For me the combat is just too boring. I tried to ignore it in beta.. “haha well it must be my fault as a player, I’m sure it’ll grow on me, there’s hidden depth I’m just not seeing..”
I just can’t take it. 10 active skills at once is simply. not. enough.
No one else seems to mind though so maybe I’m just wrong ._.
Two weapon sets which you can switch between at the press of the tilde, along with 5 other skills is actually 15. Compared to, say, WoW, where most classes typically use 10-15 at any given time (while mostly relying on 3-6), I’d say GW2 is par for the course. Heck, back in BC and WotLK (WoW), most classes literally used two alternating abilities and then maybe one or two utility abilities for the majority of the content.
WoW mixed it up by making you have to move around and not stand in fire, but when it all boiled down to it, you were wearing out your 1 and 2 keys while running around in circles with your mouse. That was actually the best way to top out your DPS.
Now, when Cata came out that changed, but as I said before, you still only end up using anywhere from 6-15 skills at any given time. Yes, I am aware that all classes have a LOT more skills than that, but let’s be honest: No one uses all of them, because that would just be inefficient and over-complicated. (In before “if you want a simple game go play an FPS” comment)
I’m not going to bash you and say you’re wrong because it is quite possible, as far as I have seen, that you’re very easily making your way through dungeons and daily kills and events with a lot of ease. That said, I have found that the combat in this game is a lot more fun when you are alone or in small groups (dungeon groups) than when you are in large groups (event champions). Fighting 3-6 mobs at once and by yourself is exciting, and usually requires using nearly all your skills to keep alive, dodge attacks, and bring them all down.
Concerning the OP, I actually haven’t had a problem with there not being enough people. As far as I have seen, there have been just the right amount of people in any given area. Events and meta events have been challenging but doable, usually bringing in anywhere from 4-15 people at a time to help. I have had a lot of problems finding groups for AC. Then again, as many people have said so far, a LOT (I would say the majority, but don’t quote me on that) of players are level 80, and some have two or more. I do think that the game would benefit greatly from a dungeon finder, and I am sure things will be a lot smoother once guesting is in place.
Anecdotal evidence: When I bought the game on Friday, I wanted to join my brother’s server, since he’s been playing since launch and I figured he could help me out. It was completely full, and stayed full for two days straight. Yesterday, finally, I was able to transfer over. If every server save 3-4 have a high population, and those others are completely full, how can you possibly think the game is devoid of players?