Avoiding Abusive People in the DDO Community

[Snootch]

I have been noticing lately that Turbine's moderators have been working rather hard, seeing as offenders within the DDO Community are showing no regard for community etiquette, manners, and responsibility. This is unfortunate, but one can understand the temptation that a few people succumb to when they can hide behind an online avatar and can act differently than they would in real life. We have seen a few people create multiple accounts just to terrorize the DDO community and individuals, both on the Forums and in-game. And after being moderated off of the DDO Community platforms, they take their personalities and avatars to other websites to continue on. It really makes you wonder about their personal lives, but it is unfortunate to witness them trying to denigrate the DDO Community (or anything else) like that. It is seriously time for these people to find a new hobby, perhaps one that requires one to look another in the eyes when dealing with them, as opposed to behind-a-screen tactics, and becoming more responsible with their words and actions.

So let me say thanks to Turbine for doing the job that we have been paying them to do in moderating these people, their accounts, and their posts. It is so unnecessary if we all could just act maturely, but such a thing is hard to command and expect from people. Especially those who fall to the temptation to hide behind their computer screens and seek to harm others, when they would never do something like this to them face-to-face (fearing the consequences).

I have personally played on the Argonnessen DDO game server for over a year now. I have met all the types of folks there. I have met wonderful people on this server and have made what I consider real friends here, at least from the online standpoint. I don't plan on meeting them in person, but I have met wonderful people from around the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, and some other places. Their personalities have been mature and fun, and never would any of us contemplate how to ruin someone's day, ruin their entertainment experience, or in any other way bully or abuse our environment or others. It just doesn't make sense to do that, obviously, especially for grown-ups.

But there have been the very few folks who, for some reason, are just really mean, immature, or otherwise abusive. And they are not this way simply because they have stayed up all night playing DDO for 14 hours straight without much food and water (which is a problem in and of itself!), but instead because of people of various ages who simply like to harass others. They think it is fun and cute to defame others, harass them with Tells or within party voice chat, and gang up on others so as to get affirmation from folks that act like they do. These abusers tend to succumb to arrogance when they get others to support their poor behavior, and the gang/bully mentality sets in in DDO's guild format. It becomes appalling to witness abuse and arrogance in a community that can certainly do without it.

This post here is designed to offer the casual DDO gamer something to consider when playing the game of DDO as he/she plays in Pick-Up Groups (PUGs) and in guilds. It is designed help you avoid wasting your time with people who have serious personality problems when online and here in the DDO game community. I hope that you will not suffer the amount of abuse that I personally have had to endure while playing DDO, as I have learned a lot from Turbine on how to avoid these people, to report them for moderation, and to help protect myself and others from these online abusers. Hopefully the following information will help you protect yourself from these random online strangers and prevent from ever having to deal with their abusive behavior whatsoever.


What to Look for When Protecting Yourself from Abuse within the Online Video Game of DDO

1) Nearly all people who are abusive are also very arrogant. They like to brag about themselves and their playing abilities and accomplishments, the guild they are in, the characters they have built, and the items that they have found or crafted. This makes it easy to spot them as someone not to waste your time with, as they usually view anyone else as "lesser" in this game. Rather than trying to tolerate these folks, instead let them bask in their own self-glorification. This will reduce the amount of spam you have to put up with relating to item links in the Chat window, foul voice chat messages insulting others, and all the creepy things that go on when someone is full of themselves. Instead, have fun with people who think like we do: the casual, considerate gamers who came to a MMO looking to have fun with other people and letting everyone play their characters how they want to.

2) Because arrogance usually goes along with an abusive attitude - making them easy to spot - another resource to verify before partying with someone is their My.DDO webpage. Often times abusers (who are very proud of themselves) will have an account set up so that they can post on the DDO Forums. This account page can link all their characters on the various servers, as well as be used for an introductory format. The easiest way to view someone's My.DDO webpage is to press Control+M when in-game, then search their Character's name in the Search field and pull-down menu. There you can get basic information on how they view themselves, their play styles, and characters if they decided to post something. The more flamboyant players make their arrogance obvious.

