During my time back in Guild Wars 2 I have come to realize that it simply isn’t the kind of MMORPG that I’m able to play as a solo player and still have fun doing so. Yes, I am one of those MMO players; attempting to play through whatever I can on my lonesome. Though I will play with people when the need arises, but for the most part, I enjoy just doing my own thing while chatting away in guild.
Now, vanilla Guild Wars 2 wasn’t quite as bad for players like me. While I did feel as though I had little direction in original Tyria, I could happily explore and wander around completing little bits of the map and I’d have plenty of fun doing so. Deep in the Maguuma Jungle, on the other hand, I find myself feeling a little overwhelmed. I know I have a storyline to complete, though I struggle to care about it the characters and their struggles. That’s understandable, I guess, considering I never played through Season 2 of the Living Story. Then there are the Mastery ranks which I know I need to unlock, however, I find it hard to care about any of it, and I think I’ve come to know why.
Guild Wars 2 is just a lot more fun with friends. By a long shot. So how do we conquer the loneliness that comes when playing MMORPGs without friends? Well get some friends, of course! Yes, I’m serious. And while the following points might sound obvious at first glance, hopefully the information within will help somebody, because I expect I’m not alone in my need for friends in Guild Wars 2.
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1. Join a Guild
Joining a guild is MMO socializing 101, as it is literally a small community of players who you play alongside and chat to, and Guild Wars 2 is no different from any other MMORPG in this regard. Aside from the fact that you can join multiple guilds, up to five in fact, and so having a group of like-minded people to play the game with should be much easier to find in Guild Wars 2 as no guild hopping is necessary in order to find the right fit.
As for how to find the right guild, there are many ways to find guilds. Guild Wars 2 is pretty lucky to have a bustling community, and so you can check the official forums with their dedicated guild recruitment section, check the Guild Wars 2 guild finder subreddit at /r/GuildRecruitment, join your friends’ guilds, or even keep an eye out for adverts in general chat channels. I have personally had the best luck with finding guilds through the official forums or joining guilds that I already knew of through my social media circles.
2. Check Social Media Communities
It’s a great idea to try leaving your comfort zone if you want to find a game’s community on social media. I usually gravitate towards Twitter, myself, where I tend to make a list of people playing the game, community sites, and follow relevant hashtags, but by doing so I’m missing out on other areas of the community, which could well be even better places to find your people. Guild Wars 2 has some great Facebook groups, a fantastic subreddit, and pretty active forums, as well as having a decent presence over on Twitch, Anook, and other such mediums. Chances are, if your usual haunts aren’t giving you the community feel you’re craving for Guild Wars 2, another social media platform will be much better suited to satisfying that need.
3. Talk to People You Encounter
Yes, in this day and age, it’s much too easy to play MMOs in relative silence. I am all too guilty of this. And in Guild Wars 2, you never really have to talk with people you encounter in the world because of the way the multi-tap system works. You don’t need to be in a group with people you kill bosses or even monsters out in the world with to receive loot, and it’s so easy to fall into the trap of assuming that because you don’t need to be grouped that that’s a perfectly viable way to play the game. And sure, it is, but when, like me, you find yourself feeling shut off from other players and resenting Guild Wars 2 for it, perhaps it’s time to just open up and chat with people you encounter in the world. This remains one of the best ways to make new friends that you may not have met otherwise. Perhaps you help each other to kill a Champion, complete a zone event, or maybe successfully complete a jumping puzzle. And sometimes, these activities are not just easier but also so much more fun when you join forces with other people, and by talking to strangers out and about in Tyria, you may just get a sense of the kind of community your server has going for it, and perhaps even find yourself a new guild. There are so many possibilities.
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Ultimately, my disengagement with Guild Wars 2 is entirely my fault. As long as I continue to attempt playing the game by myself, I’m sacrificing a major opportunity to really experience one of Guild Wars 2’s greatest strengths. Its community.
Do you have the same struggles as I do in Guild Wars 2, or in any other MMORPG for that matter? Have I missed a great community site? Let me know in the comments.
