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GW2: A Community Spoiled by Solo? Help me understand.


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EDIT: I just want to make it clear that my rant is really, really... reaaaally is not about the game and that I want the game to be anything else than it is. Guild Wars 2 is great! I love nearly everything about it and all my complaints about the actual game are rather minor balancing issues and such, rather than its mechanics in general. I am just, or rather I was, flabbergasted by the general attitude of the community with which I felt, and feel, disconnected because of a different approach to MMO gaming. I was out of it for nearly ten years, and I just wanted somebody to help me catch up with ideas prevalent in the current MMO-World, so that I may not remain ignorant about it all. That is all. Really.

Hi everyone...

I am kind of new-ish to GW2. I've actually been in the closed beta, but I have only started playing GW2 more seriously in the past few weeks. Before that, I played just for a few and would go on month-long hiatuses, never diving into the community or the forums properly. Before GW2 I played WoW until the Lich King and ended my WoW journey there, more because of life and its obligations, than the game itself.

Welp, I haven't been part of any online community since then, even tho that was the biggest allure of WoW to me. The game mechanics and everything else came only second to being part of a community, both in-game (guild, friends etc) and on forums.

Now, I found that GW2 has an excellent community with great guilds and is full of helpful player. Naturally, not everybody is like that (and is not expected to!), but a lot are, which is great.

However, it may be just me, maybe I only see what I want to see or whatever, but it seems that a major part of the player-base is complaining A LOT (or mostly) about content not being solo-able, or actually needing group coordination as opposed to just a gathering of people in one place.

Like I said, I haven't been part of an MMO community since early 2010, and I have no clue how and in what ways the world has changed. Back then. not solo-able content was the norm, i.e. you expected that you HAD TO group up, you expected that you had to coordinate with your party to clear anything major... and that is actually why you played stuff. You chose to play an MMORPG because you wanted to group up to clear content; otherwise, you would just play an Ego-Shooter or whatever. But first of all, 80% of all Guild Wars 2 content is solo-able or doable without any group coordination. Yet, a seemingly major part of the community seems to complain about A LOT about the 20% of the game that is not...

Could somebody help me to understand this and how the times have changed? I fail to even possibly fathom this behavior in an MMORPG. I mean... if you want a single-player experience, what the heck are you doin' in an MMO? And then you even have the audacity to complain about a staple mark of MMORPGs?! Why? What is wrong with you?

Sorry for the rant, but I feel disconnected and more than that, I fear that the devs of ANet (and any other current or future MMO) will listen more to that player-base and that every future MMO will just turn into a glorified single-player experience with optional grouping up. That is a really scary thought for me.

I mean, raids are supposed to be super-hard and have story and substance to them, fractals need coordination and be somehow gated, PvP requires coordination and not every spec is supposed to be able to go 1vs1 with every other spec (this incentives group play!). If every profession can do everything, that was is your place in a party? How do you coordinate with others and for what reason if you just have to dish out a lot of DPS with no regards to playing with your team? There needs to be some structure, some NEED to rely on your team and others and play coordinated and enjoy it, for a good MMORPG.

Am I... outdated with such philosophy? Are MMORPGs just not for me anymore?...

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Every game is different. This one so just happens to be one of the most casual MMOs on the market, with that part of the community more present and more visible than in games that are made around some more hardcore concepts (like raids in case of WoW). There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, i'd say that expecting every game to be the same and aiming for the same player target group is more wrong (as well as probably a bad business model).

So, you're not "wrong" with your philosophy and expectations. On the other hand, neither are the players you complain about. And it's the fact that the overall MMO playerbase can differ so much in their expectations that makes it possible for a multitude of games to exist within the genre.

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People have found ways to solo more and more content, so when there is a piece of content that is either interesting in one way or another or rewarding that cannot be solo'd it bothers those guys.

On top of that only a fraction of people wants to actually go through the trouble of getting a group together and the horror stories you often get to read here on the forums or reddit don't help it either

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@"Astralporing.1957" said:Every game is different. This one so just happens to be one of the most casual MMOs on the market, with that part of the community more present and more visible than in games that are made around some more hardcore concepts (like raids in case of WoW). There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, i'd say that expecting every game to be the same and aiming for the same player target group is more wrong (as well as probably a bad business model).

