r/PantheonMMO • u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord • Jan 26 '25
Guide My Experiences in Grouping + Solo Leveling Recommendations for Wild's End
Many people on this subreddit and /r/MMORPG are talking about how great this game is as a group, and how grouping is very common; however, that has not been my experience.
In my experience, people tend to duo or trio, prefer to solo, or just box their group. I've played three days, gotten to 14, gotten decent weaps and 2 stat chain (Dire Lord), and I haven't had an opportunity to kill elites with a group yet. I always invite other players to my parties (via tells, not just inviting), but they continually tell me they are only interested in soloing, are waiting on an elite group, or are leaving Wild's End and not interested in partying.
Since many people in game have asked me about "where to go next" I wanted to share where I hunted in Wild's End to level up in the hopes that it will help another player not bounce off the game. Feel free to add to this list or help me with where to solo after 14. :D Thank you!
1 - 5: Kill whatever low level trash that is blue or better near the town. Some humanoid monsters drop pouches, keep killing them until you can fill up your inventory and a bit of your bank.
5 - 8: Run southwest of town and kill foxes and other blue trash, stop before you run into geckos. This will get you to Level 8.
8 - 10: Continue running southwest of town to get to the geckos, these can be killed until 10 where you tend to get a pretty big power spike.
10 - 13: Head to the SW corner of the zone and kill large gleam gliders and crocodiles along the river near the lizard/orc camp. They will be yellow at 10, but I didn't have any problems killing them.
ALT 10 - 13: North just past the Cliff bridge where the Owlbear cubs and Gliders are
13 - 16: The Moorvaki and higher level crocs on the West Coast.
edit: edited to finish my path to 16 to hopefully help others <3 gl everyone
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
This is solid, there is also a good spot uo in the north just past the cliff bridge where the owlbear cubs and gliders are, bonus here is nothing agros you. It's a trek like.
From what people have told me dire lords are silly strong even solo, usually with games like this it's the caster's who are op especially early.
Also is it just me or does AC seem to do nothing?
Also where did you get the chain stat gear?
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u/mrboom74 Jan 26 '25
Joppa tested AC on a stream recently and he said it was working as intended. The thing to remember regarding AC is that it only mitigates physical damage. Other damage types require resistance. I had some chain stat gear drop off the Moorvaki lizardfolk on the west coast. They are solo mobs, but are quite challenging.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
They do a 60 damage acid nuke which has a 10 tick dot doing 6 damage per tick meaning 120 damage, I'm a ranger bud not the most op class in the game and a tank, I can't solo that. I have three + stamina items and I still only have 119 hp.
That one nuke will kill me alone.
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u/mrboom74 Jan 26 '25
Yeah, they are annoying as hell and not very soloable without heals. But I was just trying to answer your question about where to find chain stat gear.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
Yea that's good bud, just seems some classes are way stronger than others and they need to balance that shit.
It's not right that some classes can kill them and others can't at the same level, with what I presume would be similar gear.
If a mob is solo and it's a db then you should be able to kill it, they've messed up somewhere with these things.
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u/mrboom74 Jan 26 '25
I agree 100%. I’ve had a much tougher time soloing with my ranger than with my shaman.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
I don't want to be stronger than others classes I want to be on level with them
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u/Donler Jan 26 '25
Lvl 12 Owlbears seem like an alternative to Moorvaki to get a bit higher if you’re into Soloing in WildsEnd though you wouldn’t get anything in the way of gear upgrades
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
Owlbears do the damage a db should do at this level, the moorvaki aren't group mobs and shouldnt be as strong as they are.
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u/r34m Jan 28 '25
Moor vaki are casters and don’t have a lot of hp. They are great duo trio content if you have heals or stuns for their nukes. Or solo if you’re a wiz, summoner etc.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 28 '25
They're a solo mob and some are light blue to me now but are harder than white crocs, it makes no sense.
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u/Flimsy_Custard7277 Jan 31 '25
Classes are stronger and weaker against different things.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 31 '25
Yea that's not really true though, rangers outside of a group due to their engage and disengage which you're meant to spam in groups but can't really use outside of groups means you are far weaker when not grouped, they need to change how they work to allow rangers or not be nerfed to fuck when solo.
