Like JattaGin, I'm already in a guild so the "join a guild" suggestion doesn't work for me. My guild mates are the opposite of his though in that there aren't enough of them at level 55 yet or with decent enough gear for the few who are. However, we're a close-knit bunch and I enjoy helping them level up just like they've kept my enjoyment in the game afloat. Without them, I would've already quit -- mostly because I have a host of other issues with this game that have plagued me either from the start or since I was around level 20 or so. I left my guild briefly, specifically to get into a raiding guild, but the raiding guild sucked, never had anybody on, and the GM was a tool. The lesson learned there is that the grass isn't always greener so I'm extremely hesitant to the point that it's more than likely not going to happen to leave this guild again.

All of the griping about pugs aside, the game should offer additional ways to pick up ultimate comms and/or have a group finder that doesn't require being queued all day long to still possibly never get in. There are only two HM ops that offer ultimates (SNV and TFB) or TC HM. In and of itself, it's boring to keep running the same ops over and over again to pick up 72s and then you start the process all over again for Nightmare Mode to get 75s? Seems rather pointless which is why hanging it up is on the horizon.

I think it is important to state, get into a GOOD guild and a guild that is a FIT for your play style. As there are lots of bad guilds out there or they might be good for a given play style but not yours. Once you get to Endgame in any MMO, well most, find a good fit with a guild is key and there are a lot of valid reasons for that. A good guild typically has a good a system not just for gearing you up, but also for learning how to raid given instances. Such leadership is critical to be successful during end game runs. I rarely join a guild while I level, at least not my first few toons, as I like to enjoy the game at my own pace. But once Im ready for Endgame, yeah, guild. Also, if you are a more casual player, look for casual, mature and family friendly as buzz terms. Look for guilds that have websites and a specific process to get in, usually a good sign. If you're not a hardcore raider then avoid guilds that align with that play style.

I truly think that with a little effort on Google on your part, writing some guilds, putting some effort into finding one that fits your playstyle, the whole game will open up and change for you.

if you don't want to leave your current guild - do what I did. pug flashpoints, pug through general chat on the fleet. you'll get some terrible groups and you'll get groups where you make friends. keep making those friends. even super hardmode people sometimes run flashpoints, and even "gasp" pug them for coms.

aside from making contacts and being able to eventually pug with the people you meet (either fill the spots they may have open or invite them to runs you yourself might host), you'll keep getting yourself commendations daily and replacing at least axillary pieces with verpine gear, leaving only tier pieces to replace.

its not a fast process, but it can be fun for its own sake and what is gear if not means to an end anyways? (oh and watch out for barrels/hilts they are still pricey, but you could save up credits for them and/or maybe eventually make friends in hardcore guild that will get it made for you)

MMO's are supposed to be social. so I'm not sure how its the fault of MMO that you get best progression at end level, WHILE being social.

Storymodes are that easy....

 

People really want to just be able to stand still and and hit buttons while targeting a boss while they eat dinner or what? What's the point?

The point is in the name "story". I care about the 4th pillar of Story and Star Wars lore far more than any other aspect of the game. I want to see the story of the op play out, not to watch drama from wipe after wipe.

The story mode OPs are harder than hard mode flashpoints and it's quite rare that one starts via group finder or shouts on fleet and actually finishes. S&V pugs average either 30 minutes of wiping on Dash-rode or about 2 hours of wiping through multiple bosses before the group starts needing to leave and get on with their life.

This is just an entirely different playstyle than progression raiding and since SWTOR named their op Story Mode and explained clearly that it's intended for the casuals, they should tune it that way.

Like JattaGin, I'm already in a guild so the "join a guild" suggestion doesn't work for me.

You have to find and join the right guild for you. Sounds like you did, and Lord_Garrex did not.... at least that's the way it reads to me.

By definition.... the right guild = one that meets your content activity needs. That is different for different people.

The real problem the OP is having IMO.. trying to go it alone at 55. There are people that can and do in fact do that.. but it's a choice that pretty much limits what they have access to. So.. find a good guild.. a good guild for your personal needs/wants.

Obvious troll is obvious.

Obvious empty answer is obvious.

