322 replies to this topic

[Divine Retribution]

I drop solo because:

1. No one else is online at the moment. But others will show up and solo won't last long.

2. There are already 1 or more groups of 4 playing. I'll PUG while waiting for a slot or until someone else shows up.

3. My mind has blocked out the memory of previous tourney experiences, so I've opted into another one.

4. I'm being shafted by the MM, HSR is mocking me, or similar shenaniganarry (not a word, but I like the sound of it) for hours on end. I don't have anything nice to say at that point so I just keep to myself, yelling expletives at the screen and making sacrifices to the MM and HSR gods until they have been appeased and stop punishing me for some perceived slight. To be honest it's only happened 3 times over the last 2 years, but it is a reason.

[Daekar]

Another reason I just experienced: I hopped over to the NGNG TS server and the House Kurita servers to see what it looked like. The Kurita server was literally empty, and at the NGNG server I sat in the LFG channel for 30 minutes without any of the open teams coming to grab me. Forget that, I'm not going begging - if they don't want to use the established conventions, they obviously don't want more people to play with.

[Davers]

Daekar, on 22 April 2014 - 07:00 AM, said:

Another reason I just experienced: I hopped over to the NGNG TS server and the House Kurita servers to see what it looked like. The Kurita server was literally empty, and at the NGNG server I sat in the LFG channel for 30 minutes without any of the open teams coming to grab me. Forget that, I'm not going begging - if they don't want to use the established conventions, they obviously don't want more people to play with.

It is also pretty normal for a player to drop down to an open spot in a non-unit bay.

[Almond Brown]

Ronyn, on 22 April 2014 - 06:16 AM, said:

Some of the companies are finally 'Gettting it". SOE with their open communications with their fans are getting it, Trion is starting to. But still, there are many companies that insist that their consumers be just that, consumers, not thinkers.

LOl! True "thinkers" would gather a talented crew, acquire a very expensive IP, figure out how to obtain funding required to launch a new game company and then build that IP as they themselves see fit.

We call them Developers.

Those you speak of are just that, consumers and nothing more. Consumers are simply better at assuming they could do better, without actually even trying to do better.

Edited by Almond Brown, 22 April 2014 - 07:11 AM.

[PickleM0nster]

I solo almost all games(99.5%) because i simply want to play the game with no hassle and come and go as i please.

[Phlinger]

Edit:

Edited by Ronyn, 24 April 2014 - 06:49 AM.

[Kaldor]

I drop solo because:

My friends list with 300+ on it has 5 people playing.
House TS channels are empty.
I dont have time to group.
I feel like clubbing people solo.
I dont want to be the ELO anchor for the 4 man
Playing 4 man sucks, 12 man is too hard to get together , WRU groups of 5-8?

Roadbeer, on 21 April 2014 - 02:42 PM, said:

I am Roadbeer, and I drop solo because:

The group I'm about to join JUST dropped as I entered the channel and I'm waiting to join with them after they complete their drop.


That's it.

Here I thought you were going to say "The group I wanted to join broke up because I logged in"

Roadbeer, on 21 April 2014 - 03:29 PM, said:

Wow, some serious misconceptions about group play going on here.

Right? Too bad a few jacka__es have to ruin the initial impression for many.

Davers, on 22 April 2014 - 06:42 AM, said:

But whining and rage quitting is usually from solo players. The team players are too busy laughing about it on VoIP.

As it currently is, pugs cannot 'determine why they lost and correct the problem' because every match is a new team, so nothing is collectively learned. Maybe this will change with lobbies.

Yep, I see this often, and not just in this game. People that are obviously solo, get all mad because they died, get angry and rage log from match after a "YOU GUYS ALL SUCK!!!" comment or something similar. I need to create a "U MAD BRO?" macro I think...

And Davers is exactly correct. Advancing yourself as a player is a combination of group play, and solo play. Each type of play builds a different set of skills.

[FREDtheDEAD]

I drop solo because I'm scared of commitment.

Kaldor, on 22 April 2014 - 07:20 AM, said:

Right? Too bad a few jacka__es have to ruin the initial impression for many.



Yep, I see this often, and not just in this game. People that are obviously solo, get all mad because they died, get angry and rage log from match after a "YOU GUYS ALL SUCK!!!" comment or something similar. I need to create a "U MAD BRO?" macro I think...

