Guild Wars 2 Fans Are Welcoming "Bless Refugees"

Bless Online has had a rocky first few days. I haven't played it myself, but Magicman has, and his complaints echo what I'm hearing from many corners of the internet: lack of endgame, poor localization, crashes, over-extensive cash shop, and more. Lots of people (including Magicman) have been getting refunds for the game on Steam, even if they played past the two-hour mark. We won't get into all of that too much here, since Bless isn't a free-to-play game ... yet.

Guild Wars 2, on the other hand, is free-to-play, and fans of that game have been welcoming so-called "Bless refugees" for the past several days. This is especially apparent on the game's Subreddit, where multiple threads have been spawned, some welcoming new players in general and some specifically calling out to ex-Bless players. It even extends to the viewer count on the side:

People are creating guilds specifically for Bless refugees, helping them find content, and thanking Bless for being GW2's best "marketing campaign" in a long time. Even ArenaNet probably knows what's going on, but is taking the high road, in just welcoming a sudden apparent influx of new players, which are totally coming at the game at random and not due to any particular event or circumstance:

Welcome to our new #GuildWars2 players! Use our official @GuildWars2Wiki for guidance on all your gameplay: https://t.co/yfq6DHvKVL Veteran #GW2 players, what's your best piece of advice for our newest community members? #WelcomeToGW2 pic.twitter.com/HocBJNHYh2

— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) May 30, 2018

Several Redditors, including a few ex-Blessers, are referencing YouTuber TheLazyPeon as a big reason for the recruitment drive. He's got plenty of Bless hate on his channel and posted a pro-GW2 video earlier this week that even he seemed surprised by, saying that he got into the game and "enjoyed it for the first time ever." In the video's description he said that he would "most likely play it as a main MMO for a while after I'm finished with Bless Online."

An aside: Guild Wars 2 is a fine choice, but if you're looking for a "new" MMOPRG, there are plenty of options. In any case, maybe the best bet isn't to go after the ridiculously overpriced early access title that smells fishy all around. Look into an older game, one that seemed interesting but you never got into or one that you tried and it didn't hook you. GW2 has changed a lot in the nearly six years since its launch, and chances are other games have too. They might be more to your liking now, especially if they just got an expansion, like GW2, or underwent a major reworking, like Secret World Legends, or both, like The Elder Scrolls Online, just to name a few. There's no big, new, world-altering MMORPG on the horizon, so you'll have to make do with what you've got right now.