Clans in games.

[Samuel Cook]

Do you spend your time in multiplayer games with familiar faces, or do you prefer being a lone wolf?

I play Call of Duty regularly and have always wanted to be in a clan, but have never found the right people to start one. I love the idea of using tactics and communicating with my teammates to overcome the enemy and the new clan features on Call of Duty Elite has got me thinking about starting one myself.

If anybody is looking to be part of a team with like-minded people then just reply to this thread with your Xbox live ID, PS3 ID etc, and hopefully we'll have the Escapist dominating battlefields across the world!

 

[Dagnius]

The only competitive multiplayer game I play here and there is Call of Duty: World at War and I play Lone Wolf. I have tried time and time again to stick to a teammate only to fail. That being said I don't actively look for clans and whatnot because CoD is something I only play every now and then. Back when I played MoH:AA(Medal of Honor Allied Assault) I LOVED being in this one clan called . Everyone got along, enjoyed, and worked well together playing the game. Unfortunately the Clan eventually fell through after many a good months of gaming.

Competitive gaming aside, I always enjoy having familiar faces around in games like, say: World of Warcraft, FFXI, Wurm Online, especially when something is really challenging. Unfortunately, WoW has lost most if not all of it's 'leveling challenge' like the early days when each Zone had a really tough area full of elite enemies that required a good team working together to make it through. I know in FFXI I wouldn't have stuck around very long if it weren't for higher-ups going out of their way to help me, and that's something I'll always remember: A pair of strangers fighting a mob in an area I was barely able to cross, let alone fight. During their battle a creature seen and began to chase me, and selflessly the leader of the pair began chasing after it to draw it's attention and nearly cost all of us a trip faaaar back to our homepoints and a loss of experience, But seeing him attempting to help I made a loop and after a long fight, several Ethers and almost dead we came out of the fight on top. That became the start of an amazing friendship and rise of a Linkshell which still makes me regret not playing anymore. Unfortunately I lost contact with them as they don't play anymore either.

I apologize for the Book i wrote up there, But I felt like doing so. =p

TLR and more on Point: Sure. Friends are what Multiplayer is all about to me, otherwise it's just hard to get into by yourself in a mass of strangers and having no contact with them (other than by blade or bullet).

 

[octafish]

I have no gaming friends, and I love Battlefield. It is a hard life for sure. I usually take a note of good squad mates and then seek them out if I'm on the same server. I'm really missing team chat in BF3, it was a good way of removing some of the randomness from randoms.

I must admit some random squads in BF3 operate on a logic I don't understand. Camping away from conquest flags, neutralising conquest flags and then moving on, not rushing the stairs in Metro conquest when smoke is popped. I'll try to find another squad if I'm in a squad like this, and if they are full, I'll go lone wolf. With the new squad system post patch I find there is usually an empty squad or two available so i'll join one of them and hope I pick up a couple of randoms that want to play aggressive squad tactics.

I don't join clans for two reasons.
1/ I'm actually rubbish at these games, but I have a lot of fun.
2/ I don't get much time to play games, and I sure as hell can't be relied upon to turn up on time with my busy life.

 

[Maleval]

Lately, the only online game that I play consistently is League of Legends, which I prefer to play with a friend or two. And since Riot have added the Ranked Team function, we decided to create our own team for shits and giggles. Ended up losing 3 out of 4 matches, it was fun. But other than that I personally don't like being part of a clan, it somehow places more pressure and responsibility on you, and gives the shithead raging 13 year olds in the opposing team all the more reason to be a raging shithead.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've been a part of a few clans and I have to say, I didn't find it to be that fun. I don't really enjoy the structured nature of clans, and the fact that when you play with one you actually have to follow schedules, and be available for clan battles and the like.

I much prefer to play with friends than I do with a clan. I know that this might be a fairly small distinction for most people because a lot of the friends that I play with now I know from back when I was actually playing in clans, but playing with a full party of friends is much more fun and entertaining than playing in a full party of clan members just because the clan is focused on winning while my friends and I just focus on having fun.

Anyway, that's my two cents, if you really want to have fun with a game, get some friends to play with, don't get yourself mixed up with a clan. Sure you'll win a lot with a clan, but it won't be nearly as fun.

 

[Samuel Cook]

If you really want to have fun with a game, get some friends to play with, don't get yourself mixed up with a clan. Sure you'll win a lot with a clan, but it won't be nearly as fun.

