Is Group Finder never utilized? If yes, why?

SkaiFaith

1) I don't know how the Group Finder situation is on other servers (XB EU here)

2) I don't know if Discord is the issue, since everyone communicates there and very few use in-game communication (which to me sounds like a negative thing)

3) I don't know if it's the "ESO player silence" that many mention as an issue in this MMO

4) I don't know if it's just that everybody is scared to pug because of bad experiences

5) I don't know if it's a population issue

I just don't understand how is it possible that I always see the Group Finder completely empty in every category. Even on weekends.

Sometime I take a look at that to see if there's something I can join randomly and it's always a desert.

Please, enlighten me...

And no, I'm not crying out for help XD I really just want to understand what's the problem with Group Finder.

P.S.
Before you say "create something yourself" - I don't feel I could take the responsibility to lead a Trial, for which I'd prefer to join a group as a random DD. Other things, I created listings couple of times: zone clears, NM, events, IA, BGs... Very few times I got responses.
And to "join a guild" - Ok but then what's the point in having a Group Finder?

Treeshka

There are some groups here and there in PC EU server.

I believe the case in this game that to experience majority of it like quests and stories, you do not need a trial gear. You only need trial gear if you want to pursue hard modes. Those people who want to pursue hard modes are probably more leaning towards external communication tools such as Discord.

There is also stickerbook, so once your stickerbook is full there is no need to run the trial for gear. That may also contribute to the problem of nothing finding groups in finder.

tomofhyrule

SkaiFaith wrote: »

(XB EU here)

Unfortunately, there's your problem right there.

The Group Finder use is really dependent on the number of people on the server itself, and XBEU is by far the least populated server. It really stems from two issues: one the fact that XBox itself is very US-centric, so it never really had as big of an uptake outside of the US because PS really owns the market; two: ESO's EU servers severely favor PC. We don't have official number of players obviously, but the final Night Market scores across all servers show there's a massive difference in the score for PCEU versus Console EU.

The devs did talk about how the Group Finder got a lot of use during the Night Market, but with Season One being mainly solo-focused, it's likely there wouldn't be as much posted there. And even then, it was mostly for Night Market stuff. Possibly there would be more use for the High Seas event, but that will be soloable and even then it'll be pretty focused on the new stuff.

They did suggest that the planned crossplay would combine the console and PC servers though, which means that this is extremely beneficial for console EU players as those are very sparse servers in the first place while PCEU is the most populated. But we have no idea when that's coming or how the recent news will affect that.

Wish I had better news and I know you don't want to hear "lol just start it yourself or join a guild," but there really isn't another option beyond "wait for crossplay."

Soarora

I’ve tried using it on pc/na for world bosses and dynamic encounters. No one joins. People do use it for trials and dungeons, though. I suspect it’s because culturally, people expect world boss groups to be advertised in zone chat, since the person asking for help will always be in the zone. While trial groups made the swap because who wants to stand around in Craglorn?

Joining a trial is also more commitment, so maybe people are more likely to join world bosses on a whim but actively seek out trials.

tsaescishoeshiner

Partly because you have to check each one section-by-section and wait for them to load.

If there was an indicator that Group Finder had groups active, and you could see recent groups when you first click on it, it would help promote it instead of making people go through like 5 waiting periods to check them all.

SkaiFaith

tomofhyrule wrote: »

SkaiFaith wrote: »

(XB EU here)

Unfortunately, there's your problem right there.

The Group Finder use is really dependent on the number of people on the server itself, and XBEU is by far the least populated server. It really stems from two issues: one the fact that XBox itself is very US-centric, so it never really had as big of an uptake outside of the US because PS really owns the market; two: ESO's EU servers severely favor PC. We don't have official number of players obviously, but the final Night Market scores across all servers show there's a massive difference in the score for PCEU versus Console EU.

The devs did talk about how the Group Finder got a lot of use during the Night Market, but with Season One being mainly solo-focused, it's likely there wouldn't be as much posted there. And even then, it was mostly for Night Market stuff. Possibly there would be more use for the High Seas event, but that will be soloable and even then it'll be pretty focused on the new stuff.

