Guild Wars 2

I love this game, I’ve played every class at least a little, explored the world, crafted armour, weapons, jewellery and food, worked to unlock achievements. Of course I was excited about the new expansion. And then I read the announcements linked from the start-up and with each one my heart sank a little more, it seems my kind is no longer welcome, because I am an introvert.

I’d like to think that it’s not deliberate, that all that emphasis on teamwork and socialisation is meant to be inclusive not exclusive and that whoever is responsible for writing those articles honestly doesn’t know how very, very far from the truth that is. I’d like to believe that, mostly I do, but at this point I would not be entirely surprised to read an announcement that all accounts with fewer than a hundred friends are to be suspended.

At this point I know what the next question is going to be, if I’m an introvert why do I want to play an MMO? Well to put it as simply as possible, because I’m asocial not antisocial. I like knowing that there are other people around, I like knowing that whenever I buy something at the trading post, someone, somewhere got that little bit closer to being able to afford their dream weapon (or whatever else they’re saving up for). I like being part of group events, feeling like I’m doing my part. I like healing and/or rezzing other players, one of my happiest Guild Wars 2 memories is of being against a world boss, popping an AoE heal/regen over a group of downed players and seeing every single one get back up and carry on fighting.

One of the things I like best about Guild Wars 2, that always made me feel included, is that I don’t have to be in a group to do any of those things, I don’t have to make any kind of social commitment I can just be there, lend a hand and be on my way again. Sadly I’m starting to feel like that was some kind of accident, not a feature intended for those of us who prefer to be on the fringes but more of a gateway drug to all that friendship building and stuff all the announcements are about. If that is the case then please consider this, socialisation is tiring for introverts and forced socialisation can be actively harmful to our mental well-being. I’m something of an extreme case, but there are plenty of days when that casual ‘thank you’ / ’you’re welcome’ on rezzing a random stranger is all the socialisation I can handle but I still appreciate the feeling that I helped someone, even if it was just a little bit.

I’m not asking for a ton of new soloable content (though a little would be nice), I’d just like an assurance, a few brief words from on high that the lurkers and the loners are still welcome at this feast. And for players, whether in large guilds or small, or no guild at all, if at sometime you were taken down by more skelk than you knew existed and someone you never saw before or since crossed half the map to fight them off and put you back on your feet, remember this, you may just have witnessed an introvert in the wild and you’re welcome.

Besides guild hall, what else make socialization and group organization kinda mandatory?
So far all I see is content that can be done just by being in the middle of the large group.

I’m curious as to what content you are talking about that isn’t solo/introvert friendly?

I mean, guild halls, sure, the pre-requisite is you have to be in a guild and/or group up with people who are in a guild to access.

No idea what you’re on about OP. I don’t see anything in HoT so far that would affect solo players.

There’s some ways around those feelings’ impact on your gameplay. I’m generally less inclined to seek out personal interaction IRL, as I get a good bit of it from my coworkers during the day or my wife when not at work, though I do sometimes enjoy hanging out with my group of buddies every couple of months or so (it’s a big group, but we’re all similar socially so we fit).

I would doubt I’m like you out-of-game, but in-game I’m not too different. I’m in a guild, but it’s rare that I ever talk to them or group with them. It’s not that I don’t like them, because I do very much, but I just sometimes enjoy doing my own thing at my own pace; actually I enjoy doing that almost all the time, haha. Think about it though: you’re not alone. There are many other people in-game that are in a similar situation as you. The MMO environment is naturally a social one, but it isn’t implicitly required. Even if you are part of a guild, it doesn’t mean that you must keep guild chat in your chat log or run guild missions. If you ever feel the desire to talk to a consistent group of people, they’ll be there too.

Sometimes introverted individuals can be the strongest of friends because, on the rare occasion they latch on to somebody, they latch on hard. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to find people like yourself in-game and, through the irony of you all being less social, form a guild of tight-knit (eventual) friends. You can always do solo content, but there’s little that can replace a true comrade.

