Very Important, if it wasn't why bother playing a MMO. their are many many great Single player games out. I belive it is the heart and soul of these games needing each other to acheive great things.
Important on two fronts. For the group, it's important because if the tank doesn't hold aggro, the healer doesn't heal, cc doesn't cc, etc then the group wipes and is not effective. For the player, it's a major difference in feelings. Most MMOs are soloable up to cap, grouping up only speeds up the process a tiny bit. Group members are more of an exp leach than a necessity. In old MMOs and Pantheon, much of the content requires a group of proper roles in order to advance. This gives the player the feeling of being an important part of the group and not just another exp leach that can go afk and not be missed.
The end result is the group depends on everyone doing their role to be successful and the player has a more meaningful experience allowing them to feel like an important part of the team.
Extremely Important!!!
I like how the devs are consistantly talking about interdependent classes. This is what the teamwork really comes down to I think. Im sick and tired of playing solo mmos or mmos that give the illusion of teamwork. Some mmos will have you group up for content but it doesnt feel like teamwork or classes working interdependently. It feels more like a group of people that just happen to be beating on the same mob, and each person being soley responsible for themselves. Besides without a true feeling of teamwork you caant have that comaraderie.
Kilsin said:How important is teamwork to you in an MMORPG like Pantheon?
For me it is the fundamental aspect that will make or break my enjoyment of a game. Beyond graphics, beyond game mechanics, if nobody can (or will) work together as a team, the game will quickly lose all appeal. The key about teamwork is in the word itself: Teamwork. You must work at being a team player.
Some of us get great enjoyment and pleasure (not to mention a huge sense of pride) being solid team player. Teamwork is beautiful to witness and an absolute joy when you are a participate of such a group.
Teamwork and interdependency is the mother of community. Its not enough that players merely exist around each other. The need for teamwork is what engenders respect and an appreciation for those around you. Its the catalyst that transforms strangers into acquaintances and eventually, friends.
I've always found this story from Wolfshead to be a profound and potent illustration of the fruits of teamwork.
"I’ve used this analogy before but as a child growing up in the frozen tundra of Canada, I would always notice when there was a major snow storm that suddenly everyone in my sleepy Ontario town would pull together and help each other. Those not so friendly neighbors that we never spoke to would become instant good friends. People would smile at each other as we all helped each other to dig out from the snowstorm. We bonded through shared adversity. It was magical."
Also relevant to the topic.
http://www.wolfsheadonline.com/the-decline-of-social-interaction-in-mmorpgs-full-interview/
Teamwork is the single most important aspect of an MMO. What makes an MMO special is the community and getting to know other people and realising that there are some things you simply can't do on your own. This means that players absolutely must interact with each other and learn how to play their classes to the best of their abilities as well as making friends with other players while they play the game. I want to feel like I have made some real friends when I play the game.
I'm still in contact with people I met in EQ back in 2003 or 2004 and that is something I have never got from another MMO I have played with the possible exception of Vanguard which also had a pretty awesome community of players. I'm really hoping that this will be the same in Pantheon and I'm looking forward to meeting new people.
Teamwork is so important, and all the above posts are exactly right! I think our hope is that this MMO will be unforgiving and punish those who are not sticking to the plan or tactic chosen by the group. A DPS who is going a bit "rogue" and dropping bombs with disregard for agro or mezz's will probably end up a squished mess on the ground. This is where the balance (or maybe best said as unbalance) between classes is important, not so you can make sure everyone is able to equal each other but quite the oposite, if a Tank can easily hold the agro of the outpouring of a wizard's damage like in so many current games then there is somthing wrong, A DPS should be able to rip a MOB off a Tank if he trys to and this would be his downfall and that is the balance of tactics needed to be found between those 2 players. A healer should not be able to keep up health on a caster taking direct hits from a dangerous mob, a Tank should not be able to rip agro off any of his comrades without working really hard for it, a CC player should be able to completely turn the groups tactics on its head by locking down the wrong targets and making a hash of an otherwise controllable situation and burning his mana in the meantime.
