Okay. We all know how fun it is to hang out and stomp monster tail with some friends, or some strangers who will later become friends. That is part of the spirit of PSO. That is why games are not locked by default. We're supposed to be a community of players out for a common goal -- advancing ourselves while having a good time.
In the beginning, it's the adrenaline rush of getting into the 'shred zone' -- areas you have no business being in on your own -- Hard Mines when you've just turned level 20, or Very Hard Ruins when you're level 40 are prime examples. Monsters get medieval on your butt faster than you can say "I'm dead!"But there are always one or more folks in the room with you fighting away; so instead of blipping your corpse back to Pioneer 2, you hang around waiting to get revived. You winced as you watched your partner get cut down trying to get to you, like some high-tech game of freeze tag (Rabarta Tag?); you felt relief when, surrounded by monsters, someone threw that critically needed Resta spell that kept you from being a temporary statistic.
Well, by hook or by crook, you eventually beat the curve, getting high enough to where you don't get insta-shredded by monsters. What to do now? The game is less of a challenge, and the v2 Ultimate level isn't even shipping in the states yet.
The answer: a) either you go rare-diving, which gets old fast; everyone and their cousin has a Varista and DB Saber, but if you can ask the right person nicely enough, they've got a spare Double Saber you can have. Nobody needs cash. or b) you turn around and you help folks who are just coming up into the shred zones. You hand them the weapons that they can't get. You dump extra cash and spells on them without worrying about any return. When asked if you want anything in return, you smile, and say,
"Just do the same for someone else when you get up here."
This is what I do now, with some of my time online. But as the saying goes, 'with great power comes great responsibility.' Yes, your weapons clear a hundred points of damage on a monster. Yes, you can do these levels alone now.
But you aren't alone. There are one to three other people playing with you, who are just seeing these monsters for the first time. Who are very impressed to see their first Angel/Mind or God/Legs. And who the experience from getting it on with monsters tougher than they are nets them a level an hour or so. It's terrifying fun, being back on the edge of danger, tempered by knowing they've got a Big Brother or Big Sister to keep 'em safe.
And that's when the gatecrasher comes in with his or her Heaven Punisher, waltzes in doing 700 points of damage to everything in the room, and proceeds to exit the room without waiting for the rest of the group. Leaving you to catch up in their wake, following the trail of treasure boxes they didn't care to keep for themselves.
It's unnecessary. It is showing off your power, yes, but believe me, you aren't impressing anyone after the first few rooms of this. Yeah, we go, 'Whoa! What the heck is that!?!' but there's something distressing about not getting experience points -- a main objective of the game -- because someone else is playing the game for you.
I would rather sit in the back, and handle Shifta, Deband, Resta (and Reverser, if I'm not doing my job well enough) duties than worry about getting treasure and xp for myself. That is the definition of 'helping.'
Remember, you can always play by yourself. You get to keep all the xp and all the treasure. But playing with other folks requires playing it cool. And above all, being a team player, which means being a contributor, not a conqueror.
Just my long-winded thoughts. Send all RaFoie to Dark Falz.
Sayl'rr, Fonewm.
(this post is dedicated to Big Sister Jeannette, who asked, 'Am I killing monsters too fast for you guys to get xp off of them?' and spent most of an evening standing in the doorway with her fingers on the Resta and Reverser buttons, and who got me my Zonde 12, Rabarta 10, and Gifoie 13...Thank you for all your help.)
"Important safety tip, ladies and gentlemen: do NOT cast Zonde while standing under the dragon."
Sayl'rr, Force of the Oft-Flattened Hat
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Saylrr on 2001-03-28 20:21 ]</font>
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When I'm playing online with others, then I usualy don't take items (except for fluids).
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