I play on Shadowhaven. It's not the smallest server, but it's near the bottom (or so I understand). The population is small enough that it's difficult to form a party to take down a normal Heroic, and if you've got an Epic opponent - well, forget it, unless you happen to manage to tag along on an Uber-guild-sponsored venture (I finished my Greater Lightstone HQ that way). While the towers were being built, an Epic x4 Skeleton named General Do'Uglas spawned by the Bone Lake tower, blocking progress - and he was only taken down by having a Lv. 60 Berzerker come in to tank him, because I simply could not organize even half of a raid suitable to take him down.
Now, none of this bothers me. I knew what I was getting into when I started playing on Shadowhaven, and I solo or duo the vast majority of the time when I play. What bothers me is this:
At least once a day for the past week, I've seen someone shouting LFG in a zone that he either shouldn't be in without already having a group (Lv. 28 "looking for an XP group" in Zek, for example), or in an area where he should be just fine soloing. I see Lv. 11's LFG in the Commonlands so often, it's painful to watch. When asked why they're looking for a group, I get one of two responses.
The first and most common answer is, "I just prefer grouping." While I have no problem with this in principle, I just have to ask, why the hell are these people on a low-population server, on the Freeport side, shouting for a group right after server-up on a weekday? Talk about piling up the strikes against him! The first is a no-brainer - if you want social interaction, go high-population. The second takes a bit more thought - while it's blindingly obvious that the Qeynosians outnumber the Freeporters by a factor of at least 2:1 (and probably at least 3:1) on every server, there's also the fact that the Freeport side is also more likely to appeal to the antisocial type, which further lowers the chance of finding a group. And the third point, with regard to time, should also be a no-brainer, I should think.
But then, yesterday, I got one guy (another Lv. 11 LFG in Commonlands) who insisted that it was, "impossible for a tank to solo."
What? Run that by me again?
No, really. Say it slowly, because I can't believe you said that. My partner runs a Shadowknight, and never once grouped until she got into her 20's. She still stubbornly tries to solo everything she can, and we've grouped briefly for only a few occasions (Fallen Gate springs to mind). Try telling her that it's impossible for a tank to solo. And it would be exactly on point, since the guy doing the LFG'ing and solo-complaining was a Crusader. When I pointed out that fact, he defied me to prove that a tank could: 1.) Solo to 20 without ever dying, and 2.) solo a group of 8 aggro Heroics. What's with these ridiculous stipulations?
And then there's the other type - the ones looking to have their work handed to them - the ones who want to be Powerleveled, but don't want to admit it. The aforementioned Lv. 28 in Zek. A Lv. 20 Necromancer in Nektulos who states plainly that he doesn't do quests, and just wants to grind in groups. A Lv. 11 in Commonlands (again) who wants to join an ORC-HUNTING group.
Again, I wonder: If they're so hot for groups, why aren't they on a more active server? If they're on Shadowhaven because it's an Exchange server, why aren't they playing on The Bazaar, which seems to have at least three times the population that Shadowhaven does...
Or get in an active guild, like the Casual Defective, er, Casual Collective (over 2300 members, and still climbing!), and get groups with similarly-leveled guildmates. Or do SOMETHING other than standing around at the entrance to the zone, spamming chat channels with LFG requests that are going to go unanswered...
I really don't get it. I'd ask for an explanation, but I'm half-afraid that someone would tell me...
Thank you for taking the time to read this rant. Please leave your flames at the door. I have nothing against grouping, and wholeheartedly endorse group activities. I just can't figure out why these self-proclaimed group-oriented people aren't taking the logical steps that would increase their chances of finding groups...