I played a lot during the Beta then life got in the way and I haven't had a chance to play the full release, so i've got a few questions.
How bad is the griefing in the starting areas? When i played in the beta it seemed to be quite a big issue for a lot of players.
Can you play solo or is joining a guild a must?
How easy is it for a new player to join a guild?
Is it still horrendously laggy in the large cities?
The only starting area is Haven, and there is no pvp there. Once you enter the main server there are no starting areas. Its just a matter of where you want to live. The more populated the area usually the more ganking there is.
Joining a guild is not a must but it makes everything so much easier. From asking questions, to getting gear and mats, to dungeons and group content, all the way to having protection and being able to fight other groups of players.
This game solo is very hard and frankly not fun. A lot of content wont be accessible, and pvp is almost always a group affair. As a solo player you’ll get ganked a lot by roaming groups, and even solo fights you’ll be against veterans using the latest broken ganking builds. Its really frustrating.
Most average guilds recruit just about anyone.
Yes, heavily populated cities are laggy, but this also depends on your computer and connection. Regardless, if you are spending a lot of times in cities you are not really playing this game. There is nothing to do in cities besides buying books and banking/vendoring stuff.