I’ve always said that my friends are what make games absolutely amazing for me. Being able to interact with them and share stories as we adventure long is a concept that just can’t be beat. Sure, I play lots of games without my friends too, but the games I play the most of, are typically played with at least one other person (or more). Those where my friends don’t typically play I will WANT to play more of, but rarely get around to it.
Would you put up with a poorly made game in order to play with your friends who make it more ‘fun’ for you? Have you before? How far would you go in order to share your gaming experiences with someone you know?
Yesterday was an absolutely amazing time in game, both in The Lord of the Rings Online where my Hobbit Minstrel managed to inch her way to level 15, and in EverQuestII where I spent the evening playing with friends who I haven’t played with in quite some time on the Antonia Bayle server. It started out innocently enough, I peeked at the chronomage quest and noticed it was scornfeathers roost. Then I made the suggestion to Ibeogur that we attempt it without a healer, using chronomagic to mentor down.
We tore apart the zone, and picked up our new relic plushie at the end, which was a lot of fun. We also decided to try our hands at the shard of love – as a berzerker and illusionist combination this zone was TOUGH even using chronomagic to lower the zone by a few levels. We didn’t really get anything to note from the zone but I did pick up a very neat looking sword that I intend on passing to some “yet to be created” alt. My final alt at that because my account will be filled once she’s created, hehe. Before too long Ultann logged in and he has been leveling a baby dirge for his adventures, so I logged over to my templar (named Petites, which is a play on petite and means small in french) and we headed off to Sinking sands to do more leveling. We headed through Hidden Cache, as well as the instance located in the Sinking Sands Graveyard that escapes my mind right now. Vault of Dust? I think that may be the instance in Clefts of Rujark which is where we headed next. We racked up the achievements, and the alternate advancement points, and over all just had an amazing time joking around and playing the game with each other.
Before too long it was time for me to call it a night (so I could watch some glee and do some knitting before bed) but it was still a LOT of fun, and I had almost forgotten what it was like to have that sort of game play. I’m exceptionally blessed, and I make sure I realize it every single day.
Happy gaming, no matter where it finds you!
Absolutely. If I could get all my friends from EQ1 back together again I’d play almost anything, even EQ1 :)
I agree its the friends that keep me logging in day after day week after week year after year. My best bud in RL plays eq2 but is not on all the time due to life in general, when he logs in its a bonus and i know we are grouping and going somewhere. Also the In game friends that i have made over the years are great, i was a co leader of another guild and left after 3 years because i did not want to be a leader anymore and wanted to have no worries and just play the game, still to this day even though i am not in that guild i stay in contact with these people. The folks in my current guild yes they are my friends and with everything we’ve been thru, i can honsetly say they are like family.
but yes i log in to play with friends that i have in real life and friends that i have made in Game as well.
~Chubby~
It’s definitely my friends who keep me coming back to EQ2. I’m very thankful for all the wonderful friends I have made over the past couple of years! They are simply awesome!
Kendricke over at Clockwork Gamer looked at a similar issue albeit from a different angle and a different perspective with guilds and Guild Leadership.
My answer is ABSOLUTELY. As you know I have a group of folk that I have spent a LOT of time with over the last 2 and a half years. It is the time I have with them that has made my experience and keeps me logging on. People who dont play MMO’s find it difficult to believe that you can make “friends” with people you have not met.
I was absolutely blessed to have some wonderful friends that I had met in game when my marriage ended. You and the rest of those friends patiently supported me through a difficult time. At the same time I had some wonderful friends in game who did not even know that I had separated from my husband for quite some time. Unknown to them, they gave me a great gift every night as we grouped, and advanced our characters. That gift was acceptance and laughter. It is so much fun to kick back on a Friday night with these friends, glass of Champagne in one hand, run about some random zone smashing mobs, and talk and giggle about whatever.
Maybe this makes me sound like I have no life and no friends outside of EQ. Far from it – but these people I have met whom I absolutely consider friends – they DEFINITELY keep me logging on.
Friends definitely make the MMORPG for me although I’ve not had a chance to play with them for a long time which is a real shame. Unfortunately we just can’t agree on a game to play together and that’s the problem. Would be nice if there was a way to comunicate inbetween games at the same time.
Sanctorium is the instance you aren’t remembering. Vault of Dust is up high in the Clefts of Rujark.
And yeah, I play for the people/friends. My IRL friends I play with all recently had to (temporarily) cancel their subs due to some IRL matters and I’ve not been logging in to EQ2 much as a result. I still love the game whenever I do log in, but knowing my friends absolutely won’t be on . . . no impetus to even log in “just to see” ya know?
I do have some friends made IG also from guilds I’ve been in in the past, but while I’ve always enjoyed playing with them when the opportunity presents, they’ve not ever been the reason I logged in either.
What it comes down to for me right now is that I really should look at joining a new guild that’s nice and active, but I don’t really want to leave the guild my friends and I have either…. lovely Catch-22, no?
I’ve been playing a lot of DDO lately as a result. . . . .
Absolutely!
I’ve always said that I and others I know have hung around in an MMO long after we would have quit due to friends and guilds. That is why I’m so into MMOs to begin with. It has gotten so bad that I can barely play a single player game and I really don’t like competitive games. I want to work with my friends against a common enemy!
Always glad to log in a see a friendly face!