Guild Wars 2: The Perfect MMO for People Who Hate MMOs

There are only two types of gamer in the world: gamers who prefer single player games and gamers who prefer multiplayer games. All right, maybe that's a oversimplification, but I digress. For the purposes of this article, there are only two types of gamers in the world. Work with me here. . . Some people love the social interaction provided by MMOs. Some don't. Be that as it may, there are lots of people who play MMOs that don't play well with others. It's not necessarily because they're rude or unsociable. There could be a million reasons why a gamer prefers to play solo. Maybe they're waiting for a phone call. Maybe they have children sleeping in the next room. Maybe they have an unstable internet connection and they don't want to leave their party high and dry in the middle of a boss-fight. Well, I'm one of those. I love MMOs but I play them like single player games. I rarely interact with other players short of the requisite "ty" after my bludgeoned avatar has been revived on the battlefield by a stranger. But short of these random brief interactions, that's the way I like to play. And there's nothing wrong with that. I have enough responsibility in Real Life. I don't need to feel guilty about letting down my party because I had to make a quick exit from the game. So why would someone like me play a multiplayer game at all? Why don't I just play single player games and then I wouldn't have to worry about it. Well, I'll tell you why. . . It's because I love soloing through multiplayer games and that's my prerogative. I love the graphics. I love the environments. I love the vast and exotic game worlds. I love questing. I love crafting. I love the Auction House. I just don't like having to commit myself to a 90 minute raid with a party of petulant adolescents who call me profane names if my mad skillz don't match theirs. So I'm an unrepentant solo MMO player and that's right guaranteed to me under even the most stringent Terms of Service. Unfortunately, too many MMOs don't give the solo player much respect. Most MMOs are difficult if not impossible to complete as a solo player. They're full of dungeons and raids and instances that are designed exclusively for parties of five or more. This has always irked me because everyone knows that dungeons, raids and instances all contain the best loot. Loot I'll never get to find, apparently; in areas of the game I'll never get to see. I'd complain, but after all, they are MMOs and until now, that's been the nature of the beast. Fortunately, Guild Wars 2 changes all that. Gone are the necessary parties of five and the 20 player raids, replaced with a system of quests, events and instances that can be enjoyed be all, regardless of their skills or level of commitment. When an event occurs in GW2, you can jump in and join the fun or leave at your own discretion, no harm done either way. And if you're solo'ing, the difficulty will scale to your level, then rise or fall depending on the number of people in the area taking part. From a solo player's perspective, I can assure you it's a thing of beauty. Suffice to say that Guild Wars 2 is far and away the best MMO on the market for people who hate MMO's. So if you like single player games, RPGs in particular, but avoid MMOs because of traditional multiplayer and forced social elements, fret no more. Put your hesitation aside, download Guild Wars 2 for its one-time purchase price (no monthly subscription) and I'll see you in Tyria. I won't talk to you, of course, but don't take it personal. I'm just an unrepentant solo player, remember?