Pretty much everything Titanas and everyone else said. I'd really like an excuse to play again, too. So here's the thing: from my perspective having quit 5 years ago, it's difficult to really see all these changes accurately. It still looks like there are the same 3 games to play as before: (1) Leveling up until you can benefit from level 65+ exp groups, (2) trying to get exp and gear to higher tiers so you can actually contribute on your own character, (3) doing hard raid content and farming for Vah/charms/tomes.
I see 2.5 has come out but it still is working out those kinks. I see plenty of class changes to try to make the game more interactive. That seems excellent. How is it working out for players in game?
I see Thaz Tower rework is done and Forest of the Fallen is out, but not really anything else that might get the attention of t13+ characters. I think I remember Overgrowth being something Marza and some were working on that was, for a while, interesting content for them (like Yale?), but I can't really see anything progression-related at all for the people I played with to do beyond what existed 5 years ago. Is it still just "kill Tur'ruj, Blazewind, Sanctum from NZ until you get to VZ", or did some of these new things help fill that gap? Is there new content for those people that I'm missing? I saw a few things about Silent Halls coming out soon, and I remember that and Forest of the Fallen being Ikisith 2.0 stuff that looks like possibly the next stuff after Tur'ruj and Third Seeker, so I'm hopeful.
I haven't seen 100+ people online in a long time. Granted, I tend to play weird hours, but still. Are there guilds at different ranges doing progression? I imagine that there's a LOT less competition for most raid mobs, but potentially a silly lack of people to fill raid slots. Would most people returning be able to find a place to raid that doesn't require them just being a ringer or a carry?
I see a good haul of quests for new players. I've done some playing at the lower end on new characters and checked out a lot of the newer quests available to keep things interesting during the "getting to 65" phase. Most of these also take noticeably more time to complete for the rewards than it takes to surpass them, but it helps incentivize spending time in sub-optimal areas for fun (I'm looking at you especially, Kelethin). No real complaints about this existing, but it seems that there was a lot of work and intent put into what is a very short range of time players would spend during that process.
That being said, the phase from 65 to t8+ takes much longer and I haven't seen any changes to that process at all except for the recent tome drop chances. Are people still just exping in Kaesora, FR, and Remnants? Tevinter seems to think so, and that would be almost too disappointing to consider doing again. I imagine there is no economy for the drops except for vendor prices.
I can't really see the economy, but I can surf listsold. Is there really any buying or selling of droppable items going on? Is there actually any economy of that at all?
This post was a lot shorter, but I decided to ask some questions and try to convince myself to log on later tonight or tomorrow. I'll probably go lurk in the Discord and actually get answers there, but this is basically what goes through my head every time I want to relive the good times I had here. Convince me to play.