I fully understand the OP. Level 55 is totally depressing. And I really dislike the standard answer: Get into a guild. I am in a raiding guild. But since I was busy finishing all other stuff first, they got to lvl 72 gear longtime ago and I still have 66 to 69 mods. They run nightmore mode nowadays and I am not allowed due to me gear. No one in the guild bothers to do SM OPs. So, I have to pug. And unfortunately, I have not managed to finish one operation ever with a pug. I don't care about comms or gear. I want to see the story and finally get rid of the missions in my mission log. That's all. Very frustrating. I would buy a cutscene and finish-the-mission without reward from the cartel market, just to finally get this content away.

Again, how is that bioware's fault? You are in a bad, selfish guild that does not support its players. We have three progression guilds going but still have time to blow through older content and gear up our new raiders. Any guild that does not do so is setting up its own demise as things change, people come and go. You always need a "farm system" with geared players ready to come up. It is that very selfishness that ends up imploding guilds quite often.

It's been 3 1/2 weeks now and I have yet to be in a single HM ops that has successfully completed TC, TFB, or SNV. I get no gear drops, unassembled or otherwise, and am extremely lucky to pick up 80 ultimate comms in a week despite looking at hundreds of thousands of credits in repairs. Additionally, group finder for TFB and SNV is terrible, having queue times in excess of 3 hours without ever actually entering a group. If this keeps up, it will take months to gear up with all 72s. Rage quitters, excessive wipes, terrible tanks and/or heals... Maybe this is just bad luck but as of right now, this game is no longer fun and I'm thinking of either quitting or starting a new toon. Haven't decided yet but I'm leaning towards quitting after 4 consecutive days of running HM Ops and having a whopping 6 ultimate comms to show for it. Something needs to be tweaked here because this sucks.

 

Pardon the rant.

As others have stated, join a guild. This is a multi-player game. Pugging raids is not a good way to go about things. Most puggers are either people that cannot make it in a guild, do not understand the game, or just meanders that wander through the game without any direction etc.

You yourself included such things as "rage quitting" as a deterrent to completion. Does not happen in a guild and there are people that will help you, will teach you, not argue with you, blame you, or try to steal gear from you.

A good guild makes all the difference in the world.

Like JattaGin, I'm already in a guild so the "join a guild" suggestion doesn't work for me. My guild mates are the opposite of his though in that there aren't enough of them at level 55 yet or with decent enough gear for the few who are. However, we're a close-knit bunch and I enjoy helping them level up just like they've kept my enjoyment in the game afloat. Without them, I would've already quit -- mostly because I have a host of other issues with this game that have plagued me either from the start or since I was around level 20 or so. I left my guild briefly, specifically to get into a raiding guild, but the raiding guild sucked, never had anybody on, and the GM was a tool. The lesson learned there is that the grass isn't always greener so I'm extremely hesitant to the point that it's more than likely not going to happen to leave this guild again.

 

All of the griping about pugs aside, the game should offer additional ways to pick up ultimate comms and/or have a group finder that doesn't require being queued all day long to still possibly never get in. There are only two HM ops that offer ultimates (SNV and TFB) or TC HM. In and of itself, it's boring to keep running the same ops over and over again to pick up 72s and then you start the process all over again for Nightmare Mode to get 75s? Seems rather pointless which is why hanging it up is on the horizon.

It's only pointless if you are in it for the gear. We are in it for the fun, the laughs, the enjoyment with friends. Hell, we often pass on gear that we could use for our friends. Gear comes and goes, and eventually everyone has everything. We're in it for the fun and the laughs....the guild events, doing everything out there from datacrons to raiding, to bounties. That makes it something to look forward to.

OP is depressing, boring, and annoying. Needs to be tweaked!

In all seriousness questions:

1. Are you entering these groups with appropriate gear?

2. Are you doing this content with groups where at least some of the people have experience with the content?

3. Have you tried looking for a guild?

Sounds like you joined a hardcore raiding guild that is only interested in doing the toughest hardest content and nothing more. I suggest you quit and find a casual social guild (one that also raids) you'll find them much more helpful in getting you geared up. In my experience (which i admit is fairly limited) most Hardcore guilds are full of egotistical jerks and A***holes who wouldn't know what the words social and helpful meant without looking them up in a dictionary

 

Oh and bad PUGS will always be an unsolvable problem in MMOs, sure you could introduce a gear check tot he GF, but how do you incorporate a skill check, crap players will always be crap even in good gear.

