What Keeps You Playing?

Hey guys, I'm new around here, and new to Guild Wars in general, just picked it up in the past few days and decided to give it a try!

Something I like to do when I pick up a new game (that's already been out for a while) is ask all of the veteran players what's kept them playing (or coming back) after years of playing.

Hopefully this is the correct place for this sort of topic! There's no need to sell me on the game, as I've already purchased it, but as a veteran player of other online games, I know how a few simple mechanics or quirks can keep a game interesting for years.

Answer however you like, but here are some ideas if you're drawing blanks:

• What are some mechanics or gameplay systems you find really compelling?
• What is it about the game world that keeps you interested?
• What makes Guild Wars a unique experience (in it's genre) for you?
• What about end game, PvP, what makes those experiences unique/compelling?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond, I like to get an idea of what the good, the bad, and the awesome of a game with an established community before I jump in, that way I know what to expect!

For me, Guild Wars has always been about the experiences I've had with other people. The best memories I have of the game involve goofing off with guildmates and my friends in game.

While many of these people have moved on to other games, I still catch a few of them and we chat a bit. I've also made new and interesting friends at this point in the game as well. Even if we're all just sitting around afk-ish blabbing about say Mass Effect 3, or just today about the merits or disadvantages of the Collector's Edition of Guild Wars 2, I enjoy interacting with the people. For me, this game has and will always be about the interesting people I have met and continue to meet.

I'm still going for 50 points in my hall of monuments. That's what is keeping me playing. However, I still see myself playing this until GW2 even if i get 50. Whether it's starting collection of certain weapons or going for more titles, I'll still be sticking around.

One of the things that keeps me playing are players who run builds like this.

It's a party or group based game that doesn't require PvP. Builds are more like deck building in card games.

Well personally what keeps me going is getting GWAMM (you get it by maxing 30 titles). But what I think I would play as much if it weren't for my guild. We do all sorts of stuff together mainly helping out our members who are either new or returning (and this helps me get my titles finished). It keeps the magic alive for us old timers in the guild That and I love smack talking in JQ, I demoralize my enemy physically and verbally

I bought the game and never again had to pay anything else for it, AND I can play with my husband --or other people when he is not around.
I LIKE the game, the mechanics that keep me around are: level 20 is max level-and easy to get to, max weapons are easy to come by (skins are what people pay extra for--and those dont change the damage of the weapon), basic max armor is very cheap.

as a causal gamer you can play for a while and not miss much if you have been gone.

to be honest with you, you started a a few years late. You missed out on those good guild wars days. Now Guild Wars, is all about chasing HoM. should have waited for GW2.

Friends, anticipation for GW2, boredom.

At first pvp was my bread and butter in GW but since then the game has died down quite a bit. Now I just log in to VQ with guildies and do zaishen quests.

The friends I've made through palying in game, addictive personality, used to be collecting stuff.

It's visually stunning, even by todays standards. You can play with people or play by yourself. You pay once and play all you want. It's easy to get the gear you need, but hard to get the gear you want. It has a diverse storyline and interesting creatures can be found within the world. (Charr are awesome. I love to hate them!)

etc.

Just something endears me to it. I've gone off and played other games and lost interest because they were the same rehash of other games. I've played GW since the beginning and it was my first big online game experience so that could be it. Even after 7 years I still have places I haven't been. I play strictly PVE so for me its the exploration and adventure. I am a GW tourist, LOL. Every once in awhile I learn a new trick or a build that opens up something I haven't been able to do before. I'm a casual player that logs on like I'm opening an old favorite book that reunites me with my little family of characters. OK this is just getting sappy sounding now. Big world, enduring storyline, lots to do if you don't go nuts and stress on getting everything done as soon as possible. Enjoy!

Very little keeps me logging on. After 50/50 HoM and one GWAMM doing anything in PvE now causes me to go insane from the feeling of repetition. WiK and WoC was incredibly short with bleh rewards. JQ is ridden with bots, RA has degenerated, FA gets boring, AB is dead, GvG is same old boring camp the flag stand then kill GL and HA sucks due to LF R11+ groups with zero updates to the format.