I understand what you mean, I suppose what I'm looking for is a group of people who just want to have fun, have some basic formality, such as agreeing to play an hour in the evening of whatever day together, and just meeting some cool people through gaming. It's hard for me to just play with friends because my distinctive lack of them, and most of the friends I do have just aren't interested in games.

I certainly agree with what you say about the downside of being in a proper clan, I certainly wouldn't want to play with people I don't get along with and have to follow a timetable of when I play.

 

[Zantos]

On the type of multiplayer that Call of Duty has, I prefer just forming a party with friends that are online at the time. Clans seem too official, and many of us are far too busy to try and commit specific times to all being online. On MMOs though, I think the joining of a clan, guild, alliance, or whatever else it might be called, is essential, especially if you're new to the game. The support they can offer is invaluable.

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

When i was playing Counter Strike i was in quite a few clans. Its a nice thing, gives you a sense of camaraderie with the right people.

A few of them were CAL/CPL clans and we played professionally, but most of the ones i was in were pub clans, we were friends that hung out and played for fun. A few of them im still good friends with the old clan members, even years after we played last.

 

[klasbo]

Clans can be anything from those who play on the level of the top pro teams, to a bunch of people on skype. Not everyone plays organized matches, not everyone has their own server, and far from everyone takes it too seriously.

Joining a clan is something you do to be part of a somewhat larger community. These people become your regular practice partners, and get you involved with the teamwork-aspect of the game. Playing with and against the same people over and over will do wonders to your skill level, especially if you tag along with a relatively high-skilled (but not necessarily "srs bsns") clan. If you don't want to get better and you don't like other people, don't join a clan.

I think the best way to become part of a clan is to find a clan-run server that is well-administered and populated with skilled (but more importantly friendly) players, then find their voice server or forums and start talking to them. You need to have some proper form of out-of-game voice chat, that's the only way you'll get to know people and become part of the community, not just when you're playing the same game on the same server. "Hanging out" is definitely a big part of clan life.

 

[Zipa]

I usually try to play any FPS game with people I know, random people are often unreliable and pretty damn poor at the game.

 

[Folji]

The only time I ever join a clan or a guild or anything of the sort is in an MMO, and when I do I eventually wind up with at least a handful of great buddies even after I inevitably leave for whatever the reason might be. Hell, I think the majority of my Steam friendlist are people I once played World of Warcraft with and since then I've honestly lost count of the number of online games we've played together.

 

[Utrechet]

I usually start off the game as a lone wolf. I explore, I experiment, I just have fun. Once I figure out what I like to use, what I like to do, where I like to be, and all that then I usually team up with people. Usually by accident. (I.E. "Oh thanks for saving me, here let me help you out.")

Currently the biggest clan-like thing i'm part of is a role-playing group on BF3. With a few servers to themselves, it's not only funny how people role-play in BF3, but it makes combat much more engaging. For example, instead of running around capturing objectives, an Overwatch (1 per squad) designates where to go. The overwatch usually is RECON and keeps an eye over their assigned group(s). If any situation goes south, the overwatch redirects the combat or calls in for vehicle support. So if you like Real-Time strategy games, apply for overwatch ^.^

But yeah, solo first, clan later.

 

[WhoaItsBrett]

When I play multi-player, I tend to only play if one of my 2 "gaming" friends is online. We don't coordinate at all, we mostly just play the game while talking about irrelevant things. With the occasional "THAT ***** SHOT ME IN THE FACE!!" or a startled yelp. We usually don't even use the same clan-tag. In Black-Ops, mine was CoCo (I'm a big fan of Conan O'brien) and his was LGBT. (He's gay.) We usually played better when we didn't try to coordinate or anything, haha. Actually, I consider a good majority of the people on my Xbox live friends list to be actual friends of mine. Even though I've never seen them before. (Excluding 2 or 3) Due to the fact that when we play, we actually have meaningful conversations while playing the game. We don't just play together because we're all good. That's what I look for when I add someone on Xbox. Someone who is open-minded, is accepting of other's opinions, and just likes to have fun. A sense of humor is definitely required too, haha. I actually made a friend on Left 4 Dead 2 when I commented on a particularly bad Charge she did as a Charger. I can't remember what I said, but it was relatively douchey. But, she didn't get pissed, instead laughed and agree'd. I'm actually friends with her on facebook now, haha. I love when people are able to laugh at themselves. I make a joke about myself at least 5 times a day, ahaha.