"Newbie Night" on Cannith! (Wednesday, March 13th, 8:00 PM Central)

[Ssaparra]

"Newbie Night" is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13th, at 8:00 PM Central. I'm looking to target folks in either the level 1-4 or level 5-8 range this week.

And now for what the basics of "Newbie Night" are:

"Newbie Night" is open to the public and a LFG will be made if needed. If you are a new player, returning player, or a patient vet then this learning group will be your cup of tea.

I'll pretty much be taking the first five who either reply to this thread or hit up the LFG. If in the event more than a group's worth is interested at a time, I will need to split my time as fairly as I can. This would mean running a few quests with the initial group then recreating a new group with those who have been waiting and so on. If for some reason I should have more folks waiting than I have time to invest, they will get priority spots for the following week's "Newbie Night" event.

Quest difficulty will be dependent on party composition and party comfort level. Loot rules will be "your loot is your loot," but passing needed loot to your fellow party members is very much encouraged. Zerging or griefing is not permitted and will not be tolerated. The purpose is for folks to learn the quests and how to work with each other in a group setting in a pressure-free environment while having fun.

If you are planning to attend or have commentary to offer, please indicate under this thread or you can send me a private message. Also, please feel free to look for me in-game in any of my guises if you should have any questions, suggestions, or interest.

Nuxava - Level 22 Elf Rogue (Assassin/Shadowdancer)
Xyrhakah - Level 18 Elf Wizard (Pale Master)
Nuxvymyka - Level 14 Drow Sorcerer (Air Savant)
Jyssana - Level 11 Elf Favored Soul (Angel of Vengeance)
Zyraxa - Level 11 Drow Cleric (Radiant Servant)
Vyvana - Level 11 Drow Bard (Virtuoso)
Eluvereth - Level 8 Drow Druid (Season's Herald)
Nuxania - Level 6 Elf Ranger (Arcane Archer)
Nuxaja - Level 4 Drow Sorcerer (permanently at Level 4 to assist new players or alts)

[Ssaparra]

Here are the highlights from this week's "Newbie Night." The character I employed for this event was my Level 8 Drow Druid, Eluvereth.

For the six-hour duration of "Newbie Night" there was steady adventuring with nice folks. Throughout the evening, we had a nice mix of true newbies, players who needed a refresher, and patient vets who were quite helpful. A nice variety of quests were tackled with mostly good results.

Our first destination was Redwillow's Ruins on Hard per the party's comfort level. The enemies populating this place were dispatched with relative ease. However, it was the traps in one of the caves that proved to be a true obstacle for some as we had no trapper on board. Once the traps were behind us, the rest of the quest was completed rather swiftly.

Onward to the Tear of Dhakaan we went. I had suggested we enter the quest on the Hard setting due to having new players and older players who needed a memory jog. We did not run with an "optimal" crew in order to collect all of the optional tears, but we did swing by all of their locations so folks could make a note for future visits. Everyone pretty much performed well and completion was quite satisfying.

After having a slight change in the lineup, we proceeded to knock out the House Kundarak quests on Elite that were around our level. All but one of the quests went very smoothly - Taming the Flames. Yep, I bet you saw that coming.

This quest was done on Elite with yours truly as the only healer. Druids can heal and I had a ready supply of wands, so that wasn't entirely the issue. The fireballs and traps in that place are brutal. I think each of us suffered at least one death. Yet here is how I looked at the situation...

Folks were dying, but at least one or two people would still be standing. The only analogy that I can think of is it was like passing a baton. Those remaining would simply continue while carrying the soulstones of those who had fallen to the nearest shrine. Everyone seemed to have their moment to truly shine and put their skills to the test. This was probably the most difficult completion I have had in a very long time, but I must say it made me beam with pride. Observing my party members actively working together to salvage a quest that looked to be lost was pure awesome.

I just would like to take a moment to extend some special thanks to folks. To the TR who was kind enough to mind redbars and keep everyone standing, your time in my party was truly appreciated and you struck me as a very pleasant person. To the seasoned player who willingly switched to her Rogue so we would have a trapper, your presence was quite a joy both for your skills and your personality. To all seasoned players who joined the adventures, I am grateful for you all willing to lend a hand and for all the nostalgic DDO references. To the entire group from Taming the Flames - I am truly sorry things went pear shaped. However, you all were just brilliant and put a smile on my face.

Thank you very much to all who attended "Newbie Night" and I hope to see you all in the future! Well done, everyone!