I, on the other hand, much prefer being able to play an MMO solo and grouping with people when I decide to be social. Locking content behind grouping is just plain annoying. As with all games, I’m there to explore the world and the story and the less I have other humans involved in that, the better in most cases.
Then why play something centered around multiplayer content when there are multitudes more single player games focused around that exact play style?
Some people like having others around to talk to, but not necessarily be hand-cuffed and totally dependent on them.
And avoid 90% of the content and make MMOs feel even lonelier than they already do
You can have multiplayer influenced worlds and environments, enjoy seeing what others do and create in that world, without enjoying the partying up aspect. MMOs with competitive markets, faction influencing, or competing with players in general rather than direct conflicts.
One can enjoy the world building of MMOs without wanting to be a part of a guild or raid parties.
FFXIV lets you do almost all of the main story solo now, making the amazing story accessible to so many people. There are a few instances of having to do an alliance raid or trial every 40 hours of solo content or so, but if you weren’t ok with that, why even play an MMO? It’s in the name, “multiplayer.”
