Best Games Like Guild Wars 2

Looking for games like Guild Wars 2 ? Here are 10 great alternatives we’ve played that capture its unique mix of fluid combat, cooperation, and deep worldbuilding.

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : ArenaNet
  • Publisher : ArenaNet / NCSoft
  • Release Date : August 28, 2012 
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : www.guildwars2.com

ArenaNet once again attempted to break the mould with their second release in the Guild Wars series, and have been mostly successful in doing so. The game has now reached teenage (a realisation that certainly doesn’t make us feel any younger) and its high player count keeps it in the discussion for yearly top MMORPG rankings. The game is based on the following pillars :  

✅ Fluid action-oriented combat : no global cooldown, high quality animations in general, a mix of tab-target and free targeted attacks

✅ Strong cooperative play : no loot or kill stealing, team synergy, player combos, support roles

✅ Rich worldbuilding & lore : whereas the quality of story arcs has varied over the years, worldbuilding and lore notes have consistently been a strong point

✅ Accessible instanced group content, structured around 5-10-50 player teams : dungeons and raids with interesting challenge modes
✅ No gear treadmill : progression is mostly cosmetics and convenience based, with no endless stat inflation

Whether you’re looking to bridge the gap between patches or a new solid first option, several games stratch the same itch as ArenaNet’s GW2.

On that basis, here are 10 similar games to dive into if you love Guild Wars 2 and are looking for a new adventure.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
  • Developer : ZeniMax Online Studios
  • Publisher : Bethesda Softworks
  • Release Date : April 4, 2014
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-based combat system : Like GW2, ESO moves away from traditional “lock-and-wait” MMO combat. It uses a mix of tab-targeting and free-aim skills, with dodging, blocking, and resource management playing key roles.

✅ Strong cooperative play : ESO encourages teamwork in dungeons, trials, and world events. Public events like Dolmens or Harrowstorms echo GW2’s world boss encounters where strangers naturally cooperate.

✅ Rich worldbuilding and lore : Built on The Elder Scrolls’ decades of storytelling, ESO delivers a deeply immersive setting with strong quest writing, branching dialogue, and a detailed world (similar to GW2’s emphasis on Tyria’s lore).

✅ Scalable group content : From 4-player dungeons to 12-player trials, ESO offers instanced PvE challenges that require coordination, echoing GW2’s structured group content.

✅ Horizontal progression elements : While ESO has gear upgrades, much of its endgame revolves around cosmetic achievements, titles, and skill experimentation rather than endless stat inflation, resonating with GW2’s “no gear treadmill” philosophy.

Similarity score : 9/10

Star Wars : The Old Republic

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : BioWare (2011–2023) ; Broadsword Online Games (since 2023)
  • Publisher : Electronic Arts
  • Release Date : December 20, 2011
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : SWTOR.com

✅ Strong cooperative play : Like GW2, SWTOR emphasizes team-based content with flashpoints (4-player dungeons), operations (equivalent to raids), and world bosses. The game is designed so players of different roles can synergise.

✅ Rich worldbuilding and lore : If GW2 has Tyria, SWTOR has the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe. The narrative focus is very strong, with fully voiced storylines and branching dialogue choices that reinforce immersion and continuity, possibly outshining GW2 in terms of roleplaying and character depth.

✅ Accessible instanced group content : SWTOR’s flashpoints and operations parallel GW2’s dungeons/fractals and raids. The scaling difficulty also helps players ease into group content without an excessive grind barrier.

⚠️ Combat system differences : Unlike GW2’s action-oriented combat, SWTOR uses a more traditional tab-target system with a global cooldown. It doesn’t have GW2’s fluid mix of free-targeting and mobility, so you may find combat less dynamic if you’re coming from GW2.

⚠️ Gear treadmill : SWTOR has more vertical progression than GW2. While cosmetics and legacy perks exist, endgame gearing involves increasing item levels over time, which diverges from the “no stat inflation” philosophy which ArenaNet has held on to.

