History YMMV / GuildWars

** The hands down winner in the is Shadow Form, making the player virtually invulnerable (causing attack to miss and spells to fail), with the downside of losing ~90% of your hitpoints when it ends. It can be kept up indefinitely with the right skills though. Oops. After a long time of this build ruling the solo-farming scene, Arenanet made an attempt to nerf it by letting the enemies hit you, limit the damage you could do and take less damage while under it's effectm while removing some of its already existing downsides. However, the nerf failed: while solo-farming had become much harder, it is actually considered to be better for use in groups carrying the build to finish specific areas in the game in record times.

** Nightfall is when the [=PvE=] experience was improved the most, giving side characters some screentime and featuring a much more "Newbie-friendly" difficulty curve.
*** In contrast, Factions, despite Prophecies not even being required to run the game, was considered to be a little [[SchizophrenicDifficulty too hard]] for newcomers due to the developers designing it around the assumption the players had beaten "Prophecies" before.

** Nightfall is when the [=PvE=] experience was improved the most, giving side characters some screentime and featuring a much more "Newbie-friendly" difficulty curve. In contrast, Factions gave a small refresher on how the game worked, but mistakenly was designed around the assumption that players had already beaten "Prophecies" and thus gave a little too many early-game missions that were difficult, while [[SchizophrenicDifficulty later-game missions were much MUCH easier even for newcomers]]. (To put it into perspective, Factions didn't even ''teach'' the player how to get elite skills)

** Nightfall is when the [=PvE=] experience was improved the most, giving side characters some screentime and featuring a much more "Newbie-friendly" difficulty curve. In contrast, Factions gave a small refresher on how the game worked, but mistakenly was designed around the assumption that players had already beaten "Prophecies" and thus gave a little too many early-game missions that were difficult, while [[SchiziphrenicDifficulty later-game missions were much MUCH easier even for newcomers]]. (To put it into perspective, Factions didn't even ''teach'' the player how to get elite skills)

* ClicheStorm: Sure, the plot feels very half-assed now, but [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny one should excuse that]], but even for its time, ''Nightfall'''s story was ''very'' standard, with some people being able to draw obvious comparisons with its cast to ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', all of which were old news by ''Nightfall'' in late 2006. Nightfall simply put wasn't remembered very much for its story.

* ClicheStorm: Sure, the plot feels very half-assed now, but [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny one should excuse that]], but even for its time, ''Nightfall'''s story was ''very'' standard, with some people being able to draw obvious comparisons with its cast to ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemSacredStones'', all of which were old news by ''Nightfall'' in late 2006. Nightfall simply put wasn't remembered very much for its story.

*** There's some justification for both. In "Factions", he fight alone, completely alone, there's no stage before you reach him so you only need to prepare for fighting him. In "Nightfall", however, he returns with an extra long (and somewhat challenging mission) alongside the Lich when you finally do fight him. On the plus side the in the refight he's missing a few of his attack including his DesperationAttack, the Lich as far as this troper can tell was also completely lacking skills. But the biggest issue is that you CAN pull Shiro away from the Lich, even if it is difficult and fight both one vs eight. So... If you don't know what's coming the "Factions" fight is harder, if you do though the Nightfall fight will seem harder.

** Also a lot of elementalist bosses, since bosses get a double damage bonus a lot of them can kill players in seconds. Ritualist bosses with Spirit Rift are even more infamous for their party-slaughtering abilities.

** Shiro can be quite easy to take down, with the right builds, and especially if a couple of the players have a debuff which makes him take damage from his own attacks, such as Empathy, Pain Inverter or Spoil Victor. The Warrior skill "Wild Blow" is also highly useful against Shiro, as it will end a key stance he takes that protects him against damage.
** To be fair, Shiro has lost his most annoying skills from Factions. The Lich however, got a serious boost.

** [[spoiler:Abaddon]] in ''Nightfall'' is a relatively straightforward battle and it mercifully doesn't regen health like other bosses do.

* TheUntwist: The fact that [[spoiler:Vizier Khilbron]] was actually the Lich was almost painfully obvious when first meeting him.

