The Do's and (Mostly) Do Not's of MMORPGs

[firecat88]

I checked to see if a similar thread exists, but it doesn't (or, if it did, it's locked now).

• Do Not take shortcuts across open fields unless you want to catch the attention of every red-name monster along the way.
• Do Not try to jump over broken bridges; not even double-tapping W to run. Not only will you not make it, but you *will* take fall damage.
• Do Not, if you have something called an 'experimental glider', try to use it to fly over enemy territory. There is a chance that it won't work and you will land amongst a crowd of very hostile baddies. You will aggro ALL of them and probably die.
• Do Not just stand in one spot when you're in a high-risk-of-death zone. Especially if that spot happens to be right in the middle of a crowd of red-name baddies.
• Do, whenever possible, team up with a friend. Not only because MMOs are more fun with friends, but because it is easier to fight boss battles when you're not soloing them (especially if said friend happens to have hit level 21 less time than it took you to hit level 12).

Add your own. ^_^

[Kittish]

DO crazy stuff, just to see if you can. I swam around Kalimdor at level 12ish with another crazy friend, back in vanilla. Things got interesting at Azshara, we had to resort to land travel at that point.

Um...Don't... stand in the fire. Or the green goo or the purple puddles....

[Jay 2K Winger]

DO crazy stuff, just to see if you can.

Seraph has a great story about that sort of thing. More proof, in my opinion, that Seraph is Walking DOOM.

[Kittish]

*wipes away tears of laughter* That is EPIC. Beautiful.

[Tama]

If I ever get back in I'm going to do that!

[Gizmo]

The one i hate?

When the game has been out a while and its got easily available info on how to find something/somewhere don't scream and shout on the chat you can't find something. Especially after other gamers have already given you hints.

For example Hedge Maze is usually bottom right of the Imperial Gardens in Path of Exile and its somewhat randomized maps so screaming at us when you are standing in the middle of the map and haven't found it yet you'll start getting the advice to find it by using Alt F4...)

[Raveni]

Yeah, I just got back into Star Trek Online....

Don't join advanced or elite queues without having played the basic ones or even reading the wiki on it. Nothing quite like having to do the whole map alone because the new guys run off together in the wrong direction.

Do join a group of people you can team up with and learn some good/different playing habits from.

[firecat88]

A few others from my recent ArcheAge playing:

• DO remember that spells designed to freeze enemies in place have a time limit and should be taken advantage of when in use. Bombard the buggers with spells and get their XP down as much as possible before they even get to you.
• I don't know if other MMOs do this, but, in ArcheAge, color-coded arrows appear on the ground to tell you where you need to be for a quest. I've come to rely on those more than I do the map to tell me where to go.
• Yes, NPCs are annoying in their 'not telling you that certain actions will royally piss off the rock elementals' and their 'go kill a dozen two-headed snakes just because'. Attempting to commit NPC-icide is pointless, though, as they apparently cannot be engaged in combat unless it's for a specific quest.
• Cherish those more simple quests that require you to do things like kick the shit out of lazy guards (that was a fun one even though I misread the directions entirely), play with baby lions, and talk to people.

[Kaylyn]

Playing a white mage on Final Fantasy 14, so this will be mostly from that point of view.

-- In groups, pay attention to the buff/debuff bar of the enemy. If it's got little Zzz's on it...IT'S ASLEEP AND DON'T WAKE IT UP. The WHM/BLM has put it to sleep for a reason...if it's the WHM it's probably because the tank is on the squishy side, and they're gonna get annoyed if you don't pay attention. ESPECIALLY if the WHM has macros that warn you what's being put to sleep as they cast the spell.

-- Tanks, if you don't want your threat table screwed with and you're on a PC (I'll forgive this for console players because it's more difficult to do) and you've still got Regen ticking away before you pull a new group, do the party a favor and right-click on the buff to cancel it. Unless you're extremely confident in your threat-gaining abilities.

-- Alternatively, WHMs, don't cast Regen near the end of or after a fight, because most tanks won't turn off Regen (or may be on console). Yes, I'm guilty of this on occasion, and I get horribly embarrassed when a tank calls me out on it because I know better.

-- If you're in a group and you're new to your class, that's fine. Most people will gladly give you pointers on how to correct errors in how you're playing. But if you don't at least make an effort to do what you're being asked to do, then you're going to piss off a lot of people. Most of us multi-class and actually know what it's like doing your job, so we're not just talking out of our asses.

-- I know you're probably scared to spend too much in-game money (because "what if?"), but for the love of God, if you're going to level through dungeons, keep up with your gear. If it's a little underleveled it isn't too bad, but if you're tanking a mid-level dungeon with level 15 gear, you may give your healer a minor panic attack when they're forced to spam-heal during trash pulls.

