Guild Wars 2

Another introvert here although my posting history may say otherwise. To that I would counter – Reddit would ideally be more the platform for extroverts than this forum perhaps? So too could be those types of players who don’t even visit the forums who would rather just scream or moan in game about all the issues of the game rather than bring it to the forums. I mean “hello old LA!” am I right?

I would like to clarify something that someone early on in this thread said tho, that being:

Saphykun.3206:

I fit the definition of “introvert” too. A little anti-social, prefer to play alone, but will play in a group only when there’s a group event in the open-world. Otherwise, if I can solo it, I’ll go alone \o/

I prefer to use the term “unsociable” rather than “anti-social” and I think there is a BIG difference.

Having said that I don’t think that it should be a surprise to many that many introverts may play this game. Especially if we came from GW1 – think bout it.

So how do I play this game? Well, I do what I want and when I want. So it can be hard for people to try and get me to do what they want and when they want. But I certainly don’t play alone on purpose. I just do what I like and that may or may not involve playing alongside other players or being vocal when I am.

It’s nice that this game allows that and offers the option of not having to rely on others too much. This game is just designed in a way that can accommodate both social and unsocial players. The LFG system is a prime example of this so too is the open world bosses and metas. You don’t HAVE TO party up or be associated with people to do these. You just turn up, join with possibly many other “unsociable” players and get the job done. Everyone is happy and can then go back on their merry way.

I also would not want the game to go backwards with ideas and talk which has come about recently of adding more and more instance game content and less open world. That is not something even unsociable people want from these types of games. That’s more for the hardcore raiders who want a real challenge.

Bottom line is this game is designed well for both social and unsocial players. And I commend it for being so. Heck if you think about it even just being online or playing games in general maybe 10-20 years ago you could be labelled “unsociable”. But of course the times they are a changing and more and more people are turning to technologies that take them more away from the real world.

So really this should come as no surprise to people that unsocial people play mmos. I mean hello lmao! Believe it or not YOU have actually been turned into an “unsociable” person and you didn’t even know it!

DISCLAIMER – Of course this statement (the above paragraph) may or may not be true depending on how much time you spend away from others in real life and such, but still it had to be said and it may be creeping up on you without you even knowing it (turning into a yucky “unsociable”) – but this was said in jest so don’t take it seriously! :P

Having Asbergers Syndrome, I too can identify as an introvert, to an extent. Like some people here, I enjoy social interactions on a very small scale. Going to a relatively small birthday party is doable, however going to a concert is out of the question.

That being said, when I’m not playing GW2 with my two best friends, you’d usually find me playing solo following a zerg to all the world bosses, or joining a chest train in silverwastes. If I’m ever seen in a party without my friends, it’s more than likely simply because I’m attempting to keep track of where the zergs are going. And less likely that I’m there for the people to people interactions.

That’s not to say I’m not sociable. I don’t find social interactions unpleasant, I simply prefer doing without them, for many reasons. But in the event that I do interact with my fellow individuals, I’m normally polite and respectful, bordering on playfully sarcastic and comedically funny. Though, I have been seen arguing with the village idiot from time to time.

Not gonna lie, i am myself an introvert, why do i say that?? because i dont trust with anybody and only little trust with people that i dont know. years and years ive been playing games online and never speak with others, only in chat and not voice call. Whenever i speak in VC I always stuttered at that time. But now… i keep telling myself to change, so yeah . pretty good not i can talk to other people with VC but not as much tho, coz my anixity and only the people that i know of i can be free with myself People got to change ~

Been playing solo 90% of the time since closed beta. The only times I’ve played with other people via voice comm software is when doing raids, and even then I prefer to remain silent and answer with “Ok”, “Yeah”, “Got it” etc. I’ve been told in some pugs “Hey you’re awfully silent Knuckle Joe, you there?” lol.

What a good post.
I’m deffo an introvert I work for the NHS (hospital) and have a family, I’m social all day so my game time is my time for silence. Oddly I only play wvw which should require communication, I tend to follow zergs and ping the odd location or go from camp to camp with other introverts who don’t speak. The silence is bliss.

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

Fun fact about introverts. Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with. It’s not uncommon for introverts to be extremely outspoken in online communities, and more often than not be more outspoken than the extroverts. Social Media for example was actually a introvert creation that was initially populated by introverts, until all the extroverts had to get involved.

Crinn.7864:

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

Fun fact about introverts. Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with. It’s not uncommon for introverts to be extremely outspoken in online communities, and more often than not be more outspoken than the extroverts. Social Media for example was actually a introvert creation that was initially populated by introverts, until all the extroverts had to get involved.