They did suggest that the planned crossplay would combine the console and PC servers though, which means that this is extremely beneficial for console EU players as those are very sparse servers in the first place while PCEU is the most populated. But we have no idea when that's coming or how the recent news will affect that.

Wish I had better news and I know you don't want to hear "lol just start it yourself or join a guild," but there really isn't another option beyond "wait for crossplay."

I always knew that EU is absolutely PS territory, as I always joked I am the only one to own an XBOX in the entire continent XD
Going by the points in Night Market, however, it seems ESO as a game has low appeal to EU console players - they are all on PC!

I asked for the use of Group Finder on others servers right to understand if it's an issue of the feature, "of the players" or of the server, or else...
I'd be happy to know everyone else is using it looking forward to crossplay, but still wanted to get if there were deeper issues with it...

Thanks for the thoughtful response anyway

DoofusMax

I think Group Finder worked reasonably well during Night Market, but Night Market had its own "Current Event" category, so it was just a matter of selecting it and seeing what was available.

For regular stuff, it's a bit more problematic. I'm mostly on PC NA and haven't found it to be especially useful. I'm either having to constantly refresh to see if something pops up (sometimes it does, but mostly it don't), or wait a while for any group I created to fill. Even making a group for a pledge dungeon and advertising that newbies/lowbies are welcome gets maybe one response in 10-ish minutes. I'm one of those players who doesn't mind going slow to let those newbies/lowbies do the story mission inside when it's actually easier to just enter and solo it; still few to no responses.

LunaFlora

i have used Group Finder for Trials and Night Market

ceruulean

July has the lowest population, so it is a population issue

And most people are "lazy" and can't be bothered to make their own listing. I've used GF for farming dungeons, IA, and trials. People will join when listings are up. Zone bosses sometimes if it's a farming gauntlet, or a golden pursuit/tome is related to it.

I never use it for pvp.

Frayton

The trial section is used often on PCNA. I don't look at the other sections.

allochthons

tomofhyrule wrote: »

SkaiFaith wrote: »

(XB EU here)

Unfortunately, there's your problem right there.

The Group Finder use is really dependent on the number of people on the server itself, and XBEU is by far the least populated server. It really stems from two issues: one the fact that XBox itself is very US-centric, so it never really had as big of an uptake outside of the US because PS really owns the market; two: ESO's EU servers severely favor PC. We don't have official number of players obviously, but the final Night Market scores across all servers show there's a massive difference in the score for PCEU versus Console EU.

Thanks for linking to that, @tomofhyrule and thanks to Code for posting the original numbers.
For those of us who are visual learners:



I'm in two trial guilds, and a major trading guild on PS/NA. And I see posts in those guild chats for Group Finder trials multiple times a day. Maybe only once or twice, but every day. And I play in North America mornings, mostly.

> LF 1 dd 1 H vMoL in Group Finder

type posts.

NoticeMeArkay

On PC EU the sections for dungeons trials and arenas usually see some traffic. Not much, but some at least.
The "Other" section has basically been claimed by crown sellers.
The pvp sections are catching dust as our pvp community is sadly very guild locked and upholds a strange fear of "inviting the enemy" on a side toon into their groups. Which is why the zone chat in Cyro is filled with people spamming "LFG" all day long in an attempt to be part of the flood. It's sad but made for a different thread at this point.

LootAllTheStuff

SkaiFaith wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

SkaiFaith wrote: »

(XB EU here)

Unfortunately, there's your problem right there.

The Group Finder use is really dependent on the number of people on the server itself, and XBEU is by far the least populated server. It really stems from two issues: one the fact that XBox itself is very US-centric, so it never really had as big of an uptake outside of the US because PS really owns the market; two: ESO's EU servers severely favor PC. We don't have official number of players obviously, but the final Night Market scores across all servers show there's a massive difference in the score for PCEU versus Console EU.

The devs did talk about how the Group Finder got a lot of use during the Night Market, but with Season One being mainly solo-focused, it's likely there wouldn't be as much posted there. And even then, it was mostly for Night Market stuff. Possibly there would be more use for the High Seas event, but that will be soloable and even then it'll be pretty focused on the new stuff.

They did suggest that the planned crossplay would combine the console and PC servers though, which means that this is extremely beneficial for console EU players as those are very sparse servers in the first place while PCEU is the most populated. But we have no idea when that's coming or how the recent news will affect that.