If a game plays contrary to the above then we start not needing tactics and teamwork at all. If the DPS can just pick a target and bomb the crap outta it and get away with it free of serious pain and move on to the next target and rinse and repeat in my opinion somthing is wrong! If the cleric can heal whatever damage is dealt to any and all varieties of class in their group somthing is wrong and if a tank can comfortably hold all the mobs agro all day off his DPS and Heals without breaking a sweat somthing is wrong! (obviously the above is geared towards a scenario where you are fighting challenging mobs)
Through this balance or unbalance (and also the difficulty of the game) we end up with a game requiring tactics, communication and willingness to stick to the game plan which all important parts of teamwork!
This doesnt mean I am saying that anything outside of the trinity shoudn't work, but i am saying those groups trying to advance without a Tank, DPS & Healer as bread and butter component of their group will have to use epic amounts of teamwork more than anyone else to achieve a winning formula, finding a great strategy between some classes that would not always be optimum choice to go together and overcoming a big challenge was one of my favourite parts of EQ!
Cromulent said:I'm still in contact with people I met in EQ back in 2003 or 2004 and that is something I have never got from another MMO I have played with the possible exception of Vanguard which also had a pretty awesome community of players. I'm really hoping that this will be the same in Pantheon and I'm looking forward to meeting new people.
Agree. The need for teamwork and groups created freiendships and relationships, many that were much deeper than the game itself.
I am still friends with many that I played EQ with going back to 99. I know their real names, I have their emails, know their families, kids, spouses. I know wha some of them do for work, the changes in their lives over the past 15+ years. And yet, I have never met them face to face, and I know them better than I know many other people I encounter in my daily life.
When you play and group with people, and those people become friends, the game takes on a new feeling. I'm not just logging in to play, I'm logging in to create an adventure and have fun with my friends.
Teamwork, cooperation is very important to me. As other have said, why bother with a multiplayer game otherwise (exluding PvP games of course).
I really want to see synergy from grouping with other player. I want that group to be greater than the sum of its parts. Games like ESO and GW2 failed to deliver on this front imo.
Mekada said:Teamwork, cooperation is very important to me. As other have said, why bother with a multiplayer game otherwise (exluding PvP games of course).
I really want to see synergy from grouping with other player. I want that group to be greater than the sum of its parts. Games like ESO and GW2 failed to deliver on this front imo.
I belive alot of games fail to diliver that feeling.Lets look at EQ's humble beginning the roots of were it came from Dungeon & Dragons I am sure many of you have played this,if their was one thing you could not do in D&D is play solo game just would not work you needed a balanced team to undertake any hardships IE your group would come into a room theirs a tresure chest at the end as you move closer your theif would scence a trap he would disarm that trap with out him it was over (TEAM WORK)..
Teamwork being important makes grouping much more entertaining. If people could just mindlessly run together, each doing their own thing while still beating the content that way, it wouldn't be fun at all for me. If the content is challenging, and each role has to be fulfilled properly in order to beat it, then I'm sure to get some player interactions and a potentially memorable experience.
Difficulty may vary, but everyone should feel useful in group content.
For my part I always play in small groups. I play with my folks that are up there in age (70’s) and we work all the time to either quest, craft or explore. We do not hesitate to help others if they need it or are in trouble in game. We have a long game sort of view and teamwork is the core of it all. I can’t stress the importance of teamwork with MMO’s without it they just don’t work. Raids, questing, PvP, exploring and crafting all should be part of the game experience and have to involve everyone. Be it a small group or a full blown 50 man raid it takes teamwork to succeed. Communication, planning and everyone trying to do their part for the benefit for the team is what gives us that feeling like we achieved something. I don’t understand why that is but the accomplishment and acknowledgment is important and is frequently forgotten in some games.
I think VR has a huge opportunity to bring that back or at least say to the rest of the MMO community its time to get back to basics. Is teamwork important? Absolutely!
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