-- DPS, if the tank is one of the rare ones that actually marks targets, KILL THE TARGETS IN THE ORDER THEY ARE MARKED. It doesn't take Einstein to realize that 1 comes before 2. Unless you have a good AOE group. In which case, make sure the tank has a firm hold on threat before going all out. Or you will get eaten and your healer may let it happen just to teach you a lesson.

[Akasa]

From ArcheAge

While the Ranger build can technically heal... if you're going to be a group healer in a dungeon go with the Cleric build for the love of Steve!

If you plant a bunch of trees out in the wild, don't be surprised to find people waiting on them minutes away from full growth. Do however let them chop all the trees as they will be standing right next to the tree when one goes Thunderstruck. Sure it sucks to loose that much wood, but they'll die and you'll get the TS tree... and the rest of the trees that mature from that point on.

[jedimaster91]

From DC Universe:

--For cripe's sake, LEARN YOUR ROLE! This especially applies to controllers. Your job is to debuff and regenerate power (mana). Without power, no one else can do their jobs. Tanks can't get/keep aggro, healers can't heal, damagers can't damage. If your power bar is full and everyone else's is empty, you're doing it wrong.
--Learn your power. That's what the first 30 levels are for. So when someone asks you to throw a debuff, a burst heal, or pull that boss over there, you know what to do.
--Do you want to die a quick and horrible death? No? Then stay with the group so your healer can heal you and let the tank hit first to get aggro.
--Dear damagers: LEARN TO NOT SPAM YOUR POWERS. YOU HAVE A WEAPON. USE IT. Your controllers will thank you. Being the only one with an empty power bar doesn't mean you have a terrible controller. It means you are a terrible damager. And if you go so far as to start screaming at the controller, don't be surprised if they tell you to drink a soder (potion). Their priorities are rightly the healers and tanks.
--This is a multiplayer game. Which means it's not all about you. If someone in your group is asking to do things a certain way to get a feat, do your best to not screw it up. You'll make more friends that way.

[Words4theWorld]

If you are a damage dealer and want to avoid massive repair costs, let the tank pull and don't dis the healer. Otherwise everybody will happily step back before the next mob and will set a timer to see how fast your health bar goes from a happy green to non-existent.

[Kaylyn]

From last weekend.

DO: BE PATIENT! Especially with new people!

In FFXIV there are a couple of level 50 8-man dungeons in the main scenario. If it's your first class to 50 you are REQUIRED to do these dungeons in order to unlock high-level content. If you've already completed the main story, you can queue up for these dungeons and get tomestones of soldiery as a reward, which are used to trade in for item level 100 gear. So you get people queuing up for them once a day, which in turn helps the new 50s get their dungeons completed.

If you have a first-timer in the dungeon, they HAVE to be there. You are there for shinies. Don't start a speed-run of Praetorium with new people in the party without telling them what's happening first! We had a newbie in my Praetorium run that got lost and killed because she didn't know what was happening, and did the rest of the party tell her "it's ok, sorry we didn't warn you, here's the procedure, and here's what you do if you happen to die"? Nope. They berated her for being a n00b and said "go watch a Youtube run of the dungeon first dumbass". A lot of people don't realize that's a thing you can do, first of all, and they may not have an enormous Free Company full of veterans to tell them to do this or to give them a rundown of the typical procedure for clearing the dungeon. Be patient and explain to the ones that HAVE to complete the dungeon instead of rushing to your next tomestone purchase! (This, of course, doesn't JUST apply to FFXIV, there's similar mechanics in most MMOs nowadays.)

I felt so bad for their treatment of her that I looked her up on the Lodestone (FFXIV's community page) after the dungeon was over (party actually kicked her on the next-to-last boss) and logged on to her server just to console her.

[firecat88]

From my past two days of ArcheAge:

- If it is nighttime in-game and daytime IRL, hold off on attacking anything unless you can actually see the computer screen. Sun glare can and probably will get you killed.

- Some advice about Sharpwind Mines:

• Do not forget that this area is, in fact, a dungeon. There is a reason they say not to go in unless you have a party of at least three.
• If at all possible, make sure at least one member of your party is level 30 or higher.
• You need both the book and the treasure chest at the end of the run to complete the quests there. If you miss one, you have to go back and do it all over again.
• Mind that jump.

- Some players are rude ass nuggets. My friend and I were getting ready to do the Sharpwind Mines run and were looking for a third person to party up with. Two people from this one guild made fun of us because we'd declined their help the night before; something we'd done because we were both logging off for the night (and because one of them was giving off a super creepy vibe). Do not be discouraged by those types of people. For every one of them, there will always be someone awesome who's willing to help you.

[Gizmo]

Last couple of days of POE:

If its a new league, race or challenge you might have to grit your teeth and deal with disconnects or server issues whilst everyone tries to get their start at once.

And trying to trade for uber equipment when people have only had a short while to even try to get it (like under 2 hours since league opened and fresh economy) and getting pissy when no one will sell to you won't help - they most likely don't have it and certainly don't have spares yet!

Although its only been up since 5pm last night and some people have hit level 90 already... O.o