People are being cruel to new players

[Teirshin]

From the sounds of it, you don't know your rotation, know the run, and don't have a keyboard to communicate, and im guessing you didn't look up guides for the run as well? Sorry, but I really don't feel sorry for you.

Ah yes, and the problem rears its head....

Thats the asshat attitude right there I see too much of in game.

"READ IT ALL AHEAD OF TIME!" - Because you've lost all sense of wonder and discovery doesnt mean everyone has.

"MASTER YOUR CRAFT!" - Because you're so flawless and perfect ..... um.. not.

Tolerance? Its something people need to learn, big time.

[KaiKatzchen]

From the sounds of it, you don't know your rotation, know the run, and don't have a keyboard to communicate, and im guessing you didn't look up guides for the run as well? Sorry, but I really don't feel sorry for you.

It seems to me she is not talking 'in the present' and asking for advice, she is talking in past tense when she first started out as a tank (as you can see now, she is a 50 conjurer). Her point, to me, is more so 'back when I started new people were treated badly, and they are still being treated badly, why?'

She's not asking anyone to feel sorry for her. She's asking people to stop all the hate just because someone isn't as good as a older player because they are 'new', we were all new and learning at some point. We wouldn't have wanted to be treated that way.

[Fyce]

My wife is a tank, 1st and foremost. And she refuses to run content the 1st time without people in LS/FC. She just doesn't want to be yelled at to treated badly.

On that note, she has been playing a WHM a lot more as of late because of bad treatment as a tank.

Tanking is the role which requires a lot of knowledge about what you're doing and what you're supposed to do.
Mistakes made by a tank are more punitive for the whole group than any class in the game.

Even a moderatly bad healer can still be able to be enough for the vast majority of low level content. But a bad tank? Nope, not gonna get far.

Tanks have more responsability and more weight on their shoulder than pretty much anyone else, which is why people are more willing to blame anyone who fails at tanking because of a lack of knowledge or understanding.

For example: if you have to ask multiple times your tank Warrior to use Defiance before he finaly use it, it's like asking a Bard to shoot arrows, or a healer to cast cure.

Tanking is more unforgiving than any other role, which is why people expect you to know at least what you're supposed to do. They don't ask for a flawless execution, but for something which is mandatory for the tank role.
This is pretty much why tanks get yelled at when they don't understand anything or don't even know the basics.
Obviously, new players are the ones most likely to be in that situation... But it's not really a "crusade against newbie tanks", it's more about new tanks who are not willing to make efforts requiered by the role they have chosen.

[Chocolate_Rain]

Ah yes, and the problem rears its head....

Thats the asshat attitude right there I see too much of in game.

"READ IT ALL AHEAD OF TIME!" - Because you've lost all sense of wonder and discovery doesnt mean everyone has.

"MASTER YOUR CRAFT!" - Because you're so flawless and perfect ..... um.. not.

Tolerance? Its something people need to learn, big time.

No one is asking for perfection. All we're asking for is competence. There's a huuuuge difference between the two, and yet, many new players think of one as the other. Even if this is your first mmo and don't know what to expect, by not doing your research on your toon and what you're doing, you are impeding the fun of anyone who plays with you. We'd like to have fun too, and you running around like a chicken with it's head cut off doing abysmal dps/can't heal/tank worth a damn doesn't make most people want to help; it makes most people want to chain you to a wall and pull your teeth out with pliers.

I have no problem with new people. I've seen some new players play well, and it's a beautiful thing. I have a problem with new people that think that because they are new they get a carry pass. I feel taken advantage of in that situation. If I feel taken advantage of, I believe that the person expecting that carry because he/she is new is not only a bad player, but a bad person in real life. I mean, if they can screw over complete strangers, who knows what they do to their family and friends. So no, I feel no sympathy.

[TouchandFeel]

I remember one of my first mmo experiences. It was in EQ1 and I made a brand new character on a PvP server since I had no idea how PvP worked in that particular game. The game started me in Freeport which is a bit of a labyrinth compared to other starting areas. So over chat I ask if anyone can show me to the newbie questing area. A person shows ups and tells me they will help and to follow them, so I do. Suddenly we drop down into a PvP enabled arena and the person turns around, kills me in one hit and loots my starting gear, leaving me with nothing and unable to do anything with my character.

So, people being jerks is not a new thing and while it can be rampant in mmo's due to online anonymity, it is not nearly as bad as other online gaming communities, online BF and CoD for example.

However, like with being new to anything, try to know what you are getting into. Research a game before you buy it which includes what type of game it is and how it plays. I've seen way too many people complain because they thought this was going to be like the FF13 games, which they would know is not the case with even the tiniest attempt at being informed about what they were getting.

I know getting into mmo's can be difficult and frustrating both for the new player as well as the veteran they are playing with. My gf is playing with me and is new to mmo's and has never really played that many games so this is a very new experience for her. She will often get frustrated about things because she didn't know something and I will admit that I sometimes get frustrated with her because some things are basic knowledge to me but aren't to her since she is new.

Sometimes I will help her out with stuff, especially if it is the first time she is doing something like a new dungeon and other times I will have her do it by herself so that she doesn't become reliant on my help to play the game.

However no matter a person's experience level, veteran or brand new, or whether they are playing an online game or just walking down the street, they should always practice patience and respect. Keep in mind that these things are two way streets and that you can't expect to receive them if you are not willing to give in return. This is the basis for any positive interaction between people.

