tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post107893257017892628..comments2024-03-26T20:47:12.919+00:00Comments on Going Commando | A SWTOR Fan Blog: Pugs vs. Guild GroupsShintarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-88049280143120900862020-05-13T17:42:13.100+01:002020-05-13T17:42:13.100+01:00Well, my guild groups aren't exactly all about...Well, my guild groups aren't exactly all about max dps and going as fast as possible either, and we are definitely able to have a laugh about wipes too. But I think it's fair to say that there seem to be two different schools of thought about what makes for the most fun in such a run... one savours the sheer degree of skill and teamwork, how everyone knows that the tank will pull just <i>so</i> and the dps will take care of <i>that</i> - all without anyone needing to say it - making things incredibly smooth. The other thinks that too smooth is boring, and that - having grown way past the basic requirements of the flashpoint - we should instead revel in the freedom to try new and silly things, even if it leads to deaths and wipes. I tend to lean more towards the former. :PShintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-9617130438982083492020-05-13T16:30:49.634+01:002020-05-13T16:30:49.634+01:00Once I again I find myself mostly nodding in agree...Once I again I find myself mostly nodding in agreement.<br /><br />Back when my guild was alive the guild groups were a little different though than you described, because there wasn't really so much "pull max dps, go as fast as possible", but it was more of a clown show with hilarious wipes because of (sometimes) the hilarious pulling speed. It was indeed more "spending time with friends while farming badges or whatever".<br /><br />In the last years I seem to have a little antisocial and am I kinda happy I don't have to chat with strangers during the run, but that's 90% because I simply don't like 5(4)man content as much and am really only doing it for the rewards.Nogamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16541775026595839236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-62488642473248511582020-05-11T19:49:16.320+01:002020-05-11T19:49:16.320+01:00Weirdly enough, I did PUG a lot the last time I wa...Weirdly enough, I did PUG a lot the last time I was playing WoW, but only in retail. I think it comes down to the "20 minute rule" I have. Very few dungeons in retail take more than 20 or 30 minutes, and you get whisked away to them without so much as having to hit up a mission board once a day. Yeebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08028940396189544294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-50846167434549342972020-05-11T18:53:25.011+01:002020-05-11T18:53:25.011+01:00OMG, trying to sleep all the trash in DP sounds li...OMG, trying to sleep all the trash in DP sounds like an absolute recipe for disaster, considering that you need to run past most of those pulls repeatedly - that's hilarious! Mind you, if certain of my guildies were to read this, I bet they'd make a note to try this very same thing on our next social night...<br /><br />I ran my first pug flashpoint in ages yesterday (having queued on one of my dps characters, in line with what I said in this post), and got into a group with an absolutely hideous-looking character called "Uranusishuge". I was just like: "Oh pugs, how I've missed you."Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-81885301080132077382020-05-11T18:48:16.474+01:002020-05-11T18:48:16.474+01:00Yep, Classic is definitely a very different beast ...Yep, Classic is definitely a very different beast with its lack of group finder tool. Like you say, it does really help with community building though. It's interesting that you still get <i>some</i> groups with what I would call "more modern sensibilities" anyway, that just want to quietly breeze through from beginning to end and never talk again.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-6492887315754213032020-05-11T10:36:00.460+01:002020-05-11T10:36:00.460+01:00I was always big on pugging, lately, I haven't...I was always big on pugging, lately, I haven't done it at all - dailies have become much better for cq, story is being loved throughout my characters, and most fps/ops have been done in guild groups and with as much fun and as little pressure as possible.<br />That said, last week I pugged in a 16 man DP SM. I didn't have the achievement, and jumped into the opportunity... And then was asked to switch for heals. Fine. They tried sleeping EVERYTHING until Bestia. The tank got "locked" outside because soemone pulled before he arrived and then stuff woke up. We had the other heals and the tank outside of Bestia, complete chaos, and yet, we made it... Until someone ran out and into the trash. Fun times.<br />You might think this would've been stressful, but it ended up being a one-shot-everything run with a couple peculiar situations (Like, I couldn't take the portal back out of the 2nd healing challenge... And the boss resetting on us in Calpheyas, fun times). Still, having run EC 16M with 12 people (also healing) just two days prior to that made me notice I was doing "a lot more effort" than you'd expect. <br />And, of course, GroupFinder helps you figure out a lot of things about general server population - those who like playing FPs, or Warzones, those who are always up to fill in an OP or those who just want to chitchat on fleet. You get familiar with certain names/naming patterns and it does make you know what to expect when getting into an instance... Or not! hahahDianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06229576432809303001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-59794469676475891992020-05-10T22:44:40.675+01:002020-05-10T22:44:40.675+01:00"Pugging is also a great way of connecting wi...<i>"Pugging is also a great way of connecting with the wider server community. I know people like to say that things like server community aren't really a thing anymore these days, and I acknowledge that features like mega servers and automated group finders have made it harder to get a clear picture of a server's larger social structures, but they do still exist and you can absolutely still make connections if you try."</i><br /><br />You know, I think that's one of the things I enjoy about pugging in both SWTOR and WoW Classic: the individual server population is such that you get to know people, particularly if you're playing in off hours to the server time. WoW Classic does have the additional edge in that without an LFG automated queue your in-game behavior does matter. If you act like a jerk, you're likely not going to be invited back to a run with people. (That being said, there are times of day when having an automated queue would help in getting into a particular instance on some days.)<br /><br />The most soul crushing pugs aren't the ones where I perform poorly, but rather those where nobody says a thing. Sure, there are guild pugs that I get into where I know they're chatting in Discord, but they never say a word in party chat. But then there are just regular pugs where nobody wants to lighten up at all, and it's all a machine where they're here to mark off a specific quest and that's that. I hate those pugs with a vengeance. Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-16777509526555841662020-05-10T20:27:55.370+01:002020-05-10T20:27:55.370+01:00If it's likely to involve a session of more th...If it's likely to involve a session of more than about 20 minutes, for the most part I only group with people I know. I have a weekly fixed group with my sister and her hubby that live far away. We keep in touch while murdering monsters and following the long convoluted central story of LoTRO.<br /><br />I don't feel like I know the instances well enough to PuG in SWToR. A good half of the flashpoints I've still never set foot in. I also completely suck at jumping in the game, so the convoluted tactics you describe to try and avoid groups of mobs would frustrate both me and anyone forced to group with me. I do really enjoy Star Fighter though.Yeebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08028940396189544294noreply@blogger.com