Crossroads and area seemed to be a very busy place while I was leveling up the next two skill levels. That came to be a good thing and a bad thing; and left me wanting to write about parties again. This time, on the do's and don'ts of good parties.
Do - Ask someone to party before you party invite.
Don't - Randomly invite everyone who's walking down the path.
Do - Communicate with your party.
Don't - Ignore every tell you receive.
I was returning to Crossroads to turn in a few quests and was party-invited by a warrior a few levels lower than me. I clicked accept and saw there were now 3 people in the party, myself included. I stopped to say hi and ask what quest we were working on. Chances are I had already finished it, but I like to help out and it gives me a chance to practice tanking a fight.
No one, neither party member, answered my question. They did not even stop running. Then, to my surprise, they invited another, who came in, did the same as me (Hi guy's what are we up to?) and then left group. I quickly followed.
I would have been more than happy to ignore the rude invite if they had said "Hey, we're off to try .... and need a few extra hands." Problem solved.
Do - Ask a player to party if you are attempting the same quest at the same time.
Don't - Scoop another players loot when it's clear they are fighting their way in to get it.
I was trying to pick up some loot from a well guarded area and noticed another druid there. A quick "Working on....?" whisper told me we were after the same loot, so I asked "party?" and we worked together to fight our way in. It was pretty seamless after that and worked well.
The same situation happened later that day where another player asked me for party on a similar situation.
Do - Pull your own weight.
Don't - Let your team mates take all the damage.
Do - Share loot evenly
Don't - Loot while your team mates are still in combat
Do - Know your job and what you're best at.
Unlike the previous two quests, my last experience was not good. As bad news/stories always stick longer in your mind, I have a story to tell you now. The party left me with a bad feeling and a player who now chooses to ask me "what are you working on" ever afternoon. Learn from my bad experience and take it with you.
I had a collection quest in a dangerous area and asked on the general chat line if anyone else was working on the quest. No one was, but someone said they'd run it with me. They were a level above me, so I thought it would work out well for both, and shared the quest.
When we started the fight, it became clear I was not parting with someone who understood her role. I know that there are new players to the game, but by nearly level 20, one should know if you are a melee player, a ranged player or a spell caster, and how to best use your weapons.
We began to enter the area and I, as the self designated tank, began to agro the nearest monster. In bear form, I have learned how to control the hate and keep it on me, so my teammate, as a ranged player, would be free to stand back and do her damage. Except that, when I looked to see why the damage was not dropping, she was off picking one of the quest flowers.
Odd, I thought. But I healed up (the fight had taken me down to half health because these creatures really should have been 2 of us against one of them), waited for her to return and continued to the next monster. Again I tanked, this time she came right up next to me and started melee fighting, her pet just standing beside her.
Odd, I thought, but maybe she does not have arrows and forgot to purchase them before she set off. We finished that monster and continued on to the next where, low and behold, she stood back and started shooting and set her pet to attack as well. The monster dropped in a matter of seconds. Excellent, we're learning, until she went to pick up the next quest flower.
Odd, I thought. I haven't picked one yet, but too late now. We continued to fight, rounded the bend and picked up another monster. I am a tank bear, doing my job, but again I notice the health bar is not dropping and the pet is no where to be seen. Then I see my teammate, standing away from me, doing nothing. Not healing (her health is full and I have a heal ability), not picking a flower, but simply standing there not fighting. Unfortunately for me, we ending up with 3 monsters on me, a single player and I wiped, which caused all the agro to transfer to her, and she quickly followed me to the graveyard. This had to have happened at least twice more, resulting in a repair bill for me of a few silver (not huge, but I'm still wearing cloth).
If you're in a party, do your part to help bring the monsters down before you start looting the area around you. If you're a melee damage dealer, you better be in the fight. If your ranged, take your place and start firing. There is no reason for one player to suffer all the damage while the other's sit back and gather the experience points. If you're unsure of your place, ask.
Don't - Leave a party before you're job is done, unless you have a good reason.
In the above example, I very much wanted to hearth away and set that particular player to ignore. I had a quest to finish, however, and needed the little help she was providing. I also believe in 'what goes around, comes around' and would not like to find myself suddenly alone in a dangerous place.
I hope all of your parties go as smoothly as my first few. I wish you all better luck in your parties than my last.
Side note, my Leveling has slowed right down. It tends to go that way as you grow in the ranks. I will be making a weekly post from this point out, except for extras like introductions to and tour guides etc.
