Hard and Fast Questing

[GeneralDiomedes]

This has been case from about 2 weeks after the game came out. It's not a trend, and it's never going to change.

Your only options now are
- guilds (incl. permadeath)
- static group of newbs <-- very rewarding
- solo
- the first 24 hours after new content comes out

[QuantumFX]

Sindaleus - Unfortunately other players are what make playing a cleric a frustrating experience. The best advice I think anyone could give you is to tell any group that you run with "Hey I'm new at this so play carefully". (Careful play is different than slow play.) If they ignore this then they are the ones at fault. If they get obnoxious over chat then ask them "What part of 'Hey, I'm new at this so play carefully' didn't you understand ?"

As for Hard and Fast playstyles. Don't shy away from it if you've done the quest multiple times before and know your way around. It's a great educational experience for quests.

[Yvonne_Blacksword]

How to survive the zerg by Juin, the slowest cleric evah!

1.) If you are new, don't keep it a secret. Let them know. Make sure they understand that you might not have all the best gear, be totally twinked and have the experience they might be used to on their capped toons.

2.) Always stay with the group. If the group leaves you in the dust stop...You are the group. If they need you...they will come back for you.

3.) Take care of those around you. Make sure that those who are willing to stay with you are the best taken care of. If that zerg comes pack whining about how he only has 5 HP...repeatedly ask his name, make him spell it, ask him when he joined the party, ask him why he didn't enter the quest with full HP. Do this every time he runs off and comes back wih boo-boos. It is better than chastizing him for being zerg and will give you some time. Being forgetful is ok. Being a whiner is not.

4.) If the zergers are inexperienced and get themselves killed assist them if possible...the first time they die.
the second time, a convienient /afk...to answer the door, phone, check out a police riot...
when they start to leave you behind will keep you from getting too aggrivated.

5.) If they are no longer in your visual field, make a comment about you "hope they brought pots" and remind them you cant heal them if you cant see them.

6.) In order to slow down the motion, proclaim you are lost whenever they turn into white arrows on your small map screen and theat you need an escort.

7.) Purchase haste pots. This will give you a chance to catch up. Under no circumstances do you give any to the zergers...Say you ran out and use them only when you are far enough behind that they don't see the activation animation. Tell them you are using expeditious a retreat clickie. Your cleric haste boost. Anything...chances are they never played a cleric if they are treating you like previously stated, and have no idea what the enhancements are. Call it...Pace of the Templar...Flicker of the Silver Flame.

8.) If, when you finally catch up, and they stand there (or proclaim loudly) waiting for you to heal them, say, "How do I know you didn't do that to yourselves? For all I know you all stripped naked and beat the MOBs with your fists! I am not healing any damage I did not personally see inflicted."
Then give them a few HP back.

9.) There will always be one or two characters who demand the most of your attention. Try not to be biased. Try to look at their overall performance, what they bring to the group, experience, age etc. Try not to be classist, ageist, noobist, zergist...It isn't worth it. Saying you don't heal such and such just because they are such and such can get you killed.
(Yes, killed. That rogue with the 65 HP who is out of heal pots might just be the one who was killing all the MOBs agroed on you. He/She might have also used up all his wands whipping you so that you didn't have to wory about yourself. He might also forget to mention the next trap you are about to walk in to. Sheillea finished one quest without taking a single point of damage for the last half, the cleric refused to heal her, she ran out of wands and potions (3CSW wands,50CSW pots) and had about 15 HP. She was forced to stand back and watch the cleric with half a SP bar die three times. Couldn't risk melee due to no way to heal self, couldnt risk traps in case one blew, couldn't shield block...no HP)

10.) Try to relax...Make sure you (not your character...the human interface you) have all you need for a long voyage. A comfortable chair. Comfortable headphones. Drink. Food. And use shrines to take care of unmentionable personal needs...

