General

[quote=SadVirgin]I've felt the way you feel for some time too, because I first played MS during my teenage years and I am vastly different as a person now. I am not as outgoing as I used to be, but at the same time I also feel like I don't have much in common with the current playerbase.
But I realize that there are still people out there that I would love to have on my buddylist, it's just that it takes a lot more work to actually meet and interact with them.
As @FriedClams said, the death of regular PQing made socializing a lot harder for the average player. We need more common places that draw people in there. I met a lot of great players during last summer's mini-game event. That was a great spot, and I think Star Planet had the potential to be a gathering-spot like that, but it also became a daily grind from what I've experienced.[/quote]

I can't believe they made Dojo a solo thing. I am so heart broken. I used to make so many friends in that hall. Now it's empty
I understand now you have to invest more time and effort into finding friends. It is frustrating but if I do decide to stick with the game I will have to do that lol.

I've felt the way you feel for some time too, because I first played MS during my teenage years and I am vastly different as a person now. I am not as outgoing as I used to be, but at the same time I also feel like I don't have much in common with the current playerbase.
But I realize that there are still people out there that I would love to have on my buddylist, it's just that it takes a lot more work to actually meet and interact with them.
As @FriedClams said, the death of regular PQing made socializing a lot harder for the average player. We need more common places that draw people in there. I met a lot of great players during last summer's mini-game event. That was a great spot, and I think Star Planet had the potential to be a gathering-spot like that, but it also became a daily grind from what I've experienced.

Compared to a few years ago and speaking from experience, it is definitely more difficult to just meet people and socialize with them. Nowadays a typical player's playtime is regimented into certain daily activities that are oftentimes prioritized over face-to-face socializing. However that's only a minor obstacle to the socialization aspect. Yes you may need to put a little bit of work in to actually meet and hangout with players but once you get to 165 and you're in an active guild, it'll be like hhg1 all over again....maybe...well not really.

[quote=remorse]I don't know what you mean by doing it wrong.
I am talking about finding friends from a perspective of a new player.
Unless you are an experienced player, you will just follow the recommended guide and move to places, which have NOBODY.
If you are experienced player, then of course, it's easy to find people and network.
This is why Maplestory can't attract new players anymore.
Unlike before, where you can literally go anywhere smile and make friends, now you can't.
It's become less nooby friendly and harder to actually socialize, that's what I am getting at.
Yes I can learn more level up more, try harder to network.
But then this game can easily be replaced by other games where you just go around and you make friends naturally.
I have always played online games and Maplestory, one of the easiest games to socialize, now become one of the hardest.

I did do LPQ R&J.
I just decided to explore a bit more of the game instead of just focus on leveling.
I have played for 6 years before I quit, and I only got to level 90 because I never focused on grinding, I like travelling around and seeing different places, meeting people there.
Now there's just leveling, and grinding, and yeah that's it.

I am not trying to draw any easy conclusions, it's been more than 2 weeks.
Me being an extremely social person find it hard to make friends or even talk to anyone, which has never happened in the 10 years of my gaming life.[/quote]

Unfortunately that's how Maplestory is now a days. Everyone is focused on getting stronger, getting richer and what boss to kill next and don't have time to socialize. It's a new true reality, a new gamer would be completely lost in this anti-social game. RIP Pre Big Bang MS.

@remorse: If you want a nice/talkative guild in Bera, join ChibiClan c:
The guild is very noob-friendly and active. We always recruit people into our guild when we have room.
I'm not a Jr in the guild, though, but you can apply by either looking up the guild name or our guild leader's name, KyoBrawls.

[quote=Belzier]If you're having trouble finding people in game, and refuse to PQ, join a guild, or hang out in Henesys to try to make friends, I suppose you could always make a post in Basil here.

That's what supporting sites or fansites like these are made for![/quote]

No no, I never refused to PQ. I did PQ for few days, from LPQ TO R&J. Guild thing, there's a lot going on and I am just trying to learn the game right now so I haven't joined a guild, but I just did. Thanks for all the advice!

@remorse: Abandon Bera and come to me. Screw rummaging for people - I'll roll the carpet out for a small, closely knit group if you like and help you out.

Honestly, I think the easiest way to make friends at the moment would be to get to at least level 165. That will let you get into stronghold in future henyses. There is a map called second drill hall, and it is the map everyone trains at to get from 165-250. People afk there in parties all the time to leech. People get bored there and talking to people relieves monotony. Just find a map with someone in it, and try to start up a conversation. That's been the highest rate for me since I've come back at least.

I have no friends.

[quote=Axnslicer]Sorry, MS isn't a game where you can stand around and make friends, not unless the henehoe population is more active than I thought. You really need to work on your BL and getting into a good guild.

You're right that there's no one in the recommended maps. We all determined the fastest training maps long ago, so level 1->165 are all hyper focused, dead silent grinding. If you want conversation during training you must be at SH, which is 165+.

