The Party System

[Rare]

Don't know about the elite maps (only 17), but I want to mention the tombs. Most maps you go in and others naturally join, but there, unless you party ahead of time, you end up by your self. I swear, the place looks like a junior high dance with people standing against the wall not wanting to ask anyone else to dance. It feels really awkward there while all the cool kids with their parties go running in to have fun and your just not the type of person to randomly ask players to join you. The thing is, you can tell there is a bunch of players standing there thinking the same thing.
So question, why can't there be an auto party lobby for the tombs like the hauntlet? Are elites like this where you have to ~find~ a pre-party?

You don't HAVE to find a party. You can risk PUGs and potentially wait around for 5 minutes for people to join.

In any case, I don't expect a change. But I think its good to have the dialogue so the developers can understand where I feel the major bottleneck for AL is.

[Genuinous]

What if you do want to run solo, duo, trio? Allowing randoms to join there would ruin the experience. The current system is not perfect but it is better than these alternative suggestions, because it would take away too much from the game...

[Rare]

What if you do want to run solo, duo, trio? Allowing randoms to join there would ruin the experience. The current system is not perfect but it is better than these alternative suggestions, because it would take away too much from the game...

Well, there are plenty of possible solutions. Allow locked games. So random's can't join. Just a check box that keeps it the way it is now when you host a game. Only your party can enter. If its unchecked, allow randoms to join. Besides... in elite all you need to do is set off the timer to prevent people from joining.

[Samhayne]

I posted this in another thread and wanted to throw this out here:

Hey Snakespeare,

I'm not sure that simply adding the somewhat confusing (especially for a "casual" player) Host/Join system from PL into the mix would really fix the issue of bad pick up groups.

Guilds
Is the better overall solution making Guilds more visible and systems for likeminded players to get into guilds so they have more quality players to run with?

Looking for Group / Looking for More
Other MMOs have systems for players to advertise their group or to say they are a player looking for a group. Would adding those sorts of systems make a difference?

Forming a Party Global Chat
Another idea might be having a global chat for people to find a good party or people to make a party. The problem is that such global chats quickly turn to other topics (many of which are not the most appropriate for our game).

Bottom line is - what are real solutions to the universal problem of poor players (they are there in any online multiplayer game)?

[Rare]

I posted this in another thread and wanted to throw this out here:

Thanks Sam. I saw it it and gave a little feedback there too!

Like I was saying... I think parts of the party system could be great. But I think alone it is hindering more people than it is helping. Of course, there are many people that don't have any problem, as evidence by some in this thread. I speak for the little people? We are many.

[Rare]

Lets talk about this again. Its still relevant, so I'm bumping it.

[Lalarie]

Yea agreed!

[wvhills]

i'm supporting it. the party system isn't near as good as PL's system. Do away with the timed elite runs and the leaderboard for timed runs and let's let people join at anytime. Yes, some people would be upset if u did away with the timed runs but I feel like way more people would enjoy and benefit from it. Pugging in elites would greatly increase other people would be able to join when someone rage quits. The way it is now you have to try to finish the run a player short or rage quit yourself. If you didn't have enough friends online for a team someone can host and invite the other player(s) and wait for a random person(s) to join. I've made A LOT of friends in PL doing this.

I know STS implemented the timed runs to foster competitiveness and to increase people playing but I feel like giving the masses a chance to finish runs would increase overall playtime a lot more than the relatively few people who compete for leaderboard spots (i'm sure you guys have noticed the same team often has many of the top times).

I honestly don't know why PL's system was scrapped in favor of the party system in the first place.

[Rare]

In pocket legends, I'd say 85% of my friends were made from

1. Running pugs.
2. Joining friends games with new people I haven't met before.

Neither of these is really possible in arcane legends. The only place to meet people is either in town or in one of the tombs. It REALLY isn't worth it, especially in Nordr, to even try elite pugs. The probability is very high that someone will get mad and leave. Then, like wvhills said, you probably have to leave. Wasting however much time you put in.

The party system does have its benefits, but in its current state, its more of a hinderance for people that are not in one of the few mega guilds.

[wvhills]

i hear crickets...

[Uzii]

i'm supporting it. the party system isn't near as good as PL's system. Do away with the timed elite runs and the leaderboard for timed runs and let's let people join at anytime. Yes, some people would be upset if u did away with the timed runs but I feel like way more people would enjoy and benefit from it. Pugging in elites would greatly increase other people would be able to join when someone rage quits. The way it is now you have to try to finish the run a player short or rage quit yourself. If you didn't have enough friends online for a team someone can host and invite the other player(s) and wait for a random person(s) to join. I've made A LOT of friends in PL doing this.

I know STS implemented the timed runs to foster competitiveness and to increase people playing but I feel like giving the masses a chance to finish runs would increase overall playtime a lot more than the relatively few people who compete for leaderboard spots (i'm sure you guys have noticed the same team often has many of the top times).

I honestly don't know why PL's system was scrapped in favor of the party system in the first place.