3) Some of the most abusive players in the game of DDO follow certain patterns that I have picked up on. It should be noted that these characteristics are just similarities and should not be considered as "everyone who fits this profile are abusive!" These are just some patterns that I have noticed and forwarding on to you for your consideration as "red flags" when playing with certain players so as to protect yourself from abuse, harassment, and general wasting of time and reduced entertainment.

A) Multi-classed characters. Not everyone who multi-classes is abusive, nor are all pure-class players not abusive. It is just that most abusive folks that I have met typically despise pure-class builds as something "weaker" or something to be expanded upon.

B) Multi-role game style. Usually abusers are bored with party roles in role-playing games. This is an obvious red flag, I think! What they tend to do is multi-role, which is something like multi-classing to get a Rogue splash on their build so that they can attempt traps or get Evade, splashing Cleric for healing themselves, and maybe something else like Ranger or Fighter for certain Feats. Beyond the multi-classing, they seek to be "self-sufficient" and thus attempt multiple roles to minimize the party's requisite functions. For example, abusers will typically claim that they can heal themselves without the need for a Cleric in the party. After that, they go on to abuse a Cleric who does not zerg alongside them in a quest. Just an example.

C) Self-sufficiency over specialization. Along with multi-classing and multi-roling, abusers typically fall into the pattern of thinking they are "self-sufficient," as alluded to just above. What this also means is that they expect others to be "self-sufficient." The idea is to have a party of folks who do not rely upon each other too much or not at all. The idea of "party," then, becomes something like an end to justify a mean. And as one might imagine, this play style lends more to those who wish to zerg (rush) through quests. If your spellcaster can't fend for himself, then the abuser makes fun of you and harasses you, rather than protecting the robe-wearing ranged caster. Again, the pattern is to eliminate the thought of roles in a role-playing game and to expect a party to be around when you need them, not the other way around.

D) Zerging. This is the concept of sprinting through quests in order to get something like "experience per second." Zergers typically choose quests that give high XP rewards and then just rush through them time and again. Sound like fun? I don't think so, either. But all they want to do is level-up their character quickly, which usually results in failure of quests. When they are successful, they get more motivated to continue the practice. And for those who hate zerging (because it is anathema to the genre of role-playing games), these abusers will make fun of you for "not keeping up" and because they don't want to "hold your hand" and other such language. In other words, they also abuse the genre and the game itself by zerging through quests, leaving people behind, and making fun of those who want a better entertainment experience.

E) Belong to larger guilds. The larger guilds in DDO are large because of constant game playing. From playing countless hours of DDO, guilds start out small, then attract more members as their Guild Renown (and thus Guild Level) increases because then their Guild AIrships have more buffs for people to use. In other words, many new players and others are simply interested in using large guilds for their nice Airship buffs. Also, they use these larger guilds to find people of their same level to quest with, knowing the guild style of quest playing and playing to that. That is, one knows what to expect when in a guild. The problem comes when arrogance sets in. Then it becomes "my guild is bigger/better than yours." Also, getting use to that guild's play style, they think others are failures if they do not play similarly. The result is often abuse, harassment, mockery, etc. There are very few large guilds in DDO that are great to play with. The best guilds are the smaller ones. Most large guilds are simply comrpised of people looking to use the guild size for something, as opposed to playing with people they know, are friends with, or who think like they do. In other words, strangers who are opportunists. The other types of large guild members are the active founders who spend their money on the guild for bragging purposes and whatnot. In general, it is best to avoid the larger guilds in DDO and instead learn how to play by experience and from considering what others have to say. For those who want a more intimiate entertainment experience, try playing with people of smaller guilds and see how they play. If you like it and want more of it, then stay active and help develop that guild to a higher level. Abusers, on the other hand, just use guild size for baseless bragging rights and as reasoning to abuse others. Again, this is just a pattern of abusers and not indicative of all players in DDO who are in larger guilds. It is just part of the pattern that I have noticed frmo those who have abused me and others that I have known.