Similarity score : 7/10

Final Fantasy XIV

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Square Enix
  • Publisher : Square Enix
  • Release Date : September 30, 2010
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Strong cooperative play : Like GW2, FFXIV puts heavy emphasis on community-driven play. From 4-player dungeons to 24-player alliance raids and large-scale trials, teamwork and coordination are central. The Duty Finder system ensures smooth group formation, similar to GW2’s frictionless approach to co-op.

✅ Rich worldbuilding and lore : FFXIV is renowned for its deep, well-written storylines that span multiple expansions. Much like GW2’s Living World seasons and rich Tyria lore, FFXIV offers a strong sense of continuity, character depth, and emotional stakes.

✅ Accessible instanced group content : While high-end raids can be punishing, FFXIV provides multiple difficulty tiers (Normal, Hard, Savage, Ultimate). This is comparable to GW2’s fractals and raid challenge modes, allowing both casual and hardcore players to engage.

⚠️ Combat system differences : FFXIV’s combat is slower and more traditional, relying on global cooldowns and strict rotations. Compared to GW2’s highly mobile, action-oriented combat, some players may find FFXIV less dynamic.

⚠️ Gear treadmill : Unlike GW2, FFXIV has a vertical progression system with item levels that reset each expansion. Cosmetics are a huge part of progression, but gear upgrades are required to keep up with new content, which contrasts with GW2’s horizontal approach.

Similarity score : 7/10

Monster Hunter : Rise

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
  • Developer : CAPCOM
  • Publisher : CAPCOM
  • Release Date : January 12, 2022
  • Genre : Co-op Action
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-oriented combat : Like GW2, MHR emphasizes mobility, dodging, and timing. Combat feels visceral and skill-based, rather than purely rotation-driven.

✅ Strong cooperative play : The game thrives on co-op hunts with 4 players, echoing GW2’s dynamic group play and synergy.

✅ Instanced group content : Each hunt is essentially a dungeon-like instance, structured around teamwork and preparation, much like GW2’s fractals or strike missions.

⚠️ Worldbuilding/lore : While the Monster Hunter universe has some depth, storytelling is not its main focus – or what its players are craving. 

⚠️ Progression : Gear progression is very vertical (farm monsters => upgrade sets), in contrast to GW2’s “no gear treadmill” philosophy.

Similarity score : 6/10

Warframe

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS
  • Developer : Digital Extremes
  • Publisher : Digital Extremes
  • Release Date : March 25, 2013
  • Genre : Co-op Third Person Shooter
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-oriented combat : Warframe is one of the fastest-paced MMOs, with acrobatic ninja-like movement, shooting, and melee combat, which resembles GW2’s mostly in terms of fluidity.

✅ Cooperative play : Missions are designed for squads of 4, encouraging teamwork and synergy across Warframe abilities, although the game can sometimes devolve into a 1-button nuke-fest.

✅ Accessible instanced content : Like GW2’s fractals, Warframe has countless missions, events, and raids that can be jumped into at any progression stage.

⚠️ Worldbuilding/lore : Warframe’s lore is rich but fragmented, delivered in pieces rather than the consistent story arcs of GW2. Warframe’s delivery of the story is also much less straightforward, despite DE’s efforts to streamline it. 

⚠️ Progression system : Warframe undeniably has some grind-heavy elements, with a constant loop of farming resources and crafting (with wait times), which can seem more intense than GW2’s horizontal gear model (legendaries excluded).

Similarity score : 6/10

Fallout 76

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, Xbox One
  • Developer : Bethesda Game Studios
  • Publisher : Bethesda Softworks
  • Release Date : November 14, 2018
  • Genre : MMO Shooter RPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Strong cooperative play : While playable solo, Fallout 76 shines in co-op exploration, base building, and world events, similar to GW2’s public events and boss fights.

✅ Worldbuilding/lore : Fallout’s post-apocalyptic setting provides a strong narrative foundation, akin to Tyria’s lived-in, evolving world.

✅ Accessible group content : Public events and dungeons (expeditions) are designed for drop-in cooperative play, much like GW2’s meta events.

