100% i fully disagree here

the aim of an mmo (MULTIPLAYER) is to play with others, if you don't want to play with others then why don't you play a classic rpg
i like the multiplayer as long as its optional and as long as i can keep it the way that i only have to play AGAINST others and not team up with them
(i queue battleground when i feel like it and i leave when i feel like it, in pve i afk when i feel like it, mercs dont feel offended this way

, etc)
building up social bondings is one of the things i would like to skip in virtual reality, its exhausting enough in RL
"fast food mmo" in which you can solo everything and go around all the end game content in 2 weeks.
as for my POV:
solo everything alone is a good thing, beeing done with everything in 2 weeks is not
this would make the game boring relatively fast :/
i remember when reaching max level took me over 1 month, its good memories...!
There's your problem. Top gear is for top players who can coordinate their efforts.
With your persistence you could probably be among them, if only you gave up all those silly limits you impose upon yourself. Real shame.
yes, it is my personal problem, i am aware of that
however my self-given "limits" are also the reason why i enjoy the game
if i had to coordinate with others all the time this would kill the fun of the game COMPLETELY for me
nothing beats the spontaneity that mercenaries offer
so i rather accept the limits in progress a soloplayer has (= no raids & no S12) than anything else
(i only regularly name this problem because its not like im alone with this playstyle, there are more soloplayers out there which team up occasionally but not normally, for various reasons; if it was only me i wouldnt bother writing this, im almost fine with current state)
Underlined the key word.
You can control that, you can be dependent on a set group of people with similar goals.
i know you can also make friends / mates / comrades over the internet, find ppl who share interests etc, but beeing dependent on fixed ppl rather than random ones still does not make me happy as it does not solve the problematic i sense here
playing with online-friends brings some liabilities (at least thats how i see it) and disappointing them when you have uncommon playtimes etc is not a good thing; they get unhappy and you too
(btw this is why i enjoy the social interaction on the forum so much, its completely nonbinding

)
PS if we had a massive population there would be so many players, chances of finding nonbinding opportunities would be strongly increased i guess