F) Use the word "noob" more than other words. Ah, the great insult of an abuser, apparently: "noob." That is their way of insulting people who disagree with them, their play style, or their build/guild/etc. It becomes obvious why they do not wish to help new players in the game, then. They merely want to use new players to build up their guild size and to indoctrinate them into a certain playstyle. What I have found interesting is when I have spoken to more open-minded folks who prefer my suggestions to play more clasually and to be more role-specific. They seem to realize that the abusive types on DDO are too narrow-minded and ultimately not fun. These newer players don't last in the large guilds as long because they want to play the game how it was meant to be played: as a role-playing game in an adventure setting; not as a one-size-fits-all action game where everyone has the same class splashes and zerging techniques. (It's almost kind of like early Final Fantasy titles versus Zelda, when I think about it. Your FF characters develop within their classes, while Link develops linearly. What ended up happening was that the word "role-playing" got morphed into something like "anything where you do not play as yourself." But that is not the classic definition. The classic definition is the systematic building up of a character at each level in specific ways for a clear end result. Multi-classing, then, almost always works counter to that, though there are very few exceptions. In a true role-playing game, a character in a party is expected to be a specialist and not be watered-down, taking on roles that do not pretain directly to his class.)


These are just some "red flags" for you to consider when playing the very fun game of DDO. As Turbine says, the game of DDO is "powered by our fans." Without thousands of people playing this game at one time, DDO would be less than what it is today. But also with thousands of fans comes a higher percentage of people who abuse the genre, the game, and other players. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves, reporting the abusers, and maintaining this community. Whenever you spot an abuser, it is important to recognize them and call them out. By that I do not mean to confront them, as they often tempt folks to do (and then bring in others to gang up on them). Instead, call them out for others, especially to Turbine. You can rely on Turbine moderators to maintain their property of DDO. They lose money when bad people influence their community. So Turbine wants to correct the problems that they are having, and that includes problem players.

My advice for those looking to have a fine gaming experience within the DDO Community includes:

1) Meet people! With so many folks out there on DDO, there are sure to be good people who think like you do. Befriend them and play with them regularly. That is the most fun: playing with people who think like you do.

2) Support those that think like you do, within the context of being helpful, supportive, and beneficial to the DDO community at large. Again, it's not all about you; it's rather all about the party! Make good parties by being a good party member. That includes character build and real-life human personality. Play to your party role and be reliable and kind. Let others play their characters to their party roles. Be patient and helpful. With enough practice and playing with people of like mind, the game will become much more interesting and fun!

3) Help police the DDO Community. Turbine is on the ball most of the time. However, they usually appreciate it when we shine the light on the problems in their community. If you are mature and proper about it, you can quickly and easily report a problem to Turbine, and then they can decide if they will do something about it. For example: Naming Policy violations, behavior violations, etc. These are usually obvious because they are mostly written down for all to see. So you just pass these along and let Turbine deal with them, if they want to. Be honest and be in the right. Then it is just a matter of reporting the abusers. It is as simple as that, and it is true in other facets of life, as well.


I hope that this guide, of sorts, helps you to identify abusive players within the DDO Community, but also motivates you to take a stand against them (with Turbine's help) and to support the better causes out there. The DDO Community can be much better if we help Turbine root out those who are so focused on harming others. Identify the patterns and then deal with the problems with proper discipline. In time, the Forums will be cleaner, the parties will be friendlier, and the game of DDO will be much more fun for everyone playing it.

Take care, and I hope to see more like-minded thinkers in the game.


Snootch

[Levit]

Wow....Wow....

What a well-thoughtout post.

I'm sure parts of it will get flamed by some folk. Anything this large will have points of difference to argue over but all in all, this piece is fantastic!

This should be a must read for new players. The beginning paragraph seemed written by a FBI profiler describing some of the peeps who play this game.

Good job!

[Dexxaan]

After that profiling of:


A) Multi-Classing: Shouldn´t be done unless you know what you are doing - yet many insist.... earning them "reknown"

B) & C) MultiRole and Self Sufficiency vs Specialization: Considering the average players performance level this is a good thing.

D) Zerg: Zerging is not a bad thing, as long as you don´t die or cause the death of your party.... Efficient Zerging is awesome and when done well..... saves resources, time, plat, consumables, and personifies an economic model that is being extinguished by dolphin safe tuna and Caribou protection of oil supplies.

E) Larger Guilds: Size isn´t everything. (Khopesh vs Greatsword....)

F) Use the word "Noobs": Actually it´s "Newbers"... some people refer to them as Froobs... but that could be considered "offensive".

Anyway as I was saying after that profiling from the OP - It would only be appropriate to ask of him to do so for:

* RolePlayers
* New & Inexperienced Players
* Casual Players
* Asian & Foreign Players
* Others I don´t recall atm.