So, you're not "wrong" with your philosophy and expectations. On the other hand, neither are the players you complain about.

Of course, and I enjoy GW2 so much exactly for the things that are different in it than in other MMOs (especially WoW)! But that one little thing, I believe, shouldn't be different... Having a lot of content where you have to group up is what MMOs as a genre are all about. I mean, not having that is like not having Guns in a first-person-shooter, IMO.

@Blocki.4931 said:People have found ways to solo more and more content, so when there is a piece of content that is either interesting in one way or another or rewarding that cannot be solo'd it bothers those guys.

On top of that only a fraction of people wants to actually go through the trouble of getting a group together and the horror stories you often get to read here on the forums or reddit don't help it either

Yes, but so what? I mean, there were always people with social anxiety, but those usually enjoyed socializing in MMOs the most! Yet, now it seems that there is an epidemic of people with MMO social anxiety, or just normal everyday people, who have strong irl communities and play MMOs not for the community at all. Playing games like that is fine, playing MMOs like that is fine too... but how did that player-base become the majority and the one Devs are trying to please the most?

You know, there are horrid stories about grouping up, but trying to be an active part of a community and interacting with other people is always like that, be it in real life or not... And MMOs should be about that. There are tons of thousands of single-player or just plainly optional multiplayer games, or games that do not have the option for a community out there.. if you do not want to form a community, go play them.. Why, as a human sentient, possibly intelligent, being would you consciously choose to play an MMO then? That baffles me beyond all understanding.

It is like you want a chocolate cake, but buy a hamburger instead and complain that it is not chocolaty enough... then the cook goes and makes a chocolate hamburger for you instead. It starts to sell well, and suddenly every store sells only chocolate hamburgers now and fans of regular hamburgers have to either eat hot-dogs or chocolate hamburgers from now on.

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@"Pusseidon.9534" said:

@"Astralporing.1957" said:Every game is different. This one so just happens to be one of the most casual MMOs on the market, with that part of the community more present and more visible than in games that are made around some more hardcore concepts (like raids in case of WoW). There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, i'd say that expecting every game to be the same and aiming for the same player target group is more wrong (as well as probably a bad business model).

So, you're not "wrong" with your philosophy and expectations. On the other hand,
neither are the players you complain about.

Of course, and I enjoy GW2 so much exactly for the things that are different in it than in other MMOs (especially WoW)! But that one little thing, I believe, shouldn't be different... Having a lot of content where you have to group up is what MMOs as a genre are all about. I mean, not having that is like not having Guns in a first-person-shooter, IMO.

@Blocki.4931 said:People have found ways to solo more and more content, so when there is a piece of content that is either interesting in one way or another or rewarding that cannot be solo'd it bothers those guys.

On top of that only a fraction of people wants to actually go through the trouble of getting a group together and the horror stories you often get to read here on the forums or reddit don't help it either

Yes, but so what? I mean, there were always people with social anxiety, but those usually enjoyed socializing in MMOs the most! Yet, now it seems that there is an epidemic of people with MMO social anxiety, or just normal everyday people, who have strong irl communities and play MMOs not for the community at all. Playing games like that is fine, playing MMOs like that is fine too... but how did that player-base become the majority and the one Devs are trying to please the most?

You know, there are horrid stories about grouping up, but trying to be an active part of a community and interacting with other people is always like that, be it in real life or not... And MMOs should be about that. There are tons of thousands of single-player or just plainly optional multiplayer games, or games that do not have the option for a community out there.. if you do not want to form a community, go play them.. Why, as a human sentient, possibly intelligent, being would you consciously choose to play an MMO then? That baffles me beyond all understanding.

It is like you want a chocolate cake, but buy a hamburger instead and complain that it is not chocolaty enough... then the cook goes and makes a chocolate hamburger for you instead. It starts to sell well, and suddenly every store sells only chocolate hamburgers now and fans of regular hamburgers have to either eat hot-dogs or chocolate hamburgers from now on.

Eh. It's more an issue of expectations.

