L F G......anybody????

[brainbasher]

I have seen this a few times,newish players having problems finding someone to group with...this can be for many reasons.
But how easy is it finding other players to group with?
When i saw one last night i did some checking round(Choas)
First i checked for players in the level 10-30 range...no one had their LFG check box on...this i assume is the in game method to let other players know you can be telled???
Maybe no one wanted to group at that time?this was a one shot check.
The place i saw the request...no other players on in that level.
Then checked the char names in that range against a range of channels and with the exception of MP the 40 odd players at that time no more than 15 of the 40 where in other channels
So what is a newish player todo?

i suggest either have a new chat channel called say LFG

Or maybe use the MP channel as it is the largest..and use a logical call similiar to current use ie WTS/WTB.....LFG level 20 Warrior PST....or whatever

Maybe Dev,s could have a look at improving current system?

Either way i,m sure it must put off new players that are used to better group chat systems in other games

Of cause it could be a failing on the current population that dosn,t use current LFG system?

[Alacor Vashnore]

I agree there is a def lack of group making. i know whin i was in that lvl area just starting out again, it was very hard to find some one to hunt with. luckly i found a dragon eventualy after many days of looking and my hlr never lets the dragon out of there sight.

I liked your idea about the chat room the only thing is getting the players there. i hang out in New player alot and if i do a player search 3/4 of the new players arnt in the room. granted im sure 75% of them are alts and dont need help. but the problem still stands how do we get them in the room?

[LOVWYRM]

I think I agree to that-
but so many combinations of single letters, I do not understand

[Shian]

TBH, Ive never used the LFG system in any game. I hear Wow has a good one, but all the other MMOs I've played? Dosen't exist or no one uses the mechanics enough to be effective.

The chat channel sounds like a fine idea as that's what most people have used to get around the subpar LFG mechanics. It's also quick and easy to implement.

[Tcei]

There's an lfg tool in this game??? Honestly I've never used it. Anytime I've ever needed help killing something I've always asked dragon chat or MP and normally found someone to help, as for group for the sake of grouping that happens rarely for me, and I've rarely ever seen it. Normally its with friends I've known for a long while. In any game thats the best way to get groups, tho it is very difficult for newbies to do that.

It may be slightly different on Chaos and I know its different on Order compared to the way it was then I started (around the EI Nightmare), as there's alot more newbies now than back then. Any newbies best bet is probably to ask in Market or Dragon if they're looking for help with a specific target. Or, if they're looking to just group, to hang around common gathering areas for that level (NT, Kion,Brist, ect) and ask anyone who wanders by.

[Steelclaw]

I think I agree to that-
but so many combinations of single letters, I do not understand

LFG = Looking For Group


[LFG commentary]

First, I've never set my /lfg flag. It seems like few people do. Casual groups seem to form over chat channels (marketplace, npa, dragon chat) or 'in person'.

I suspect the difficulty in finding a group stems from the changes to group XP. (The ones where lower level characters are penalized for grouping with higher level ones.) For the higher level character, it doesn't matter, they're not going to get much XP anyway. For the lower level character, grouping with a higher level character poses an obstacle to leveling and thus has little incentive to do it. Providing a mechanism to convey LFG isn't going to do much if the only people you can group with are the ones that are going to slow you down.

So, for the sake of discussion, I ask what kind of incentives can be offered to a low level character so that they would welcome a high level one into their group? Let me impose a few restrictions so this can go in a direction that may actually be practical:

- The incentive should not alter the solo hunting experience.
- Use of the incentive should not be mandatory.
- The incentive should either enable the lower level to level at close to the same rate as solo hunting or otherwise fairly compensate them for their time spent.
- The method of compensation should be (close to) universally appreciated. That is, a wandering high level character can solicit a group from a low level player and has a high chance of being accepted.
- The incentive should create an active role for the lower level character and discourage them from perching, standing around, or being a passive bystander.
- The incentive should be repeatable. That is, one-time things like "Learning how to fight" or "You get a guild invite" are not considered.

[fireblade]

LFG = Looking For Group


[LFG commentary]

First, I've never set my /lfg flag. It seems like few people do. Casual groups seem to form over chat channels (marketplace, npa, dragon chat) or 'in person'.

I suspect the difficulty in finding a group stems from the changes to group XP. (The ones where lower level characters are penalized for grouping with higher level ones.) For the higher level character, it doesn't matter, they're not going to get much XP anyway. For the lower level character, grouping with a higher level character poses an obstacle to leveling and thus has little incentive to do it. Providing a mechanism to convey LFG isn't going to do much if the only people you can group with are the ones that are going to slow you down.

