Having played all three (playing FFXIV at the moment), I can see the strengths and weaknesses of each. Rating each game according to categories in a 5/5 scale.
Story/Lore Presentation: You can't compare which story is better because that would just be up to your preference. What you can compare is how it's presented. For this, I feel that the team of Square Enix really did a marvelous job at crafting a storyline that you can really feel that you're part of. While WoW doesn't have a direct personal storyline, you can see that the quests do run into each other and your character is still involved in a major way in every event. However, the GW2 team really failed on this subject because even until I reached max level, I had no clue what was going on, why there was a war, why am I doing specific quests (because you don't even need to talk to NPCs to get them), why am I engaging in PvP (because simply, there is no reason. It's a completely different mechanic that seems to just be tacked on to the main game).
FFXIV: 5
WoW: 4
GW2: 2
Combat Gameplay: Considering gameplay is also a bit difficult, because each game comes with its own specific style. However, what separates GW2 is that it doesn't rely on swing timers, giving you more of a real time feel to combat. In WoW and FFXIV, you're bound to get hit no matter what if you were in range when the enemy started his attack. This also carries in GW2's outstanding PvP system, where real skill can overtake gear. I particularly dislike FFXIV's telling you where special attacks are going to land; it makes the game too easy.
GW2: 5
WoW: 4
FFXIV: 2.5
Graphics: This one is clear to see, simply because WoW is so much older than the other two. Obviously, FFXIV's graphics are the most optimized, the most polished, and the most vibrant. The shadows are so impressive that I find myself looking at them through the trees of Gridania for minutes at a time. GW2 also has beautiful visuals but they are over a year old now, so they were optimized for last year's systems.
FFXIV: 5
GW2: 4
WoW: 2.5
Art Style: Having good graphics is one thing, but having good looking artwork is quite another. For example, while I give FFXIV the nod when it comes to overall graphical performance, its art, honestly, just sucks. The cities are blandly designed, the enemies look so generic, and the overall feel of the characters just seems off. On the other hand, even more than a decade later, WoW's locales and characters still mesmerize me. The armor design alone shows just how creative Blizzard is in decorating. GW2 also has a really unique, vibrantly colorful look, which comes in at a close second in my view.
WoW: 5
GW2: 4.5
FFXIV: 2.5
Character Role Design. In this, WoW is still the king and will serve as the standard for many more years to come. Dungeons are still the best in WoW because each class is truly unique in what they can bring to the table and they can achieve multiple roles depending on your choice of build. FFXIV took this one step further and allowed for one character to be any class they want, but this, in my view, has backfired a little bit because it makes you feel locked in to one character, when traditionally you would get fresh experiences with new alts. With GW2, I think that the design of no concrete roles, while unique, takes away from playing as a party. I mean, if you want to be a tough tanking character, it's rather useless because there's no such thing as threat or aggro. It also takes a lot away from your character's uniqueness, because every class seems to be marginally capable of doing everything else.
WoW: 5
FFXIV: 3.5
GW2: 2.5
Side Activities (Crafting, Mini-games, etc.): As always, Square does a wonderful job with side quests. In FFXIV, you don't even have to hit an enemy if you don't want to. There's so much complexity to the gathering and crafting in the game that sometimes, you find youself spending more time doing that rather than regular questing. The other games pale in comparison to the amount of dedication that FFXIV has put towards this. I mean, in GW2, you do have a lot of choices to craft, especially in cooking where there seems to be an endless number of ingredients, but its just still point and click and can sometimes be tedious. WoW's crafting is the most basic of the three.
FFXIV: 5
GW2: 4
WoW: 3
Music and Sound: All three are very good at implementing music that resonates with the area, but FFXIV takes the cake with their overall score. It's not really a surprise, but the score really makes the aforementioned bland environments kinda better. The sound effects and voices, however, do need a fair bit of an overhaul because they're so generic when compared to GW2 and WoW.
FFXIV: 4
GW2: 4
WoW: 4
Quest Structure: WoW's quest structure is still the best, in my view, not because it's innovative, but because it's solid and there's nothing wrong with it. While FATEs and real time world events are cute, they wear out on you very quickly because they're just the same events over and over and you find yourself farming them before long. The biggest offense is how GW2 operates its quests, wherein you don't even have to talk to anyone to know what to do and you're just told in a corner of the screen to do it; it just makes questing so meaningless and detached from the story of the game.
WoW: 5
FFXIV: 3.5
GW2: 2
I can't compare contents and endgame yet because the other two games have only been in the market for a short time. So:
WoW: 32.5
FFXIV: 31
GW2: 28
They're all good but WoW still wins.