People go in, make one bad experience then are turned off the mode for good. Every day you get to read about more people complaining about how elitist and bad everything is and that just keeps adding onto that. Let's just talk about raids.. for a casual it can be very difficult to get a group. 9 whole other players? Insane.

Getting a group together for one or two attempts isn't hard, clearing however is far more difficult. People will jump ship after a few wipes, getting new people takes a few minutes, people get impatient.. then somebody has to explain the encounter again and somebody else remembers that his mom's cat is on fire and he definitely has to go and the whole thing starts over again. That just creates a negative feedback loop and guess who's now even less likely to try again

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So you just start playing GW2 and it's not what you want it to be so you're now here in the forums compaining that the whole game should be changed into what every other MMO out there is and us who have been enjoying it since launch are playing the wrong game and should be playing single player games instead. Awesome.

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@Ameepa.6793 said:So you just start playing GW2 and it's not what you want it to be so you're now here in the forums compaining that the whole game should be changed into what every other MMO out there is and us who have been enjoying it since launch are playing the wrong game and should be playing single player games instead. Awesome.

That's.. not what I got from reading the post at all. It's more about the confusion about the attitude in this game and wondering whether that's just how it is now or the OP having changed.

GW2 players DO have a pretty unique attitude concerning the ability to play through content alone, since many choose to deliberately avoid chat and just play at their own pace, their own way and without any interference by anything. In an MMO you'd expect more group based content, but since all of it is entirely optional.. you probably catch the drift.

GW2 is not a traditional mmo and neither is it a pure one. It's something between single player experience and group play, which has always been its identity.

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While you don't have to party for a lot of stuff, it's better, more fun/more efficient to party for stuff, even for a casual guy like me. I don't see the need force grouping because it limits your playerbase which limits your funds, which limits your content. The more people playing the more development will happen. A lot of casuals spend money in the cash shop on outfits or convenience items that pay for the game too. No reason to send those people to other games.

However, even for stuff like story missions, I usually group because things go faster, achievements are easier, it's just more fun. I'll always play with others rather than play alone, I simply joined a social guild that likes to play together, even if we're just doing map completion. It's better for us because we don't have to say to someone, sorry you can't join us you have the wrong class, or you can't join us, we only need a healer. This is more inclusive and makes it easier for us to group with friends. It's one of the reasons I end up not liking stuff like raids. Before, I could take pretty much any group of friends into any content. Raids changes that equation to some degree anyway. Or seems like it does.

At the end of the day being social is a choice and while I'm busy being social, what's the difference if others solo and help fund the game. I'm still playing with people pretty much all the time.

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@Blocki.4931 said:

@"Ameepa.6793" said:So you just start playing GW2 and it's not what you want it to be so you're now here in the forums compaining that the whole game should be changed into what every other MMO out there is and us who have been enjoying it since launch are playing the wrong game and should be playing single player games instead. Awesome.

That's.. not what I got from reading the post at all. It's more about the confusion about the attitude in this game and wondering whether that's just how it is now or the OP having changed.

GW2 players DO have a pretty unique attitude concerning the ability to play through content alone, since many choose to deliberately avoid chat and just play at their own pace, their own way and without any interference by anything. In an MMO you'd expect more group based content, but since all of it is entirely optional.. you probably catch the drift.

GW2 is not a traditional mmo and neither is it a pure one. It's something between single player experience and group play, which has always been its identity.

Take you so much for answering that in a polite manner in my place! Yes, I love nearly everything about the game besides a few minor things, like an overemphasis on conditions in some areas of the game and so on... But even so, I would never call for a whole change or something.

My post, as you said, was completely pointed towards the "single-player" attitude of most players that I encountered, and it is something that baffles me completely in an MMORPG. I do not understand it and I would like to understand it and I have a fear that the other kind of players are slowly, but surely, being left out by the genre as a whole. It is a difference that I happen to encounter after the long years of my absence in this world.

On the other hand, I do see one positive thing about it... not being forced to, but having the option to, ensures that you will most likely group up with people who do actually want to group up too... but they have been far too scarce in GW2... I asked a lot of "randoms" in map chat and people I would encounter near story points to do stuff together, but I would very rarely get a response.