Supporting this. elite with that timer is really hard to complete. i dont have all day just to acomplish one map. so making elite that ppl can always join will be high appreciated.

also i would like to run with a frend in a party but also other ppl can join. as many here said not always is possible to run with 4 frends or guildies.

[Eversor]

I posted this in another thread and wanted to throw this out here:

I feel that adding the Host/Join system from PL would absolutely make the game more enjoyable and enhance the social aspect of the game. I did not find the system confusing at all when I played PL and none of my friends did either. If it is confusing to some, there is not all that much to it. You could add a short tutorial for it.

Making guilds more visible will not fix the problems brought up in this thread. When I first started playing this game I did not join a guild for some time. I looked on the forums but could not really tell from the different guild threads which one would be a good fit for me. Honestly I feel that playing with people from a guild is the only way to determine if it is really a good fit for you. If people in a guild are running in a party of two or three I will never see them even though we might be able to help each other. I joined a few guilds and caught up with some friends from PL. We didn't feel we could find a guild that was quite what we wanted, so we made our own. Great! We put together a nice thread in the forum and we try to spend a little time where we can actively trying to find new members in game. It is much, much tougher to find good new members for a guild in this game than it was in PL. I can't do some runs with 1 or 2 other guildmates in a party and have a random person join that may be the next great guild member. In this game recruiting new members is work. I have a full-time job. I don't need another. I play this game to have fun, but I want our guild to grow. In PL we found new guild members while we had fun running maps.

The looking for group/looking for more isn't exactly a good solution either. We could spend time finding the party and then someone drops mid map. Now we have to start the map over. Again, more work/less fun.

The Party Global Chat idea, see above about the last idea. Same concern, not to mention the concern you already mentioned.

In PL I could log on, grab my friends whether there were two of us or four and start playing and people would join as needed. If we liked playing with those that joined, we would add them to our friends list and/or guild. The party system here takes away from the fun, adds work and takes away from the social aspect of the game.

Yes every game has poor players, just like PL. But the party system in PL made the game much more fun and served as a social lubricant. All you had to do was a very simple search and click the host or join button.

[Rare]

Man. Ever. I couldn't have said it better myself. Great post. I agree with everything you said.

[Lalarie]

I feel that adding the Host/Join system from PL would absolutely make the game more enjoyable and enhance the social aspect of the game. I did not find the system confusing at all when I played PL and none of my friends did either. If it is confusing to some, there is not all that much to it. You could add a short tutorial for it.

Making guilds more visible will not fix the problems brought up in this thread. When I first started playing this game I did not join a guild for some time. I looked on the forums but could not really tell from the different guild threads which one would be a good fit for me. Honestly I feel that playing with people from a guild is the only way to determine if it is really a good fit for you. If people in a guild are running in a party of two or three I will never see them even though we might be able to help each other. I joined a few guilds and caught up with some friends from PL. We didn't feel we could find a guild that was quite what we wanted, so we made our own. Great! We put together a nice thread in the forum and we try to spend a little time where we can actively trying to find new members in game. It is much, much tougher to find good new members for a guild in this game than it was in PL. I can't do some runs with 1 or 2 other guildmates in a party and have a random person join that may be the next great guild member. In this game recruiting new members is work. I have a full-time job. I don't need another. I play this game to have fun, but I want our guild to grow. In PL we found new guild members while we had fun running maps.

The looking for group/looking for more isn't exactly a good solution either. We could spend time finding the party and then someone drops mid map. Now we have to start the map over. Again, more work/less fun.

The Party Global Chat idea, see above about the last idea. Same concern, not to mention the concern you already mentioned.

In PL I could log on, grab my friends whether there were two of us or four and start playing and people would join as needed. If we liked playing with those that joined, we would add them to our friends list and/or guild. The party system here takes away from the fun, adds work and takes away from the social aspect of the game.

Yes every game has poor players, just like PL. But the party system in PL made the game much more fun and served as a social lubricant. All you had to do was a very simple search and click the host or join button.

Wow, just wow. I was out of thanks, but this post was so good I removed my thanks from another post and gave it to you :P

[drgrimmy]

I think an easy solution is to add two check box options on the party page which can only be modified by the party leader:

1) "Allow non party members to join maps."
This would allow people to form a party of two or three players with close friends and still allow random players to join them in runs. Some of my best friends in PL were made this way...

2) "Disable timer."
When not selected this would still allow players to compete for timed runs if they wanted to, but when selected it would also allow random people to join a party of 2 or 3 midway through an elite map. This would be excellent for those elite maps in which you disconnect half way through the run and cannot rejoin. It would also be excellent for those elite maps in which people bail halfway through the map, forcing you to restart the level. I loved it in PL when you could shout out to a friend, or someone could reach out to you and say "hey please help me with this boss."

I think these two simple additions will make a huge improvement in the party system. I will try to post a picture of what I mean later today

[Pandamoni]

I feel that adding the Host/Join system from PL would absolutely make the game more enjoyable and enhance the social aspect of the game. I did not find the system confusing at all when I played PL and none of my friends did either. If it is confusing to some, there is not all that much to it. You could add a short tutorial for it.

