the normal content is too easy

[Carin-Eri]

Having limitations or being less skilled is not a reason to say those players don't get to play with other people. People should be able to play multiplayer or single player and enjoy the game regardless. It's not a situation of "you're not good enough for people so go play with bots."

This ^

Additionally, whilst it definitely has benefits, the downsides of playing that way are:
- takes a lot longer
- NPCs rarely use AOE attacks
- I found that I picked up aggro before the NPC tank did (since the NPC tanks tend to, as noted, focus on single-target attacks)
- you don't receive player commendations
- it's rather unforgiving if you die - none of the NPCs can revive you and you get sent back to the start, which can often mean quite a trek to reach the point you were at before being KO'ed.

Personally, I also missed the sense of 'community' that often follows - whilst it doesn't always happen, I've sometimes encountered players who wanted to offer some encouragement.

However, in contrast to the generally low opinions of poorly-performing players being expressed here on the forums, my experience of in-game teams is that they're almost always very forgiving of inexperienced or low-performing players, particularly if you take the time to tell them (in chat).

[Silver-Strider]

- takes a lot longer
- I found that I picked up aggro before the NPC tank did (since the NPC tanks tend to, as noted, focus on single-target attacks)

I will content these 2 points.
I've had runs with players that have taken much longer than some trusts either due to single pull tanks, single target rotation DPS, bad players that constantly die, etc; I've had 40 minute Holmester Switch runs with players that with trusts would have taken 20-25 minutes tops. Also, unlike players, SE can actually improve Trusts in the future so that maybe they'll actually use AoE skills to make runs even faster.

I've also never had a problem with the NPC tank, other than them being a little slow on the initial pull. Once it starts, they jump in and start AoEing pretty much instantly, I just have to stand by them for a second for them to get all the mobs but after that, it's pretty normal overall.

[ThivraK]

Additionally, whilst it definitely has benefits, the downsides of playing that way are:
- takes a lot longer
- NPCs rarely use AOE attacks
- I found that I picked up aggro before the NPC tank did (since the NPC tanks tend to, as noted, focus on single-target attacks)
- you don't receive player commendations
- it's rather unforgiving if you die - none of the NPCs can revive you and you get sent back to the start, which can often mean quite a trek to reach the point you were at before being KO'ed.

- I'll be honest; most of the recent runs in the dungeons that are able to be finished with Trusts have taken longer with human players than they would have done with bots
Trust damage also varies: If you do a lot of damage, they do less, if you half-afk, their attacks do more damage so it always ends up being around 23-25 minutes, which is preferable to dungeons that should take around 15 minutes, taking 30 or more
- Those are honestly non-issues, tbh
- Commendations mean absolutely nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing
- That is true, but that's also true if your party doesn't have someone who can rez you

Personally, I also missed the sense of 'community' that often follows - whilst it doesn't always happen, I've sometimes encountered players who wanted to offer some encouragement.

However, in contrast to the generally low opinions of poorly-performing players being expressed here on the forums, my experience of in-game teams is that they're almost always very forgiving of inexperienced or low-performing players, particularly if you take the time to tell them (in chat).

Then you are really, really lucky, as in my (and most of my friends') experiences, encouragement and advice is met with hostility and anger, even if you're telling someone they're doing good.
People are forgiving when it comes to inexperienced players, but they're rightfully not forgiving of those who have spent hundreds of hours and still play as if they're in Sastasha and especially of those who do not put in any effort whatsoever. And honestly, it'd be weird to blame them for that.