I mean -..... you should profile them / us all.... I mean we can all cause the effect of feeling mistreated and not understood that goes with the term "abuse" you mention.

Multi-Classers / Zergers / Survivalists / and the Evil Large Guild Players!! OMG we must unite and express we have feelings, wants & game objectives too!!


...... Hope THIS helps shed light on the "all softly spelled-out bigotry" I just finished reading.


Suggestions:

* Man up - it´s a game - stand up for your digital rights, ignore, accept, learn....

* Be compassionate and more empathic....maybe, just maybe deep within that Multi-Classed / Large Guild Zerger is a Casual-Roleplayer trying to get out!

* Have more fun... it´s still a game.


Hopefully this helps. If it doesn´t sink in then may you double TR and never have a flawless completion run!


.



LOL - wrong server but might as well nip this "attitude" in the bud before we are so PC that even Jimmy Carter would puke at playing.



.

[Osharan_Tregarth]

Wow....Wow....

What a well-thoughtout post.

I'm sure parts of it will get flamed by some folk. Anything this large will have points of difference to argue over but all in all, this piece is fantastic!

This should be a must read for new players. The beginning paragraph seemed written by a FBI profiler describing some of the peeps who play this game.

Good job!

Hmm.. As the poster child for the type of gamer that Snootch is warning people to avoid, I agree that his post is very well thought out and descriptive. However, I can't agree with you that it is "fantastic" or a "must read".

The last 3 paragraphs are could fall into that category... Perhaps the first three as well. However, the rest of it could be(in my opinion) cut out and tossed into a recycle bin somewhere without any losses.

[Vellrad]

Wait, do I get it wrong or whut?
If I built character for self healing, I am abusive?

[Dexxaan]

Wait, do I get it wrong or whut?
If I built character for self healing, I am abusive?

NO NO NO..... you´d be abusive only if you belong to a Large Guild and start the quest (read as move) before all party members zone in and state they are ready.......

[nolaureltree000]

is this satire?

[mournbladereigns]

summary...

"Don't Hate the Game, Hate the player."

THe easiest way to spot a ******bag, is for them to be a ******bag to you.

STrive to group with like minded players.

I like Multiclassing btw!.

Also, allow me to once again call for Turbine to reduce the ridiculous xp requirements for TRing, less mega-grind is good.

and yeah, this is so breathlessly written with after-school special earnestness, makes me think someone is trolling (elaborately and artfully, but still trolling

The Moar U KNOW!

Oh yeah, the OP forgot to mention PVPing, a great place to go to get griefed/harassed/abused

IN conclusion, "Have you stopped beating your wife?"

[Osharan_Tregarth]

I'd just like to give this one warning to anyone posting in this thread, to be very careful what you say.

You stand a good chance of being reported if you say something that has any kind of justification in the OP's threads.

[Ganak]

Brevity is wit.





Seems to me just a long windy post promoting the OP's style of play.




/decline

[Snootch]

Wait, do I get it wrong or whut?
If I built character for self healing, I am abusive?

The original post is very clear on the patterns and likely profiles of those who abuse the game, the genre, and other players. Please read the original post and comprehend the points instead of trying to mock them. It is vital for a good community to omit any non-constructive words of others that only amount to mockery, harassment, and other violations to Turbine policies.

[TheDearLeader]

So, if I have this correct...

OP hates:

Multiclassers
People from guilds "bigger" than his.
People with self-sufficiency.
People who complete quests faster than him.

Man, what a noob, right?

[karnokvolrath]

Sigh.

So, if I have this correct...

OP hates:

Multiclassers
People from guilds "bigger" than his.
People with self-sufficiency.
People who complete quests faster than him.

Man, what a noob, right?

this and that.

[JollySwagMan]

EDIT: After reading the OP more closely and reviewing other posts, I'd rather not say anything.

[Osedox]

I think the OP is confused, he seems to think that being a good player makes you a bad person. Nice people are nice people, jerks are jerks. Neither has to do with your build or play-style.

[muffinlad]

This was the same as one of the "Helpful" infomercials I see on TV, giving you good advice, and then trying to sell you vitamins or an easy way to clean a roll-away bed.

