I know it's no big deal to do it solo with the henchmen, but it's more fun with a friend and that's the way we always used to do it. We never had this issue of constantly being forced to split up (even though we are on the team together when we took the quest to go in, clicked the 'my team is ready' and watched the countdown together) that we do anymore.
I was used to having the issue of always having to PvP in there with myself and the henchmen against three or four other real players, always being out numbered with real players each time I've even gone through there... even my partner has had that issue when he has gone through there alone, but that's not that big of a problem, except that anymore it seems that if we try to go in as a team, we are not only forced to skip the PvP entirely, but to also be separated for the battle against Vatlaaw Doomtooth.
So why is this? Are teams no longer allowed there? If you try to go through with a friend you'll be forced to skip the PvP and always be separated? If so, then why leave the option there to go in with a team if it's only going to penalize you without warning, for trying to do so. ?
I've been playing Guild Wars since June 2005, I have half a dozen accounts and make characters in the Prophecies campaign just for Pre-Searing and because it's more fun then the other starter areas, and often I just make a character to go through that and delete and remake them once they hit Post-Searing... so I know I'm not doing anything different that I used to do, I'm not suddenly clicking the wrong option or anything. Nothing has changed, or rather nothing that I seem to have any control over.
