guild wars 2 is the only MMO I’ve ever considered worth playing

• feels like a real video game. You can dodge and move out of the way of attacks.
• you don’t have to make formal groups for most of the content. You walk outside, see zombies attacking and you go fight. You get credit. So does anyone else there.
• the story is pretty okay and you can play it yourself
• there’s no real gear grind. You swap gear out during the initial level up process, but once you hit the cap you’re done. There’s cheap good-enough gear (and dirt cheap mediocre gear), and slightly expensive next tier, and “fancy free reskin and stat swap super expensive”, and that’s it. My characters have had the same gear for years and it’s fine. Sometimes they release new combinations of stats, but it’s never just a power bump
• the mounts are fun
• the big “convergence” events are fun. ~50 random players shuffle into an instance and fight monsters together. You don’t really need to talk, but it’s fun to win (or lose sometimes) as a group
• all 9 classes play differently, and their subclasses are also pretty distinct
• there’s good free QoL. Deposit materials anywhere. Teleport to merchants/banks for free and back (if you weren’t in an instance). Only cost is waiting for the loading screens.
• no subscription fee. Buy once and you’re good. Base game is free, but the expansions add a lot