P.S.: Asocial is the common meaning for “wants to avoid social interaction”. Antisocial generally means “against the laws or customs of society as a whole”. :P

Vayne.8563:

I don’t see anything in HoT so far that would affect solo players.

I see it to some degree. If HoT is similar to the Silverwastes and Dry Top (and that seems to be the case) then most events are group events meaning that individual players stand little chance of completing them. On the other hand, as Belzebu said, the fact that one requires other players to be present does not mean that one is required to interact with them.

Diovid.9506:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t see anything in HoT so far that would affect solo players.

I see it to some degree. If HoT is similar to the Silverwastes and Dry Top (and that seems to be the case) then most events are group events meaning that individual players stand little chance of completing them. On the other hand, as Belzebu said, the fact that one requires other players to be present does not mean that one is required to interact with them.

This, pretty much.

Those group events are not quite like group events in the rest of the open world. They are there for a very specific purpose, and need to be completed in order to advance the zone, of you will, so there are bound to be enough players around to do them at any given time. Just look at SW. You can go there as a solo player, hang on to a blob or roam the map on your own and still get kitten done.
Those events sometimes require communication – in that a commander tells you to go there and do that, and that’s pretty much it. While they did talk about new group content, I don’t think being in a group or a guild is going to be mandatory (save for the guild-specific stuff, of course) to experience much of the content.

I wouldn’t mind some new and fancy soloable-content. Currently, world completion is my go-to activity for the time when I don’t feel like grouping up with people for dungeons (I’m not much of a zergling, so in WvW, I’d rather roam with a small group, and I try to avoid farming zergs as well).

Having completed all but the newest jumping puzzles, too, there really isn’t much left to do alone.

Aiwe.6823:

And then I read the announcements linked from the start-up and with each one my heart sank a little more, it seems my kind is no longer welcome, because I am an introvert.

Don’t speak for a whole group of people just because you don’t like playing with others in parties. I’m an introvert and I like socialisation and playing in parties. Introvert does not equal anti-social or asocial or someone who wants to be alone all the time.

we need our henchmen / heros back from gw1 to fill that void

people are beautiful and all, but sometimes the game is more fun than they are….amirite?

either that or a questionnaire system for making groups to make sure you aren’t rolling with obsessive compulsive sociopaths – i mean, i have nothing but love for them, but sometimes i don’t want to finish a dungeon in 2 minutes flat, i may want to stop and smell the cave moss.

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

unless they made areas that catered to different psychological conditions…….heck a zone designed for schizophrenics might actually be fun.

just imagine a compulsive / obsessive christmas event …..npc’s – just repeating “jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells!” over and over for the event….

and of course my add hometown where I ask for directions and end up with a new recipe for my chef….that could be fun…

but i agree, don’t center the game around just 1 disorder.

and yes, being normal should also be considered a disorder. the world has lost it’s kittens, normal is a buzzword, not a standard.

Openworld events shouldn’t be an issue with introverts, dungeons/fractals are the tricky part, especially if a voip is needed.

OP I’m just not seeing how this new expansion is going to be hostile towards introverts/shy people.

I hardly ever use the chat windows in these games and I get by fine.
That includes when I do dungeons or fractals.

So long as you can take advice from others who do know the mechanics to something, you can be the complex quiet henchman for them.

Diovid.9506:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t see anything in HoT so far that would affect solo players.

I see it to some degree. If HoT is similar to the Silverwastes and Dry Top (and that seems to be the case) then most events are group events meaning that individual players stand little chance of completing them. On the other hand, as Belzebu said, the fact that one requires other players to be present does not mean that one is required to interact with them.

I solo stuff in the Silverwastes quite frequently though.

Edit: The OP is talking about grouping, not playing with other people around.

One of the saddest things I’ve seen in any large multiplayer game is the effect that Garrisons had on World Of Warcraft. So many maps simply became ghost towns and remaining players never stuck around for long. GW2 is similar in some regards – it’s too easy to find groups in LFG, so you don’t need to shop for players in major hubs or God forbid, the zone itself.