Of course, this completely changed when I joined a competent, friendly and big guild, where there were always people up for something. But the general attitude of the player base towards group driven content is beyond me... I MEAN IT'S AN MMORPG. Why play it if you want a single-player experience?

@"Vayne.8563" said:While you don't have to party for a lot of stuff, it's better, more fun/more efficient to party for stuff, even for a casual guy like me. I don't see the need force grouping because it limits your playerbase which limits your funds, which limits your content. The more people playing the more development will happen. A lot of casuals spend money in the cash shop on outfits or convenience items that pay for the game too. No reason to send those people to other games.

However, even for stuff like story missions, I usually group because things go faster, achievements are easier, it's just more fun. I'll always play with others rather than play alone, I simply joined a social guild that likes to play together, even if we're just doing map completion. It's better for us because we don't have to say to someone, sorry you can't join us you have the wrong class, or you can't join us, we only need a healer. This is more inclusive and makes it easier for us to group with friends. It's one of the reasons I end up not liking stuff like raids. Before, I could take pretty much any group of friends into any content. Raids changes that equation to some degree anyway. Or seems like it does.

At the end of the day being social is a choice and while I'm busy being social, what's the difference if others solo and help fund the game. I'm still playing with people pretty much all the time.

Honestly, I am fine with those being part of the community, but I found that an uncomfortable great deal of the player-base is playing an MMORPG more for the single-player experience than the community experience, which I find baffling and scary alike.

Yes, it is a choice, but sometimes if you choose it, it's hard to find likeminded people because more than half the players seem busy with their single-player experience... in an MMO...

And lastly, it is more about people complaining about group content that needs coordination in an MMORPG, than about anything else. I mean, it's like complaining about having to kick a ball in football. Why would you do that? Group content is the main difference between an MMORPG and a single-player game with optional co-op multiplayer. Take that away, and a lot of the allure of MMORPGs goes away. For me, being part of a community is great, and GW2 has soooo much potential for role-playing, lorewise. It is just an overall great game, but the community focuses so much on single-player and fashion. In my opinion, unreasonably much.

For example, the "Fountain of Rubikon" in the RP LFG section is nearly always empty. People, except in community guilds, are rarely willing to party up for content outside of fractals and raids, people rarely responding in chat to coordinate during PvP or open world PVE... I don't understand it. Playing an MMO like a single-player game and complaining about group-content.. I feel like I fell into Bizzaro World. That's all.

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@aspirine.6852 said:Well it is not comparable but still. In GW1 you could solo almost everything. Perhaps it's one of those things that just sticks. But for all content in gw2 it's better to just group up. Only the group composition is sometimes annoying.

I never played GW1, but I thought that that solo option where you could get those companion, mercenaries or whatever, only later on when the community was transitioning to GW2, so that GW2 players interested in GW1 lore and achievements could finish them too without much hassle?

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I think that one of the things I've noticed, in response to your response to me, is that the social aspect has moved from the world to the guild. There are more people playing. Having 1000 friends is just not manageable, but having a hundred people I play with in my guild is. So that's my social circle, even though I keep a finger in the community. I just don't see map chat as a viable way of grouping, compared to people in my guild.

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How solo-able the world feels will depend on personal skill (how much can you solo?) and how accessible other players feel when you need them. For players who find expansion content difficult and prefer to do most things on their own, that's something to complain about. For many others, it feels just right. The nice thing about GW2, in my opinion, is that its open world content is largely designed to scale so that players with sufficient skill can solo many bosses that scale up to accommodate a zerg.

For instance:

Obviously, you can bring friends for this boss and most players probably would. And by the way, the game makes that pretty easy. If I had wanted to I could throw on my commander tag and people would come out of the woodwork to help me!

I'd see for yourself rather than listening to complaints from others, personally.

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@AliamRationem.5172 said:How solo-able the world feels will depend on personal skill (how much can you solo?) and how accessible other players feel when you need them. For players who find expansion content difficult and prefer to do most things on their own, that's something to complain about. For many others, it feels just right. The nice thing about GW2, in my opinion, is that its open world content is largely designed to scale so that players with sufficient skill can solo many bosses that scale up to accommodate a zerg.

