Grouping is a huge part of SWTOR, the plot of the flashpoints is very interesting and engaging sometimes with the best story and twists in the game (I'm thinking of you Foundry) the fights are well designed and the plot is often very interesting. They did 2 things with grouping that I really like, the first is the system where all groups participate in dialogs, this makes your group members from faceless, voiceless strangers who are only there to help you get through the content, to characters who are part of the plot and decisions. The conversation rolling system in dialogs works really well. Makes you feel like a part of a group where each one participate in the decisions and actions of the team. The second thing I like is that the decision making makes each fp run feel a bit different, with different dialogs, different cut scenes based on the decisions and even different bosses to fight.
The problem comes when you actually want to get into a group. There is no WOW like LFD tool to automatically match you with others looking for the fp, there's not even a server wide LFG channel or widely used system to let you know who else is looking for the FP you are interested in. Bad move Bioware, how hard is it to make a server LFG chat channel? I hope they'll at least add this feature soon, as this is obviously a very easy thing to implement.
So your are stuck with staying around the Imperial or Republic Fleet spamming "LF2M tank and dps for the foundry" or "healer LF Boarding Party". No way! Sorry, but my time is too important to me to spend it doing nothing and waiting, when I have time to play I want it to be fun, not wasted. On the other hand, grouping is too much fun to skip and indeed I did every single level appropriate FP with my Sorcerer and Operative who are currently both level 40 as well as every FP with my Mercenary who is currently 27.
Let's look at the things that I found useful to make sure you find FP groups and not waste your precious gaming time waiting for it, I hope it helps others.
1. There are many things to do at the Fleet, want to work on your crafting skills? Trade in the Galactic Trade Market? Check out the vendors? This is a great time to stick around and see if any groups are forming while doing things you need to do anyway.
2. Use your alts. I play three characters, often when I want to do a FP with one of them I'll log him, see if a group for my desired FP is forming, if not I'll play another char and try again later. You can also go back to questing and check again later.
3. Many people who wants to do a FP don't want to stick around the Fleet looking either, the appropriate level questing zones can often be used to find group members, this is also nice because you are doing your quests and once your group is ready, you can head to the FP together.
4. Play with a friend, many people play with a friend or a partner, it's always much easier and faster to do "LF2M..." than to look by yourself. It also doesn't have to be an irl friend, when you meet others you enjoy grouping with, add them to your friend's list, make sure to ask them if they are available when you need a group, soon they'll do the same. These days often as soon as I log a character I get "Hey, want to heal xxx?" from people I met while playing.
5. Join a guild with people around your level who you like playing with. It's always easier to ask people in your guild if anyone wants to do whatever FP you currently need. Also many guildies will want to play with you since they know you and trust your skills and personality.
6. Schedule FP runs. Often I let my in game friends, guildies or even someone else I just met when looking for a group, know that I plan to look for the specific FP around 8:30, or whatever time works for you both. This way you know your group has at least few members ready to join you when you want to play.
I suggest not to have the state of mind of "I want to do this FP and it must be now" this will only put you in a frustrated position if you can't find it instantly. Decide on a 2-3 level range where you want to do this FP, plan for other activities if you don't find a group quickly, be flexible and take advantage of the opportunities as they happen.
There is no doubt Bioware can and should implement better tools to make grouping easier, I hope they'll hear the complaints and do it soon. Until they do, I hope this gives you some idea of finding the groups you want and spend more time playing instead of looking for groups.
No comments:
Post a Comment