Korthos Greeter

[Grandern_Marn]

(Greeter activities still in progress, currently making information segments for DDOCast and adding links to the segments at the end of this thread)
Thanks for the shout out in DDO Chronicle 190!
Thanks for the mention on DDOCast 430! (1:28:20)
A big thank you to DDO Players podcast for sharing information on the project in their 84th episode! (14:00 time point in the Youtube video, special thanks to Pineleaf Needles for the name pronunciation correction!! )

I haven't seen the "Greetings Traveler" character in Harbor recently but thought having a greeter was a great idea so put one together myself. After working through things I have in fact put together a second greeter for Snowy Korthos which I have added below. I've been dual boxing one or both of them and park them in Korthos Village (both Sunny and Snowy side respectively) to help with people who are new to the game. With Orien the default server at the moment I have see as many as 500 characters on server and usually 30-50% more characters online as a result. A large amount of those players are in Korthos and there is a lot of people asking questions in chat. It's good to see experienced players in there answering questions too and helping people out. Actively recruiting guilds also are stopping by and leaving a message also which is very welcome as there are plenty of new players who leave messages in general chat looking for guilds.

Here is a look at Velcome on Sunny side (with newly created guild!!):



Not the most lore friendly name but it hopefully attracts new players to work out how to view the biography. By having the greeter(s) online while I play my main toon I'm surprised at the amount of difficulty new players have with stuff we just take for granted once we're used to it. I will list some of these findings later in the thread.

Here is a look at VisitHarbor:

[Grandern_Marn]

The biography space is limited and I do hear people say they have difficulty reading them from time to time (a paladin nearby perhaps?). Here is the bio for Velcome:



I had to really edit things down and can only include the most essential information.

This is the text so you can use it if you like:
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Welcome to DDO!

DDO is a game that has its roots in the venerable granddaddy of all role playing games - Dungeons and Dragons. Many of us have loved the worlds in the game from our youth and look forward to sharing them with you.

I and VisitHarbor in Snowy Korthos are lowly messengers from Stormreach with some initial words of advice from your fellow players!

- try to join a group or start one in the Social Panel (Press 'O')
- when in group, be sure to switch to the 'Party' chat tab in the chat window to talk with your group
- let others know you are new to a quest, experienced adventurers will be happy to help!
- join a guild - or make one!

One reason we love this game is how incredibly deep it is. There is a lot to know young grass-hopper. Start on your path by enjoying the game and if you have questions, feel free to ask in chat.

Other info sources:
www.ddo.com/forums/
ddowiki.com
Youtube walkthroughs
DDOCast and DDO Players Podcasts
DDO Gamer and other blogs

Above all-have fun!

See you in game ^^
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For VisitHarbor on the Snowy side I have included a bit more role-playing. Here is his bio:



Here again is the text:
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Greetings fine adventurer!

I am a dispatch from Harbormaster Zin, of Stormreach Harbor cordially inviting you to visit our great port.

There has been an abnormal spike in shipwrecks in the Korthos area of late, no doubt due to the kobold pirates of Three Barrel Cove!

Well, when it comes to adventure, Stormreach is the place to be! Want to check your mail? Want to speak with an auctioneer? Looking for level 2 or above hirelings to assist you in your adventures? You can't do that here but CAN in Stormreach Harbor! House Kundarak has even pitched in to provide all new adventurers with their own bank space and that can't be accessed in this backwater! Heh.

Worried about danger in the tough streets of Stormreach? Don't be! It is a completely public area devoid of danger. You can leave the Snowy side of Korthos and return to the Sunny side and do any quest you want here in the same way PLUS group with experienced players.

Speak to Valeria now at the Korthos docks and talk to her again to return!
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For those who play predominantly on the Orien server, feel free to leave a comment in this thread or in game with any ideas on how to improve the messages. Each update I've done include some small changes that I have made from ingame or forum feedback.

The timezone that I live in is off hours EST but I try to keep both greeters online when I can. From time to time I am playing during prime hours but if anyone else would like to put together a greeter toon, please feel free. You can maybe put together a bio with info that you think are pertinent to the beginner. Otherwise having an intermediate level greeter in harbor or marketplace may also be an idea. I also hope that players on other servers who want to give it a shot do so, especially when the default server changes.