Making guilds more visible will not fix the problems brought up in this thread. When I first started playing this game I did not join a guild for some time. I looked on the forums but could not really tell from the different guild threads which one would be a good fit for me. Honestly I feel that playing with people from a guild is the only way to determine if it is really a good fit for you. If people in a guild are running in a party of two or three I will never see them even though we might be able to help each other. I joined a few guilds and caught up with some friends from PL. We didn't feel we could find a guild that was quite what we wanted, so we made our own. Great! We put together a nice thread in the forum and we try to spend a little time where we can actively trying to find new members in game. It is much, much tougher to find good new members for a guild in this game than it was in PL. I can't do some runs with 1 or 2 other guildmates in a party and have a random person join that may be the next great guild member. In this game recruiting new members is work. I have a full-time job. I don't need another. I play this game to have fun, but I want our guild to grow. In PL we found new guild members while we had fun running maps.

The looking for group/looking for more isn't exactly a good solution either. We could spend time finding the party and then someone drops mid map. Now we have to start the map over. Again, more work/less fun.

The Party Global Chat idea, see above about the last idea. Same concern, not to mention the concern you already mentioned.

In PL I could log on, grab my friends whether there were two of us or four and start playing and people would join as needed. If we liked playing with those that joined, we would add them to our friends list and/or guild. The party system here takes away from the fun, adds work and takes away from the social aspect of the game.

Yes every game has poor players, just like PL. But the party system in PL made the game much more fun and served as a social lubricant. All you had to do was a very simple search and click the host or join button.

Great post, Ever. I couldn't agree more.

I think an easy solution is to add two check box options on the party page which can only be modified by the party leader:

1) "Allow non party members to join maps."
This would allow people to form a party of two or three players with close friends and still allow random players to join them in runs. Some of my best friends in PL were made this way...

2) "Disable timer."
When not selected this would still allow players to compete for timed runs if they wanted to, but when selected it would also allow random people to join a party of 2 or 3 midway through an elite map. This would be excellent for those elite maps in which you disconnect half way through the run and cannot rejoin. It would also be excellent for those elite maps in which people bail halfway through the map, forcing you to restart the level. I loved it in PL when you could shout out to a friend, or someone could reach out to you and say "hey please help me with this boss."

I think these two simple additions will make a huge improvement in the party system. I will try to post a picture of what I mean later today

Great suggestions, Drgrimmy!

I think these suggestions would be amazing if implimented. Devs, please take note. While some are happy with the current system, this is a totally viable option that would make another subset of your paying customers very happy. This is a solution that wouldn't take away from other's play experience while enhancing the play experience of many others.

[Fyrce]

Will not seeing instances of active games take care of the JOINING issue?

I suppose having a small party is ok, but personally, I think it's unnecessary. If you sync with someone time-wise on instance starts, you almost always end up being able to join that person's games. Or you end up rotating with other stalkers! (Hehe)

As for waiting around looking for a party, I must be extra impatient because I almost never do that. I also almost never wait more than a minute or two for PUGs to fill up before I start or look elsewhere for people to play with. Either that or sit around snuggling with the Auction House, in which case I really hate all the party invites

So that means, yeah, the PL join system is MUCH better than AL's! Definitely much less clunky and tedious, and much more functional.

[Limsi]

I'm glad to with the OP's willingness to give life to this wonderful suggestion. Let's face if, the party system isn't as good as it seems in AL, unlike it's predecessors; this game proves to be somehow a little bit excruciating when it comes to that one very important aspect of any MMO: the party system.

Pretty much everything suggested on the previous posts above would speak for me. With the large pool of players here in A.L, I'm sure a revamped version of the party system would give more color to the game.

[Rare]

I'm glad to with the OP's willingness to give life to this wonderful suggestion. Let's face if, the party system isn't as good as it seems in AL, unlike it's predecessors; this game proves to be somehow a little bit excruciating when it comes to that one very important aspect of any MMO: the party system.

Pretty much everything suggested on the previous posts above would speak for me. With the large pool of players here in A.L, I'm sure a revamped version of the party system would give more color to the game.

Well said

[drgrimmy]

I think an easy solution is to add two check box options on the party page which can only be modified by the party leader:

1) "Allow non party members to join maps."
This would allow people to form a party of two or three players with close friends and still allow random players to join them in runs. Some of my best friends in PL were made this way...

2) "Disable timer."
When not selected this would still allow players to compete for timed runs if they wanted to, but when selected it would also allow random people to join a party of 2 or 3 midway through an elite map. This would be excellent for those elite maps in which you disconnect half way through the run and cannot rejoin. It would also be excellent for those elite maps in which people bail halfway through the map, forcing you to restart the level. I loved it in PL when you could shout out to a friend, or someone could reach out to you and say "hey please help me with this boss."

I think these two simple additions will make a huge improvement in the party system. I will try to post a picture of what I mean later today

Like this...



Sorry for the limited photo editing on my phone