After the announcement of Bazaar of the Four Winds I asked myself: “Why do I keep going back to Tyria?”
After some thinking I knew why. ArenaNet releasing free content every month and now even every two weeks. This content is then here for a month or sometimes permanent. You can get rewards by playing this content. Even if it is a title or a mini pet, it shows that you where active at that point. And you can show it off if you want.
I had moments that I didn’t play that much anymore. But everytime I saw what they released and I really wanted to play. I would go for achievements to get a title or get a reward. Maybe I am arrogant or egocentric on this subject. But I really like to show these things off.
In my opinion the difference with for example WoW or SWTOR which ask for a subscription to play. I know for SWTOR you don’t need to. But be honest if you want to play the game normally you need to pay or you have some restrictions.
But Guild Wars shows us that you don’t need that. You can make a free game and let people decide themself if they want to pay for the game. As long as you let them keep playing you have a chance they will use money to get certain things.
I have so many RPG’s left to play like Xenoblade, Ni No Kuni or Tales of Graces. But I never find the time because I find myself immersed in the world of Tyria. Sometimes the content is great and sometimes it has some issues. But slowly ArenaNet is making the contents better and better. While listening to the community and dedicated players alike.
So here I also want to say:
Thank you ArenaNet. Thank you for this game. Thank you for the world you have made.