Leveling to 80 through pure crafting possible in GW2

Combat has long been the focal point of most MMOs' progression systems, and in most games it's borderline impossible to get to max level without spilling some blood. Pacifistic Guild Wars 2 fans seem to be in luck, however, as ArenaNet designer Linsey Murdock has revealed on the forums that, with some hard work and perseverance, players will be able to level all the way to level 80 by doing nothing but crafting.

According to Murdock's post (viewable only if you have access to GW2's beta forums), it works something like this: Leveling a single crafting profession to level 400 will grant enough XP to gain 10 character levels. As a result, by maxing out all eight crafting professions, a player can go all the way to the level cap without ever laying hand on a weapon. A few players on the forums have expressed concern that this will lead to a "pay-to-win" style of play, since players can pay money for gems, exchange those gems for gold, and then use that gold to buy crafting materials for a (relatively) quick level boost. Others point out that while this method may increase a character's leveling speed, it offers no statistical benefit and therefore is not pay-to-win in the truest sense of the word. So what do y'all think, kind readers? Is this treading dangerous pay-to-win territory or not? Give us your tuppence in the comments.

TH