Yeah it gets much better after the personal story leveling stuff. It’s an eleven year old game, and unfortunately the content that new players see first is the most dated. They originally leaned more into a more generic RPG story that just happens to be set in an mmo. Heart of Thorns is markedly better, and it just improves from there. By the time of Path of Fire, the story, characters, maps, and mechanics all feel interesting and meaningful imo.