Too group or not too group

tralkar · 05-30-08, 11:44 AM

Was wondering what people like to play. I like to solo alot, don't realy like grouping. Find myself more pissed than anything when grouping.. when i solo i can do what ever i want and also get all the cash and loots hehe..
So if your a solo/group, guy/gal let others know about it..

Jzar · 05-30-08, 12:05 PM

Heh. You only get pissed in groups because they're probably what're known as PUGs or PickUp Groups. A random gathering of adventurers with no interest in each others' welfare, working together only because they can't accomplish goal X alone.

The joy of WoW *IS* in groups, you just need to find the right ones. If you're in a guild, make some friends the same level as you and quest / do instances together. If you have some class diversity in the group of friends you make, you won't have to worry about divying up loots because you would have (ideally) only 1 of each type of armor wearer (cloth, leather, etc.).

I gave my friend a key through the recruit-a-friend program, and he enjoyed it, but was about to let the 10-day free trial expire. Until I got my L12 hunter and ran through RFC with him. All of sudden, he was part of a group, it gave him a chance to role-play his Troll ("Wha do ya' mean, what accent is dat? Is' a TROLL accent! Ah swear mon, ja-makin' me creezy!") and he loves doing instances. He's now 34 and leveling quickly to 70.

I honestly think it's the group content that makes WoW so much better than every other RPG that's ever existed. Give it a chance, get a group with some regulars, and run instances! It's fun!

MidgetMage55 · 05-30-08, 12:27 PM

Love groups for the most part. Its great when you get a team together (especially if you pull it off in a PUG) and have good coordination and do a job well.

One thing i dont like about groups are those that feel they have to play like:
A) They are soloing with a group of people there to support them, as they tend to do VERY stupid things.
B) Insist they should be allowed to do what X player is doing because their class can sort of do it. With no regard to team strats or any sort of simple logic. Like insisting on off-tanking (and this includes any type of it) when there is ample CC around. This is especially annoying to me as a priest. More unnecessary work for the sake of ego and more often than not something goes wrong.

Soloing has its moments, but i feel its class dependent. For example i love soloing on my warlock but am not fond of doing so on my holy priest.

In the end its all about what your after. You could literally solo to max level if you wish. The game has been geared to make this possible. though you limit yourself in what you can attain and see. And you have to admit wow has some pretty sweet encounters/zones. They do amazing things with content given the 'older' engine. (i hate people that insist Blizz needs to update it, function over form... always)

I agree with Jzar on this though. the 'magic' of wow (and to an extent most online games) is the groups. While wow does it better than pretty much any other rpg ive played in the end the major point of playing in a persistent world with so many people is the interaction. Otherwise you could just play diablo/hellgate/titanquest offline and get the same results in terms of loot and fun.

erica647 · 05-30-08, 01:08 PM

WoW is just a collection of people... some you get along with and some you don't just as it is in society. The trick is as has already been mentioned... to find a regular group of people you like to group with or find a guild with nice people. Joining a PUG is just like picking up random people off the street... you have no idea about what kind of people they are. Also keep in mind that some people buy their level 70 characters so you may be in a group with someone who just got their shiny new premade level 70!

Rigorous · 05-30-08, 02:02 PM

i will readily agree that the really great part of online gaming is in the social interaction and finding that group that really just works. i played EQ for a couple years (from Kunark to LDoN) and was in a top raiding guild on my server and unquestionably had some of the best gaming experiences of all time with it and the people i grouped/raided with because of the people.

however, people in EQ were (in my experience) largely very disciplined players (not just those in my guild) and that seems to be seriously lacking (again, in my experience) from WoW. people understood their roles and what they should and shouldn't do in a group, both as a part of their role/class and, generally, as a sensible member of the group.

in WoW, though, nearly every group i've been in has been nearly utter chaos, even when grouping with people i thought knew better. this has been a big disappointment in WoW for me, but it also doesn't particularly surprise me given its success.

also, i largely solo because, as opposed to when i played EQ, i now have a wife and 2 kids. the opportunity to devote my exclusive attention to a group (as one should do when one is in a group) is not as readily available and i need to be able to walk away at any moment and i wouldn't want to do that to a group. i have a great time soloing (and spending alot of time in pre-made and PUG BGs with all of my characters) and strongly disagree that i could get a similar experience from a single player RPG.

MidgetMage55 · 05-30-08, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Rigorous

....and strongly disagree that i could get a similar experience from a single player RPG.

And that is where everyone gets a different perspective on games of this type. I personally (and this is MY sole take on this though others may agree or disagree as is their right) that when i solo while its fun in itself the only reasons i enjoy it more in WoW is simply the people. Having people to talk to while grinding is always fun even if not in your group. Granted in a single player rpg you dont have to fight for contested spawns and so on but aside from those 2 things i personally find them the same.

The core of this thread in reality (and in most things) is finding what YOU like and going with it. As long as you accept the good with the bad your in good shape. =)

I should have stated it more as personal opinion initially as opposed to fact. Sometimes the fingers override the logic of a statement hehe.

P.S. Im not saying your wrong in any way Rigorous. Im hoping my clarification was to elaborate my feelings on this and not anger anyone.

Rigorous · 05-30-08, 03:20 PM

indeed, its all about personal preferences. i wasn't, nor am i, trying to start an argument about it. i'm only saying that for me a single-player game can't compare to a game like WoW, even if i play WoW as more of a single-player type experience.

the "world" of WoW is ALIVE and even if my interaction with that living part of the world is often relatively limited, it is nonetheless truly alive. even great single-player open-world type games (say, GTA IV or Oblivion) which do an excellent job of simulating a real, populated world are still full of essentially robotic unthinking pre-programmed "people". the world, although perhaps excellently simulated, is nonetheless largely somehow sterile. i won't go to the mailbox in town and find a group of naked, dancing troll women one time, someone selling enchants the next and perhaps no one at all the next. the world of WOW isn't neat and orderly and basically the same each time you go there (disclaimer: i realize that this isn't 100% true of single player games, but i'm making a point...) and real life isn't like that either. and the fact that i have a choice to start dancing along with the trolls or offer my own wares for sale or simply ignore it all and go back to questing, is what makes it unlike (and significantly better than) any single player game, even if i choose to simply keep to myself more often than not.

again, not disagreeing with the fact that sharing the game with others is a sort of gaming nirvana in and of itself (because it can be true), only that WoW still, imo, offers a great and unique experience to those who don't go that route.