Dancer Archive
Thread: Didn't know macroing was this bad.
*hugs Jaysy*
I feel that way almost daily, when I watch someone who was a Novice Entertainer go to Novice Dancer and then finally Master in the course of a week.
While it took me 2 weeks to get just the Novice Dancer skillslot. (Sounds bad, but I didn't spend time in a Cantina unless I was healing the hunting groups I was in or anyone else who asked me to)
It's disheartening, but it is nice to know there are others out there that are playing the game not as a race to the Master Slot, but a chance to play and experiment. Thanks guys.
I wish I knew where people get the idea that dancers should have to talk to patrons in order to do their job properly. We are DANCERS, not escorts orcomedians. We DANCE for our money (what little of it there is). When did anyone ever see a dancer in any venuewho was paid to chat to the customers? There is absolutely no precedent, either in real life, or in the Star Wars canon for dancers talking to customers. Dancers should dance, period. That's what they should do, and that's what they should be paid for. If I sit down to watch a dance show in real life, I don't expect the entertainers to be chatting with me throughout the routine. If a dancer or musiciansuddenly started chatting to me, I would expect that dancer to be fired. I certainly wouldn't tip a performer who did such a thing.
The only people who should chat to customers are waiters, Maitre'Ds, comedians, or the cantina owner. It is inappropriate and unrealistic for dancers to chat with the customers.If we are toroleplay this professionwe should talk to the customers as little as possible.
Beery...you are kidding right ? Look up your roots, the original profession you started was entertainer as such that means "entertaining" the thought of a dancer who doesn't communicate with their patrons is rather disturbing. If you are doing a "show" on the stage in the theatre then yes you aren't expected to interact with the audience that doesn't happen in a real life situation and therefore wouldn't happen here. But 90% of the time we are dancing ..ie: entertaining in a cantina.
I've read alot of your recent post and it seems to me what I read is that you #1 expect tips , #2 don't want to interract with the public.
In my opinion why are you an entertainer?It doesn't seem to me that you really enjoy doing it.
I really get peeved at the afk performers and the tip beggers. I've never begged for a tip nor have I afk danced other than to step away for a drink/bio break.
I also take pride in the service that I provide to my community and have many regular patrons that send me tells and email if I'm not around when they stop into the cantina. Why? Because I talk to my patrons, I get involved , I care how their day is going, if they've achieved a goal. I've had people tip me and say I'm sorry I can't afford more right now- My response to that is tips are always appreciated, never expected.
Maybe you need to step back and re-evaluate wether the entertainment profession is for you.
Calyndra
Throw out the word entertainer its being used in the wrong context.Im a housewife and I entertain guests does that make me an entertainer? No just a housewife.Entertainers in this game are there to provide a service to other players by healing their mind wounds and battle fatigue that is all. If you wish to chat with your customers their is nothing wrong with that. If others wish to play the role more along the lines of real dancers and musicians thats their perogitive.Live and let live. There is more than 1 way to play the entertainment classes.Quit trying to force your way on others saying its the only right way when it isnt.
I need to step in here before the fires get fanned even more.
First off i do believe anyone has the right to roleplay they're character anyway they see fit.
If you want to be a stand alone dancer without interacting please do so. If you want to chat up your patrons please do so. If you want to afk macro in the middle of the dance floor taking up valuable space (drop dead)
Anyway. The real problem here lies in the fact that we have very limited ability to "dance" as real performers. There arent enough dances, and their arent enough props and the list goes on and on. The only thing to fall back on for gaining a loyal following is to chat to people while you do what you do. Somtimes you don't need to chat just acknowledge that your alive. If someone rolls in and starts watching you and they say "Great move" or Your beatiful whatever! Just smile AT them. Just that simple thing can do wonders.
Also you will find more times than not if you do interact in someway with your patrons you will be remembered. I have been a master dancer for quite a long time now. I give the best performance i can limited by the tools we have to do so. And my loyal patrons appreciate me. They appreciate the sunshine i give them and they in turn appreciate me by giving me the means to support myself.
Those who do not interact in SOME way are mostly the whines that whine about the amount of tips they make. There are alot of patrons who refuse to tip afkers. Well unless you interact they cannot tell if your afk or not since there are some pretty elaborate macro's being used.
Interaction is inferred in our profession. No i am not saying you have to chat a million lines a second. But a hi or an acknowledment goes alot further then doing nothing at all. If your not earning a decent wage dancing and what i mean by decent is breaking at least 20k an hour then you have to ask yourself what your doing wrong.
Lastly i am glad to see that there are more dancers out there and musicians who are starting to realize this I like the competition. I have to work even harder to maintain my current income. Nothing wrong with friendly competition. Keep up the good work you lovely dancers for the most part the community does enjoy us. You may not see it because they are jaded to afk'rs and people who don't interact. I have on several occasions been berated by other dancers because i "Steal" all the customers sometimes i will have a mob of people standing around me but i know that its only because i am doing what i do best. And thats entertain.
Ceta
Bloodfin
"If others wish to play the role more along the lines of real dancers and musicians thats their perogitive.Live and let live. There is more than 1 way to play the entertainment classes.Quit trying to force your way on others saying its the only right way when it isnt."
Thank you Lorelai. I'm not sure your message wasn't directed at me, but you nicely cover the response I would have made to the criticism my last post received. The reason I posted was that I get the feeling that many entertainers believe that we are here to talk to the customers as job #1. That is wrong. We are here to heal wounds, period. What we do in addition to that is up to us. Customers should tip based on the healingservice we provide, not based on whether we're good conversationalists. Most people don't accept that, and I think that is partially why dancers are misunderstood and underappreciated.
