Lord of the Rings Online

Okay, before you answer this post's question, I should mention what prompted me to ask it.

First of all, I am a huge Lotro fan.  I'm a long-time fan of role-playing games, from pen and paper, through to computer games.  When I first got hooked up to the Internet several years ago, I became aware of the MMORPG scene.

At first, I thought that they were going to be massive versions of games like Baldur's Gate, and Neverwinter Nights.  With thousands of players, and loads of storylines,etc.  My first game was Everquest 2, and because I was a newbie, this illusion of a 'huge, single-player' game seemed real.  I was in heaven, and thought I had finally discovered my 'Holy Grail' of gaming.  However, it was not long before I started to ask other bemused players questions like; 'When does the actual story begin?', and it was not long before I discovered the awful truth, that there really wasn't an underlying narrative to events.  That the entire game was just an exercise by clever games developers in how to stretch out gameplay so that it takes players loads of time to get anywhere, thus meaning we would remain subscribers and fill their coffers.  I soon learned the game mechanics, and whilst I was stil a fan of the genre, I was massively disappointed.  There was a vast amount of potential in this genre (there still is), and I figured that someday one dev would come along and realise it.

Now, the main reason why I was so forgiving of such a banal, time-sink, game-play system, was primarily because it was social gaming.  I enjoyed forming groups and going off to tackle some dungeon, or a particularly grueling quest.  That to me is where MMO's have the most appeal.

So when Lord of the Rings Online came out, and I realised that their was finally an MMO with a strong plot, and which got closer to the feel of those earlier games.  I was hooked, and still am. 

However, here is the irony of this.  I had finally gotten something closer to my holy grail of rpg's, but in doing so, a lot of the social aspect seems to have gone with it.  Now surely there is room for both?

Perhaps it is just that my new kin is still finding its feet, or maybe that people are wanting to take their time and explore Moria on their own.  But it seems to me as though the only times people form a fellowship these days are when it is required to do so by some quest, and that when it is done, they simply disband.  Sure there are PUG's always forming in the /lff channel.  And you may be lucky and get a good one with friendly people.  However, in my experience, as soon as the quest is completed people say their farewells, usually saying they have added you to their friend list, but you never hear from them again.  And I am to blame in this as well, as I have a full friend list, and don't even remember who most of them are!

Is this a trend being experienced by all MMO's at the moment?  Or is Lotro just not that socialable a game?  I know that be all intents and purposes it seems like a very sociable game, because it is very casual friendly, but ironically it seems it is this casualness which makes people just solo most of the time.

Now I know there are people who will say that it is just my experience and that I should take the initiative and form more groups with friends.  Is this the case?  Is it just me, or is there really an issue at the moment with people forming fellowships?

I'd like to hear your opinions, and thanks in advance to anyone who does.

I know there have been quite a few times where I have logged in only to have about an hour or so of game time available. When my time is running that short, I like to go somewhere and get something done. This does not really leave time to spend looking for a group.

I tend to solo more often than not. I am in a kinship with a group of good people, who I will spend much time chatting with.

I also typically do not really group up unless there is a quest that needs a group to finish, or running through an instnace or raid.

There have been a few times where I've grouped with other people if we are all in the same spot beating up the same mobs. That way we do not "steal" kills from each other.

Almost all MMOs are this way now. A lot of people prefer to solo, and only group when absolutely necessary. You have to join a Kin or Guild in order to get social interaction in modern MMOs.

Originally posted by Mogloth

I know there have been quite a few times where I have logged in only to have about an hour or so of game time available. When my time is running that short, I like to go somewhere and get something done. This does not really leave time to spend looking for a group.

I tend to solo more often than not. I am in a kinship with a group of good people, who I will spend much time chatting with.

I also typically do not really group up unless there is a quest that needs a group to finish, or running through an instnace or raid.

There have been a few times where I've grouped with other people if we are all in the same spot beating up the same mobs. That way we do not "steal" kills from each other.

 

 

You see Mogloth, that is my point exactly.

You say there have been 'quite a few times' when your time is running short and thus this casual attitude is exceptible, therefore has the rest of the communtiy to exist on the basis that people might only have an hour to play?  Do you see what I mean?

I've done almost as much grouping in my short time playing Lord of the Rings by itself as I have done in all other MMORPGs I've played combined.  This game welcomes grouping,  is by far the easiest one to group in and has the most active 'looking for group' social scene I've seen. 

I want to group in LOTRO. That hasn't always been the case in the other games I've played.

Ever since World of Warcraft hit the MMO market, game communiites took a major turn from required grouping to anti grouping. As an example when WAR was released I played the first month without hardly seeing anybody talk in chat channels.  There were major complaints or questions on many message boards saying " Why does nobody talk in WAR?" In DAOC there was group exp bonues and coin bonuses for group leveling. It was the preferred way to level.  Then developers decided to make games in easy mode which no longer required you to group to level effectively. Grouping fosters friendships and its a starting point for people to get to know others on a game level without being to invasive or personal. 

When i played DAOC i knew most everybody on the server and their alts. I got to know them by grouping with them in RVR and PVE. I want to point out that the average age group was probably 25+ as you rarely if ever saw somebody 18 and under playing the game unless it was children of the moms and dads playing the game.

Now i think parents figure 15 bucks a month is a cheap babysitter as you find very young players 12 years old on up playing games like WOW all day long and there parents don't have to worry where they are at because they won't leave their rooms for any reason. I think adults are more apt to seek and form groups because the social element of the game is more important then the game itself. So no its not LOTO in general its gaming society in general that no longer foster or prioritize group play over solo. Again thank Blizzard for that.

Originally posted by Mogloth

I know there have been quite a few times where I have logged in only to have about an hour or so of game time available. When my time is running that short, I like to go somewhere and get something done. This does not really leave time to spend looking for a group.

I tend to solo more often than not. I am in a kinship with a group of good people, who I will spend much time chatting with.

I also typically do not really group up unless there is a quest that needs a group to finish, or running through an instnace or raid.

There have been a few times where I've grouped with other people if we are all in the same spot beating up the same mobs. That way we do not "steal" kills from each other.

 

 

The sad truth is, we casual gamers want to be uber just like the hard-core types that are on 16 hours a day. So we grind away every evening in solo-mode for our precious hour or so, ignoring group invites and anything else that might slow us down, hoping that one day we too can stand proudly in the middle of Bree in our shiny level 60 epics, surrounded by envious, awe-struck lowbies who want to be just like us.

If this weren't true, then we'd all be playing Second Life.

Yes, I can only fully agree with the OP. As nice as LOTRO as game is, and the people are usually friendly, but in some places its extremely difficult to find a group, and a second after the quest is done the group disbands without a further word. Weirdest thing I have ever seen. I really wish someone could explain that to me.

Originally posted by Elikal

Yes, I can only fully agree with the OP. As nice as LOTRO as game is, and the people are usually friendly, but in some places its extremely difficult to find a group, and a second after the quest is done the group disbands without a further word. Weirdest thing I have ever seen. I really wish someone could explain that to me.

Lotro has the Book/Chapter quests to go through which drives the story along , though you dont have to do them if you dont want to, the diversty of Lotro is great as there is so many different reasons for grouping.

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