dat cons. First few hours are slow...in a 100+ hour game.
I completely agree about the slow start, however I also played through the beta 2-3 times and didn't get a character past level 9 until last night, so the initial zones were really dragging for me. However, until you get a few skills on your bar and the story picks up, I do feel like the game never 'caught' me. Playing solo in beta bored me to tears. I vowed not to ever play this game solo.
However, now that I'm finally Act II and things are picking up, I feel like I could play solo after all. I'd still prefer a tight-knit group of friends, but since mine are failing me, and I'm itching to continue, public games or solo play seem the way to go. Had some good fun in a public game last night--as long as folks don't try and rush the story on me, I have no problem playing with strangers.