I partly agree with you, and I partly disagree with you. Nobody can just join a guild. Someone who the GM has given the authority to, had to invite you. Part of that invite is a promise. That promise is not to focus on the same 8 or 16 people no matter what, each and every week. Progression ops are great. Guilds that do them? Kudos to them. But you have a responsibility to help other members. If you are progressed into NM.. there is nothing at all to stop you from taking an hour a day (2 hours a week) to boost the undergeared through SM ops. It is , in fact, a broken promise to the person they recruited.

Like JattaGin, I'm already in a guild so the "join a guild" suggestion doesn't work for me. My guild mates are the opposite of his though in that there aren't enough of them at level 55 yet or with decent enough gear for the few who are. However, we're a close-knit bunch and I enjoy helping them level up just like they've kept my enjoyment in the game afloat. Without them, I would've already quit -- mostly because I have a host of other issues with this game that have plagued me either from the start or since I was around level 20 or so. I left my guild briefly, specifically to get into a raiding guild, but the raiding guild sucked, never had anybody on, and the GM was a tool. The lesson learned there is that the grass isn't always greener so I'm extremely hesitant to the point that it's more than likely not going to happen to leave this guild again.

Leaving your guild doesn't mean you need to stop being close-knit with them or doing stuff with them. My guild focuses a lot on PvE endgame content but hasn't managed to have much success having enough PvP focused players to run rateds. We have a number of guild members who have left to go to PvP focused guilds (one even changed servers) but still hop on TS and hang out or fill empty spots in raids. Not being guilded with them does not mean not being friends with them. Also if you have alts I would recommend leveling alts with the social guild then moving to a raid guild if you want the gear.

All of the griping about pugs aside, the game should offer additional ways to pick up ultimate comms and/or have a group finder that doesn't require being queued all day long to still possibly never get in. There are only two HM ops that offer ultimates (SNV and TFB) or TC HM. In and of itself, it's boring to keep running the same ops over and over again to pick up 72s and then you start the process all over again for Nightmare Mode to get 75s? Seems rather pointless which is why hanging it up is on the horizon.

This is how MMOs work.... Also 2 new OPs in about 7 weeks.

It's been 3 1/2 weeks now and I have yet to be in a single HM ops that has successfully completed TC, TFB, or SNV. I get no gear drops, unassembled or otherwise, and am extremely lucky to pick up 80 ultimate comms in a week despite looking at hundreds of thousands of credits in repairs. Additionally, group finder for TFB and SNV is terrible, having queue times in excess of 3 hours without ever actually entering a group. If this keeps up, it will take months to gear up with all 72s. Rage quitters, excessive wipes, terrible tanks and/or heals... Maybe this is just bad luck but as of right now, this game is no longer fun and I'm thinking of either quitting or starting a new toon. Haven't decided yet but I'm leaning towards quitting after 4 consecutive days of running HM Ops and having a whopping 6 ultimate comms to show for it. Something needs to be tweaked here because this sucks.

 

Pardon the rant.

...sounds like a depressed DD!...playing HEAL or TANK?...no? Teamplaying?...why?...my ego is just enough...I keep playing DD....wondering why the groupfinder isn't really my friend

...best option indeed...:Quit the game!

Our guildies get close to the comm cap each week, and we are only 3/5 TFB HM and 2/5 SnV HM. The key is to do every operations and flashpoint quest (minus the classic stuff) every week.

You may not be in the right guild, but also, MMOs might not be for you.

It is not the only answer, it is the best answer. Obviously, joining the LFO group finder is an option, but since the OP was railing against it, it would appear to be a bad answer.

But really, think about it logically, who are in the LFO finder? People doing end game content like ops are usually already in a guild, so in the group finder you're either going to find a mishmash of guild-less people PUGs, or perhaps a guild run a member or two short.

