If you're going to add more raids, fix elitism first

[Deihnyx.6318]

@Kapax.3801 said:I proposed to add a new more flexible difficulty so that finally all kinds of players can enjoy the content.https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/17527/more-flexible-raids#latest

In the WoW, for example, there are 4 types of difficulties and each one fits a profile of players:

LFG: this version is for new players, those looking to equip Alters and also for a very small community of people who do not like to do Raid directly but do not want to miss the Lore that is in it (as each Raid is related to the Lore of the expansion), basically the bosses are a bag of HP.

Normal: For people who want to make raid but with an "easy" difficulty (mostly those who do not have much time to enjoy the game but do not want to lose part of the content), they introduce the mechanics of each boss without much difficulty.

Heroic: here the elitism begins, although it seems to be easy, playing with more than 10 strangers is not so much. already thought for people who seek a slight challenge, the bosses already present more polished mechanics but continue to "forgive" if you make mistakes in any.

Mythical: the elite of the elite, is thinking for people who are fully organized (addons, voice chat, statistics, etc etc etc), it is even a competition to see which guild first finishes the content. In this difficulty, any player who fails in any mechanics ruins the whole fight.

I just ask you to add a difficulty like "Normal" (since I think the current difficulty is almost mythic), at this moment there are many people who are missing the content and especially the Lore that contains the Raids.

I think adding a new, more flexible difficulty would be more inclusive for the players, so people who do not enjoy this content because of their high demand would have more things to do each week.

Not disagreeing with levels of difficulty at its core... but... have you tried the last released wing? w4?Will you really say that the first 3 encounters are of the highest level of difficulty?

I feel like for a lot of people the difficulty is more like trying to get into a group than raids themselves... because bosses like Cairn or MO are barely harder than fractals, and certainly not as hard as the observatory bosses.

@Oglaf.1074 said:

@tairneanach.8427 said:In order to fix elitism they'd have to change the elitists, not the game.

Wrong. This attitude sprung up as of a result of how unforgiving raid encounters are: they are designed around one mistake resulting in a group wipe, and time limits/stages that demands the highest DPS possible to get around them (Gorseval comes to mind, for example).

People aren't inherently jerks by default.

That's the point of raids... to offer content for those who like unforgiving fights.And all bosses, especially the one you mention, can be done with a few minutes left on the timer, easily, even with pugs. There's only a few bosses that have keys roles that will result in a wipe if they die (Deimos for example, or Mesmers for Matt).But at the end of the day, it's the spirit behind raids, and I feel like there's already a lot of casual content for the 90% of the playerbase, you don't need to change the core philosophy of this specific endgame content.

[Vulf.3098]

A large amount of people who do not raid either;1 - Do not care about the content.2 - Are scared of being told no.

I've been kicked from groups before and it is not fun. It just motivated me to get better at the game so I could join a guild with a positive raid environment.OP is asking for the devs to change a handful of raiders bad attitudes which is not possible.

[ReaverKane.7598]

The problem isn't the game, it's the players, and you (OP) are also in that category, and part of the problem."Elite" playersare people that put in the work, figure out the way the stuff works best, and how to do it in the optimal time and conditions. Experienced players tend to try and follow those "Elite" advices, because they know that they are sub-optimal, and aiming for that will at least make it more likely to finish.If you want to join that content, the least you can do is get a meta build, or as close to that as you can, and try to at least watch a couple of videos on how the raids work. That way you'll be a valuable part of a group, and that's what most "elitists" will ask of you. Sure some want to do "speedruns" and will ask for "proof" of completion, but then again there's chat code generators out there...That said, there's 4 kinds of people interested in raids:The "elitists" aka speedrunners, which are experienced players that want to do it in the least ammount of time possible, and with a group that guarantees that they won't fail.The "usuals" aka good guys are experienced players that will sometimes play with inexperienced groups (in or out of their guilds) and help them learn the ropes.The "wannabes" which are players that put in the effort of getting the gear and meta builds and trying to learn how raids work, and will create groups and try to complete raids with pugs, and such to learn and create a steady group.And finally the "whiners" which want to do Raids, but instead of doing what the "wannabes" do, they just whine about the tiniest fraction of the Raid population expecting others to conform to their views instead of adapting to the needs of the overall group.

