Community?

As a veteran of many MMO's I have always found the most fun in the game coming from interacting with players around me. Player interaction has been and is the focus of every MMO. One thing I see lacking in GW is community. Why is it so hard to find a group, or why is it so hard to have stimulating conversations with pleasant people? It seems everyone just groups up with some henchmen and goes out to do missions, what happened to grouping up with people to accomplish a common goal? I miss that aspect of online gaming, its driving me and many other people to log on less and less, despite GW being a new game. Hopefully we can begin to group with others around the game and make more and more friends, just like MMOs were designed to do. If you agree, possibly post here and we can start a list of people who enjoy grouping and talking.

Thanks,
Iteicea

myself i tends to always group with henchy for the only reason that if i have to go afk, i go afk and dont keep playing because people dont wana wait dont know about the others.

I think you can chalk that up to personal preference to a degree. I know quite a few people who love the fact that henchmen exist, for the freedom it allows them while playing. In the words of my fiance: "I like the fact that I dont always have to find a group when i log in, I can go with henchmen if i want."

I agree, its nice to have them, but when they are used every time someone goes out into their instance, then why play an online game, you can get the same experience from dungeon siege or any of the Baldur's gate games

I usually prefer henchmen because of the apparent yet invisible barrier between me and the rest of the community. In regards to what you're saying, I don't know if this feeling occurs because everybody is using henchmen, or if everybody is using henchmen because the lack of a unified community. Seems kind of like a chicken or the egg type of deal.

Though I'm rather lucky in that I have a handful of close friends who I group with (in addition to henchmen, to fill out the rest of the party slots) when they're online.

I am just disappointed, because this game is so amazing, but lacks that atmosphere that makes MMOs great.

it's not worth it because the people in this game are just morons. i've played many online games and this game has the biggest assholes and stupidiest bunch of people all round up. best off just sticking with henchmen as much as you can. at least Stephan won't call you names while he's running through the walls. and henchmen never go afk or leave a team in the middle of a mission either.

Ya, we get the problem of assholes because its free, yes you get it in other MMOs, but not to this extent.

I know I've had a number of problems with living, breathing people. I only group with humans if the henchmen just don't cut it. I've been ditched, cursed at and just plain ignored one too many times.

You know, oddly, I've never experienced a significant problem with these kinds of issues. Most of the random people I communicate with in-game seem at best kind and respectful, and at worst indifferent. Most of the party leaders in pickup groups in the Crystal Desert are reasonable folks trying to get from place to place or through the missions as best they can, while sheperding people who may not have learned how not to attract every hostile on the map.

Maybe I've just been lucky.

—Siran Dunmorgan

Yep, and well said, I have to say though I do usually end up grouped, but I also agree, this game does not have the same feel or atmosphere as other MMORPG's.
It is a MMO game, just not a MMORPG as in role play game. It has as much in common with role play as Tekken.

First thing for me is in other MMORPG's you actually get attacted to the character that I'm playing, but for some reason here I don't, it seems more like a hack and slash diablo fest with little purpose other than unlocking skills for PvP which I don't actually play often.
The story is good first time round, but it also makes the game feel as though it is over just as you start to get into it..

I played FFXI for about a year and a half before I quit it and moved to GW. You're right that the community is not as strong as in other mmo's, but there's a reason for it. In most other grind games you need to spend a ton of time making friends, searching, and begging to make parties and to finish quests, simply because there is no other option. Even simple levelling was often a 1-6 hour wait depending on level, or more if you're an "unwanted" job.

Guild Wars gives you options in the form of henchemen, which is wonderful, because now I can spend my time playing the game and having fun instead of trading favors or begging people to help. The trade off is that I don't need to make friends or beg the community to help me out, which results in a weaker community than other mmo's. It's a weakness that is well worth it in my opinion, especially if you've played a heavy grind/grouping intensive game like FFXI. Even for quests that generally need rl people such as Aurora or the ascension quests it's very easy to get people to join. In FFXI I'd spend weeks hoping to find someone who either also wanted to do it, or who owed me a favor and would help out.

