History Main / PickUpGroup

* You will be playing like this for the most part in ''GrandChase''. Not an issue actually, unless you get "leechers"[[note]]people who join the dungeon run but do not fight and just go AFK and gain the LeakedExperience[[/note]] or just feel greedy and don't want to share item drops, as item distribution is random in a group. Though once you get around to [[ScrappyLevel Forest of Life]], you wished those nooblets would had become atleast half competent with their characters.

* In ''GunzTheDuel'' the vast majority of quests are done through these, fortunately you can only have four people in a quest room so getting a halfway competent group isn't that hard. Also most of the quests can be done solo so as long as your group isn't that inexperienced you can still finish the whole thing.

* In ''WorldOfTanks'' both teams are random {{Pick Up Group}}s (unless clans get involved) of approximately the same strength. Works just as fine as you would expect. Rarely one team gets a tactical genius, who shines so brightly that his team starts following his orders; then the other team is screwed.

* These used to be all over the place in PhantasyStarOnline. Groups not pre-organized were usually composed of either moderately-leveled but unspecialized characters that liked to work outside class, or of sharked Level 200s who didn't know what they were doing at all. This situation is now entirely inverted, as there is only one server left, it's private, the level 200 players there are all legitimate and have been playing for almost a decade.

* ''VideoGame/Splatoon'''s online multiplayer defaults to this, plunking you on a four-person team with three other random people. While this isn't a big deal in Turf War, where each person can act independently and losses don't really hurt you, it can be a pain in Ranked Battles, which require more coordination and support between teammates to complete the objectives. Fortunately, this is also true of the teams that you're facing. A later update added Squad Battles, where you can play ranked mode with friends against other squads.

* These used to be all over the place in PhantasyStarOnline. Groups not pre-organized were usually composed of either moderately-leveled but unspecialized characters that liked to work outside class, or of sharked Level 200s who didn't know what they were doing at all. This situation is now entirely inverted, as there is only one server left, it's private, and the people there are all legitimate level 200s who have been playing for almost a decade.

** Much of this is because ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' is such a group intensive game, it is much harsher on people completely unable to play well in a group. There's is a sharp decline in completely incompetent players as you go from each "tier" of area to the next, since if someone is unable to even do basic actions, they will be incapable of pulling their weight. By the time you get to the 30s or so, you just simply won't encounter people that are unable to even bluff their way through partying. Sadly, the standards of skill that are required of a persistent player aren't quite that high, still often leading to bad players(It's now also possible to solo to 75 on some jobs now, with Fields of Valor and Campaign, but with the majority of the playerbase as veterans, [[{{Noob}} nooblets]] can still be sniffed out in seconds flat because of other events, not to mention the length of time it would take to solo to the level cap). In comparison, most {{MMORPG}}s that offer solo options tend to have a very gradual decline in players that lack party skills, oftentimes having people get to the level cap and are unable to fulfill their assumed role in a party setting.

** The fan-made [[http://tf2lobby.com/ TF2 Lobby]] and [[http://rc.tf2center.com/ TF2 Center]] services allow people to set up competitive-style matches, either with known teams or simply getting together groups and starting a game. The competitive gaming circles in TF2 are very cooperation-based and voice chat is effectively mandatory, so even pick-up teams of strangers tend to function at least modestly well (with variances for player aptitude, of course).

* While [=PUGs=] are just something you have to put up with sometimes in MMO games, they are by far the norm for smaller volume online games like shooters and flight simulators. Short of joining a clan, playing with a group of people you knew is virtually impossible, and the lack of character levels meant that you had no idea what grade of players you were going to play with beforehand. One of the first ones to seriously tackle this was the [=XBox=] system debuting in ''{{Halo}} 2'', which allowed virtual pickup groups to stick together from one game to another, had integrated ranking, and mandatory support for voicechat that allowed meaningful strategizing in the heat of battle.

** There isn't really anything that a Pick Up Group cannot beat in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', even the Lord Recluse and Statesman Task Forces, as long as the members are willing to ''communicate'', and are willing to at least give cursory attention to making sure the team has decent support, damage, and durability. (Leeroying does not have -near- the stigma in Cities as it does elsewhere.)
*** Leeroying is so much of a not-problem that a common phrase bandied about is "WoW has Leeroy Jenkins as a player. We have it as an ''[[{{Splat}} archetype]].''"

* [[ScrappyLevel Positron's Task Force]]... the bane of ''CityOfHeroes'' players everywhere before it was redesigned and split into two separate Task Forces.

** There isn't really anything that a Pick Up Group cannot beat in ''CityOfHeroes'', even the Lord Recluse and Statesman Task Forces, as long as the members are willing to ''communicate'', and are willing to at least give cursory attention to making sure the team has decent support, damage, and durability. (Leeroying does not have -near- the stigma in Cities as it does elsewhere.)

* By virtue of denying dedicated realtime communication, both ''DemonsSouls'' and ''DarkSouls'' use PUG every time. While co-oping is strictly optional, a large playerbase dedicated solely as support can and has sprung up in both games. Also due to the NintendoHard nature of the game, experienced players that know what to do in any situation makes for a valuable ally. Of course, you do sometimes get stuck with a LeeroyJenkins or two along the way.

* In ''ToontownOnline'', near anything above street battles will need one of these. It's relatively easy to defeat a building with a few incompetent players, but Mints, Factories, DA's Offices, Country Clubs, and any of the {{Boss Battle}}s are incredibly difficult if players don't know what they're doing.

* This causes massive issues in ''VideoGame/Warface'', where the best way to deal with the Co-op system is to pray that you get one or two decent players- and in the harder modes, like Tower Raid, anything less than 5 high ranked, experienced players with a full kit with result in a TotalPartyKill.

