[dev1020] Party system changes. The maximum party size.

[raseol]

I really like duo and 4-man parties. Larger groups tend to be messy, because i only see just a few monsters you have to kill before you move on to the next group. Do you really need 15 men to do that? It's also a matter of content, there has not really been a reason to go play with 50 guys. When i started i imagined the limit was endless, but when i started paying attention there really isn't a reason to do 128. I hope it will come though because i want to see some of the massive in mmo's, and besides doing a mission or event with all of the linkshell sound pretty good to me.

[Obeadius]

I believe the party systems should be changed to an alliance system with 6 member parties. I do not believe 4 man parties will be efficient once new content/jobs are released because we are going to want certain classes in certain parties in the alliance and if the party size is only 4 people.

One idea would be to lower the party size and implement an alliance system, this would be friendly for people who would like to solo and people that would like to do more large scale events.

Seeking Party System Rather Than Recruitment Party System

The bigger issue in my mind is to change the Party Seek Function. The current party seek function is not very effective and is rarely used.

Ideas on how to change:
1) Implement /sea all functions
2) Do away with the current party seek function
3) Allow players to put flags up who are searching for Exp/Sp/Missions and allow them to designate interest
4) Implement a message box when seeking to state classes/interests

This in my mind is a more effective system. Players will be able to see where everyone that is looking for a party is and players will be able to see peoples interests. This might be more difficult because of the constant changing of job and classes and might be heavy on the servers, but if they were to come up with a system that allowed people to write in their class/job into a message box, then that could help with the load on the server.

[Feldt]

I believe the party systems should be changed to an alliance system with 6 member parties. I do not believe 4 man parties will be efficient once new content/jobs are released because we are going to want certain classes in certain parties in the alliance and if the party size is only 4 people.

One idea would be to lower the party size and implement an alliance system, this would be friendly for people who would like to solo and people that would like to do more large scale events.

Seeking Party System Rather Than Recruitment Party System

The bigger issue in my mind is to change the Party Seek Function. The current party seek function is not very effective and is rarely used.

Ideas on how to change:
1) Implement /sea all functions
2) Do away with the current party seek function
3) Allow players to put flags up who are searching for Exp/Sp/Missions and allow them to designate interest
4) Implement a message box when seeking to state classes/interests

This in my mind is a more effective system. Players will be able to see where everyone that is looking for a party is and players will be able to see peoples interests. This might be more difficult because of the constant changing of job and classes and might be heavy on the servers, but if they were to come up with a system that allowed people to write in their class/job into a message box, then that could help with the load on the server.

I see one big flaw in your "suggestion"
I want to search for ready parties, not ppl want to search for me, your flag idea isn't the god idea... when I'm in gridania for example i need to bee in a spot with players so actually someone want to notice the flag. I want a system where i will search on board (like the current one) and be displayed all the parties that are in, with the actual members that joined. I want then to click "Join" and ask them where the heck are they so i can arrive or where do we go. If we would go with the flag system how the heck will i find a party for company that are in limsa or ul'dah when I'm in gridania and can't search it. and another thing

/sea all functions

PLEASE!! NO MORE COMMANDS! this isn't linux! I'm not a computer to remembers XXXXXXXX Commands to operate properly... I want it all doable and clickable though menu, in nice gui, an option to select from menu for example that will display some window or something.

And about the current system. Well mostly I'll tell you how it was.

Square Enix never posted tutorial on how to use party search/recruitment system (though it mine opinion it doesn't need it since it's intuitive and easy to use - i know how to use it from first day) but, in my adventures i meet LOOOOOOOT of people who don't know how to use it... and because they don't know... they don't even care to learn... after I educated some, they started to learn this. But...another thing arrived, since there was like 80~90% of ppl that didn't know how to use the party search and recruit, the rest of ppl that do know (10%) stopped using it as well...

back around November and before in 2010 that 10% of ppl that do know created parties, some of them of cores didn't since not everybody want to be party leader and some players are afraid of the role (I was as well). Well anyway, somehow those people stopped creating those recruitments since the rest of players (that 90%) didn't looked on the board... Somehow the number decreased with time, and now the situation looks like this:

Even if someone will create recruitment it's really rare to get any response since the people who Know how to use this functionality, and the ones that don't know (still most of players don't know how to use it) know that no one ever looks there and thus they don't even bother to look there.