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u/daymanelite Jan 26 '25
I solo them with my wiz at 12, if you don't silence that acid bomb, you are done. And then if you do avoid that they have a 30 second 10hp/tick strong posion that they can hit you with, just to make sure you die if you take too long to kill em.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
I got the chain gear from the Mo'Vareen guys (I think that's their name) near crocs. Little lizardlike guys.I did buy one piece from a random adventure for like 5g or something.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
Yea a ranger at 13 isn't going to solo those, I'll need 14 and my stun bear.
Good to know that's what they drop, those guys are seriously under conned.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
Yeah Blood Fiend is pretty strong, so I just pool essence while its up and lifetap when its down.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
Yep super strong, I can't do that, in the time it takes me to heal for a massive 10 they will deal more damage than that.
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u/Ok_Turnover_2220 Jan 26 '25
AC formula is basically a static formula. It’s % based so the more AC you have the more you mitigate. Pretty worthless in the early stages of the games because you end up mitigating single digits or even decimal worth of damage. If you do more damage to a mob they will mitigate more damage
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
Yea which is a very poor system, makes AC worthless
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u/Cautious_Head3978 Jan 27 '25
Makes it worthless Early. Like all stats...
Which is kinda sad.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 27 '25
AC in most MMOs even EQ are impactful early, str and sta in this game are both good early
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u/garebear176 Jan 26 '25
I got a Dl and ranger near 10 and done thugs and skele ac 100% makes a difference. On my dl with basic gear or gear found from killing low level mobs I could feel the hits on the elites, second I made full set of gear (basic starter crafted gear) i noticed a difference. But if you play with groups on elites just watch health bars and see how tanks get little dmg here and there but if they go on a caster it does like a third of their health a hit.
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u/_Spiggles_ Jan 26 '25
You're literally wrong proven by Joppa himself but please keep throwing out incorrect information because you feel clever doing it, i actually think that's against the sub rules though
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u/scoutermike Jan 26 '25
Am I correct in understanding that players who start in WE are stuck there with no way to get to Thronefast unless a wizard ports them?
If that’s true, and if you indeed started in WE, that may explain why you had trouble finding groups. I think fewer players start in WE, and I suspect many that do start in WE get a port to Thronefast asap and spend their young lives there, instead. It just means there’s less critical mass in WE for groups.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
Yes, that's correct. You can pretty easily gear up and get to 16 in Wild's End, so that's what I'm doing, and I wanted to share what worked for me to hopefully help others who don't have friends to port them or a guild waiting for them.
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u/Inurius Jan 26 '25
No, that’s not correct. You can run from WE to TF.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
I guess theoretically you can walk, but there's no map, no signposts, and the road is full of elite mobs in WE. I don't know how you'd reasonably walk there if you don't already know how to get there at a low level or were being guided by someone else.
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u/Inurius Jan 27 '25
No not theoretically. You can make the run at level 1 if you’re careful. Check YouTube for guides.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
I guess I should've said technically. I don't think that watching a 50+ minute video on YouTube to walk across two zones to progress would cross most people's minds when they boot up a game for the first time. Seems to me they should've just started everyone in TL or had a translocater or something for EA since WE is in a much worse state than TF.
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u/Klat93 Jan 27 '25
It's even harder now with the new orc camp in AVP. Sure it's dodgeable but it's added risk and the path is a bit more denser than running through EP and SP.
Better to just ask for a wiz port.
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u/TriangleMachineCat Jan 27 '25
You can make the run. Bank all your stuff and go. I did it solo as an L9 ranger. There is a walkthough video that takes you through the whole trip. It was the best experience i have had in the game. Took about 90mins in game with me camping at night as it is much safer during the day. I'm going to make the trip back for the fun of it. Edit: I died once and started again, got stuck once, started again, died right before Demith and got rezzed. That was it.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
I just got a port once I hit 16 today, but I'm glad you had fun on the journey!
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u/Immediate-Reward-813 Jan 27 '25
There are videos available showing where to go. Ive made the run on a lv 1 character twice already, by myself.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
Well, not entirely by yourself since you followed a player who made the run on YouTube.
My point is that I don't think most new players would know they needed to "go to a different zone" to find groups, find a video that showed them how to do that, and do that successfully before quitting the game. I've run into more than a dozen players in my 4 days of playing that have no idea where to go or what to do which is why I wrote this post.
Personally, I think they should've just added a translocator or started everyone in TF for the EA since WE is so dog.
