Entertainer Archive
Thread: For all of you advanced profession Entertainers
They were healed way to fast. So they figured I really didn't do much.
See with a doctor it takes longer and costs materials.
For us its just macroing flourishes.
So get your entertainer healing maxed and watch the tips go down.
I dropped my healing so I'd heal slower, and kept the other skills. My tips went way up. I play at small places where there are no other entertainers.
But people tip less, and with the mission payout nerfs will tip even less.
Beyerun wrote:
Something I noticed. The faster I healed peoples mind wounds, the more skilled I got the less tips I got.
They were healed way to fast. So they figured I really didn't do much.
See with a doctor it takes longer and costs materials.
For us its just macroing flourishes.
So get your entertainer healing maxed and watch the tips go down.
I dropped my healing so I'd heal slower, and kept the other skills. My tips went way up. I play at small places where there are no other entertainers.
But people tip less, and with the mission payout nerfs will tip even less.
Hmm, I've seen the opposite.
Now, it's possible that some people did not tip me anything because they are new to the game and don't realize that my Wound Healing IV is not the normal rate of heal. In that case, they'll be surprised when they watch a novice entertainer. Most likely, the person would have only tipped 20 or 50.
The veterans, however, know the value of a skilled entertainer. I have seen people come in with half-black mind bars who are impressed with my skill. They say, "Wow, you're good," and tip me 2000 credits. When they see their wounds and fatigue drop quickly, they know they are in the presence of a dedicated entertainer. Not everyone has the stamina to keep at it (though some have the macros, but these veterans know to look out for those). Thus, they recognize my value.
If they're not tipping you, it's not because you're too good at healing. Those people just don't tip. I suspect you are witnessing a phase and that your healing skills just happen to coincide with that assessment.
Or maybe you are in an area with a bunch of clueless people who don't realize what a value higher healing is.
It's hard for me to judge exactly what increases a tip since several things have been incorperated by me over the time that my healing improved that all brought about better tips.
I moved locations from a busy cantina to my current smaller home about the same time that I started to feel the impact of improved healing, 2nd teir novice dancer. While I place more emphasis on the switching of locations the improved healing abilities made me stand out to my new customers above the occasional novice entertainer that they had previously encountered.
With my change of locations I also felt the need/ability to get to know my client base more than I had in Theed. While I was getting to know my regulars my healing ability increased and my tips also increased. Once again I'll place the reason for improved tips more on atmosphere than on ability however my ability to heal quickly made folks that much happier to seeme when I dropped in.
I finished my first teir 4 healing ability on the same night that I finished DK4 (exotic) and bought a fleshwrap that I felt went with my new style of dance. The next night was my best tip night ever. At that point many of my customers had never seen either exotic or a fleshwrap so both were new to them and elicited comments and brought in better tips. However I am complimented on my healing ability as often as I am my dress style or dance moves.
I have a great regular client base that I've gotten to know fairly well, they are often generous in their tipping, they appreciate when I am available in the cantina to heal them and tip to show that appreciation. Since many remain in the cantina relaxing and chatting longer than the time it takes to be healed I know that my tips aren't based solely on my healing abilities, however I am thanked for the speed of my healing more than anything else.
In my neck of the woods there aren't many master performers so people are still impressed by the speed of the heal and comment on the difference my skill makes over others. Once masters are more common place healing speed won't mean as much as personality and availabilty, but for now it draws attention and comments.
1. Relying solely on the random kindness of strangers and getting lucky.
2. Playing the world's worst Federal Express simulator.
There have been efforts to improve the situation before, but naive and misguided people have whined about how it's unseemly to expect to be paid for doing a job (goddamn communists). This is what you get when you allow people to believe that what you do is unworthy of reward. I hope you enjoy it.
In the more social scenes being a higher level helps with music selection and helps others gain experience faster. I like the entertainer professions because I feel like I can help my friends gain experience faster. And the more friends I get that are higher level means the less time I might need to play sw1.
For me the biggest return comes when out of the blue our group will have 3-5 master level people in it and we just say, hey guys - we need a break. We are going to play ceremonial, or jazz or virutoso for the next 3-4 minutes before we go back to SW1.
I have never seen anyone complain when we make that request.
CantinaFly wrote:
It's a bit sad to admit it, but there is no value to a good entertainer. Entertainers are healing mules for the rest of the professions in the galaxy who survive by doing one of two things:
1. Relying solely on the random kindness of strangers and getting lucky.
2. Playing the world's worst Federal Express simulator.
There have been efforts to improve the situation before, but naive and misguided people have whined about how it's unseemly to expect to be paid for doing a job (goddamn communists). This is what you get when you allow people to believe that what you do is unworthy of reward. I hope you enjoy it.
I am one of those "naive and misguided people" I guess... I made 10k in tips in a couple hours this morning from people who didn't even need healing. How you ask? Because I was playing high level music in a cantina, and they were so glad not to be listening to n00b songs that they were tipping me left and right.
"Random kindness"? Kindness yes... random no. Do you just like throwing cliches out there and hoping they make sense or what? 
Delivery missions are a good alternative for those of you that haven't bothered to pick up a weapon, make a friend, and go do some destroy missions. If you do choose not to pick up any combat skills it is your perogative, but don't go blaming SOE because you have to deliver things to make money then... you are lucky they gave you an alternative.
