Maybe you need to invest some time in cultivating some friends. Hang around and offer to help people, or see someone fighting alone and ask to join their fight. Then get conversations going and get to know some great new folk. Some will be rude duds but I bet, if you tried, you will find some great new friends out there who will be thrilled to know you.
Not everyone has time for that. Some of us have barely enough time to get through our own quests.
95% of my friends have moved on to other games. When I have a few minutes to spare, I will occasionally chat with random people. But I shouldn't *have* to. I would rather play alone than have to deal with someone who doesn't know what they're doing~ as much as I wish I could, I simply don't have time to coach someone through a 6-hour dungeon, play-by-play.
I agree with Northlite/Mary~ it's easy for people with friends or crowns to say, "oh, just use henchmen" or "just ask a friend". But not everyone has those things, or easy access to them: I'm on Atlantic time, so when I play before work, I have an empty list and entire servers to myself.
I understand that group play is encouraged, but those of us who cannot find a group or simply choose not to join one should not be penalized for it.
Chrissy, I normally love what you have to say. I've seen your comments all over the boards, and I generally appreciate your input a lot. I know your intent with this remark is positive, and I appreciate that intent. However, this time, your comment seems a bit patronizing.
Northlite has been around the game and the comment boards for a long time too. I have been around for a while myself. I think what she has said earlier is that she had a lot of friends, but most of them no longer play. I have the same experience. I made a lot of friends with my first wizard, and spent a lot of time building those game relationships. Now most of those friends are gone, or only show up once in a rare while. When I do connect with my old friends, it is mostly just to check in with each other and chat a while. We are in different places questing in the game, and often our time schedules no longer overlap as much. I have made some new friends since then, with my old wizard, and with new ones, but honestly, it just is not the same.
For one thing, keeping good friends in the game also means playing the game a lot, often daily or close to it. Otherwise, friends move on and pass my level, and the imbalance can make help with questing not as fun. Not all of us have that kind of time. When I first opened my account, I was in a life transition and had a lot of time to play. Now, I am busier in real life, and don't have as many long blocks of time to play.
As a result, I now often find I can only play solo. I may run into someone and quest together for a while, and we "friend" each other -- but by the time I have a chance to get on and play again, that person is long gone.
So it is not that I don't know how to make friends in the game, and I suspect that the same is true for Northlite. Rather, not all of us have the luxury of regular extended play that is so helpful to making in-game friendships work. When I can play with friends, I usually enjoy that a lot. But I don't think that I or anyone else should be penalized if the friend option is not always practical.
So the game can be made to be "friendly", but it should be friendly for people who choose to play solo, as well as those who choose to play with others, without penalizing either type of player.
You have explained my situation exactly as it is and was. Thank you for explaining it much better then I have been able to. Mary StarGem lvl 90
My sincere and humblest apologies. I in no way meant to be patronizing. That kind of attitude just isn't in me.
I too solo a lot as I am frequently on in the middle of the night so get the problems with soloing. It is one of the reasons I don't really progress anymore. I just come on to help other friends and do a few pet experiments. The game has been reduced to that for me too as it has become way too tough. I simply misunderstood the post and thought the problem was that friends had gone on and no one wanted to put in the effort to get new ones. I was simply trying to point out that many other wonderful people are in the game that you haven't met yet and that you may find a gem out there. I only meant that reaching out to others could find you another great friend. I did not mean to imply that you weren't capable of it.
I understand that soloing is what you want now and I really understand that because I do the very same thing. It is just too bad that the game has changed so much that we cannot progress because it's too hard core. It's the main reason I spend most of my time on Pirates now but I still have my first love for this game that I started playing a few months after it started. It has changed so much but it still holds a firm place in my heart. The same to be said for most of the players. Again I truly apologize if I came off as patronizing. That is the furthest from what I meant. I only thought I read that friends were gone and I knew that worthy friends are still out there. Please forgive my misunderstanding.
I also agree totally about the henchman issue. Even if you have the crowns for them they are not the answer as they do not have enough AI to deal with a cheating boss and they constantly trigger the cheats. No henchmen will not help, the game is just too hard core now.
Also, for Critical Blizzard: CPU means your computer, or Central Processing Unit.
Not everyone has time for that. Some of us have barely enough time to get through our own quests.
95% of my friends have moved on to other games. When I have a few minutes to spare, I will occasionally chat with random people. But I shouldn't *have* to. I would rather play alone than have to deal with someone who doesn't know what they're doing~ as much as I wish I could, I simply don't have time to coach someone through a 6-hour dungeon, play-by-play.
I agree with Northlite/Mary~ it's easy for people with friends or crowns to say, "oh, just use henchmen" or "just ask a friend". But not everyone has those things, or easy access to them: I'm on Atlantic time, so when I play before work, I have an empty list and entire servers to myself.
I understand that group play is encouraged, but those of us who cannot find a group or simply choose not to join one should not be penalized for it.
-v.
Agreed! I too play before work and a bit afterwards, but by no means have hour upon hour each day to play.
My sincere and humblest apologies. I in no way meant to be patronizing. That kind of attitude just isn't in me.
I too solo a lot as I am frequently on in the middle of the night so get the problems with soloing. It is one of the reasons I don't really progress anymore. I just come on to help other friends and do a few pet experiments. The game has been reduced to that for me too as it has become way too tough. I simply misunderstood the post and thought the problem was that friends had gone on and no one wanted to put in the effort to get new ones. I was simply trying to point out that many other wonderful people are in the game that you haven't met yet and that you may find a gem out there. I only meant that reaching out to others could find you another great friend. I did not mean to imply that you weren't capable of it.
I understand that soloing is what you want now and I really understand that because I do the very same thing. It is just too bad that the game has changed so much that we cannot progress because it's too hard core. It's the main reason I spend most of my time on Pirates now but I still have my first love for this game that I started playing a few months after it started. It has changed so much but it still holds a firm place in my heart. The same to be said for most of the players. Again I truly apologize if I came off as patronizing. That is the furthest from what I meant. I only thought I read that friends were gone and I knew that worthy friends are still out there. Please forgive my misunderstanding.
Thanks Chrissy! This was very kind of you to say. And I hope I was not overly harsh with you either. As I said at the beginning of my comment, I do appreciate your contributions to these boards, and I do get that your intent is always positive. You have once again confirmed that positive impression of you! You are also right: there are a lot of good people playing this game, and when we get the chance to play with each other and to make friends, it can be very valuable. I imagine you would be one of those worthy friends to have in the game!
Thanks Chrissy! This was very kind of you to say. And I hope I was not overly harsh with you either. As I said at the beginning of my comment, I do appreciate your contributions to these boards, and I do get that your intent is always positive. You have once again confirmed that positive impression of you! You are also right: there are a lot of good people playing this game, and when we get the chance to play with each other and to make friends, it can be very valuable. I imagine you would be one of those worthy friends to have in the game!
I in no way meant to be patronizing. That kind of attitude just isn't in me.
