Generally I try and do the following (in order):
Socialise with my guild and other players
Crafting
Trying to solo for interesting items (I used to collect clickies a lot and spent ages in zones with no population killing named mobs over and over to try and get their rare clicky drop)
Completing some quests or working on parts that are soloable
Exploring the world trying to find interesting bits of lore or interesting easter eggs
If none of that is available I'd probably log off. I don't mind sitting LFG but I'd want something to do while I was doing it otherwise it just becomes boring.
When I can't get a group in EQ, I usually prefer to do the following:
1. Solo portions of epic quest lines.
2. Engage in trade with other players.
3. Sort my bank and inventory, decide what items I should try to upgrade next.
4. Farm drops for crafting or profit.
5. Obsess over the AA window, deciding what AA's I'll take next, then dreaming about how awesome it's going to be when I finally get there. :)
6. Offer buffs/assistance to newbies. Head to popular newbie areas like crushbone and give everyone c1 and haste. If on my wiz, offer porting services.
7. Chat with guild about upcoming raids or epic quest fights.
When I can't get a group in other MMO's, I usually prefer to do the following:
1. Solo grind mobs until bored, because who really groups anyways?
2. Solo quest grind until bored, because that's the only real way to progress.
3. Unsubscribe.
4. Enter "looking for MMO" mode.
Not necessarily in this order:
1) Solo
2) Explore
3) Trade
4) Craft
5) Farm tradeskill components
6) Work on skillups for things that I havent concentrated on (languages/weapon types/lock-picking/etc.)
7) Attempt to get/unlock achievements
8) Try to tackle lower-level content that I had passed up
9) Research/Investigate questlines that I haven't uncovered previously
10) Try out gear setups or spell rotations that I've not previously used. (Perhaps on practice dummies? :) )
11) Socialize or discuss tactics/methods I'm not familiar with
12) Find new lore information that might exist from NPCs or in-game books/scrolls
13) Research gear/spell upgrades that might be available
14) Pick a random newbie/lowbie to mentor, babysit or donate to
It's worthwihle to note that I always have a scratchpad on my desk on which I take notes about things I'd like to accomplish. So I usually have a list of things I'd like to get done, many of which dont involve groups. It makes it possible to be flexible when I login and always feel like I both accomplished something and look forward to the next chance I have to play.
I will go play solo - either do a little killing of simpler enemies. My thoughts there are to always be productive and I like to kill a couple wasps for a tiny bit of XP and loot, rather than get nothing.
I also like to work on solo portions of quests and a lot of that includes stealth travel and stealth exploring. When I do things that, no group wants to follow me as I sneak around really dangerous zones. I think of looting the groundspawn book in PoHateB for the Rogue Epic 1.0: this was scary as heck and I did it at level 46, hiding, sneaking, running behind patrols. Trying to find this thing, not knowing where i was going. I loved that.
I really wanted to explore CC and worked my way down to the bottom, sneaking along way out far away, all by myself.
Finally, I love long distance travel. Probably my favorite EQ memories are the times I would go explore the newly discovered continent of Kunark, getting there by boat. I would spend an entire Saturday gather supplies (food, water, etc.) and then head out on foot across Antonica, getting to Qeynos or Freeport and hopping a boat, then riding across the ocean for 20 minutes.
Kilsin said:If you log into a game and can't find a group, what is your preferred go-to activity to pass the time?
1. Crafting
2. If arenas are created in cities I'd go there to horned my skills or watch matches between players
3. Check out the lore thread that was posted if that would be there I'd jump on that.
4. Find ways to pull pranks on my friends
5. Find ways to avoid getting planked from my friends hehe
6. Did I mentioned crafting yet? Hehe