Anyone have any methods to get in groups with decent players instead of those that have been leveling since the server started? Mid 50s this is miserable. 4 groups already today and the best one was pulling about 25 mobs per hour in LD. I can’t take this much longer.
Best advice is join a guild and try to make a guild group. Not always, but generally, it's better than rolling the dice. Also you can set up future rendezvous easier.
I take what I can get. Been lfg for 3 hours currently. Good players are all 65. What’s left is newbies, bad players, and a handful of great players that didn’t start on the server until recently. As for joining a guild I don’t like the idea of using a guild to level then ditching them for another at 65. Oh well I give up. Had 18 hours to play. Just gunna go BBQ and drink.
In a way that's the beauty of Everquest, creating, finding and experiencing that well-oiled group is not something to be taken for granted. Yes, it can be frustrating, but the excited feeling when you have find that group or 8 hours later after non-stop pulling; that EQ right there imo.
One way to control the pull rate a little better is to do the pulling. I know what you mean though... some groups are very slow at pulling.
Normally I would tell you that 4 days after an expansion releases is not the greatest time to be leveling a lowbie, as all the alts will be shelved while people work on their mains, and you should wait a few weeks, it will get better. However, I am pretty sure it's never really going to get better on Selos. You missed the boat. Maybe someone will put together a leveling guild at some point, one that doesn't even bother to raid and just expects you to leave when you hit cap. Other than that, you're probably out of luck. Fortunately soloing isn't the worst. It's not great, but you'll get to 65 before the 70 cap. Probably... I am only messing around on Selos, and I have managed to make it to 61 soloing. I really only play for a few hours on the weekends too, so yeah, not the worst.
You don't have top join a leveling good them abandon them, but what I mean is guild mates typically have less concern for class or level if they think it's helping someone. Also, you'll be connected to more players and they are likely to run alts just to group with other guildies. On agnarr and selo I did probably 90% of grouping with guildies, and I would always fill a slot with a random in guild chat looking for exp. It's really rough pugging sometimes because I think people don't care so I feel ya. Also, right now a lot of the Raiders or more experienced players are slowing down their raiding since launch week is concluding.
So I was in this group a couple days ago in CoD (Agnarr TLP player here). The bard was pulling. We always had a fresh mob waiting for us (mezzed for a couple seconds) right at our camp just when our current target died. That bard was an awesome puller. He had the timing down. He knew our dps and he knew where to pull the next mob from. He knew the place and the killing rate. It was just constant killing and the xp flew by like a Concorde. We all added ourselves to our friends lists when we finally disbanded. Do this. Stick to good people. (Either fast pulling groups, good socializing groups or whatever floats your boat.) The more you do this the less you have to PUG. But PUGs sometimes make you meet great new people as well
Pugs: Bad when they're slow, boring, or just all out bad. Great when you meet fun people. Premades: Great for maximizing playtime/productivity, great when you're all friends, bad when you suddenly don't even feel like playing because they aren't online and you don't want to group outside that circle. You end up being part of a clique and no one gets to know you, and vice versa.
This here is the problem. Proactively form groups, and direct them to good camps. Unless you are one of the mvp pug classes (enc leveling, tanks currently at 65) you will not get asked into quality groups most times. Think about it: - you are only being invited because someone left. Maybe good reasons, but maybe because the person you are replacing was unhappy and now you will be unhappy too. - they are not going to send some lfg stranger a tell until after they have exhausted friends, friendlists, and guildmates. Again, maybe they get to you naturally, or maybe because people who know better said no already. - you are behind people who have proactively asked them about a spot or been sociable in the area. - even if all of the above is not the bad option, you still might just end up in a slow paced group. Go to the spot(s) you like and see if they have room. They might! If not, kindly let them know you are lfg and available if one opens. Use the lfg tool yourself and form the group you want. If you see people soloing or duoing etc ask if they wanna form a full group. These are good life skills, not just everquest tricks. If you want something go get it.
Despite your reservations, a guild is your most effective route to leveling rapidly. Sacrificing that network puts you far behind the curve as people in pickup groups may not be aligned with your purpose. Some may be there to simply farm a named where pulling excess mobs is more “work”. Some may be happy with slower pulls because they’re not in a rush to reach max level. Some may simply be poor players. At least with a leveling guild your network starts with likeminded people. The alternative is a significant investment in energy on your part to setup a group and obtain replacements that continue to perform. Given the variability of motives of people you’re just meeting, your mileage will vary such as you’re observing now. Join a guild, level, re-assess your priorities with the guild once you get max level. The population is large enough that it is highly unlikely that anyone will be truly impacted if leave or really... care.
