Well, if you want to play with a big group of friends, there’s raiding, wPVP, wBosses, and several other things that you can do.
Honestly, I fail to see why this is that big of a deal. If you’re purely doing it for fun, I hate to tell you, but from my experiences over the last 22 years of playing MMOs, you’re in the minority. Most people do it for the “gains” advantage.