The Weekly Raid: How Do You Feel About Party Finder Systems?
Party finders enable players to passively join groups to clear dungeons, complete quests, and defeat bosses. They streamline the group experience. And maybe that's a problem. There's a social element that's been lost in the wake of widespread party finders.
There's no need to seek out similarly interested players to conquer the Wailing Caverns. Pressing the party finder icon on the UI automatically queue's you up to join the next party, amusement-park-style.
Instead of cooperative play, dungeons are extensions of a single-player experience, with a rare comment from party members educating the unfamiliar on boss mechanics. Guild Wars 2's automatic party grouping in zone events turns other players into dynamic NPC's. While dunegon runs with pure tank-and-spank combat offer little reason to engage in conversation.
At the same time Party Finders are essential to player convenience, and enable the time-restricted player to experience more content. Players who can't commit a Saturday may not want to get a group together in town before heading to a dungeon. And there's always the risk of like-minded party seekers leaving your group for a more complete party. It becomes a consuming process that can drag rather than add to the social element of the game.
How do you feel about party finder systems? Let us know in the comments below!
Related:
From Mega Man II to Ape Escape, I've been playing games for as long as I can remember. I've spent months killing porings in Ragnarok Online and more recently lived a second life in Eve Online. I usually play as gUMBY, gUMBLEoni, or gUMBLes in-game.
