I actually thought about putting this in general, but was pretty confident it'd end up here anyway. Ok, I knew it would.

y beloved guild, which I founded three years ago, disbanded recently, mostly because I (as leader) announced I was considering quitting the game. There were a lot of reasons, but the biggest one was that I just wasn't enjoying the game the way I had before. We'd done a lot more than I thought you could do with 6-12 people, but were basically foundering going into the summer. Lots of reasons. I'm sure you are all familiar with at least some of them.
Before I quit, though, (I told my friends) I wanted to try raiding for a while to confirm that I wouldn't enjoy it. =) If I did find it appealing, so much the better - I could remain as a player of a game I once loved, and still sometimes do.

Little did I know that the game has progressed to such a state that my personality, play skills, aquired gear, commitment level, tradeskill prowess, and perhaps unique strategies born of making do with little-to-nothing meant exactly squat to a raiding guild. Even friends who had joined other guilds when I started my own and had progressed far beyond us merely shrugged and looked helpless when I asked why I wouldn't be considered, because we both knew what the problem really was.

Flags.

I'm more ready to quit now than ever, but I still play. I'm not sure why... part of it, at least, is because I really am having fun again since the pressure that I felt as a guild leader (even of a small guild) is gone, and I can do what I like with my play time. Soloing old quests, exploring zones I never saw, helping people with things I never really had time for, etc.

But I can't try raiding. And it's not because I'm not good enough, or well-equipped, or knowlegeable, and it's not even because I lack friends in high places. It's because I don't have some dumbass flags, and gaining them is so not-fun that nobody will bother to go get them for another druid they don't really need anyway.

aybe I should try another server? Maybe I should just not play anymore. It works for most of my officers. Bah. If you got this far, thanks for listening.

Good luck man!! Whatever decision you make, I hope it brings you the 100% fufillment you are looking for.
Chubbs
65th druid on Rodcet Nife

Go to your server board.
Post that on (insewrt day) you're going to lead open raids on one of the following mobs you can find up..Grummus,TT,MB,Xana.

eet 72 new friends in the same position.

Win.

Do it next week.

most servers have a public flagging channel.

On ECI the main one is /backflag.

Look around. You will be suprised how advanced some of the public raids are. ECI public is currently raiding time but still does the low end stuff when needed/by request.

Public raids make me want to stab people in the eye.

Public raids make me want to stab people in the eye.
:) /nod



Thanks for the suggestions, but I wasn't really looking for a solution. That wasn't my point.

LOL, don't ask the question... if you're not ready for the answer... *snicker*

I'm more ready to quit now than ever, but I still play. I'm not sure why...

Habit! Its hard to quit, you don't know what you'll do with your spare time.

But once you get through the withdrawls, you'll enjoy yourself.

P.S. I handled my withdrawls by using another drug, Morrowind. Its sort of like Methadone... Then I went to Civ3, or maybe it was the other way around. After awhile, I was game free and didn't look back. Started to read, watch TV, garden, cook, exercise...

Then CoH came out and now I'm addicted to a new game! Argh!

But at least I'm still exercising!

Public raids make me want to stab people in the eye.

e too, and I used to lead them!

I play on Fennin Ro which is fairly top heavy and is an older server. I am a member of a multi-guild raiding coalition that is just now killing its last mobs to become Elemental flagged and we are nothing like an open raid system. There is an open raid channel on FR but I would avoid those like the plague. Now I would think that most servers would have a younger guild or some group that is closer to your play level. You just need to find them.

LOL, don't ask the question... if you're not ready for the answer... *snicker*
I don't recall asking any questions. =)

Public raids make me want to stab people in the eye.

lol yea, thats why I left the game rather than go the public flag route but it is an option.

Now I would think that most servers would have a younger guild or some group that is closer to your play level. You just need to find them.
I'm sure there are some, and I'll look for them if I decide to renew in August, after Omens comes out and I get a feel for what it brings, and am happy for it, and after all the awesome, inspiring, game-changing updates SOE makes between now and then go live and rekindle my interest in playing as a solo/group druid who's interested in trying out raiding.

Because that's gonna happen. Right? Right???

Thanks, also, Pana. =) It'll be a tough thing to break after 4 years, especially the last three, which I spent playing with the finest group people I have ever known (they're all RL friends from before).
So far I've spent my time not playing EQ playing EQ, and ignoring my lawn. Which is now a jungle. And remembering I own a Gamecube. Hehe.

Habit! Its hard to quit, you don't know what you'll do with your spare time.

Having started and quit several games in the past year, I can attest to that. I have nights when I have absolutely nothing to do... so I play poker on line. But I'm not very good, so that can get expensive :)

Then I wander around Walmart or Best Buy and pick up games that I've never played before. Install them and then realize why I never played them - they suck! Well, it's still cheaper than poker on line ;)

Leading raids makes me want to stab people in the eye. If it's not the greedy, it's the whinners. And the greedy whinners make me want to do this --> :gunfight:

So far I've spent my time not playing EQ playing EQ, and ignoring my lawn. Which is now a jungle

This sounds sooooo familiar. I really let my backyard go when I was playing EQ. Trying to get it back into order was a HUGE task. I found it was helpful to hire someone else to do it!

[QUOTE=Claeopha]
aybe I should try another server? [ /QUOTE]

Oh? Heh, your whole post is a question... just only one question mark...

