This purpose of this post is to get some insight on guilds and what their purpose is in GW2.
I'll start with the fact that I never played GW1, so there may be some basic understanding that I'm missing. Most of the imformation I'm using is from the wiki - wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild . (I can't post links yet)
From what I've been able to find, players will be able to join multiple guilds, but only be able to "represent" one guild at a time. By representing a guild you will have access to that guild's chat and all other guild related features (find guildies on the maps, etc.). Does this mean you can just click a button and, presto, you're in another guild (that you also have membership in)? Where is the loyalty...
Also, with 5-mans being the only instanced options, does that mean the only PvE activity available to guilds with more members is outdoor events? While I don't want to get into the discussion of 5-man vs. raiding, I feel like there should be something guilded players could do together to build comraderie. Taking the guild to do an outdoor event sounds fun, but honestly, I'd rather have a guildie get us killed in an encounter/event than some random person who happened to walk by. Guildies stick together, that's the fun of being in a guild. Plus, there's also the competition of "my guild is better than your guild" which is always fun. With random people being able to join the fight, I feel like that's going to be diminished.
PvP. From what I've read, this is going to be spectacular. Guilds will be able to participate in world PvP and claim keeps, fly their guild flags on the keep, and even upgrade/defend their castle. What I'm curious about is what advantages does the keep bestow on the guild? Is it just a place to hang out or do we get stuff like discounted merchants? Do we need a keep in order to have a guild bank and other guild related perks?
If anyone can answer any of my questions or just wants to comment, please feel free. I'm really looking forward to GW2 and I want to know as much about it as I can.