Exactly! Thats why I enjoy MMO's, I immerse myself into a character, I become someone else and am able to play out my story, with the lack of RPing and the focus on hack 'n slash, RPing is buried along with community, and its very saddening to see a game with so much potential ruined by this.

I agree, I find myself logging on less and less because of this very reason.

I don't have any experience with other MMORPG's, because I have a busy life and could never bring myself to fork out the monthly fees. That and the track record of the makers attracted me to GW.

Now that I'm here, I find I split my time about 50/50 between henchmen and real people. Henchmen are dependable but weak, and other humans are strong, smarter (in that they don't stand in poison water), but carry the risk of being jerks.

I've had several lame groups, true, but I don't share the cynicism I see thrown around here a lot by disillusioned players (95% of the people playing this game can't be jerks). My own ratio is probably about 1/3 total losers/lunatics, 1/3 competent but not very fun (ie, silent), and 1/3 fun, competent and interesting people.

I will say that, at its best, playing with other people is MUCH better than playing with henchmen. It's a totally different game. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood for the risk of grouping with a bunch of jerks.

I wish there was something somewhere between friends (I've made friends, but everybody goes at their own rate and it never seems like we're in a position to hook up again), and guilds (too small). Some sort of online secret handshake that told me: "I'm not a jerk. I may not be the most kick-ass player in town but I have a sense of humor and teamsmanship." That'd be nice.

Me too, by FAR the groups that I've teamed up with have been great. Of course, there are couple of bad groups, didn't gel, couple of immature rantings (shoudln't type when in the middle of combat). But for the most part, I've had great experiences.

I've also noted that the impetus to team up with living players comes down the line a bit. The game really gears up in the 2nd half and relying on teammates (living, breathing ones) becomes more paramount.

Now, my highest player is a monk and is in high demand.... I admit that...

Also, there are times that I like the freedom of doing missions, especially early, with the henchies... that way I can play as long as I want...and skip out if I want to and not feel overly guilty.

I have actually 2 ascended characters one which has finished the fire isle chain and other that is upto it. I have also been playing a monk of late, it is fairly easy to get a group as a monk, but I much prefer playing my other character, as playing a monk revolves more around watching health bars and click / heal than fighting monster enjoying the graphics.

Yes it is fairly easy to get group , and I have had a few bad groups, but more often than not they are good.
There is still no RP interaction in these groups for the majority of the time though.
You also have to understand that alot of post about "idiot gamers" are spur of the moment posts by players who have had a bad day. Forums are an annonomus place to rant etc and then only comeback you will ever get is a ban if you good too far.

I just beat D'Alessio Seaboard and still notice this problem... I have found a few people who are nice and whom I enjoy their company...but only a few. I have run into TONS of morons, mainly little "kids" who are mooching or think they are the shiz...I want a whole group of people I can rely on to group up with or even just talk with, and thats at the very least.

It's not just a bad day for me, its been a bad experience playing for weeks now. I enjoy the game itself, but want something more.

The community is extremely lacking. I find myself logging in less and less as the days go on. I really have nothing to do when I log in. I like PVP and all but finding a group without a guild that can field them all the time is hell, finding a group that dosen't suck is even harder. Other then that I can go farm. While typing this post i've decided to move on. I need to play something else.

The only way to get that is through finding people / joining guilds.

Hmm, there is a guild listing with descriptions of guilds.
You may be able to find people that way rather than just random PuG in game. Not saying it will be easy, there are 777.

I just think its the way that this game was made.

I always make sure to let friends know its more Diablo than any MMORPG. The lobbys are now towns, instead

MMORPGs are generally persistant, with giant worlds that everyone shares. This creates a feeling of wanting to hang around, see the sights, talk to people, and make friends. Its like an alternate world/life that people escape to.

GW, as I've experienced it, is basically a multiplayer game that allows you to create PUGs easily. The relatively linear storyline does not encourage people to "hang out" and "explore" much. The only place to find the comradarie you're looking for would be in a Guild. and that's if your guild has good people... which are notoriously hard to find nowadays, what with everyone having their own guild out of presearing.