The game is fine and great! I am really, really, reaaaally not complaining about the game. If I would, I would probably complain about the over-emphasis of condition dmg in some game modes, rather than this. The game is amazing as it is, but that a HUGE chunk of the community insists on solo-ability and complains about content that requires a lot of group coordination is what is beyond me. I mean, we are playing an MMORPG after all.

@Goettel.4389 said:I'm guessing the people complaining they can't solo everything in an MMO are the same ones who actually oppose down-levelling because they actually enjoy facerolling.

Wait... there are people who even complain about that? >_> I mean, the lower lv content is anyway easier when you come back later to it, because even tho you get down-leveled and down-statted, you have more gear and abilities on you to deal with everything. For example, you have now the effects of sigils and elite specializations and skills. IMO it could be even a little bit harder when you come back... the HoT maps are one of my favorites because free world roaming is actually dangerous and it is a challenge to solo content. You have to employ the same mechanics as you would in fractals or dungeons, and not just stand there and auto-attack. Honestly, when I make alts I always go to higher level areas to get the same feel as HoT.

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MMO's have always mixed solo and multiplayer. GW2 started more solo and casual friendly than most so it came as and prob still is, a shock to many when harder and more multi player aspects were added over time. One of the big problems is the disconnect between groups of players which has only increased over the years in all internet multiplayer games. Instead of everyone working together and welcoming new players, many will be aggressive towards those of a lower skill level or impatient towards those who haven't instantly learned mechanics. That will just increase the calls for more solo content as players are unwillingly to risk bumping into aggressive players. If players online were mature enough on all sides, then the issue would be solved overnight, but it'll never happen.

The other reason for more solo calls is that a persons own time is a lot more rationed than ever before, so they want to be able to complete things on their own schedule. It's understandable, but not really compatible with how an MMO functions.

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@"Pusseidon.9534" said:Like I said, I haven't been part of an MMO community since early 2010, and I have no clue how and in what ways the world has changed.

Well the mmorpg industry has been in a gradual decline as a whole, while the mobile market has been exploding since ~2012. This led to a shift in the industry as a whole, in order to compensate. More accessible and more casual-friendly mmorpgs to combat the by-definition casual mobile market. Solo play is the norm these days.

GW2 is one of those games that offers solo-but-not-solo gameplay. I mean, you say 80% of the game is solo friendly, which isn't exactly true as especially expansion maps are designed around groups for their meta events, the key difference is that those groups are created on the fly, you don't have to socialize and communicate to join a group, you are ALWAYS grouped with everyone around you. Which is awesome. But this concept does create problems when it comes to instanced group play, as it feels counter to the rest of the game.

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@"Pusseidon.9534" said:

Now, I found that GW2 has an excellent community with great guilds and is full of helpful player. Naturally, not everybody is like that (and is not expected to!), but a lot are, which is great.

However, it may be just me, maybe I only see what I want to see or whatever, but it seems that a major part of the player-base is complaining A LOT (or mostly) about content not being solo-able, or actually needing group coordination as opposed to just a gathering of people in one place.

Like I said, I haven't been part of an MMO community since early 2010, and I have no clue how and in what ways the world has changed. Back then. not solo-able content was the norm, i.e. you expected that you HAD TO group up, you expected that you had to coordinate with your party to clear anything major... and that is actually why you played stuff. You chose to play an MMORPG because you wanted to group up to clear content; otherwise, you would just play an Ego-Shooter or whatever. But first of all, 80% of all Guild Wars 2 content is solo-able or doable without any group coordination. Yet, a seemingly major part of the community seems to complain about A LOT about the 20% of the game that is not...

Oh, hey look, it's another "attack the solo players" thread! Woo hoo! Haven't had one of those in a while. Sorry to be a little snarky, but as a solo player, I'm getting pretty sick of being attacked for having different preferences than group players. This isn't a new "inquiry" by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a popular one in pretty much every forum in every MMORPG.