* Notorious in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' in both PvP and PvE aspects.
** Extensive automated matchmaking systems exist that place you into available spots in regular dungeon runs, Alliance vs. Horde battlegrounds and a low difficulty mode of raid dungeons with reduced loot quality. Rest assured, there WILL be someone in your group vocally expressing their displeasure at others' performance, justified or not.

** These days, much of the utility of voice chat in online FPS seems to be to complain of team stacking. However, games that offer smooth integrated voice support like ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' seem, unsurprisingly, to do much better than those without.

** Probably the biggest reason PickUpGroups tended to work well, was because of the shear amount of customization possible. A team could end up with mostly offense, mostly defense, mostly support, or mostly control, and the Devs had to make sure any given mission could be beaten by any given team. The game was designed from the ground up with group play in mind.
*** Also, missions were almost always instanced, and they scaled in difficulty with the size of the team.

* [[ScrappyLevel Positron's Task Force]]... the bane of CityOfHeroes players everywhere before it was redesigned and split into two separate Task Forces.

** There isn't really anything that a Pick Up Group cannot beat in CityOfHeroes, even the Lord Recluse and Statesman Task Forces, as long as the members are willing to ''communicate'', and are willing to at least give cursory attention to making sure the team has decent support, damage, and durability. (Leeroying does not have -near- the stigma in Cities as it does elsewhere.)

Gaming with a Pick Up Group works just fine for the earlier missions of a game, because it doesn't get difficult until later. But at some point, the missions will require carefully-built characters, everyone knowing what the rest of the group is good at, and maybe, just maybe, ''communication''. Pick Up Groups are not known for any of these things. Once you start entering challenging dungeons with a Pick Up Group, expect a TotalPartyKill, possibly helped along by LeeroyJenkins

** Extensive automated matchmaking systems exist that place you into available spots in regular dungeon runs, Alliance vs. Horde battlegrounds and, as of latest update, a low difficulty mode of raid dungeons with reduced loot quality. Rest assured, there WILL be someone in your group vocally expressing their displeasure at others' performance, justified or not.

* With the coming of modern cooperative-like FPS like VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} and the Left4Dead games, the composition of a PickUpGroup is starting to become a more serious issue among FPS gamers. When there's only four guys on your team, you can't really afford to have someone with a broken mic.

** As for Left4Dead, unless you have a massive circle of friends willing to play the game at a moment's notice (chances are you don't), you'll have to play with some randoms. The players you get range from "competent" to "houseplant," where even bots are preferable to the oblivious [[TheMillstone Millstone(s)]] on your team. This is especially true when playing Versus against a somewhat-organized team.

* In ''ToontownOnline'', near anything above street battles will need one of these. It's relatively easy to defeat a building with a few incompetent players, but Mints, Factories, DA's Offices, Country Clubs, and any of the {{Boss Battle}}s are incredibly difficult if players don't know what their doing.

You're playing a MMORPG, and you decide that you need a group of people to take on the next dungeon/mission/area/cake.... but all of your friends are either offline or clinically dead. What's a player to do? Never fear, you can find a [[Main/{{PickUpGroup}} Pick Up Group]] to play with! After shouting things like "LVL 654 [[{{Munchkin}} MUNCHKIN]] LFG!" for five minutes or so, you will be rewarded with an Adventuring Party to kill things with! [[note]]LFG, for those not in the know, means "Looking For Group." (No, not \[\[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything that\]\] way. Get your mind out of the gutter. Not \[\[Webcomic/LookingForGroup the comic, either\]\].)[[/note]]

....or rather, you are rewarded with several people who were bored enough to game with the first thing that walks on two legs. If they're ''really'' picky, then they're bored enough to game with the first Level 654 Munchkin that walks on two legs. In either case, the bar for entry is low, and you get what you paid for: [[Main/{{SturgeonsLaw}} Sturgeons Law]].

Gaming with a [[Main/{{PickUpGroup}} Pick Up Group]] works just fine for the earlier missions of a game, because it doesn't get difficult until later. But at some point, the missions will require carefully-built characters, everyone knowing what the rest of the group is good at, and maybe, just maybe, ''communication''. [[Main/{{PickUpGroup}} Pick Up Groups]] are not known for any of these things. Once you start entering challenging dungeons with a [[Main/{{PickUpGroup}} Pick Up Group]], expect a [[Main/{{TotalPartyKill}} Total Party Kill]], possibly helped along by a [[Main/{{LeeroyJenkins}} Leeroy Jenkins]].

You're playing a MMORPG, and you decide that you need a group of people to take on the next dungeon/mission/area/cake.... but all of your friends are either offline or clinically dead. What's a player to do? Never fear, you can find a [[Main/{{PickUpGroup}} Pick Up Group]] to play with! After shouting things like "LVL 654 [[{{Munchkin}} MUNCHKIN]] LFG!" for five minutes or so, you will be rewarded with an Adventuring Party to kill things with! [[hottip:* :LFG, for those not in the know, means "Looking For Group." (No, not \[\[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything that\]\] way. Get your mind out of the gutter. Not \[\[Webcomic/LookingForGroup the comic, either\]\].)]]

* You will be playing like this for the most part in ''GrandChase''. Not an issue actually, unless you get "leechers"[[hottip:*:people who join the dungeon run but do not fight and just go AFK and gain the LeakedExperience]] or just feel greedy and don't want to share item drops, as item distribution is random in a group. Though once you get around to [[ScrappyLevel Forest of Life]], you wished those nooblets would had become atleast half competent with their characters.