Some of my fondest moments in any game were in vanilla WoW, exploring the horde zones (I was alliance) and just happening upon other players, usually hostile. In fact, that’s how the first guild I was in got started – I met a Paladin who was also out exploring and we teamed up, then we met a Warrior, slew horde for hours before some 50s wiped us out (level 45 was high back then!) and with the help of some randoms, formed our guild right there.

This kind of adventure is simply absent from games these days, everything is too easy, too simple and without any sort of effort required to put into effect other than grabbing a few guildies or meeting an arbitrary gear check and punching a “find me some plebs” button.

With respect, kitten that!

If ArenaNet want to make GW2 more social, and have players interact with each other more then that is absolutely fantastic. If that is indeed what they accomplish, and I can actually have a flipping adventure again where anything can happen, I will gladly drop money for the expansion.

Sorry OP, toughen up buddy.

the open events are good for socializing, – im always running with zergs in wvw or fighting dragons in events ……

For me personally it’s the dungeons that are a pain in the kitten, sometimes the areas are just plain empty, other times people want “pros to do speed runs” i hate those, i enjoy the rpg adventure and want to ‘discover’ something new, not obsessively farm an item. not everyone simply enjoys being a noob. Contrary to popular beliefs, the dungeons are not lined up with people eagerly awaiting to have a fun adventure.

and i don’t want to join a guild that wants me to play their way every time i log on, just so i can do a dungeon run every tuesday and friday at 4 pm because that’s how they roll. No orwellian gaming for me please.

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

And she may not have social anxiety. OP may just be shy. Doesn’t like social interaction but not the point that the OP has an actual disorder. OP may also be an introvert as well (a lot of times the two coincide). But the issue here is shyness rather than introversion. Unless the OP has a job that requires a lot of social interaction. Then the OP just may not want to interact with others even in game.

I am introvert and while i avoid contacts irl i dont care about people behind a cable. As long i am not forced into a group to do some activity naturally – for that reason i avoid dungeons for example and really hope the new group contest they promote is nothing more but open world so i dont have to bother with people.

I think there’s several posts on this thread that try to categorize a large portion of people into much smaller subgroup. Over 25% of people can be categorized as ‘introvert’, up to almost half the people depending on where you draw the line. What OP would write about is – like mentioned in the post – a rather extreme case.

I’d count myself introverted without question, but not in quite so extreme magnitude. I liked the balance of GW1, where you could see other people in the hubs, but the explorable areas were always instanced. GW2 is for the most part soloable, which is fine with me. The more busy maps can get tiring, and I rarely do dungeon runs – although it can be fine every week or so. It’s not a question of ’can’t’, it’s ’don’t want to’ or ’don’t feel like’ – or ‘find it tiring’.

There’s a few times I’ve even put up the commander flag, f.ex. when ogre wars was stuck, and I needed to get people to stop defending bloodgorge.. and then walk through getting the event back in line. But afterwards I’d feel I’ve had my fill, and really just want to get the rest of the characters through that event quietly.

Anyway, the point is you can’t really group more than quarter of people into category, and easily exclude or include someone. If I had to define an introvert with a few words, it would be “a person to whom any social situations are tiring”. After being in any kind of social interaction for a time, they’ll need to be alone to rest, or ‘recharge’. How extreme that is, would depend on individual.

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

An interaction doesnt need to have physical body to be social. People speaking in text are still people.

The fact that you see these interactions as just lines of text gives some context to your posts.

I think the idea of an mmo is supposed to be able to work with solitary people, the problem is not everything can be for everyone and also there are limited resources

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

It wasn’t until well into adulthood that I realized that introversion and social anxiety were different things, and that I have both. That said, I don’t think Aiwe’s post is really enough to make a diagnosis (I mean, I could be wrong, maybe you’re actually a mental health professional).

As an aside, we should make a guild specifically for introverts and those with social anxiety. We’d have the least-used guild chat in the game.

glehmann.9586:

As an aside, we should make a guild specifically for introverts and those with social anxiety. We’d have the least-used guild chat in the game.