If you haven't been a part of any MMO community since 2010, chances are your information and experience is far out of date. Solo play has gotten more prevalent as 1) the MMO population has aged and no longer has time for formal grouping and b) as the more casual focus of most games, including WoW, has made the solo audience expand. It's a shift in game development and playstyle as the audience's lifestyles have changed. Companies go to where the money is if they want to be successful. Solo players have money.

Could somebody help me to understand this and how the times have changed? I fail to even possibly fathom this behavior in an MMORPG. I mean... if you want a single-player experience, what the heck are you doin' in an MMO? And then you even have the audacity to complain about a staple mark of MMORPGs?! Why? What is wrong with you?

I'm going to try to step back from the hostility in your words to answer your question. What am I doing here? I'm making do with what games are being made these days. I'm a AAA-ish single-player CRPG addict with some hack'n'slash tendencies. I started gaming with Dungeon Siege 1 and shifted into games with more serious storylines, like the Bioware stable. There hasn't been a decent AAA CRPG released since ME:A, and there aren't many more on the horizon. So, what's left? More solo-friendly online games. I don't like the trend toward super indie games with pixel graphics in the genre, so I play the closest thing I can find.

Why do I have the "audacity to complain?" I'm a paying customer just like everyone else here. I have a right to voice my needs. If Anet or other MMO companies choose not to listen, they lose my money. Simple. Fortunately, Anet kind of listens.

Sorry for the rant, but I feel disconnected and more than that, I fear that the devs of ANet (and any other current or future MMO) will listen more to that player-base and that every future MMO will just turn into a glorified single-player experience with optional grouping up. That is a really scary thought for me.

If it's so scary, why haven't you been a part of an MMO community since 2010? I'm curious, not attacking. It seems strange to me that you're worried about changes when you've been out of the loop. People still group in MMOs. It just isn't as prevalent. So you have to find your friends and people who share your gaming preferences. It might be a little harder now, but the way you prefer to play isn't dead. Join a guild or-- in this game's case-- five. You'll probably find a few souls who share your preferences.

Just remember, as little as you understand us solo folks, we're helping to fund your games and keep them afloat.

I mean, raids are supposed to be super-hard and have story and substance to them, fractals need coordination and be somehow gated, PvP requires coordination and not every spec is supposed to be able to go 1vs1 with every other spec (this incentives group play!). If every profession can do everything, that was is your place in a party? How do you coordinate with others and for what reason if you just have to dish out a lot of DPS with no regards to playing with your team? There needs to be some structure, some NEED to rely on your team and others and play coordinated and enjoy it, for a good MMORPG.

Well, if you're raiding, you won't have to worry about us solo players ;) Seriously, find some guilds who meet your needs. There's a lot of game tailored to your preferences-- dungeons, fractals, raids. There are huge meta events that require coordination in some of the expansion maps (HoT specifically).

Am I... outdated with such philosophy? Are MMORPGs just not for me anymore?...

Sorry, but, yes your philosophy is outdated. Expecting everyone to conform to your playstyle is... kind of controlling, TBH. MMORPGs are still mostly designed for you. The only difference is some of the more friendly games aren't just for you anymore. And that's a good thing.

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There are many reasons:

MMOs try appeal to a large audience to be successful. Single player is a large group, and so they create content geared towards them.

MMOs age group audience tends to be a bit older. Most people in their late 20s, 30s, do not have the time or the patience for 1 hour + type of content. This is why raids across all MMOs are losing players to smaller groups/solo friendly content.

MMOs try to be more action based. These tend to favor smaller groups and solo players.

Story content is becoming more prevelant in MMOs and locking it behind group only is a loss to everyone.

NPCs and AI are becoming more enhanced in MMOs, which allows the game to create interesting and complex narrative and gameplay that does not require group to be enjoyable. This is more of the argument of sandbox versus theme park. Theme parks are becoming more sofisticated and much larger, negating the need for players to join with others to have fun. It is usually more convenient to do it solo.

tl;dr, Massive Multiplayer Online is now massive online. The multiplayer is just an option. Technology allowed this to be a possibility, and devs utilize this to cater to a larger audience. As technology continues to improve and games become more and more sofisticated, this trend will continue and grow.

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@"RoseofGilead.8907" said:It might not be what you wish for in an MMO, but it doesn't mean GW2's world is "spoiled."

