Gunuku, if you come back and read this I would recommend you give Path of Fire a try (the latest expansion). The zones are pretty good (much easier and much more solo friendly than Heart of Thorns). There aren't any of the huge zone wide meta things that every zone in HoT had. Also Mounts are fantastic. They really did a good job implementing them. They have weight to them and it feels like you are riding a creature around. It kind of reminds me of riding a horse in like Zelda or something. Also each of the 5 mounts has a distinct feature that is used to traverse / explore the map.
If you decide to pick it up, let us know. We'd play with you! We also started building / filling out a Guild Hall. It's slow going and we will probably never max it with our small group, but it's still a fun gathering place