I'm in the "wannabe" group myself, and if you're in EU servers, you can PM me so i'll invite when me and my friends do attempts.

[Spurnshadow.3678]

Get rid of dps meters. Elitism solved.

[Obtena.7952]

The only fix needed is for people to respect the fact that people build teams based on how they want to play. That's not elitism, that's just doing what Anet said we should all be able to do in the first place. If you can't respect people's requirements to team with them, make your own teams with your own requirements or don't even bother with the content.

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

You guys don't seem to realize that as effort to organize a party increases due to no auto matching or anything of the sort, scrutinization and exclusion increases. Likewise when difficulty of the raid increases, specificity in skill level and classes comes into play and exclusion and elitism increases.

Anet needs to offer some mechanical compromise or alternative to what we currently have.

The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

[Deihnyx.6318]

@"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

I'm gonna reuse the 4 category thingy that was mentioned earlier.

Funnily, I believe that if indeed the elitism in gw2 exceeds the one in wow (I would still need proof of that, because as a regular raider myself, I don't see many people being "toxic" in raids. They simply tell you no if you don't have the experience and get upset if people lie about it) it's mostly due to the core game being very, very casual. So the playerbase is also very, very casual and also very demanding when it comes to accomodate every aspect of the game for them (anti dps meter threads, eater of souls nerf threads, clocktower threads)... so obviously, the last remaining bit of challenging content is constantly being blamed for ruining their experience, since that's one of the last things that hasn't been twisted for them (yet).

Is it the raiding community being too elitist, or is it the playerbase being too casual? The answer will vary depending which side you're on. The only thing I can say is just given the past few months, pretty much all the threads were about making the game easier, and not harder, and I see this thread as one hidden way to nerf raids.

There's a discord group apparently dedicated to raid trainings. I don't know its address, but I suggest people who are in the "wanabee" category to look with training raids if they can get some experience. And for the "whiner" category, sadly I have to say: This content isn't meant for you.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:Raids are a huge chunk of content which is not played by the majority of the player base due to elitism.

That's an extraordinary assumption on which to base your suggestion. Based on the various threads we've seen, there are all sorts of reasons people don't raid:

• Too difficult
• Too much time
• Lack of interest in the rewards
• Don't enjoy PUGging with anyone and can't find a static.
• Can't find someone to train them (even though there are a number of resources available).
• Unwilling to adapt to the content (e.g. anti-elitist, refusing to change builds or rotations to fit the situation or the team).
• And sure, elitism is a factor in turning some people away, either by worrying about encountering jerks or actual experience.

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

@Deihnyx.6318 said:

@"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

I'm gonna reuse the 4 category thingy that was mentioned earlier.

Funnily, I believe that if indeed the elitism in gw2 exceeds the one in wow (I would still need proof of that, because as a regular raider myself, I don't see many people being "toxic" in raids. They simply tell you no if you don't have the experience and get upset if people lie about it) it's mostly due to the core game being very, very casual. So the playerbase is also very, very casual and also very demanding when it comes to accomodate every aspect of the game for them (anti dps meter threads, eater of souls nerf threads, clocktower threads)... so obviously, the last remaining bit of challenging content is constantly being blamed for ruining their experience, since that's one of the last things that hasn't been twisted for them (yet).

Is it the raiding community being too elitist, or is it the playerbase being too casual? The answer will vary depending which side you're on. The only thing I can say is just given the past few months, pretty much all the threads were about making the game easier, and not harder, and I see this thread as one hidden way to nerf raids.

There's a discord group apparently dedicated to raid trainings. I don't know its address, but I suggest people who are in the "wanabee" category to look with training raids if they can get some experience. And for the "whiner" category, sadly I have to say: This content isn't meant for you.

Incorrect, the content is easily within my means and easily doable in general. What isn't meant for me is the community specific to gw2 that does raids, and to that end, Anet's unwillingness to adapt any sort of fix or compromise to raid content that would circumnavigate or minimize said communities overly selective/elitest behavior.

