Sacred Etiquette

[~Night.Wolfe~ 16]

Gogo and I had a great discussion lately about how to improve the quality of gameplay for all to ensure that every player out there gets the super fun gaming experience that we think they should have... and we thought it might be a good idea to post a general guideline about how you SHOULD act in game and see if we can get a discussion going with all of your opinions too! What do you like about certain actions and what do you dislike? How do YOU think we can make the community as a whole a wonderful place where ALL players can continue to enjoy themselves? Also how can we (both respected clan members and us veteran members) do to show those newer players how to act? Gee I hope that didn't sound too pretentious... honest I really, really didn't mean it to sound that way haha. To all the new players looking for great tips on how to make friends and raise the online smiley level...

 

So anyway upon gogo's request here is a copy of a MP Etiquette I did a while back:

 

General Etiquette

 

 

1) DO NOT use profane language in game! Not only is it totally offensive to a lot of people but there might also be younger children playing and there is no need whatsoever to subject them to your profanity. Also in addition to not using foul language please do not type in all caps... this is considered yelling in game and will be considered as rude behavior.

 

EDIT: I feel the need to add some to this one because I have noticed quite a number of people around game that don't take this one seriously (I am not pointing the finger at any DARK members here I am meaning the community as a whole).... and it is serious. Take this into consideration... Okay there is say a 12 yr old kid playing Sacred MP and having a great time... then someone uses profane language just as their mom looks over their shoulder to check out what they are doing. There are LOTS of moms out there that wouldn't let their kid play online after that. So really truly think before you type! We don't want you to ruin a fun time for some innocent kid cause you couldn't restrain yourself! Also one last thing on this matter.... profane covers a lot of things not just the top words that you aren't allowed to say on American cable television people! For instance I have seen the phrase "r*ping" a lot lately (I hope I don't get in trouble for that one gogo since I am trying to make a point...). It is used in the same context that "owning" or "pwning" is used.... that phrase it totally UNNECESSARY and very offensive IMHO!!

 

2) DO NOT beg for items or gold! People in this game are usually more than willing to help each other out and will quite often offer free gear to you or just drop a bunch of items they don't need on the island for people to take. Therefore there is no need to spam over and over asking everyone for free stuff. Also if someone DOES drop a ton of items on the island do not be greedy. Take only what you can use so that others can get some some stuff too. Most importantly DO NOT grab a ton of items that were dropped and just sell them to the merchant. This is totally rude as someone else could really use the actual items. It is also important to say "thank you" when someone gives you free stuff.

 

3) Don't arrive in a game and get angry if someone doesn't answer you immediately. If they are in the middle of a large mob it may take a while to get to a point that they

can type with out getting killed. So have some patience.

 

4) Don't stand on Haven Island and "show off" with your magic (or combat arts). It's very annoying to be on the island trying to trade with other players or use one of the NPCs. First of all it makes it almost impossible to read what other players write in the trade screen when you're having a lot of graphic stuff going on in the background, and second it really eats up the graphics so all those who have computers which aren't top of the line get a lot of lag in their games.

 

5) DO NOT enter a private game started by someone you do not know and either ask for freebies, to trade or ask to have the password to join them. People create PRIVATE games for a reason which is usually that they don't want to be bothered by people they don't know so don't follow them in order to harass them. If you want to trade go to a public game!

 

6) If you enter a game with a lot of players that are lower level than you please take a moment to ask where people are located before you leave the island. If you go barging in to an area that a much lower level character is you will cause the monster level to raise and could get them killed.

 

EDIT: Someone recently brought up a good point to me recently about this rule and I find that I have done this a lot myself cause it just didn't occur to me. Most of the time when I enter the game and want to go to a location in Ancaria (vs. the Underworld section) I just walk through the main portal into Bellevue and use that portal to get where I want. This can be really dangerous to a baby character leveling in Bellevue if you are playing in Bronze.... so it would be nice if you could try to remember to use the portal room in the basement of the island instead of using the Bellevue portal

 

7) DO NOT take the reward for a quest that you did not start!! It is very rude to steal rewards so either don't do it ever or at least ask if anyone is planning to come get the reward before you take it.

 

8) If you are playing in a multiplayer game with more than just YOUR friends then please don't chat to specific people openly. Use private chat instead so that the screen doesn't fill with chatter. This can make it really hard for people to see what is going on in their screens, particularly if they are trading or shopping or in the middle of a large group of enemies and trying to stay alive. So please reserve open chat for only when you want to say or ask everyone in the game something. Unless of course it is a quick comment or question.

