OP not sure if the following truth will discourage you or will benefit you, but you need to realize that a lot of the friendships you see out there among the masses are quite arbitrary and random and not entirely based on some kind of personality compatibility or meeting of minds.
this is less so with age and among smarter people but as an introverted guy growing up who entered various social circles at an advanced stage it was a shock to me to see that a lot of the people in the circles didn't entirely like each other and just stuck together because of random initial associations plus a long history together. for example among this one group i run in, there's this guy who's an angry, whiny, insecure, violent, spiteful, stupid loser. when i've broken this down and questioned why any of the guys in the group would willingly hang out with the guy and questioned what value he brings to them, they've just said "yeah you're probably right... but he's our boy since high school".
so the organic element is big. now with, say, cold approaches on girls, we might lament the low turnover, but in the end it is natural to bang a girl cold - attraction is attraction, regardless of time and place. but with making new friends, the organic element has to be there besides compatibility. so focus on the former as much as the latter, and and work to manufacture a kind of serendipity in your outings and interactions and to create the kind of strong bonds you want.
this is less so with age and among smarter people but as an introverted guy growing up who entered various social circles at an advanced stage it was a shock to me to see that a lot of the people in the circles didn't entirely like each other and just stuck together because of random initial associations plus a long history together. for example among this one group i run in, there's this guy who's an angry, whiny, insecure, violent, spiteful, stupid loser. when i've broken this down and questioned why any of the guys in the group would willingly hang out with the guy and questioned what value he brings to them, they've just said "yeah you're probably right... but he's our boy since high school".
so the organic element is big. now with, say, cold approaches on girls, we might lament the low turnover, but in the end it is natural to bang a girl cold - attraction is attraction, regardless of time and place. but with making new friends, the organic element has to be there besides compatibility. so focus on the former as much as the latter, and and work to manufacture a kind of serendipity in your outings and interactions and to create the kind of strong bonds you want.