Omg, I recently started playing an retired MMO on some emulated servers and this was totally the vibe. With no economy or large influx of new players all your old stuff just piles up and you keep it, hoping someone will someday show up who can use it. Things had value but not in the sense you could even start an economy. For me, I loved getting end game weapons, which are an absolute grind, then gifting them. I had a few but it was always more satisfying to give them away.

I was also told the most profound thing while playing. Someone said, “you’re hogging yourself.” Since I really like playing solo. I still haven’t reconciled it. Like I don’t want to hog myself but at the same time it doesn’t seem like others want to play with me. I try to be inviting but I guess the only thing I don’t really do is make myself vulnerable. Like truly vulnerable. I’m scared to though.