In EQ I would help with buffs, grab an extra mob, rez, corpse run, etc. Other games not so much because of KS rights, etc. Sometimes it is important to know when/if/how to help. Especially if a person is new and/or things are so dire that they can't even type. Having a pre-made, local, help button can be useful, so that others know that you are open to help.
Kilsin said:If you see someone in trouble while in-game, do you stop and offer them help or do you believe in tough love and watch them learn the hard way? #PRF #communitymatters
There is no single answer. When I think about it, my answer always starts with 'It depends...'.
It depends...
...am I on my way to an important raid where being late could mean losing the mob? Then no, I cannot stop to help.
...are they a true newbie struggling with something they didn't know was too strong for them? Yes, I will help just enough to allow them to win then, after, heal them up, toss in buffs, some nice stat food and a couple of potions then be on my way.
...are they a twink? Twinks can go rot under a dragon.
...do I know them and are they nice people? Yes, I'll help .
...are they guild mates? Then I will always stop to help.
...do they have a bad reputation? I'll wait till they die, then send a /tell saying they should give me /consent so I can drag their corpse to a safer spot, only to then drag it to the furthest point in the zone and then put them on /block.
...if I do run by just as they die, and I can kill what killed them, I will do so then wait for them to return on a corpse run to then buff the group.
So yeah, it always depends upon the situation. I am more willing to help if the person/group is of low level and is/are true newbies.
Vandraad said:Kilsin said:If you see someone in trouble while in-game, do you stop and offer them help or do you believe in tough love and watch them learn the hard way? #PRF #communitymatters
There is no single answer. When I think about it, my answer always starts with 'It depends...'.
It depends...
...am I on my way to an important raid where being late could mean losing the mob? Then no, I cannot stop to help.
...are they a true newbie struggling with something they didn't know was too strong for them? Yes, I will help just enough to allow them to win then, after, heal them up, toss in buffs, some nice stat food and a couple of potions then be on my way.
...are they a twink? Twinks can go rot under a dragon.
...do I know them and are they nice people? Yes, I'll help .
...are they guild mates? Then I will always stop to help.
...do they have a bad reputation? I'll wait till they die, then send a /tell saying they should give me /consent so I can drag their corpse to a safer spot, only to then drag it to the furthest point in the zone and then put them on /block.
...if I do run by just as they die, and I can kill what killed them, I will do so then wait for them to return on a corpse run to then buff the group.
So yeah, it always depends upon the situation. I am more willing to help if the person/group is of low level and is/are true newbies.
Even with all those determinations...that must take more time than my method of "need help?" hehehe I remember being frustrated in Wow, working on some mobs for a quest, and these high levels would come by, one shot my mob, and diminish the exps I would have gotten had they left well enough alone. In those times I shoot them a message and say, was I dying? nope, was I screaming for help? Nope..then I say, please ask first before one shotting someone's mob. :P
Cana
I view helping as potentially useful in a few ways. First, I am invested in the game being attractive to players. Lending a hand generally increases their enjoyment of the game and increases the chances that they will keep playing and continue to support the game. Second, you never know when you may make a lasting friend. Finally, you never know, that lowbie you are helping may be the alt of a very accomplished player who may one day return the favor.
The way I see it, there is a lot of potential upside and very little downside to not being an a**hat. You know it’s odd, but I spent some time playing EVE online, and that was a very interesting experience. EVE is the ultimate sandbox, where 90% of the content is player driven. I can’t tell you how many times after better plyers killed me and took my stuff they might spend the next 45 minutes telling me why it went down that way, and how I could improve. sometimes they would send in game currecy my way that vastly exceeded my losses. That kind of tough love tends to work.
Mystifi said:I am with Fulton on this one. I am much more passive. Usually whatever buffs I can offer, maybe a damage shield. At the most maybe a DOT on the mob. Of course if they are going to die I will help to the fullest extent possible. The reason I do this is because this is the style of help that I like the most.
This seems like an odd distinction, maybe I'm quibbling over semantics. If someone is in "trouble", they're going to die without help. Otherwise they wouldn't be in trouble.
Always help someone in trouble but try not to KS in the process would be my motto. But even then, if someone was going to die and you kill the mob outright for them and they "lose" that exp and they are unhappy with you, well you've just identified an idiot, which is valuable knowledge.
I usually stop and help/try to save them if they are fairly low level. It's easier if you have heals. I have rescued newbies with bind wound in EQ! (my only alternative to turning the mob into a pancake on my monk.)
Higher level characters I tend to leave alone unless they ask for help and I can assist easily.
If the situation calls for immidiate assitance, I always try to do what I can to help. EXP loss is a drag and no one will complain avoiding that!
On the other hand, if it's unclear whether the fight will lead to death, I offer a "Need help?" in say. As others have stated, near death situations and overcoming the odds are one of the most thrilling aspects of any game!