There are otherthings you can do for yourself. Never get rid of an Expidicious retreat clickie. Ask for but do not demand any healing scrolls or wands, SP pots that drop in the chests. If you notice people are regularly leaving things in the chests, ask them to pass them on to you. Ask twice but no more...a simple "anything you don't want from the chest, please give to me to help cover wand costs!" will do. If you are frantically running after the group wand whipping them as they run off with 1/2 HP stop. They obviously want to save your mana by being carried to a shirne when they die or being rezed. Find the best running boots you can. Leave groups that treated you bad after the quest/quest line is over. you will find another. Don't give any reason other than, "I am gonna take a little break, good running with you guys. See yah around." Any comments on how they were the worst group evah will just get you attention you do not want. I like it when the cleric hangs around. I know we messed up when they leave after one quest. ( Juin has a way to keep up with zerg...she has the dragon mark that gives her exp ret..and DD...one of her secrets.)

....Oh...one more...Tipping (not greasing) the cleric is a nice thing to do but not required. Demanding tips, refusing to heal the non tippers, leaving because you weren't tipped is just bad form.
I have been known, after a quest, to log off my character, log on a haggle/rich toon, and spam their mailbox with enough scroll and wandage to choke them...taking care of my and my guild in one fell swoop. I usually do this after the quest. Within the day, or the next time I see them. (They get added to my friends list with a date and IOU message. The items sent only got returned once.) You might get tipped after service without asking by somone you never heard of before...there might be a note. Those clerics who demanded, whined, dropped, screamed or otherwise lost their cool usually are not recipients. So be courteous, be cool, and remember, if you are out of SP/supplies/shrines...you CAN'T heal. people will figure it out. OOM...

[Forceonature]

You're kidding right?

The way I read it, the OP was commenting on zergers who continuously go ahead of the pack and continuously need to be res'd. No, I only see one about once a week.

Now, if you're talking about zergers in general, yeah, you see those all of the time.

[aldan]

Someone may have already said it but create your own groups and put "no zergin please" or something in your LFM.

[transtemporal]

OP: Just out of curiosity, did the LFM say it was a zerging run, or not?

Zerging can succeed really well if everyone is zerging (yes, even clerics ) and sticking together. Not so well if everyone runs off in different directions or doesn't know the quest or doesn't know their limitations or just isn't on board with the concept. If thats the case in any quest, zergers should really adjust to the pace of the group.

[BattleCircle]

Cleric is very difficult to learn the game with, you spend so much of your time watching hp bars that you really don't learn the quests, ie its hard to watch the bars, keep everyone healed and watch the map too. I would get frustrated when someone is blocked or out of range, not to mention the zergers that insist on being healed when they are out of range or blocked, LOL. OH MY it can be frustrating!

OP, Just stick with it, be demanding in your "rules" I mean why not, they are demanding of your heals. Cleric can be a very fun class to play, you just have to make sure that the zergers know that you are not going to help them if they don't stick with the group. This game is all about the group working together, you are the cleric.... you are the one in control, no matter who is leading the party, or crying the blues,

[Drekisen]

Hello community goers. I recently started DDO. While I received a /tell to join a party for a chaptered quest series, I naturally accepted the invitation. However, load and behold, while partying with this group, I was introduced to bliz quest running. The twist was not everyone was keeping up. The two meleers in the party raced ahead and within a few minutes later he dies while the party is still gathering inside the quest entrance. When anyone attempted to rescue the meleer the party their confronted with a concentrated group of mobs that the meleers failed to kill along their merry path to the finale end, then asks to be taken to the shrine if possible.

The said meleers gets rescued with a near death struggle (lacking melee class support) by the remaining party members. The party manages to get them ressurected. Once they've rested and potion heal up their off racing ahead again. The whole scenario repeats again. After the quest chapter was completed. One meleer says "Sorry, I shouldn't run ahead." Feeling invested to finish the quest chapters, to at least get the end rewarded, I continued on. The said meleers races ahead again and dies. Do you see the trend, or should I continue?

At the end, or whenever a meleer died, as the Cleric, I got the brunt end of the stick from their complains for not getting healed. I was put-off by their complaints. I served my role well to those within casting distance. Afterwards, from my experience, that the invested quest chapter progress doesn't justify the experience gain with such hassle from party members over their inconciderate playstyle and questing method.