My mistake for the Title, I meant the community. :) The world is perfect and I love the game.

I saw the other two replies which seem to be exactly the elaborate answer I was looking for! I am in a hurry, I will answer ASAP to them too.

EDIT: I just want to make it clear one last time that my rant is really, really... reaaaally is not about the game and that I want the game to be to my liking. Guild Wars 2 is great! I love nearly everything about it and all my complaints about the actual game are rather minor balancing issues and such, rather than its mechanics in general. I am just, or rahter I was, flabbergasted about the general attitude of the community with which I felt, and feel, disconnected because of a different approach to MMO gaming. I was out of it for nearly ten years, and I just wanted somebody to help me catch up with ideas prelevant in the current MMO-World, so that I may not remain ignorant about it all. that is it. Really.

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I don't play most MMOs. I choose to play MMOs where group content is more optional. So why play an MMO and not a single player game?

  1. I find there is a lot more to do in an MMO than most single player games, so I can get a lot out of the setting, updates, and new content.
  2. If and when I want to do group content, it is easy to jump in. GW2 in particular makes getting involved in most group content really easy.
  3. If I am stuck, I can learn parts of the game from people in real time, and help other people in real time when they are stuck.
  4. MMOs will often have a fairly robust free-play option, so I can try the game out before deciding to go all in. I cannot imagine a single player game that would have a demo with as much free content as GW2's free play option.
  5. I do play single player games. I also play this one. I do not have to choose one or the other.

Of course, I am not a person who complains about there not being enough solo content. I accept there is going to be some in an MMO, but if I want to solo the parts I can, I get to play that way if I like. There will always be people who complain about how hard something is, or how easy something is. People will complain that there is not enough content, or new content is too slow, or that there is too much new content - in other words, you will always have a (usually small) vocal group complaining about most everything in regards to any game. Are there people and whole guilds in GW2 that focus on group content? Yeah. Since this game has a lot of solo-able content, there are a lot of solo style players, too. If you want a game community dominated by primarily hard core group content raiders, you need a differently designed game. This one appeals to a variety of players more than a specific type. I like it that way, and it is up to you if that is something you can deal with.

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I see the MMO experience as more like going to the city. Yeah, you're going to see a lot of other people, but you're not going to interact with 99.8% of them.

I'm glad I can spend hours doing my own thing. I'm glad I don't have to depend on others to get something done, but at the same time, I'm also glad people jump in and help me take down that open world champion that I needed for an achievement (like what happened last night). I'm glad to have multiple guilds to ask for help if I really need something and to socialize with. And most of all, I'm really glad I have the option to solo or group up.

:)

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@"RoseofGilead.8907" said:It might not be what you wish for in an MMO, but it doesn't mean GW2's world is "spoiled."

This. So much this. Even when I dislike things, I try very hard to remember that "I don't like it" is not the same as "it is bad".

I'd also note, on the general topic, that I can't point you to a game where you will find the world different. The games that have aimed for that have, uniformly, discovered that players don't like that sort of content. Oh, sure, they complain about how it is better, and how they want it back, etc, but give it to them and, bam, you discover that they were mistaken about what they wanted.

People are, honestly, pretty bad at knowing what will make them happy. :)

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@SlippyCheeze.5483 said:

@"RoseofGilead.8907" said:It might not be what you wish for in an MMO, but it doesn't mean GW2's world is "spoiled."

This. So much this. Even when I dislike things, I try very hard to remember that "I don't like it" is not the same as "it is bad".

I'd also note, on the general topic, that I can't point you to a game where you will find the world different. The games that have aimed for that have, uniformly, discovered that players
don't like
that sort of content. Oh, sure, they complain about how it is better, and how they want it back, etc, but give it to them and, bam, you discover that they were mistaken about what they wanted.

People are, honestly, pretty bad at knowing what will make them happy. :)

The rose tint of nostalgia goggles is pretty hard to see through ;) I replay KOTOR and KOTOR 2 every year or two, and despite loving both to pieces (storyline and characters are about the best in any game), the combat hasn't really aged well. I still claim I want more games like that, but Pillars of Eternity threw me for a loop.

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