Quote Originally Posted by Abriael View Post

You don't need timesinks to keep a game fresh. You need a constant stream of content (that's why people are required to pay a monthly fee after all). Timesinks are just the easy way out that sloppy/lazy/hard pressed designers take.

It's not nearly about "Instant gratification". It's about accessibility. The reward isn't important. Access to content is. That's what people pay for, you know.
by you constantly dissociating time sinks with a challenge also declares your mis-guidance. did it ever occur to you that a time sink for example, traveling on foot through tough zones avoiding death due to xp loss, IS a challange? the challenge is the avoidance part of mobs that can kill you or your party adventuring. the looking for a party or group time sink's challenge is making or finding companions for your adventure. after all, this is an mmo.

but of course what you do is take out the challenge part of the time sink and simply label it a time sink. you justify it as; why travel when you should teleport, or why "waste time" LFG when you should be able to solo. you base your entire flawed assumptions on accessability of content when you, at the same time, are ignorant to the fact that sanbox elements (like traveling and risk vs. reward system) naturally allows the player to create their own content. player-created sanbox content like; "let's camp and pull at this spot because it has an access point to zone out or a path of escape due to the elevation of terrain in case the fight turns sour".