I guess as we trudge through the lore desert between major patches this discussion is bound to pop up more than once.

From my own experience, there are one or three places (yes, including that one that shall eat away at my soul until the end of time) where I feel our presence does more harm then good.

We're meant to be the hero, that shining beacon of hope, inspiring example for us all, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. In some places, though, I feel like an enabler. Like my presence is allowing those around me to take the easy way out, because I'm the invincible hero capable of righting all wrongs. The people around me don't need to take control of their lives or evaluate their own potential, because ultimately I'll be taking care of things either way. It comes across as being better for everyone for them to resign themselves to just leaving it to me.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a lot of the characters we meet end up losing out on the depth they could have had in a proper stand-alone work because the MMO story needs to make our presence work and continue appealing to players as the power fantasy that, for all its recent pretensions, it still very much is.