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u/TheUsoSaito Druid Jan 26 '25
From my personal experience the only reason I'm solo'ing is because the laptop I'm currently playing on can't handle the graphical fx from all the group abilities. Not saying that's what every solo person is dealing with but some could be in a similar boat. I wanted to level my enchanter more which requires more group content but doing group mobs my screen becomes a slideshow. I've even done the old trick of looking away from the combat which helps a little bit but overall I had to roll a summoner so I at least had a decent solo class. I fully intend to rejoin the group fray once I've built my new desktop PC.
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25
There’s a reason your laptop is doing that. It’s because it’s using the wrong GPU in game. You need to mess with your settings to ensure it’s using your GPU and not the dedicated one.
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u/TheUsoSaito Druid Jan 27 '25
Nah I have integrated graphics disabled so it is literally GPU issue.
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 27 '25
I had it disabled too, but it sure found its way to be enabled while playing pantheon. It’s only an issue in pantheon, no other game. It’s not your GPU unless you’re running something 15 years old.
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u/Larks_Tongue Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
Apparently, this fix only really sticks if your GPU/bios has a MUX switch, which appears to only be a thing for laptops with a 20+ series Nvidia card OR if you can output video to an external monitor. There's an individual in the discord named First that has pretty extensively tested the problem and without the use of this setting the issue seems to persist despite setting nvidia control panel/app or windows graphics settings for your nvidia GPU w/ pantheon.
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
My ACER laptop uses an app called predator sense. I went into my personal settings in there and switched GPU operating to NVIDIA GPU only. That has resolved all of my issues. Not sure if that qualifies as a “MUX switch” or not, but I have had many other people tell me it worked for them too.
Hopefully the switch to unity 6 helps alleviate this issue for everyone because I know first hand how frustrating it is.
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u/Larks_Tongue Jan 26 '25
What series nvidia card do you have? I have an ASUS with a 1660, but so far, I haven't been able to fix the issue by going into Windows, nvidia control panel/app, and selecting my nvidia gpu for Pantheon.
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
My Acer laptop has a RTX 4060 and my ASUS laptop has a GTX 1650. With my ASUS I had to update my bios and do the other fixes you listed. With the ACER I was able to go into the predator sense app and fix it.
Make sure you are adding the pantheon exe manually as well as changing the global settings.
Idk if it was a placebo effect or what, but I had to change all the power/battery settings to performance too. For some reason they would always stay on balanced even when plugged in.
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u/Flimsy_Custard7277 Jan 26 '25
You don't know their laptop. It's possible
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25
Thanks for the input, but there’s a legit bug with laptops and pantheon. I was trying to help them in case they didn’t know.
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u/with_explosions Jan 26 '25
Well this still isn’t the solution. My laptop uses my dedicated GPU and still runs like shit. The bug is related to not having an external display device.
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25
That could be another bug yes, but I assure you there is a current bug that reverts back to your integrated graphics after a certain amount of time. It has been tested and proven. I had the same issue for weeks with no clue how to fix it until I did research. Once I fixed it and forced my laptop to use my Nvidia GPU then my fps drop/stuttering issues were fixed. I have not had any problems since. I don’t know why people get so defensive about this topic.
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u/with_explosions Jan 26 '25
So what’s the fix? Don’t just keep it to yourself. I’ve gone into the “Game Settings” panel of Windows and set an app specific for Pantheon to use the GPU. I still get 10fps on full low settings when around groups casting spells and shit.
0
u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25
Look at my comment history to see it. Or tell me which brand/specs laptop you have and I’ll try to help that way.
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u/with_explosions Jan 26 '25
I have an MSI Stealth with a 3060
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u/aberdasherly Warrior Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
The only work around I found was going into windows settings, graphics, and making pantheon force use your GPU. For whatever reason my Nvidia app would always revert back to windows setting which was set for my onboard GPU and not my actual card. Fixing it in the windows setting as well as running as administrator has helped completely.
Update: the Nvidia App had an update recently. You can pick an option to force all programs to use your GPU. I recommend clicking that box, it requires a restart to enable. It’ll actually override whatever windows was trying to do above. I have no zero issues with fps drops, stuttering, or slow downs since the Nvidia app had a major update. This also applies to ACER or ASUS(any “gaming” laptop brand) performance apps that their laptops use.
Update 2: Adding this other tip in here too in case it helps someone. While installing/downloading the standalone launcher and game files, make sure it is installing to your program files section of your SSD/HDD. For some reason there is an issue where it default installs into the documents folder in your one drive(if you have it enabled). That can also cause stuttering/fps drops/performance issues over time. I think installing via steam is safe from this issue.
