I just got to level 70 on my dragoon and finished the MSQ, and I have never used nor seen anyone talking about guildhests. What are they for?
They're sort of like the precursor to the Novice Hall, They're mainly for people completely new to MMOs, in that they attempt to teach the new people some of the basic things that may not be apparent right away. The final one can still be easily failed if people aren't paying attention to what they are doing or what they NEED to be doing.
One day I was walking and I found this big log. Then I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick.
And I was like, "That log had a child!"
Guild Hests are excellent way to get that extra level, their quick & the first of the day give some good XP.
Basically, tutorial dungeons.
IIRC the MSQ has you do one or two of them at certain points. It's always been odd, though, that they exist for level ranges up to nearly 50, when normal dungeons in the same ranges have you doing mechanics just as complex.
They're good for the (albeit small) daily reward and weekly challenge. The queue is usually short and they only take a few minutes.
F2P: If you don't think it's worth my money, I don't think it's worth my time.
Had - they removed that requirement with the launch of Heavensward. Sends you on a similar "help out young adventurers" quest in Mor Dhona instead now.
Essentially they are a relic of 1.0...sort of.
Part of the "Behest" system in 1.0 was open world events that you could do with other players by talking to a Battlewarden (and I believe talk to the Battlewarden after for a reward). FATEs took the place of the open world event aspect and probably some of the fights of the Behests, while Guildhests took the "signing up for a specific thing and talking to a Battlewarden" aspect (I don't know if any of the Behest fights became Guildhests or not).