Please Consider Helping New Players

[File2ish]

Earlier today I got into an in progress Haukke Manor normal mode when I did my low level roulette on my Ninja.

The group had done the first boss and were fighting mobs on the staircase going down to the basement. The first message in party chat I get was from the Arcanist and read something like "Hope you can handle a bad tank, our last DPS left."

Followed by "Stupid tank doesn't hold hate."

Now, the first thing that came to mind was "This ACN is a prick." As I get to them I notice the ACN had switched to Topaz Carby to get the mobs off him and the CNJ. The Marauder tank was off on his own soloing down a mob.

So I help kill off the mobs killing the healer and ask "Have you tried giving him advice?"

ACN Response: "Yeah, stupid tank doesn't listen."

Followed by the tank replying: "F**k off."

So it was clear either the tank didn't listen OR their "advice" was calling him bad and stupid. It turned out to be the latter.

I offered some advice and explained Overpower and the Skull Sunder combo uses (was mainly doing the Maim combo from what I could tell). Lo and behold, suddenly the tank held 3 mobs at once. The rest of the dungeon I gave a bit of advice when I could. While it didn't exactly go extremely smoothly after that, hopefully now that tank hopefully understands the job and role a bit more from my limited knowledge of MRD's mechanics.

TL;DR?

Don't scare the new players away by being a bloody prick and expecting everyone to know their role inside and out. If someone is clearly having trouble understanding their job, maybe offer advice instead of just calling the person "bad" and "stupid".

And if you do offer advice, do it in a non-condescending manner. If you say something in a condescending or scathing way you still make the person feel like they're stupid or bad. You don't want that if they can learn!

[sayafrost]

Sometimes, even when you do try to help the tank, they just don't listen. I got in Haukke on join in progress sometime ago, while leveling my bard. The tank was alone there, and we got soon a healer and another dps.

The healer, the other dps and I; tried to explain what to do, the tank was a gld (I have one, so i know the logistics), and I tried to explain how to do rotations and use flash and similar.

They didn't know what flash was. We did stick with them to the end, but we didn't arrive to beat even the second boss, because we kept wiping and they were not able to hold aggro at all. Even with healer explaining over and over again what to do.

I am all for helping new players, but in that occasion, my advice in the end was: try other roles aside tanking, maybe you aren't fit for tanking.

But i completely agree, sometimes, just needs to explain stuff, I was lucky I improved tanking because i met awesome people who actually explained what the hell I should do.

[File2ish]

Snip

Sometimes it can't be helped I guess. But at least you tried to explain the role. The instance I shared in the OP wasn't the first time I've seen a player get abused because he or she didn't have a full grasp of the job's role or abilities yet. And even I ran into at least one player who either didn't listen to or understand what was being asked of/told to them.

But still, what I mainly want to get across in the OP was people should consider not being mean as their only response to encountering a new (or "bad") player. Mayhaps they're willing to learn the role, but the impatient just call them bad or give advice in a scathing way.

[sayafrost]

But still, what I mainly want to get across in the OP was people should consider not being mean as their only response to encountering a new (or "bad") player. Mayhaps they're willing to learn the role, but the impatient just call them bad or give advice in a scathing way.

I completely agree with you, because I have been in that role, I started as tank, and after first 3 dungeons, and lots of bashing and nobody explaining I just switched to DPS, and then slowly learned tanking with doing it with friends. So whenever i see a tank struggling, I try to help because that's what I would want when I struggle - I give a hand as best as I could (still don't see myself a really good tank, but I can manage ^_-)

And even when someone is BAD, I really wish that people would be respectful and not insult all call them names ._.

[Laerune]

From what I have experienced every advice that I have seen players (my fc and friends not included) give to other players has always been given in a condescending manner. Alot of players do not understand that commanding others or insulting them, will not make them take your advice.

