Going through the maps to finish questlines (shuyal, Nordal, and Tindrin) and they places are almost always empty. Is it bc everyone is farming locks (at brakenridge?) or standing around cs? are there just very few players around and they are just waiting for some new content? Or does the game system automatically choose "solo" unless you are in a party?

It looks dead out there. Btw, also tried at different times in the day or night, same deal.

Hopefully AL will not turn out like SL. I played that game when it was busy and then all of a sudden, game was static and very few players.