I think this is a cultural gap between men and women. When women rant or complain to one another there's an understanding that they're sharing an emotion and they look for emotional support. When women rant/complain to men, the men offer possible pragmatic solutions as opposed to empathy or support. Then the women get mad because they didn't want solutions, they wanted empathy dammit!

Maybe I should try another server?

Oh? Heh, your whole post is a question... just only one question mark...
Ah, I see. My apologies, that was rather a rhetorical question, honestly. My main point was not being able to do what I wanted to do since I hadn't been doing it all along.

The barrier to entry for a non-raider character to a raiding guild is just incredibly high. I would bet that most raiding guilds would take a naked druid over a fully equipped one, if the naked one had flags. That's my main gripe; that the roadblock to my trying to find some avenue to keep EQ enjoyable is a principally artificial one, that stems from a design descision related to my playstyle, not how capable I might be of participating in a raid.

I would bet that most raiding guilds would take a naked druid over a fully equipped one, if the naked one had flags.
Actually thats true. It's a LOT easier to drop a few hundred k on a new recruit to re-equip than it is to drag an entire guild through the flag process.

i started folding my clothes, even my underpants, after i quit eq. you would be AMAZED at how much better boxer shorts feel in the morning, when you pull them on and they have a nice crease down the side.

I think this is a cultural gap between men and women. When women rant or complain to one another there's an understanding that they're sharing an emotion and they look for emotional support. When women rant/complain to men, the men offer possible pragmatic solutions as opposed to empathy or support. Then the women get mad because they didn't want solutions, they wanted empathy dammit!


You know what? I understand this about women and it took me a while to learn it. But you know what? I never remember it when it is important to do so. :( My wife rants and i STILL try to fix it even though I know that's not what she wants. I'm hoping to one day tranfer knowledge into practice.

You know what? I understand this about women and it took me a while to learn it. But you know what? I never remember it when it is important to do so. My wife rants and i STILL try to fix it even though I know that's not what she wants. I'm hoping to one day tranfer knowledge into practice.

Yea same here. One day when my wife was ranting I though "ok....she just wants me to listen, try some of that mars/venus stuff from the book, keep your mouth shut and agree" and then she rephrased the problem, I saw an immediate solution and offered it without thinking and started a whole new argument *sigh*.

I'm divorced now. Hopefully someday I'll learn...heh

You don't need flags or keys for most raids in Velious or Luclin. While they will not be the large sized PoP raids, they are a taste of what they are like.

Rolaque
Saryrn

Public raids make me want to stab people in the eye.
With a rusty spoon, no less.

The ONLY successful public raid I have ever been on was the raid thet I led against Behemoth. Even that ended rather messily, with about 20 people out of 70 getting their flags.

Yea same here. One day when my wife was ranting I though "ok....she just wants me to listen, try some of that mars/venus stuff from the book, keep your mouth shut and agree" and then she rephrased the problem, I saw an immediate solution and offered it without thinking and started a whole new argument *sigh*.

I'm divorced now. Hopefully someday I'll learn...heh

LOL! Oops, sorry you got divorced. :( But still, that's a funny story.

Actually I don't believe 100% of what I said. Sometimes men just want the emotional support too, but they're usually wise enough to seek out a woman to get it from.

It's scarey that people let EQ interrupt thier social patterns and basic daily activities so much. I think it all comes down to basic priorities/values, or lack thereof. I guess it festers in certian personality types or something...

To the original poster, you have to figure out why you play EQ. If you are not having fun, then just stop playing. It's a s simple as that. For example, I get enjoyment out of progression in content, as well as equipment/AAs, and even DKP aquirement. There is always a particular "thing" I can progress or improve at any given time, so I am fairly content while playing EQ.

My guild broke up the other night. Right now I sit around with LFG on and nothing. Its depressing. I still love the game, but the dam LFG game is driving me nuts.

Little did I know that the game has progressed to such a state that my personality, play skills, aquired gear, commitment level, tradeskill prowess, and perhaps unique strategies born of making do with little-to-nothing meant exactly squat to a raiding guild.

/nod Time to find another guild. If there's not one like this then yeah, it might be time for another server.

Some of the most skilled players I know came from literally nothing and were not twinked in any way. They are talented because they have to make do with what resources they have, not the plat in the bank.

Brell Serilis is nice.

Well, in short - Flags suck. If you don't have them and expect to get into a good guild, Good luck. There's always some guild starting planar progression. You should look in to those. And, yeah I rather let a naked druid with time+ flags get what rots, and throw some plat at him. You need flags to get in to decent guilds. That's how it is and always will be. Honestly, I don't see how you -expect- to get in a guild, Just so they can flag you, When theres many other applicants with the flags.

I don't think that she was looking for a guild "just to flag [her]." Nice troll though.

Post count is irrevelent.

Post count is irrevelent.

Jarlan - you are jumping ahead, no one mentioned your post count yet. They just called you a troll, which you are, now onto our regular business :axe:

Obviously you have no idea what a troll is.

now onto Your regular business

I suggest you do the same.

hahaha

Gee, I would say this is just about "regular business." :)

Look what I started. =) I knew this belonged in Unkempt. =)

Post count is irrevelent.

When you criticize others for mispelling you should always check your own first. What is "irrevelent?"