Guild Wars 2® similar games & best alternatives

Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_1.avif
Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_2.avif
Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_3.avif
Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_4.avif
Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_5.avif
Guild Wars 2® - guild-wars-2_6.avif

Guild Wars 2®

2022

Should you play it?

Guild Wars 2 is an award-winning online roleplaying game with fast-paced action combat, deep character customization, and no subscription fee required. Choose from an arsenal of professions and weapons, explore a vast open world, compete in PVP modes and more. Join over 16 million players now!

What works

  • Respects player time with no mandatory grind or subscription
  • Engaging, skill-based combat system
  • Vibrant, dynamic open world with exploration
  • Strong community and cooperative gameplay
  • Extensive customization and horizontal progression

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve for new players
  • Some endgame content can be challenging or limited
  • Account linking issues between steam and arenanet
  • Older graphics in base game areas
  • Pvp community can be toxic at times

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Where Winds Meet

  • RIFT

  • The Elder Scrolls® Online

  • FINAL FANTASY XIV Online

  • STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™

  • Champions Online

Less competitive

Games that feels like Guild Wars 2® but with less competition against others

  • Warframe

  • Dungeons of Sundaria

  • Dungeons & Dragons Online®

  • Enshrouded

  • REMNANT II®

  • CODE VEIN

Less intimate

Games that feels like Guild Wars 2® but with less focus on close relationships

  • RuneScape: Dragonwilds

  • ELDEN RING

  • Risen 3 - Titan Lords

  • Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand

  • Wuthering Waves

  • Onigiri

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Guild Wars 2®. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Guild Wars 2®. These titles are not in What to play next.

Guild Wars 2®: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Status, Competition. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Survival.

Last update: 21/08/2026