I've also been accumulating a number of chat post that I'll use in mainly Korthos but also Harbor and Marketplace sometimes. Chat in Korthos will go throughout the island and cover both Snowy and Sunny Korthos so they are very effective in contacting everyone new in the area. I will add the text under the image so anyone can use them if they like.

This first one is a general one that I will use when there isn't much discussion going on and I'm at the computer and have time to answer a question or two:



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For those new to DDO, welcome! If you have any questions you can use the advice channel (right click on 'General' tab in chat window) and ask any questions you may have. For tougher questions try the DDO Forums 'New Player Advice & Guidance' section.
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When I see a couple players trying to meet up or organize a party meeting point through general chat I will add this comment (thank to Faltout for raising this point below):



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For those new to DDO, welcome! Remember there are 2 Korthos instances, ultra-beginner Snowy side and more general Sunny side. All quests are the same on both sides and you can reach Sunny side with a quick trip to Harbor and return. See you on Sunny side!
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If someone asks in general chat if anyone out there wants to go do a quest together and doesn't have an LFM up yet I will use this message:



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Greetings to all new visitors to Eberron! The best way to get people to join your group server-wide is to make a Looking For Member message (LFM) under the 'Grouping' tab in the 'Social' panel. General chat will only allow you to talk with people nearby.
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When a player is in a group already and trying to communicate with their party through general chat I will post this comment in general chat:



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For those new to Korthos, welcome! Remember that when in a party, switch to the 'Party' chat tab. If you are communicating in the 'General' chat tab everyone on Korthos Island can hear you and your party may not see your communications.
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From what I have seen over the last couple months, players that I have contacted and added to my friend list those that join guilds stick around more often. I have started sending out this comment as well, particularly if someone asks about how to join a guild in DDO:



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Greetings to all new visitors to Korthos! If you are looking for a guild, you could try asking in general chat in Stormreach Harbor or Marketplace. Recruiting guilds will send messages too, contact them to find out more!
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I will put the following message in the chat when I see people having trouble adding, removing or generally interacting with other players in game. (tried expanding the image but wasn't working for me so will try again next time)



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There are 2 easy ways to Invite, Remove or Promote players in your group. 1 is by right clicking on their name in the chat window right here, the other way is to right click on their name by their HP/SP bar when in the same group.
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I'll often see messages in general chat for players looking for groups in general chat. I'll use this comment at these times. (tried expanding the image but wasn't working for me so will try again next time)



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Greetings to all new visitors to the wild continent of Xen'Drik! If you are looking to start questing with a group of adventurers press 'O' for the Social Panel, go to the Grouping Tab and click on a group there. You can make your own listing (LFM) too!
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Here is a message that I will only send out from VisitHarbor from Snowy Korthos and to not overuse the yellow text 'Advice' form, I will comment from him in the standard beige color:



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Hear ye, hear ye! If you want to check your mail, access your bank, the auction house or hire level 2 hirelings, a visit to Stormreach Harbor will broaden your horizons! The trip is very safe and you can return to Sunny Korthos to finish adventures here.
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This one is kind of a role-play style refusal I will send out if either Velcome or VisitHarbor get a group or guild invitation:



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Thank you so very kindly for your invitation. I am but a humble messenger commissioned by adventurers of Stormreach. I wish you luck in your path.
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Since people can hear everywhere from quests to the wilderness to the village in Korthos, I can't stress enough how handy it is to leave a comment in Korthos to get a message out. However I feel it's important not to overload the chat with messages and I've been trying to hit a sufficiently discreet but helpful level with the chat comments.

[Faltout]

You're in the wrong korthos instance. New players are in snowy korthos.

[Saekee]

I don't have time for a greeter but it is a nice effort. If you plan to group with them, maybe 1 bard/1 arti. Bard to buff them so they don't feel gimp, arti for traps and xbow.

[Grandern_Marn]

You're in the wrong korthos instance. New players are in snowy korthos.