Except, what seems to be on sale here is a personal view on how the game should be played, and covering it with a call to be nicer to people- which most sane people will agree with.

Yes, saying that everyone who does these things are not bad folks was stated clearly- but it was stated in such a way that you are building to a negative conclusion regarding a state of play that, if anyone would ever take this at face value, does real disservice to the game.


Being in a Larger Guild?
Being Multi-Class, or Multi-Role?
Zerging?

Someone might have might have observed this, but the evidence is clearly suspect or absent entirely...as a personal observation regarding abusive individuals with these traits is highly selective.

Finally:

Being self sufficient is antithetical to bad play. That does not mean that if you are self sufficient you are automatically a good player, it means that you CANNOT be a good player if you do not possess the ability to be self sufficient. New Players become good as they learn to be self sufficient.

- Note: I am not saying being an island- which no man is- but having reasonable gear, reasonable protections and reasonable ability to care for yourself is the core base of being...An ADULT, let alone a good player.

This is, without a doubt, some of the worst advice covered by feel good-isms, and wrapped in empowering folks for poor choice that I have ever read. It is seriously a masterpiece of Passive Aggressive poor choice justification, or one of the most brilliant pieces of satire I have ever read.

muffinswift

[karnokvolrath]

I debated leaving this alone but i guess ill make a few points, mostly the same that others have said.

Im a multiclassing, self healing gimp, zerger, 3rd highest guild on server type. Most in my guild are similar, thats why we play together. We all try to be polite as possible unless you are a complete arsehelmet. So that whole theory is out the window.

A good zerger is helping the party. People that know the game would prefere to have a solid zerger to help things run smoother. (at least during lvling)

I have however seen bad behaivior from some high lvl guild, zerger, mutliclass, self healing types.

Ive also seen bad behaivior from pure classed, flower sniffing, guildless wonders.

In conclusion i think basically the entire post by the OP is pointless and if you need a forum to tell you how to aviod people or spot bad people your problems are much bigger. People are people, please judge us on individual basis.

[Jonny_D]

I have been noticing lately that Turbine's moderators have been working rather hard, seeing as offenders within the DDO Community are showing no regard for community etiquette, manners, and responsibility. This is unfortunate, but one can understand the temptation that a few people succumb to when they can hide behind an online avatar and can act differently than they would in real life. We have seen a few people create multiple accounts just to terrorize the DDO community and individuals, both on the Forums and in-game. And after being moderated off of the DDO Community platforms, they take their personalities and avatars to other websites to continue on. It really makes you wonder about their personal lives, but it is unfortunate to witness them trying to denigrate the DDO Community (or anything else) like that. It is seriously time for these people to find a new hobby, perhaps one that requires one to look another in the eyes when dealing with them, as opposed to behind-a-screen tactics, and becoming more responsible with their words and actions.

So let me say thanks to Turbine for doing the job that we have been paying them to do in moderating these people, their accounts, and their posts. It is so unnecessary if we all could just act maturely, but such a thing is hard to command and expect from people. Especially those who fall to the temptation to hide behind their computer screens and seek to harm others, when they would never do something like this to them face-to-face (fearing the consequences).

I have personally played on the Argonnessen DDO game server for over a year now. I have met all the types of folks there. I have met wonderful people on this server and have made what I consider real friends here, at least from the online standpoint. I don't plan on meeting them in person, but I have met wonderful people from around the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, and some other places. Their personalities have been mature and fun, and never would any of us contemplate how to ruin someone's day, ruin their entertainment experience, or in any other way bully or abuse our environment or others. It just doesn't make sense to do that, obviously, especially for grown-ups.

But there have been the very few folks who, for some reason, are just really mean, immature, or otherwise abusive. And they are not this way simply because they have stayed up all night playing DDO for 14 hours straight without much food and water (which is a problem in and of itself!), but instead because of people of various ages who simply like to harass others. They think it is fun and cute to defame others, harass them with Tells or within party voice chat, and gang up on others so as to get affirmation from folks that act like they do. These abusers tend to succumb to arrogance when they get others to support their poor behavior, and the gang/bully mentality sets in in DDO's guild format. It becomes appalling to witness abuse and arrogance in a community that can certainly do without it.

