Question: How Did You Find Your Core Group?

[Spy]

Sambo

Ever since I got curious of his LS creation, I've stayed with Distant World.

[Odett]

I suggest maybe remembering the FC of the players that stick out when you use PF. Sooner or later, (in my case anyway), you'll start seeing repeated FC names coming from good players, and the one that repeats itself most sounds like a good one to join. I've also yet to meet a good FC that has a huge number of people, and it's usually harder to stick out in those. I myself would do this if I already wasn't in a small, tight-knit FC with 3 other like-minded players, I just wished we got enough members to do some SCoB >.<

I understand what you mean about the difficulty of finding 7 other like-minded players. I've been joining statics ever since SCoB came out and it can get frustrating when you watch an encounter fall apart because the same people are making the same mistakes and don't communicate. I read about people in the forums downing T9 and Savage Coil, and logging on and playing with 7 other people like that while taking down the hardest content this game has to offer sounds like a dream come true.

[Elim]

Minus one person, everyone in my static met on SW:TOR. Not all of us were in the same static on SW:TOR though. Basically half of us were in static A, the other in static B. But we all competed for server firsts and got a few. When SW:TOR's content release slowed to a deathly crawl our statics fell a part. Luckily, enough of us switched to FF14 to create a static.

[tymora]

Folks from FFXI for me.
For coil, joined a PF, left a good impression, got invited to join them for static. (for pretty much everytime I need a group. Takes a while though)

[Ruri]

Use PF instead of DF to get parties going, try to add the players who do well on your friendslist and tell them you are starting up a party and would like them to join. Eventually you will find a full pt of people on your friendslist that you can do content with together.
For me personally I played since beta of 1.0 and most of my friends there still play in ARR today. So I've been playing with the same people for years meeting new ones along the way.

[RathSkybreaker]

Met a lottttttt of people from 1.0 , still play with many of them, others I just did random ex primals with when they were new and we meshed.

[SeraviEdalborez]

I frequent the bluegartr forums (not the cutting-edge Blue Garter group). We have enough people on my server that we have a social-ish linkshell about it.

One day someone offers a healer spot in a static and I accept. The group is more or less a pickup group that keeps meeting up, everyone in different FCs and such. Still in that static today, with a few alterations, and we ended up downing T5 before 2.1, downing T9 before 2.3, and making a FC together.

[Kaethra]

But, still brings me to wonder, how did everyone else find people they like to play with? Doesn't have to be specific, or even about end game content. Maybe it will give me an idea on where to look for some like-minded people.

The group I play with on a regular basis is a few people I've known for many years. One is my best friend of nearly 26 years (I'm only 31 next month). And the others are ones I've met and hung out with in during my service in the Army. We're all spread out across the US and we use video games (specifically MMOs) to hang out and do stuff together.

One thing I would recommend (as not everyone can or should join the military) is get on VOIP. Be it mumble, ventrilo, or teamspeak. Being able to chat like you're hanging out IRL is a great thing. You get to chat with like minded peeps (all playing the same game) but while playing the game you don't have to just chat about the game but other interests too. Before too long, your 'core group' extends beyond FFXIV into other games and you always have someone to try out newer games with.

If you're just hooking up for statics, coils, extremes.. the relationship is one of convenience, and not friendship. Once the goal is done, or you leave the game.. its all over. If thats ok with you, then by all means stick to that. But for those of you looking for more. I suggest finding a FC that is active in VOIP. If you're a console player, switch to PC if you want the camaraderie I am speaking of. Its well worth it if you can afford it.

[Kitfox]

Soon after launch, I started forming a coil static out of my LS members. I'm a leader of a mid-sized LS but it still took a while to figure out the run times, choose the members and put it all together. Personally I looked for matching time schedule, play skill and personality that wouldn't clash with others, and of course party composition. Eventually I still had to recruit a tank from the outside. After some scouting in primal runs I found one that also joined the LS. Another member in my LS wanted to put together a coil static and did the same a while later. The most important thing you need in a static is an organizer, or leader, that the other members can get behind.

A good strategy for recruiting members is to look for people that come in sets. Friends that like to play together, couples, married people, siblings and so on. They can usually tolerate being around each other and play at the same time, so as long as they also have the button mashing skills, they're keepers.

A good strategy for leading a static is that if you're not a perfect leader yourself get someone, that complements you, to co-lead it with you. This has grown to be the case in my static.

As for how to keep it all going through the dry spells and frustrations, lag problems and growing pains? No finger pointing or blame game, and a lot of tolerance and perseverance. I still have the same 7 other people in my static I started with a year ago.

[BreathlessTao]

I still haven't found mine and I'm starting to doubt there ever will be one. Tbh I seem to get along better with NPCs - I mean, hey, at least they stick around. \: