Jumping on the bandwagon

As most bloggers have blogged about the new LFG system, I figure its my turn to jump on this bandwagon. The first night that this system went live, Jess and I went in as a tank and healer, taking one millisecond to find us a group. As we were running through it, Jess noted that this whole system felt like a one night stand, since blogging:

"You zone-in with four strangers. Sometimes there is a brief exchange of greetings but often nothing is said and you just go at it. You storm through the instance and before you know it you’ve downed the final boss. People stand around during an awkward moment, not quite knowing what to say except trivial things like “nice run” and “ty for group” before leaving as quickly as they joined. And then afterward just a few minutes later, with your head still spinning, you can hardly remember who you grouped with unless there was something memorable like the healer who never ran out of mana and seemed like she could go all night, or the hunter who always shot too early but was annoying smug about his performance. But you’ll forget them too as soon as you start yet another PUG.

Is this what casual sex is like?"

Hahaha. Now while bloggers have talked about coming across asshats and idiots in these pugs, it seems that it has become almost expected. What I mean is that folks seem to be more surprised when you end up in a good group, with no attitudes or ninjas.

You guys well know that I have never been shy about posting asshats I have come across in game, going so far as to publishing screenshots with toon names and guilds clearly called out. And yes, I have come across all sorts of players in this new LFG system. Now I'm not talking about folks pulling 700 dps in full purples, because they bother me a whole lot less than totally rude, jackass, asshats.

But you know what? It's weird because I have no inclination to SS these idiots and post about it here. It doesn't really upset me as much in this new system. Is it because its become so common or expected? Given the temporary nature of these groups, with generally no lasting consequences (since with the cross server feature its very unlikely you will run across these folks again), does this system just excuse asshattery? If someone has a bit of asshat in them, does this system just make it more likely that they will exhibit said asshattery?

On another note, I was in one pug where one person mentioned that their level 80 shammy was their first and only toon. I also noticed that this person was unguilded. I honestly felt kind of bad for them. Why?

Well, I think back to how Jess, Wut, Atania, and I met many of our guildies and our close non-guildie friends. Many of these relationships were built back in Burning Crusade when I was the only healer in our then tiny tiny guild. Because I wasn't able to run as many 5 mans as Jess, Wut, and Atania were, they were forced to pug a healer. This was how we ended up meeting folks like Rapunzel and Heidilux, through which we then met a ton of other folks.

Yes, the old school way of pugging was more painful. But it also meant a lot more, you know? Of course there were still asshats and idiots you ran across in the old system. But people actually conversed throughout the run. Adding folks to your friends list was common. These runs were a platform on which a friendship could be built.

I'm not saying that I don't like this new system, because it certainly is very easy and convenient. I just feel like brand new players are missing out on an outlet to make new friends. This is why I felt bad for this shammy, a person brand new to this game with their first 80. Once I learned this, I tried to converse in party chat a bit more with this person, to try to make this experience somewhat less cold than these runs usually are these days.

Anyways, those are just some jumbled thoughts I had around this LFG system. Hope everyone has a great holiday. As for me, please keep your fingers crossed that I can fly out of O'Hare tomorrow morning. I am hoping weather will not delay my trip back to Chapel Hill. If so, I will be in the American Airlines Admiral's Club tomorrow, sitting around herbing all day. :)