Musician Archive
Thread: What is wrong with AFK Musicians?
I see nothing wrong with Musicians that are AFK, Hell, Im AFK from Galaxies running my macro as I am typing this. The Character that I have is not my main character but when I go to work I leave him running so he can level up. Im sorry but Im not gonna have any fun just watching my character do the same 8 flourishes over and over again. I understand if your at a cantina where its packed and theres alot of people, you can talk to people while you are levling up but when your in a player cantina and the only person in the cantina is you, Well, What is there to do? Check this out, All im saying is that people should not complain about entertainers that are AFK, Let them do their thing. As for the tipping, I say you should tip, Well, You should tip if he/she is the only entertainer there and you needd someone to heal you then I could understand tipping the person but that is really all up to the person with the cash.
"Im sorry but Im not gonna have any fun just watching my character do the same 8 flourishes over and over again."
It's the same thing when you're a master except you can watch you guy do the same 8 flourishes while jumping on a nalargon.
I have no problem with AFKers who play the bandfill, since I need the bass as a master entertainer and musician 0-0-1-0. But I HATE the following AFK musicians
- Onesthat includes a spatial chat as part of the macro (this includes the morons who have typos in the marco John Smith says "flourish 7") my ingore list contains of few of these
- Ones that have very short macros and repetative macros
- Ones that stand in the middle of the cantina
As a rule I immediatley kick any AFK musician/dancer who falls under #1. I kick other AFKers when the group is full and they're taking up a spot. I also kick AFKers when the band wants to play a song the AFKer can't play (buggy). Well generally if you go AFK in my group, you'll be kicked sooner or later. I hate moochers. Go AFK in your house, not in the cantina. Or at the very least go AFK on an adventure planet.
My problem with AFK is not directly the practice itself, but the effect it has on the profession. I would say it is a FACT that there are less ATK entertainers because of the ability to do it AFK. Either because they got bored and quit or because they wondered why they were even trying when everyone else was AFK, so they started doing it too. And that means the class at a whole is less fun, so more people will leave for the above two reasons. You're left with a profession full of macros and a few people who have found places they can actually enjoy the profession.
And I don't know about you, but I'm rarely alone in my cantina. Theres usually quite a few people there, both entertainers and non entertainers alike. And none of the entertainers are AFK.
Why would you want to be a musican if all your going to do is afk macro to master?
If you do not like it when you playing to get exp what will the point be once you reach master?
You will find that you are unhappy with the game and quit.
"...so it's back to that stupid static again" -- Air Conditioner, Brave Little Toaster
Posts like this and the characters that make them make me want to quit Musician and Dancer, and indeed many like me already have! So there you are...that's why AFK entertainers are bad.
I just went snooping around Naboo today. Moenia, Deeja, Keren all had zero entertainers. Theed, however, had 24 entertainers, 19 of which were AFK.
So what's wrong with that picture, you say? Well first of all, the combatants in Moenia, Deeja, and Keren are getting no entertainer healing/buffing. Second, back in the day when entertainers actually played their characters (something most people in the game have never seen), you would see at least 3-4 entertainers is almost ANY cantina because it was actually a fun profession to play--jamming with friends, shootin' the breeze, coming up with new dance routines, songs, so on and so forth.
So what happened? Slowly but surely, the AFK entertainer trend started creeping up in places that were the most crowded. Why the most crowded? Because AFK entertainers are grinders and the most crowded places produce the most experience. How can I say that AFK entertainers are grinders? Because otherwise they'd be at the keyboard enjoying themselves since mastering the profession is *no different* than the road getting there. But i digress...
Why don't active entertainers go to the non-crowded areas? Because now there are not only no other entertainers, but there are no combatants either (they've all moved to the crowded areas where they can get healed). Let me point out that you're right...a solo entertainer with nobody to heal or talk to is, in fact, a very boring thing. (By the way, how is that any different than a room full of AFK people?)
The active entertainers started quitting and picking up other professions or leaving the game altogether. Here's the question you need to ask: why are AFK entertainers making the active ones give it up and leave?
Here's my answer to that question: The more and more AFK entertainers I see and the more posts I see from people that haven't a clue why it's bad makes me realize more and more that being a musician or dancer is becoming pointless.
I went around the planet searching for someone that I could play music with that could do more than the first few songs. I found *nobody*. Well there goes one huge element of fun right out the window. Besides that, what point is there to spend effort coming up with songs, flourishes, routines and whatnot when people end up watching/listening to the AFK entertainer instead? What point is there in even attempting to BE a musician or dancer when someone can just macro themselves 24/7 and be a master in a week?
There used to be a point and a purpose and an element to fun when there were people there with you. Sad to say, not anymore. Thanks, AFK entertainers.
