The road to 80 really is just the beginning of GW2, just like it is in GW1 (except their road is a lot shorter, it’s level 20). People can talk about how there’s no “end game” content all they want, but the whole game is end game content, especially since you level down to the appropriate level for all of it. I’m glad that I’m 80 now, and I’ve never been one to complain about lack of things to do. In fact now that I’m 80 the list of things I want to do has grown significantly. People who are used to the ‘push forward and gain levels’ mentality may not be keen on this aspect of GW2, but I’m going to enjoy it.
Getting to 80 was pretty simple. I crafted for the majority of those levels, I’ve reached 400 in two disciplines, cooking and jeweler. I’m debating now whether I want to learn ALL the crafts on one character, or split them between alts. I still haven’t had any inclination to play alts.
As soon as you hit 80 you learn two things that come as quite a shock. Number one, you can NEVER have enough karma. Literally. The level 80 cultural weapons are 68,000 karma each slot. The level 80 (and mind you, these are rare armor pieces, not exotic) cultural armor is 10-35g depending on the piece.
There are legendary weapons in game. Each weapon requires 2 crafted components (each of those recipes costs 10g each for the crafter), along with an item that costs 200 skill points (you continue to gain skill points after level 80, you’ll earn experience as though you are leveling beyond, and it will convert into a skill point) and an exotic weapon (which is currently on sale on the trading post for about 60g).
So what is next for me? I’d like to complete 100% of the map with a single character, and I’d like to be able to farm karma and gold in order to purchase the recipes needed for legendary weapons. This will all (of course) take a LOT of time. Tyria is MASSIVE. Even though I’m level 80 I’ve only completed 29% of the map. I MAY start playing an alt, casually, but again I haven’t felt a pull to play one at all, so we’ll see. I’d like the other two banners that you see on the log-in screen that indicate you’ve joined all three orders. So far I’ve just got the tapestry for the Whispers.
I’m also dirt broke now that I’ve reached 80. I am not upset about that, it’s because I purchased a lot of gear and craft goods from the trade post in order to get my skill ups. Food doesn’t sell back to vendor at all, and you can’t earn any coin back by selling karma ingredients (they are bind on account) so it’s been hard to earn money back with that one. Food itself doesn’t sell for much to other players unless it’s the +magic find food, that type sells pretty well.
All in all? I’m happy. Being level 80 (to me) just means that I can play the game without having to worry about whether or not a zone or dungeon is too high for me. It’s basically ‘unlocking’ the game. I would have been just as content if they had only 20 levels, too.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
stargrace 
