This topic is hard to broach without being flamebait, but I'll try.

There's a "run GK or GTFO" feel to Project Gorgon when you get to level 70. It's the main reason I play the game less.

Part of it is kind-hearted practical advice, because there is no good alternate source of ring/amulet/main hand/offhand slot items. There's also an abrupt transition from 65, where a patient solo player can reasonably accumulate yellow items in every slot by adventuring, to level 70, where it's crafted or GK only for the worn slots.

Part of it is less benign. Some players like GK a lot and view any other options as a threat that could draw players away from their groups. Or maybe they have some (false) idea that letting other players have fun will somehow detract from their experience, and they argue that level 70 solo rewards, if added, should be nerfed relative to GK.

I know that to make that area an effective test bed for group combat, the game experience has to be tuned to challenge a geared group, and that the respawns have to be fast enough for force groups to keep moving. But for me, that's not fun at all, and for every level except 70, I was able to find other, slower paced, fun content, that still had a good enough chance for the RNG to give a yellow item that it felt worthwhile.

The War Caches proved that PG can deliver great content for all play styles, and you might get a yellow once every few dungeons. I know that we're only in a temporary period where 70 is the max, and new higher levels will have new zones, but that's a long time (possibly years) away.

When I come home, tired and already near my stress limit, committing to the mandatory time investment of a GK run usually isn't an option. (Even if I get lucky and one's even forming and they're willing to take me. It's not like I'm enough of a regular to get invites.) And since that's really the only place I can get a RNG roll for any top level gear, I just don't log into PG.

There's a lot more to it, like not wanting to be "carried" by much more powerful geared players. It was a harsh awakening when my first GK run (where I was useless relative to the others), resulted in half my gear being replaced. There's a huge power gap between geared/ungeared at 70, and few options to work through it without accepting charity.

Is there much hope for a player like me to build a set of gear? It's been ... 7 months of trying and failing at it now, because of the above challenges. I know I can get the worn slots with leatherworking, but that's only half a set.

(I waited a long time to post this. By now I've run all the dungeons during events, killed just about everything in the game, and put in 50-100 hours of farming the few pockets of level 70 solo-able mobs, including that corner of Windy Cave. I feel pretty certain that there's no secret I'm missing.)