Dancer Archive
Thread: Sirii Says: Advice on How to Deal With Unattended POI Looters.
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PoetDancer
Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:33 am
#1
Hello Dears!
Today I am going to talk about a subject that is on the minds of many of us these days: unattendence. But instead of talking about unattendence in terms of the cantina as we usually do, I want to talk about unattendence in places outside the cantina. Because while all the glassy-eyed girls are in the cantina making all of your blue balls--I mean--blue bars rise to attention, their brothers are apparently hard at work in places like Lord Nyax's stronghold, or the Geonosian bunker, or the Borgle Cave.
This has caused some of our patrons some distress as of late. Because these unattended individuals are working so hard in fact that they never seem to leave these places. And because of this, they are pulling many rare paintings, Ackly bones, weapon experimentation tapes, and many other priceless artifacts out of these bunkers, which eventually end up on vendors all over the galaxy, or on the auction forums for millions and millions of credits.
Now unattended millionaires are nothing new, as any established buffbot owner can tell you. And indeed, it has caused me and others like me much distress to encounter the reality that unattended players are taking away our roles, content, and fun in this simulation...and making millions off of it. But as numerous players have informed me and all of the other cantina professionals ad nauseum, such feelings are selfish of me to harbor.Many of our patrons argue that weshould love unattended characters, and treat them with all the due consideration for all the hard work they do on behalf of guilds, individuals, and the server as a whole. After all dears, unattended characters that mimic the actions of players is something that is a protected act under the EULA and TOS, and it really doesn't matter if the unattended character doesn't ever stop doing what it is doing.
But as someone who belongs to a profession that has had to deal with the effects of unattended routinization of our functions, I would just like to share with you some reasons that were given to me as to why I need to accept unattended characters that do my functions, and why you in the field need to accept unattended characters doing your functions as well.
For we have to understand that the POIs are boring, leveling is boring, and looting is boring.And we should be sympathetic to the player who wantsto be of service to their guild and the galaxy asa whole,but sees no point inwatching their character shoot all day. Besides, unattended looting allows the player to stop and make a sandwich once and awhile, or put in a full day of work at the factory, and be assured that their inventory and experience bars will be full at the days end. I feel safe at night knowing unattended characters are keeping me safe from Lord Nyax 24 hours a day, even when the owner of the character is asleep. After all, if a player only has a limited amount of time to play each day, they want to spend it doing "important things," like blowing up your base, or forming gank squads to deal with your jedi. What better way to earn the skills they need to defeat your jedi than to do it via macro in a POI?
And we should never forget that unattended characters provide a much needed service to the galaxy, assuring that loot is generated in the game world 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More loot is a good thing, especially for the player with limited time. The services unattended looters provide ensure that a lot of loot is available to everybody, and certain loots, such as locked contaners, are so available that they can usually be given away for free! Because you have to understand dears, we need loot to tackle high-end content. We need the XP to tackle high end content. And AFK camping allows players to get these things in abundance. Why should I have to go to vendor after vendor to find what I am looking for, wasting time, when I can go to an unattended looter's vendor and be assured I'm going to find a lot of nice things?
It would be nice if actual players satisfied the demand for loot, but let's face it. You boys aren't cutting the mustard. Unattended looters can get the galaxies more loot then you ever can, and so I think it is a good thing to leave loot grabbing to the professionals that work so hard for us, freeing us all up to do important things.
Now many of you may be saying to yourselves, "this isn't fair! players aren't supposed to be in one place killing and looting the same thing 24/7." But as I was told on numerous occasions, we must not think ill of other players who happen to play a different way than we do. Unattended looting is protected under the EULA and TOS, and their $15 a month gives them every right to create a character so useful to their other accounts and their guild. Who are we to say that they can't do something so beneficial and useful to your galaxy?
