Good way to avoid bad Pugs

[JayDubya]

Obviously the first way is to be in a good, active, busy guild, but alas, that is not an option for me right now.

My current practice - if I see a group that's got an LFM for a cleric, I'll put myself on 'LFG'. If they notice and ask me to join, that means they're paying attention, and probably know the game reasonably well.

And if not, well, then I probably didn't want to group with them anyways.

[richieelias27]

I fail to see the logic there. All that means is you found a group that searches the who list for clerics and sends tells to every one they see, which almost every group does as my cleric receives tells with or without LFG on.

PUG's are a crapshoot, all you're doing is making joining said group take longer.

[sirgog]

My strategy to get the strongest group possible is to send /tells when forming a group to builds that are current or recent 'flavor of the month' builds from the forums.

These include:

1) Any multiclass toon with exactly 6 levels of Ranger (no more, no less). These are one of my first picks for melee toons. Particularly valued are Rgr6/RogX and Rgr6/Ftr1/RogX.
2) Any toon that is all bard, save 1-2 levels of Ftr or Brb (another highly-valued melee toon)
3) RogX/Ftr1 builds (highly-valued melee toon)
4) ClrX/Ftr1 or ClrX/Pal1-2 (powerful melee toons with excellent secondary or acceptable primary healing. Excellent support healer if you are playing a Cleric yourself)

After finding enough of those types of characters, I'll fill up the group with anything. But generally, players playing these builds are more likely to have 16th level alts, solid or awesome gear for their level, and know enough to play solidly if not well.

There's the occasional person with one of these builds that isn't at least mediocre, but this is quite rare in my experience.

[Jakarr]

I'v Played my share of clerics and now building a Wiz/Rogue Battlemage( which he is great and very fun to play btw) But my strag for avoiding bad PuGs is

1.) Look at the Names Ihealsyougood, Superwilson, Meatshield, and any other ones that are not really a name. Ppl playin those chars tend to be young kids or adults that are still kids.
2.) Goes along with the first one, Ppl who name there chars after main ppl in movies or books, e.a= Any form of Drizzt, Wulfgar, Rasalin(sp), Thor, Oh and the number 1 I stay away from is Sepherouth(sp again), Yet again theses tend me be kids(dont get me wrong not all the kids that play are bad just 9/10 are), or ppl with no imagenation(**** I cant spell) that just want to zerg zerg zerg and forget about team work.
3.) I agree somewhat with the classes but I am a little more leanent, but If I see a Sorc/Rog with no pally in em yea I stay away from that one or the rogues that are just Trap-Monkeys(so I guess I try not to grp with pure rogues).

[Valiance]

My strategy to get the strongest group possible is to send /tells when forming a group to builds that are current or recent 'flavor of the month' builds from the forums.

These include:

1) Any multiclass toon with exactly 6 levels of Ranger (no more, no less). These are one of my first picks for melee toons. Particularly valued are Rgr6/RogX and Rgr6/Ftr1/RogX.
2) Any toon that is all bard, save 1-2 levels of Ftr or Brb (another highly-valued melee toon)
3) RogX/Ftr1 builds (highly-valued melee toon)
4) ClrX/Ftr1 or ClrX/Pal1-2 (powerful melee toons with excellent secondary or acceptable primary healing. Excellent support healer if you are playing a Cleric yourself)

After finding enough of those types of characters, I'll fill up the group with anything. But generally, players playing these builds are more likely to have 16th level alts, solid or awesome gear for their level, and know enough to play solidly if not well.

There's the occasional person with one of these builds that isn't at least mediocre, but this is quite rare in my experience.

Very, very wise Sirgog. Unfortunately, it is the exact opposite way that most pugs work. I have a WF 7wiz/6ranger/1fighter who is totally pimped out with dual vorpals, disruptors, ect. I always send tells ahead saying, "think of me as a ranger". However, I often request to join and just get no response at all lol. However, when I do get in the group I have yet to not lead in kills with toons of equivalent level.

[moorewr]

Unfortunately, few veteran players seem to look at LFG - because most people with LFG over their heads are low level, and because most high-level clerics are anonymous.

My approach -- look at the group makeup (and guilds of group members) before asking to join,& chat with people on my userchannels to see if they are forming a group. Or form a group with "send tell before joining" in my message.