As for being new to the game and the genre as well as playing on a console.

- get a keyboard (USB or Bluetooth) as this will make communicating way faster and easier and in an online cooperative game, communication is key.
- tell people you are new otherwise most people will assume you know what you are doing which could lead to bad situations, wipes and a negative experience.
- learn to let it go. I don't know a nice way to say this but don't let it get to you. Jerks will be jerks, in this game and everywhere else in life. When dealing with any large group of people you have to be prepared for the chance that some of them are not going to be very nice.
- seek out assistance. If you need help be proactive and try to find it. this can be done in a number of ways such as looking stuff up on the internet (seriously people, Google is your friend), watching tutorials and walkthroughs, or just simply asking for advice or help. You can't really expect others to put in effort to help you if you are not willing to first put in the effort to help yourself.
- try to find a group of friendly and helpful people to have as a resource to help you out and try to get into a good Free Company if you can. Having people you can rely on really makes the game much more enjoyable. Plus playing with other is always better than trying the play by yourself IMO.
- listen and learn. advice and assistance can only do as much as a person is willing to take in. if people are trying to give advice don't get defensive and listen to what they have to say and when you make a mistake learn from it and try not to repeat it.
- Most importantly BE RESPECTFUL AND CONSIDERATE to your fellow players. You don't like it when people are jerks to you and neither does anyone else, so be part of the solution not part of the problem.

Anyways, I'm sorry that you have had such an unpleasant time thus far and I hope that it gets better for you.

p.s. this is advice for anybody and everybody and is not aimed solely at the op.

[gamesmart]

snip

I'm sorry, there are so many things wrong with this. Where to start...

I don't main tank, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to play tank. And when the tank is tunnel visioning one mob while the rest goes after the healer - and I have to pull them off the healer as a BLACK MAGE of all things - it's pretty easy to tell that even if they're learning, they still have a long way to go. Yes, I do try to give them pointers and tips without sounding "elitist", but more often than not...I get no response.

Both sides are at fault - the "veterans" for not being more patient (I am patient, but only until I realize that the new person simply doesn't care), and some newbies for really not even listening to advice, even if it's not offered in the most tactful way.

Gear never really determined skill (unless it's High Allagan from the later turns, and that won't apply for very long), and even the lesser geared people can still underperform just as badly - but it's just far more apparent when they're better geared. You're stereotyping a lot of the people who do anything in currently relevant endgame - not a very good idea.

The term "enmity" has been in use since FFXI - which, if memory serves me correctly, precedes WoW. That in no way shows someone's a "newbie" - especially if we're just using the terms that the developers use. I have no idea what makes you think using a different term indicates how much MMO experience they have. I despise the word "toon," does that make me a newbie?

As mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread...so many of these problems can be avoided if you do some research for yourself. No, that does not necessarily mean going on the internet and reading a guide - it means reading text IN GAME. Ability tooltips, what Duty Finder sets your current class's role as, quest descriptions/dialogue text (need I bring up the level 10 GLA class quest again?), Active Help windows...There is so much information in game, that if you completely ignore it all and then get yelled at for not knowing your role, it's really on you for not taking a few minutes to go through all the help you're given (not to say that the other guy isn't a jerk depending on how he says it).

[Kimikryo]

Something that really irks me.

You start an MMO, a game where people communicate with each other, have no keyboard, and expect THEM to know this and expect THEM to wait for you and expect THEM to treat you like a princess because you expect THEM to know that you are new.

Why are THOSE people mean?

Nobody owes you explanations before hand. Nobody can look in his teacup and see "oh that person is new I absolutely have to tell him what to do"

I have seen really mean players, but the mentioned stuff is far away from mean.

[Malakhim]

I'm willing to go further and say you don't need external resources for most content in this game unless you're doing a lot of coil/EX primal pick-up groups. A person can easily piece together an effective attack rotation just by reading through ability descriptions as they learn them, and there are plenty of different types of information provided by the game that, for the most part, eliminate the need for a person to look for external resources for anything unless they want to know something immediately.

[Teirshin]

Something that really irks me.

You start an MMO, a game where people communicate with each other, have no keyboard, and expect THEM to know this and expect THEM to wait for you and expect THEM to treat you like a princess because you expect THEM to know that you are new.

Why are THOSE people mean?

Nobody owes you explanations before hand. Nobody can look in his teacup and see "oh that person is new I absolutely have to tell him what to do"

I have seen really mean players, but the mentioned stuff is far away from mean.

And your attitude is friendly? Not.

That sort of attitude is the problem. Learn to help people and not criticize, because you arent perfect either, and you didnt start your first MMO knowing it all.

It's a social game, and if you dont want to be social and help people (which based on your comments, you dont), then you're not helping, you're part of the problem.

[NintenPyjak64]

Ah yes, and the problem rears its head....

Thats the asshat attitude right there I see too much of in game.

"READ IT ALL AHEAD OF TIME!" - Because you've lost all sense of wonder and discovery doesnt mean everyone has.

"MASTER YOUR CRAFT!" - Because you're so flawless and perfect ..... um.. not.

Tolerance? Its something people need to learn, big time.

Yes you can read it ahead of time. There are MANY tutorials in the game, this game holds your hand too damn hard. Read active help windows, read class quest dialog, do guildhests, read tooltips. With all the IN GAME information there is, there's almost no excuse to not know.

OP admitted they skipped tutorials and the like, look what happened to them.