I do agree with you that the player base in gw2 is casual and so the dichotomy between elite raid groups and the average gw2 player creates a sizeable rift. That's why I feel a-net should step in and add options or a difficulty alternative for raiding that caters to the core majority of gw2 players.

[Obtena.7952]

There is no reason for Anet to do anything ... players are perfectly within their own capacity to police themselves and the people in their teams. Yup, it's work in the current system but you see ... it ensures that people play how they want, and that's a selling feature of this game. Any solution you want to suggest better do it as well or better than you can now.

[DeadlySynz.3471]

@Kheldorn.5123 said:You can't fix people. The only way to do so is to remove any uniqness between professions and basically make everyone play guardian.

Well you actually can, it's just the methods to do so would never realistically be implemented. For game purposes such as in Gw2, take this for example

Suppose you didn't want Player A to be a "elitist" and Anet had some means of defining what an "elitist" is as to not single out people. Anet then has a system in place to bring the heavy hammer of punishment down on the player to teach them a lessons. So Player A is an elitist, the first punishment is removing all their gold and anything of value from their account. Not only that, any gold acquired within the next 3 months is immediately removed from their account. Player A will obviously be visually upset, but as part of the punishment, it's simply a case of "too bad so sad, you don't like it, go find another game, we have your money, we don't care". If Player A infracts again, its a permanent ban from the game.

So now Player A is left with a tough choice, do they:

A) Change their attitude and tough out the next 3 months with no gold only to resume normal playing time againB ) Infract again which forces them out of the game permanently on a ban losing complete access to the account.C) Quit

Any of the 3 scenarios is a win. You've either corrected the players attitude, or forced them out of the game. All are "win" scenarios. Obviously this won't happen lol, but most certainly, anyone's attitude can be adjust via the right means, or their behavior removed causing distress to others to be eliminated.

[Coulter.2315]

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:

@Deihnyx.6318 said:

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

I'm gonna reuse the 4 category thingy that was mentioned earlier.

Funnily, I believe that if indeed the elitism in gw2 exceeds the one in wow (I would still need proof of that, because as a regular raider myself, I don't see many people being "toxic" in raids. They simply tell you no if you don't have the experience and get upset if people lie about it) it's mostly due to the core game being very, very casual. So the playerbase is also very, very casual and also very demanding when it comes to accomodate every aspect of the game for them (anti dps meter threads, eater of souls nerf threads, clocktower threads)... so obviously, the last remaining bit of challenging content is constantly being blamed for ruining their experience, since that's one of the last things that hasn't been twisted for them (yet).

Is it the raiding community being too elitist, or is it the playerbase being too casual? The answer will vary depending which side you're on. The only thing I can say is just given the past few months, pretty much all the threads were about making the game easier, and not harder, and I see this thread as one hidden way to nerf raids.

There's a discord group apparently dedicated to raid trainings. I don't know its address, but I suggest people who are in the "wanabee" category to look with training raids if they can get some experience. And for the "whiner" category, sadly I have to say: This content isn't meant for you.

Incorrect, the content is easily within my means and easily doable in general. What isn't meant for me is the community specific to gw2 that does raids, and to that end, Anet's unwillingness to adapt any sort of fix or compromise to raid content that would circumnavigate or minimize said communities overly selective/elitest behavior.

Anet doesn't need to adapt, you do. People have told you how to construct non-elitist groups. I think the problem is you don't want to play with non-elitists, you want to force elitists to play with you. You want all the benefits of elitsm (fast clears, efficiency, no stress, no failure) but you don't meet that standard, so are kicked.

People have the right to construct their own groups in any way they want and you do not have the right to demand people play with you. Make your own groups, create a guild to keep in touch with players you like, soon you'll be choosing who you play with just like those evil elitists you dislike.

[Ohoni.6057]

The only way to fix the elitism would be to tweak to gameplay to allow non-elites to complete it. So long as "bad players" can prevent a raid attempt from succeeding, groups intending to clear the missions will attempt to cull "bad members" from their ranks. Bad players should not prevent a raid attempt from succeeding, they should, at worst, slow the process down.