Yeah like I said above – gaming in general and being online was pretty much the same thing. Of course console gaming then became popular after a while and of course with the xbox/Ps3/4 online capabilities that too soon got invaded by the extro’s.

Then THEY have the audacity to point at us and say things like “this is a mmo why are you here? Go play a single player game”. shakes head

The times, they are a changing lol.

Thanks OP, great topic and some informative stuff there, well done.
I’ve always been an introvert.
I play solo, never been in a guild, don’t know anyone in game. I chip in on open-world events but I don’t group up. I try to help any player that is downed, even if it takes me out of my way. Other than that I avoid group content like the plague. The only time I went to WvW was to charm a wolf. I died incredibly quickly without even trying to fight back, but at least I got my wolf. I suck at trying to type and play at the same time and I’ve never owned (or wanted to own) a microphone so voice comms are out.

Part of me knows I should try to find a guild as it would give me so much more to do ingame like dungeons and fractals, I just haven’t scrounged up the energy reserves yet to do it. Maybe one day.

I leave home early (5am-ish) to go to work, just so I don’t have to deal with other people and traffic during my 11 miles drive.

I usually wear over-the-ear headphones as I do my work, so I don’t have to listen to my co-workers. I don’t hate them, I actually like most of them, and we all get along great, but they’re rather distracting at times.

I hate phone calls, even with family. Text messaging is my usual form of communication.

I go to the store around 6am on the weekends, just so I don’t have to deal with other people. I just want to get my stuff and go back home as soon as possible.

In game, I usually keep to myself. I generally have map chat turned off. In groups events, or at the bank teller, I do my best to not be covered up by another player. Of course, it’s not always possible to avoid, but it’s just too close for comfort. I get bothered when someone else is jumping with me in jumping puzzles.

There have been times when a mesmer has dropped down and activated a portal for me in jumping puzzles. I stopped and waypointed out, just so I wouldn’t have to interact with them. I know I probably looked like a jerk, but it really wasn’t my intention to be like that. I just wanted to be left alone.

I don’t even talk that much on the forums, and usually they’re just one-liners.

All that being said, I am part of a small guild, and we’re all rather close knit, talk and role play daily with each other. This truly is an amazing game to allow this much diversity.

Paulytnz.7619:

I prefer to use the term “unsociable” rather than “anti-social” and I think there is a BIG difference.

I was pondering about my post last night as well. Being an introvert doesn’t mean “I refuse to have any interaction with any human being”. Someone who’s an introvert is not an absolute anti-socialite. It would be more accurate to have a scale of sociability (very social, social, less social, unsocial, etc), taking into account the frequency and type of interactions (both online and offline; are people more evasive when encountering another, or are they totally okay with standing next to another player?) with other people. I’m sure there are other factors too, but these are the only ones I can think of right now.

It was a valid concern and you were right to point that out.

Saphykun.3206:

Paulytnz.7619:

I prefer to use the term “unsociable” rather than “anti-social” and I think there is a BIG difference.

I was pondering about my post last night as well. Being an introvert doesn’t mean “I refuse to have any interaction with any human being”. Someone who’s an introvert is not an absolute anti-socialite. It would be more accurate to have a scale of sociability (very social, social, less social, unsocial, etc), taking into account the frequency and type of interactions (both online and offline; are people more evasive when encountering another, or are they totally okay with standing next to another player?) with other people. I’m sure there are other factors too, but these are the only ones I can think of right now.

It was a valid concern and you were right to point that out.

Thanks for replying and thinking about it. However I still think you don’t quite understand what I am meaning.

A true “anti-social” person is not just one who avoids social contact. That is more what I call an “unsocial” person. A true “anti-social” person is a trouble maker. Online they may be trolls or flamers (but even then that is taking the label low and applying it loosely).

Real life they could be bullies, criminals or belong to hate groups and will go out of their way or take any and every opportunity to do things to people that could harm them just for their own pleasure.

I would like to think that NONE of those kind of people play this game or frequent these forums.

Again thanks for posting and responding. I am not trying to single you out or anything. I just take every opportunity that I can to try and get people to realize the difference between the two as it is far too often people get the terms incorrect and good people get labelled as absolute monsters.

I didn’t google too much but hopefully this can explain a little more what I mean:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour

https://www.quora.com/What-is-difference-between-anti-social-and-unsocial

Paulytnz.7619:

Crinn.7864:

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

Fun fact about introverts. Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with. It’s not uncommon for introverts to be extremely outspoken in online communities, and more often than not be more outspoken than the extroverts. Social Media for example was actually a introvert creation that was initially populated by introverts, until all the extroverts had to get involved.