Wish I had better news and I know you don't want to hear "lol just start it yourself or join a guild," but there really isn't another option beyond "wait for crossplay."

I always knew that EU is absolutely PS territory, as I always joked I am the only one to own an XBOX in the entire continent XD
Going by the points in Night Market, however, it seems ESO as a game has low appeal to EU console players - they are all on PC!

I asked for the use of Group Finder on others servers right to understand if it's an issue of the feature, "of the players" or of the server, or else...
I'd be happy to know everyone else is using it looking forward to crossplay, but still wanted to get if there were deeper issues with it...

Thanks for the thoughtful response anyway

For XB-NA in prime time evening and weekends, it's OK for trials. If it's mid-late afternoon and I just look to see what's listed with the "Any" filter, there's absolutely nothing. I'll sometimes see a "{activity} lfg in gf" in zone chat, but that's about it. As someone else said, for WB's it's usual to request help in zone chat.

JohnRingo

I have been playing 10 years + and never used the Group Finder. Not quite sure how it even works. But clearly not a heavily used tool in ESO, as far as I am aware.

Vonnegut2506

PC-NA it is pretty much used for trials, dungeons, and arenas from early afternoon until late night. It was also used heavily during Night Market for various groups. I almost always see multiple trials up and going most evenings. PC-EU is the same; although, the busy times are obviously their early afternoons and evenings. Right now on EU there are 3 dungeon groups, 4 normal trials, and 2 vet trial groups up and running looking for more people.

Tallon_IV

I think console recently had some issues with the GF (possibly still does), so that likely turned people off of it.

katanagirl1

I think the GF would be a lot more useful (and likewise more used) if you could input what kind of content you were looking for and it would flag you when that came up. Like the trial example, you want to run one but don’t have experience or know mechanics enough to lead, so when one does open up you can join right away instead of constantly checking the UI every few minutes or just sit there in the UI doing nothing else for a long time, hoping it comes up.

CatalinaWineMixer2

These days, I mostly run group finder to help others if im bored or if we lack enough people to run something. I think overall it used to be more lively. The Night Market definitely made the group finder lively and super fun! I just went as a solo tank for the entire event and I really had a blast meeting lots of people and helping so many more!

There is a lot of gatekeeping in Eso and it has been made worse with certain add ons and other things. I do not belive in gatekeeping, belittling others or deliberately attempting to slow or stop them from advancing in the game. This causes people to operate in smaller circles, through dischord, Guild only or other means.

As bad as it sounds, I think they should offer achievements that can only be acquired in group finder and only if youve qued solo. To liven it up some and to give other players a chance to play with more Vets.

Another option would be to have something similar to Final Fantasys Mentor System. I dont like to compare games and its not fair to the Developers to do so. But that is a good example of a way to incentivise group play in general and also improve the quality and game experience for new or smaller players.

I have accomplished many things in Group Finder. Speed runs, no death, ect. Its not always a sure thing but if you run in it a lot you will be pleasantly surprised. I will also add that it is slower than usual right now, its summer for most of us, the new content is mostly Solo and there doesn't seem to be a major focus on dungeons which is mostly what you will see in Group Finder. Trials have slowed down in there lately as well. Like anything it has its ups and downs but its something I think is very important to the game.

Melethgil

I've been wondering similar things. It used to be okay, but lately I have been struggling to find people to do trials with on PC-EU. I have no issue in posting things myself and so that is what I often do.
For example yesterday in early evening (so on a Saturday) I tried to find a group to do a trial. I waited for over 1.5h and just ended up giving up. At one point we almost had everyone but tanks but the longer it took the more people left again lol.

I dont know if its a server issue, population issue, things being planned outside of the game?
But I do wish there was a solution to it lol.

I know a lot of players either solo things or are in a designated trial guild. Its just that I cannot per se commit to set times every week which makes it tricky I suppose

Kiash

I think it's a population issue with your console/market choice as others have mentioned. On PC-NA there's usually 3-4 groups seeking for random stuff in there. I don't think it's a Discord issue as I don't use Discord and have no interest in it. I've joined a few trials at random to heal them just seeing them in the group finder when I happened to click through.