Guild Wars 2's Ad Taking Aim At WoW: Dragonflight Was Genius And Misleading, Players Reveal Massive Grind

The latest marketing ad from Guild Wars 2 aimed at World of Warcraft: Dragonflight masterfully pokes fun at their dragon-riding system and pivots attention to theirs. The comical part is that GW2 has had its dynamic dragon-riding system in place for years, which eerily looks similar to Dragonflight's iteration if you put both of them side by side.

Despite the genius ad targeting Dragonflight players, some GW2 fans on Reddit that are familiar with the system think the short video was misleading. ArenaNet touts that players don't need to "wait to ride a dragon" in the ad when, in fact, there's quite a lot of waiting because of the massive grind necessary to unlock the Skyscale and Griffon mounts.

Both mounts require players hit max level, beat the Path of Fire story, and complete an assortment of achievements. On paper, that sounds like an easy checklist, but many newcomers and returning players have reported how "confusing" it can be and the unfulfilling pathway to gain them. When the ad concludes with "unlock your dragon now," it comes across as if you buy stuff and unlock them immediately, but that's not the case.

"In my opinion, it's so tedious to get, and [it] doesn't even fly," stated one player on Reddit. "The video is very misleading." Another points out that the Skyscale mount "has a limited flight time and slow movement," which ArenaNet didn't show in the ad. Others range from talking about the "massive grind for Skyscale" and how new players will be sore about the "insane commitment" to unlocking the mounts shown.