With this mindset, I don't expect much as far as lasting friendships and such from the game. It has acted as a gateway ORPG for me, though. Now I want to experience the persistant world feeling and have been looking at other games, such as Eve Online, etc.

That is exactly how I feel...I've even decided to go back to galaxies...despite its overall crappiness, it had the greatest community I'd ever seen in an MMO, so IMO that made it great.

I agree with Storn.... I played half way through the game with just henchies then found it very hard to complete the missions with them and joined a human group... the first 2 were really horrible almost gave up hope then found some really great people to play with and its made all the difference now if I get in a group and see a few bad apples I just set them on ignore and try not to group with them in the future

With the new expansion its supposed to be at its best, although if you haven't played for a while they have totally rejigged the combat system and you will have to re-tweak your characters, may even find that you can no longer use some gear etc.
I guess you knew that already.
I'd probably try it, but the monthly is what makes me twitch, although it would probably save me money in the long run due to the amount of PC games I actually play / trade / rent.

Gonna try the new morrowind when thats out as that looks amazing.

I don't agree that people are moron's or any attitude like that but I do agree that something is missing. I think it's the districts. You never see the same people unless they're on your friends list and you ask them to join you.

If there were typical locked servers you'd see the people that are around your own level for days on end. I think it makes a difference. I know in the MMO's I've played I've made friends with people that hung out the same places I did and I never hang out in towns, that whole selling buying scene is not for me.

Please forgive my EQ reference but there's no Paw or Unrest, or even orc hill where you find people dying recklessly and see a kindred spirit.

The other thing is there are NO dungeons 'cept Underworld possibly and Fissure. I never thought there'd be a game without dungeons.

In terms of the general community of the random aspect, I agree it's not very strong. Obviously, if you're lucky and fall in with a great bunch of people/Guild who are similar to yourself in goals and playstyles etc. and manage to stay in contact w/them & be on at the same times, it's likely great. But then it isn't the 'random' experience anymore, really.

As much as I love the henchman and wouldn't want to seem them 'nerfed' or eliminated, I also think they're part of the problem (pve). Since players can extensively avoid PUG's by using them, it doesn't exactly encourage people to try and find that 'great bunch of people' or to be part of the community in general. Using henchman may lead to players becoming used to doing everything alone/making all the decisions and then being doubly frustrated in a PUG when they can't control everything and people are being 'only human'.

And yet, in any on-line game, the random party is often lacking...so many personalities/playstyles milling and clashing together...I'm not convinced that GW is a lot worse over-all than any other similar game.

And pay-games aren't exempt. I have a friend playing WoW and his stories of random PUG's (and sometimes even of being able to GET a PUG together) aren't exactly exemplary. Some good some bad, like always.

As to 'if you use henchmen why play an on-line game' - well, some may be like me - I generally like to play alone, particularly when I'm learning a game (and I'm slow to learn to my satisfaction), but I like the option to jump in and play with other people. It depends on what mood I'm in, or what my game-objective of the day is. That was one of the main appeals to me about GW's PvE aspect - that so much of it could be played w/out other human players, ala D2, but I could still, in theory, jump into a group to have that kind of fun whenever I wanted.
If I was playing a SP game, that option would not be there.

Not to fluff up EQ1/2 as they certainly had their problems but the ratio of bad to good pickup groups isn't even close to the same as in Guildwars. 9/10 times i could put together a party of competant players and have a good time for three or four hours in 15 minutes. In guildwars you can either IQ test all your partymembers and spend a few hours getting a group together (in wich time everyone else will leave and you get to start the process again) or pick up whoever wanders by and get a bad group 5/10 times. Even diablo 2 was easier to find decent players to beat quests with and had a more persistant world.