I have to agree that newcomers and veterens whom lack skill, should be adviced in a respectfull and kind manner. There are times when someone does not accept or does not want to listen to your advice and that is their choice. If they want to heal, tank or dps on a subpar level, then its their choice to do so. In the end its they who pay for their own subscription and not us.

So to all the players who love to give advice:
- Be kind and respectfull to your fellow players.
- A sentence can be seen in a different way when typing on the internet. A example is sarcasm, its hard for some people to see it, when they read a text. When you talk with someone their voice betrays their feelings.
- Be patient and calm, let them figure the rotation on their own.
- Respect their choice if they decline to take your advice, do not feel insulted, its nothing personal towards you.
- If they take your advice, its going to take time, before they can do it flawless.

[WinterSolstice]

Some players don't listen. Some players are just flat out bad. Some will always be bad no matter what you do, or how good your intentions are.

...and that will never be an excuse for treating somebody like a lesser human being. If any of you call others stupid, retarded, or something similar for not being up to your standards in a video game - I suggest you take a good hard look at yourself. You might not be a problem when it comes to getting through content, but you have no integrity and make the world a worse place.

That's the same shit people pull in high school. Grow up, people.

[Titans]

As a tank I know what it feels like to be insulted by lousy people. When the game first started I was learning my job just like dps and healers are learning their jobs, sometimes dps do things intentionally to make tanks look bad. How so? Let's say we mark targets in attack order. Why are you attacking 3 and I'm on 1. Sometimes I queue as healer and if a tank is struggling I have no problems given helpful advice without putting a player's play style or just plan insulting someone. I do miss the days of 1.0. People where nice to each other back then, I guess you had to because you wanted the game to do well and in order for it to. You as a person had to help keep people interested in the game in order for it to survive.

[Vespar]

sometimes dps do things intentionally to make tanks look bad. How so? Let's say we mark targets in attack order. Why are you attacking 3 and I'm on 1.

I agree with you in regards to marking but it may not be intentional that DPS are fighting #3 and not #1. It may just be lack of understanding or experience as to why it matters. For example, my friend just started playing the game and she is entirely new to MMO's, so I am helping her get through her first few dungeons. I repeatedly have to ask her to fight #1 and then #2, but she seems to have gotten in the habit of just hitting Tab which selects the enemy closest to you and fights that. Knowing she is new, I have been doing my very best to guide her in understanding that this will cause problems in the future if she runs dungeons with anyone other than me and my LS. A lot of people are just not as patient as we are with new players and I really want to see her succeed. Despite this she often forgets or just is not paying attention and just selects the thing closest to her I mentioned. I know its not intentional, but short of letting her die to the monster that she pulled off the tank to teach her WHY it MATTERS, I dont know how else I can get her to understand this. Patience and repeated reminders are all I can do right now.

[Kyoskai]

Not sure how many more of these threads I can take before I go all werewolf and become a moonlighting asshole.

[Shneibel]

the thing is, now a day you don't know if the player is new or troll anymore. Recently I meet a tank in snowcloak (who have only 1 job lvl 50 is WAR) and he cant tank, he rush for a AOE pull (w/o give the healer a warning or ask if it is ok for him to do it) and die (no CD was use and he tank....8 mobs ?) and say the pt don't know how to raid, the whole 3 boss fight, all he do is 1-2-3 combo and a few overpower, CD pop poorly and no Storm Eyes or w/e other combo than the 1-2-3 standard hate control single mob. His gear is decent ilvl 110 wep and soldiery gear. Until the end, I don't know if he is a troller or a new player because the gear he has are easy to obtain now a day w/o a drop of sweat and because he some how know what he is doing but at some point he doesn't.

@OP : offer advice is fine as long as they have thick skin & don't bite back. The above story is one case, the other case was in WP. I DFR and meet a newly SCH (you can see he has weak gear) so I say, let's take it slow because the healer gear is not suit for rush, and the tank agree and right after the tank agree, the healer left...