What's a good way to find a compatible Free Company?

[Selah]

I'm reaching the point in the game where I need to be part of a group. And lord knows I get spammed with FC invites constantly when I'm in-game. But I'm wary of joining a group when all I know about them is that they spam invites. How can one learn more?

Is there "dating service" for players and FC's, where we can check each other out before making a commitment?

Thanks for any advice.

[Orophin]

I would think anyone serious about recruiting for their FC would check their local server forums here. If I were in your shoes I'd start a topic there and just post what you're looking for in a FC, whether you're a casual player and just want people to hang out with and do the occasional dungeon with or you have a more aggressive raiding agenda and want a FC more focused on that, or something in between.

Just post what you're looking for and what your goals are and I'm sure you'll get some responses.

[Bixby]

As far as making a commitment, unless you're looking for serious endgame raiding FCs, most of them aren't going to expect you to make a blood pact right out of the gate. It's a very common thing with MMOs; hardly anyone ever finds their dream guild on their first try, and anyone running an FC knows that (or should, anyway). If you find one you think might work, join up for a while. If it's not for you, just make a polite exit and move on.

If your server forums happen to not be much help, you could also google for "<your realm> free company" or some such. A lot of them will have their own sites, and you can spy on them there.

You could also try running things with people from your server, and take note of the FC anyone you like/dislike is in, so you can look into them more or avoid them.

[HaplessHermit]

Every FC shout is basically the same deal, some are perhaps more flavorful, but more or less the same deal. You can go from FC to FC until you find a fitting one, or you can ask to join the FC of someone you happen to get along with. Say you make a pre-made shout group before entering a dungeon, and someone sticks out to you; since you didn't use the Duty Finder, you know they're on your server, obviously, so you could ask them about their FC. This could also work in FATE parties.

It's probably going to take time to find a really good fit. Trust me, when it comes to talking to people I'm a nervous git.

Edit: I see you're on Malboro, that's cool! If you need any help with any dungeons or crafting-related stuff, send me a message in-game. I regularly run through older content to get people clears and I'm pretty damn laid back.

[Selah]

It's probably going to take time to find a really good fit. Trust me, when it comes to talking to people I'm a nervous git.

Edit: I see you're on Malboro, that's cool! If you need any help with any dungeons or crafting-related stuff, send me a message in-game. I regularly run through older content to get people clears and I'm pretty damn laid back.

Thanks, Silva!

I should mention that although I'm new to the MMORPG world, I'm an avid citizen of PlayStation Home, and very active in social groups there. So you could say my qualifications are "maven in virtual worlds, total noob in dungeons." On my first run through Satasha, the Tank had to stop and explain that I was NOT there to whack monsters -- I was there to keep him alive. He was very patient, for which I thank him. (Most Tanks seem to be good folk, in my experience.)

[ASnogarD]

There is a long standing debate about healers 'whacking' monsters or not (unless you were literally smacking the mobs with your conjurers weapon), its more up to the Healer to decide if they can toss in some DPS while still keeping the Tank healthy.
Basically it boils down to whether or not the Tanks HP is big enough to take a hit or two before you need to cast Cure on them, that will determine if you have time to add some Cleric Stance -> Aero + Stone DPS before you need to leave Cleric Stance and heal again.
The important part is to ensure the tank remains in a healthy state (but don't just stand there spamming Cures, over healing will generate a lot of aggro from the enemy mobs), but tossing in some DPS is perfectly fine as long as it doesn't mean your Tank is nearly dead each time you DPS :P

[Selah]

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The important part is to ensure the tank remains in a healthy state (but don't just stand there spamming Cures, over healing will generate a lot of aggro from the enemy mobs), but tossing in some DPS is perfectly fine as long as it doesn't mean your Tank is nearly dead each time you DPS :P

<eyes glaze> Thanks, Iniayne. But this is exactly what I mean when I say I'm still a MMORPG noob. Thanks to some frantic Google searching after my first dungeon, I could pretty much follow what you said here. But it's a whole new vocabulary -- DPS, aggro, mobs, Tanks... Should I mention that I modeled Selah on Codex in "The Guild"? <smh> It's a fascinating world, and an addictive one, but still rather alien.