As players have told me ad nauseum, AFK play hurts nobody, and any feeling we may have that its not fair is in the big picture selfish and closed-minded. There are times that the high traffic cantina of Coronet had an unattended player sitting there 24/7, and this made me upset. But the fact that the cantina at Doaba Gurfeil did not have an unattended player means I can go there instead! And its the same for when an unattended player is at Lord Nyax's cave. Why not go instead to the Ahfaraahtu cave? Or the Drall cave? These places give out so little XP and loot, its frankly not worth a loot camper's time to go there.
And I have been told that a lot of a live player's problem when dealing with unattended players boils down to their own laziness. I have been told that the reason live dancers can't get rewarded in the cantina is because the buffbot is just plain better than we are. Same thing for the playersin the caves, I guess. They can't out damage the AFKer, so they get upset and want the developers to step in and mitigate their shortcomings. That's just plain unfair to all the individuals and guilds that depend on unattended POI camping, and we have no right to do it. I have been told repeatedly that live players who want to kick AFKers out of the things they like to do only care about shoving their own playstyle down everyone else's throat, and are unwilling or unable to do what the game has now demanded of them. Nothing is preventing you from doing the same things,and the spawn camper out on Rori at 3 AM is hurting absolutely nobody. So we should stop being so selfish, and come to the understanding that there are much more important things to consider in this game than your own happiness.If you don't like the fact that unattended spawn campers are looting, then don't buy the loot. Let your enemies buy the DOT weapons, +25% skilltapes, and giant dune Kimloga scales instead.
But it all boils down to the fact that unattended characters have just as much right to do what they do, and if we cannot play with them around, I was told by many players that we need to stop whining and quit. Those that have benefitted from having unattended characters do player things have said they will cancel their accounts of SOE does anything to mitigate unattendedness, will discover ways to continue systematic unattendence, or will lobby hard to keep unattendence.Players who systematically create and use unattended characters have assured me that we cannot win on this issue, and if the players who come here and explain these things to me are correct, we shouldn't win. Because they take great pains to tell us dancers regularly that there are far more important things to worry about than making sure that player activities are reserved for players.
And if we don't like it, its best to quit. That was the option that was given tous as dancers, and many have followed this advice.
Message Edited by PoetDancer on 02-01-2005 11:40 AM
Tralmek
Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:55 am
#2
It's a nicely written article, Sirii. It had great explanations and used clear language to communicate the message. 
SOEshould make this into one of their game guides like they posted the player-writtenguide to effectivemacroing.
Aynianu
Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:25 pm
#5
Oh i love that post
hope it gets linked to every argument about afk play 
Ikewe
Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:38 pm
#7
/cheer
Unfortunately so many on my server have absolutely no problems with AFK loot campers. 
I'm so tired of hearing "it's my $15 so I can play however I choose". I guess the fact that I had to change how I played because of theAFKers is irrelevant. Perhaps as more of them spend more and more time and credits prepping to go on a big loot and xp outing to their favorite POI only to find it camped by more and more "It's my $15 so suck it up" players their opinions will change...but I seriously doubt it.
I'm so tired of hearing "it's my $15 so I can play however I choose". I guess the fact that I had to change how I played because of theAFKers is irrelevant. Perhaps as more of them spend more and more time and credits prepping to go on a big loot and xp outing to their favorite POI only to find it camped by more and more "It's my $15 so suck it up" players their opinions will change...but I seriously doubt it.thanks for making me laugh though,
Ikewe, Master Dancer Shadowfire
DarkY0da
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:08 pm
#8
I have copy/pasted it to at least one thread and put a link in another for the post.
Else-Whira
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:08 pm
#9
Do we really have to try get back up on this dead horse?
It's a well written sarcasm piece don't get me wrong, but do we really have to keep pulling this topic back up to the surface? The devs understand the AFK problem and have already mentioned that change is coming. Looking at all of the other major and minor changes that have begun to filter into the game I am going to cross my fingers and hope for the best while playing my game the way I get enjoyment from it.