Here's another answer: Most AFK entertainers are not courteous and, in fact, are completely oblivious to the fact that there are people there trying to enjoy themselves. They end up parking their avatar smack in the middle of the entryway and start their little macro that spews text periodically like a broken record. Oh, I saw a clever one today. The person was using a custom emote in their macro that made people think they were getting special attention because it looked like a targetted emote:
/happy Tips are appreciated!
/emote smiles seductively at you.
As for musicians, you know what the AFK Cantina Crewwere playing in Theed? Folk and starwars1 and starwars2...in the same group. Boy that outta attract more customers and really make customers feel they want to be there. No wonder everyone turns their player music off.
I hope that helps clarify why at least I feel AFK entertainers are bad. And if you weren't asking for clarification, then you shouldn't have bothered posting.
By the way, what has Sony done to help?
1. They've clarified that AFK macroing is NOT against the EULA (gee, thanks, that was really helpful...).
2. They've forced even more AFK macroing by causing people who have no interest in being entertainers into the profession from the holocrons (could have fooled me that it's being discouraged...discouraged by whom?)
3. Only Masters can place cantinas. This is a win for active entertainers. But it's also another reason to AFK macro a musician mule for the solepurpose of placing a cantina in a city (I've seen it already).
I really can't think of anything else.
People that think that LAMErs don't hurt anyone are ignorant of the facts.
Do you think it is right to kill steal? Kill stealing is against the EULA of most MMORPGs, including this one. People still do it.
What does kill stealing have to do AFK entertainment?
Well, kill stealingit hurts your fellow players by taking a way a good source of income and XP. AFK entertainers cause this exact same problem for ATK entertainers.
Do you like hurting fellow entertainers chances of getting XP and credits just so that you can make MM in a few hours or a week rather then a few weeks or a month?
Do you believe it is right to step on everyone else just to make to the top? Do you really reach your goal when you got there?
Perhaps people should tell us ATKs why they think its right to AFK, this time with benefits that include more then just themselves.
Personally, now that I have my own cantina, I will NEVER perform in the uncontrolled cantinas in the starter cities. Also, if I ever find an AFK entertainer in my cantina, they can expect to be incapped when they come back, because oh yes, I am a member of the militia too. I can warn you and kill you in moments, then you will also be banned from establishment, permanently. So AFKers, stay the hell out of my cantina!!!
- What the songs sound like
- What the dances look like
- The name of the instruments, and what they sound like
- The nicknames for some of the songs (Don't know how common they are, but on my server, Ceremonial is called Zelda, and Virtuoso is called Jeepers Creepers.)
- How to switch instruments without stopping (Sadly not as effective anymore as of the last patch)
- How to do dancer effects while playing an instrument (Same trick as above basically, so again not anymore)
- How to do things as a dancer that require stopping dancing (Teaching someone, image design, etc) without stopping dancing. (I never tried this with the trick from 2 above, but it might have worked to be able to do this as a musician)
- /pausemusic (Go back and search the forums.... First post about pausmusic that wasn't just a list of commands was mine)
- That /pause for macros works for any number, not just whole numbers
- How to move while dancing
- How do to dancer effects without dancing
- How to do dancer effects rapid fire while dancing or not dancing
- How to do bandflourishes just for single instruments
- That as a dancer I can do bandflourishes for the musicians
- How to dance Lyrical in a tight formation without drift
- How to get over 50k dance or music xp in 2 hours (Ironically the way is to do what most would consider the exact opposite of grinding)
- That there is a mind buff, and that it gives healing xp (I've known this since September, long before the big boost to the buff)
- That said mind buff used to stack with itself. (Can you say 64k mind pool? I can say it and I have seen it personally from my buffing. Even when the buff was only half what it is now for up to 15 minutes, I could get my secondary mind stats well over 2000, and much higher if I felt like it.)
- That the effects from the technique line each have 3 different levels that look different. (Don't know if I was the first, but it certainly wasn't common knowledge when I stumbled across it)
- That dancers get a smokebomb effect many of them have never seen and don't know about. (Not musicians, because musicians get ventriliquism in place of the smoke bomb, which is targetted and the only effect not to have 3 levels)
I'll stop there because I'm already up later than I wanted. But if you ask me it is that stuff above that makes a true master. (Yes, I have done all that, no I don't expect people to have done all that or even most of it, but at least some of it.) That is what entertainment is about.
Sure, none of this is directly anything wrong with AFK musicians, but I would point out they are not playing the class.
Thank goodness for the last few posters.
Lately this has been gettin me down, just seems like noone cares. I know waaaa waaa
But ,At least some people "get it"
If I may be allowed to add.
Gigs are great but most are weekends. I used to like to head to the busy places for my day to day gaming and sometimes tour different Cantina's. Train the ranks look for band mates etc.
They have become powergaming havens, or completly empty.
Not a Cantina with antics, alittle music, and alot of laughs.
Oh and bear in mind the powergamer mentality. They dont want masters in there groups, they would rather have their fellow AFK powering buddy there.