Yeah like I said above – gaming in general and being online was pretty much the same thing. Of course console gaming then became popular after a while and of course with the xbox/Ps3/4 online capabilities that too soon got invaded by the extro’s.

Then THEY have the audacity to point at us and say things like “this is a mmo why are you here? Go play a single player game”. shakes head

The times, they are a changing lol.

I don’t think you understand what I was talking about.

Introverts can be in online (or really any text based medium) extremely proactive and involved. I for example am a textbook introvert IRL, yet I am all over these boards, and spend 90% of my time in game doing group content.

Introversion doesn’t inherently carry over into gaming, and many introverts use gaming as a haven from a world otherwise dominated by extroverts.

Crinn.7864:

Paulytnz.7619:

Crinn.7864:

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

Fun fact about introverts. Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with. It’s not uncommon for introverts to be extremely outspoken in online communities, and more often than not be more outspoken than the extroverts. Social Media for example was actually a introvert creation that was initially populated by introverts, until all the extroverts had to get involved.

Yeah like I said above – gaming in general and being online was pretty much the same thing. Of course console gaming then became popular after a while and of course with the xbox/Ps3/4 online capabilities that too soon got invaded by the extro’s.

Then THEY have the audacity to point at us and say things like “this is a mmo why are you here? Go play a single player game”. shakes head

The times, they are a changing lol.

I don’t think you understand what I was talking about.

Introverts can be in online (or really any text based medium) extremely proactive and involved. I for example am a textbook introvert IRL, yet I am all over these boards, and spend 90% of my time in game doing group content.

Introversion doesn’t inherently carry over into gaming, and many introverts use gaming as a haven from a world otherwise dominated by extroverts.

Oh no I totally understand what you are saying and I agree. I am also the same in game, very vocal especially in map chat if a topic of interest comes up. I also don’t shy away from group content, I do pug when needed (fractals etc). It is also evident from my forum activity here as well. Yet in real life I am super introvert.

I was more replying to your post to the part I put in bold that’s all.

Introvert here!

I am not guilded and am used to do only Open World content: I love the whole concept of DE’s where you are part of the crowd, trying to accomplish something, without being coralled into a certain group, on a certain location, within a certain timeframe. Dungeons, Fractals, sPvP are not for me.

However, because I wanted to get Astralaria, I had to overstep some boundaries, which off course felt quit satisfying after i did them (fractals). Not in the sense that fractals are now my thing, but just because it can be fun to accomplish something in a small group too.

As to the WvW part, you can simply join a zerg and make sure you never lose sight of it.

Let me use this opportunity to thank all those commanders that make Open World bosses, zerging and Farms possible for the likes of me. Thank you!

Crinn.7864:

Introversion doesn’t inherently carry over into gaming, and many introverts use gaming as a haven from a world otherwise dominated by extroverts.

For me, my introversion does carry over to my gaming, including text chat and forums. It is rare for me to create a thread, and even more so to post to an existing thread. This may be due having BP as well as being introverted, it can be difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins.

Tyncale.1629:

Let me use this opportunity to thank all those commanders that make Open World bosses, zerging and Farms possible for the likes of me. Thank you!

I agree. It allows me to enjoy being part of a group without the stress of having to engage on a social level. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that)

This has been a great thread (I hope it keeps going), I never though it would go past more that a few posts. It’s encouraging to know there are so many others playing the same as I do.

We should form a guild, and then never do any guildy stuff, no chat, no voip, no missions. Just have a tag that so if we run into each other we can /wave or /bow and continue on our separate ways.

Crinn.7864:

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

Fun fact about introverts. Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with. It’s not uncommon for introverts to be extremely outspoken in online communities, and more often than not be more outspoken than the extroverts. Social Media for example was actually a introvert creation that was initially populated by introverts, until all the extroverts had to get involved.

Not just social media, even IRC. It was created in Finland. Anyone who knows any Finns can tell you we are not exactly raging extroverts (well, heavy metal concerts are the exception).

I tend to be very introverted as well. I played all the first seven years of GW1 solo. In the last three months of playing GW1 I joined a guild. I still didn’t use the voice chat of choice for my guild but did team up on occassion.

When GW2 rolled around, my guild transitioned to the new game and I became more involved. Even became an officer and started chatting on occasion.

