"Looking For Party" Chat Box

[Asakuranami]

Oh I see. Yeah, you have a point with that =X

Well then, how about without zeny? For free? =) We still have the problem that originated this thread: no place for people who look for a party -> main full of LFP> comments. If the mercenary system doesn't work (as you well said because all those problems) maybe we could still make a forum or something for people who looks for parties so they don't spam the main so much =) A forum section has to be easier to do than a tab or a different chat or any in-game change, right?

[Zaratus]

Long answer:
The problem of a forum section is that most people won't be like "Hey, I want to make a party now. I'll go into forums and post a thread what I need and people will read it and come ingame and PM me so we can party up to do NAMELESS!!!!!!111111111". And even less people will be like "Hey, I want to have a party. I'll go into forums and check threads if somebody just posted a few minutes ago and needs my class so I can PM him and party up to do NAMELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111". Therefore not many people would use this function.

If you organize parties via forums, it would most likely have the form "We'll party on [date and time] and go to [location] and need these classes" - non-spontaneous parties. Those kind of parties (planned-ahead) you usually do with friends and not with random people. You talk to your friends when they have time and when you find a date and a time that fits enough to do the party, you tell them that you'll party then (either in a private forum or ingame or in MSN or wherever). You won't be like "Hey, I'll PM random people ingame if they want to join my party to [location] on [date and time]" (and actually you aren't right now either).

tl;dr
Main is just the faster and more effective way to build spontaneous parties than via forums. Forums win for planned parties but those you don't do with random people but with friends.

[Asakuranami]

Yes, ok, I saw your point there and it's true people can manage better for spontaneus partying via main, but I think organized partying is not such a bad idea.

Let's see, for example a forum where someone makes a thread asking for a party with X, X, and X jobs, between X and X levels, and for X day. Like: "Looking for bragi, priest, high wizard and a tanker, to go to Nameless, between level 80-90" and set a date. Then people could reply saying if they are interested, like "I'm in" or "Count me in" and then they can arrange a meeting place or something.

It would be very similar to the Woe. A organized event that takes place on determinated days at determinated hours. People is able to make their irl plans around it, if they are interested in participating. It's simple and clean, imo.

[T-chan]

Let me put in my pennyworth

Main is just the faster and more effective way to build spontaneous parties than via forums. Forums win for planned parties but those you don't do with random people but with friends.

+1 for Aya
Forums are not good for spontaneous parties, but @main gives you no guarantees of having party at any given point of time.

Well...
Small partying forum section already exists for heRO...
It is just really very small for now - you could say it is "beta" partying forum for people who think in similar way. Founders did not open it to wide public, they wanted to see if the concept would work well.

It's called Adventurers' Inn - some of you know about it, some of you don't, as I said, it is small.

AdvInn is meant to gather players willing to have fun, who do not whine over ever single lost % and are bored with constant "NAMELESS" parties. Also, AdvInn members tend to share knowledge and experiment with unusual party setups.

Let me quote part of a sticky rule-post from there:

This [being a person who matches AdvInn concept] means you are a person having at least one of the following qualities:
- you like to play with the numbers
- you like to party
- you are willing to learn about RO and/or teach about RO
- in general, you like PvM/MvP in RO
- you are interested in partying with suboptimal/unusual party setups - and you want to make it work

There are several rules, but they are simple and not really restrictive... People who are part of AdvInn now were invited because either members knew them before and thought they would fit, or members played with them after AdvInn was founded and found them fit. You do not need "connections", but you do need to fit to the whole idea of "have fun and let others have fun too".

AdvInn is looking for members who fit criteria, but regardless of that I would still love to see independent partying forum for heRO, as it would allow people outside of AdvInn to find parties.
Not everyone has many friends they can ask for party, new people would have it much easier.

One of greatest problems for new players and at the same time the biggest gap between so called 'pro' players and newbies is that new people know no-one. They have no-one to party, they are condemned to solo till they die of boredom. And when their characters are strong enough to be accepted in parties, they simply cannot play in party (remember they never had chance to party) and are quickly dumped for being lousy <put in whatever class you like>
If we had partying forum they would have a chance to meet also 'pro' players, and I do not believe that out of whole population not a single higher level player would be willing to help new person. I do not mean zeny or items. I mean knowledge, showing them new places. Do lone players stand a chance to visit Dimensional Gorge? Thanatos Tower? Nidhoggur? Our New World? Bradiums are fun, but few players can go there alone. Partying forum section might enable them to go there, at least once in their life.

Oh, and in case someone is concerned that partying forum might kill spontaneous parties: I'm in AdvInn and still do party spontaneously - this is really not a problem.

[Asakuranami]

. Do lone players stand a chance to visit Dimensional Gorge? Thanatos Tower? Nidhoggur? Our New World? Bradiums are fun, but few players can go there alone. Partying forum section might enable them to go there, at least once in their life.

I can't agree more with you, I mean, I'm still a noob. I don't know almost any place 2 squares away from any of the main towns, and I find it very hard to party with people because being so noobish and not high leveled no one wants to party with me. How will I be able to learn and see Nameless, Thanatos Tower, etc... if noone gives me (or any other noob, for that matter) the chance?

I'm always going solo to the places I can, which are not a lot, and I for sure would appreciate and love a forum or whatever that could help me find more people in my situation, so we could all go see new places and support each other.

At least that's my humble point of view, though I also agree on main being very useful for spontaneous partying, as Aya said.

[Namine]

We tried using the forum as a place for party maintained by GMs before as a pilot project, and it didn't work so it was scrapped.

Remember that sometimes the problem isn't with the people, but the game design. Solo for the most part, is just too efficient to ever consider about a party in any RO.

[Asakuranami]

Oh, really? Well I don't see it that way. RO is a social game, as any multiplayer online game. If you want to solo it then go ahead, I'm soloing for the most part too, nothing wrong with that, but there are many places where unless you go with a group of people you simply don't last more than two minutes. Maybe if you're at the top level you can give yourself the luxury of soloing all the time, but to reach that level you first have to help and be helped by others.

And honestly, I think it's quite more fun going with more people than going alone, but that's just a personal opinion

[Namine]

there are many places where unless you go with a group of people you simply don't last more than two minutes.

Thus the exceptionals being high end mvps, Gorge, Thor, Odin 3 and somewhat New World. Thanatos Tower requires party, but there's nothing much to obtain up there except for custom items and the bloodied shackle ball.

And then even for those exceptional places, players often opt to build a specific character designed to tackle those places to get the job done, especially champs and SGs. With a specialized or dedicated builds, you can greatly reduce the amount of party members needed down to say 2 or 3 only.

Maybe if you're at the top level you can give yourself the luxury of soloing all the time, but to reach that level you first have to help and be helped by others.

Even that, depends on class... some class simply succeed purely soloing and do better that way: assassins is the glaring example. They are almost a luggage for the most part in parties, but they really shine and be extremely efficient and effective at solo mobbing. They don't need that much of fancy stuff to do well at it either (but they'll be even scarier on what they can do once they get that juperos weapon...)

Classes like wizard, bard, priest being members one of the possible golden triangle setup of partying, obviously do better with others.

[Matrim Cauthon Jr]

Would it be that difficult to add an @lfp channel?

We have @main, party, guild & public chats already.

[Sepharius]

Would it be that difficult to add an @lfp channel?

We have @main, party, guild & public chats already.

As far as I know, all of those were already in the clients because of eAthena. Coding another channel altogether I think would be a rather arduous process, since it would be something completely new.