It's a well written sarcasm piece don't get me wrong, but do we really have to keep pulling this topic back up to the surface? The devs understand the AFK problem and have already mentioned that change is coming. Looking at all of the other major and minor changes that have begun to filter into the game I am going to cross my fingers and hope for the best while playing my game the way I get enjoyment from it.
Vorpaks
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:12 pm
#10
Hehe.
Don't forget the part about "I like to be able to help out new players by giving them credits and items and it makes me feel good to help out guildies who can't afford really great stuff, and mybuff bot afk looter allows me to do this."
They really are sweet people.
Don't forget the part about "I like to be able to help out new players by giving them credits and items and it makes me feel good to help out guildies who can't afford really great stuff, and my
They really are sweet people.
Landlubber
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:32 pm
#11
Else-Whira wrote:
Do we really have to try get back up on this dead horse?
It may be dead, but it's moving. Think Zombies, Night of the Living Dead, etc
It's a well written sarcasm piece don't get me wrong, but do we really have to keep pulling this topic back up to the surface?
Yes. Definitely. Every chance we get until this is resolved. Never stop, never give in.
The devs understand the AFK problem and have already mentioned that change is coming. Looking at all of the other major and minor changes that have begun to filter into the game I am going to cross my fingers and hope for the best while playing my game the way I get enjoyment from it.
While I agree with you that you just should not let the AFK issue get in the way ofenjoying the game (yeah, in the end that's all it is), most oftheveterans around hereare just too cynical (or too realistic?) to just sit back and hope that this time the Devs mean it, this time they will make everything alright without any further intervention from us. Sorry, we all heard that before, and I guess by now the unspoken motto of the entertainer community when it comes to changes in our profession is "I'll believe in it when I see it"
Message Edited by Landlubber on 02-01-2005 10:33 PM
Doriana
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:45 pm
#12
Else-Whira wrote:
Do we really have to try get back up on this dead horse?
The point in doing this now (and I think it IS important) is that if we want a smoother transition to an AFK-free world it's important that we try to get as many people as possible to understand why we're upset. Most people just don't connect to the why behind it because they don't care about the same things we do. So when another, larger group is having issues so similar it really does help to point at it and say "See, you feel this and that. This the same way AFKing makes us feel." Yeah we could give up and say "they'll never understand," or we could try to explain our point of view and hopefully come to an understanding between both sides. Sometimes sarcasm can be a valuable tool.
Plus it's pretty darn funny and ironic and we always need a good laugh around here.
I do agree with Ikewe though -- I have actually seen the "it makes loot more available so I don't have to camp it myself" argument used for real before. In regards to people who camped Nyax and sold the loot on eBay....
Sakura-Ikari
Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:49 pm
#13
Landlubber wrote:
Else-Whira wrote:
Do we really have to try get back up on this dead horse?
It may be dead, but it's moving. Think Zombies, Night of the Living Dead, etc
It's a well written sarcasm piece don't get me wrong, but do we really have to keep pulling this topic back up to the surface?
Yes. Definitely. Every chance we get until this is resolved. Never stop, never give in.
The devs understand the AFK problem and have already mentioned that change is coming. Looking at all of the other major and minor changes that have begun to filter into the game I am going to cross my fingers and hope for the best while playing my game the way I get enjoyment from it.
While I agree with you that you just should not let the AFK issue get in the way ofenjoying the game (yeah, in the end that's all it is), most oftheveterans around hereare just too cynical (or too realistic?) to just sit back and hope that this time the Devs mean it, this time they will make everything alright without any further intervention from us. Sorry, we all heard that before, and I guess by now the unspoken motto of the entertainer community when it comes to changes in our profession is "I'll believe in it when I see it"
Message Edited by Landlubber on 02-01-2005 10:33 PM
been a dancer since day 1 - still love this game - still have hope for the future - still the token sunshine-spreader most of the times I post.
and by the way, Else is a veteran as well. Don't let her posting account start date fool you... she's been here, and dancing, since Beta3.
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