[Yori_Firebeard]

What I normally look at is the guild the person comes from, I recognize what guilds come from Xoriat and what ones don't. I'll pick up the Xoriat players first because I know what kind of player I'm getting. These players will be at least somewhat experienced, not saying that Xoriat had nothing but uber players but if they were around before the server merge and they did not hit the muppet list on Xoriat they are most likely decent and have been playing a while. I'll usually take builds into account to some extent but it is not usually the build that determines someone's worth it is how they play their build. Worst case scenario you make sure that before tough battles the pugs are buffed to high heaven and they will survive an extra minute or two so that you can complete the quest with minimal drama.

[richieelias27]

If the group is 4 monks and a rogue looking for a cleric..... I dont join.

[tenga]

Obviously the first way is to be in a good, active, busy guild, but alas, that is not an option for me right now.

My current practice - if I see a group that's got an LFM for a cleric, I'll put myself on 'LFG'. If they notice and ask me to join, that means they're paying attention, and probably know the game reasonably well.

And if not, well, then I probably didn't want to group with them anyways.

heh ironically i think the same, but from the other aspect. if i'm leading a group, i avoid the lfg'ers, thinking that they're not paying attention to the lfm.

i usually dont avoid PUG's necessarily, unless i see someone i specifically 'know' is a bad player. but raids are different, i usually wont do a pug raifd unless theres at least 4 or more people i know in it, or i know the leader is good.

[moorewr]

If the group is 4 monks and a rogue looking for a cleric..... I dont join.

Hee! Someone else who solo'ed half the time for the week after Mod 7 came out!

[Guildmaster_Kadish]

My strategy to get the strongest group possible is to send /tells when forming a group to builds that are current or recent 'flavor of the month' builds from the forums.

These include:

1) Any multiclass toon with exactly 6 levels of Ranger (no more, no less). These are one of my first picks for melee toons. Particularly valued are Rgr6/RogX and Rgr6/Ftr1/RogX.
2) Any toon that is all bard, save 1-2 levels of Ftr or Brb (another highly-valued melee toon)
3) RogX/Ftr1 builds (highly-valued melee toon)
4) ClrX/Ftr1 or ClrX/Pal1-2 (powerful melee toons with excellent secondary or acceptable primary healing. Excellent support healer if you are playing a Cleric yourself)

After finding enough of those types of characters, I'll fill up the group with anything. But generally, players playing these builds are more likely to have 16th level alts, solid or awesome gear for their level, and know enough to play solidly if not well.

There's the occasional person with one of these builds that isn't at least mediocre, but this is quite rare in my experience.

When possible, I try to do this as well. Another good bet is ranger with a splash of monk--these players usually know what they're doing.

Also, I always look at race as well--I hesitate to take rogues if they are not either dwarves or halflings. As soon as I see a dwarf ranger, I usually know that is a strong str-based melee (and I will much rather take these than barbarians, who tend to be wildcards... sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you get a manasponge).

Particularly with an "off-class" melee like a rogue or ranger, I will send tells asking about their melee capability.

With regard to bards, I usually prefer to take characters with only 1 splash level so that they have inspire heroism, but for average quests this isn't a big deal.

[Fennario]

I just keep a stack of Word of Recall scrolls on my hotbar. If the PUG I am in sucks real bad, well I figure its past time that I visited the temple.

"****, where the hell the cleric go?"

"Don't know he just went poof and vanished."

... "Sorry guys, wrong scroll. Good luck to ya."

*ding

[sigtrent]

I generaly look at the group's character level and the level of the quest they are doing. If they are all level 10 running elite quests in the end game I dodge them as a cleric. I look for groups at the quest level or slightly higher. I also like to see two melle characters and at least one solid arcane caster. As a healer it means the group has at least potential flexibility and I can focus on healing if need be. I hate being in a group and my poor cleric indes up being not only needed for healing, but also the best DPS source as well. I just don't have the mana to carry the whole party as I don't use stacks of scrolls in pugs. If I can't carry them on 80% spell points and 20% scrolls/wands I figure its a waste of my time unless I'm after specific loot.

You really can never tell though. I've been in some pugs that looked bad on paper but had a few awesome members that carried the quest, and I've been in some that should have owned the quest back to front but couldn't get organized to save their lives.

