Okay before I get dog piled, I've really enjoyed Dragonflight. I love that everything I do progresses my character. I don't feel like my characters are left behind and I don't feel like wow token whales are leagues ahead of me.
The problem is more psychological I think. Retail has constantly pushed me to play as a solo player before dragonflight. Everything however was way more positive so I grabbed a group of friends and for about five months we steadily did things together. Well soon it was just me out of the eight or so playing. So I decided I wanted to try group play and I have to say PUGs for anything are just pure toxicity.
I joined a large guild, but they feel no different than going through LFG/LFR. I run mythics but I've had people brick keys at the first sign of difficulty or new tanks/healers queuing for higher keys without knowing the boss mechanics then leaving at a boss wipe.
It's pretty bad that I log on excited but that's only because I enjoy dragon riding. I do a couple of laps to explore or look atound, then disconnect because the thought of playing with people is a bummer.
I know people aren't looking to be assholes. I also know that their fun is dependent on everyone being decent at the content and that can sometimes make decent people act poorly if someone isn't.
At this point I just wish WoW was a solo game, at least retail. It pushed me for so many expansions to play solo just give me AI companions with similar gear to my own and let me play in a sandbox all to myself.
In my experience which has been since vanilla and still playing the big guilds are just as bad as no guild. Guilds that have multiple teams can just lose people in the shuffle and become a logistical nightmare. If you’re new to raiding look for an AOTC guild that runs 1 team where everyone can get to know each other.
I assume someone reading this won’t know what aotc is - it’s an achievement for killing the final boss of the raid on heroic. It can be done very casually over the course of a tier.
Man this was just a very wholesome experience to read. When I used Reddit I got thoroughly skewered when I voiced anything that was critical. Thank you for being understanding.
It’s a fun game when you can play it the way you enjoy. The biggest issue I see is when people try and go beyond (read higher keys or raid difficulty) what they’re willing to put in the effort for. When the skill required doesn’t match the skill someone has it becomes toxic, sometimes it’s warranted.
Not saying people never should push themselves a key higher or a boss further and learn along the way. That’s a great thing. But you don’t try and hit a 90mph fastball before you can hit one off a tee.
Good luck in the search. As odd as it sounds I’d look at guilds that advertise as lgbtq friendly. They’re always good people and chill and accepting whether it’s your skill or something else.
If all else fails there is a discord that I’m sure someone knows the name of that’s a place for non toxic keys where some people try and teach and others learn or just play with like minded people. Hopefully someone can comment the link or name
Lemmy is a much better experience for engaging with fellow humans. Infesr the day it becomes big like Reddit did and gets trashed.
mIRC is always my fallback