Just maintaining a Band is hard.... I play on a fairly active server and most are disgusted and have moved on.
Frankly the other day was a bad day indeed and even I was tempted to just simply give up and go play my alt on Starsider. Which I shall be doing for my day to day gaming.
Also, this just doesnt effect us. When this class launched we had alot of people having a good time. Enough to put a band in alot of player cities and help support these enterprises.
I simply do not see alot of Full time Musicians that are covering gigs anymore.
Plenty of people in Theed/Coro sure ,but we all know why.
We help support the funfactor in this game and yet we have been dilluted by the powering mentality.
And sadder still the tools to do this have been offered up, and sanctioned by the game itself.
This game has a rich crafting experience, Awesome structures, wonderful cities now, and players creating events and content. WE, us, the performing community are supposed to be here to support this to an extent.
And yet, our player base is so thin. I'm talking working Performer's!
Instead we have a class thats now 50-70 percent players that dont even wish to be here. Playing a class that, with a macro, and some self injuring/deseasing friends can power their way to Master to shed the title to move on to whatever the Holo tells them to do next.
The person/player typethat has the mentality to play a performer is not going to like this, hell I don't like it. Hence they move on. We lose good players to this every day.
Compound this with the fact that to be a Master, and be able to play all Instruments, which for me is a must. I must be a MM/ME.That leaves me very little to diversify my Char with. I know some of you disagree, but this is my experience, hence this is my opinion. It effects the day to day gaming for any MM/ME.
ie. I got no points left what else can I do!!! Most are now saying "lose the profession, noone needs us anyway bots can do our job."
And who cares? very few, only the handful of players that are still out there.
We aren't a dieing breed , it's much worse... we are a disregarded breed.
And the ironic part is the same people developing Player Cities, and Player Theatres, and trying to promote player content, are the same ones dilluting us.
I certainly do not get it.
PS: To theVisitors to our class.... Holotainers... you folks have your priorities, and thats cool. I ain't trashing yas, but I got my agenda too.
I'm sure getting Jedi is important to ye and I respect that. But... I'm also sure some of you are in PA's and possibly a part of a city. To me this issue indirectly effects that city and in turn ...you.
Sure you can place a bot in your Cantina's but that will not speak well of yourcity. Whereas being able to have parties and events would be a draw.
If you have never heard a "Real Band" with routines well your missing out. And so is your City.
Reputations and fun will be a contributng factor to the success of any City.
Got a player city? Got a theatre? You gonna tell me your Mayors wouldnt like to see plays and events there?
Entertainers,Dancers, and Musicians are the type of players to put that together.
How the heck can we pull that off when Masters are few and far between. You ever see a row of full time Real dancers doing a real gig, if not what a shame, it is soo fun!
OK no biggie ... but when your wondering why the Cantina is just a Bot, and your Theatre is a nice building ......but just that, and your streets are empty ...know that the classes that might have been able to assist with this, are so disregarded, and dilluted ,and any talented player who had the interest to do this is gone...... don't wonder why.
I don't say this is your fault, it is not. All I ask is to try and understand how some of us feel.
To many of late are wondering why some of us consider this an issue.
As an AFK Holotainer all I can say to you folks is, "sorry"
Sony has forced us to take up your profession in order to persue our ultimate goal of unlocking a force sensitive slot. I don't have any interest in the entertainer profession and I don't have anything against entertainers. In fact, I appreciate what you add to the game.
But please, don't blame us for being forced into your profession.
Just think about how lame cantinas would be if you COULDN'T AFK entertain? You would have all those lame kids who don't give 2 sh|ts about your profession FORCED to hang out with you. They wouldn't stop trying to become anJedi, they would just annoy the heck out of you while they did it.
When you see someone w/ a poorly scripted macro, offer to help them out and give them one to use! Let them know that you want the afk'ers over to the sides to save room for the active performers. Most of us will listen and appreciate your advice. In fact, perhaps one day if you decide to take up a combat profession, one of us will take you along on a hunt and save you months of time trying to figure out what the best mob to kill is.
As for me, I politely ask for an invite, stand in the corner and play my instrument. When I hit master musician, the only time you'll see me is for heals and buffs (or if you invite me to one of your parties).
"As an AFK Holotainer all I can say to you folks is, "sorry"
Sony has forced us to take up your profession in order to persue our ultimate goal of unlocking a force sensitive slot. I don't have any interest in the entertainer profession and I don't have anything against entertainers. In fact, I appreciate what you add to the game.
But please, don't blame us for being forced into your profession."
Noone is blaming the holocron entertainers. They're being forced into the profession by a holocron that told them they had to. I certainly don't expect them to become socializers overnight. We're probably more disappointed that that's the road to Jedi than you are. hehe
But the question is 'what is wrong with AFK musicians' and he got his answers.