I’m sure this might all be a little confusing, so let me explain. Sometimes less skilled players are unable to complete certain pieces of content. For this explanation let’s stick to trials, because as I said, they’re the easiest to setup trap parties for. When players are unable to complete an EX trial, they’ll setup a party in the Party Finder. As you know, you can set the party up for any number of things. Most commonly, for trap parties, you’ll find the party creator will say they’ve already beaten the fight (in reality, they actually haven’t). Sometimes they aren’t lying for malicious reasons. It’s not uncommon for players to grow frustrated as they learn the fight and get near completing it, but keep failing. They can become desperate and resort to trap parties. The other most common phrase to recognize a trap party in the Party Finder is something along the lines of “clearing for a friend”. This implies they know the fight, but their friend doesn’t. Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes they just want to trick experienced players into helping them get it done.
Trap Party Risks
Previously I mentioned that a trap party is not always malicious. But sometimes it is. There are players out there that have people join them hoping to just get carried. These players don’t want to put any work into learning the fight themselves. They’ll normally trick players into joining their trap parties. And this doesn’t mean you’re in direct danger, but moreso that the person is lying about their abilities. By now you’re probably thinking “But the game tells you when you join a party if there’s someone that hasn’t completed a Duty. Wouldn’t other players just leave?” Sure, sometimes. Or sometimes it can take an awfully long time to fill a party with players. In cases like that, most people are willing to give the trap party a shot, on the off-chance the party creator was being honest about at least knowing the fight. It does happen, and it’s not crazy to think it could. Heck, it’s happened to me. Sometimes you know the entire fight, but just can’t find seven other cohesive players to finish it with. It’s not always the party creator that’s tricking people though. Sometimes it’s someone who joins and pretends they know the fight. Yes, the game will tell you if someone in the party hasn’t completed it… but that’s pretty much it. The game won’t reveal who it is or how many people in the party haven’t completed it. Nothing sucks more than joining a party with honest intentions, and then finding out all seven other members have no idea what they’re doing. If you’ve ever considered creating a party under false pretenses, my advice for you is simple: don’t. It’s not worth it 99% of the time, and only leads to players bickering and petty arguments. Sometimes feelings get hurt too.
