The more I think about it, the more I like the server ‘matchmaking/ELO’ aspect that Guild Wars 2 has announced. Instead of just coordinating what server your guild is going to be playing on, larger communities can now do this. What’s going to happen when a server holding the major old-school PvP guilds gets matched up against other servers? Will there be an unofficial EVE server? Is one server going to be a mostly All-Goon server? The epeen impact such a ranking system will have could be amazing, and epeen measuring is, after all, the heart and soul of MMO PvP (and life overall, real).
I also think the no-sub aspect for GW2 is really going to help this as well, and be good for the genre as w whole. All of those major guilds can still stay subbed to their primary game of choice, but also buy into GW2 and play that without worrying about an additional cost. Null-sec war slow down for now? Go play GW2 for a bit. No major siege in Darkfall happening? Time to mess around in GW2. Coordinated effort by the server to increase its rank? All good, everyone can play two weeks of GW2, no resub costs, and then return to whatever MMO they were playing for the majority of their time. Not to mention the ‘value cost’ for players who simply can’t play much. Finally they don’t have to choose between playing with their guild and ‘wasting’ most of that $15, or not playing at all.
Now let’s just hope the actual gameplay is worthwhile. Being king won’t mean much if you are ruler of the derp kingdom.
Hardcore Casual 
Don’t forget the other yardstick for e-peen measurement: the cash shop! GW2 will apparently have a cash shop very similar to GW1 and we all know vanity items give bragging rights!
Again, you put up an excellent point that I could never think of due to my non PVP-centric mindset.
GW2 seems to be a great go-to game when there’s a lull in the action in your main game of choice, or it can be the PVE destresser to a game like EVE or Darkfall if you let it. :D All you need is to pay for the box! :D
I think GW2 has good odds at being primary game material, but the business model does make it easy to come and go.
I am wondering how the yearly expansions will affect PvP. If they add new zones each time, the pops may really thin out. Diluting warzone pops will not be good…
Perhaps, in some parallel world of MMO uberness, but in this one where is the MMO to return to that’s worth paying a subscription for?
GW1’s cash shop was incredibly fair and non-intrusive, so I trust this company as far as how they will handle GW2’s cash shop.
<3
I’m not pulling for GW2, as it is trying to break up a core fundamental of any combat system (and it will fail- specialists will always emerge). But in the same breath I do hope it breaks up the hold of subscription AAA themepark games.
Being B2P won’t help shuffle the deck and get us variety in the genre. As you’ve outlined, GW2 can (and undoubtedly will) become everyone’s clutch fallback.
I want it to be good enough to break up the themepark trust and become a significant minority’s clutch main. I hope it succeeds in doing what you’ve outlined, but perhaps more.
I don’t think GW2 is trying to prevent ‘specialists’ at certain roles. They’re just trying to let every class have the choice of more than one role, and the freedom to change roles on the fly as they feel like or are needed to.
This is why they allow such easy build swapping. I agree that the whole ‘Trinity is Dead’ rhetoric may be a but hyperbolic, but the fact is that there is supposed to be more freedom in GW2 for people to play the class they want, in the way they want than exists in most games.
Just in case you didn’t see it yet:
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/20/massivelys-guild-wars-2-closed-beta-impressions/
” In Guild Wars 2, while it’s still preeminently possible to play, succeed, and have a kick-ass time playing solo, group combat is mind-blowingly rewarding. There’s definitely something to be said for group dynamics and combos and such as a statistical benefit for playing in groups in Guild Wars 2, the real reason I want to do it is that it’s just plain fun.”
If that’s the case, it’s nice to hear they are actually making use of, you know, playing with other people.
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