Mistakes with Non-TC Parties

[nonrev]

I goofed last night when I agreed to cleric for two groups of high-level players in Grey Moon and Thernal. Turned out they really didn't know how to act together as a team with the result that there was no planning, no set-ups before we entered a difficult place, and lots and lots of deaths and, since shrines were absent, lots of recalls. One attempt ended up with insults being typed back and forth between a warforged and a wizard. It would have been funny if everyone wasn't being killed over and over. I ended up at -1900 for the night. I'll plan to stick with my guildmates from now on.

[duagrim]

The further I get in this game, the more marked the difference I see between TC parties and PUG's. I was in a low-level PUG last nite with Duorkin Lev 2 cleric) and I kept seeing the party spread over 2 zip codes, players not responding to one another's calls for help, fighters running ahead of the party, players getting left behind, etc. First, this makes me more determined than ever to do as much in-guild adventuring as possible. Second, it reinforces my determination to try and cut down on my tendency to wander off and get left behind. It really does put the whole party in unnecessary danger. I am new to MMOs and computer games in general, so my keyboarding skills are not up to par. Sometimes I get left behind unintentionally, or wander off because I hit the R key without meaning to. Doing the same thing on PURPOSE is just poor play.

[furrbawl]

I too had a bad experience with a PUG last night in Irestone Inlet.

The Cleric was buffing and using Inflict light wounds so much, he was out of Spell Points after just 2 battles. He also would wait until the a fight was over before healing anyone, resulting in 2 of the fighters going down in the first battle (I used 4 potions to stay alive). He then went afk in the middle of a battle with just a quick "afk" in party chat.

I left the group 30 minutes later - the cleric was still afk and non-responsive.

One of these days maybe we can get a TC group in Irestone Inlet....

[Jupiterfist]

Yes indeed... we have had the same with some parties... one comes to mind the other day --

JupiterIce, LeapnLizard and Quickfire (my alt) were in a group with 3 others... doing some low to mid lvl stuff in House of D (Hammer Inn quests). After completing the first quest... I wished them the best of luck... and left the party. Ice and Leapn followed. I got a tell back asking why we left with 3 other quests to do... and I responded back that the party was not working... further... I told him that things like this happen.

The problems with this group -- no one listened while I was giving them updates and directions as to what was coming up (they stated they had not done any of these before). One part... we were discussing the strategy... and they just ran ahead (3 of em) and almost died... leaving us just standing there with our mouths open as to the stupidity or stubbornness of their actions.

Rather than being rude... we completed the quest... and left the party before the start of the next one. We informed them and stated our "good-byes"... and jumped out.

The only response I received back from one of the party members after he inquired as to why we departed... he stated he did not know why were doing just a low lvl quest.

PUG are hot and cold... mainly cold. Guild members in a party have always been sooooo much better! Just my 2 cents.

[furrbawl]

PUGs can be good or a learning experience though.

Last night I was on with Malignant (fast becoming my main - Level 5 now) and got dragged into yet another STK group (no one else was looking for a warrior my range).

Right off the bat, I was afraid I would get dumped at the end - there was no wizard or sorcerer. But the group was very competent (except the stupid cleric that would go afk without warning or saying anything).

When we got to the guardian, we managed to take him down with just melee. And here's the technique:
- One of the good AC meleers originally stands on the platform to call him out. We'll call him A. Whoever does this immediately gets aggro. A then runs back in where STK Gaurdian came from, the other meleers form a wall between that room and the big room, then A runs back out and uses range attack.
- Eventually, STK Gaurdian will aggro someone in the melee wall. That person then runs back out into the big room and the wall closes in to block him. A comes back to the wall while B now uses range attack.
- Repeat each time someone gets aggro. Cleric has less healing to do as STK Gaurdian tries in vane to reach the person with aggro for a while, preventing anyone from taking damage. When Golems are called, the person with aggro takes care of them while the wall holds STK Gaurdian in check.

Worked great. Took a while, but was a fun fight.

[Traveler]

As a relative newcomer to DDO and TC, I have already noticed a difference between a PUG with random members and any party with TC members. On my very first day in TC, I went out with sabateur and Dramorion, and it was a well organized expedition. With PUGs, I've had a couple of well organized events, including one organized by Elskunk (my very first party). And I've also experienced a couple of parties with wandering members...

In one WW adventure, while 3 of us were waiting for a late cleric to join up, a fighter and a cleric ran forward and into a bunch of kobolds, following which the fighter just ran on, and left the cleric to fend off the kobolds alone. If not for the rest of us catching up to the cleric's frantic calls for help, she would have died.

In another WW event, we had a level 1 fighter who was constantly dying by running ahead into trouble and falling down a lot (shafts, bridges, ledges, etc; you name it, he fell down it). It was kinda funny though, as the most common things said on the voice chat were "Where is xxxx?", "Think he died again", "Hahaha", "Again??", etc... you get the picture.