longbough

After level 20 you still have skills you can acquire ... after that there isn't much more to acquire other than equipment and money. But it's not as bad as it might seem ... because your skill as a 20th level character depends on "building" an effective combination of skills and character subclasses (you can only equip 8 skills at a time)... everyone has their own style of play and their own theory ... so no two 20th level characters are alike (unless both are copycatting builds they read online). You learn weaknesses and strengths of other players' styles which you must consider when playing against others or when supporting other players in a party.

I like this method much better than games that allow people to grind up to level 200, or something. GW forces you to think and plan ... also you can experiment with different builds all the time. My primary monk character has several "builds" that I designed myself for my style of playing ... Through experimentation I have some "secret" strengths that give me certain advantages in many situations (no doubt other people have their "secrets" too).

People actively debate on the best way for, say, a monk to use his skills - whether he's mainly a smiter, a healer, protector or any combination of the above ... and which skills are best to emphasize in each area ... then there's the role of the monk's subclass (mesmer, necromancer, warrior, ranger, elementalist ....) and how that might help a monk to maintain high energy (mana) stores - or how to use those skills to make his/her other skills even more effective.... the power of combinations is almost limitless.

If you're a level 20 who defeats someone else (also level 20) in PvP it's much more satisfying since you know it's your skill as a player that allowed you to dominate - not just who has the better hit points, damage and armor class.