Novuake :
Pinhedd :
I tried GW2 when it was released, but the game was shallow as a puddle. Haven't bothered with it since.
May I ask what you found so shallow?
No depth to the gameplay and as a result, no sense of progression outside of storyline completion.
Generic gameplay
Limited skillset
WvW battles were cool, but got boring quickly
The game world is absolutely beautiful but it's all for show because there's not much to do in it and little reason to revisit other areas
I'm the kind of player who likes to get deeply involved in character development. I don't mind grinds, and I love team based gameplay that isn't based around dodging circles on the ground. I prefer strategy over twitch based gameplay.
I was spoiled by EQ, I played it for many years. It's a unique kind of game that is heavily influenced by MUD gameplay. No company has successfully replicated that kind of immersion in the 15 years since its release. MMO developers seem unwilling to learn lessons. Launches are bigger than ever, yet titles inevitably go F2P (if they aren't designed as such) and die out within a year.
Ultima Online: 1997 to present, still going strong. Free shards have been around forever yet the core game is still subscription based.
EverQuest: 1999 to present, just had a new expansion pack announced that is due out next month. Several gamers have died from exhaustion while playing. Has had a trial model for years and introduced a highly crippled F2P model a few years ago but enjoyment requires a subscription.
EVE Online: 2003 to present, growing in popularity. EVE is more fun to talk about than it is to play (I spent 2 years on it from 2007 to 2009) yet its more alive than ever.
World of Warcraft: 2004 to present, Extremely successful. Still subscription based (albeit declining slowly).
The list of failed MMOs, especially WoW clones, is endless. Even a few of the most recent ones leave much to be desired.
Wildstar: released only a few months ago, already dead. Seven years in development and that's the best that they could come up with?
SW:TOR: released on a subscription model, F2P within months, basically dead
Rift: Not a bad game at all, but suffered from being a WoW clone and a lack of character progression. Subscription based for a year or so, then F2P ever since
ESO: Released to resounding disappointment, game breaking bugs, unimpressive subscriber numbers. Does anyone still play this?
The key difference between the first three titles that I listed (WoW excluded) and the rest of the titles is that they took the time and effort to carve out a niche rather than trying to reach feature parity with other titles. WoW's success convinced a large number of C-level executives with double digit IQs to try and clone the game without spending the time or money to execute key aspects of gameplay better than WoW. Players who want to play a WoW style game are playing WoW, not a half-assed WoW clone. Some players may be enticed away briefly by studios that make grandiose promises that they inevitably fail to live up to but in the end the pull of nostalgia is what keeps players coming back for more for years on end and that is what drives successful MMOs.