Quote Originally Posted by Loggos View Post
It really didn't feel like a natural, smooth transition into harder content.
I'm a bit of a wannabe tryhard, so sitting down for some hours was ok for me.
But I can imagine that there are other people who (understandably I think) wouldn't want to bother with that much work out of nowhere.

(When you are a seasoned raider this kind of preparation and planning surely becomes part of the fun.
But if this is all new it feels like a huge chore that gets thrown into your face all of a sudden and gateskeeps you from playing (parts of) the game.)
There absolutely are, and unfortunately they make for a frustrating pug experience. They join your party, have no idea what they're doing, are (understandibly) woefully unprepared for what they got themselves into and end up sandbagging everyone else.

Which then leads to everyone coming out of that pug with a bad experience, the experienced players because they got their time wasted, and the inexperienced player because they probably feel bad about their own performance and because they might have gotten some negative comments about it.

The complete lack of a difficulty curve is just bad for everyone.