Chat would be used with introverts, however the discussions would be more topic based and more in depth. There would be less small talk however.

phys.7689:

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

An interaction doesnt need to have physical body to be social. People speaking in text are still people.

The fact that you see these interactions as just lines of text gives some context to your posts.

I think the idea of an mmo is supposed to be able to work with solitary people, the problem is not everything can be for everyone and also there are limited resources

I also wrote unless you choose to invest in them. And even you will understand that even though written text by strangers is social interaction, in the anonymity of the internet it carries way less impact than interacting with people present as complete personas. But I can appreciate your little forum crusade here, the context of your posts have always been clear to me anyway Always caustic against all those big, bad elitists. Well, see that as my contribution to society, arguing fervently against the holier than thou collectivist type.

Algreg.3629:

phys.7689:

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

An interaction doesnt need to have physical body to be social. People speaking in text are still people.

The fact that you see these interactions as just lines of text gives some context to your posts.

I think the idea of an mmo is supposed to be able to work with solitary people, the problem is not everything can be for everyone and also there are limited resources

I also wrote unless you choose to invest in them. And even you will understand that even though written text by strangers is social interaction, in the anonymity of the internet it carries way less impact than interacting with people present as complete personas. But I can appreciate your little forum crusade here, the context of your posts have always been clear to me anyway Always caustic against all those big, bad elitists. Well, see that as my contribution to society, arguing fervently against the holier than thou collectivist type.

When referring to yourself as an introvert, you surely must be referring to this definition, as per the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

" 1: something (as the retractile proboscis of some worms) that is or can be drawn in especially by inkittention ". (Edit: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/introvert since the filter doesn’t like this definition)

From your replies to Aiwe and phys, I think asinine is a more apt description. Fortunately for yourself, you won’t choose to invest in my critical reply

inkittention!! – now i’ve seen it all!

Algreg.3629:

phys.7689:

Algreg.3629:

you are not introvert – more of that later. I am introvert. Prolonged social interaction exhausts me. Still I do fine in social environments and eg. am especially good at presentations. It just takes more effort than for extrovert persons.

If you cannot interact with lines in a chat window – and people are nothing more in a mmorpg unless you invest in them – you are not introvert. You suffer from a rather manifest case of social anxiety. This is an ailment. A game company should not design their game around single cases of psychological disorder. You on the other hand should seek out treatment as your condition is probably affecting your life way beyond a computer game. Again, social anxiety does not equal “introvert”. I am not mocking you here. Seek help, I recommend CBT.

An interaction doesnt need to have physical body to be social. People speaking in text are still people.

The fact that you see these interactions as just lines of text gives some context to your posts.

I think the idea of an mmo is supposed to be able to work with solitary people, the problem is not everything can be for everyone and also there are limited resources

I also wrote unless you choose to invest in them. And even you will understand that even though written text by strangers is social interaction, in the anonymity of the internet it carries way less impact than interacting with people present as complete personas. But I can appreciate your little forum crusade here, the context of your posts have always been clear to me anyway Always caustic against all those big, bad elitists. Well, see that as my contribution to society, arguing fervently against the holier than thou collectivist type.

But it still takes its toll on introverts. I should know, I’m an introvert. An introvert who works in retail. When I come home, I’m mentally exhausted, especially if it’s been a long, busy (customer wise) day. I don’t want to have to interact with others in game to have fun. Because I’ve already reached my quota for social interaction for a good several hours.

That said, open world group content does not require the group to interact with each other. So unless the events there are on the order of Teq and Triple Trouble, then there’s not an issue for introverts.

It was not at all an accident. They put quite an emphasis on the game’s system enabling spontaneous co-op. It’s one of the game’s greatest strengths in my opinion.

I understand your feeling to a point. I lead raids in my EverQuest guild and while I love my guild the game feels like a job honestly, to the point that when I had real life job hours overlap the game it felt like a break (people are simultaneously both wonderful and dreadful – being in guild leadership has taught me that people are quite nuts and to just accept that). I love that I can just hop on GW2 and have fun spontaneously. I don’t expect to see that go away personally.

