How to Gaurantee the smothest, fastest pugs in the game!!!

[Havok.cry]

So it started as a joke to pass the time while I waited for my friends to log on. I put up an LFM that said: x quest, p2p, normal, pikers welcome. The party filled in ~30 seconds. The party gathered and I saw that out of us all I was the only one not tr'd. I was slightly disapointed as I was hoping to get 5 pikers and enter the quest and just stand around for a minute and then say what i'm piking to (that was the joke). Unfortunatly these supermen saw my lfm and said to themselves this guy knows what he's doing cause he can handle this quest with a fail party... so they all join and I have never had a slow or fail pug since... out of 20+ pugs only had 1 actual piker join. Now that i have released this amazing secret to the public maybe, and all the pikers read it maybe i will be able to play my joke on someone? Until that day comes tho i guess i will suffer thru smoth easy pugs.

[stoerm]

I certainly will use this!

Actually I had a similar experience: I put up a group for the Pit with "everyone welcome" expecting to play tour guide to first timers. The group filled with seasoned players (including a well known figure in the community) and we had the smoothest run.

[sirgog]

I always get the best results from 'started, zerging, bring your own healing'.

[chrisgina39]

try going on a lvl 4 and posting doing pit elite only good players
it wont help you but it will help everyone else gets rid of all the 'epic' players

and iv gotten good results with
new players only

[weddingly]

some1 help explain what is a piker?... im in game and i dont want to alt tab out to google... grats

edit: thx KarlK0ch !

[karl_k0ch]

some1 help explain what is a piker?... im in game and i dont want to alt tab out to google... grats

Someone who is not contributing to the quest progress, but just standing around. While usually not helpful, there are actually more disruptive playing stances than piking.

Eg: Pulling random Levers, picking up quest items, talking to NPCs at will. Also, causing red DA and dying.

[Miahoo]

I always get the best results from 'started, zerging, bring your own healing'.

Not I...
Too often I accept people who start with the: "SHAR!!1", "Where's the quest?"
And when I loot: "What?!? you inside already?!", "Noo!! dont loot please!! I be there in 10 mins!!"
And so on.

I'll try the OP method today, to see how it'll end :)

[Truga]

Not I...
Too often I accept people who start with the: "SHAR!!1", "Where's the quest?"
And when I loot: "What?!? you inside already?!", "Noo!! dont loot please!! I be there in 10 mins!!"
And so on.

I'll try the OP method today, to see how it'll end :)

Yep. Started, zerging doesn't work at low levels.

[Havok.cry]

Lol, in my experience the zerging lfm method gets mixed results. Too many people see zerging as a race/contest to get to the end first. The newbs will actually compete with you to get stuff done first or get to the boss and try to solo it lol grabing aggro they can't handle. Meanwhile the pikers welcome method tells people that you do not need or want them to do anything at all. This causes people who's natural inclination is to not try to out do anyone to join. In my experience it is these non competitive people who are the most likely to quickly form/adapt to a party dynamic and accomplish everything faster and more efficiently because of it, which is the real purpose of a zerg run anyway. Also the few pikers willing to admit what the are that do join are generally very entertaining company and i have never regreted their presence because of it:)

[Maxelcat]

you can do it with proof is in the poison too.

I put it up as "At level, know it, lets just get it done" had one toon other than me not TRed and all i had to do was keep them buffed.

[rabbit512]

and iv gotten good results with
new players only

this. using this tagline reduces on the amount of wanna-be DDO gods who want to spend the whole quest telling you how they solo'd this and that and how their gimp build is really like the best build in the whole game, yo. at least with new players, i know why deaths happen. i'm okay with that. but if your build is "the best build in the game," i get tired of having to lose my 10% to people like that.

new players tend to listen better, in my experience. it can be difficult leading when someone in the group is soooooooo sure that doing something completely wrong and fail-worthy will ensure success. i'd rather train someone who is green than have to break old bad habits.

[elraido]

I have almost always have had luck by forming groups this way:

1. Well, I logged on 30 seconds too late to get in that guild run. Time to make my own party.

2. Put up LFM

3. Accept first 5 players who hit join (unless they are waaaay out of level range)

4. Run quest.

5. Get xp's and loots.

[Phidius]

I put "pikers welcome" in my LFMs because I plan on piking at least one of my alt accounts at the beginning of the quest, and I don't want people who are alergic to pikers.

