It never was that solo friendly. Arguably, that didn't help its fate. MMOs had to keep up with times, WAR didn't and ... we all know what happened. But I'm always a Solo > Group > PUG type of person(PUGs are just so terribly unreliable and inefficient, it bothers me greatly - and they aren't even that social, you literally get nothing except a possible migraine - soft relationships are nice though), so...wargrimnir wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 10:21 pmDistilling is a fun way of saying cherry picking.arorwne wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 10:07 pmJust distilling your words. So the main point is more clear.
Regardless, a lot has been done to promote, almost force grouping. From the way how RvR works, to ultra dense, fast respawning PvE zones...it's all the same: group fodder. I try to be efficient, but even I falter, some zones like Caves or Vaul's Anvil(="Khaine's Domain" PQ) are simply...too much for anyone without KDs, Active Defenses(say Repel Blasphemy) or Heals(or, even better all 3). But even for a Duo, let alone Trio, they are literally nothing, very efficient and comfortable zone.
Now, the problem is that you are going to run into these, run into problems, meanwhile...1v1 PvE(often even 1v1 PvP ; but that's different) is simply terribly boring. Lose / Lose. Unless you group up.
I know that it is an MMO and I know that it is a Private Server...YOUR Private Server and thanks for everything, you literally enabled me to tie up some old loose threads as it were, but...even then, being this aggressive towards Solo / PUG isn't a way you will accomplish anything. The proper way is to PROMOTE aka INCENTIVIZE doing something a certain way, NOT PUNISHING "undesirable" stuff. Maybe give more XP / RR / INF in groups or idk, but punishing always results in...bad results, really. Tbh.
Playing entirely solo seems to be what you're focusing on as pug, but these are two very different things. We assume a Pug is someone who plays primarily in Pick Up Groups, meaning they don't have a regular group of people they play with and don't want that level of social engagement to complete their goals. They join open warbands and tend to follow whatever is in front of them without much mindfulness to what they're doing. The community is responsible for bringing these players into a social environment that develops them into better players, from a development perspective all these tools are available. High levels of coordinated play are prominent on the server, and maintaining a Pug mentality while being in the same sphere of influence means you're going to end up losing more than you win. The natural progression for a Pug player is to socialize, specialize, and integrate with groups that will elevate each other to success.
If you want to make a case that playing solo is discouraged on the server, I won't argue it. This isn't that kind of MMO where you have a start to finish solo experience playing out a hero fantasy.
...with that said, it isn't necessarily a natural progression. PUGs often want to ... PUG and you clearly delineated why(they can't play regularly or they don't want what I call "Hard Relationships"). But if that's true, why on earth would they want to progress into a ... "Hard Relationship" group(when that's something they DO NOT WANT)? PUGs want to PUG, that's it. But that's just my opinion, it's equally, maybe slightly more possible than your interpretation.