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

@Coulter.2315 said:

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:

@Deihnyx.6318 said:

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

I'm gonna reuse the 4 category thingy that was mentioned earlier.

Funnily, I believe that if indeed the elitism in gw2 exceeds the one in wow (I would still need proof of that, because as a regular raider myself, I don't see many people being "toxic" in raids. They simply tell you no if you don't have the experience and get upset if people lie about it) it's mostly due to the core game being very, very casual. So the playerbase is also very, very casual and also very demanding when it comes to accomodate every aspect of the game for them (anti dps meter threads, eater of souls nerf threads, clocktower threads)... so obviously, the last remaining bit of challenging content is constantly being blamed for ruining their experience, since that's one of the last things that hasn't been twisted for them (yet).

Is it the raiding community being too elitist, or is it the playerbase being too casual? The answer will vary depending which side you're on. The only thing I can say is just given the past few months, pretty much all the threads were about making the game easier, and not harder, and I see this thread as one hidden way to nerf raids.

There's a discord group apparently dedicated to raid trainings. I don't know its address, but I suggest people who are in the "wanabee" category to look with training raids if they can get some experience. And for the "whiner" category, sadly I have to say: This content isn't meant for you.

Incorrect, the content is easily within my means and easily doable in general. What isn't meant for me is the community specific to gw2 that does raids, and to that end, Anet's unwillingness to adapt any sort of fix or compromise to raid content that would circumnavigate or minimize said communities overly selective/elitest behavior.

Anet doesn't need to adapt, you do. People have told you how to construct non-elitist groups. I think the problem is you don't want to play with non-elitists, you want to force elitists to play with you. You want all the benefits of elitsm (fast clears, efficiency, no stress, no failure) but you don't meet that standard, so are kicked.

People have the right to construct their own groups in any way they want and you do not have the right to demand people play with you. Make your own groups, create a guild to keep in touch with players you like, soon you'll be choosing who you play with just like those evil elitists you dislike.

I easily meet the standards of an elite group, but i refuse to jump through the psychological hoops that are required to convince said people (the psychological threshold of convincing them specifically in gw2 is too high). This is why creating alternative raids that are easier or simply adding auto grouping which results in less group scrutiny is essential.

Instead we only have one type of raid and it goes one speed only and every group member is manually added in and scrutinized. If there were easier raids available or easier ways of getting into a group, I could join them with little to no effort, and my skill level would shine through, without me having to psychologically convince others before they allow me to display my skill (its sad that people think that playing the psychological convincing game to get people to invite you to a raid is part of the "raiding experience/content") .

Subsequently, I would get invited to the more elite groups based on my performance. This is what has happened for me in every other mmo I have played over the past 15 years, as they all usually offer alternative raid difficulties or auto grouping and I don't have to play psychological charades to convince people that I am a good player, which that is a given constant for me, regardless of what type of player you feel I might be.

Additionally, suggesting that I form a raid guild of my own proves my point. The threshold for getting into raids is way to high if I need to form an entire guild myself and recruit/scrutinize other players, simply to do simple raid content. The amount of effort in forming a guild in comparison to the rewards and difficulty of the raids themselves is egregious and suggesting that every player getting into raiding should be doing this is silly. The point of the thread is to make the barrier of getting into raiding easier, not harder.

[Sarge shot Grif.6450]

Eh I've accepted that raids will never be something I mess with, I'd be willing to learn if the abrasiveness and toxicity I've seen wasn't there. More of a community problem than an anet problem.

[Aenaos.8160]

There is nothing to "fix".Different people like different things.You like a more relaxed approach to raiding,others prefer a more focused one.Find 9 other like minded players that are looking for relaxed raid runs,and raidwith them.The way the op is worded,it seems like someone would like to be carried byelitists,without the elitists having a say in it.The LFG tool is the same for everyone.Make a listing for "Casual Run,any build welcome,no experience required" andclear all the Raid Wings you want.

