Project: Gorgon is a 3D fantasy MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online role-playing game) that features an immersive experience that allows the player to forge their own path through exploration and discovery. We won't be guiding you through a world on rails, and as a result there are many hidden secrets awaiting discovery. Project: Gorgon also features an ambitious skill based leveling system that bucks the current trend of pre-determined classes, thus allowing the player to combine skills in order to create a truly unique playing experience.
The Project: Gorgon development team is led by industry veteran Eric Heimburg. Eric has over a decade of experience working as a Senior and Lead Engineer, Developer, Designer and Producer on successful games such as Asheron’s Call 1 and 2, Star Trek Online and other successful Massively Multiplayer Online Games.
Context is important here. If you're seeing loot locked mobs you should be doing group content. So if you're soloing no you shouldn't expect help. If you are in a group, that's what the other five people are for. You shouldn't expect help from outside your group.
What's the point in an open-world? You might as well be playing a lan or instanced game at that.
Really I'm only making an argument against unintentional help. AoEs are problematic because as you stated earlier can be abused in open world group content. I have no problem with another player specifically targeting the thing I'm fighting to help me even though they know they aren't getting loot from it. How can I not like that kind of selflessness? It's a different thing if I 'steal' their damage by pulling into their aoe.
So to be clear the abuse happens when a player or group of players are in a group content area and use other players without their consent to defeat the thing they are fighting.
Anyway happy that my initial suggestion didn't cause so much push back. And I think we've uncovered something important.
I don't see how you're stealing damage, since as far as I know, we don't have any AoEs that split damage by number of targets?
And for instance, my unarmed stun is also an AoE, so it would be really sad if I couldn't use it to help people.
PS: I'm just in the position we should encourage interaction and sharing; it's an open world, being part of that seems like the best part to me. Being able to just join in without needing formal group invites I thought was the best part of the game.