And Davers is exactly correct. Advancing yourself as a player is a combination of group play, and solo play. Each type of play builds a different set of skills.

That might be because most players are solo and most newbies are solo. Don't generalise and lump us all together! What a horrible thought.

Edited by Xajorkith, 22 April 2014 - 07:24 AM.

[Joseph Mallan]

Kaldor, on 22 April 2014 - 07:20 AM, said:

Yep, I see this often, and not just in this game. People that are obviously solo, get all mad because they died, get angry and rage log from match after a "YOU GUYS ALL SUCK!!!" comment or something similar. I need to create a "U MAD BRO?" macro I think...

And Davers is exactly correct. Advancing yourself as a player is a combination of group play, and solo play. Each type of play builds a different set of skills.

I "Liked" this part.

[RussianWolf]

I drop solo because I don't like you.



Of those saying they only drop solo when they can't be on a team, What is your split? 50/50? 70/30?


I drop in a team sometimes, but its a very loose team by most standards. No voice comms, just similar goals and decent players. I probably drop with them 20%. Usually 2 of us and sometimes 3, Rarely 4.

[Kaldor]

Xajorkith, on 22 April 2014 - 07:23 AM, said:

I drop solo because I'm scared of commitment.


That might be because most players are solo and most newbies are solo. Don't generalise and lump us all together! What a horrible thought.

I never said PUGging solo was a bad thing. Everyone does it, or has done it. Mine and Davers' point for that matter, is alot of the poor behavior in this game can be directly linked to solo players.

However the potential for one clown to ruin the experience for everyone is very high. MGA and most of the Marik units I know openly welcome newbies generally providing they are not complete idiots. The problem I have with newbies are the ones that think they have a clue, never accept constructive criticism, continue on blindly like they are the best ever, and generally become a point of contention within whatever unit they join until people get pi__ed off and then they get booted.

[Craig Steele]

What I am finding interesting is that there seems to be a trend of those players saying they don't need group play, want group play or have rl things preventing group play for them, seem to also have a relativily low number of forum posts on their tags. I see Founders with only a couple of hundred posts for example.

It's almost as if there's a demographic in the player base that rarely posts but has a different view being argued so fiercely on other threads that everyone is (should be?) a group player.

Imagine that, a relativily silent demographic that is unknown to forum users, but PGI would have included in their stats when making decisions about the direction of the game.

It makes me think anyway.

I hope they are not scared away by some of the hostile approaches and keep posting here, would be interesting to encompass their view for once.

[DirePhoenix]

I drop solo because:

• My schedule is erratic and when I can and want to play, my friends are not often available at the same time.
  
• I'm not going to demand that my friends play at the same time I am.
  
• I'm perfectly fine with playing with whoever's available online - even PuGs.
  
  • I'll be even better when we have faction-separated team buckets and I can drop with whatever faction players are online when I want to play, even if we need Lone Wolf filler from time to time. In other words, my faction will be my "group".

[Davers]

Craig Steele, on 22 April 2014 - 07:36 AM, said:

What I am finding interesting is that there seems to be a trend of those players saying they don't need group play, want group play or have rl things preventing group play for them, seem to also have a relativily low number of forum posts on their tags. I see Founders with only a couple of hundred posts for example.

It's almost as if there's a demographic in the player base that rarely posts but has a different view being argued so fiercely on other threads that everyone is (should be?) a group player.

Imagine that, a relativily silent demographic that is unknown to forum users, but PGI would have included in their stats when making decisions about the direction of the game.

It makes me think anyway.

I hope they are not scared away by some of the hostile approaches and keep posting here, would be interesting to encompass their view for once.

It's amazing that in a thread about 'tell us why you drop solo' people are stating that they drop solo. It's like some kind of elf magic.

Everyone drops solo at some time. I would imagine the number of players that drop exclusively in groups to be rather small indeed. Or I could be totally wrong.

No one is stating that people HAVE to drop in groups anywhere in this thread.

[Craig Steele]

Davers, on 22 April 2014 - 07:41 AM, said:

It's amazing that in a thread about 'tell us why you drop solo' people are stating that they drop solo. It's like some kind of elf magic.

Everyone drops solo at some time. I would imagine the number of players that drop exclusively in groups to be rather small indeed. Or I could be totally wrong.

No one is stating that people HAVE to drop in groups anywhere in this thread.