* UglyCute: Wallows.

*** There's some justification for both. In "Factions", he fight alone, completely alone, there's no stage before you reach him so you only need to prepare for fighting him. In "Nightfall", however, he returns with an extra long (and somewhat challenging mission) alongside the Lich when you finally do fight him. On the plus side the in the refight he's missing a few of his attack including his DesperationAttack, the Lich as far as this troper can tell was also completely lacking skills. But the biggest issue is that you CAN pull Shiro away from the Lich, even if it is difficult and fight both one vs eight. So... If you don't know what's coming the "Factions" fight is harder, if you do though the "Nightfall fight will seem harder.
* ClicheStorm: The wonderfull visuals and promising game mechanics shown in the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjCehYrEbO0 Guild]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXlzIRYA4NE Wars]] 2 trailers almost succeed in distracting you from the fact that the narrators are phoning it in at times.
--> '''Narrator:''' Now is the time! Claim your destiny! Forge your legend!
** ''Almost.''
** For that matter, there are some one-liners that are awfully cliche, and the plot of Nightfall actually sounds a ''lot'' like a ClicheStorm. (Kourna is TheEmpire, Varesh is the Evil Emperor using evil dark powers; and [[spoiler: is defeated most of the way through the game and her master is being fought as the final boss and making her TheDragon]]. She also has numerous generals; the obviously evil ones as well as the obviously good one who makes a HeelFaceTurn.) Although granted, ''Nightfall'' does tinker around with the formula a little bit, and Abaddon isn't exactly TheManBehindTheMan like in these types of stories, usually.
* CrazyAwesome: It is the general consensus that if Guild Wars 2 doesn't suck, it will be this.
** Vael
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: What do paragons and drunkards have in common? [[spoiler: They both run around with no pants, shouting at people!]]

* EvenBetterSequel: GuildWars2 is shaping up to be this and more. Industry professionals are getting increasingly excited about it, and some believe it may be the first serious contender to WorldOfWarcraft's vast dominance of the genre. Even WoW players who had a rivalry with the first GuildWars are, due to the fact that their preferred game is getting long in the tooth, acknowledging that the sequel is well worth investigating.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: ''"I swear, if we didn't need him, I would shove him off a bridge."''. Cue [[spoiler: Gadd's death at the end of the G.O.L.E.M. mission, and Vekk scattering his ashes from the bridge in Riven Earth.]]

* {{Narm}}:"As a boy I spent much time in these lands. Look at them now." To their credit, A-Net poked fun at themselves about this line during the Nightfall campaign with some BadBadActing and writing in the ObviousTrap play performed for Prince Bokka.
* TheScrappy: The [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Asura]] are ''intentionallly'' designed to be annoying as humanly (Asuraly?) possible. I am sad to say that they hit their characterization on the mark.
** Some players, however, ''like'' the Asura precisely because they're so annoying.
** And out of the races that will be available in Guild Wars two, there has been a lot of complaining that the Sylvari weren't given adequate ForeShadowing; most players would've preferred the Centaurs or Tengu.
*** This may be changing, though, as information about the Sylvari continues to trickle out. And there's always the possibility one or both of the above will become playable in a GW2 expansion.
** Lieutenant Thackeray is starting to get this treatment because [[DieForOurShip of his feelings for Gwen]] (who is pretty obsessed over by the fandom), especially now that it's confirmed they'll marry and have descendants, at least one of whom, Logan Thackeray, is a key NPC in GW2.
*** In an excellent example of how fickle people can be, some are now beginning to apply this trope to Gwen herself, now that [[spoiler:Thackeray has "manned up" as a result of the events in the newest "Guild Wars: Beyond" quest series depicting his adventures after War in Kryta; some are even suggesting that Thackeray should have hooked up instead with Miku, the NPC assassin he meets and fights alongside in these quests]].
** Then there's Kormir from Nightfall, who is hated for releasing Abaddon, being absolutely useless both in the story and gameplay, AND getting rewarded for it by becoming a god.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: this pops up every time [=ArenaNet=] updates the game to change [=PvE=] or [=PvP=] skills.

