Game Guides Archive

This is not so much of a guide for becoming a buff doc, there are plenty of guides available if you want to take the time to find them. This is more of a guide to how not to frustrate or upset a doc who is performing a service for his community. After close to a year of playing a Master Doctor on three seperate servers, I have to write this. Too often are players (new and vets) doing and saying the same things to docs that just do not need to be said, and hopefully this quick guide will help players be more tolerant of the Doctors who are swamped with 10 or more buff requests.

Rule 1. Communicating with a Doctor. Every doctor will use /shout or /say to loop a message saying that they are buffing, how much it costs, and often how good the buffs are. Wait for spam messages, or check the Doc's BIO for information before you send a /tell or shout at the doctor asking how much his/her buff is. It is okay to send most doc's a tell asking them if they are buffing, often they are in obscure spots or surrounded by 20 players, and you cant find them visually. It is not okay to send 10 tells right after you paid them asking if its your turn yet.

Rule 2. Payment methods. Every doc I have ever encountered will tell you, that with hawker spam, thier own spam, healing message spam, and getting 100 tells from 10 players, it is really hard to notice when someone regular tips them. As a result many docs want to be tipped via the bank, one, it prevents players from lying to the doc, and allows the doc to keep track of who paid first. If you accidently paid via a regular tip, send the doc an email immediately letting him know you regular tipped accidently, many will forgive you for the minor error, and thank you for letting them know you paid.

Rule 3. Being a patient Patient - You just got off the shuttle at the Mining Outpost on Dantooine, your aching for an adventure and you know you are going to enjoy some time with a dancer to get your mind off things, and then visit the resident doc about some enhancements. You are not alone. During peak times, there can be 4 or even 6 master Doc's in MO and each of them will have a line 5 to 10 players deep when you decide to throw your 12-15k at them for buffs. It takes on average 45 to 60 seconds to buff one player, so please, dont send them 10 hate tells demanding that your next. Believe me when I tell you that though I am not mean player, I do have a list of players I wont buff even for 1 million credits, because they decided to throw a fit when it took 15 minutes for me to get to them. Buff docs use a first in, first out method of buffing. you get buffed in the order that your email from the bank tip was recieved. many docs like myself when the line starts getting long will at least announce how long it will be for the last person to pay to be the first person. Just be patient, use the time you are waiting to refresh your soda, smoke a cigarette(for smokers) use the bathroom, write emails, harass guildmates, get into a solo group, rearrange your inventory, anything other than wasting your time and the docs time by complaining. If you are in an absolute hurry to get caught up with your group who is getting ready to storm the Crystal Caves, or something, ask politely if the doctor has a line skip policy in place. Generally they may make exceptions, but it will probably cost you more for the previlige.

Rule 4. Be polite to the doctor and the other clients. Docs dont "Have" to buff you, dont have to heal you, dont have to rez you, and dont have to listen to you complain. If you are diseased or poisoned, ask them politely if they can heal you, reward them for healing you, it costs the doctor money and resources to take away that disease, at least be nice enough to say thanks, if your too cheap or broke to pay them. Most docs offer free heals when you get a buff, but don't be afraid to ask for heals, just shouldnt expect to get them for free. Dont sit next to the doc and wait expecting them to notice that you need to be healed. When was the last time your physician came into your house without you asking them to come when you were sick? Many docs make thier own stims and buff packs, these cost resources, time, and money. *check guides on crafting if you need an explaination* not always is the cost of giving a way heals covered by the income gained from buffing. Even a little bit of a payment is better than no payment at all.

Suggestion 1. Getting Skipped - If you notice that you have been in line for at least 10 people, and ppl walking up after you are getting buffed before you, send a polite /tell to the doc about you possibly having been skipped, but before you do that, check your email records for the system email saying you paid via escrow to make sure you typed the command right. Then send the /tell, and have the doc check thier email and even check thier cash on hand just in case you accidently paid via regular tip. Don't yell at them, they are just as suseptable to errors are you are.

Suggestion 2. Don't Have to Wait - On average there are more than 40 Master Doctors buffing in the Galaxy. Just because you want to hunt on Dant doesnt mean you have to wait for a buff on Dant. Hop the shuttle to Coronet, take your TIE to Theed, they are there, just take the short trip to them. Also, dont feel like spending 15k for 2100 buffs, dont. there are others out there that do higher for less, and dont hesitate to check out player cities, many towns now have someone who dedicates thier computer to running an AFK doc in a hospital or the cantina in the playertowns. not only do you usually get better than average buffs *300 points above average*, they are usually cheaper cause the doc is pulling money into the city by your tourism.

Suggestion 3. Combat near a doctor who is buffing. - Running, with gusto, away from that Dark Jedi Master that you agro'd outside of MO, straight into MO is a bad idea, DJM's kill indescrimanently, and usually it doesnt take much of a fight to put a Master Doctor on the ground dead. Which does tend to ruin the day of every one else who has waited in line patiently for buffs. I know that if I am killed by a DJM that someone pulled to MO, I stop buffing for the rest of the day. Don't ruin everyone elses day just because you dont want to visit the cloning center.

Suggestion 4. Cloning, BattleFatigue, and other stuff - Since I broached the subject of cloning, Get cloned when you get to MO. Infact get cloned everytime to visit a city or town you plan on hunting out of. Before you stake a place in line with a Doc, get your BF below 250, 200 is prefered, but over 250 reduces the effectiveness of the buff. If you decide that you dont want to visit an entertainer, and possibly have to part with some of your fortune to pay for getting head wounds and bf healed, dont complain to the doc when he tells you that his 2400+ buffs are only going to be good for 2100.


Well, that I think is the end of my offers to players for how to utilize their friendly neighborhood Buff Docs. if any of you happen to know of a subject that I havent covered, please feel free to offer it here.

Dr. Imgragael Tere (DPS) - Corbantis
Administrator Ad Lucem General Hospital, Ad Lucem, Dantooine.
Mining Outpost Buffline located under the Harvester at -620, 2510

EDITED: 03/01/05 - *made a few changes to some wording, and made a couple points a little more clear. As thoughts and ideas come to me, I will probably continue to add and change this.*


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Message Edited by Imgragael on 03-01-2005 12:29 AM

not to toot my horn, but maybe we can get this put up as a sticky somewhere. just a thought.


Imgragael Tere