Fortunately introverts have money, so they’re unlikely to go completely ignored. And given they just rebuilt the personal story to NOT require team play, I think ANet recognizes and wants to serve that market segment despite some serious gaffs at launch.

@ Aiwe:

Based on the responses so far, no one who has posted has read your mind to know your exact concerns. The closest I can come is, “It doesn’t look like there’s anything in the expansion for someone whose tolerance for group play ends at drop-in group events.” If we can’t figure out exactly what your concerns are, the devs won’t be able to either.

If you want Anet to hear your concern, it would be better to tell them, “I don’t like planned content X and that’s all there seems to be in HoT.” The more specific you can be about your wants and don’t wants, the more likely it will be that they can even consider your complaint.

The way they’re talking about guild halls and everything related to them, it does feel like you’ll be missing quite a bit if you’re not in a guild. I imagine open world content will be similar to the current maps, though.

Belzebu.3912:

Besides guild hall, what else make socialization and group organization kinda mandatory?
So far all I see is content that can be done just by being in the middle of the large group.

CJ has said you can “pug” guild halls. People doing the event do not have to be part of your guild to do it. So not even that is “mandatory”.

I was in the last “closed beta” and I think the best part was masteries.

Masteries are earned gaining exp from anything. They should be a very nice goal for introverts as they are completely personal and can be earned in any form of content.

Love how half the posts are over the use of the word introvert and just completely ignore the actual topic lol

BrotherBelial.3094:

Belzebu.3912:

Besides guild hall, what else make socialization and group organization kinda mandatory?
So far all I see is content that can be done just by being in the middle of the large group.

CJ has said you can “pug” guild halls. People doing the event do not have to be part of your guild to do it. So not even that is “mandatory”.

The fight to conquer the guild hall is the smallest of the features in there, maintain and upgrade the GH is the main stuff and that requires collaboration among the guild members and a minimal of social interaction.

I have to be honest here. I’m about as introverted as you can get. There is a difference between introverted and anti-social. I am a member of a guild and I have several good friends in that guild. Humans are social creatures, and as comfortable as I am with my alone time (and I love my alone time), I have to have social contact. It is unhealthy not to. Seriously. It effects your physical health. Look it up.
Take the guild halls as an opportunity to improve your own social outlook. Find a small guild and make some friends. It will improve your experiences in this game dramatically while also improving your social skills in real life if you are uncomfortable around people.

Tarrek.7436:

I have to be honest here. I’m about as introverted as you can get. There is a difference between introverted and anti-social. I am a member of a guild and I have several good friends in that guild. Humans are social creatures, and as comfortable as I am with my alone time (and I love my alone time), I have to have social contact. It is unhealthy not to. Seriously. It effects your physical health. Look it up.
Take the guild halls as an opportunity to improve your own social outlook. Find a small guild and make some friends. It will improve your experiences in this game dramatically while also improving your social skills in real life if you are uncomfortable around people.

Making these in-game friends isn’t as easy-I am plenty “social” at my age and given my job history. I still don’t trust Guilds and random players, and would frankly never join a big guild due to past experiences. Do have some good-though very few-friends in-game, because I AM friendly and genuinely helpful, but these have been found mostly through luck, rather than me actively “socializing” as “society” deems appropriate. I would not join a Guild to socialize, but more if I am a good fit-and very few guilds seem to fit, because they cater to the majority that isn’t anything like me (no offense or “superiority” intended, just the facts.)

I am still an “Officer” in a near-disbanded Guild, and I refuse to “leave”-as it were-my Guild in the faint hopes it ever comes back. It’s tough to find instant kinship with random people you don’t click with, and this means I have NEVER reaped the benefits of big Guild events, which I have been forced-due to personal preferences, of course-to ignore.

