I usually don't bother to even pick it up anymore unless it's in the middle of the night. Just not up for grouchy people...

Exponential number needed on that one especially. It's mind boggling. Stand around, refuse to group and then all hell breaks loose when those poor mobs spawn. LOL

Unfortunately my experiences differ and I just don't bother any more. Then again, I can't even get into the game so it's all pretty moot.

It isn't, but you'd be surprised, I think, by how often the invite is declined or ignored.

Not sure this had much to do with what the players wanted. Think it's more to do with bottom line/expediency.

Wow...surly much? It is catered to as can be demonstrated by comparison to, say, UO, EQ, DAoC etc. In fact when WoW came out and did away with a lot of the mechanics from prior MMOs (including the NEED to group) well, we all saw how that helped mainstream MMOs and cater to playstyles other than "must group to get anywhere". Obviously they do cater to solo players. That you don't see that is rather bemusing. It's one of the playstyles supported along with duo/small group, large groups and OP sized groups. Class stories, FPs, Heroics, most all can be solo'd at "story" level. Looks like catering to me. I don't understand the need to be snarky. Why do some folk who aren't into soloing/duoing have the need to denigrate those who are? MMOs are pretty diverse these days. MMOs also are works in progress. So when the pendulum swings one way, it'll be sure to swing the other eventually. We're arse to cheek just now with the merges and those who don't like that aren't best pleased whereas those who've been begging to be plopped into populus servers are. Time passes, we'll see how this shakes out. I'm pretty darn sure that BW has the numbers and realise that the solo/duo types make up a large percentage of their customer base.

I'm sure it was just my wretched luck but I did do that and promptly go squarshed. Been a few years ago now but it soured me on that idea. Especially the attitude of said "squarsher". He was going for the "how can I be the most stereotypical arse-hat PKer" and doing a fine job of it.

You'd think after all these years this bickering about how an MMO should be played would've died out, but nooooooo. There are many other things to do in an MMO aside from grouping up to combat. Socialising, crafting, exploring etc. This attempt to relegate those with a playstyle preference that is catered to (along with other styles) by the studio that created the game via the dismissive "go play a solo game" is really, really getting old. Like, literally, nearly 20 years old. Note, too, that the smart studios realised that they were missing a trick with the "must group" mentality and started working in solo/duo content which has been a nice draw for many players. That said, in a sense there is nothing stopping them except for their preference in how to avail themselves of the content provided. Imagine, if you will, how you'd like it if all of a sudden you could no longer play in the way that brings you enjoyment. I rather expect you might be a bit put out.

Whilst maybe not applicable to everyone who behaves like a rabid weasel on crack, I think for many it is because they CAN be arse-hats without much (if any) consequence as opposed to the way things work in RL...a way to behave like they cannot in RL. So, the potential for having that removed would be a negative for that sort and thus...defending it.

More's the pity. And I won't apologise for trying to fight against this "normal". It may be, although it certainly is not in RL, but there's utterly no need for it aside from people trying to look "cool". They don't.

Not in the MMO I worked in. The "liking" of unmoderated chat seems to have really taken wings with WoW (Barrens chat...shudder). In DAoC there was some silliness but WoW was the harbinger of the nonsense. The idiocy that is dribbled out of many, many players in /gen is one of the prices we pay for MMOs going "mainstream". I'm not sure why they think they're funny or clever or edgy etc. They just sound like a bunch of immature twits braying at one and other. That said, there are many ways to not have to deal with it and, unless it's really ugly stuff, mostly just rolls off my back.

Ahhh, nostalgia. I was a mod for an MMO long ago. This was back in the day where we could pop into the game, invis, and observe behaviour and deal with it straight away. Alas, times changed, budgets and liabilities came into play and we are where we are now. Shame, really.

^^^^ ALL of that. So tired of people using "it's the 'Net" to excuse abysmal behaviour. Oh and the vaunted "free speech" thing as well.

Not necessarily. I know an entire guild who support one another in various ways but tend to play solo, for the most part and prefer "quiet". Just because we're not making noise or blathering in /gen doesn't mean we're not here. We just don't join in or run in packs like others do. Early 2k? Nice? I remember UO and EQ as not being overly "nice". Yep, end-game (EQ, DAoC, AC etc.) there was cooperation so that content could be accessed but even that was no guarantee of "nice" (it got wicked competitive). I don't think folk understand just how many "quiet" players there are. There are many.

There you are! I wondered where you'd gotten off to. OT: I admire those who can RP. I'm abysmal at it but I do enjoy watching those who can and do.

Everybody needs to have a hobby...

I do hope the OP doesn't follow through on his intent to tangle with this legally. They will decimate him. I understand "the principle of the thing" but I also know that "picking the hill to die on" should factor in highly. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

One. Easily fixed.

And to you. See you next week!

I'm in the EU, playing on JC and those are pretty normal pings for me and it's not at all "very delayed". Has to get to around 300+ to start being an issue. Now, the spikes that sometimes occur can be an issue and there is one hop that is notoriously lousy but in the main, no issues with pings in the 120-200 range.

Telekom has been giving me fits as well. The Kassel hop is horrible, major packet loss and time outs resulting in frequent disconnects. Unplayable atm. I wish that Germany could get these issues resolved. I hope that Vodafone gets your issue solved soon. Telekom has its head up, well, they're in no hurry to fix the issue.

^^^^^That. So much that.

Yeah, it's not a problem at all. Now the spikes that I get due to a node that is problematic and result in disconnects IS a problem but that's not down to BW either. Beginning to think Telekom isn't going to bother to do anything about it...

I've been playing on JC from Germany for a long time. Avg. 80ms, perfectly doable. Only downside is one node here in Germany which loves to go wonky and sometimes the first hop on Level3, east coast gets clogged. So, nothing like what the poor APAC folks contend with. Pings have gone up a bit but I haven't been in game in days (too disheartened) so I don't know if that's as it will continue or if I'm still battling with my route in.

Not magic, but often less "hops", (or different routing) and so less places to get detoured, battered about, packets lost etc. Not always the case but I've used VPNs in the past that helped me get 'round some evil nodes with really high packet loss. It's not just distance; it's route as well.