I started playing mid 2005 and seeing the game now just makes me sad. Only reason I log in sometimes is nothing else sounds better atm.

At the moment i'm playing on an off, currently on the off because of time constraints. (work, finally released a fan translation for another game so my little free time is there)
To me GW is simply one of the best MMORPGs.
1-No grinding required for most of it. You can get max lvl (20) pretty fast and max armor/weapons too. (No 0,00000x% drop rate for effectiveness)
2-If you like to grind you can get nice/rare skin weapons as reward
3-It's a team strategy game. The team must function as a whole and you should look for advantages everywhere you can (terrain/positioning/agro control)
4.1-No jumping, no infinite skills on my bar and bodyblocking.
4.2-Versatility
I grouped this two since they're what i noticed after playing wow for a few months.
To me it was weird how people kept jumping aiming for that backstab on the the other guys back, the gnome that could jump through the tauren (was he made from aether?) and how i looked at my skill bar and had so many skills that i didn't know what i should use.
Versatility since i can just play whatever role i want and can change whenever i want. I make fun of how i run SF nuker on my necro, the next day i'm playing rt healer and after that i'm MM.

This was about right about what i think about the game and game mechanics
What really keeps me going:
-don't like being idle while watching tv series, so i just pick an easy farm and watch (also keeps my english from getting rusty while relying mostly on my hearing)
-having fun to see how many things of the extended hom i can make before gw2 comes out

Hope you have fun with gw.
Sad you'll probably won't group much for the regular content but you'll never face the nightmare of being in the outpost looking for that monk at THK.

reason I still play gw.. I got mass effect 3, finished it in 15 hours, and tried to play it again, and it was pointless - and the ending pisses me off. with gw there are tons of things to do, even though I have finished everything - I always seem to find some loose end I can tie up. I will say though, I am one of "the last men standing" from my guild of over a hundred people, who have gone on to other things years ago and havn't been back.

Alliance Battles. Too bad the format is dead most of the time nowadays...

Simply cause it's the best game around, for me. Once in a while I try a new game, i play for a while, then always return to gw. And it's also the reason why I bought, it seemed the perfect game to be played forever without having to look for other things, and it never lets me down. And you can return to it anytime and it's always there, you retake things from where you left them and don't feel like you are penalized for inactivity - also very casual player friendly for this.
I love the lack of grind, you only grind if you want to.
The huge world all to explore (and the stunning landscapes), the game mechanics that award the player more than the character and the ability to put together a build instead of the "I have those items so I can roll through content".
The fact that after years I redo the same things and still they look different, and seeing how much I got better as a player (what takes you much time and effort at the beginning, you can do with ease when you know the game better).
The fact that you always have something to learn, no matter how long you played.
Being able to either play alone, with just friends, or with casual strangers, as you like better, and being able to change this anytime (I don't have much time/I just wanna stay on my own?fine let's grab my heroes. I wanna soend some time in company?fine, let's look for people).
The choice of armors, purely based on estetics instead of stats. Other than making your char look more unique and the way you like it, it also helps immersion: if you have many armors all woth the same stats you can wear one fitting to what you're going to do. And that's also good if you like roleplaying.
A very important thing is that no choice is irreversible. you can toy wit your build as much as you like, you can make all the mistakes you want, you can change completely your build everyday. You're never gonna do the wrong choice. I really hate it, when I start a new game, that you have to go and look for builds, decide how you want your char to be, all from day one, otherway you're screwed.
The ability to have a lot of chars without being too penalized for this. You get to max lvl quickly, and can complete all the campaigns (thus having access to every zone of the world) in short time. So when you want to..dunno, help a friend out, do something random, etc...you just pick the char you feel like playing in that moment, or the one that's needed the most, instead of always playing the same old one, or having to choose the most useful profession as your char instead of what you like or else you're screwed. Also, playing all professions helps understand the game (if you know how to play your mesmer, you'll also know how to counteract to mesmer foes for example).
I don't play pvp, but a pretty neat thing about it is the possibility to make a pvp only char, which already has everything you unlocked, so you can jump right into pvp with it without having to "build the character" before.
As I said at the beginning it's totally unique. Not cause I think it's good, but simply cause there's really no other game with the same mechanics around.
I made a too long post, and yet I don't think I said everything :P

