While I am generally for quick and fun group dungeon runs in MMORPGs, what I dread are those runs that end up going sour and “trapping” me in the experience.
Let me explain. When you start a dungeon run, either with a PUG or a group of friends, you enter into a social contract of sorts to stick it out and get the job done. At least, that’s how I see it. And that’s fine for when things are going well, but there are always those runs that result in wipe after wipe, or slow down to an eye-twitching crawl, or have you waiting on one member who went AFK to apparently do his taxes, or what have you.
And when this happens, I start screaming inside because I feel trapped and locked into this dungeon run of the damned without an easy way out. Do I stick it out to the bitter end? Do I bail with or without an excuse? Will I ever get to know the comforts of my bed as the hours tick on?
What do you do when an MMO dungeon run goes bad? Do you have some sort of criteria for determining when it’s OK to ditch your group? Do you feel more compelled to stay in a bad run if it’s your guild?