I don't even run Raids,and I avoid LFG parties with too many requirements,butI would never want to impose my way of playing on others.

[Kezriak.5076]

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:Raids are a huge chunk of content which is not played by the majority of the player base due to elitism. Not due to difficulty but due to the psychology surrounding others who play it. Anet must do something to address exclusionary elitist attitudes before they release anymore raids, otherwise they are just making content that the majority will not play, and subsequently, will feel bitter about, when they think that the time spent developing raids, could have been better spent developing other content.

I dont know what the solution is personally, perhaps an auto grouping feature, perhaps lowering raid difficulty or introducing different difficulty levels for raids so people are less exclusionary. Adding different versions of the raid that can be done in 5 man dungeon groups, or perhaps retool fights to be less about dps races or requiring specific classes w/specific abilities. The problem is not the raids themselves (or even the difficulty) but with players inability to come together and form a group. Plz anet do something.

Maybe, just maybe, the disparity betwen the meta and whats good/servicable, should be less extreme, the balance in this game is...wonky at best.

[Chickenooble.5014]

I don't see how the problem is with "elitism" and not with the player willing to conform to what the raid party wants. They want to progress with a specific composition. If you aren't the right class, don't have the right build, or the right gear... then tough luck. Change whatever is needed to play with that group if you want. If you aren't willing to change and play a specific way then why would they want you -- sounds like people don't want to help the group reach their goals. Rather, "I want to play how I want and who cares if we're not the right comp." I wouldn't want to play with someone so selfish.

[IcyTear.6378]

Elitism is not a problem , the problem is the raid system .

[Coulter.2315]

@Ohoni.6057 said:The only way to fix the elitism would be to tweak to gameplay to allow non-elites to complete it. So long as "bad players" can prevent a raid attempt from succeeding, groups intending to clear the missions will attempt to cull "bad members" from their ranks. Bad players should not prevent a raid attempt from succeeding, they should, at worst, slow the process down.

If you cut out the possibility of failure you're not playing challenging group content anymore.

[Chickenooble.5014]

I agree with @Coulter.2315 The point of raid content, from the introduction, was meant to be some of the most challenging content the game had to offer. Why should it be made easier for more people to experience? And to @Ohoni.6057 , bad players should definitely cause the raid to fail. What you're describing is a damage sponge with no devastating attacks, patterns or strategy. The type of content it sounds like you want in raids is like the starting zone world bosses -- can't really lose to them but not knowing how to play can slow their destruction down.

[Coulter.2315]

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:

@Coulter.2315 said:

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:

@Deihnyx.6318 said:

@Jumpin Lumpix.6108 said:The elitism in this game far exceeds other games like wow (probably because the player base is smaller and there is less options for raiding groups.) And yet the raids in gw2 are trivial compared to some of the raid content in that game. So i feel like Anet should compromise on something as this community seems to have a very high unnecessary concentration of elitism.

I'm gonna reuse the 4 category thingy that was mentioned earlier.

Funnily, I believe that if indeed the elitism in gw2 exceeds the one in wow (I would still need proof of that, because as a regular raider myself, I don't see many people being "toxic" in raids. They simply tell you no if you don't have the experience and get upset if people lie about it) it's mostly due to the core game being very, very casual. So the playerbase is also very, very casual and also very demanding when it comes to accomodate every aspect of the game for them (anti dps meter threads, eater of souls nerf threads, clocktower threads)... so obviously, the last remaining bit of challenging content is constantly being blamed for ruining their experience, since that's one of the last things that hasn't been twisted for them (yet).

Is it the raiding community being too elitist, or is it the playerbase being too casual? The answer will vary depending which side you're on. The only thing I can say is just given the past few months, pretty much all the threads were about making the game easier, and not harder, and I see this thread as one hidden way to nerf raids.

There's a discord group apparently dedicated to raid trainings. I don't know its address, but I suggest people who are in the "wanabee" category to look with training raids if they can get some experience. And for the "whiner" category, sadly I have to say: This content isn't meant for you.