Heres what I want to know. Is this the trend for doing quests in DDO? Doing Hard or Elite, and with spell fizzle rate, it places a higher dependency on meleers to fill the ranks in the party for quest completion. Maybe not every quest. but I would bet the majority are. Is frequently happening in DDO, or not, because its making me re-think my approach on playing and partying in-game.

I didnt get the 911 on it, so I'm asking.

U got unlucky I guess, but luck is of little consequence if u use proper judgement. Speak up, if they don't listen, leave!
My first character was a cleric, I'm capped, have been thru almost everything, and can tell u from first hand experience, DO NOT baby people when ur clericng. U will become resentful and end up ruining ur good time. I also learned, make ur cleric capable of holding thier own in battle, at least to the point where they can get out, and never heal others except with your mana unless they pay.
Funny thing is, just because people donate to ur healing fund, it does not mean ur success is guaranteed, even if ur a good cleric. A wand will never take the place of casting from ur mana, especially if they are in battle against something doing massive dps.
To put it simply, a cleric is a convenience, and luxury costs money.

Well that is my opinion and advice on this topic, another tip, for any class for that matter, do a bit of soloing, it really teaches u a lot about ur own limits, that way u can more accurately tell when and where u will have to make adjustments. I do a lot more soloing now, and I can't begin to tell u how much I have learned and what a better player it has made me, in or out of a party.

[Sindaleus]

The answer to this, and frankly most DDO interpersonal issues, is this:

Guild.


Thank you, thank you, no applause necessary.

Please pay the receptionist on the way out.

_

I agree with your reply that having a guild does provide like-minded people to play with without much LFG / PUG grouping. I think the application joining up as new folks race most online, active members are on their high-end characters: leaving little room for the upcoming toons to party with. From my experience: Until you've reach the minimum level to party with guilded high-end characters you are reliant on pickup parties to finish quests.

[Frodo_Lives]

I have played a number of clerics and I have no problem with telling people if they run ahead they are on their own. As others have mentioned let the group know that you are new and most (but not all) people will not only be fine with that, they will adjust their playstyle to better suit a newer player.

If any zerger gives you greif then there is absolutely nothing wrong with flat out telling them that you can't heal someone who is two rooms ahead of the rest of the party. If it is someone who is generating far too much aggro it's perfectly fine to let them know that they are taking damage faster than you can resonably heal them.

It's very rare that the cleric is at fault if someone dies in a quest, most of the time it is brought on by the player themself. Do not feel bad if someone dies because they were playing a style that they couldn't handle. It's funny though I've PuGed for almost all my time in DDO and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've heard people give the cleric ****, even bad clerics. If someone was zerging ahead and then blaming the cleric for dying then I'm rather surprised that the rest of the party didn't say something to the offending zerger. I would.

[Brummbar]

OMG.. I am soo sorry for this expereince to leave this kinda taste in your mouth... the most fun I ever had in DDO was when I was /NEW/ and unfamiliar with a quest.

I will create a toon on Thelanis specifically to quest with you if you'd like. I alway allow new players to take in the wonderment... find traps sometimes the hard way, plan strategies, and just overall learn and experience DDO the way I was allowed to ( I was on the 1st day of release and still here.)


I didn't even read the responses from other yet. I bet many others are offering up the same help. Feel free to send me a tell here and I'll be glad to - NON-ZERG any quest with you. I have all the nuggets of info, and would be willing to dispense them when asked, but lettting you learn is fun for me to.


On a side note... next time your the Cleric and people Zerg.. simply tell the group your leaving the party because the members who are zerging are not making the game fun for you.

Peace..


Goodluck.

p.s.. if you want to start anew on Ghallanda I'd role up a new toon and could help twink us with nothing more than healing wands ( sometimes it make the difference between fun and frustrating) .. I love earning my gear, untwinked over all..

