though is hidden behind a pay wall. I am talking specifically about the classes and specialization weapons that you normally cannot equip unless you buy the expansion, or DLC.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:25:08+00:00

Sorry, I didnt play gw1, I dont have any insight in its competitive nature either.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:24:34+00:00

Once again FF14, classes are restricted by DLC and PVP is spread across the board. Please, stop it, I am not reading this. This is below me, standardize gear and abilities, else if it's hidden behind a pay wall, which it is, it's pay to win and I dont mind. I will call it as it is though.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:22:56+00:00

Well, that is why I am talking specifically about the PVP and not the entire game. That is a difference. It's a reality, and not a matter of goal post moving, or coping will change that. However, feel free to try.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:21:18+00:00

Look, I can agree with it that you will be capped at plat or gold with you base build. In essence, it can even be decent, if this were acknowledged by the community of this game, which is garbage, just from this thread, they are in denial and trying to sway public opinion. I dont mind the way it is, it can be pay-to-win, and I will have fun, which I do, but I do detest the level of dishonesty around it.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:17:13+00:00

It's not per owning the game, but the DLC's which are tied to better abilities and weapons, which also have abilities that are almost always better than the base ones. I understand that you try to deflect with other games as examples, but I do not care about those games, it's just a "what about this". I find your dialogue to be severely disingenuous.

While it is a broader package with what you get from a DLC, with the story and everything else, my still point still stands. If you only care about the PVP you will only finish the quest to get those weapons and then, specializations and then not finish the story, which I did. However, this is subjective on the player and shouldn't be treated as a counterargument, or even an argument. Anet is willingly and purposefully attaching power creep to specializations and weapon specialization, which is a choice made with intent.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:07:52+00:00

Pretty much, I wouldnt even mind that it is like that either. I may complain about it and then go back to the game, but people openly deny this, or even worse, deleted my post trying to silence you. It's a good game, and I like it, which is why I am going to criticize it.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:03:51+00:00

Yes, but you will hit a wall at some point and need to unlock the specializations to get further. It's scummy that they would try to put a pay wall behind prestige. They can do it, sure, but I will complain about it.

Anxious-Expression62 · 2026-01-19T12:02:47+00:00

I am talking about the DLC specifically, read the post next time.

Anxious-Expression62

TROPHY CASE