I've had party members complain about the piker standing by the entrance, like they think I'm going to side with them instead of the piker :D

[Hambo]

Perhaps the quickest way to disband a PUG?

As each prospective member accepts the invitiation, immediately enter "SHR PLZ!1!1" in the chat window... :D

[TheDjinnFor]

"The Pit, two-man, byoh, know it, ip"
"The Crucible, two-man, byoh, know it"

Fastest PuGs I ever 'filled'. I think the combination of "you better be able to take care of yourself" (which weeds out the newbs) and "I'm so badass that I'll take anyone who can two-man it with me" (which attracts the vets), plus the simple fact that I only need one more person for it to be considered 'filled', is what made it happen.

[Zenako]

I put "pikers welcome" in my LFMs because I plan on piking at least one of my alt accounts at the beginning of the quest, and I don't want people who are alergic to pikers.

I've had party members complain about the piker standing by the entrance, like they think I'm going to side with them instead of the piker :D

Sounds like a good part of the guild. 3 toons running the quest, 3 toons (usually alternate accounts) buffed everyone and then hang out at the start (might run them to chests these days for noncash loot). Or on occasion run a rescue if things go all wobbly...:D

[Jaid314]

it's true. the harder the quest you're doing (once you've reached the level where people know they can't handle it... don't try this on korthos, folks!), the smoother it tends to go.

i also find that i have better luck getting healers in BYOH groups. perhaps because the people playing healers didn't sign up to play a class called babysitter...

[Talon_Moonshadow]

I logged on one day and I swear that every single LFM said "know it". :(

So I posted an LFm for one of the few quests I hadn't done on elite yet.

Dreaming Dark(lvl 20)

My LFM said:

"Hard. 1st5 And I'd actualy prefer it if you didn't 'know it'."




Probably the fastest I've seen an LFM fill yet.
Caster heavy party....easy run.

[Lissyl]

"The Pit, two-man, byoh, know it, ip"
"The Crucible, two-man, byoh, know it"

Fastest PuGs I ever 'filled'. I think the combination of "you better be able to take care of yourself" (which weeds out the newbs) and "I'm so badass that I'll take anyone who can two-man it with me" (which attracts the vets), plus the simple fact that I only need one more person for it to be considered 'filled', is what made it happen.

I don't know Crucible real well, Pit I'm...getting there. But even if it was a quest I knew like the back of my hand, could run blindfolded on a gimped path alt, and had absolutely nothing better to do...I'd never join a LFG like that.

I don't have time to waste hoping I meet up to whatever your expectations are, and I certainly don't have time to waste trying to guess what your definition of 'know it' is. (Not directed at the person who I'm quoting, but the generic 'you' who would have placed such an LFM).

I'm sure I miss a lot of good runs that way, but at the exact same time, fully half of those are someone underlevelled without the slightest clue what they're doing, so they're trying to attract someone capable of soloing the joint so they can tag along behind. It's like flipping a coin (Heaven or Hell) every time I wanna run something. No thanks.

[Rydin_Dirtay]

I think the combination of "you better be able to take care of yourself" (which weeds out the newbs)

Not in my experience :) With my luck, I put up a BYOH lfm and it gets filled with newbs who carry no pots, no wands, no UMD, no nuthin.

[paraplegic]

i always put jokes on LFG, one time i put this

Forgive me Father for I have sinned...What is it that brings you here?---> the shroud.

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

I'm absolutely stealing this lfm plan.


"The Pit, two-man, byoh, know it, ip"
"The Crucible, two-man, byoh, know it"

Fastest PuGs I ever 'filled'. I think the combination of "you better be able to take care of yourself" (which weeds out the newbs)

I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

[BuyTiles]

I'm absolutely stealing this lfm plan.



I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

If I join a BYOH pug on my divines I'll heal if I see someone needs it, otherwise I'll contribute other ways. Like in any group, contribute with your classes strengths. What I enjoy about BYOH runs is no-one is expecting that heal :D

[Varr]

I'm pretty tollerant and happy to let anyone in, even clerics, to my runs.............but yesterday I was running with a buddy fo mine that was much less tollerant of soft production.

