As per EP of GW2:Replace "gold" with "energy credits", "karma" with "gold-pressed latinum" and "gems" with "dilithium", and you can eerily replace "Guild Wars 2" with "Star Trek Online".

Naturally, the initial reactions from the community have been mixed.

I for one have been looking greatly forward to GW2 after being a longtime player of GW1, and I this announcement has not changed my outlook. I am interested how if the ArenaNet / NCsoft version will differ from what we have from Cryptic / PWE (if at all).

It will differ in that their "GPL" will most likely grant players access to actual functional game items instead of useless trophies and holoemitters :3

Eh, not really.
Their karma sounds more like the Boff/Doff skill pool.

And it´s actually relieving to see they have copied one of the better "F2P" systems. What EVE and STO suffer from most is that their systems got added quite a while after the economy developed. Bringing all the inflation problems.

We´ll see how this pans out when it´s implemented right from the start. The commitment to shun Pay4Win (unlike STO ) is very encouraging.

Letting the article sink in a bit more, I come to think (other than the grammar in my rushed post,) that it is indeed encouraging to see AN's emphasis on anti-PW2 (to just short of saying those words). It aligns to their game philosophy to have a player's chance at "winning" be more based on skilled usage of character abilities and traits in situational contexts rather than gear (and character level to some extent).

That being said, gear will still play a role in player effectiveness and thus be coveted to some extent to the typical player segments (min/maxers, money>time, etc.). We still have to see what gear will be made available for gold/gems via vendors, but perhaps this is where taking a(nother) page (ideally only the idea not the execution) from STO in regards to the high-end gear put behind a grind wall (namely STFs or crafting to a lesser extent) with its own pseudo-currency to represent accumulation towards the gear is what AN could do to avoid the P2W stigma. Perhaps karma (assuming it will still be acquired through general/all gameplay, but it now (more) for "unique rewards") ends up being the currency used to obtain the better (non-tradable) gear. So:

gold = EC
karma = hybrid STF salvage/tech + GPL + Defera tech (and possibly still used to impact a character's personality)?
gem = refined dilithium (integrated with dilithium ore and CPs)

Curious and curiouser...

Well pre order for GW2 is open from 10th April and includes access to all the Beta weekends so we will all be able to see.

Guess this means no money for STO in April from some folks unless they do really good sales.

I was expecting it, not surprised, but as I knew what it was like in GW1, I can say I don't mind at all, I was fortunate to get to have a go of it at Eurogamer in the UK and was very very impressed with it.

I have absolutely no interest in GW2 yet another hack/slash elves MMO by NCsoft (got burnt long ago by Lineage II)

Besides ... it is not Star Trek :p

There's no elves in GW...?

You know what I mean :p ... Fantasy, swords, armour and alike.

And guns, turrets, grenades, flame throwers and harpoon launchers, not to mention swimming.

As for Elves maybe the Sylvari are elves of sorts :/ but they have Asura Yoda's for the TOR crowd.