Tell me more ×
Arqade is a question and answer site for passionate videogamers on all platforms. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

So I just got my first empire Flashpoint, a 2 player job. Since it starts from the fleet, I don't really want to just ask in fleet general chat if anyone wants to do the quest with me. Is there a better way to find groups for Flashpoints? Such as a built in system that I am missing?

share|improve this question

5 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

In my experience, being in the fleet and going "/1 [my class] LFG [name of flashpoint]" works reasonably well.

Alternately, paying attention to General and responding when someone goes "[flashpoint] group LF[number]M" for much the same reason.

EDIT: Update 1.3 introduced the Group Finder Queue, and gives out bonus commendations once a day for using it. Learn it. Use it. The more people who use it well, the better it works.

share|improve this answer
up vote 6 down vote

Gather in the flashpoint location and flag yourself in /who or in the Social window (Press "O") as LFG, you can also leave a short note there (E.g., "LFG Hammer" or just "hammer"). You can then search for people with LFG tags. It's nice tool, but it's a shame not many people use it.

share|improve this answer
2  
Since not many people use it, it's not very useful. – svick Jan 2 '12 at 12:02
3  
not very useful yet, as I'm sure most people are unaware of it's existence. only way to change that is get the word out :P – user4139 Jan 2 '12 at 12:13
For what it's worth I did see an explanation of how to do this in a load screen "tip" a few days ago. If enough people read those maybe it'll become more commonly used. – aslum Jan 8 '12 at 3:39
Just to provide a current perspective over a year later -- virtually no one uses this still, unfortunately. – Matthew Read Apr 9 at 17:16
up vote 3 down vote

With the recent addition of patch 1.3, the Group Finder is by far the easiest/most effective way to get groups together for flashpoints (both heroic and normal), story-mode Operations, and heroic quests on planets.

It's available from level 10 onwards as a tab next to the minimap. See the linked official guide for full details.

share|improve this answer
I suppose it depends on the relative class balances queuing (and server pop), of course. You only have to wait if your class is overrepresented - otherwise, the queue will pop instantly if the other people are already there. On my tank, it's popped instantly every time :) – Andrzej Doyle Jul 4 '12 at 23:08
It is. My tank character tends to get into queues much quicker than my DPS alt. – Shadur Jul 5 '12 at 7:46
Still, it's worth adding that this doesn't preclude you from asking in General chat or forming up your own group manually while queued in the background. If the queue does pop in this situation it's a bonus. – Andrzej Doyle Jul 5 '12 at 9:43
up vote 3 down vote

Most people post in general, so I would just do it. It's effective.

Sometimes you'll also find people waiting outside the start area for the quest, and you can invite them or vice-versa. It's particularly unambiguous if you or they have the purple LFG icon hovering above you by setting your status in the /who list, as Krazer notes. I've noticed that most people don't use the LFG flag, unfortunately..

See Andrzej's answer for a description of the new Group Finder tool, which is another option.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

Posting in channels can be an effective way of finding groups (though not as ideal as an automatic queueing system or a commonly used /who system). Other games that do have these more effective systems still manage groups with this method.

That said, a piece of advice: If you are partied with no one else, but are willing to start a party, post with "LFM" instead of "LFG". People will be more likely to send you a tell if they too are looking.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.