When my Guild expanded on GW1, becoming quite big, I even felt left out as it became a little bit too social and chatty. I did feel out of place, even though I was one of the first members-I did chat, but didn’t “connect” as much as I did in the beginning with the much smaller group.

Having said this, ANet must do business with the “normal” majority, and “they” do want and even need their usual, “social” MMO experience. This is good for everyone, because their support helps fund the game, so I am not complaining about extroverts or very social introverts (both of which can be wonderful human beings.) More group content is not necessarily “bad” for introverts, inasmuch we can adapt to them without losing ourselves.

Still, I doubt ANet will just “ignore” the real needs of introverts or people who play “solo” a lot-“we” may be a “minority”, but said player type count may be higher than we may think, and it would be frankly foolish to forget about them/“us”.

To the very “social” players out there, who MAY not relate-it is OK for people to be different than you are, without them needing to be “faulty”. All sorts of people can be great individuals regardless different personality types.

Yea, don’t use “introverts” for this discussion as it’s too broad to the point of irrelevancy. That’s like saying NBA players can’t win games, when what you really mean is that the Timberwolves can’t win games.

What you’re describing is a type of introvert that doesn’t like instanced content. There are tons of introverts out there (like myselves) that love instanced content and have no problem with MMOs because of the way MMOs limit socialization (i.e. you aren’t face to face and there’s always an off button).

and I though that my asocial extrovertism were weird thing :P
[where asocial parts exists only in interactions with real people…]

and I still fail to see where is that anti-introverts content in HoT…. I know they said sth about trying to do more stuff to strenghten our shiny community but….

I understand your issue, but designing online games to discourage rather than encourage forming relationships with other players is simply dead end design that doesn’t leverage the strengths of the format and wastes its development cost.

This isn’t really the game’s issue, it’s yours. It’s unfortunate, but there are many, many games that are desgined from the ground up around asynchronous multiplayer elements where you never actually directly interact with other players.

You (and pretty much anyone) are welcome to use my guild hall with no expectations if you’re just after the resources/skins. I rather enjoy the idea that “randoms” could occasionally be found browsing in the bar or mining nodes in the zone. That’s just more people to appreciate the decorations.

There isn’t a single thing in this game that I’ve had to actually interact(as in talk in party/team chat) with other players to perform(including Fractals[I do join groups to do Fractals, but they rarely hear/read anything from me…I’m more like just another body to fill a spot). I run around solo everywhere, and just stop and join an event without talking to anyone…maybe every once in a while spouting some random comment or answering a question…and leave just as quietly as I arrived. Dry Top, SW and HoT all look to be the same…in SW you can easily solo escort the Pack Bulls, kill the bandits in Picaroon Scratch, capture any of the 4 bases and complete the first level defense…all without talking or interacting with another player…you can even kill the Veterans solo…plenty of things for introverts to do. Group events don’t dictate grouping up with others, you just have to be in the same area, but can still be completely invisible to everyone else.

I’m an introvert. I’ve been in a Guild for like a year or more now – and I bet no one in the Guild knows who I am.

I like that. I don’t want to talk a lot. I don’t want to get on TS and hang out. Hell, I don’t even want to get on TS to run around in WvW.

Voice chat annoys me. It removes me from the game. Not to mention it always ends up in some stupid nonsense which I have no time for.

I’ve been in TS and heard arguments, yelling, laughing etc. it all annoys the kitten outta me.

I’m a rare breed in MMORPGs. An outcast. I shouldn’t even be playing MMORPGs.

Story is the most important game mechanic to me.

Yet I’ve done everything this game has to offer, with the exception of Fracts above level 40 because I got tired of running the same stuff over and over for little reward (common problem in GW2).

You are only limited in this game by yourself. It’s the single most casual friendly MMORPG on the market – it’s the most delicate with new players and the less skillful.

Maybe Raids will finally be that wall I can’t climb past. So be it if it is.

I’m an introvert as well, but for me, I actually interact with people. I just don’t require it all the time to function as a human being. I keep to myself and much more happier that way. Friends I do have and trust the most, I keep for life no matter how little amount of them I have. I also hold them in utmost regard.

