Server Opinions?

[Syntax42]

I got to level 17 on my Bard, remaining unguilded most of the way there. After two weeks of not seeing any XP groups to join on the social panel every time I log in, I have decided I should probably find another server.

I made a character on every server to see what populations and PUG listings on the social panel were like. The server my Bard is on (Thelanis) happened to have the most PUGs, by a large margin, listed on the social window, so now I'm not sure what to do. As a college student, I play in the afternoons and evenings, so play-times is not an issue. My theory is that most people level up with their guilds more as they approach level 20. I would prefer to be in a larger guild if that is true.

Does anyone have any insight or opinions to help me?

[JustWinBaby]

I'm on Ghallanda and I've never had any problems, I've been here since Novemeber 2009.

I also know Khyber sucks

[Ughh]

I vote ARGO... we have an excellent group of people here willing to work with new players to the server and also noobs. I would say look for TAB ( he will take you behind tempest spine and show you the ropes) and TOT...(excellent person to show you the ins and outs of a guild)

[Skirmish]

I play predominantly on Ghallanda. But, I have alts on all the servers as well.

One of my buddies and I both had to take an extended vacation due to our wives being pregnant and delivering within days of each other. Between the pregnancy and that whole newborn phase, you really have to step away from the game and give them a lot of attention or you draw some heinous, life-threatening wife aggro.

When we returned to playing DDO on a regular basis all our guild buddies had either moved on to other guilds or other games. We started two-manning from lvl 4 (vet status) up and have had a blast doing it. When we can't two-man a mission, want to run a raid, or if we're running solo, we just pug up and go as needed.

Personally, if you think you need to join up with a guild to keep playing your bard to completion, go for it. I'm sure there are quite a few that would be happy to have you. Especially since you've already put in the work to get him to 17.

Otherwise, pug a couple nights a week and try to make a couple new friends your lvl and see if you can get a regular group going. Even in a bad pug you might meet someone that you hit it off with that you can get as a semi regular team member.

[DartanTR]

I'd suggest Sarlona. There are quite a few guilds running around and I have never had a problem doing experience at all levels. Also, we have many european and chinese players, so even if you play late night you will always have a group.

[Newtons_Apple]

I vote ARGO... we have an excellent group of people here willing to work with new players to the server and also noobs. I would say look for TAB ( he will take you behind tempest spine and show you the ropes) and TOT...(excellent person to show you the ins and outs of a guild)

You are an evil man.

May all of your shows be billed as Hick Metal.

[Impaqt]

Put your own LFM's up?

Waiting for others to do the work for you is no way to get ahead.

"Large" guilds are not always the answer.. Many of them just end up being Glorified pugs.... No one works witheach other and the guild chat might as well be general chat...

[Stormwine]

I vote ARGO... we have an excellent group of people here willing to work with new players to the server and also noobs. I would say look for TAB ( he will take you behind tempest spine and show you the ropes) and TOT...(excellent person to show you the ins and outs of a guild)

I would have to say I tried out all servers and landed on Argo for a few reasons. One my screwy play times, because of my job my play time varies hugely afternoon one day late-night/early morning the next yet I always find pugs. Second in my first two weeks messing on different servers the most helpful person I came across was on Argo he was the leader of a guild named In On Elite. And third although there are the Elitist players on every server in every game I found Argo to be over all one of the friendliest communities I have found in any MMO.

[Ughh]

I would have to say I tried out all servers and landed on Argo for a few reasons. One my screwy play times, because of my job my play time varies hugely afternoon one day late-night/early morning the next yet I always find pugs. Second in my first two weeks messing on different servers the most helpful person I came across was on Argo he was the leader of a guild named In On Elite. And third although there are the Elitist players on every server in every game I found Argo to be over all one of the friendliest communities I have found in any MMO.

Bam TOLD YA ARGO rulez...now get back to work THE PIKE GOD needs more loot

[Newtons_Apple]

I would have to say I tried out all servers and landed on Argo for a few reasons. One my screwy play times, because of my job my play time varies hugely afternoon one day late-night/early morning the next yet I always find pugs. Second in my first two weeks messing on different servers the most helpful person I came across was on Argo he was the leader of a guild named In On Elite. And third although there are the Elitist players on every server in every game I found Argo to be over all one of the friendliest communities I have found in any MMO.

That which is in red does not compute.