Could do snowy korthos but to get set up and for other purposes I'll keep this guy on the sunny side. It looks like the chat covers both sides and I've have been getting active communications with new people where the greeter is at the moment. Having a greeter on the snowy side is a good idea though, I invite you to put one on the snowy side too Faltout.

[Grandern_Marn]

I don't have time for a greeter but it is a nice effort. If you plan to group with them, maybe 1 bard/1 arti. Bard to buff them so they don't feel gimp, arti for traps and xbow.

I've just been keeping him static in Korthos and actively playing in another window with my regular characters. I am premium so I'm not sure about VIP but I get about 20 minutes of AFK time before the connection times out so I check back periodically. If I'm not in the middle of a quest with my regular characters at the time I'll jump in any conversations that are in the general chat.

I did get a guild invite today from someone who was starting up a new guild on the server and was looking for new players. I'm not much for roll playing in game but for this character I sent a roll play style response "Thank you kindly for your offer. I am but a humble messenger of the adventurers of Eberron and have been commissioned to remain here. I wish you the best of luck in growing your guild."

I didn't really put much thought into the class of the character so made him a Barbarian so set up would be relatively quick. In retrospect however, I'm not so sure how effective a Barbarian messenger would really be so I may use the Heart of Wood you get on start up and make him a Bard.

[Faltout]

Could do snowy korthos but to get set up and for other purposes I'll keep this guy on the sunny side. It looks like the chat covers both sides and I've have been getting active communications with new people where the greeter is at the moment. Having a greeter on the snowy side is a good idea though, I invite you to put one on the snowy side too Faltout.

Not in Orien (as my sig says) and don't think the chat covers both sides unless something has changed recently...
But certainly the snowy side can't see your character's name and bio.

[Augon]

Not in Orien (as my sig says) and don't think the chat covers both sides unless something has changed recently...
But certainly the snowy side can't see your character's name and bio.

Since I've been playing (Apr 2012) Chat on Korthos has covered both sides. I remember trying to put groups together on Korthos and had to make sure to ask if folks were on Sunny side or snowy.

[Grandern_Marn]

Lots of interaction today, helped out with advice and pointers. One thing that came up was introducing a Spanish speaker to a Spanish speaking guild. Found a couple leads for the guy with the help of Jiudark. I'm finding contact comes from about 50% new people and 50 % experienced players sending messages of support or recommendations. Had an interesting discussion with Megamecha about a topic that he was passionate about - champions at lower levels - I will add what we talked about in the "Letter to New Players" thread started up by Rakoon: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...to-new-players
I'll try switching things up and add a link for that thread in the greeter bio.

Ah, another good question came up today - "What's a Bio?"
Playing DDO for an extended period of time you pick up a lot and it's easy to forget the time that you didn't know very much at all about the game. There is a lot to know so if you have the time, help someone out. They'll really appreciate it.

As far as having a greeting on the snowy side, I think its a good idea and hope someone gives it a go. I think the biggest piece of information would be how to get to the sunny side and the differences between the two sides before other starter info.

[Cordovan]

This is very cool, thank you!

[DaGreat1]

Great idea, though, as others mentionned, snowy side could have been better, but if you reach a few people, that's awesome!

Also, you could add in your bio to join the titan channel. Plenty of people there that will help the newcomers

[DrowsworD]

My friends and I have been doing this for months, in our off time. We help people with questions, run quests with them and try to alleviate some of the learning curve that comes with this game.

I do like the name. Why not create a guild and anyone want to be a greeter can join. Then, if a new person sees that guild on they know they can get help there.

[Seikojin]

Great idea OP! Could you put the bio text in a response in here for others to take up the task in their server? We could paste parts of it into chat to help guide people or inform them that someone is there to help answer questions.

[Grandern_Marn]

This is very cool, thank you!

For sure, I guess taking a page out of the book of your brother when he was doing new player help information back in the day on DDOCast!

Great idea, though, as others mentionned, snowy side could have been better, but if you reach a few people, that's awesome!

Also, you could add in your bio to join the titan channel. Plenty of people there that will help the newcomers

Yeah, the amount of information piles up pretty quick, the titan channel is definitely something that I want to fit in there but there is such limited space in the bio. I do want to "greet" people but then include a good amount of information as well. I might add the titan channel information in Rakoon's "A Letter to New Players" thread and link to that first and then see if I can make adjustments in the bio.