Now, let's take this to the next level! What do you do when you are camped near the same spot as another group and are competing for mobs... they over-commit and the situation is looking grim. Who will help in this situation? Take the high road or let them wipe? >:D
As friendly and courteous as I try to be in community centric games, this situation has always made me think twice and is typically dependent on how much the other group has annoyed my group and I.
I think it's awesome that we can even be asked this type of question, and I hope it's implying that we can actually help without accidentally "tagging" the mob by doing 50% or more damage, or otherwise ruining the experience.
Hopefully we also don't see the other extreme (a la Guild Wars 2) where everyone who so much as touches the mob gets full credit, full exp, and full loot. There's definitely a middle ground to strike somewhere, but I don't get paid enough to figure it out. xD
As a career healer, I would absolutely stop to help, but I've never been fond of simply killing the mob giving someone a hard time. I would try to offer a buff or a shield or something; just enough to tip the scales without trivializing the fight. Even in WoW, I would use my shields to defend the player without stealing aggro or damaging the mob. I myself prefer that type of assistance, where I'm still doing most of the work, but can get a bit of a boost along the way. I've never enjoyed things like powerleveling or cheesing out levels, so I don't want help if I can avoid it, and I definitely wouldn't want someone to just swoop in and one-shot the monster I was struggling against. That kind of takes away my accomplishment, though I would never be ungracious enough to be upset about it!
This depends on a number of factors.
If the player appears to be equally matched and it will be a close fight, depending on the amount of damage I would do - I generally give whatever they are fighting a whack or two just to lessen the persons downtime without stealing the kill.
If they player is backing away from the trouble and is clearly going to die, I will almost always get involved.
The exception is when I have had repeated encounters with the character in question and they have proven to be jerks. In which case I will take a sit and watch as the drama unfolds. If they ask for help, I will continually cast heal on the monster.
Typically I always try to help if someone seems over their head and/or yells for help depending on the situation. I will say however that it depends on the level disparity between myself and the person that I am helping, the level of content that they are fighting, and the frequency of their need for help.
Offer help; or atleast try to if it not imperils my own group.
Then maybe if you didn't... your relative distance to the dying makes the mob's agro range larger >:]
'The Dreaded Decompose from the faul crypt of Marquis de Bolique looks around one more time; whiping the blood and meat from it's protruding teeth. It eyes YOU.
Your traveling grime got caught in the evening breeze. Drifted through the fog where black glowing eyes now stare back at you.
you better run...'
CanadinaXegony said:I always ASK them first, some people like to do it themselves, others need a little help, communicating..is the best tool. :) I'm a person that likes to do it myself, if I need help, I'll say so. So I respect others the same way. :) A simple "need help"? If they don't ...and I can buff or something I will do that. If I see someone running away towards a zone line with 3 mobs on their tail I'll root the pursuing mobs..to give them a chance to zone. :)
Cana
ditto
If I get to play a druid and I'm allowed to buff non-grouped member. Imma be a helpin' fool. *tips welcome*
One of the most fun things I've ever done was stand at the noobie zone buffing people. So many thank yous.
Kilsin said:If you see someone in trouble while in-game, do you stop and offer them help or do you believe in tough love and watch them learn the hard way? #PRF #communitymatters
As a Druid I usually throw a heal and if the person was real low I would tell him/her to run and then ai would throw a snare or root. Then a couple more heals to get them to full health. But I do remember one time I saw a character real low on health and gave him a heal. I did not notice he was in pvp mode and I suddenly was pvp mode as well. I had to log out and wait for pvp mode timer to expire.
So be carefull who you help without asking first. I hope if Pantheon has the same system as eq that you can easily see who is pvp and who is not. I prefer no pvp in pve servers but I do see the style EQ had was ok and you did not need to enter pvp at all if you did not want to.
Jump in and help if it looks likely they will not survive without the help. Also depends on the xp system used. If it is most damage or 1 hit gets the xp. Wouldn't want to KS them and end up getting abused for helping.
Also depends if I would also survive the enounter.
Depends on how competitive the server is. I would like to think that I would help, at least buffs and heals. But, if I know that I need the loot from the mob, I will most likely stand their praying to the Fate Smith that the player fails so I can kill it for the loot.
it would be great to find out if we will even be able to heal/buff outside of groups. I don't think that was ever clarified. In EQ, we could. In EQ2, we could not. Well, some healing.
Would also be interesting to know if we can join a group that is already in combat.
Not sure which way Pantheon will fall.
Since I am on my shaman 95% of the time, if I am running by, I'll stop and access the situation and ask if they need help. I then will tell them I will buff them up to make the game play a little easier for a time. When I am doing a long distance run and I see people also starting out or already ahead of me, I'll give them a speed buff. It's just who I am and I don't mind wasting time to help another player out, because someday your going to be in that same situation and be lucky enough to get some needed help.
Cadenbrie said:...there is a lot of potential upside and very little downside to not being an a**hat.
Truer words were never spoken. Always happy to help, if asked. Never jump in uninvited. As a bard I spent a great deal of time locating and dragging lost corpses out of nasty places in the early days of EQ (before necros were high enough level to simply summon). Good times!
