In less than the amount of time it took you to type this post, you could have found a fireteam for any activity you wanted to do in this game. I have no friends IRL that play this game and I haven't gotten a single EL from the nightfall either, yet I pretty much have everything I want ascended. I use the recruitment boards just like hundreds of thousands of other people. I have no sympathy. If you want it so bad, you know what you need to do.