I just want an mmo to be multiplayer outside of instances

[Jojoya]

Hello, this is kind of just a rant off my chest, but I'm struggling with playing mmo's lately because they're all so solo-oriented or instance oriented. All the group activities are going to result in me never seeing people again and our conversation limited to a "hi", a joke here or there and a "gg" never to be seen again.

Why is RP or statics the only mmo part of the game right now?

Sitting in an instance with 7 other players does not make a MMO.

Hunt trains and S ranks? Now that's MMO to the point that if you have an older PC or PS4 you're going to struggle in the chaos.

You can join FATE farming groups. Better yet, focus on the chain FATEs that spawn the big ones that crowds will show up for.

You can join Treasure Map parties (though that's split between open world and instance).

If players want the game to feel like a MMO, it's up to them to take the initiative. The game isn't going to force it on players.

Don't forget: during the 10 year Roadmap Live Letter, YoshiP said he wants the game to stop being known as a MMORPG and start being known as a RPG that can be played solo or with friends.

This comes across as quite condescending. There are problems with modern MMO's ability to forge friendships that could be addressed.

Most of those problems are due to the way people have chosen to play MMOs.

They want huge populations around them. They want convenience. They want "efficiency". They want to be done as quickly as possible. They don't want to waste time stricking up friendships with people they meet through random matchmaking but they exclusively use random matchmaking to do the majority of their content that they aren't doing solo.

MMOs that try to go old school when it comes to party forming get hits with tons of complaints about "it's not convenient", "it doesn't respect my time", "I feel like I get excluded", etc.

What's a developer to do when the way players approach game play is in opposition to the things they say they want?