Anyway, backing up... The "value" in a good entertainer/musician/dancer is what it brings to the player, not to everyone else. Personally, I still sit and play music with my friends even when there are no players watching us... we even go in our private homes and play music with each other for fun. It is fun for some people believe it or not. When we are done, we all group together and run some missions. Again - more fun! Imagine that.
Again I say... don't be an entertainer unless you enjoy it. A good barometer for this is: if you find yourself complaining about how many tips you make in a day, or find that it becomes your mission in life to post nothing but complaints about how you can't force others to tip you... you probably aren't enjoying it and should play another class.
Was that subtle enough? 
You_Myst wrote:
oddly enough hijo, and honestly speaking, most of the time i see your name on a post i skip by it since most of the time its a flame or negative remark
I'm sorry, but this cracked me up
I consider Hijo a close ally on the boards as his views along with a few others most closely resemble my own, I just word my thoughts and feelings a bit differently
And no, this particular post of mine adds nothing to the topic...heheh
Durney Kova - Master Entertainer / Master Musician - Lowca
I am NOT a healing mule. That being said, I am an entertainer. I try to entertain everyone that walks into my cantina. I do my best to greet people and at the very least wave to them, so they know I have acknowledged them.
I did something that some folks might not have done, but maybe more will be doing it as time goes on, but I amassed myself a small fortune, bought things I wanted and now have dumped my combat skills. I still have a "nest egg" and am only getting into it to pay for my trainiong in the other areas that I have taken up.
Entertainers are what you make of them...if you want to be a healing Mule, more power to em, but that generalization will not cut it for the true performers that are actually role playing there class/s.
At the beginning of a characters life, you have many skill points, I ran out of em a long time ago, and had hard choices to make. But you can be an entertainer and a combatant, they can work together. So for anyone who needs money, get marksman, pick up the pistol, after stat migrations of course
, and go run destory missions.I didn't like doing it myself, but it worked and now I am free to do as I want, which is to be the best 100% pure entertainer I can be. I started as an Entertainer, so I practiced what i am saying. If they can increase the reward for gig missions, entertainers everywhere will be free of the yoke of combat/delivery missions
Durney Kova - Master Entertainer / Master Musician - Lowca
*giggle* Thanks Cudayn! I had no idea I was so controversial.
Maybe I need to start posting more "fluff" so people take me seriously? lol
CantinaFly wrote:
It's a bit sad to admit it, but there is no value to a good entertainer. Entertainers are healing mules for the rest of the professions in the galaxy who survive by doing one of two things:
1. Relying solely on the random kindness of strangers and getting lucky.
2. Playing the world's worst Federal Express simulator.
There have been efforts to improve the situation before, but naive and misguided people have whined about how it's unseemly to expect to be paid for doing a job (goddamn communists). This is what you get when you allow people to believe that what you do is unworthy of reward. I hope you enjoy it.
I must say, I disagree with this 100%. My little Twi'lek dancer is not a mule. She dances because she loves it. It's very nice that it heals people but that's not why she dances. She likes to dance and perform. It's part of her makeup. She would not (in character) take kindly at all to being called a mule.
As to the two points, I disagree with both.
1. My character does not often receive tips from random strangers. She instead receives tips from cantina regulars who know her, and from people she "chats up" and interacts with. I.e. when she entertains them, in general, they tip her. Random strangers usually come in and out and don't tip at all... Which is just fine, they can do that if they want. Tipping is up to the customer.
2. My character has not run a fedex mission since like the 3rd day on the server. She makes more money in the amount of time it takes to do a delivery, by instead going to a not-too-crowded cantina and dancing for a bit. Smaller is better, if you are looking for tips. Yes, you get less XP. You have to make a choice: (a) XP grind for big XP but low tips in a large group (since, be fair, nobody is going to tip 500 credits each to all 20 band members in the Theed cantina -- that's just ridiculous to expect), or (b) go to a smaller place where you are one of only 2 or 3 performers, which gives you 1/2 the XP, but where you will get individually noticed and, therefore, individually and more generously tipped.
Remember that in a small, out-of-the-way place, people are more likely to appreciate their dancers and musicians, than they do in a place where there are always a half-dozen or more entertainers and 3/4 of them are on an AFK Macro.
My character just hit novice dancer and got the first couple of healing skills in the tree. Right after that she went to Keren to show her new dance to a friend, but he wasn't there. Instead there were 2 novices ents there doing basic dance and SW1, so they were total new entertainers, and a few people healing up. The musician invited me and I joined the group and started doing the new Popular dance to play around with it... In about a minute one of the people being healed said to my character, "Wow, Dejah... you are really good. I've never seen my wounds go down so fast!" And this,just for her as a novice dancer. And he gave me a BIG tip too, when he was done.
If you are just one of the pack you can't get noticed and the tips will in general be lower. If you want to be recognized and appreciated for all the work you have put into being Master Entertainer or whatever, go to a small place where you can stand out more.
C
I have a question that is off topic but related.
I started dancing on Talus and doing entertainer missions. There I recieved what I believed was the entire amount of the mission. and was grouped with 5 - 7 people
Last night I joined a group of 15 - 20 and did the same thing and noticed I was getting next to nothing for my missions.
Is the mission reward split among the group so that the smaller the group the more I keep for myself?