here:
Then there is that other 10% of the time... Where I go "Man, I gotta grind this out or that out and this is the most efficient way to do that..." and then one of the guildies pulls me back and says hey, why play the game if its gonna feel like work. Don't get lost in the ideal buddy. Just enjoy.
and here:
For my own sanity I stopped focusing on end game. Now I play whenever class/race combo the best I can, maybe try some of the odd builds or just make something up as I go and see how it works out. Make a THF (quarterstaff) Barb/Sorcerer (think Shaman) and see how it does.
Otherwise it is playing the meta class/race combo running highest xp per minute, predetermined quests, to lvl32 then rinse/repeat. That just sounds depressing to me.
This is just psychological trap - similar model appears in various f2p games and is especially effective in mobile versions.
Many (if not most) players need their goal and when they achieve it, then some of them will left, because there is nothing more to do.
MMO needs something like this to keep this type of players for longer time.
This is a problem of some people that feel pressure in their heads ("I MUST HAVE IT! So I will force myself to do things that I do not enjoy! YES! I must spend a lot of my valuable time to just have it! MY PRECIOUS SHINY TREASURE!") while others do not care and just play the game how they like.
Things that are not fun if you are forced:
- playing classes and races that you do not enjoy and doing it 3 times
- not playing favorite classes and races more than 3 times, because it is not optimal
- playing content that gives more xp instead of enjoyment level
- pressure
- routine
Things that are healthy:
- just playing the game normally how you like for your enjoyment
- social part (you may even play content that you do not like)
- in the meanwhile, naturally progressing with your goal if you like to have it, no matter how hard it is to achieve
If you feel bad that you can not contribute in some raids (which are not introducing something extraordinary new, just higher numbers that later start to be common like anything other that you already played, but I get that someone just wants to be in that ultimate best of the best), then there are is other content where you can with people that have similar power level and still have fun.
Most people will not think about how some players performed when quest is over, because they also were new and know that not everyone have all the passives.
Many are happy to see new players, so their all time invested game may survive and they can have more people to play with.
It is bad when someone just stays in entrance and waits for easy xp, but when you are doing best what you can (even with minimal contribution), then this is good enough.