You're right that a newbie won't know how to find people and network. This is why you ask for advice from experienced players and then follow that advice.[/quote]

MS was the game where I stood around, in any map, smile, says hi, starts convo, and we buddy up and go around the world...
I have done that for years, playing on and off and always making new buddies during my touring trips for SIX years and it served me fine.
From what everyone contributed, I think yes the game did change.
At least when I was playing, some people were never focused on leveling, just got to around lvl 70 and started fooling around....

[quote=remorse]I don't know what you mean by doing it wrong.
I am talking about finding friends from a perspective of a new player.

Me being an extremely social person find it hard to make friends or even talk to anyone, which has never happened in the 10 years of my gaming life.[/quote]

If you're having trouble finding people in game, and refuse to PQ, join a guild, or hang out in Henesys to try to make friends, I suppose you could always make a post in Basil here.

That's what supporting sites or fansites like these are made for!

[quote=remorse]I don't know what you mean by doing it wrong.
I am talking about finding friends from a perspective of a new player.
Unless you are an experienced player, you will just follow the recommended guide and move to places, which have NOBODY.
If you are experienced player, then of course, it's easy to find people and network.
This is why Maplestory can't attract new players anymore.
Unlike before, where you can literally go anywhere smile and make friends, now you can't.
It's become less nooby friendly and harder to actually socialize, that's what I am getting at.
Yes I can learn more level up more, try harder to network.
But then this game can easily be replaced by other games where you just go around and you make friends naturally.
I have always played online games and Maplestory, one of the easiest games to socialize, now become one of the hardest.

I did do LPQ R&J.
I just decided to explore a bit more of the game instead of just focus on leveling.
I have played for 6 years before I quit, and I only got to level 90 because I never focused on grinding, I like travelling around and seeing different places, meeting people there.
Now there's just leveling, and grinding, and yeah that's it.

I am not trying to draw any easy conclusions, it's been more than 2 weeks.
Me being an extremely social person find it hard to make friends or even talk to anyone, which has never happened in the 10 years of my gaming life.[/quote]

Sorry, MS isn't a game where you can stand around and make friends, not unless the henehoe population is more active than I thought. You need to work on your BL and getting into a good guild.

You're right that there's no one in the recommended maps. We all determined the fastest training maps long ago, so level 1->165 are all hyper focused, dead silent grinding. If you want conversation during training you must be at SH, which is 165+.

You're right that a newbie won't know how to find people and network. This is why you ask for advice from experienced players and then follow that advice.

Yea move to scania or windia, I love talking to random people.
Espicly about cats

[quote=Axnslicer]That is untrue. You're just doing it wrong. If you try to solo train at some random deserted map, never applying to join the popular guilds and alliances, never networking with well connected people, you'll obviously have difficulty finding people to talk to.

You really need to join a guild, level up, ask more questions, and make less judgments.

Go RnJ to 140, DIPQ to 165, SH to 200. It should take less than a week, I personally can 200 a character in less than a day. Making "friends" as a Bishop is a joke, everyone wants HS, just start tossing BL requests whenever you find a party.[/quote]

I don't know what you mean by doing it wrong.
I am talking about finding friends from a perspective of a new player.
Unless you are an experienced player, you will just follow the recommended guide and move to places, which have NOBODY.
If you are experienced player, then of course, it's easy to find people and network.
This is why Maplestory can't attract new players anymore.
Unlike before, where you can literally go anywhere smile and make friends, now you can't.
It's become less nooby friendly and harder to actually socialize, that's what I am getting at.
Yes I can learn more level up more, try harder to network.
But then this game can easily be replaced by other games where you just go around and you make friends naturally.
I have always played online games and Maplestory, one of the easiest games to socialize, now become one of the hardest.

I did do LPQ R&J.
I just decided to explore a bit more of the game instead of just focus on leveling.
I have played for 6 years before I quit, and I only got to level 90 because I never focused on grinding, I like travelling around and seeing different places, meeting people there.
Now there's just leveling, and grinding, and yeah that's it.

I am not trying to draw any easy conclusions, it's been more than 2 weeks.
Me being an extremely social person find it hard to make friends or even talk to anyone, which has never happened in the 10 years of my gaming life.

[quote=remorse]
Unless you start playing with a group of friends, you probably are going to be solo grinding by yourself.
However, if you just wanna solo grind, why even play this online game, there's plenty of other games that offer better grinding experience.[/quote]

You're just doing it wrong. If you try to solo train at some random deserted map, never applying to join the popular guilds and alliances, and don't know how to network properly, then you'll obviously have difficulty finding people to talk to.

You really need to join a guild, level up, ask more questions, and make less judgments.

Find a level 20+ guild with more than 8 active online players+a decent alliance and ask if you can join. The serious guilds won't accept you, but you can try something like LimeTree, Cupid, or Playlist.

Go RnJ to 140, DIPQ to 165, SH to 200. It should take less than a week, I personally can 200 a character in less than a day. Making "friends" as a Bishop is a joke, everyone wants HS. Whenever you party with someone, offer to HS them for free in the future and send them a BL request. Most people will accept the request because HS is useful. Build your buddy list like this to 100 people. Cut off anyone who isn't active. Keep adding and trimming until your BL is active enough for your tastes.