How many times have you had a dip at me about my reading comprehension?

Craig Steele, on 22 April 2014 - 07:36 AM, said:

What I am finding interesting is that there seems to be a trend of those players saying they don't need group play, want group play or have rl things preventing group play for them, seem to also have a relativily low number of forum posts on their tags. I see Founders with only a couple of hundred posts for example.

It's almost as if there's a demographic in the player base that rarely posts but has a different view being argued so fiercely on other threads that everyone is (should be?) a group player.

Imagine that, a relativily silent demographic that is unknown to forum users, but PGI would have included in their stats when making decisions about the direction of the game.

It makes me think anyway.

I hope they are not scared away by some of the hostile approaches and keep posting here, would be interesting to encompass their view for once.

[Kaldor]

Craig Steele, on 22 April 2014 - 07:36 AM, said:

What I am finding interesting is that there seems to be a trend of those players saying they don't need group play, want group play or have rl things preventing group play for them, seem to also have a relativily low number of forum posts on their tags. I see Founders with only a couple of hundred posts for example.

It's almost as if there's a demographic in the player base that rarely posts but has a different view being argued so fiercely on other threads that everyone is (should be?) a group player.

Imagine that, a relativily silent demographic that is unknown to forum users, but PGI would have included in their stats when making decisions about the direction of the game.

It makes me think anyway.

I hope they are not scared away by some of the hostile approaches and keep posting here, would be interesting to encompass their view for once.

This is the nature of the game. In Closed Beta, when grouping was its peak, the forums were no more or less active in all reality, but generally those in Closed Beta, played to join a unit, group up and provide feedback via the forums.

Enter Open Beta. At this point the flood gates open, and everyone can get in, and alot of those people have little to no interest in grouping or posting on the forums. There is your silent majority. They dont generally join units, dont post on the forums, and beyond playing from time to time, dont really care.

Guess which group builds communities that help games stand the test of time?

[RussianWolf]

Kaldor, on 22 April 2014 - 07:35 AM, said:

I never said PUGging solo was a bad thing. Everyone does it, or has done it. Mine and Davers' point for that matter, is alot of the poor behavior in this game can be directly linked to solo players.

Yeah, I've seen the raging and excuses given from newer solos. I've also seen a lot of arrogance from 4mans (never play 12mans so no clue there). I'll give the newbs getting stomped a pass on being frustrated. I expect better from established players.

[Joseph Mallan]

Craig Steele, on 22 April 2014 - 07:36 AM, said:

What I am finding interesting is that there seems to be a trend of those players saying they don't need group play, want group play or have rl things preventing group play for them, seem to also have a relativily low number of forum posts on their tags. I see Founders with only a couple of hundred posts for example.

It's almost as if there's a demographic in the player base that rarely posts but has a different view being argued so fiercely on other threads that everyone is (should be?) a group player.

Imagine that, a relativily silent demographic that is unknown to forum users, but PGI would have included in their stats when making decisions about the direction of the game.

It makes me think anyway.

I hope they are not scared away by some of the hostile approaches and keep posting here, would be interesting to encompass their view for once.

This. Is something I support completely. But human nature being what it is there will always be some who are afraid to voice their opinion.
...
...
...
Obviously this demographic does not include one Joseph James Mallan!

[Davers]

Craig Steele, on 22 April 2014 - 07:44 AM, said:

How many times have you had a dip at me about my reading comprehension?

Ummm...never. I think that was Randy.

[Craig Steele]

Kaldor, on 22 April 2014 - 07:45 AM, said:

This is the nature of the game. In Closed Beta, when grouping was its peak, the forums were no more or less active in all reality, but generally those in Closed Beta, played to join a unit, group up and provide feedback via the forums.

Enter Open Beta. At this point the flood gates open, and everyone can get in, and alot of those people have little to no interest in grouping or posting on the forums. There is your silent majority. They dont generally join units, dont post on the forums, and beyond playing from time to time, dont really care.

Guess which group builds communities that help games stand the test of time?

But they are there right? And some of them are Founders and have Overlord Badges so they have certainly spent money on the game supporting it.

Shouldn't we embrace their view accordingly?

Davers, on 22 April 2014 - 07:48 AM, said:

Ummm...never. I think that was Randy.

LOL, OK, Maybe I am getting my Marik badges mixed up. My apologies then