Eventually, my old guild was to big and had a lot of in-fighting. I left that guild and joined up with some other ex guild members and other people who were creating a small guild of friends. At first, I was just a member and after one of the main officers left I was asked to become an officer as well.

I find that growing to know each member of my guild has made me more social. I often still play by myself as is my nature, but find myself more and more joining in on Team Speak and socializing with these people because (and only because) I know them well. I now do engage in a lot of group activities with my guild mates like fractals, raids, dungeons and guild activities.

I still play a lot of nights solo but engage with my guildmates in guild chat.

So thanks to my current guild, I have learned to become much more social. IRL, I still stick to myself a lot. Socializing IRL still hasn’t become much of my thing unless they are good friends/family.

DeadTreeJig.6714:

SkyShroud.2865:

I assume you meant that extrovert enjoy the feelings of certain things while the introvert may get annoyed and tired of the same things ?

Not quite, it’s not about what you enjoy or don’t enjoy, that’s a personal preference. It’s about where your energy (physical/mental) is gained and lost. I enjoy many of the same things as extroverts, but I run out of steam quickly (quicker than is socially acceptable), and need to go away to recharge. I am blessed to have an mildly extroverted wife that understands this and doesn’t push me into social situations, and if I choose to engage she knows I will need to leave early.

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t really understand, base on multiple personality tests, I am both introvert and extrovert, something like a middle ground? /shrugs

It’s a sliding scale, most people are within the middle range leaning one way or the other. It’s when you are and the far end that it comes to the surface. This applies to introverts and extroverts. BTW, extremely extroverted people can drain extremely introverted people in a matter of minutes.

SkyShroud.2865:

Pretty sure it has something to do with age and life experiences.

Your talking about psychological experiences, they do play a part. However, introverts process information in different parts of the brain than extroverts. Introverts also have a less active dopamine system. Dopamine is the drug in your brain that provides reward and pleasure, the high feeling you have when something exciting is happening. Because it’s less active in introverts it can cause them become overstimulated by things most people get excited about.

I don’t mean to lecture, sorry. It’s one of those things that are commonly misunderstood since we live in an extroverted world.

The science thing says that we all have same level of dopamine but just that we process these dopamine differently. However, at the same time, as people aged, the way they process the dopamine will change as well.

So yes, I understand. There are days I get really hype up and there days I want to be quiet, I switch in and out of the two zones. I guess people on the extreme sides will be more consistent in their social needs?

On the side note about you spending a lot of time composing your posts. I do that sometimes though the reasons might be different, whenever I compose a post, I just type whatever that comes into my mind and many times new thinking just come up and I end up typing or modifying more and more. kitten those new thoughts.

As an introvert, many of the above posts hit home for me, too. I’ve been playing 3+ years, and abhor being forced to socialize. Mostly, I roam in WvW, work on achievements, look for metas, etc same as everyone else. Not big on dungeons or fractals. Started off in a small guild with a group of friends, but there was way too much push to be social and use teamspeak, which triggers my anxiety about having to use the phone. Was kicked from my last guild for not being social “enough”. I miss being part of a guild, but it seems like no one wants a quiet workhorse. Some mistake that for being unfriendly, which isn’t true at all – I’m just slow to open up to people; once I’m comfortable, I do come out of my shell.

DeadTreeJig.6714:

This has been a great thread (I hope it keeps going), I never though it would go past more that a few posts. It’s encouraging to know there are so many others playing the same as I do.

We should form a guild, and then never do any guildy stuff, no chat, no voip, no missions. Just have a tag that so if we run into each other we can /wave or /bow and continue on our separate ways.

You’re on to something! Sounds perfect

DeadTreeJig.6714:

This has been a great thread (I hope it keeps going), I never though it would go past more that a few posts. It’s encouraging to know there are so many others playing the same as I do.

We should form a guild, and then never do any guildy stuff, no chat, no voip, no missions. Just have a tag that so if we run into each other we can /wave or /bow and continue on our separate ways.

Lol too funny! Well you can all join mine if you like. It’s level 30 odd or so and all the work was done by just me and 1 other person, who for some reason has left now so it’s just me. :P

If anyone is interested feel free to send me a mail in game. :P

Introvert player’s here!

DeadTreeJig.6714:

I pasted my initial post… Introversion: 98%

Tried some other stuff, blog posts, emails, etc. Introversion ranged from 76% to 98% with most in the 90’s. What do I have to do to reach 100?