Argo will hammer your face into the ground until all that is left is a memory. Then you'll meet Tab, and you will forget all that you ever were.

[Ughh]

That which is in red does not compute.

Argo will hammer your face into the ground until all that is left is a memory. Then you'll meet Tab, and you will forget all that you ever were.

Same as it ever was......same as it ever was....same as it EVA was

[Stormwine]

That which is in red does not compute.

Argo will hammer your face into the ground until all that is left is a memory. Then you'll meet Tab, and you will forget all that you ever were.

Lol Im just sayin but then I am an EvE player so if I state that I am new to the game and this is not cause for people to add me to their kill list and Scam mail list then its a friendly community lol.

[Zenako]

I got to level 17 on my Bard, remaining unguilded most of the way there. After two weeks of not seeing any XP groups to join on the social panel every time I log in, I have decided I should probably find another server.

I made a character on every server to see what populations and PUG listings on the social panel were like. The server my Bard is on (Thelanis) happened to have the most PUGs, by a large margin, listed on the social window, so now I'm not sure what to do. As a college student, I play in the afternoons and evenings, so play-times is not an issue. My theory is that most people level up with their guilds more as they approach level 20. I would prefer to be in a larger guild if that is true.

Does anyone have any insight or opinions to help me?

Not sure what you are meaning by XP groups to join however? I have characters on every server and check and play them all occasionally. (I primarily roll on Sarlona however). I see similar numbers of LFM's posted on all most of the time, accounting for the nominal variance of chance.

Let me also add, when looking at your character on MyDDO, which is more likely to happen when you are not in a guild, it appears that you have ok but not real good gear. Your HP are ok, but you have no GFL type item, your SP are OK but lower than expected. You appear to have a split personality when it comes to stats. More DEX than probably really needed for a DPS focused Warchanter. I hope both your weapons in hand were Frost improved ones from the Winter Risia Games. If you are getting turned down for quests, some of those reasons might be part of it. When unguilded, you need to present a strong appearance in order to entice someone into grouping with you. A guild gives you a certain cachet with others, and a level of expectations (good or bad) that they build on.

Once you hit 17+, you are in the "end game range" and not yet to the "beat your head on the wall" EPIC (need to be 20) range. Most players in that timeframe are just playing quests and leveling without thinking about it or focusing on it. You have pretty much gotten all the cool stuff (cept for capstones, etc) as far as spells go.

I wonder how much of the time you are playing solo vs grouping? I know running a bard solo can be a lot more time consuming than say for example a caster, in many quests. But I know that personally I never have problems joining pretty much any quest when on a bard. Experienced players know what a good bard can bring to any party and welcome them.

[Syntax42]

I never solo, unless its a low level quest I only want favor from.

I have tried putting up LFMs in the 10-15 range with little luck. The problem is that I just don't know where to go on my highest character to get XP and have people join me. I assume I am supposed to be flagging for The Shroud, but I rarely see groups doing more than Running With the Devils and Rainbow in the Dark. I'm missing two others and I don't remember the names of them.

Another problem I think I'm running into is being geared for the raids and dungeons I've read about. People want me to have 400 HP, but I'm having a hard time getting to 300. I know my starting con of 12 was a little low, but I needed stat points in other things for my custom build. As a Drow, I use rapiers and short swords, which seem to be the most popular and expensive weapons in the game. To bypass the DR of most end-game content, I am told I need metalline of pure good weapons. I can't afford a 5 million gold weapon and I need two for my build. I don't know how to get green steel weapons and I don't think I'm flagged, again.

That is why I think I need to be in a big enough guild that I can get groups for leveling and get groups to gain access to whatever content people do at 17-20. The guilds on Thelanis are either very small or so well-established that they don't want new people. Sometimes I feel like there is no hope for a completely new player to catch up to where all the veterans on the server are at.

[Syntax42]

Your HP are ok, but you have no GFL type item...

I don't know what GFL is...

I hope both your weapons in hand were Frost improved ones from the Winter Risia Games.

They are holy of pure good or holy burst of pure good with the Risia Frost added.

When unguilded, you need to present a strong appearance in order to entice someone into grouping with you.

I think that's a major problem with this game. People look too much into gear and don't even consider the player or the fact that a new person to the game just doesn't have a chance to obtain whatever it is you expect me to have.

[Impaqt]

I don't know what GFL is...

They are holy of pure good or holy burst of pure good with the Risia Frost added.

