I am an ardently 'fluffy' player so not sure how mainstream my perspective is, but here goes...

Guild Wars is an MMO - with a heavy emphasis on fluff content - that I love, while WAR is an MMO is a fluffless MMO with an IP that interests me.

Both games have a number of key traits in common, specifically strong PvP aspects, low character plateaus and causal-friendly mechanics.

Guild Wars guild halls are huge, visually spectacular, varied, serve as PvP arenas, are available to individuals and can be augmented with a range of super-expensive recruitable NPCs.
WAR guild halls are tiny, static, irrelevant to general gameplay and available only to groups of 6 or more with a little effort.
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The fluffy hall is my individual pride & joy, and I visit it every play session without fail ( it is the most convenient hub of NPC services in all the game ) - if new NPCs or cosmetic features became available, then even now I would dash back to GW and grind my way to any pricetag they care to set.
The fluffless hall is simply a place to be trekked to in order to pick up any unlocked teleport scrolls of note - I don't have access to the hall as my new Knight, and I have no cause to even notice its absence.

Hmm ; have to pick up the pace or this will be an epic post !

GW weapons : massively diverse, very characterful, a rare Unique on every boss, zero functional impact = stylish fun & collector obssession.
WAR weapons : minimal diversity, escalating power, already limited choice negated by 'epic' weapons that grant procs which render all other weapons irrelevant = done and dusted when you complete your epic weapon quest chain of choice.

GW armor : very diverse, very characterful, VERY expensive, zero functional impact = visually defining & big money motivator.
WAR armor : minimal diversity, escalating power, already limited choice negated by Ward sets that are required to participate in highest content = nothing distinguishes individual pieces but stats eventually & you have to wear certain items anyway.

GW monuments : everyone has them, displayed in an individual instanced hall, commemorate titles / sidekicks / possessions / toy critters, will eventually impart exclusive game content = lends tangibility to accomplishments & provides further collector motivation.
WAR monuments : soon to be added for the prestige of the top 0.001% PvP population who clock up the most gaming hours = wholly irrelevant to me.

Etc.

It's a little frustrating how two games can have so many core similarities, yet diverge so wildly on the matter of fluff that one game I could only quit by exhausting all content and the other I have to make a concertive effort to get in to.

What's even more frustrating is that - with their IP and casual-friendly mechanics - WAR could have had my eternal loyalty if they had only said "take this plot of land for your character ; here's a list of 50 NPCs & 50 upgrades to work on - see you at the expansion in 2010."