So, for the sake of discussion, I ask what kind of incentives can be offered to a low level character so that they would welcome a high level one into their group? Let me impose a few restrictions so this can go in a direction that may actually be practical:

- The incentive should not alter the solo hunting experience.
- Use of the incentive should not be mandatory.
- The incentive should either enable the lower level to level at close to the same rate as solo hunting or otherwise fairly compensate them for their time spent.
- The method of compensation should be (close to) universally appreciated. That is, a wandering high level character can solicit a group from a low level player and has a high chance of being accepted.
- The incentive should create an active role for the lower level character and discourage them from perching, standing around, or being a passive bystander.
- The incentive should be repeatable. That is, one-time things like "Learning how to fight" or "You get a guild invite" are not considered.

I was thinking about how CoH does this effectively debuff that when active scales high lvls down to effectly same lvl as low lvl group members and scales "sidekicks" up to similar lvl to a companying high lvl

first drawing from this concept thing that could be possible is a special buff (gift?) that could pull up a low lvl to a similar effective lvl in damage/healing/health/armour as high level that casts it upon them (allows between 1 and half of group to be low levels assisting high lvl group)

second version could be a "gift" that weakens the higher lvl that casts it but removes xp penalties on lower lvl char (allows between 1 and half of group to be high lvls assisting low lvl group)

"gifts" scale xp gained by recipient of "gift" so gain xp at equivalent rate to grouping at own lvl

could call something like "soul bond"

don't know if would fit properly but though would post as possible starting point

[Shian]

I was thinking about how CoH does this effectively debuff that when active scales high lvls down to effectly same lvl as low lvl group members and scales "sidekicks" up to similar lvl to a companying high lvl

first drawing from this concept thing that could be possible is a special buff (gift?) that could pull up a low lvl to a similar effective lvl in damage/healing/health/armour as high level that casts it upon them (allows between 1 and half of group to be low levels assisting high lvl group)

second version could be a "gift" that weakens the higher lvl that casts it but removes xp penalties on lower lvl char (allows between 1 and half of group to be high lvls assisting low lvl group)

"gifts" scale xp gained by recipient of "gift" so gain xp at equivalent rate to grouping at own lvl

could call something like "soul bond"

don't know if would fit properly but though would post as possible starting point

This concept would not work in HZ. Every armor/weapon set, every spell, every stat is different from one character to the next.

In CoX, there are no stats to fiddle around/add to or armor/weapons or powers that do different things (because in HZ we can tech them differently), such a thing is easy to keep track of as far as balance and making such a system effective.

I can't even imagine the headache of trying implement such a thing in HZ. It really boggles the mind. This sounds like the same along the lines of "might as well make an HZ2 because it would take just that long to put in."

[fireblade]

This concept would not work in HZ. Every armor/weapon set, every spell, every stat is different from one character to the next.

In CoX, there are no stats to fiddle around/add to or armor/weapons or powers that do different things (because in HZ we can tech them differently), such a thing is easy to keep track of as far as balance and making such a system effective.

I can't even imagine the headache of trying implement such a thing in HZ. It really boggles the mind. This sounds like the same along the lines of "might as well make an HZ2 because it would take just that long to put in."

I don't think thats entirely true as in CoX everyone can have different combinations of powers all with different combinations of enhancements with effects on each of powers.

its a little difficult to compare the mechanics of the two without looking at the mechanics of both, though thats not really the subject of this thread


anyway on the scaling of stats and abilities downwards don`t DP effect do this in some form?

[olyblast]

Im currently working on my first adventuring class and have reached the lvl 75ish range and i find it hard as heck to get a group, even though i have been around for quite some time i still think of myself as a noob cause there is alot that i have not experienced yet or done. A LFG channel would be awesome.
I play on chaos shard and constantly am down for adventuring with someone but i know that rating often times gets in the way of that. And it always seems like everyone is out there crafting or something cause i cant believe how many times I have asked for a group and gotten no response, it kind of surprises me cause usually there is a lot of people on, about 80ish when i play.

[Favoran]

I've never bothered with LFG, since I'm usually able to find help from people off the Dragon or MP channels (as has been mentioned many times already).

I think an LFG channel would go a long way to helping with this issue; however, since not a whole lot of players (and certainly no new ones) know about the /lfg flag, it's unlikely they'll find their way to an LFG channel without asking on a more crowded public channel in the first place.

Of course, channel or no I doubt I'd be able to be on there... I have the issue of already having two full chat windows open at all times and can't fit an extra chat tab. If I were to group, I'd have to be asked in a public channel anyways, or via a /tell. I don't know if many others have this sort of issue, or if it'll matter with most of those potentially looking for a group on this channel being quite a bit under the 100 point. XD

[C`gan]

LFG...WP!

Somehow, we seem to always work up groups as projects are found or people decide they want to work on them. It's always a mixed bag who joins in.