People who don't play in outfits - a growing problem?

[Sonny]

Hi all,
There's quite an interesting discussion going on at reddit at the moment that started with the question 'Are you currently not playing with an outfit? if so, what's your decision behind it?". I thought that this would be a good discussion to bring up here at PSU also.

EDIT: (to make clearer the issue with increased lone wolfing)

Of course, it is not a problem for someone to play lone wolf (people shouldn't be forced to play together after all), but since Planetside 2 is supposed to be a social game like other MMOs, outfit play is a core part of the community. If more and more people feel like playing solo is more fun with time, then more outfits may slowly wither away, eventually detracting from the community feel of the game.

I'm interested to hear if people feel that the number of players who play regularly in their outfit is going down because a lot of people now prefer to lone wolf? Or has recruiting new players to the outfit become more difficult because people prefer to play alone? Do you feel that this is a growing trend, or is this simply down to general population issues?

End edit

Top comments in the reddit discussion so far for reasons not to be in an outfit:

1. People generally enjoy lonewolfing and bringing havoc to the enemy behind enemy lines.

2. Some don't like outfit politics, having 'leaders' and being forced to listen to their orders. The leaders sometimes take the game too seriously, which is annoying.

3. Others just don't want to join massive zerg outfits.

4. Some don't play enough to be willing to make the time commitment to an outfit.

EDIT 2: to add points 5 and 6 following the discussion here at PSU

5. The Planetside 2 capture system doesn't work well for large groups of organised players; bases are capped too fast, bases that you have just conquered can be taken very quickly, lack of meaningful metagame for outfits.

6. The PS 2 in-game user interface does not help players to quickly find information about or join outfits that suit their play style.

Personally, I fall into camp no. 4.

[Assist]

What is the problem with people not being in outfits?

[Ghoest9]

Originally Posted by Sonny

so far:

1. People generally enjoy lonewolfing and bringing havoc to the enemy behind enemy lines.

2. Some don't like outfit politics, having 'leaders' and being forced to listen to their orders. The leaders sometimes take the game too seriously, which is annoying.

3. Others just don't want to join massive zerg outfits.

All of these. Im not against being in an outfit - but these are the things that often leave me deciding solo is a better experience.
It often seems like you have to choose either zerg or mini-Napoleon if you want an outfit.

[HiroshiChugi]

Originally Posted by Assist

What is the problem with people not being in outfits?

Exactly. But to answer your question, some people have a problem with it because of the "100s vs 100s vs 100s of players" being interpreted as outfit vs outfit vs outfit. Sort-of a pack mentality if summed up the right way.

[Sonny]

It's not a problem for me personally.

But I've seen others consider it a problem because it means less co-ordination between players overall (more zergy game) and obviously dying outfits as less players want to play together = less social environment = less fun for some.

[Sledgecrushr]

Joining an outfit of course is a personal decision. When I joined the DD what I wanted was organisation and camaraderie. It has become more than what my wildest dreams could have conceived. If I dont want to join a outfit squad and just lonewolf it, thats ok. If I want to run a platoon those options are available to me. And Im a super busy person and only have about ten hours a week to spare, and theyve never given me shit about my limited playtime. I have been extremely satisfied with my allegiance.

Other casual players will make that decision eventually to join outfits when the outfit tools and outfit benefits roll out.

[Kerrec]

If an outfit is dying, it is not because someone who never was in an outfit continues to remain outfit-less. Keep the blame (if there is blame to give) where it belongs.

I'm more or less in camp 4. Even though I have plenty of playtime, other than rare occasions, I never can commit to being online at a given time (for things like planned Ops nights), nor can I be certain how long I play on a given night. To top it off, due to my living arrangements, I can't really be spending my evenings talking into a microphone for hours. Put all that together and I don't feel like I'm going to be of any benefit to an outfit.

[Hmr85]

There is nothing wrong with not being in a outfit. Hell even I enjoy lone wolfing from time to time. Its just that running solo however you are missing out on a lot of what makes this game shine and your at the constant mercy of the zerg.

[Pella]

Do you need an outfit to be good at planetside 2? And even more so to have fun?

I dont think so. This is why i hate Redditside. It's Filled with comments and ideas from people that either don't play the game or understand it. Yet they demand that they are right. And upvote things for the sake of it.

Bunch of scrubs.

[Hmr85]

Originally Posted by Kerrec

If an outfit is dying, it is not because someone who never was in an outfit continues to remain outfit-less. Keep the blame (if there is blame to give) where it belongs.

I'm more or less in camp 4. Even though I have plenty of playtime, other than rare occasions, I never can commit to being online at a given time (for things like planned Ops nights), nor can I be certain how long I play on a given night. To top it off, due to my living arrangements, I can't really be spending my evenings talking into a microphone for hours. Put all that together and I don't feel like I'm going to be of any benefit to an outfit.

You need to find a outfit that isn't going to stick you to a overly strict schedule. There are plenty of laid back casual outfits out there that would love to have you that can field atleast half a platoon every night and are not going to stick you with planned nights for ops. As for the comms. Most outfits just require you to at least be able to listen to them. You should really give a Outfit on your server a try. Don't get discouraged if you run into a few bad eggs along the way. Finding a Outfit is like buying a new car. Don't be afraid to give them a test drive till you find the right one.

Best of luck

[Silent Thunder]

One thing that I think needs to be taken into consideration in a discussion like this is your two diffrent kinds of non outfit members. Namely the diffrence between Lone Wolfs and Pickup Squaddies.

[Figment]

There have always been people who didn't play in an outfit.


And they should be nurtured, since all new players start of that way. If you can't hold on to them as a game, that's when you've got a problem.


>_>

[MrVicchio]

Here's the deal, a lot of people, like myself have trepidation about about feeling "committed" to a game. It's why in WoW I'm part of a three person guild on two servers, horde and alliance. Those three would be me, the wife and her sister. I long grew tired of feeling compelled to play.

That being said, I did join an outfit in PS2 because I felt that playing with the same peeps would enhance the experience, and so far it has so no regrets.

As for "leaders taking the game too seriously"... this game is 90% chaos, it's those that organize and have a plan that add that 10% and those people generally succeed. IF your goal is just to fight on your own terms doing your thing... you're doing it wrong to be frankly honest.

[STONEBRIDGE]

I have no issues with playing/joining an outfit but as a fairly new player (and not being able to decide which server to call home) i feel i need to find my bearings before joining one of the many outfits available.

Like most people i'm often invited to an outfit, which i accept, but more often than not i find myself leaving after 20 mins due to either waypoints aimed at the Crown and the few residing areas around it, or just not liking being barked at by people running around like headless chickens.

I guess it's good to seek an outfit to your liking via the forums but i often only play for an hour before wanting a break, not to mention jumping in and out of battle is frowned upon by some.

(I also rarely use a mic)

[Chipskream]

I was going with G0DS until some 14 y/o whose balls hadnt dropped took over command of the platoon and everyone was like 'yay us'. Couldnt stand that crap, hence I lonewolf most of the time.
But Im off woodman anyway ASAP, probably going for WASP on Miller.