Guild Wars 2

So, in all the rumbling and arguing of recent days about Fractals and Ascended gear, something became apparent to me that seems to have not been talked about: Fractals are -painful- to run in PuGs.

Now, not saying they aren’t doable, I’ve run each mini-dungeon at least once in one PuG or another, but they are uniformly painful to slog through that way. They require (at least if you want the run to be smooth and fun, as opposed to an exercise in wipes and repair bills) a level of coordination and actual group play not present in other content in the game. A lot of folks like that sort of thing, and want more of it, and I’m not saying they’re wrong. But not everyone is part of a well oiled dungeon running machine, and I’m concerned over whether or not, moving forward, people will need to be married to the guilds (and selecting their guilds based on the skill of the players rather than the personalities of them) in order to get the most out of this game?

this is a big part of some of the issues here I think.

since i consider the guild system in this game kinda bad, you dont need it, its just another chat window, i must disagre with you

i ran PUG for AC, HotW and TA and now in Fractals, is very easy…

i think you are mistaken people behavior, you will find all kind of celebrities around, but a company or you are nobody for try to manner them or teach them modals, as long they dont break any kind of ingame rule theres nothing to do about it, when you go PUGs youll either find good celebrities or bad ones, cant be helped, cross your fingers and hope youll get nice celebrities.

Why not get to know some people who have been fun (or even good/effective if the time vs. reward OCD drives you) to run with and keep running with them?

thisolderhead.5127:

Why not get to know some people who have been fun (or even good/effective if the time vs. reward OCD drives you) to run with and keep running with them?

The trouble I’ve had so far is the two groups are somewhat segregated. The most effective other players I’ve run across have been the least enjoyable personality wise, and the nicer folks have been anywhere from ‘poor’ to ‘waterboarding is more fun’ in terms of the effect their skill level has on the run. I don’t need every run to go like a special ops raid, but multiple wipes starts to kill the enjoyment after a while.

As terrible as it sounds the level of challenge in Fractals, as well as the old dungeons has no place as farmable content. Is there a sense of accomplishment for barely winning? Sure. It quickly turns to dread as you realize you have to do it dozens more times to get anywhere.

I’m not saying that the game shouldn’t be challenging, heavens no, but save the frustration for those who seek it. Challenge modes in WoW, FoW/equivalents in GW1.

I’d even advocate challenging, optional solo content, like some of the horribly overtuned story quest. Thats great too, it should be a choice for those who want it but not forced upon those who don’t.

I’ve done nothing but pug Fractals and have had more fun in FotM since Karazhan.

If it’s the players who are the problem and you don’t like playing with random players then make 4 friends and you won’t have to.

I’ve ran with PUGs on FoTM – we did fine, except 1 of us keeps getting disconnected.

But without that issue, we clear it fine.

Tricks:

If your first attempt failed – create a strategy, observe what needs to be done. I led a PUG once to the “pouring molten metal” thing – they catch on pretty quick. When I said kite – they kite. When I said pour the molten when it’s directly under you – the person assigned did – and he/she did wonderful.

It was fun.

I frequently run group content with guildmates who haven’t done it yet.
The first time can be rough, especially if you have people who play in a group like they solo.

The fractals aren’t particularly hard at low level, but they are different from wvw, open pve, dynamic events, etc.

I don’t think you should ever PUG, but if you’re that kind of person, FotM are fine for it. Would be perfect for it if we had EQ2’s in-game voice utility.

The trouble I’ve had so far is the two groups are somewhat segregated. The most effective other players I’ve run across have been the least enjoyable personality wise, and the nicer folks have been anywhere from ‘poor’ to ‘waterboarding is more fun’ in terms of the effect their skill level has on the run. I don’t need every run to go like a special ops raid, but multiple wipes starts to kill the enjoyment after a while.

And here we see one issue, everyone wants to run with the best and most effective players, as long as they are the friendliest and nicest players. But by choosing effective over friendly the deal/fate is sealed.

The people in the “effective but overly elite” group will tend to keep running content with (guild) mates, other players who they know can perform, or random they can probably carry. These people aren’t the real problem though, well except they don’t run with people LFGing in major cities very much.

More likely you are seeing someone under-skilled or under-committed who is requiring everyone (else) meet artificial standards and acting like an elitist, vocally demanding proof of capability from other players. Generally believe that they have the skills/awesomeness to deserve playing only with the best and further justify their entitled BS via the fact they’re “the group leader”.

Relationship building/management is VERY important in MMORPGs, but its hard work to many gamers.

I think that as you go up in fractal level, working with random dudes is actually easier. They’ve already gotten to that level, you know? They’ve done all the stuff, and while there might be gaps in skill, they at least understand how things are supposed to work.

Whereas, in explorables, you haven’t a clue if the people you’re working with have ever done what you’re trying.

if you’re so used to voice comm, then PUGging will drag you slightly… i usually do dungeons with my guildies, and we use RaidCall. it is easier to voice communicate during the heavy fight than doing typing….. with PUG you don’t get to voice comm with them (normally)… i do PUG once in a while and really feel the difference…

You can be effective and friendly. The magic ingredient is patience.

I’m good enough to 3 man fractals with my guildmates easily and I’m normally the last person standing when things go wrong. But when I pug and I have a group that isn’t quite as experienced I simply aim to help them as best I can. I don’t get rude when they fail, I give advice on encounters and encourage people to ask questions. I make stupid jokes and just have a laugh whilst helping people with their game.

When people are relaxed and enjoying themselves they play much much better. So if you’re skilled, don’t be a kitten. Use your powers for good!