* UglyCute: Wallows.
* UncannyValley: The Asura seem to have gotten more human faces (especially their eyes) between [[http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vekk Eye of the North]] and [[http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/races/asura/ Guild Wars 2]].

*** I'll take the Asura over the [[HonorBeforeReason Norn]] anyday

* BoringButPractical: For awhile, "Touch Rangers" who would have an almost neverending stream of energy (combined with their stats, as well as a skill) and could easily drain health from people. The build was literally just alternating between Vampiric Bite and Vampiric Blood, occasionally using Blood Sacrifice or some other touch skill like Throw Dirt. Want a good way to get people raging at you in Random Arenas? Play one of those.

*** There's some justification for both. In "Factions", he fight alone, completely alone, there's no stage before you reach him so you only need to prepare for fighting him. In "Nightfall", however, he returns with an extra long (and somewhat challenging mission) alongside the Lich when you finally do fight him. On the plus side the in the refight he's missing a few of his attack including his DesperationMove, the Lich as far as this troper can tell was also completely lacking skills. But the biggest issue is that you CAN pull Shiro away from the Lich, even if it is difficult and fight both one vs eight. So... If you don't know what's coming the "Factions" fight is harder, if you do though the "Nightfall fight will seem harder.

*** Guild Wars was ruined when they release Prophecies.

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Lich in ''Prophecies''. He is literally weak to almost ''everything''. Killing him isn't the trick, it's killing him on the ''soulstone'' that finishes him. This also carries over to ''Nightfall''. BreatherBoss in that in ''Prophecies'', you have to traverse a rather lengthy stage to get to him, and in ''Nightfall'', you have to face him at the same time as Shiro Tagachi, ''AND'' have had to traverse a long stage.

* BreatherBoss: The Lich in ''Prophecies''. He is literally weak to almost ''everything''. Killing him isn't the trick, it's killing him on the ''soulstone'' that finishes him. This also carries over to ''Nightfall''. BreatherBoss in that in ''Prophecies'', you have to traverse a rather lengthy stage to get to him, and in ''Nightfall'', you have to face him at the same time as Shiro Tagachi, ''AND'' have had to traverse a long stage.

* NightmareFuel:
** The afflicted.
** The scarab plague (which, however, figures only in the early stages of ''Nightfall'').
** Fleshreavers are monsters that grow by [[CannibalismSuperPower stealing flesh and grafting it onto themselves]].

* DieForOurShip: The main reason some see Keiran as TheScrappy

* EvenBetterSequel: GuildWars2 is shaping up to be this and more. Industry professionals are getting increasingly excited about it, and some believe it may be the first serious contender to WorldOfWarcraft's vast dominance of the genre.

** The scarab plague.

** Lieutenant Thackeray is starting to get this treatment because [[DieForOurShip of his feelings for Gwen]] (who is pretty obsessed over by the fandom), especially now that it's confirmed they'll marry and have descendants, at least one of which shows up in GW2.

* ThatOneAchievement: For a long time, this title could belong to either "Legendary Defender of Ascalon" or "Survivor". Updates later reduced the difficulty and grind involved.
** The original drunk title also qualified to a degree, due to the careful need to calculate your drunk level and maintain it via creative zoning and consumption for hours on end.

** ''VARESH''. She's harder than the final boss!!!

* AccidentalNightmareFuel:
** The afflicted.
** The scarab plague.
** Fleshreavers are monsters that grow by [[CannibalismSuperPower stealing flesh and grafting it onto themselves]].

** YourMileageMayVary, but [[spoiler:Abaddon]] in ''Nightfall'' is a relatively straightforward battle and it mercifully doesn't regen health like other bosses do.

* UncannyValley: The Asura seem to have gotten more human faces (especially their eyes) between [[http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vekk Eye of the North]] and [[http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/races/asura/ Guild Wars 2]]. [[YourMileageMayVary Arguably]] though, this has increased their CreepyChild vibe by several notches making them less cute.