Hello. This is my first post and it’s a long one. Sorry for that. For what its worth I can tell you I play in a competitive guild that finishes events top 20 currently
You ask what we like about guild wars. I would say because it is unique for 2 big reasons as follows:
Firstly because unlike every other event in the game, it does not reward speed. Under normal circumstances playing as fast as you can to progress as much as you can to accumulate resources could be considered an efficient approach for everything else whether its delves, dungeon, adventure, explore etc
But that means nothing in GW. Whilst we accept RNG plays its part like it does everywhere else, this nonetheless means that GW is the one area of the game where game knowledge and skill matters. You can take as much time as you want and still do well
Veterans and fans of the event love that. Because they have a chance to distinguish themselves from others in a competitive environment, where a player who plays just half an hour a day can outperform someone who plays 3 hours a day because they’re a more skillful player.
Secondly its not just the competition vs other guilds and climbing the guild ladder that appeals to players. (Although players wont admit it) They like performing against their own guild members and having their results quantified. They like competing for ranks each month and they like fighting for Paragon if they can.
Why do you think the new PVP system has flopped?? (Sorry but it has) Players not playing even in diamond league is evidence that the event is not generating anywhere near the interest that you anticipated it would. Ill explain why
Because the truth is players don’t care about competing with players they don’t know and don’t have any contact with (because you don’t allow this function in game). And if we don’t care about competing against strangers we cant talk to, we won’t care about your pvp leagues.
Do you see the difference? I genuinely think this was an error in perception of what the devs think the players want. It might be if players could communicate. Perhaps if every pvp ladder had its own chatroom?? Now that would be interesting. Players would suddenly be motivated to play
The final point im making here is that players are driven more by the competitive nature in GW, but that’s applicable to their own guildies! and not against strangers they don’t know, cant speak to, and don’t care about.
Hence in contrast we don’t care about the new pvp, and no amount of monoliths or weird items in the pet store is going to change that