Move to Scania

[quote=Belzier]There is no smurfing in Maplestory. That's a term only people from League of Legends use.

Maplestory is an "F2P" MMO, the whole point of it is to be able to play more than one character, and it's advertised that way. Just because they have more knowledge about the game than you do doesn't mean that they think they're more elite than you. Maplestory isn't really like that any more except for maybe the few "elitist" guilds that hold onto that disturbing old mindset.

Either people can solo bosses, or they can't. Nowadays, visual range and level don't mean as much as it used to.

Do party quests, and join a nice guild. That's all I can suggest. Any other encounters are those nice random ones.[/quote]

Well, I understand how Maplestory is since I have played for 6 years. I called it smurf by accident, in MS we call them mules right...
I never said people think they are elite or anything, I am saying people are getting harder to approach.
The point I am trying to get is that, I can feel why Maplestory population is declining.
Old players may stay or leave, but the game is really hard to attract new players.
Unless you start playing with a group of friends, you probably are going to be solo grinding by yourself.
However, if you just wanna solo grind, why even play this online game, there's plenty of other games that offer better grinding experience.

[quote=wanker]The community is almost exclusively 200+ nowadays. Whenever I'm training a mule I never talk to others. Making friends isn't easy, and never really has been (real freindships), but you'll find your group sooner or later.[/quote]

I am not even to get "real friendships" since to be honest, I am 22 and most people playing are 16 or so. And it's online environment so making real friends is even more difficult.
The thing I am looking for is just companionship, which I can't even find.
I am an extremely social person, and I have played for 6 years before quitting.
Never imagined making friends would be so difficult on Maplestory, especially after what I have experience before I quit.

I haven't played since beta, but I have been playing on and off for nine years, and the community has definitely changed. While I am certain there are quite a few factors, I believe that being able to solo all the content in the game (except maybe hard lotus at the moment) is a key factor to the decline in connectivity. What brings people together in MMO's, or even in life, is a common goal. To beat a boss, you join a party. To sell/buy things you might advertise and talk to potential buyers/sellers. There are countless examples. However, all end game bosses can be soloed, if you want to do a party quest you just go to the PQ map, and join a random party. The only party quest people really do nowadays is R&J because the exp is so good (and maybe LPQ), so there is always a supply of people ready to go.

Maybe I'm getting a little off topic. What I'm trying to say, is that the structure of this game, from starting a character, to leveling, to funding yourself, to end game bossing, primarily emphasizes solo play, and as such the community is shaped by that. Yes, it is much easier to do things with friends, or to get someone to bring you along, but that doesn't change the basic problem.

[quote=remorse]

I guess I should get to lvl200 first then start judging.
But back then I can easily make friends with people around my level.
Now everyone around my level (I am around 125) is smurfing.

Maybe I am too old for this game...[/quote]

You're too low level to make friends. A level 200, AKA the majority of the current MS population, isn't going to want to buddy list a level 125. When you're level 250, rich, and hit cap damage, people fall over themselves to be your "friend".

Also, you're training in the wrong places. Which explains both why you never see anyone and why you're still so low level after a week.

[quote=Masterobert]I would suggest finding players who are similar in funding as you are.[/quote]
Well, I spent around $100 getting random stuff in like, the 2 weeks I played...
I don't mind spending money, it's just that I met NO ONE

[quote=Voidam]It's used in CS:GO and Dota and every single competitive multiplayer game[/quote]

In the context of an MMORPG, smurf doesn't hold a whole lot of meaning. We call them alternate characters if they aren't our mains.

The term does make sense in a MOBA or MMOFPS situation, where it's not as commonplace to have so many alternate accounts or characters.

You are not alone. I met almost all of my friends through party quests and they in turn introduced me to their friends. Since party quests died, I have made only a couple of new friends in couple of years.

[quote=Belzier]There is no smurfing in Maplestory. That's a term only people from League of Legends use.

Maplestory is an "F2P" MMO, the whole point of it is to be able to play more than one character, and it's advertised that way. Just because they have more knowledge about the game than you do doesn't mean that they think they're more elite than you. Maplestory isn't really like that any more except for maybe the few "elitist" guilds.

Do party quests, and join a nice guild. That's all I can suggest. Any other encounters are those nice random ones.[/quote]

It's used in CS:GO and Dota and every single competitive multiplayer game

There is no smurfing in Maplestory. That's a term only people from League of Legends use.

Maplestory is an "F2P" MMO, the whole point of it is to be able to play more than one character, and it's advertised that way. Just because they have more knowledge about the game than you do doesn't mean that they think they're more elite than you. Maplestory isn't really like that any more except for maybe the few "elitist" guilds that hold onto that disturbing old mindset.

Either people can solo bosses, or they can't. Nowadays, visual range and level don't mean as much as it used to.

Do party quests, and join a nice guild. That's all I can suggest. Any other encounters are those nice random ones.

well 2 reasons: 1: population is close to ghost town. 2: The game is all about solo now

Agreed. Maple is not what is used to be.

I would suggest finding players who are similar in funding as you are.