How about a lfp thread (looking for players) where folk here can advertise their toons, playstyles, what they're looking for in a group and times they play? Or perhaps a guild alliance or some such?
My playtimes are usually 6 am EST until about 2 pm EST sometimes until 4:30 pm. I may on occasion get on at night but that's a rare thing, hubby and dogs get me up at 4 am. My hightest character has completed the game (missions) and is now opening up the map more and getting elite skills.
I use henchmen because of the sometimes retarded pick up groups but I'm willing to play with actual players provided they are mature, dont leave mid mission etc.
Sacred Forge Knights is recruiting as well, many players that are on do not play during the day due to work etc. We welcome mature players of any age link is http://sfk.game-host.org/.

Iteicea,

GOOD POINT. I like to play with humans however, many of the groups just want to RUN through the mission/quest. When I play with closer friends we like to stop and plan,chat, and make sure we are not gonna waste our time dying for no good reason. Most of the time I do not know what skills/spells others are using. This annoys me. I want to fine tune the group before we start out. Also I would like to learn more from others. Especially others that are the same profession as me. Half the fun to me is the strategy of the mission/quest. In order to have strategy you must have communication within the group. So when you go out with henchmen at least you can STOP and think for a minute and RECHARGE. I spend most of my mana HEALING PARTY and then they want to run to the next battle before I have recharged. It takes 15 mana just to heal party, not to mention the other spells I need to use within the battle at hand.

Agreed. I've seen the best groups START in town. I usually come into a group, accepting the invite, and state: "Hi, I'm a Monk/Ranger, my primary is healing, but I do snipe with my good purple bow when time permits. I also have the ranger equivalent of sprint to run away when I'm getting pounded".

Now, everyone knows when my monk starts running around like a chicken thru the battle, trying to brush off baddies on the warriors... they know I'm a) low on energy, b) gettin' the snot beatin' outta me.

I'm pleasently surprised then others pick up the que and do it too. Often I get asked whether I'm using rebirth or resurrect. And viola! A conversation has happened... often I ask if I haven't done this mission/quest...what skills would be useful.

I also ask who is leader. So we can get that hammered out IN town. I'm not a good leader, because as a monk, I'm so busy keeping everyone's health at decent levels, I don't have time to look around and acess the situation.

But to your point about running into the next battle, I'm playing a warrior as s econdardy character.... I kinda understand the impetus to run to the next battle, Adrenaline (and keeping Fiends alive to the next conflict for Necros) is fading. Energy is not as important to a Drenaline designed Warrior. So, built into some character concepts, is "close with the enemy FAST mentality". Understanding that and being patient with that is AS necessary as everyone being patient with us Monks who need to rest.

Yeah, I've found myself logging in less often for the same reason. It's just take too much time to form a group. And I don't like to quest with henchmen, since it's not as fun compared to playing with real players. I'm in a guild and people are usually willing to help me. But the thing is, I don't want to be "helped."

I think there are plenty of team players out there. If Anet only would give us some tools so we can find each other.

I think the suggestion of an Ebay type rating system is a good one - unfortunately it wouldn't necessarily work, as people just don't get it. You aren't a great tank, you were fighting a melee mob that was hit by Enfeebling Blood and Shadow of Fear. Does the support character get credit? nope. Anyone not dealing flashy damage or pumping a healthbar it pretty much ignored, yet they are often the glue holding the party together.

There are good players, and I tend to add them to my friends list, but it is hard to find them, and a single bad player can doom a group. I think that may be the issue - in a game like D2 a bad player might be a pain, but they don't tend to make it hopeless, here they can.

you can party up with me whenever you'd like. I don't know how far into the game you are but I'll help you run through whatever quests I've already completed.

I will take you up on that, is Algren Cole your IG name?

edit: Also, what happened to conventional guild recruitment? You have them apply on your website and take them through a process, and then they join...from what I've seen, its just invite whomever...which leads to a crappy community within the guild. I personally have been trying to recruit for my guild using conventional methods and I can't get anyone to join...they dont want to wait to join.

Only go back to Star Wars Galaxies if you don't mind starting a game over from scratch and don't mind your old characters being completely different.