Enter “Silent egoist” for 100% (tested)

I usually play (daily, story, farmer) alone too
Meta or group content with the other players

I’m an introvert and I’m shy.
I usually solo or play with my boyfriend (who’s also an introvert.) Now I’m in a guild that’s quite small, but I’ve been in bigger guilds and find it somewhat intimidating (groups irl makes me nervous as well, socially and because there’s so many expectations on what you should do) When in a party/team, I can be social on chat if I’m in the mood, but I despise using Teamspeak..

Crinn.7864:

Introverts have little to no trouble with text based communications, it’s only face-to-face group settings (like parties and things) that introverts struggle with.

This. Plus my brain seens to be wired weirdly — I understand and retain written communication/information much better than spoken words, which when I’m “overloaded” can either fail to register at all, or feel like a kick in the teeth. So I avoid voice chat if at all possible, especially if it is just chatter.

Since the friends who initially tried the game with me didn’t stick with it and the guild I’m in is pretty much in “sleep mode”, I exclusively play solo or sometimes join organized events. Pugging fractals or dungeons is our of the question because 1) I’m not very confident or experienced and 2) too many people love to spew BS, which in combination can get very nasty very fast.

In response to something the OP said in the first post [There’s nothing wrong with being social and I am glad the majority are…] ,the actual majority of people (at least in the US) are introverted more than they are extroverted. Close to 60% in fact.

You just don’t expect that because as a part of the introvert nature, we don’t really do a lot of public speaking and/or campaigning about ourselves.

Some of you have mentioned your guild using guild chat. I’ve been looking for a guild that does that. I’m much more comfortable with guild chat instead of teamspeak all the time. I don’t mind using teamspeak for running group events but just to be on it all the time while playing……shudder! Does anyone have recommendations?

As an introvert I have to say the partying up with others for a pug run of say fractals is totally fine and enjoyable.
My issue is voice chat, ppl and guilds who hangs out in ts servers and enforce it on others is where I draw the line. Sorry, I am not interested in shooting the kitten with strangers, I have better things to fill my down times eg podcasts, movies etc.. I can see in a raid setting voice comms being useful but its dreadful to me.
Raids will not be in the menu for me until it can be done in a fractals setting, where you bring your personal knowledge and thats enough, else I am fine with skipping raids.

Yep. I’m an introvert.

It’s interesting to see that my play style matches most of the posts made so far.
I normally split my time between PvE and WvW.

In PvE I explore, do my dailies, gather nodes, and work on my character’s story, occasionally joining in with others for an event or boss, or maybe answering a question I see in map if I know the answer, once the deed is done I drift back to my own business.

WvW is trickier due to the need for voice chat. But I make it work by either running solo, or by tagging along with a zerg. If I know the commander is relatively focused on the task at hand, as in their voice is mostly commands and not endless jibber-jabber, I’ll join TS to listen.

Voice has become my biggest issue in any game … it’s taken everything over. I loathe it. And no it’s not because I’m too afraid to use a microphone, as most people seem to assume, but because I genuinely hate voice chat. It almost always ends up as nothing more than endless personal chatter about a stranger’s daily life … its exhausting. For what it’s worth, you also won’t find me yapping away on a phone – ever. Send me a text and you’ll get a reply. Call me and who knows, good chance the kitten thing isn’t even on.

Voice dominates guilds too, even when they say it won’t. So for me most guilds are out. I currently am in two guilds, one a personal guild with a long time game friend the other I’m not with much mostly because of the voice requirements for everything they do.

Someday I’ll get into fractals … raids … doubtful.

ArchonWing.9480:

SkyShroud.2865:

I don’t see how introvert you are when you are willing to start a thread about it.

I think it’s because they treat social interaction like ascended gear. It’s nice to have, but it’s not required in most cases, and it can be quite the pain to deal with at times. Whereas more extroverted people consider it more mandatory and kick people from dungeons.

And just for fun, I wonder if this thing actually works: https://www.uclassify.com/browse/prfekt/myers-briggs-attitude?input=Text

It mostly classifies expository nonfiction texts as introverted and prose fiction as extroverted. I’m a writer and I got very consistent results, putting in a variety of writing samples. It probably is checking for active vs. passive verbs, phrasing like “I think” or “I feel,” presence or absence of quotations, numbers of verbs and nouns vs. numbers of adjectives and adverbs. As I am introverted regardless of whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction, I’d say the test is bunk. But then, so is MBTI.

To keep on topic: I play mostly with relatives, a few long-term friends, or alone. I do make an effort to maintain relationships within my guild because I know group content is a fact of life in MMO’s. But I don’t like the “hurry up and wait” aspect of group content or the commitment of things like static groups, so I just miss out on stuff like raids.