I work best alone on things I’m good at. I have no problem with group content, as I love helping others for nothing in return.

I classify as an INTP on Meyer’s Briggs. Which is Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking Perceiving. The allows me to think things through with logic and solve problems in this way, and perceive threats in the game and ultimate help those in need. I don’t care either way to partying up or not.

I don’t act silent towards other in groups, but I avoid small talk, if something interests me though, I probably won’t shut up ahahaha!

I value RPing, playing the story of the game, and taking time on things and developing my own strategies to beat content. You can see why I’m against the meta so much!

Being an introvert is different than being anti-social

Why play any multiplayer game if your going to complain about having to group with others.

What.

I don’t want to be overly negative, but I do not understand this at all. There are currently three activities that a player can pursue in a solo environment: sPvP, Open World PvE, and solo roaming in WvW. Just about every other facet of the game will require you to group with others in some nebulous context.

Dungeons? 5 man team
Fractals? 5 man team
World Boss? get in the zerg
WvW Objective taking? get in the zerg
tPvP? 5 man team

Every facet of this game is geared to group players for the content. I’m not saying that you are not able to solo things and I’m not saying your concern isn’t valid. I’m saying that they aren’t doing anything new with creating content intended for more than one player. In fact, with how easy this game is, there is plenty of content that was designed to be for 5 or more players that is totally possible to beat as a single player (open world champions etc)

No one is saying you can’t do what you are doing, which is where my confusion starts. Yes they are promoting new content intended for larger groups, but that does not mean that those things you currently enjoy will not also get some update or new content added. It just isn’t a good marketing strategy for an MMO to highlight all the things you will be able to do alone. It doesn’t build hype. Furthermore, there is a (real or perceived) problem with customer retention — players are leaving because there is so little end-game content and/or difficult content to engage them. This expansion is supposedly intending to fix that, and this content will inevitably come in the form of group content — if it is easy enough for one player to do alone then it isn’t, by definition, difficult content.

Your position and players like you will be able to do all the things you may like that do not require grouping. There will undoubtedly be new:

Jumping puzzles
Event chains/open world content
Story Missions
Craftable recipes

On top of this there will be adventures which will be a new form of content aimed at solo players, including leaderboards.

TL;DR: there is nothing wrong with the new expansion or how Anet have been marketing it.

As a fully diagnosed INTP personality type, I have to say that I no issues with what ArenaNet are doing with Heart of Thorns. They appear to be offering something for every type of player, whether solo or in large groups and that is good.

True, not EVERYTHING will be available for a solo player but that is the way it should be in a fantasy adventure in my opinion.

Thanks.

Not to be rude but isn’t that what single player games are for?

nosleepdemon.1368:

If ArenaNet want to make GW2 more social, and have players interact with each other more then that is absolutely fantastic. If that is indeed what they accomplish, and I can actually have a flipping adventure again where anything can happen, I will gladly drop money for the expansion.

If you think that encouraging group play is going to help you have an adventure, you’re going in the completely wrong direction. Solo content is actually where you’re most likely to have an adventure.

Group content in the current environment tends to turn into “Read up on exactly what happens before even starting, then do what this guide says to the letter or get kicked.” by people conversing in completely out of character manners with names that don’t fit the world at all, which is hardly what anyone would call an adventure.

A general design philosophy shift since the Mega Server system hit has been one of creating social cliques, instead of promoting larger World communities. I prefer a larger World Community because hey, the more the merrier, right? Anyway’s, larger communities become places where people can reside and be a part of with far less social/peer pressure than the cliques. Introvert’s, from my experience, do better in larger communities where they can blend in and be supportive from the back ground.

I said in a post earlier today that I feel the Dev’s are trying too hard to be antagonist. I honestly feel that creating drama is a part of the Anet design philosophy. Civility is rare enough in the world and in Tyria, it’s more so.

Where is it shown that HoT is anti-solo players? The game has tons of solo content, just because they throw a bone to organized groups does not make this any less true.