⚠️ Combat system : More of a shooter-RPG hybrid than GW2’s action-tab blend. Fans of GW2’s fast combat may find Fallout 76 slower or more clunky.

⚠️ Progression : Gear plays a significant role, with crafting and stat scaling, leaning closer to vertical progression.

Similarity score : 6/10

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
  • Developer : Big Huge Games
  • Publisher : 38 Studios, Electronic Arts
  • Release Date : September 7, 2020
  • Genre : RPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-oriented combat : Much like GW2, combat is fluid, fast-paced, and responsive. Dodging, combos, and weapon-swapping echo GW2’s dynamic approach rather than tab-target/MMO combat.

✅ Worldbuilding/lore : Amalur’s world is rich with lore (thanks to R.A. Salvatore’s work on a previous MMO project). Tyria and Amalur both feel like worlds with myth, history, and mystery baked into their landscapes. KOA’s world can feel slightly more generic.

✅ Progression freedom : KOA’s “Fate” system allows hybrid class-building (mixing magic, stealth, melee), which parallels GW2’s elite specs and flexible builds.

⚠️ Cooperative play : Unlike GW2, KOA is strictly single-player, so it obviously lacks the cooperative event-driven community aspect. 

⚠️ Instanced/group content : Similarly, there’s no equivalent to GW2’s dungeons, fractals, or raids. It’s a solo RPG adventure that does however provide quite a solid dungeon-crawling experience.

Similarity score : 5/10

Wayfinder

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
  • Developer : Airship Syndicate
  • Publisher : Airship Syndicate
  • Release Date : Octobre 21, 2024
  • Genre : Co-op Action RPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-oriented combat : Like GW2, combat is fast-paced with dodge mechanics and ability synergies.

✅ Cooperative play : The game is built around small-group (1-3 player) dungeon runs, reflecting GW2’s cooperative dungeon and fractal design. It’s a hub-based game, not an MMO. 

✅ Instanced group content : Core gameplay revolves around structured co-op challenges, very close to GW2’s group pillars.

⚠️ Worldbuilding/lore : As a newer title, its lore depth doesn’t yet match GW2’s 20+ years of worldbuilding.

⚠️ Progression : Still evolving, but appears more tied to loot and crafting systems than GW2’s cosmetic-driven model.

Similarity score : 5/10

Black Desert

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • Developer : Pearl Abyss
  • Publisher : Pearl Abyss
  • Release Date : May 24, 2017
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Action-oriented combat : BDO is famous for its fluid, real-time combat system, one of the closest in feel to GW2.

✅ Rich worldbuilding : While its narrative delivery is weaker, the world itself is stunning and immersive, much like Tyria’s beauty.

✅ Strong co-op potential : Guild-based systems, world bosses, and PvP sieges mirror GW2’s group-centered gameplay.

⚠️ Accessibility of group content : Endgame systems can be grind-heavy and less structured than GW2’s easily accessible dungeons/fractals.

⚠️ Progression system : Highly vertical, with endless gear enhancements and grind loops, at the far opposite of GW2’s no-treadmill approach.

Similarity score : 5/10

World of Warcraft

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Blizzard Entertainment
  • Publisher : Blizzard Entertainment
  • Release Date : November 23, 2004
  • Genre : MMORPG
  • Where to play : worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com

✅ Cooperative play : WoW pioneered the dungeon/raid structure, with teamwork and guild culture at its core. Much like GW2, it thrives on large-scale group activities.

✅ Rich worldbuilding : Azeroth’s history is deep and beloved, rivaling (and possibly besting) Tyria’s lore in scope and influence.

✅ Instanced group content : Dungeons, raids, battlegrounds… WoW offers a wide variety of structured group play and thrives in these formats. It arguably provides the deepest and most challenging dungeon/raid experience in MMO gaming.

⚠️ Combat system : Tab-targeted and cooldown-based, it lacks GW2’s mobility and dynamic feel.

⚠️ Gear treadmill : WoW is the archetype of vertical progression (stat resets each expansion, constant gear grind) making it the polar opposite of GW2’s stable endgame gear philosophy.

Similarity score : 5/10

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