Been around since close to when it started(didnt play beta) and remember what SK used to be like..
But just form my occasional drop ins(usually during WOW maintenance nights) noticing more and more about how bad this game is getting, my opinions of course.
Last time i stepped in i asked around why arcade was dead, and everyone said missions. Some missions being repeatable for more then what you can get done in a dungeon run. Fair enough, this has always been about making every bit of energy being used to extract most possible CR.
Since then noticed only way to get in a pug group is through missions (even rare then if it isnt JK IMF or a group of stages that earn well).
Always seems to be a lowish geared player waiting when you join, usually greeted with "can i have "X" amount of "X" currency" for whatever reason.
Been asking them lately how long theyve waited for a player to join them. Varying answers of 10 mins-40 mins.
Within the first few groups of mobs you understand why. They have absolutely no idea about when to shield, when to back out of attack range, shield bumping or even how to spot when a enemy is telegraphing its attack.
Basically they seem to wait until someone joins to res them(every 5 secs when they die often) or to carry them through.
Got to 2nd floor of imf this time before i stopped ressing this player, a 2/3* cobalter.
He finally left coz he spent all his money ressing, since he couldnt wait till i cleared a room while he was dead before i ressed him(or id be ressing him 5 times per battle).
Before he left we had a chat, and like a few others before who have talked he said pretty much the same things when i asked 1 question.
Since i noticed how low his skill level was(the type to die maybe half as much in the first depth) and asked how he got the gear hes wearing and weapons.
Begging, selling all his materials/recipes and mission rewards. Pretty much the same answers each time.
There are those players that will succeed no matter what, and those that will fail, but just seem to notice those that expect to be carried are about the only ones youll find pugging it.
This is only my experiences with mission levels up to 7-1. Havent progressed further since i barely ever play, whereas before missions i would log on, spend my mist on my 7 accounts), use AH to sell a few items and pop in to talk to old friends.
No real urge to play more then maintenance days at the moment as theres basically nothing to do. Dont play often enough to get back into Vana runs as im a lil rusty and id expect top end stuff to floor me for the first few encounters till i get back into a rythem and remember everything about some of the fights. As most the people still active on my friends list just do that still(and alot of friendslist is dormant, most have quit) then it is either solo run(boring as hell) or pug it with 90% of the time people who havent got a clue.
Just wondering if im coming across the wrong people or thats just what this level of missions is full of if pugged., has arcade actually repopulated, or are people still avoiding what was most of the fun regardless of tier level.
Is SK bringing out anything else soon that is going to be populated that might get my attention back for more then the 2-4 times a month i can actually be bothered to log on.
No interest in playing a morpg if its never multiplayer or just with those SK has given free gear to in the attempt to keep them playing.
Can play online chess and be more interested then running the same things solo over and over again.
And id consider pvp but from the looks of the forums its still the same, a lil laggy, a lil imbalanced and mental. Although i am gunna try it tonight before log back out and most likely get an early nights sleep.
TL:DR - well, i guess u didnt read it then :-p
A simple solution to this problem may be to join a casual guild, at least you know somewhat of who you are playing with that way. PUGs are not very dependable as you may have noticed.