Is the next expac pay 2 win, cause I'm spent

I'm not a raider, but I worked hard for my gear, I have mostly expert, PG BiS (supposedly) my fabled 2.0, all my AA etc. I'm pretty proud of what my character has without raiding. Yet I can't even tell how my DPS stacks up against anyone anymore cause everyone is using ascension spells, and mine are mostly apprentice due to the abysmal drop rate and my unwillingness to shell out hundreds of dollars to upgrade them. So I want to know if this will be the trend for the next expac, cause I will quit for good this time, I stuck it out with KA, but at this point I don't feel like you appreciate me being a monthly sub.

If you're not a raider, then none of that matters.

Allowing people to pay to upgrade spells was the worst thing they put into this game, from an integrity standpoint. From a money making standpoint, for their business model of "cash grab now" it's great for them, but the integrity of the game suffers when someone who is willing to spend upwards of $500 can double someone else's DPS in a matter of minutes because they bought spell upgrades that people 9 months into an expansion STILL CANNOT GET. (Running experts every day I have gotten one single Scorched Earth (Master) page after 4 months)

I'm with you on this. If the next expac is Pay To Win, especially with the spell upgrades, it might be time for everyone to leave this game (I know many many people who are in agreement, waiting to see how they end up doing it). To the point of, I might not buy/preorder the expac until the verdict is in for the pay to win content, through either beta or day 1 testing.

So if you are listening Daybreak, STOP ALLOWING PEOPLE TO PAY REAL MONEY FOR IN GAME DPS UPGRADES. (Not sorry about the caps)

Why not? If he is not a raider then he is playing alone and it does not matter for other players which gear he has. He is not going to win anything from other players.
Raider on the other hand can get top gear in raids. So far so good as far as I see it.

People who don't raid do group, and it matters a lot how much dps you have in heroic instances. Without everyone doing a good amount of dps, they become a slog.

I'm not sure why one wants to group, but does not want to do raids. Is it common or is it something unique?

Raid = work
Group = fun (generally speaking)

I have raided and hated it - I have a full-time job already and don't need another one for my relaxation time.
I group with friends and we have fun - but we also like to be able to complete our objective (the zone), so gearing up to the best we can is a good thing.

Don't know if it's common or not, this is my experience. I also no longer do PUGs for the same reason as raids.

Great OP and I feel your pain. I haven't raided for a few expacs and have done exactly the same OP, got geared but haven't and won't spend the money upgrading Ascension spells.

I pretty much exclusively group (I cannot abide soloing) and I'm conscious of the fact that I'm way behind the DPS curve becasuse of my app I Ascensions.

When micro trransactions were introduced into the game we were assureed by SoE that it'd be for 'fluff items' and wouldn't affect game play. Clearly those days are waaaaaay behind us and a play to win model now exists.

Heroics/Expert:Log on at any hour that you might be available, and jump into a group
Raiding:Log on and raid on x day at said hour.

Not everyone can commit to logging in at scheduled times consistently, but still enjoy the grouping aspect of the game.

Personally I don't want to raid as it's too time consuming. At least 2 nights a week from 7.00 to 10.30 was just too much. I don't want to be chained to a computer when I have other RL stuff going on.

I love running heroic dungeons but do it as I want and I don't feel obliged to do it when i don't want.

You don't have to have BEST gear for fun, do you?

Not BiS no, but just because I play for fun, doesn't mean I don't want my character to be in the best I CAN get. Makes grouping and fun that much easier, not such a slog, and allowing a lot of laughter while doing the zone.

Laughter - totally missing from raids.

I'd love to raid again. However I live in Germany and play on a US Server.

Raiding for me meant getting up in the middle of the night to start the raid and then getting back to bed between 4 and 5am to get back up at 6am to go to work. I did that for a couple of years... it got really old really fast, so I quit raiding.

Higher tier Heroic content is pretty challenging (think mini raids with 6 people) and can be done at my leisure.

And I know that a lot of people feel the same way.

I think you're missing the point somewhat.

People have pride in their toons and its pretty much basic human instinct to try and improve ones toon as much as they are able. This desire to improve exists whatever play style be it a soloer/heroic grouper or raider.

The thing with Ascension spells is due to the appalling drop rates it is not possible to upgrade without spending RL money and that goes against the grain for me anyway!

I was thinking about the following fictional example the other day:

Some nice people decided to organize a marathon for as many people as possible. A long run, 42 kilometers, you know.
The next day after announcement there come some reactions:
"I like you idea very much and I am going to participate in your marathon, but you know..."
1. throughout last year I already did 35 marathons, so can I just run the last mile instead of doing all 42 kilometers to save me from boring?
2. I hate to run, but I like to walk, can I walk 42 kilometers and yet be one of the firsts?
3. It is boring to run 42 kilometers, there's no fun in it, but the final 100 meter seems to me very funny especially if I'm one of the firsts at finish. What can you do for me, you don't want to lose me, don't you? If you start losing people you'll have no one, don't you know?
4. I have only 15 minutes for your marathon, you must be crazy if you say that I can't participate in your marathon.
5. Are you going to sell bottle of waters for participants along the way? What is it? P2W event?

Now the question is. Image you are the one who organize this marathon. What would you answer be to all these requests?

It wouldn't be 'This marathon is going to be tough but if you buy these trainers for $1000 you can do it in half the time'.

It would be ' This marathon is tough but if you train hard you'll be able to get trainer upgrades so you can do it in half the time'

With this expac, there's really no point into raiding unless you're killing T3(few items) and T4(where most if not all upgrades are found)..

With all the "decent" and "BiS" gear that can be gotten solo or in heroics/experts pretty much most if not all T1/T2 raiding is obsolete, thus making raiding not worth it unless you're in a guild that can do at least T3s

Seems to happen a lot with them.

Raid = Not even remotely as hard as it used to be, you just have less capable people playing and way more broken scrips
Heroics = We know ethereals are coming, and we had to do them the first half to get some of the gear but we can also do pg's, pq's, burnt keys, and key quest

Boring raid mobs, and small communities, so yes expect to pay more next expact for less, and you better keep that sub up too, cause you will lose any item that took you forever to get

Should I report an attempt of personal attack on me or just let it go this time?