"DF and PF" is your FC fun?

[Jonny_Tapas]

I can't figure out weather Duty Finder and Party Finder is good or bad. It seems like a great idea... no more shouting for hours to get things done or get into a piece of content...

Yet...

It seems like people simply stopped playing together for the most part. Where the daily fun I'm used to revolved around what the FC (or previously LS) was doing; it seems now most people are just playing "solo-mode" and if they do group it's just a static raid night.

Our FC was born as a Linkshell in December of 2011, and became a FC after the ARR re-launch. Where group designed daily events and group activities yielded tons of fun and memories... It feels like the daily "to do" has been replaced by solo insta queues, over group play.

Is your FC fun, does it suffer the same issues? What kind of things do you do to encourage group play and company participation over "solo insta queues"?

[Enkidoh]

The thing is, it's human nature to want to do the 'easiest option' for the 'least expenditure'. But as you said, doing so loses a lot of enjoyment by queuing automatically. In my small FC we don't usually do full group events as we simply don't have enough members to do so - so instead if anyone wants to join we preform a party and enter via the DF, thus it fills in the missing spots, so we still have the sense of friendship while not having to find fill-ins manually (such as CT).

And of course, it doesn't need to be said that there is absolutely nothing stopping you from manually forming a party and then physically heading to the dungeon entrance and entering via there - it's just far easier to simply enter via DF.

[indira]

i said hey lets see what 2.2 has to offer but i should of stayed away.
the games main focus is a gear treadmill with insane grinding now. gearscore or get the F out kinda community not a fan of that design.
the world once you open up the map there no reason to ever go anywhere, no caves, strongholds are a joke now.
i have no faith at all in FFXIV anymore.

[HumsterMKX]

i said hey lets see what 2.2 has to offer but i should of stayed away.
the games main focus is a gear treadmill with insane grinding now. gearscore or get the F out kinda community not a fan of that design.
the world once you open up the map there no reason to ever go anywhere, no caves, strongholds are a joke now.
i have no faith at all in FFXIV anymore.

Ya.... having the same issues here. Trying to help ppl, but when I saw whats going on, I kinda gave up.

[Holy_Dragoon]

Our FC focuses on community and friendship, and we do our best to make sure no one is left behind. While there are those that do use the DF to get things done, there is a large crowd that will only do things with the FC first, and as a last resort hit up the DF, or even PF.

The biggest draw not to join the PF and DF is the annoyances that go with them. DF groups drop left right and center if they don't get their way. PF groups have insane requirements on our server, every party is usually "must have win or don't join" stamped on it. If people want to actually learn the ins and outs of a dungeon or fight, we do it in-house, with no pressure. We're also flexible to those members who really push the boundaries of the game, such as members with the time to farm Leviathan Extreme 5 days a week. Accepting member differences becomes our strength as a FC.

Keeping things stress free goes a long way, the PF and DF do not offer that.

[Shneibel]

DF give money & lot of money even w/o bonus, it is possible to do both though

[Salaphiel]

Why not use both? Since there is no lockout in dungeons etc., use the DF and PF, and if you want to to something with your guild try to organize it. Asking if anyone wants to help you or speed run or whatever is always right and ask them to join Teamspeak so you can socialize better.

[Jonny_Tapas]

We have TS3, Raidcall, guild site... all of these things set up and in place... and they always have been. It just seems with the introduction of DF and PF... they have become un-necessary for players to get things done. They are no longer used despite being in place.

Prior to these features... the best way to get things done was to be an active member of the community, helpful and thoughtful enough to have a large voice. Now with these features... that is gone.

The best way to get things done is to queue over and over until you learn and conquer. Then you kind of become that person who...

every party is usually "must have win or don't join" stamped on it

It's tough to go loose over and over to help the FC progress... when you could instead just click "Farm Party die and get kicked"... and be successful.

A lot of the community participation in general came from that need for companionship... Now it's just a DF/PF click away and I don't see much point for Free Companies other than to share gil to buy a house.

This makes me sad.

I guess this is my reward for having a skilled group of friends... Maybe if they all sucked we'd actually work together.

[LalaRu]

I think DF is a great tool to learn and experience some content before do it as FC or in a PF. Then, good too to fill the missing spots when not enough members on at the time.

[lackofwords]

Getting people in FC/LS to do things is always a chore for me, even before DF/PF features.

You could also see what things popular this way. Such as recruiting people to do CT pre-2.2 would easily fill up, even sometimes two full parties. But if you ask if people want to do treasure hunts, you'll most likely be greeted with dead silence, and with the occasional person asking 'what's treasure hunting?'