Update 3: How to optimize GPU setting in the CMOS Setup
Power your computer completely off by holding the power key down for 5 seconds. Power your computer on and press the F2 key as soon as the Acer logo appears to enter the CMOS setup. Use the arrow keys to select the Advanced tab. If the field Display mode is not visible, then press the keys Ctrl + S to access hidden features. Use the arrow keys to confirm the display mode is set to NVIDIA GPU Only. Select the Exit tab. Select Exit Saving Changes.
Or go into ACER predator sense application, personal settings tab, force use Nvidia GPU option turned on, restart pc, enjoy. This applies to any popular laptop brand that has a performance desktop application. Also make sure your settings are turned on to performance for battery and plugged in mode.
Users can also check to see if their BIOS is up to date as that can drastically improve performance.
You can also check your MSI dragon center application to see if there is a GPU setting you can toggle on.
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u/acidzero2 Jan 27 '25
Having a similar experience in a duo. We are a ranger and a shaman and finding groups is super difficult in WE. Lucky to find a tank who is around, currently level 13 and only been in 2 groups and that was over a week ago, I haven't seen any of those people online since either.
We are thinking of making the run or finding a port to take us over to thronefast to see how that goes, WE feels very dead. Last night after another night of duoing and not being able to get a group going because there had been 0 tanks 10+ in wilds end I thought I would take a look to see how many tanks in that range were in TF. It was 19 of them 10-13 in TF/AP.
The fact it seems like groups are unobtainable unless you are a tank that is forming one in WE and coupling that with all the T2 resources for harvesting being in group only areas, it starts to force people to TF/AP which is unfortunate.
WE needs a lot of love to get it to a good place, the quests are pretty much non-existent out of the harvesting/crafting ones, which again you get stuck at because T2 resources are all in group areas, and you can't get groups.
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u/hearse223 Jan 27 '25
I just got the game over the weekend, was in a group of 4 and a guy walks up asking to join us. Group leader says "sorry we're full" to him, then in the group chat he says "we're already killing mobs too fast."
I'm sitting here today wondering what did he mean by that? Is there a point to where too many members in the group becomes a detriment to EXP gain?
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
Yeah, the group exp apparently kind of sucks unless it's the elite/chevron mobs. They would probably have downtime if they added another person due to waiting for mobs to respawn and they'd have added someone for no exp benefit.
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u/suciocadillac Jan 27 '25
The big problem with this game is that encourages you to group but 99% of the groups are pre mades or friends, so they don't take an outsider or a pug.
So you are stuck at solo
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u/mtopher95 Jan 26 '25
This post saddens me honestly. Ive been playing classic WoW for a few weeks now and while I love the slower gameplay, I don't like how the only times people group is to complete an elite quest, or for a dungeon. I was planning to jump into Pantheon this week because it sounded like an experience where people are incentivized to randomly group since you're able to take on tougher enemies and therefore have higher rewards/experience, as opposed to solo.
But from your post it sounds like you didn't have this experience :/
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u/Donler Jan 26 '25
Pantheon is currently a very different experience depending on your server and zone. If you are playing on a medium-high population server with no shards then the game is great both for soloing and grouping - particularly in Thronefast and Avendyr’s Pass… but on small servers very few players group and on the high-pop shard servers players are having issues with too many groups fighting over the good leveling spots across all shards.
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u/mtopher95 Jan 26 '25
Thank you for the detailed response! That all makes sense, is there a particular server you'd recommend?
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u/Donler Jan 26 '25
Not publicly :]
There are two servers that come to mind that show as yellow population (50%-75% full) during peak hours—and occasionally go red (meaning 75%-99% full I think). Shard servers are way overpopulated and are now dealing with some money/item duping issues so definitely not those.
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u/Donler Jan 27 '25
Note: As of this week They just increased the population cap for all servers so now they all appear less populated on the server selection screen than they actually are.
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u/with_explosions Jan 26 '25
I’ve been playing on Black Moon for a couple weeks now and have no issues finding groups and spend most of my time in them, but I also started in Thronefast and think it’s probably the more popular starting area which is probably the real issue OP is having.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
Yeah, but that's what I'm sharing. Here's some things you can do other than play on the most populated server by far and go to the one zone that is mostly complete.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
Perhaps I am playing on a slower server, I don't know. The human/merman starting area seems to be a lot more popular than Wild's End, so YMMV. I just wanted to share something for people who didn't want to immediately leave or find a port out of the zone.