I just solo most things. I do have a great guild and a wonderful circle of real life friends and family that I play with and it’s a real treat when we all get together.

I’m often alone but I still go out of my way to cooperate with people. I can easily party with PUGs and my raid guild is a nice bunch and I find it easy to work with them.

I actually really enjoy the freedom of PUGing to an extent because there is no obligation to them. Bad group? Rude people? Bye! To the next prospect!

I rez everyone I find if it’s in my power to do. Say hello, ty, np… basic stuff.

Sometimes I even waste time arguing with Chicken McNobodies in map chat! It’s rare though and I have a name for that tab that I’m probably not allowed to post.

I even post on the forums sometimes like some kind of weirdo.

And sometimes, also rarely, I have a nice chat with people. It’s… nice when it works out that way. My experiences with these things never lead me to expect a nice chat from anyone though.

So I tend to be pensive and defensive in most social encounters. And some days you ask yourself what you’re gonna deal with. I like GW2. I’ll gladly deal with that.

People… not so much most days. But I’m very grateful that I’m a minority in that regard. Online games wouldn’t be nearly as fun if everyone were like me.

For the dozens of people I legitimately dislike, there’s a lovely bunch of people in the community who add to the experience of the game and indeed make it an even better game for reason of their outgoing personalities and general kindness to others.

If I can support or at least not impede those particular folks, I consider it an honor and blessing to share in the community with them.

You can’t possibly be that introverted if you’ve made a family of your own. Try sitting in a little room all day feeling like kitten, being unable to bring yourself to do anything, hating interacting with people so much that you avoid the neighbour who says ‘good morning’.

Gretzel.6790:

You can’t possibly be that introverted if you’ve made a family of your own. Try sitting in a little room all day feeling like kitten, being unable to bring yourself to do anything, hating interacting with people so much that you avoid the neighbour who says ‘good morning’.

uh, that’s not introversion, that’s extreme social anxiety, and you should get real life help for that.

Gretzel.6790:

You can’t possibly be that introverted if you’ve made a family of your own. Try sitting in a little room all day feeling like kitten, being unable to bring yourself to do anything, hating interacting with people so much that you avoid the neighbour who says ‘good morning’.

Other way around. They made me. I was a lot worse than I am now.

I can deal with and tolerate a great deal more of the social aspects that I was never able to cope with when I was younger.

It doesn’t come natural and it’s still something like a learned language… it’s not native to me, but with work you get up to an acceptable level of communication.

In most social situations it’s still pretty obvious I’m not an A type.

I can’t say I’ve ever been as bad as what you’re describing, but I get the isolation aspect in that it’s something I did to avoid people.

I’ve never felt ‘bad’ about doing that. I don’t have a seething hatred of people for the sake of it, but I just generally don’t want to deal with the ‘small talk’ or feel I need to ‘give’ something to someone in terms of conversation.

But I just kinda knew it wasn’t right. That I couldn’t expect to live like that. But I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

You’ll need a support group and the courage to reach out for one and pretty much be forced out of your comfort zone.

It’s not easy and it sucks for a good while before you ‘get’ how to do the people thing. You’ll never be this ideal A personality social person you might envision in your head someday.

But like someone who learns a second language, you’ll be able to effectively communicate on a basic social level with people.

It’s an imperative skill to develop if you aren’t rich enough to ignore it. I sincerely hope you can get to that point.

I’m this weird kind of introvert. I love talking with people, of course only with people I have something relevant or interesting to talk about. But big or noisy groups are very exhausting for me. Also there’s the factor of really bad episodes of depression and anxiety, which make me mostly keep to myself, unless someone else brings up some really, really interesting topic. Oh, and did I mention my social skills are almost non-existent?

Because of the reasons above, I learnt it’s the best if I play any online game solo, with occasional random group activity.

In the game I played before I moved to GW2, I was in an equivalent of guild, where was also a guy, who couldn’t stand, if the chat box didn’t move for 10 seconds. From my perspective it looked like his most important reason to play was ‘socialising’. Usually, when I logged in, I was flooded with questions like: “How are you? How was your day? How was your work?” Internally, I was screaming: “Why do you care? Why should I tell you? Stop interrogating me, you’re not my mom!” But because I was raised to be polite, my answers were: “I’m fine. Normal. Sorry, I have to go.”