This post here is designed to offer the casual DDO gamer something to consider when playing the game of DDO as he/she plays in Pick-Up Groups (PUGs) and in guilds. It is designed help you avoid wasting your time with people who have serious personality problems when online and here in the DDO game community. I hope that you will not suffer the amount of abuse that I personally have had to endure while playing DDO, as I have learned a lot from Turbine on how to avoid these people, to report them for moderation, and to help protect myself and others from these online abusers. Hopefully the following information will help you protect yourself from these random online strangers and prevent from ever having to deal with their abusive behavior whatsoever.


What to Look for When Protecting Yourself from Abuse within the Online Video Game of DDO

1) Nearly all people who are abusive are also very arrogant. They like to brag about themselves and their playing abilities and accomplishments, the guild they are in, the characters they have built, and the items that they have found or crafted. This makes it easy to spot them as someone not to waste your time with, as they usually view anyone else as "lesser" in this game. Rather than trying to tolerate these folks, instead let them bask in their own self-glorification. This will reduce the amount of spam you have to put up with relating to item links in the Chat window, foul voice chat messages insulting others, and all the creepy things that go on when someone is full of themselves. Instead, have fun with people who think like we do: the casual, considerate gamers who came to a MMO looking to have fun with other people and letting everyone play their characters how they want to.

2) Because arrogance usually goes along with an abusive attitude - making them easy to spot - another resource to verify before partying with someone is their My.DDO webpage. Often times abusers (who are very proud of themselves) will have an account set up so that they can post on the DDO Forums. This account page can link all their characters on the various servers, as well as be used for an introductory format. The easiest way to view someone's My.DDO webpage is to press Control+M when in-game, then search their Character's name in the Search field and pull-down menu. There you can get basic information on how they view themselves, their play styles, and characters if they decided to post something. The more flamboyant players make their arrogance obvious.

3) Some of the most abusive players in the game of DDO follow certain patterns that I have picked up on. It should be noted that these characteristics are just similarities and should not be considered as "everyone who fits this profile are abusive!" These are just some patterns that I have noticed and forwarding on to you for your consideration as "red flags" when playing with certain players so as to protect yourself from abuse, harassment, and general wasting of time and reduced entertainment.

A) Multi-classed characters. Not everyone who multi-classes is abusive, nor are all pure-class players not abusive. It is just that most abusive folks that I have met typically despise pure-class builds as something "weaker" or something to be expanded upon.

B) Multi-role game style. Usually abusers are bored with party roles in role-playing games. This is an obvious red flag, I think! What they tend to do is multi-role, which is something like multi-classing to get a Rogue splash on their build so that they can attempt traps or get Evade, splashing Cleric for healing themselves, and maybe something else like Ranger or Fighter for certain Feats. Beyond the multi-classing, they seek to be "self-sufficient" and thus attempt multiple roles to minimize the party's requisite functions. For example, abusers will typically claim that they can heal themselves without the need for a Cleric in the party. After that, they go on to abuse a Cleric who does not zerg alongside them in a quest. Just an example.

C) Self-sufficiency over specialization. Along with multi-classing and multi-roling, abusers typically fall into the pattern of thinking they are "self-sufficient," as alluded to just above. What this also means is that they expect others to be "self-sufficient." The idea is to have a party of folks who do not rely upon each other too much or not at all. The idea of "party," then, becomes something like an end to justify a mean. And as one might imagine, this play style lends more to those who wish to zerg (rush) through quests. If your spellcaster can't fend for himself, then the abuser makes fun of you and harasses you, rather than protecting the robe-wearing ranged caster. Again, the pattern is to eliminate the thought of roles in a role-playing game and to expect a party to be around when you need them, not the other way around.

D) Zerging. This is the concept of sprinting through quests in order to get something like "experience per second." Zergers typically choose quests that give high XP rewards and then just rush through them time and again. Sound like fun? I don't think so, either. But all they want to do is level-up their character quickly, which usually results in failure of quests. When they are successful, they get more motivated to continue the practice. And for those who hate zerging (because it is anathema to the genre of role-playing games), these abusers will make fun of you for "not keeping up" and because they don't want to "hold your hand" and other such language. In other words, they also abuse the genre and the game itself by zerging through quests, leaving people behind, and making fun of those who want a better entertainment experience.