This game.. particularly for the low resources it takes to run it.. is one of the best visually I have ever played, if not the best.(among mmos)

It is casual. I can take a break, come back, and not have to buy expacs, grind levels or jimmy AA's and gear around to deal with some fundamental and needless change in gameplay (Im looking at you EQ2)

For me it is endless tinkering with group synergy.. its my group totally.. and I can. I have yet to visit any pvx build sites..I enjoy reading skills, putting builds together and testing them. I rarely run the same builds/heroes on different prof chars of mine.. each group is tweaked to work with the char I am running.

I like that it is not gear or level driven. It is all about a myriad of skills and 8 slots only to put them in.

GW is a game every developer needs to look at. Its not crafting, fluff, housing, mounts, uber gear, etc. It is solid gameplay and solid mechanics. I abandoned games with all of the fluff to play this.. time and time again.

And I concur with everything Mintha.. above post. said.

Game Updates.

I'll keep playing for as long the game keeps having updates.
I like to try new builds when skills change.
I like to play new content.
I like to find new drops.

I generally like new things, and this game never gets old.

For me, this. Content updates don't happen very often, but I always log in and play when they do. Also for most festivals, particularly if there is new stuff to do. Other than that, I mostly log in to play with friends and guildies, or to help other people (mostly helping them get HoM points).

Meek Shall Inherit

I only play in Random Arenas now. When I did PvE, I loved that my group got a full instance of the world to ourselves. No loot steals. No mob steals. No one else in chat. No crafting node steals. No ganking. Just us with our builds trying to come up with the most efficient way to kill things and get titles and loot and have a fun time playing together.

I still game with the same people I met in GW1. We have all been playing together for the last 5 years, and while the games we play have changed since GW1, it will always be the place we met and we will all be playing GW2 together for years to come.

This.

And instancing.

Instancing means that no one interferes in my game beyond my permission.

If I want to go head-to-head with another humies, fine. I want party, ok. I want to play by myself, no problem. Its my game and I decide how it will be.

Instancing means total freedom do play the way I want, at the pace I want, with who I want.

It has all the control of a single player game, plus the benefits of online (chatting, trade, grouping, organized PvP) minus all the grief that I have experienced in a load of MMOs (killstealing, player killing, boss camping, unbearable grind, gear oriented gameplay, stupid alliance politics, etc..)

Should I say GW is PERFECT for me?

The biggest reason for me has been paying for the game once (per campaign ) and could come back whenever I felt like it, to do all the stuff everyone else has listed here.

It has always been nice to be able to stop playing GW for say Skyrim and come back to GW a few months later and pick up again. Not getting charged a monthly fee to play again has been worth about 15 other games I could play. Helps with the burnout thing...

Fun. I don't play much, but when I do it's still fun. Mostly casual PvP these days, because that never seems to get old. Hopefully GW2 is out by the time it does.

Fun Simply put, I love the real time strategic element of PVE in this game and the fair and well balanced PVP. I also find it very relaxing that I can just pick items and gear that looks cool rather then picking whatever has the best stats.

Many people quit once they get 50\50 HoM and GWAMM but for me it was the opposite, getting 49\50 (lacking 1 armorset and dunno if I want 50\50 title) was more of a relief then anything else. Since I could finally start playing another character then the one i picked for GWAMM. Means I could have lot of fun and it didn't feel like work anymore.