So, when I started playing GW2, I decided to not join any guild. And so far, it works perfectly. I run around, kill stuff, gather stuff, craft stuff… Sometimes I join some crowd event or get invited to mega group during Tarir siege. And I like it this way. Yes, this playstyle means I’ll never get to group-exclusive content or never kill Mordremoth, because on top of being not-exactly-social, I’m also very bad player and I can’t find any justification for why should I bother someone to carry me, especially when I don’t have any gold to pay for their time. But other than that, I really enjoy the way I play this game.

i just don’t like to team up, i am used to do everything solo and not fail.
one of my fears is that when something goes wrong ether i get the blame while it’s not my fault or when it is my fault i get kicked in the middle of a dungeon, failing yet another dungeon.

DeadTreeJig.6714:

This post is directed to other introverts.

<disclaimer>
First I’d’ also like to clear up a few things about introverts (from my perspective) for those extroverts reading this. I am not shy, misanthropic and I don’t live in my parents basement (I AM a parent, and I don’t have a basement). As an introvert (again from my perspective) I don’t enjoy socializing for the sake of socializing. It doesn’t do anything for me, I find it burdensome. There’s nothing wrong with being social and I am glad the majority are, but it’s not my thing. I enjoy spending time with small groups of people in a task oriented setting, and in that setting I do enjoy socializing as a byproduct. I’m aware that I tend to sound patronizing in the way I write, it’s a typical introverted trait when addressing people we don’t know. It’s not intended. And lastly, before you remind me of the word multiuser in MMO let me clarify that multiuser is not synonymous with socializing.
</disclaimer>

How do you other introverts play GW2? Do you play solo, pugs, guild runs, play with one or two other specific people?

I mostly play solo. I look for meta’s and world bosses, I like the dynamics of fighting with a crowd. I really enjoy playing with one or two people I know IRL, but they are not as into the game as I am so it’s very infrequent. I’m not hardcore, but I do play almost every evening.

I’m in two guilds, but other than giving a “howdy” in the guild chat when I get on and the occasional forum post, I’m really not involved. Voice chat in guilds seem to be 90% social and 10% task. Nothing wrong with that of course, that’s how most people are, but again not my thing.

Too bad there’s not a “looking for another introverted player” feature.

Anyway, leave your comments on how you play as an introvert.

(Let’s not make this an “introvert vs extrovert”, “come out of your shell” or “it’s a multiuser game” thread.)

-DedTreeJig

You pretty much describe me as a online player… I do however come out of my shell a bit more either to give my honest opinion, ideas or suggestion (or my extremely introverted real life friends valid concerns) that I come up with as I play the game, in the forums. Also you be surprise, introvert are more in number and sometimes if not always are the ones than FILL mmo’s nowadays than the players that write in the forums… I think. I really have made long lasting friends this way… thought it all started we playing together a lot by coincidence…

Ngeluz.4860:

I really have made long lasting friends this way… thought it all started we playing together a lot by coincidence…

For me, having a small number (I do mean small) of strong friendships is more rewarding than having many acquaintances. I know some people can have both, or even many strong friendships. I don’t have the energy for that.

On a completely different note, someone in the thread mentioned reviving players. I’ve been leveling an asura guardian and enjoy seeking out downed players to help them out. I’ll even do world bosses just to revive others. I find with the defensive traits of the guardian it lends itself to healing others in the middle of a battle.

Gretzel.6790:

You can’t possibly be that introverted if you’ve made a family of your own. Try sitting in a little room all day feeling like kitten, being unable to bring yourself to do anything, hating interacting with people so much that you avoid the neighbour who says ‘good morning’.

Pretty sure i am the most introverted person taking voice in this thread now (pic for proof – 100% intro, 90% intuitive, 82% thinking, 84% judging, 98% assertive) and i completely disagree with what you said. I can feel “kitten” at times but it doesnt last too long. Not being able to bring yourself to do anything is nothing else but laziness.

I do hate interacting with people irl as well except for the few ones i already know. On internet it doesnt matter that much – i am more open cus idc that much. That said im not a fan of closed group pve contest like raids, fractals (also im more pvp oriented for obvious reason) and i prefer to play solo in general, doing stuff at my own pace and troll on map chat.

What you described is not a introversion but some serious unhealthy behavior.

Burtnik.5218:

Not being able to bring yourself to do anything is nothing else but laziness.

Yes, sir, you’re absolutely right. There can possibly be no other reason, why would someone feel like the most useless trash ever and why could anyone be convinced that whatever they just look at, not to mention touch, falls apart. Yes, it’s just laziness! So simple! Thank you, for your brilliant psychological analysis.

Burtnik.5218:

What you described is not a introversion but some serious unhealthy behavior.

