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Forum Name New Player Q&A
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Topic URLhttps://forums.carrionfields.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=488&mesg_id=506
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Posted by nepenthe on Wed 31-Dec-69 07:00 PM
Actually, I'm not really interested in arguing about this. I'd rather give you something to think about and hope you decide there's some validity in it.

First, you almost had to be aware you dealing with a pretty green newbie. That doesn't have to change the essence of what you do, but it probably should change the style in which you present it. It's possible to kill a newbie if your role demands it and yet still leave them with the feeling that it's a character, not a player, that wanted them dead. It's possible to leave them with the feeling that their death is a matter of their mistakes, which can be corrected and will result in them having more fun with the game, rather than feeling that their death is because you're a super cheese whore.

Let me give you an example. A few years ago I created this fire warrior, with whom I was an active hunter/killer at all the levels on my way up, even the lowest. As part of his personality/story, the character thought he was a tactical genius (in some ways concieved of as a parody of a certain kind of player mindset, but that's another story) and wanted to go out and beat people down to prove it to them. Now, sometimes I would come up against someone who obviously didn't know what they were doing. Did that stop me from killing them? Hell no. But afterwards, I would tell them there was no shame to losing to the prowess of the great fire warrior tactician. Then, I would give them some advice on how to fight better to further lord my superiority over them. "You know, from the very start of our battle I was inflicting many more wounds and more grevious wounds upon you than you were upon me. Surely you must have realized that. Trying like crazy to bash me wasn't your best option. Perhaps the disarming techniques taught by your guildmaster would have availed you better."

Still evil. Still staying within the character, and still smoking the newbie with extreme prejudice. But compare that with what you did, and then coming here and calling the guy a crybaby.

If you were new here, which of those kind of behaviors would make you want to stay and keep trying? Which of them would help bring the new player up to a minimal level of competence where, probably, you're still beating them but it isn't as ridiculously one-sided?

That's all I'm saying.