So I started with a level 17-17 Running with devils

"TR only, byoh, know way, be strong type, Im piking the whole thing you do it all type of players only."

After a couple of runs had to be more specific and jaded and changed to

17-17 Running with devils

"TR'ed 4+ times only, know way, do all the work, I'm afk after your inside" LFM

Had some real success with that one!!

[TheDjinnFor]

I don't have time to waste hoping I meet up to whatever your expectations are, and I certainly don't have time to waste trying to guess what your definition of 'know it' is. (Not directed at the person who I'm quoting, but the generic 'you' who would have placed such an LFM).

Sometimes I'm more specific, like "know your way through it" or "know your way to the quest". I suppose it's a confidence check: if I say 'know it', are you confident enough in your own abilities that you think I won't notice even if you don't really 'know it'? If you come in expecting me to be one of those jerkish powergamers (which, I assure you, is not true) and still think you can survive, you must be either pretty good or pretty cocky, or you just don't mind.


I'm sure I miss a lot of good runs that way, but at the exact same time, fully half of those are someone underlevelled without the slightest clue what they're doing, so they're trying to attract someone capable of soloing the joint so they can tag along behind. It's like flipping a coin (Heaven or Hell) every time I wanna run something. No thanks.

That's why I almost always make my own lfms! Joining someone elses is like a coin toss, agreed.


I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

I take byoh to mean that you can survive if the divine caster doesn't spend a single point of sp on you, but if I make a byoh and a divine caster doesn't do anything else useful, I expect them to heal those who are. I generally assume that divine casters are not going to heal me until they actually toss a few my way when I'm at about half or so hp after a big fight or whatever.

And when I was on my cleric, I still healed people when they were low after a big fight, but rarely during one unless I could contribute in no other way.

[bandyman1]

I have the worst luck with " IP " LFMs.

It never fails that the first words out of the mouth of most peeps joining are either " Share Plz " ( on a quest where you have to talk to the quest giver to port out to the entrance or a walk-up ), or " What are we doing guys? " * few minutes go by after answering *, " Can someone call out and show me the way? ".

That's usually when I respond with " Just hit alt+f4 man. It'll teleport you right to the party. ", and follow it quickly with das boot :D.

[Lissyl]

Sometimes I'm more specific, like "know your way through it" or "know your way to the quest". I suppose it's a confidence check: if I say 'know it', are you confident enough in your own abilities that you think I won't notice even if you don't really 'know it'? If you come in expecting me to be one of those jerkish powergamers (which, I assure you, is not true) and still think you can survive, you must be either pretty good or pretty cocky, or you just don't mind.

Yah, I see where you're coming from here. I see people on the forums always talking about how no one reads the LFM's -- and for the longest time, I never ran into that problem. Here of late I've seen it more and more though, so I can see the preferred playstyle that tries to weed them out that way.

I guess I probably started off with bad luck on things like that, and that's something that sort-of colors your whole career...at least, until you stop caring. :D Guy had an LFM like this up for a normal run, IP, BYOH. I knew I could handle the place easily enough. Step in, guy (cleric) is seperated on his own, getting mugged by something like 12 enemies, down to under 20 hp or so and his heals are being ~interrupted~ (gogo Concentration!). I pull them off him so he can breathe, blow them up in short order while he simply runs away. Not 30 seconds later he's dying because he can't fight ~anything~ worth a darn, but won't toss a heal either. The fighter and I burn through pots like no tomorrow effectively duoing it (also, he had put it on elite, the lfm said normal) but clear the place with him doing nothing but swinging ineffectually at stuff. Now everytime I see one of those LFM's, I know that ~this~ could be the quest that that guy is running on a new alt.

At the end he proceeds to tell us we both suck, and he coulda soloed the whole place. Yah...

That's the kind of thing that turns me away from the LFM. I'm confident I can do a good job at any task unless it's really convoluted AND I've never seen it before (Shroud kiting, for instance...haven't seen it, don't know the route. Wouldn't be confident.), but just what is the other person expecting?