Protip, ONLY go GWAMM if you really enjoy playing your current character! And don't do sweet / alch / party titles or anything else that costs money before the end!

Oh right I forgot instances. Having your own private area with no loot or kill steals...no waiting for respawns...oh and the lack of respawning foes ofc.

and not having to deal with the immature kids who like to draw on the minimap, taunt you and just make playing not fun....yeah, instances are what I enjoy the most--playing with my own group, not having it interfered with ---I can even stop (to answer the door, phone, whatever) and not have to worry that someone has 'killed off the boss' and wait for it to respawn....one of the best parts of the game.

What keeps me logging in 15-20 hours per week after acquiring GWAMM & 50/50? Hmm, just a few things I spose...

1) I'm still tryin to max the zaishen title & need less than 53 stacks of zkeys to get there.
2) I enjoy the no wait time (usually) of RA
3) it's a sunk cost & I'm definitely getting my moneys worth
4) even though I've done EVERY part of the game (usually multiple times) there is still SO MUCH PvE undone on 10 toons (quests in particular)
5) the general ease of ZM/ZB group forming
6) GvG venue is such a "small world" at todays state that you get to face same people relatively frequently (no matter which guild guests you)
7) finding ways/builds to fully utlize the FLUX
8) capturing skeletons to acquire the survivor title while not really being that concerned about dying (since I want to RA & you have to be prepared to die ALOT in RA)

mostly hanging with my guildmates and helping new players

My collections & funding them.

It'll have to be the people for me, peeps I've met over the years etc. I definetly don't play as much as I used to but can't seem to go a week without logging in at least once, old habits and all that. Usually all I do is chat with Alliance for an hour or two then log out unless I hear the cries of a newbie in distress

I intend to earn Legendary Guardian & Vanquisher on all of my characters. I'm already 50/50 in the HoM and have nothing else worth doing.

Guild Wars is THAT fun for me.

Oh yeah, and hopefully one day beat the Underworld...

just out of curiosity, how may you have? it sounds like an epic purpose!

wow I'm not the only one who never did it, apparently :P

Same here lol...but someday....who knows?

I have earned Legendary Guardian on all my 18 characters, then ANet introduced the less painful way of getting LDoA which means that I have to create a new character to earn that and get LG for that character now.

Yes I hope to beat UW one day too if I can reserve a 4 hours time slot to beat it in one sitting for the statue.

A mix of attachment to relationships with some other players, fondness toward my characters and, well, a bit of addiction... mostly things that have little to do with the game per sè, which went litterally downhill in the last few years of borderline idiotic management.

Because it's a great MMO. I only wish they would have kept working on it with more expansions instead of whatever that other thing is that some people are so excited about.

I got the underworld done..and fow, but doa has been my bane (though to be honest, my hubby wants to do it with me ...and his time is ...extremely limited these days)...so that statue probably wont get done anytime soon (and he wants to get fow armor by accumulating the ectos himself...he has about 20 ---twill be a very very long time).

I am working on carto on most of my characters too...got leg. on 4 with 2 others stuck in elona for their title.

lots still to do in this game!!

Weird, the reason I never did uw is many people are refractary to doing a 4hours area and with a great possibility to fail and having nothing accomplished. doa instead, I happened to do more than once for being so well splitted, so you can do each zone a different day and you didn't lose much time if you fail. But I'm going very ot I think :P

My Necromancer was my one and true "do everything" character. 50/50 in the HoM, GWAMM title owner, wearer of Obsidian Armor and user of the Tormented Staff. Note: Never beaten UW, barely hold a Rank 1 in Survivor and the only farming I've ever done is Garbage Collecting (picking up the drops people leave on the ground).

Right now, I need to do only 8 more vanquishes on my Mesmer and then I'll be moving on to either my Assassin, Elementalist, Ranger or Warrior. I may even decide to go ahead and make one of the other classes not mentioned and doing the same thing.

Doing all of this makes it feel like I'm accomplished enough.

I mean, really, GW2 isn't coming any faster!