Dungeon Professionals: New Players
by JR Cook - 9 years ago show comments
Anyone who’s played World of Warcraft or any MMO for an extended period of time has experienced the stress of running a dungeon with a brand-new player. More importantly, however, we’ve all been that new player! Whether in your current MMO or a previous one, we’ve all been that confused, eager-to-not-mess-up newbie, so it’s important to remember that before treating them with disdain. Not all mistakes are committed by new players; to be honest, a game with nothing but perfect players would get boring fairly fast. However, there are two fairly easy types of “newbies” to spot when it comes to dungeons.
The “My Eyes are Bigger Than My iLevel/Skill” Player
Many times, new players try incredibly hard to hide the fact that they’re inexperienced, even if it’s just a matter of not knowing a particular role. For example, they might be used to doing large pulls as a DPS, but when they try tanking they might try to do the same without the necessary experience or gear. These instances usually end in a wipe and an embarrassed and potentially defensive player. It’s fine to call them out on this by asking if they know what to do, but be ready for a wide variety of responses ranging from a simple, “No,” to something along the lines of something I can’t say on a family-friendly website. What’s more important is your response.
This should be incentive enough to not behave like a jerk, especially as DPS”
The knee-jerk reaction is to meet their behavior, but as a veteran it’s important to keep calm. That doesn’t mean you need to put up with childishness, but you don’t want to drop to their level. If the player admits their inexperience, slow the dungeon down give them some pointers. Sure someone else might get a little impatient, but stopping for a few seconds to explain something is ALWAYS preferable to a wipe. If the wipe was due to weak gear, the entire group will have to compensate by doing smaller pulls or adhering to mechanics more strictly; if it was an issue of not using the proper abilities or simply a bad pull or target selection, let them know how to improve. If you have a player that’s willing to learn, take the time to teach them so that the pool of competent players expands! If, however, they take the more hostile route, tell them to calm down, explain what they need to do, and if they keep doing it and avoiding blame, feel free to start threatening to have them removed. Some players, especially DPS, will pipe down and behave when presented with the possibility of a fresh queue. You just don’t want to be belligerent about it yourself, or you might find yourself at the receiving end of the vote-to-kick.
The “Silent But Deadly” Player
This is the player that doesn’t say a single word, even when things out of the ordinary start happening. Yes, many dungeons are often completed these days with very little conversation, but this often gives the impression that the players know what they’re doing and are just looking for a quick clear. This player, however, makes big mistakes that make their inexperience obvious but never lets anyone know, even when someone takes the time to say, “Does everyone know this fight?”.
Sadly not everyone takes the time to read this, especially if they’re not communicating anyway. Be ready to explain fights yourself.
Some silent players are actually paying attention and will correct their mistakes when told what to do, but others still will just continue to do the same dumb things consistently. While there may be many excuses for this such as a language barrier or shyness, there’s only so much that you can do without communication. If you’ve made every effort to correct their behavior and it’s so bad that it’s ruining the experience for the entire party, feel free find a replacement. Always remember; while it’s important to be patient with new players, you also need to respect your own time and that of your party. If it becomes obvious that you’re wasting time on a situation that clearly isn’t going to improve, you have no reason to continue to do so.