 

EDIT: Also an even better solution to this problem is that if you want to have lengthy conversations with friends (which is great!) get an instant messenger program and chat with them there.... there are many free ones: Skype, Yahoo, MSN, XFire, etc.

 

Partying Etiquette

 

 

1) Don't spam people asking for an invite to a party! First of all they may be in the middle of a mob and can't answer you without getting themselves killed. Secondly they might not want to party with you for some reason and you have no right to harass them for an invite. To continue that thought if they say no do not sit there begging and asking them why, just accept that they don't want to party with you and move on. On another note if someone has asked you to party and you do not want to please just tell them so that they are not sitting there waiting for an answer.

 

2) If you are partied with someone much higher level than you so that you can leech experience than you have no right to ANY drops so don't start grabbing up anything without asking. The other person is doing all of the work so they have the right to all of the drops not to mention you won't be able to use any of the gear for many levels. On the same token if you are the higher level player it is nice to leave character specific items for the person you are helping if they have a different character than you.

 

3) If you are partied with someone much higher level than you than please do not attack the monsters because you are bored or trying to help... if you are that much lower in level your attacks will be totally ineffective and only cause the monsters to attack you. This makes it difficult for the person helping you since they have to keep rescuing you. THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL YOU HC PLAYERS!!

 

4) If you are playing with someone a much lower level than you please do not leave the game without warning them, this may leave them surrounded by much higher level monsters and cause their death.

 

Item Drop Etiquette

 

This is a big one that a lot of people don't seem to be able to work out. If you are partied with another person that is close enough in level to you that they are sharing in the killing of monsters than they deserve an equal share of the drops. I have a good way of ensuring that this is kept fair.....

 

1) For all rune drops: A character specific rune automatically goes to the person who has that character, unless you are both of that class in which case each person gets every other rune that drops regardless of type. All runes that are NOT of a character class that is in the party should be picked up on an every other basis as well. That way you both should leave the game with an equal amount of runes.

 

2) For all items drops: The same as runes when it comes to class specific items. As far as uniques, they should be taken on an every other basis as well.

 

EDIT: I understand that it may be difficult to remember who's turn it is so if you like just pick up whatever you see and then when you are done playing whatever people in the party can tell what they each picked up and you can count and disperse them equally then. However this method only works if everyone is HONEST about what they picked up!

 

 

 

 

So I hope this helped some of you out.... and remember: play nice and have FUN!!

Edited September 10, 2007 by ~Night.Wolfe~

[Genenut 8]

If I could add one thing to the partying rules. This is NOT aimed at any Dark members, just something that happened with me a few times mostly before I joined.

 

If you invite someone to party with you, either talk to them and let them know what the game plan is or something so everyone knows where they are going and what you are doing (ie just hunting what comes along, boss hunt, doing particular quests, trolling zn for shaddars and such, etc).

 

If you are inviting them just to up the experience per monster and dont expect them to join with you and share, be upfront about that. I personally dont mind it as long as I know thats what the plan is. Its rather rude to get an invite, join and be kicked because you showed up to join the party in person.

 

If you are inviting them to get a ride to haven isle, again let them know why upfront and ask (no dark members I have ever seen are guilty of this).

 

And if you unparty someone (if you are the leader) or if you leave a party (if you are not the leader) let the people know ahead of time. That way everyone knows why and feelings dont get hurt.

 

Thats just my two cents. Again no one in Dark to my experience is guilty of any of these. They are just things I have seen over the last few months done mostly by other players.

[erialc 2]

Nice work there Wolfie! and Genenut I remeber I think reading about this experience of yours on the SIF?...or maybe someone else had a similar experience. I think you are right though it's always a good thing to have an explanation set first of what the 'team' will do saves for any confusion. Ofc, some people will have a party of others, big or small and hunt alnone.

 

One thing I will share though (and yeah this is my one bugbear) not everyone speaks English nor understands it too well. They are international servers and as such we will come across people from all over the world. I am not ever going to point the finger at anyone and I am very confident in the fact that everyone here is aware of good gameman/womanship in game. It's just my one thing I think is really important to keep in mind for MP

 

hehe just imho opinion anyways

[~Night.Wolfe~ 16]

Great additions! So all of you that make suggestions know..... I am planning after some time and discussion to editing my etiquette guide here, at the SIF and on my website. But I am waiting to do it in one big swoop rather than edit every last suggestion as they come. So keep your opinions and suggestions coming!!