I have to admit to a certain degree as many here I’m disappointed in the community in general. Funny thing is I’ve pretty much faced both sides in long stretches of time, when I was levelling my E/R, I maybe was lucky but had no problem finding good groups. Things were going so well, I only had to repeat one mission in the desert and had a great time and barely had to use henchies along the way.

Now I’m levelling a N/Me which are greatly misunderstood professions so I’m sure it doesn’t help, but I can’t say if it’s because of the arrival of many new players in the game or because I’m usually 3 to 4 levels lower than the large majority this time around. I’ having the hardest time finding groups, I get the sorry dude for my lower level or simply just get kicked out as soon as they see my level.

I’ve managed to get into only one group up to know and of course was blamed for the failure of the group even though I was the last one standing when we all died, funny thing is I cleared the mission with lower level henchies right after with no problems whatsoever. Now I made it to Lions Arch with my character at level 10, which is of course way too low…lol

I’m hoping that the problems we are seeing now are temporary due to a good proportion of players that are new and still haven’t completely grasped the game yet, once their learning period is over we should hopefully see some difference in grouping and game play. Of course the random idiot will always be present, but I still would like to think that they wouldn’t constitute the majority of the player base.

Unik

This is absolutely amazing! I never would have imagined so many people enjoy community as much as I and Iteicea do. The way I see it, no matter how advanced these games get, they are still fundamentally the same. No matter what, a game is only what you make it.

It seems many people are completely content with running through a game, for the sake of running through it. For me, Guild Wars can be so much more of an experience. It has such a great Cinematic feel, and the best sense of adventure I've seen in any MMO. It even reminds me of running around the woods by my house with my friends when I was really young.

That is the appeal of this game though, and the fact that so many people would be willing to toss that away is discouraging to say the least. Being able to interact and ROLEPLAY, in an mmoRPG is what makes it appealing. Obviously, PvP is also a big draw of this game, and something I enjoy, as I'm sure many people do. But I can't let myself pursue that if I throw away the other parts.

Like I said before, a game is what you make it. That's the mentality I lead RIP with. I'll just let an open invitation stand. If you like Community, check out gwrip.proboards1.com. Hang out for a little bit, you can group with me any time you want in game, just look for Rusch Vokirk. You don't HAVE to join RIP, but you're more than welcome to, or even hang out if you want. Either way, the thing that will save any game, is a good group of people to play with.

With RIP, I want to create an fun environment, that holds true to the fundamentals of an MMORPG, where plenty of people are there to help out with quests, people who enjoy the gameplay EXPERIENCE, people who are willing to help and be helped, and even people who just feel like hanging out on guildchat. RIP is much more than a guild you apply to, for the sake of being in a guild. RIP is a group of friends who are enthusiastic about gaming, and understand what it means to be part of a community.

If that sounds interesting to you, and you want to hear more, feel more than welcome to check out gwrip.proboards1.com, or even send me an email, or talk to me in game. I'm always more than willing to talk to anyone who wants to be able to have fun with other people in GW.

I have seen an immense change from WPE and Beta Weekends to the real game. In those events you had a tight group of players with a sense of community.


Now, after release every other player is a smacktard and the community has gone down the drain. But I think it will get better. I think a lot of the tards will drop of eventually.

If you added a guy to your friends list in the Beta events - you actually would group with that player later. Now they drop like flies. Your friends list is as hollow as the community.

It will get better.

Ratatass

Well said Rusch...I recently handed over leadership of RIP to my friend Rusch, who has great ideas and, to me would make a much better leader. But reminder Rusch, this is not a recruitment thread. I was also thinking that maybe we should create a list here that is full of guys who are up for grouping, helping out new people, and just hanging out. Let me know what you think or if your interested.

This is a good idea. I posted a thread once "LFG: right now! kill galrath" and it only netted me 1 player, but we had a great time, better than a pick up group with full players usually is. (we failed horribly though, can't take henchmen to Galrath, won't work)

I would like it if there was a LFG: board, where people could post just before they go online or check out who's online before they go. It would help the guildwarsguru community to become connected in-game and it would also help pad out the gw community too.