The point is in the name "story". I care about the 4th pillar of Story and Star Wars lore far more than any other aspect of the game. I want to see the story of the op play out, not to watch drama from wipe after wipe.

 

The story mode OPs are harder than hard mode flashpoints and it's quite rare that one starts via group finder or shouts on fleet and actually finishes. S&V pugs average either 30 minutes of wiping on Dash-rode or about 2 hours of wiping through multiple bosses before the group starts needing to leave and get on with their life.

 

This is just an entirely different playstyle than progression raiding and since SWTOR named their op Story Mode and explained clearly that it's intended for the casuals, they should tune it that way.

Totally agree with that. Story mode needs nerfing to be what it is meant to be, story telling for bunch of people who dont know each other, dont have voice comms and no knowledge of tactics.

what the hell is the ops group-finder for?

Masochists, IMO.

I fully understand the OP. Level 55 is totally depressing. And I really dislike the standard answer: Get into a guild. I am in a raiding guild. But since I was busy finishing all other stuff first, they got to lvl 72 gear longtime ago and I still have 66 to 69 mods. They run nightmore mode nowadays and I am not allowed due to me gear. No one in the guild bothers to do SM OPs. So, I have to pug. And unfortunately, I have not managed to finish one operation ever with a pug

I know the standard answer here is find a new guild, but as a recently appointed officer to a guild and as a raid leader leading new player to end game and alt, my suggestion is talk to guild officers first. I know I set up fun runs outside of our normal groups, but it gets frustrating when the same 8 people show up for everything and now even our alts are pretty much geared for NiM TfB and S&V. Hard to do KP, EV or EC when nobody gets anything from it. However if we know a few new people will show up, none of us have a problem putting together a viable group. It is just after running NiM and another operation, at least the last thing I want to do is run another operations that provides no useful reward, unless it is going to help our another guild member with gear and/or experience. So I say talk with them first, I know 90% of the people in my guild are willing to help anyone see whatever content they want to see and even though we have done most of these operation many, many times, we never tell people to space bar.

---------------------

As to the people that don't have voice and don't want voice, but are moaning about wiping, the two things go hand in hand. I refuse to listen to anyone say something is too hard when they cripple themselves for no reason. I will also kick anyone from my group for not having voice. I do not require people to have a mic or talk, but they have to be able to hear instructions and respond to them.

_______________

When I first hit 50, I had 0 social points, I was the worse healer ever, now I have a large friends list, I am a very active officer in a guild and I run operation 3 sometimes 4 times a week. First I learned my toons abilities while getting starter 50 gear, then I started answering every time I saw someone request help with anything, then I joined a group looking for a healer for a operation (at the time there was no group finder), the rest is history. While I have yet to complete NIM TfB or NIM S&V I am in a couple groups slowing making our way through them. I also have 3 or 4 toons now with social maxed out. Between my friends list and my guild, I never have to worry about getting a group for anything.

I fully understand the OP. Level 55 is totally depressing. And I really dislike the standard answer: Get into a guild. I am in a raiding guild. But since I was busy finishing all other stuff first, they got to lvl 72 gear longtime ago and I still have 66 to 69 mods. They run nightmore mode nowadays and I am not allowed due to me gear.

Sounds like you need a new guild.

No one in the guild bothers to do SM OPs. So, I have to pug. And unfortunately, I have not managed to finish one operation ever with a pug. I don't care about comms or gear. I want to see the story and finally get rid of the missions in my mission log.

If all you want to do is "get rid" of the missions in your log, click the "Abandon" button. Problem solved.

Masochists, IMO.

that and premade groups looking for some extra coms - hey 10 ultimates and some gear for companions/alts is nothing to sneeze at.

/uses ops finder weekly

/but never as a pug

If "get in a raiding guild" is the only answer, what the hell is the ops group-finder for?

Several things:

- Casual players

- Players that just want to see the content, but don't care about gear/achievements/difficulty

- Some guilds or people will preform a full group and run the group finder to get the comm bonus for comms.

- Players wanting to try out raiding before they decide if it's something they really want.

- Something Bioware put in because WoW does it (probably the biggest reason IMO)