Incorrect, the content is easily within my means and easily doable in general. What isn't meant for me is the community specific to gw2 that does raids, and to that end, Anet's unwillingness to adapt any sort of fix or compromise to raid content that would circumnavigate or minimize said communities overly selective/elitest behavior.

Anet doesn't need to adapt, you do. People have told you how to construct non-elitist groups. I think the problem is you don't want to play with non-elitists, you want to force elitists to play with you. You want all the benefits of elitsm (fast clears, efficiency, no stress, no failure) but you don't meet that standard, so are kicked.

People have the right to construct their own groups in any way they want and you do not have the right to demand people play with you. Make your own groups, create a guild to keep in touch with players you like, soon you'll be choosing who you play with just like those evil elitists you dislike.

I easily meet the standards of an elite group, but i refuse to jump through the psychological hoops that are required to convince said people (the psychological threshold of convincing them specifically in gw2 is too high). This is why creating alternative raids that are easier or simply adding auto grouping which results in less group scrutiny is essential.

Instead we only have one type of raid and it goes one speed only and every group member is manually added in and scrutinized. If there were easier raids available or easier ways of getting into a group, I could join them with little to no effort, and my skill level would shine through, without me having to psychologically convince others before they allow me to display my skill (its sad that people think that playing the psychological convincing game to get people to invite you to a raid is part of the "raiding experience/content") .

Subsequently, I would get invited to the more elite groups based on my performance. This is what has happened for me in every other mmo I have played over the past 15 years, as they all usually offer alternative raid difficulties or auto grouping and I don't have to play psychological charades to convince people that I am a good player, which that is a given constant for me, regardless of what type of player you feel I might be.

Additionally, suggesting that I form a raid guild of my own proves my point. The threshold for getting into raids is way to high if I need to form an entire guild myself and recruit/scrutinize other players, simply to do simple raid content. The amount of effort in forming a guild in comparison to the rewards and difficulty of the raids themselves is egregious and suggesting that every player getting into raiding should be doing this is silly. The point of the thread is to make the barrier of getting into raiding easier, not harder.

A guild is not a high threshold, it is literally a list of names to collect and whisper when you want people to group with.

"I easily meet the standards of an elite group" "my skill level would shine through" "convince people that I am a good player, which that is a given constant for me"Maybe when you say things like this it turns people off? Might not be elitism at all which stops you getting in, just they don't like your attitude.

[Kapax.3801]

This thread is full of elitists, the game is like this for people like you.

This is funny, the raids privatized by a small group.

[Sykper.6583]

I presume several others have mentioned it, but it is not on Arenanet to 'fix elitism', it's a consequence of any content of any difficulty. Less difficult content = far less 'elitists' who will make comments, and vice versa. You typically do not hear about these types of players in normal open world content unless a few different factors apply, however Raids by their very nature will have these come forth a bit more.

To maintain raids being the most challenging PvE content for groups, this is an unfortunate side-effect. The good news is that it's not prevalent enough to infect note-worthy training/pug groups from forming their own statics and raiding bonds together. It is also important to consider that there's a difference between elitist and players who want to progress in boss kills by optimizing the group comp. There is a stern difference between a raid leader who demands this specific power profession doing a specific amount of damage, versus a player simply asking another player to bring around a different trait or utility to cater to what the group needs to complete the encounter.

Overall, all Raid bosses are a sort of puzzle that each individual player has a method to assist in resolving. Some parts of the puzzle can be compensated by others, some are unique and require said player's life not perishing the entire encounter. Some require a certain amount of condition damage, or CC, or some other bar to pass. As long as the group comes up with the strategy and the necessary tools for the encounter, and executes them properly, any boss should be able to be killed within a reasonable time period.

I would continue with why having a group with High DPS matters a lot compared to low damage, but let's go with this for now.

[Opopanax.1803]

I would like to experience the lore and challenge of raids in gw2 like I did in wow. But I don't want to mess with scheduling 9 other people, it is complicated.

If they still offered 5 man dungeons, that would be one thing. But fractals are lame lore wise and don't relate to the expansion, storyline, or anything to be honest. There is just no step in between. And the op has a point, there should be.