E) Belong to larger guilds. The larger guilds in DDO are large because of constant game playing. From playing countless hours of DDO, guilds start out small, then attract more members as their Guild Renown (and thus Guild Level) increases because then their Guild AIrships have more buffs for people to use. In other words, many new players and others are simply interested in using large guilds for their nice Airship buffs. Also, they use these larger guilds to find people of their same level to quest with, knowing the guild style of quest playing and playing to that. That is, one knows what to expect when in a guild. The problem comes when arrogance sets in. Then it becomes "my guild is bigger/better than yours." Also, getting use to that guild's play style, they think others are failures if they do not play similarly. The result is often abuse, harassment, mockery, etc. There are very few large guilds in DDO that are great to play with. The best guilds are the smaller ones. Most large guilds are simply comrpised of people looking to use the guild size for something, as opposed to playing with people they know, are friends with, or who think like they do. In other words, strangers who are opportunists. The other types of large guild members are the active founders who spend their money on the guild for bragging purposes and whatnot. In general, it is best to avoid the larger guilds in DDO and instead learn how to play by experience and from considering what others have to say. For those who want a more intimiate entertainment experience, try playing with people of smaller guilds and see how they play. If you like it and want more of it, then stay active and help develop that guild to a higher level. Abusers, on the other hand, just use guild size for baseless bragging rights and as reasoning to abuse others. Again, this is just a pattern of abusers and not indicative of all players in DDO who are in larger guilds. It is just part of the pattern that I have noticed frmo those who have abused me and others that I have known.

F) Use the word "noob" more than other words. Ah, the great insult of an abuser, apparently: "noob." That is their way of insulting people who disagree with them, their play style, or their build/guild/etc. It becomes obvious why they do not wish to help new players in the game, then. They merely want to use new players to build up their guild size and to indoctrinate them into a certain playstyle. What I have found interesting is when I have spoken to more open-minded folks who prefer my suggestions to play more clasually and to be more role-specific. They seem to realize that the abusive types on DDO are too narrow-minded and ultimately not fun. These newer players don't last in the large guilds as long because they want to play the game how it was meant to be played: as a role-playing game in an adventure setting; not as a one-size-fits-all action game where everyone has the same class splashes and zerging techniques. (It's almost kind of like early Final Fantasy titles versus Zelda, when I think about it. Your FF characters develop within their classes, while Link develops linearly. What ended up happening was that the word "role-playing" got morphed into something like "anything where you do not play as yourself." But that is not the classic definition. The classic definition is the systematic building up of a character at each level in specific ways for a clear end result. Multi-classing, then, almost always works counter to that, though there are very few exceptions. In a true role-playing game, a character in a party is expected to be a specialist and not be watered-down, taking on roles that do not pretain directly to his class.)


These are just some "red flags" for you to consider when playing the very fun game of DDO. As Turbine says, the game of DDO is "powered by our fans." Without thousands of people playing this game at one time, DDO would be less than what it is today. But also with thousands of fans comes a higher percentage of people who abuse the genre, the game, and other players. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves, reporting the abusers, and maintaining this community. Whenever you spot an abuser, it is important to recognize them and call them out. By that I do not mean to confront them, as they often tempt folks to do (and then bring in others to gang up on them). Instead, call them out for others, especially to Turbine. You can rely on Turbine moderators to maintain their property of DDO. They lose money when bad people influence their community. So Turbine wants to correct the problems that they are having, and that includes problem players.

My advice for those looking to have a fine gaming experience within the DDO Community includes:

1) Meet people! With so many folks out there on DDO, there are sure to be good people who think like you do. Befriend them and play with them regularly. That is the most fun: playing with people who think like you do.

2) Support those that think like you do, within the context of being helpful, supportive, and beneficial to the DDO community at large. Again, it's not all about you; it's rather all about the party! Make good parties by being a good party member. That includes character build and real-life human personality. Play to your party role and be reliable and kind. Let others play their characters to their party roles. Be patient and helpful. With enough practice and playing with people of like mind, the game will become much more interesting and fun!