I was using back in 2010 quiet frequently this functionality, but now... every time i create recruitment i got no response even I'm stopping to look up there since every time i look... there is no recruitments...

I really dunno what's going up here, I saw exactly the same system in couple f2p MMORPG's and it was used normally, you saw loots of recruitments from people and could easy join a party...

Something need to be done with that...

btw. i almost forgot, I even meet ppl that didn't know what the "party" option in menu was for...

PS: I pray that this post will be on some understandable level because it's almost 4am here, I'm very tired and I'm already couple hours past my bed time...

Also nice signature Feldt

Thanks :3

[God]

The problem with less people in parties means LESS leve links which takes a huge hit on everyone SP which I imaging is exactly why SE implemented this.

8 Party limit will screw a lot of LS's. We already have to cut like 5 players when we start our NM events due to the 15 cap. Dropping that to 8 just leaves more people excluded. Not all NM's are so easy with only 8 people.

There was NEVER anything stopping any group from inviting a whole 15 for those whiners. Don't like the 15 man parties turn your damn recruit off and go with 4-6-8 or whatever.

[Synthesis]

I prefer quality over quantity. 8/8 party is nice idea in my opinion and fair enough.

[Sephr]

One of the major reasons for this is because the community's so small now. Making a base of 4 and 8 people means that they can balance content that's relevant for the players right now and then expand upon it in the future if (when!) the game becomes more popular as it's improved.

I'd expect to see alliance content make a come-back eventually once 4 and 8-man is fleshed out. Personally I quite like the idea of 4-manning things, it'll make it easier to just get friends together to do things and feel like a real adventuring squad like FF's of old!

[Sonic_the_Hedgehog]

I like the idea of 4 man parties, it's seems very Final Fantasy-ish. Also nice signature Feldt

[Frebaut]

The problem with going to 6 people and doing a 5 star run is you can't pass it. The mobs defense is so high and they hit so hard theirs no challenge because you will die. As of now either the mobs are to easy or they wipe you with one AoE. Theirs no in between.

[arlee]

Stop with the retarded comments nothing ever stopped you from partying with under 15 people. 15 is/was the max NOT the required. Want a 3-4-8 man group THEN WHY NOT JUST MAKE ONE.

8 people means more crap leves that dont have enough links to make them worth while. Simple fact is More people ment FASTER SP.

no shit you can make whatever party size you want, thing is right now there is no middle ground for the leve difficulties, its either stupid easy or stupid hard.

As for the OMG moar people = moar SP! you realize that there is a max link you can do right? you and 10 people linking the same leve is not gonna net you more sp than say a 5 link. more people doesn;t = more sp. you just gotta play smart, meaning pick the right leves to link and GA buff

The problem with going to 6 people and doing a 5 star run is you can't pass it. The mobs defense is so high and they hit so hard theirs no challenge because you will die. As of now either the mobs are to easy or they wipe you with one AoE. Theirs no in between.

yeah i agree their needs to be some sort of median for the reg groups. right now the stars for adjusting difficulty in leves is bullshit, there is no middelground. 1 star is too easy and 5 star is too dam hard. 3-4 stars is pretty much just like 1 star. The difficulty goes from easy to super hard, what happened to the middle ground?

[Zhinse]

I like this discussion!

I am in favor of the lower party count and low population content. It should be able to get us through these tough times right now and 8 years from now when the game is getting older. I find Low man battles a lot more fun too.