Party Finder

[Notackan]

I'm going to risk your ire here

I used to be a huge supporter of tools like Duty Finders and Group Finders. But after seeing the long term damage they end up doing to MMORPGs - I have come to the conclusion I was wrong about them.

Now I recognize your idea is separate from these. And it doesn't sound bad. But I feel MMORPGs work best when players are encouraged to make friends with one another and do group content together. The MMO experience is just so much more satisfying as a result. But perhaps your idea would make for a good starting point for these kind of social beginnings to occur. Also it would help make it easier for a smaller group of friends to gain access to larger content by adding temporary members. So I can definitely see some good in your proposition.

But in the end I'll have to oppose it. I've just seen the negative effects tools similar to this end up having and how players tend to become overly-reliant on them. Also I worry it might start a step in the wrong direction and lead towards something worse.

I know it can be inconvenient and a pain often times - but I've decided group content on MMORPGs needs to be kept a friendly affair, and not done through generic means. Though I do support large scale content being made public

Have you played FFXIV (not trying to be rude it's a serious question). I haven't played very many MMOs, only FFXI and FFXIV and I understand the bad rap that party finder gets in a lot of MMOs but in FFXIV it's called a duty finder (matchmaking, auto connects you with people) and Party finder is honestly just a bulletin board. It's only server base so or more less it's not different from shouts and yells, in making friends aspect. I would say it's even more personal.

I'm sorry I've been thinking incredibly hard about it and though I respect your concern with it I can see no downside to the community that's left in FFXI. With only 1000-1500 people on at one time on the busiest server (I play on Bahamut now) I find it very difficult to make new friends when I was close to my old ones in my fantastic linkshell Nightmare Brigade. With them mostly gone now and me switching servers I got into a new linkshell but they already have set groups for higher level content and if I wanna do a PUG I have to stay in town to listen to shouts which is utterly boring and counterproductive.

I can see maybe one downside and that is a lot of towns would be a lot more empty. If you see that as a downside then so be it but for me that an upside, plus all the bazaar people will still be there.