Heya Excedrin, long time no see
I check this board pretty often still, but mostly for old times' sake -- I don't even play Vanguard anymore. Fired up the SWG trial last November to see what had changed in the 2+ years I'd been gone, and haven't come back since. Other folks have moved on to other pursuits.
It's hard to put my finger on the whole Vanguard thing, except to say that it never did become quite what I hoped it might. The crafting eventually got to me too (I won't say more because I'll start to rant), and since I'm 75% craft 25% whatever else there is, there wasn't much holding me in the game.
A few still play -- in fact, since you're coming back after a while away, hopefully with new eyes, I'd like to know what you think of it now. Better? Worse? Same? I know there aren't many playing, but that aside, what's it like for you now?