Remianen

You've never actually played this game.....have you? The game was changed so drastically at release that many people who played the headstart know nothing about the game as it exists now. A manual would be useful if only to tell people 'You can't play fast & loose and be successful anymore'.

I can do without overzealous interdependence. I don't particularly care for soloing but I'd rather do that than sit around doing nothing (or doing little) or having to deal with other people's issues (like the aforementioned dog biting the baby or gf/bf/wife/husband aggro or the like). Usually, I mitigate those problems by boxing (either my own 2nd account or the account of a friend or family member). I think overincentivizing grouping would just lead to more of that kind of activity which, while great for developers (more people paying for more accounts), isn't really the intended path.

I dislike the lack of customization that exists in MMOs today. I think it's very telling of the state of the genre when a game releases with an above average (but by no means 'the best possible') character creation engine and people make a big deal about it. I mean, it seems very basic to me. If you expect people to spend hundreds of hours in your game, playing a single character, you should give them the ability to shape that character in whatever way they see fit. In real life, real people change their looks almost daily (skip shaving for a day. Your look has changed) so having the ability to do that to their avatar should be a no-brainer.

I also think the lack of balance in gameplay is annoying. There's always one "best" sphere or aspect every game has. Whether it's PVE, PvP, raiding, crafting (Horizons....err, Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted), or what-have-you, there's never any parity between the areas. As great an idea as Diplomacy is in Vanguard, it doesn't come close to being as rewarding as combat, for example. That just leads to players feeling like they "have" to do one thing or another in order to progress. These games were supposed to be about having a multitude of options but it doesn't seem like that's the case (if it ever was).

So, lemme get this straight.

You're trying to come here and pose (because that's exactly what you're doing) by saying "everything's the same! We're not busted down at all!". Hmm. You were once the Iraqi Minister of Information, weren't you?

Fact is, whether BoB reforms under a new name (they will) or not, this was a terribly painful blow. Granted, if BoB's leadership is worth a penny, they'll reform into a leaner, meaner, more cohesive alliance and they won't let complacency and bloat do to them what it appears to have done this time. Honestly, when you have devs handing you BPs and stuff, it's easy to feel untouchable.

So, reform, regroup, and go back to handling your business. But playing the ostrich role only gets you sand in your ears.