Please at least say "Hi" to me before inviting toFollow

Ok, I have to bring out a pet peeve of mine, just to get other's opinion on it.

recently I rolled a new Ranger - and I'm happily going along my merry way killing the mobs for my newbie armor.

Suddenly, someone wanders up to me and invites me to group with them. No hello, no "hey want to go kill gnolls", no nothing.

I proceeded to ignore him waiting for at least some form of communication on "What" he wanted to group with me on. About 5 seconds later he invites me again, simply stating now "join me".

At this point I sent him a tell stating "just so you know, many people consider it rude to invite them into a group without first sending them a tell"

Needless to say he felt that the invite should be sufficient enough.

Maybe I'm just going off the wall here, but my god - do you open you phone book and send an invite to a random person to come over to your house for a party?

<sigh>

/end rant - I feel a little better now

There's nothing to see here folks... just a double post... move along... move along...

Edited, Tue Jul 20 19:34:22 2004 by OldBlueDragon

No - I mostly felt the need to rant because it happens a lot with my lower level alts I make. It doesn't happen to any of my higher level ones, which leads me to believe people learn that it doesn't help to do that, or they get sick of the game, never being able to group because they don't know the right way - and quit.

Oddly [sarcasm on] the tutorial does not give any helpful hints on getting groups together, and simply advises them of the invite key...

I wouldn't necessarily put it that way though. It's not that they "learn that approach doesn't work", but they simply learn about the game and the social dynamics of said game. I remember when I first started playing, I had no clue how to group, or what to do when grouped. I remember having to ask several people how to talk in a group. Adding to my frustration were the idiots who just replied: "Hey. talk in group, not say...". Duh...

Believe it or not, many low level characters (especially ones that are going to be interested at all in grouping with other low level characters they don't already know) actually are new to the game. They may not be very familiar with how the chat channels work. They may not know how to send a /tell. But they can target you and click on the "invite" button that's right there in their gui.

I think adding to this is an increased number of players who are coming from a predominantly console game backround. 5 years ago, when EQ started, there weren't a whole lot of multiplayer online console games (none as far as I know). Today, there are a lot, and many new player's only experience with online games may be from that perspective. To them, simply clicking on someone and hitting the invite button may be perfectly normal.



I couldn't agree with you more. There are many things that the tutorials dont cover. But honestly, people do eventually figure this stuff out on their own. The fact that you only see this with low level characters is indicative of that. You just need to be aware that when you are playing a low level character, you're in the "kiddie pool" of EQ. You will run into people who don't know how to play very well. It's kind of expected.

I actually did something very much like that one time(instead of going through the phone book, we walked through several barracks and invited anyone we saw to a party).

It actually turned out to be one of the best parties I've ever attended. Lasted two days, and was LOTS of fun.

Edited, Wed Jul 21 01:58:57 2004 by danreynolds

Thats exactly the point. Once your toon becomes old enough for a corpse run you put it at unnecessary risk in grouping with clueless people.

The folks OBD mentioned aren't offering anything, their invite is more of a "HELP - I got no idea how to survive on my own!"

On the other hand if one has got the timeit may be a good idea to take over the group, teach those players the basics of working toghether and show them some good hunting spots for their lvl - something wich I did only twice this year I have to admit :(


Edited, Wed Jul 21 04:38:40 2004 by MordenRaspCleric

The last time this happened to me, I was farming stuff in EC. I was at least 60+. I just accepted the invite and continued to farm. Eventually he asked why he wasn't getting any experience. :)

I also had this happen when in nexus on the way to the bazaar. I accepted and again didn't say anything, just zoned into the bazaar and continued my shopping. The guy never said anything and didn't disband until I camped about 15 mins later.

I would agree that this tends to happen with relatively new players.

I remember a case where my 46 pally was running through G Fay on the way to POK portal when I suddenly got an invite out of the blue - turned out to be a level 5 mage who was looking for someone to group with for newbie armor quest. I ran by and he clicked invite.

I had to explain to him that I was too high level for him to get experience and after giving him some bufs, sent him off to Orc Hill to find people close to his level (had to explain how to get there of course).

Higher level people almost always use tells to ask in my experience.

I've only had drive-by invites with my low level alts in Crushbone..one time I just logged in and there right in front of me were 3 n00bs, they invited me to join their group without even asking first if I was interested.

It annoys me intensely when people do this. Yes it is a sign of newness but on more than one occasion when I've explained that it is better to talk first I've had abuse. Or total silence.

MR is currently inundated with this sort of thing due to the 30 day offer.

A few days back I had two people come up, attack the mob I was killing and then /say "Join us up". I sent a tell explaining that attacking someone's mob was a very poor way to get yourself invited but was met with silence.

Random invites however are indicative of more than newness. They indicate ignorance and an inability to learn. In newbie areas you are surrounded by people using all channels to form groups (typically /ooc). Anyone who can sit through that and think groups form by random invite is exceptionally stupid.

I will make myself a button explaining it but I have great doubts that anyone doing this has the ability to learn.

It's funny that you say that because I was just browsing the WoWBeta site and found some interesting guides there. Much of this info can apply to any online game. Here are some excerpts from the Player Interaction area:

How to be Nice
There are a lot of easy things you can do to win friends and perhaps help improve your reputation. This may help you in the future by getting you in parties or guilds, or getting you good trade deals, free gifts, and other rewards. These suggestions are not mandatory and aren't always applicable. Use your best judgment when applying them! Please refer to the Game Policies for all game rules.