Hello community goers. I recently started DDO. While I received a /tell to join a party for a chaptered quest series, I naturally accepted the invitation. However, load and behold, while partying with this group, I was introduced to bliz quest running. The twist was not everyone was keeping up. The two meleers in the party raced ahead and within a few minutes later he dies while the party is still gathering inside the quest entrance. When anyone attempted to rescue the meleer the party their confronted with a concentrated group of mobs that the meleers failed to kill along their merry path to the finale end, then asks to be taken to the shrine if possible.

The said meleers gets rescued with a near death struggle (lacking melee class support) by the remaining party members. The party manages to get them ressurected. Once they've rested and potion heal up their off racing ahead again. The whole scenario repeats again. After the quest chapter was completed. One meleer says "Sorry, I shouldn't run ahead." Feeling invested to finish the quest chapters, to at least get the end rewarded, I continued on. The said meleers races ahead again and dies. Do you see the trend, or should I continue?

At the end, or whenever a meleer died, as the Cleric, I got the brunt end of the stick from their complains for not getting healed. I was put-off by their complaints. I served my role well to those within casting distance. Afterwards, from my experience, that the invested quest chapter progress doesn't justify the experience gain with such hassle from party members over their inconciderate playstyle and questing method.

Heres what I want to know. Is this the trend for doing quests in DDO? Doing Hard or Elite, and with spell fizzle rate, it places a higher dependency on meleers to fill the ranks in the party for quest completion. Maybe not every quest. but I would bet the majority are. Is frequently happening in DDO, or not, because its making me re-think my approach on playing and partying in-game.

I didnt get the 911 on it, so I'm asking.

[Sindaleus]

That doesn't excuse someone incompetent enough get themselves killed constantly though. But then when he started to run forward why didn't everyone follow him?

The party didn't follow them because they were still quest updating or phasing into the instance. Meanwhile, the 'zerger' went ahead by the time you're entering the quest instance. Or get the red name news flash on the party status bar approaching the quest site.

When someone pauses to soak up the scenary, checks out a chest location, or tries to learn quests by stopping to take note of things doesn't always justify the 'not wanting to wait' rationale of veteran players. Instead, it may be the hint someone is running the quest for the first time or add to their familiarity that merits such pauses for the next go around. Of course, each to their own on playstyle on not wanting to wait on others.

[dixcyn04]

I have my rules posted in my cleric's bio. When people join my groups, I make sure they read them and "sign the EULA" by typing /signed or /agreed in party chat. It turns into a rather humorous conversation usually. Here's what her bio says:

And I still get yelled at :P But mainly cause I ignore the rules.. but hey, that's the benefit of sitting beside you. Of course, if I get into trouble, I have (as of recent anyways) not worried about it. Why? Cause I tend to be the powerhouse of the party we are in and might as well start bashing things before the bad players show up. And you know I am right :P

Although, on our new home, it seems everyone we are with are even par, so maybe I won't have to run ahead as the sacrifice.

[Astria]

Questing hard and fast only hurts the first few times, but after that....

Besides, Harry isn't a very good spooning partner, so by the time you get to the shroud, it can be beneficial to skip some of the foreplay.


Seriously, though...questing stupidly is different from questing quickly.

[Leyoni]

Clerics are very tough to play because people blame the clerics for their own stupid play.

Most clerics I know have a warning in their bio -- run ahead and I won't heal you -- and tell the group that from the start.

OTOH, if you are a cleric you will always have the chance to play as there are lots of groups and usually not enough clerics to go around.

So, it is a trade-off.

If you are up front about it that you won't heal if people run off and if you do a good job keeping up with those close by then you'll soon get the reputation for being competent. As you learn the quests you'll be able to move faster thru them and it won't be so hard keeping up with the zerging maniacs (that should be a guild name).

Many of the lower and mid-level quests can be done by an undersized group if you take your time. If 1 or 2 insist on getting themselves killed then just leave them dead and play smart thru the rest of the quest -- sounds good, but the whole rest of the group has to be in on it. Can't have the rogue running the stones back to the shrine just to be helpful.

And, don't forget the magic words, "Haste on me!" Doesn't matter that you can't cast haste, it will bring all the crack-heads back to you....

[woofy]

Protip: Clerics suck if your trying to have fun, if you really care about helping your party members then go ahead but they are really no fun to play.