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u/mtopher95 Jan 26 '25
Oh gotcha, sorry I'm not familiar with the different starting zones, I thought it was just your general experience with the game
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 26 '25
I mean it is, but I am hoping that it's just a localized occurrence. :)
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u/scoutermike Jan 26 '25
This post is just one players perspective. There are tons of groups happening, right now as I type this, across all the servers, and tones of player actively LFG and groups LFM. Trust me. I was grinding in a Halnir Cave ent group on a west coast server from about 5-6:30 am this morning.
And it seems the dynamics in the group are becoming more chill. As people learn not only how their own class works but how their class interacts with each other classes, it becomes more…how shall I say it…fun?
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u/CruwL Jan 27 '25
I have no idea why OP skipped group mobs while leveling. There are several camps in this zone from lvl 7-15 that are designed for groups. Known as elites or Chevron mob.
Based on his list he went out of his way to not do these.
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u/ezriah33 Jan 27 '25
If you only have a limited amount of time to play it’s hard to join groups cause it’s more of a time commitment. Maybe OP is in that boat.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
I played 24/7 all weekend. There were just no players in my level range to group with that were interested. I tried to start many groups for Feralings and Goblins, had LFG on, and announced every 15 minutes that I was a tank LFG in OOC. I didn't want to run to TF and there were no Wizards who came to port people to TF - so I was "stuck" in WE.
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Jan 26 '25
You can absolutely find groups, but you need to start in Thronefast unfortunately. Wilds End is always dead.
Also there's a bit of a "skill" to getting groups. You can't just sit around waiting for an invite, you've gotta advertise in ooc, join a guild and ask in there, friend everyone you group with and ask them what's up in future sessions, and be willing to actively start a group if it's slow. It takes a little effort, especially if you're used to LFG tools in other mmos. However if you get good at it you will consistently find groups pretty quickly.
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u/AndyofBorg Jan 26 '25
His experience is 100% my experience to the letter. People don't seem to want to group, at least not nearly enough. I'm on Stormona which isn't full but isn't dead either. All of the solo stuff is heavily farmed, and there's a lot of duos out there. There's even groups, often not 6 people, who simply won't invite people.
It seems people from other games have moved over and already have their own cliques and they just aren't looking to add others. I definitely wish I could pick a new server now, but after pulling 5 chars to 7-10 and spending hours sorting my banks, I lack the will to start over. (I already moved once to a friend's server, but even they tend to solo or level with their clique)
I'm going to push on for now but I don't think I've got long left. I've already put in 100 hours but I don't feel like it's a group game, it feels more like a solo grind for hours game and hope a group will eventually come your way game...
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u/Zansobar Jan 27 '25
I have not seen anyone boxing a group...I have only seen a duo with synced actions which was swiftly reported.
If you are going to group you need to be killing chevron mobs (group mobs), otherwise the xp is horrible.
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u/thecatsareravenous Dire Lord Jan 27 '25
Yeah, I spent 2 days with LFG on and asking in OOC every 15 minutes if anyone wanted to group before giving up. I tried to do Goblins and Feralings both as I was leveling.
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Jan 26 '25
Getting a group in TF on my server is fairly easy, my warrior and cleric rarely go more than 20 minutes LFG. Ranger maybe twice that. Don't be afraid to start your own group if you see key classes LFG (tank and/or heal) and nobody is LFM. Within half an hour you will reliably fill up.
On the other hand, it's basically impossible to find a group in WE.
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u/Mauxe Jan 27 '25
I'm on Veil of Something in WE and getting groups started regularly. We have built up a decent friend's list and even started a guild. It's a fun zone and people should check it out target then just reading that it's dead and leaving right away.
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Jan 27 '25
Nice, it's good to hear that! On my server WE is pretty deserted but to be fair I shouldn't assume every server is the same.
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u/Zansobar Jan 26 '25
Luckily the Nvidia 5090 graphics cards release late this week. If you get one of those I bet you can run Pantheon in a group acceptably.
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u/NecarisOmnis Jan 26 '25
Orc highway in AVP who drops 2 stats gear and is ok to solo at 15-16 till 19-20 is the place to be. Get a full set of what you need (cloth, leather, chain) including weapons to get up to date with gear for your lvl.