Be polite when you make item trades. Thank the person for their purchase or for selling the item to you. You can also /wave and /bow. Whatever happens, keep your cool and be polite. Take the high road in any item disputes.

Help point the way when players have questions or problems.

Cast Buffs on other players you meet along the way. They won't be expecting it and it could help them in battle. Often other players will return the favor by casting whatever buffs they have on you also!

If someone is about to die fighting a monster, save them! You can heal them or help finish the monster off. Of course, don't let the other player take advantage of you by continually fighting things they cannot defeat on their own.

As you are traveling around, if you see someone who is really damaged, cast healing on them (if you have it). You'll regain your mana while you travel so it doesn't hurt you any and the other player might really appreciate the help.

Give away items. You don't always have to sell items you no longer want. You can help another player instead.

If you meet up with another player or group of players at the same quest location, try teaming up to complete your goal. That way rather than competing against each other you can work together!

If you notice a person is about to attack a monster, let them have it. Find another monster elsewhere to attack.

If multiple parties are in the same location, you can help each other complete especially difficult quests! For example one party can help clear monsters around a boss while the other party fights the boss. You can then exchange positions and do it again until everyone has completed their objective.

If an item drops in a party and you don't really need it, give it to a party member that does. Being greedy could hurt your reputation!

If you happen to have extra copies of items that can be used for a quest, you can give them to other players that are working on that quest. This only works with items not marked as quest items.

Party etiquette

Party etiquette is very important in a massively multiplayer game. Keep in mind that your reputation will follow you throughout your playing career. If you offend fellow party members, your reputation can be affected. Those party members can tell their friends or guild mates about your behavior and this may affect your dealings with them in the future. They could possibly refuse to invite you to group with them, they might not allow you to join their guild, or possibly bar you from receiving services from their guild mates. This is a worst-case scenario; however, it can happen, and it all depends on your behavior. So, it is always in your best interest to be on your best behavior. Making friends is more beneficial than creating enemies. The following is recommended but not mandatory behavior. Refer to our Game Polices for mandatory rules.

Here are some tips:

Stay Until the Job is Done
Don't leave a party after completing your portion of the quest. Stick around until everyone in the party has completed the quest. For example: each party member must collect 5 items. You collect 5 but there are still members in the party that haven't collected 5 yet. It is bad manners to suddenly leave the party once you have collected your share without helping out the remaining party members, or receiving their permission to leave. If you leave like that, people often think that you just used them to complete the quest, and abandoned them once you got what you wanted.

Loot
If you receive an item that you cannot use, but there is another party member that can use it, you should give it to that party member. For example: you loot a really nice Staff, but you are a Warrior. Certainly you could sell that Staff for money, but if there is a Mage in that group using Staves, you should give them the Staff. This also includes trade skill item components and recipes. Consult your party or group leader for the current rules of the group. This situation has a potential to blow up if you loot an item that you cannot use, and refuse to give it to someone who could have really used it.

Don't Loot During Battle!
You should usually avoid trying to loot a monster during battle (unless you're all about to die). You need to focus on the battle and make sure everything is safe before looting. If your party is fighting, while they see you standing around and not helping, you could offend them. Fight first, loot later.

This is especially true for treasure chests. You shouldn't try looting a chest while the rest of your party is fighting. That is rude. The only time you might want to bypass this rule is when you are traveling with very good friends, or if other players outside your party might be close to looting it. Let the group leader determine who is going to loot. A good way is to type "/random 1 100" to generate a number from 1-100 for each player. Whoever rolls the highest number can loot the chest, get the item, etc.

Healing
If you have healing and a party member needs it, heal them. If you were unable to heal them, make sure you say sorry if you were the primary healer in the group. You can't always prevent people from dying, but you can at least let them know that you tried your best.

Returning to the Party
When you return to your party's location after going somewhere else, make sure you don't get followed by a "train", or bring monsters with you that may attack them. This offends players greatly. If you need assistance getting to your party's location, ask them for help to clear the way.

Buff up your Party
If you have Buff spells that are beneficial to your party, pass them out. Ask party members to inform you when the buffs have worn off. If players know you have these buffs but you don't use them, they might not respect your ability to play your class. On the other hand, if you buff well they will say "Hey, that person was a great player."

Don't Wake Up More Monsters
While you are fighting, scan around you for patrolling monsters. If one comes near, make sure you don't set it off so that it joins into your current battle.

Trade Skills
If there are multiple people with the same trade skills, share the items or resource nodes between you. Don't be greedy.

Go the Extra Mile
Whenever possible, go the extra mile to do things for your party. Play your best. Do whatever you can to help party members. If you impress them, they may look back on you with good memories. This can build good relations for the future.

[Disclaimer: I'm a relatively newb myself]

That said...I couldn't agree more. I think it boils down to an issue of using in-game communication mechanics...my pet peave is people not listening to, acknowledging or replying to tells. Or worse, ignoring "/gsay oom...don't pull!"

However, speaking as a low level (19) Necro who mostly ends up soloing, I don't look poorly on ANY invites. <g> So if you see me on Brell, I'd love an invite, but say "hi" first.