Anywho, I recognize that more often than not, for the true vets that probably works really really well. It's something I've more learned to work around, though. I'm probably too thin-skinned to jump into those and fail many times. :)

[Postumus]

I get the best results with "Not flagged, not started, getting buffs, shareplz, whre'sisquest, healmeh."

[transtemporal]

afk, piking

[Phidius]

... I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

For me, BYOH means "Own your own health". I'm more than happy to help out the party with healing, but I'm not going to stand there and take responsibility for everyone else's red bar.

Every toon I run is a "healer" - 2 clerics, 1 sorc, 2 wizards, and a fighter.

[redoubt]

Not I...
Too often I accept people who start with the: "SHAR!!1", "Where's the quest?"
And when I loot: "What?!? you inside already?!", "Noo!! dont loot please!! I be there in 10 mins!!"
And so on.

I'll try the OP method today, to see how it'll end :)

I'm okay with share, if they type out the whole word. This can be a time saver for getting into a quest already in progress.

I'm even okay with the occasional, "is this the one in house P by the guy or house j next to the lake?" At least this person is paying attention.

On the flip side, I often solo just to not deal with this, so I have no inhabitions about booting someone from an in progress zerg if they sound too confused. (Please note, I do my share of showing people around too, but not if its posted as in progress or zerg.)

[Postumus]

I'm even okay with the occasional, "is this the one in house P by the guy or house j next to the lake?" At least this person is paying attention.



That's me. Many times I'll refrain from joining just because I don't want to ask that question, and I don't want to check the wiki.

Once I'm in the quest, I know my way around, but I usually purge the details of how to get there seconds after I get there.

[Ngha]

That's me. Many times I'll refrain from joining just because I don't want to ask that question, and I don't want to check the wiki.

Once I'm in the quest, I know my way around, but I usually purge the details of how to get there seconds after I get there.

Oh look, a zombie runner like me.

[JakLee7]

I put "pikers welcome" in my LFMs because I plan on piking at least one of my alt accounts at the beginning of the quest, and I don't want people who are alergic to pikers.

I've had party members complain about the piker standing by the entrance, like they think I'm going to side with them instead of the piker :D

this is epic sir - bravo!

[whitehawk74]

I'm quite happy to bring my Clerics along to any party that has 'BYOH' because it means I don't have to be the parties bich.
... this doesnt always work though because as soon as people see a cleric they suddenly have no pots. Coincidence? I think not.

[stoerm]

"TR'ed 4+ times only, know way, do all the work, I'm afk after your inside" LFM

Had some real success with that one!!

One could refine this a bit further ... "Completionists only"

:D

[Havok.cry]

I am also a fan of BYOH. it is alot of fun for me (not being the best/most experienced player) to test the limits of what I can do without a player/npc babysitter. I think it helps me become a better player even if I don't always do great in them. I also put up:

"IP, antisocial party leader doesn't want to talk to you, byoh"

That one had some pretty good results... all my friends figured out it was me on a new character in about 30 seconds and the party filled with them lol.

[NaturalHazard]

would hordo join that lfm though?

[Havok.cry]

I've never met hordo, but from everything I've read about him, he would be welcome in any of my groups lol. He IS an expert piker after all... not one of those newb pikers that tr alot and want to actually (gasp) do something :)

[Postumus]

Oh look, a zombie runner like me.

I blame sleep deprivation.

[Noctus]

I'm absolutely stealing this lfm plan.



I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

That the divine caster is not expected to play babysitter.
--> big incentive to join if i´m in a mood to pug on my divine casters.

[nat_1]

Having run And the Dead Shall Rise on normal with a hireling I thought of this thread and posted "Pikers Welcome."

One more normal run and somebody suggested hard, I said I was less cocky about that, but what the heck.

After I let displacement and stoneskin run out, had forgotten that I switched my fort item out an hour before, and was slow on a reconstruct I updated the lfm.

"Hard, Pikers Welcome. Update: I'm in a backpack."

[Razcar]

I usually hesitate at BYOH when there's a cleric or fvs- not cause I don't carry pots and whatever else I can use, but I'm never sure if they're gonna bother healing at all. What the consensus, healers?

When levelling "healers" I prefer to write "Be self-sufficient" instead of "BYOH".