Beery wrote:
Thank you Lorelai. I'm not sure your message wasn't directed at me, but you nicely cover the response I would have made to the criticism my last post received. The reason I posted was that I get the feeling that many entertainers believe that we are here to talk to the customers as job #1. That is wrong. We are here to heal wounds, period. What we do in addition to that is up to us. Customers should tip based on the healingservice we provide, not based on whether we're good conversationalists. Most people don't accept that, and I think that is partially why dancers are misunderstood and underappreciated.
From a strict point of game manual definition you are correct.
But even more important, we are here to play a game and get enjoyment out of it in the way we most enjoy. Personally I like to talk to the adventurers that come into the cantina, I sing songs and I write and tell stories. I do decently moneywise, but I also run survey missions when the cantina just does not feel right (not sure how to explain it, but sometimes I just don't want to be there). And one thing I have learned playing these type of games for nearly 5 years is not to force anything, since forcing has always cut down on my enjoyment.
I am actually quite surprised how much I am enjoying playing a dancer. I created it mostly as a goof off character and I have not stopped goofing off.
In way, though I am playing a socialization character, it fits incredibly well with my solo player mentality. Specifically, I have minimal dependencies upon any other character.
Most simply put, my dancer is just extremely stress free. And after some of my characters in the world of these games, that is just wonderful.
There is a significant gap between a prostitute and just being friendly.
Personally I always welcome people who come into the cantina by their full first name (exactly as they have spelled it). I will also greet their pet by name. I will ask them how there adventures have gone, specially if I talked to them before they headed out on their last set of missions.I will thank people for heals. I will sing a song or tell a story if the cantina goes quiet. I will talk with the other entertainers.
Another thing, I made the character as a bit of a joke and a bit of a commentary, a female named Albhert. But since I like this character and try not to be overly false, there are some things I do not do. I do not call people pet names, I always use their full name. I do not hug or kiss. In fact most of my emotes are unique.
But I do socialize for multiple reasons, but the most important is that if I just sit there flourishing, I will enter into a trance. Heck, if I wanted to be in a trance I can watch television.
But there is another aspects to socializing as an entertainer. That is to gain knowledge of your client base. You want people to watch you, because they give you experience and often times tips. If you talk to a person, they are more likely to watch you. If you knowthem and they know you, then they will make sure to come to your regular tavern. They are more likely to identify that you are providing them a service. Heck we had one guy last night going out trying to get mind wounds so that he could help one of our group level healing.
Personally, I do not think I knowingly evaluate it like this, but communicating is very important in these games. Talking, as an entertainer, is very similar to picking specific destroy missions. Certain destroy missions are much more complicated, you learn that while running them. If a destroy mission's risk versus reward is high, I would not take that type of mission again. Talking to my clients is very similar to this, I findout those people who want to be entertained by something other then a bot.
Dancing is a skill, much like using a weapon. Talking to people provides the knowledge about how to best utilize a skill. All profession's in this game make more(money, xp and fun)when they utilize knowledge to maximize their skill.
Jaysy10 wrote:
I met a newbie dancer yesterdaythat had been playing for about a week who had all but two boxes to go to become a Master Dancer. She had been afk macroing 24/7 in Coronet with many others like her. It took me a little less than 2 months. It thoroughly ruined my day. I felt cheated. I felt degraded. I felt my accomplishments minimized. I felt anger and sadness. I felt like quitting.
I'm a master entertainer, primarily a musician. I've never used a macro,period. I may or may not get to master musician depending on how I decide to spend my points.
A week or so ago, I was at the Dearic bank completing a transaction. Another fellow showed up whose name I recognized, we greeted each other and chatted a bit. The fellow I was buying from asked "You two know each other?" The other fellow replied "Not personally, but I know him by reputation."
The one-week macrobot will never have that kind of recognition and respect. Don't look at the speed at which the macrobot zoomed up the ladder. Look at what you have and how people see YOU in your home town. The macrobot will be gone in a week or a month anyway. I've seen it happen over and over. The ones that zoom to the top are the first to disappear. When you have no real commitment to your profession, then you have no reason to hold onto it once the novelty of exotic or virtuoso wears off.
Don't give up hun!! As many people have said before - you have earnt you place rightfully and honestly Cheers sweetie! I became a Master Dancer not long after the game started, and I too have felt the pangs of both irritation and despair at seeing AFKers, the tighty-whities undie squad and some of the not so PG players in the cantina.
My own experiences have taught me that the more you interact and have fun with your character and others, the more enjoyable the experience. In fact, I have found the networking skills as a Dancer absolutely invaluable in many aspects of the game. A recent experience was my guild's HQ was under attack where we severely outnumbered. After contacting a few friends I had made in the cantina (and still very loyal customers!) we were able to rally a significant amount of people to fend off the attack. In fact, I was quite flattered when one of my guildies asked how come there was so many of them, and they replied "We came for Annie. She has helped us out so many times in the past - only right to return the favour."
Without wanting to repeat most of the points here - I just want you to know that all your hard work and effort doesn't go unnoticed by those who are your loyal patrons and friends. Yah, so someone AFK-macros their way to the top - as others have pointed out, they have no skill in either promoting themself or entertaining. Also, with those of out there who still love dancing - your dedication is evident when another dedicated performer walks in. I am currently putting a troupe together myself and have been scouting for talent, and it is readily apparent and easy to distinguish a true entertainer from a mere xp grinder
Take heart hun! And hang in there! Similarly - you could start a troupe of your own and promote and encourage the dance profession too
All the best,
Annie