3) Help police the DDO Community. Turbine is on the ball most of the time. However, they usually appreciate it when we shine the light on the problems in their community. If you are mature and proper about it, you can quickly and easily report a problem to Turbine, and then they can decide if they will do something about it. For example: Naming Policy violations, behavior violations, etc. These are usually obvious because they are mostly written down for all to see. So you just pass these along and let Turbine deal with them, if they want to. Be honest and be in the right. Then it is just a matter of reporting the abusers. It is as simple as that, and it is true in other facets of life, as well.


I hope that this guide, of sorts, helps you to identify abusive players within the DDO Community, but also motivates you to take a stand against them (with Turbine's help) and to support the better causes out there. The DDO Community can be much better if we help Turbine root out those who are so focused on harming others. Identify the patterns and then deal with the problems with proper discipline. In time, the Forums will be cleaner, the parties will be friendlier, and the game of DDO will be much more fun for everyone playing it.

Take care, and I hope to see more like-minded thinkers in the game.


Snootch

/qft
/signed

[teh_meh]

Snootch, it's the same behavior from you over and over again...

STEP 1: preach doctrine to the masses with absurd underlying principles
STEP 2: present it in a condescending, self-righteous manner
STEP 3: get frustrated trying to defend your position from the hoards who think you're nuts
STEP 4: cry to mods and GMs

You're like some kind of e-cultist dude.

[furbyoats]

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with the op. Generalization (also known as stereotyping) is a problem in all aspects of life, whether it be in an mmo or in society.

in regards to

1) Accomplishments are there for people who are power gamers and want to achieve the highest possible awards in the game. This does not automatically denote arrogance. The game is available for casual, as well as power gamers, to enjoy at their leisure.

2) Anyone who plays DDO is welcome to create a forum account and post at their discretion. Having a forum account does not denote arrogance. Also, keeping your in game characters and your forum username separate is an option if you so wish to keep it anonymous.

3A) Building a character either as a pure class or as a multi-class each bring their own pros and cons to the table. Multi-classing is something that should be carefully researched by newer players as it it much easier to make mistakes than on a pure character.

3B) Making a toon useful for multiple roles is an option that players may pursue if they desire to. There are many builds that have odd combinations that work while leveling, but tend to have grave difficulty later in the game. A lot of these are newer players and they usually learn a great deal of information from the toons that they experimented with. To say that groups who run without a dedicated healer are full of abusive players is faulty in my humble opinion.

3C &D) Zerging is usually performed by players who are on their 3rd or beyond life, where the xp needed to reach 20 is 4.378 million, versus 1.9 million for a first life. Depending on the build plan, it could literally take years if it were performed on a role playing basis. Generally groups will post in the LFM that they are running a zerg group. The same applies to "bring your own heals" (BYOH). Usually these groups are run within guild and channels. When people post zerg runs and fail miserably, it is not because zerging is a horrible tactic. Rather, it is because the leader was not experienced enough in the quest to pull off this feat

If a player does not wish to play the game in this style, they need only not apply to that group. To say it is a travesty on the genre is to say that there is only one correct way to play ddo. The developers would not have put multiple options in the game if they did not want them to be explored.

3E) DDO developers created the airships and guild levels as a means to encourage guild membership. This also helped with sales. Some larger guilds display traits that are undesirable to some. Yet others are full of friendly players and personalities. Generally you will know who is who by joining groups and playing with members. If a guild has a mission statement and a mentality that matches your own, you may consider joining them. Shunning that idea solely on the grounds of guild size is not what I would advise.

3F) The terms "n00b" and "newb" are vastly different. A "newb" is a player who is admittedly new to the game and is actively seeking out advice on game mechanics and what is possible or impossible to achieve. A "n00b" is someone who has generally capped one toon, has played for a very short time, and argues with the party leader over tactics (just one example). The "n00b" can also be described as an uninformed know-it-all.

As far as multi-classing...why would the developers offer the option if it was not meant to be in the game. As far as I know, multi-classing was not always available (I was not a founder of DDO), and was later implemented. To say the game is only properly played when you build pure characters, is to say the developers mistakenly allowed players to muti-class their toons.


In regards to your final 3 items: I have no disagreements. This is sound advice and can apply to any player whether they be casual or power gamers.

In closing, I only wish to state that i tastefully disagree with some of your opinions about gamers and their playstyles in DDO. The game is set up to offer a myriad of paths. Have fun, but remember not to criticize others' means of fun only because you don't agree with it.

Good day.