The thing is though... I'm usualy not all that upset if a pug fails a quest. The only thing I wont sit through is a pug that can't get started or which seems intent on doing a quest for 3 hours despite bieng totaly outmatched. I'll only do that if I don't know the quest since a slow painfull crawl is often the best way to learn them.

[DropList]

...you can join my lowbie leveling guild "THe Bleeding" on sarlona We all know how bad low levels pugs can be. Send any guild member an in game tell. We all have several capped toons in other "main" guilds. We are focusing on leveling and leveling alone. So bring your lowbies!!!!

[Lifeblood]

I have been playing DDO for almost 2 years, in that time I have had many bad pug's and many good Pug groups..Recently I have been trying to lvl my monk/ranger. I am in an active guild but I choose to pug when no one is available to party with me.

I rarely join pug groups but I will start them

in the comments section of my lfm I will post: Cleric optional B.Y.O.H.
It tends (but not always) to weed out the players I do not enjoy playing with
If a player is comfortable running Crucible lvl 9-12 with no cleric I am glad to have them

this is not a sure fire way to ensure a good pug but it does make it fun.
and clerics like it

[arminius]

I've found that the best way for a Cleric to avoid bad PUGs is to have an unconventional Cleric build.

I have an X/2 Cleric/Monk that is expert at finding groups which groups to avoid. They usually respond to join requests with such tells as, "Only if you are going to heal and not hit anything."

It isn't easy to express so much nuanced and layered ignorance in such few words, but if your PUG leader can pull it off, then I know your PUG isn't the one for me.

_

[DoctorWhofan]

-sigh.-

It's all rubbish. LFG is stupid. Wanna a GOOD PuG? Lead a good ONE. You choose and you decide. Then all you have to blame is yourself.


Personally, I have had some PuGs go bad, But I never really had a Bad PuG. I have had some rough PuGs where half the party dropped, or several party wipes, or changes in thegame and I didn't know. Had ones that ran into bad luck, or ones with idiots. Butthere was always someone to meet and to help. So no PuG is truly BAD.


ImHO

[arminius]

-sigh.-

It's all rubbish. LFG is stupid. Wanna a GOOD PuG? Lead a good ONE. You choose and you decide. Then all you have to blame is yourself.


Personally, I have had some PuGs go bad, But I never really had a Bad PuG. I have had some rough PuGs where half the party dropped, or several party wipes, or changes in thegame and I didn't know. Had ones that ran into bad luck, or ones with idiots. Butthere was always someone to meet and to help. So no PuG is truly BAD.


ImHO

I liked your leadership post in that other thread btw.

I wish I could lead more but I never can remember the way through most quests, or in some cases the way to them (like Crucible or some of the Desert quests). I usually have to do quests a LOT (like Tempest Spine in the Old Days) to memorize them enough to lead them.

I guess that leaves me qualified to lead Reaver's Fate then, huh? Forward. Pause. Left.

_

[DoctorWhofan]

I liked your leadership post in that other thread btw.

I wish I could lead more but I never can remember the way through most quests, or in some cases the way to them (like Crucible or some of the Desert quests). I usually have to do quests a LOT (like Tempest Spine in the Old Days) to memorize them enough to lead them.

I guess that leaves me qualified to lead Reaver's Fate then, huh? Forward. Pause. Left.

_

Thank you.

Trust me, It took many months to build up the abilty to lead a group. Before, I let my hubby do it. I learned I can be a good leader, then I learned I was requested to be a leader of a group. While it's nice to be recognized and loved and wanted, you can never let your gaurd down, and can never rest on your laurels. As much as I kid about my "Goddess" status. I take it seriously, and the best compliant is my husband acknowledged I am better at this game than he is. Well, the cleric, leading part, that is!

You don't HAVE to know every quest by heart to be a good leader, just know how to delagate.

[Thrudh]

I take the first 5 people who want to join...

And we do fine about 85% of the time....

10% of the time, we struggle, but I pull us through by being the hero (usually there's at least one other good player in these "bad" PUGs, so it's more like the two of us pull everyone else through)

That 10% is actually quite fun....

Then there's the 5% where everything falls apart, total wipes, group disbands...

Those can be discouraging... But they happen pretty rarely...