I think that's a major problem with this game. People look too much into gear and don't even consider the player or the fact that a new person to the game just doesn't have a chance to obtain whatever it is you expect me to have.

Greater False Life


--------

As for the rest... Level 17 and unguilded sets off alarms for many folks.... "Why isnt he guilded?"

Anti Social? Not good enough?

Not making judgements, but your criteria and reasoning for wanting a guild is stange.....

I think the largest guild that still has a pretty good rep on Thelainis is "Storm Lords" I have a lot of friends in that guild and it has grown to be pretty stable... most of the power gaming, power leveling guilds are relatively small. thats where you learn the ins and outs of most quests.. Build relationships..... become accepted even if your builds are outside th ebox....

[Zenako]

I don't know what GFL is...

They are holy of pure good or holy burst of pure good with the Risia Frost added.

I think that's a major problem with this game. People look too much into gear and don't even consider the player or the fact that a new person to the game just doesn't have a chance to obtain whatever it is you expect me to have.

GFL is short for Greater False Life items which gives you 30 Hit Points.

Good on the weapons (my FvS has two Scimitars that look like weak starter weapons now for the same reason. Holy Burst of Pure Good now appear as Frost of Pure Good (with the Holy Burst hidden). So I know how that feels.

The reason people look at gear (and more so on players or characters they do not know) is that many people fail to have certain very important items. You have the Minos Helm (Good). You have slots filled with a variety of items for many functions at once. Haggling, trapmonkey stuff and combat. Clearly you are not doing all at once, so that begs the issue, what were you doing when you logged out. If you had the Worldshaper Cloak from Threnal and the Trinket Gem on, those make sense at 17th with the extra combo perks it gives (true sight is nice for avoiding annoying displacement effects on mobs).

Unfair or not, many players, who have numerous characters, build up expectations of gear levels they expect to see on a character at the "end game" levels. If we were running just a flagging quest for something, probably would not care. If we were running a raid, might well give a look see when an unknown character asks to join. You have enough things going right on the character that most people I know would not think twice about having you join for most quests, so don't get down on that aspect.

You are also correct to assume that by end game, many players do tend to just stick to their friends or guilds for most quests. It is almost always quicker and easier to run quests that way. When they changed some parts of DDO LFM process last year, many of us warned that a very likely consequence of those changes would be fewer LFMs from vets looking to fill slots with new players. I know our guild used to do that all the time. 4 guys running a quest, "pug out" the last two spots, if they fill great, if not no sweat. Now, those pug spots if filled will both A) Make the quest harder (due to scaling) and B) Introduce a greater chance of loosing the EXP bonus for no deaths. A double disincentive to opening up a LFM for new players.

[Syntax42]

I want to give up on the Bard and make a Monk. I love all the feats monks get for free and unarmed fighting feels like dual wielding without the penalties. Unfortunately, I think I made a mistake with my first Monk build. I was going for an AC build, but I just read that AC (and stunning fist) is useless in a lot of end-game content. I plan on True Reincarnating twice to get a 36-point build, so the build mistake isn't a big deal. Getting into a guild that I can do stuff with is important though.

[Impaqt]

I want to give up on the Bard and make a Monk. I love all the feats monks get for free and unarmed fighting feels like dual wielding without the penalties. Unfortunately, I think I made a mistake with my first Monk build. I was going for an AC build, but I just read that AC (and stunning fist) is useless in a lot of end-game content. I plan on True Reincarnating twice to get a 36-point build, so the build mistake isn't a big deal. Getting into a guild that I can do stuff with is important though.

If you think getting from 17 to 20 is Tough on a Standard buld, wait till you try on a Reincarnate...

the Only Penalty TWFera incur is -2 To hit.... -2 is not exactly a severe penalty. It shouldnt even be noticable on a reasonable build.

AC and Stunning fist are far from Useess end game.

[sigtrent]

Guilding up is your best bet. Find folks that run nightly quests and you should be good. It helps if you don't just have one character, folks will want to run at various levels and there are no "Level 17 guilds."

Try to ignore all that noise about your gear etc... your problem wasn't that groups were rejecting you, it was you didn't see groups of your level. Sure, getting geared up is good but that wasn't your challenge.

Starting your own groups is always good but I know its not always what folks feel like doing.

Don't forget there is also a LFG listing you can put yourself on. If you are really gunning for quests, use that as well as scanning LFM.