L2 solo routine? Can stop and smell the roses. Also very instructive to learn what enemies do, exactly. No distractions and they don't die before they can do anything.
Log onto Arcane Warrior Katari and set it to Routine and you have all the time you need. I had to SR my first time because the guys I was playing with were terribad and I was in a hurry to get the match overwith because they started the game before I could create my dragon call.
I'm sorry, but which part of the OP, where I said "I hate having to play through the whole map solo, just to get a feel for the new content, but with the type of monkey jerking that has become all too normal in the game, it's a bit frustrating otherwise." did you guys not understand? Bolded, italicized, and underlined for those who need the help in spotting it...;^)
It's not an issue of being able to do it on my own, it's the desire to do it at a reasonable pace, as a team. Sadly, though, you're both probably right. I'll likely have to load up my Katari, and run through solo, in order to take the time and explore all the nooks and crannies, the way they should be explored.