BF4 how do i invite a friend to a multiplayer lobby

There is no way to group up with friends, pre-game, and join a public server!!!! EA/Dice is making it to where you must, not only purchase the game, but also pay a daily,weekly, or monthly fee for renting their servers to have the ability to play with friends. I have just had a conversation with an EA rep which only angered me more. To all that have purchased this game, I recommend returning and never purchasing another game from these companies again as so plainly put to me is " Over promise and under deliver". This is not something I agree with nor do I behave in this manner as a proper business strategy. Do whatever you choose but if you find that later on that this is the reality in order to play with your friends do not say I did not voice my opinion. Below is the transcript between me and a EA Employee.

11/2/13 Games Main Chat Window

You are now ready to chat w ith Amarjeet.
Amarjeet
Thanks for contacting EA Customer Experience, my name is Amarjeet. How may I assist you today?

you
are you familiar with Battlefield 4?

Amarjeet
Yes,Why not .

Amarjeet
How may I help you ***** ?

you
Please advise on how to invite friends and join a game together

Amarjeet
Would you mind holding on for a second while I check the query for you ?

you
yes

Amarjeet
Are you having any friend in list ?

you
yes I have a friends list

Amarjeet
Okay,So you are having the friends in list ,what is the problem you are facing now ?

you
from the information I gathered, is that the invite friends or " create a group" has been removed due to server
issues.

Amarjeet
Yes,the only rights now having is admin who had created the server.

you
there is no way to create a group and join together....you cannot just join a server by yourself and then invite
friends due to the slots filling up fast and number of players....are you guys going to resolve or should I return this
game and get my money back

you
there is no way to rent a server so what your telling me is that you cannot invite friends without renting server,

which you cannot currently do?

Amarjeet
The ,only way is to rent a server,Yes you can invite through rented server.

you
can you rent server?

Amarjeet
Yes you can rent a server.

you
and why cannot you create group without renting server and join a public match together

you
how do i rent a server then

Amarjeet
Okay If you want to rent a server ,let me tell you .

you
listening

Amarjeet
Okay,Thank you .

Amarjeet
Would you mind waiting for some time while I fetch the information ?

you
sure

Amarjeet
Please have a look at this
:http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/news/view/bf4-rent-a-server-docs/

you
i apologize but this is unacceptable....forcing people to paying daily,weekly, or monthly just so they can play with
their friends is ridiculous.....I will be returning this game and never purchasing another EA game again as well as
informing others the same since this is a major problem.

you
"a later date" which could mean anything

Amarjeet
I am very sorry,If you want to play then there is no way that you can be admin.

you
if this game was based on "teamplay" why cant you create a group and join together as a team on a public
server?

Amarjeet
This is not the EA concept of renting server,Ea is only producer of games and I would like to tell you Shawn that
The Ea servers are free.

you
im not wanting to be admin...that caters to players who abuse the ablility of renting a server

you
all the same to me....EA and DICE
Amarjeet
***** can you imagine there are lakh of people who want to own a server and be admin.

you
this conversation is completed continue your work. Thanks!

Amarjeet
I hope you can understand that ,if there is free server which can be controlled , there is huge amount of data to
transfer.

Amarjeet
You are welcome ,I am very sorry that there is no way ,the only way is that you all friends can rent a servers
together.

you
I understand Networking/Servers/Data Transfer and anything IT related as this is what I do for a living...no excuse on
not having the ablility to create a group with friends before joining a game and then joining a server together

Amarjeet
This is the way of business ,And Ea is providing free servers to play who ever want to play.

Amarjeet
I appreciate your concern,As you said you are in IT, then you can think of how business goes.

you
business as usual....over promise and under deliver?

Amarjeet
And Why any body will rent there server for free.

you
yes but my philosophy is not over promise over deliver, but under promise and over deliver

you
your not making any sense with you dialogue

you
your*

you
again thanks for your time

you

goodbye

Amarjeet
Okay,I am very sorry .

Amarjeet
Have a nice Day *****.

Having the same problem. Trying to play with friends and cannot get into a game with him. EPIC FAIL!!!!

 What a wast of money! Trading this for MW3 tomorrow.

BUMP

Have 5 friend swith bf4. We want to create a group in bf4(like bf3) to join a game together, chat with strategize and who will be which role durring the match. But it seems you can only invite during a match. So how is it all 5 people and i know im not the only one to join a match with rapidly filling slots. the answer is not hapening, only half of you will get in. just got the game and I have to say how is it that this feature is not available. 

sounds to me Ea reps dont know custumer service. If he played the game and I honestly I think he hasnt he would understand the problem right away and what you meant and the answer you wanted

Had the same pop ups. Here is a way around it.

Invite friend u wanna join to chat, tell them to press start and look at the browser room number. It is 3-4 digits, it is after the map name

Go to multiplayer, then to server browser. Go all the way to the right last option and search the room #. It will be the first room.  You will be able to join if there is room or join as a commander or wait until a slot opens up.

And people, stop complaining about the game it is very well put together.  A lot of work into it and well worth the money. Ghosts is garbarge compared to this. best first shooter for sure.  Can't wait for the updates.

Ok so the only way to party up right now is to do a mission with your friends