8) Partying

It's been 2 weeks since I last blogged. Pretty tough going to even continue playing the game. But I still managed to do enough to get to level 21. I really have no idea how I am going to "motivate" myself to continue playing.

Today I cover "PARTYING", one of the small motivations that kept me going for 1 hour yesterday. Someone asked me to join their party (usually they just type "pt?"). I checked out their statistics and I agreed. Check out the picture of me resting together with my party (those with the red HP bars on top of the character)

People usually party with someone of the similar strength or someone stronger. This is because experience points (EXP) and money (MESOS) gets shared among the party whenever anyone kills a monster.

A weaker character actually gets to benefit in a stronger party because the others gain EXP and MESOS faster than himself and as a result, he progresses faster than if he does it alone. (The party I joined had 2 stronger and 1 weaker character but the weaker one soon got expelled by the party leader)

Partying also introduces a communal element into the game and makes everyone more motivated. I did not want to let down my party members or be seen as slacking in playing (that explains my 1-hr play). As such, I work harder and this makes play feel "more purposeful"

Add to both these benefits, partying together gives people strength in unity. Members are not as concerned about individual achievements or kill stealing. Instead, they jump into the fray together and this often helps the party deal with bigger monsters which may also yield greater efficiency in levelling up.

So there you go, in a week where I averaged 5 min per day of motivation for MS, I did 1 hour because of partying. Not bad eh?