[Zinsho 0]

I have one comment/addition regarding the partying with a higher level, mostly because this came up in the last week. The responsibility in this isn't only up to the lower level to be careful and not take drops, it is up to the higher level to ensure that they don't kill the lower level through disregard.

 

I have had it happen where I was leeching off someone else and they skipped a monster or two, leaving them behind and suddenly I'm faced with such and needing to jump to them, risking a larger mob going after me. If you've got lower level toons following you around, make sure that you kill pretty much every enemy that could possibly show up. Places like the VoT is easy to guard that way, you can't accidentally spawn something to the side the way you can on the goblin lawn and such.

 

Whenever someone lower level asks to party or does join up, I make sure they're ok with the risk, either as a semi-suicidal attempt at killing higher leveled enemies (as some enjoy) or just to follow along and level up while being watched. Ranged toons have the easiest time guarding, they just have to kill anything that starts to approach, whereas melee characters have to run everywhere on the map constantly.

 

If a lower level does start to attack though, I'll move in to kill it, but at the same time I'll pause a split second to see if they're able to handle it (if it is at all realistic for them to do so). If they're not able to I will warn them off, however if they can survive it and kill then I'll leave them be, focus on the mobs and keep one eye on them to make sure they aren't overwhelmed. This bit I handled as the lower level last week, Ari was in gold with a level 110ish WE while I had my then level 80 or so Hybrid seraphim. I think I nearly gave her a heart attack a couple times, my life would drop in a flash but then be right back at full, as though I was killing my spacebar, however it was just my leech taking care of a 90% life drop with it's next pulse of RBoL/CL.

 

Which actually makes me thing of another issue of etiquette, if you're playing a risky build, such as Gogo's WIDD characters or even those who have little defense/resists but deal out a lot of damage and leech to compensate, let people know. I'm used to seeing my own life flicker and such when my build is such that it will, however others can't know that and might get worried.

[Funkilicious 1]

Great thoughts everyone, really it all boils down to commonsense and maturity and I think those two points are rampant in the players of HC

 

Everyone that I have come across acts accordingly and it is the significance why I think we all continue to play.

 

I have only encountered one person who kept bugging to party then stole my quest rewards when I first started playing.

 

Hopefully everyone will read your guide and continue to play in harmony

[DaveO 88]

If I had to add anything is that players should be open to sharing. I've always been particularly motivated to share extras or items I won't be using. This includes my massive mentor 'milk' stashes I tend to accumulate and not use as often as others. I've even left big game sessions to help people either transfer items or rebuild(rebuild is more common). I've been quite open to power leveling others to assist them in meeting certain goals, and I don't mind doing a lot of the work if it means that somebody else could enjoy their toon more.

[Funkilicious 1]

Actually Dave you are brilliant in shopping for new toons, never have to be asked, you always offer to get them on the right path

[DaveO 88]

It's debatable whether the 5 extra levels my Trader Wood Elf has are truly much different than the typical Dwarf Trader. Given that I put all points into Charisma for those 5 levels may make a small difference, I feel that it's worth it to have a toon that can help others get off the ground quickly. And it's even better when that Trader toon has multiple millions to spend!

[~Night.Wolfe~ 16]

Great thoughts everyone, really it all boils down to commonsense and maturity and I think those two points are rampant in the players of HC

 

Everyone that I have come across acts accordingly and it is the significance why I think we all continue to play.

 

I have only encountered one person who kept bugging to party then stole my quest rewards when I first started playing.

 

Hopefully everyone will read your guide and continue to play in harmony

 

 

While I totally agree with your statement Funk I have found that "common sense" isn't really all that common! I hate to sound cynical but I have continuously been disappointed throughout all areas of my life (on and off the net) by finding that so few people these days were taught or follow the rules of common sense. Such as saying "thank you" when someone does something nice for you.... THAT is a phrase I rarely hear anymore. I couldn't tell you how many times I have given away items in game or helped someone level or any number of nice gestures and the person I helped just never said thanks! I am not pointing fingers at anyone specific as there are HUNDREDS that are guilty of this. Which is why I think that is one of THE most important rules. I mean it is just a very simple thing to follow and really takes no effort to do yet so many people have trouble with it. I really don't understand that.... I am in such a habit of basic politeness that I automatically say thanks even when someone does something I don't want or like... it is just habit! Well anyway... sorry for that rant LOL.

 

Great ideas everyone..... keep them coming!