I agree it’s not introversion, but more than “unhealthy behaviour” it looks like depression (or something very similar). And that’s serious business, sir. Very difficult to deal with. No, I’m not saying it shouldn’t be dealt with, it definitely should. But the only possible first step is to know what you’re up against. (and this is were I stop, since I’m quite floating away from the “introverts-play-games” topic)

I have decided it is time I came out of my shell and added my voice to this thread, although rather quietly and hoping not too many people notice.

I play MMOs because I like knowing that the other toons I see are real people, but I just don’t want to interact with them, the most I really want is a quick TY and NP (Thank you, and No Problem) when I rez someone.

Like many others here most of my time is spent running the open world doing the odd event, often alone, and gathering mats. I do tend even to shy away from the big world events, particularly the event chains, as there are too many people and too much going on. I guess that is why i have barely got out of Verdant Brink in HOT. I also WvW, but again mostly solo roaming, I am hopeless at PvP so try and run and hide from other players, but as I can quite accept dieing as part of WvW it doesn’t bother me if I get killed regularly. I might tag onto a big zerg if I encounter one, but I don’t go looking for one. Having recently reached rank 66 in WvW I am starting to think I must be one of the higher ranking non PvPers out there. I am also aiming for Yak Slapper and Leader of the Yak as achievements, that is my type of WvW.

i have on occasion decided to join a guild, normally when I get the idea I really should be getting more dungeons done. Normally i’m fine for a week or so, then gradually I notice I am logging in as invisible more and more as I don’t want the guild to notice I am online and try and communicate with me. I then tend to make my excuses and leave the guild.

So if any of you are on the EU servers and fancy a guild where you don’t use voice chat and no one cares if the only thing you say in guild chat is a quick hi when you log on, you would have another member here.

i used to be a part of a big wvw guild and also commanded guildies. so you can tell that i have to and did socialize with other people.

but things changed when i got into esoteric thought and ideas (thanks internet). now im mainly concerned with dressing up my toons, analyze the synergy of the design and color scheme of their cloths and weapons and getting the balanced look. i don’t mind if i spend tons of gold on a weapon as long as i achieve the perfect balance. they’re like voodoo dolls/action figures. also i love scouring the tp for items to manipulate. also i love revisiting the designs and structures across the map and do some euclidan geometry and color coding scheme to see the unconscious process of the artist who designed those.

with that said, i still do some social activities but its lesser than before. wvw a lil → go to ts. fractals a little with pugs.

seinka.4823:

Yes, this playstyle means I’ll never get to group-exclusive content or never kill Mordremoth, because on top of being not-exactly-social, I’m also very bad player and I can’t find any justification for why should I bother someone to carry me, especially when I don’t have any gold to pay for their time. But other than that, I really enjoy the way I play this game.

One of my great joys in this game is helping people with content. Even though I am an introvert in terms of not wanting the barrage of questions and irrelevant chatter when I have something else to focus on and needing plenty of mental down time to recover the expended energy, one-on-one communication that is useful to the other person makes me happy.

So if you are on NA and can play during afternoons/evenings eastern time, shoot me a PM. We can figure out a time when I can help you through the story, including Hearts and Minds. Which I refuse to solo, I did so just once and even on a Reaper it was tedious beyond belief.

Saphykun.3206:

it’s a multiplayer game ermehgerd op

I fit the definition of “introvert” too. A little anti-social, prefer to play alone, but will play in a group only when there’s a group event in the open-world. Otherwise, if I can solo it, I’ll go alone \o/

Though weirdly enough, I like to talk in map chat sometimes, but as long as I’m not obligated to join someone’s group or something. So yeah, please don’t try to find me. Don’t send me group invites. DON’T INVADE MY PERSONAL SPACE!

1) Personal space 2) Personal space 3) Stay out of my personal space 4) Keep away from my personal space 5) Get outta dat personal space 6) Stay away from my personal space 7) Keep away from dat personal space Personal space 9) Personal space

Donari.5237:

So if you are on NA and can play during afternoons/evenings eastern time, shoot me a PM.

Thank you very much for your offer. <3 But I’m on EU, plus online during CEST evenings.

Donari.5237:

So if you are on NA and can play during afternoons/evenings eastern time, shoot me a PM. We can figure out a time when I can help you through the story, including Hearts and Minds. Which I refuse to solo, I did so just once and even on a Reaper it was tedious beyond belief.

Is that an open invitation? I finished Buried Insight last night and would appreciate help when I get to Hearts and Minds.