My friends and I have been doing this for months, in our off time. We help people with questions, run quests with them and try to alleviate some of the learning curve that comes with this game.

I do like the name. Why not create a guild and anyone want to be a greeter can join. Then, if a new person sees that guild on they know they can get help there.

Cool! You're on the Orien server then? A little guild just for greeters would be neat! I'll DM you.

[Saekee]

I suppose you could also post an LFM that says welcome, join my lfm for questions about DDO

[Grandern_Marn]

Great idea OP! Could you put the bio text in a response in here for others to take up the task in their server? We could paste parts of it into chat to help guide people or inform them that someone is there to help answer questions.

Can do

I suppose you could also post an LFM that says welcome, join my lfm for questions about DDO

Yeah, I saw Jiudark had an LFM up the other day that said "If you have any questions send me a message and /join titan" or something along those lines, that's a great place to get in touch with people who have questions because wherever you are in the game you usually have your eye on possible groups to join (or at least I am).

Another thing I've been doing is just putting a message out in general chat. I'll try getting a screen shot of that to share.

[IronClan]

Nice job OP.

The global chat channel not being world wide is one of the dumbest things in a long line of dumb things about DDO as it pertains to new players.

That said it could be surmised that players who need lots of hand holding are probably not going to be DDO players for long due to the relative complexity and D&D rules and the arcane UI of this game. Still I can't help but think a global chat channel would be better for new player retention.

getting rid of E for BB would be a big impact on finding more groups and overcoming the inertia of only ever finding Elite groups to join.

Put the LFM panel on it's own button near the AS would make the grouping options so much more visible (If I had a 100tp for every time I've seen "anyone want to help me do X" or "how do you group in this game" it's obvious that the LFM panel is not obvious enough.

making advice and trade global

making the party chat tab automatically jump to the front on joining a group (with option to disable for Vets)

publishing a new default new player area Keep on the Borderlands with level 1 through 7 content centered in the Hall of Heroes, so the new player would enjoy the more well laid out and less confusing Hall instead of Harbor then Marketplace...

[Vooduspyce]

I haven't seen the "Greetings Traveller" character in Harbor recently but thought having a greeter was a great idea so put one together myself. I'll dual box him and park him in Korthos Village to help with people who are very new to the game. With Orien the default server at the moment I see upwards of 500 characters on server which is about double the numbers of standard peak times. A large amount of those players are in Korthos and there is a lot of people asking questions in chat. It's good to see experienced players in there answering those questions too.

Not the most lore friendly name but it is clear and direct. Just in reaching out to new players I have found that there is some real basic stuff that is tough to get a hang of.

Lol does that say "Velcome"?

Great idea +1!

[Starla70]

Really good idea. I like the LFM idea as well.

[Saekee]

Nice job OP.

The global chat channel not being world wide is one of the dumbest things in a long line of dumb things about DDO as it pertains to new players.

That said it could be surmised that players who need lots of hand holding are probably not going to be DDO players for long due to the relative complexity and D&D rules and the arcane UI of this game. Still I can't help but think a global chat channel would be better for new player retention.

getting rid of E for BB would be a big impact on finding more groups and overcoming the inertia of only ever finding Elite groups to join.

Put the LFM panel on it's own button near the AS would make the grouping options so much more visible (If I had a 100tp for every time I've seen "anyone want to help me do X" or "how do you group in this game" it's obvious that the LFM panel is not obvious enough.

making advice and trade global

making the party chat tab automatically jump to the front on joining a group (with option to disable for Vets)

publishing a new default new player area Keep on the Borderlands with level 1 through 7 content centered in the Hall of Heroes, so the new player would enjoy the more well laid out and less confusing Hall instead of Harbor then Marketplace...

Korthos is setup also somewhat like a saga wheareas the Harbor is a terrifying confused mass of varied quest levels & quest givers all over the place. I have advocated for a newboe saga (to explain where to go) with newbie rewards for the harbor--like a small stack of remove curse pots, remove poison etc.