Ideas to help new players settle on BG

[SBlack]

Fortunately for me, I found an active and growing guild to become a part of. Finding those groups is, I think, key to retention. There have been a few ideas of how to point the new players towards guilds. I'll leave it up to others to discuss the best way to do so, but I have to say that it is definitely key.
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Unfortunately, I've received a handful of complaints from new or newer players about the treatment they've received while playing here. Namely in the forms of mocking or belittling, trolling, and excluding..

Tarnished Soul is very inclusive and plays nice with everyone and her guild thrives. Unfortunately I've also witnessed first hand what Maecius is speaking of. I think it's a matter of people being perhaps introverted/shy in some cases and in other cases perhaps being satisfied enough with their current situation.

People are the main resource here so if you want your type of RP and/or guild to thrive you have to invest in them (people). That takes work and sacrifice as well as being enjoyable, rewarding, and relationship building though things don't always work out in the end. I'm not talking about means to an end investment to find players for the purpose of taking your side (or be on your team) to accomplish your characters/organizations goals as those tend to end up being short lived unhealthy relationships that usually end up turning toxic in one way or another once significant conflict arises. I'm talking about investing in people to contribute, diversify, and inspire the roleplay.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record as I keep saying this periodically not sure if anyone is actually listening . If everyone did what Tarnished Soul has been doing I don't believe this thread would need exist.

[Calen]

You need to take two things into account when it comes to new players.
One are game mechanics and server layout, the other RP.


Lets first take a look at the mechanics on BG that might not be seen as fun.


XP gain:


The current XP gain is low, which makes levelling characters a chore.
Especially during the low levels it is just a RNG fest.
New players will more often than not be alone.

Exploration isn't rewarded either since you lose XP upon death.
Trying a more difficult area doesn't net you better gear or that much more XP.



Zones:

Currently you level GY>kobolds>Lizards>Goblins>bears>Xvarts>Xvarts>xvarts level 20.
Most other areas are either difficult or have a slow spawn rate.
XP and loot are not well balanced with the risk your PC takes.

The worst offender I find are the amount of dispels used by mobs.
This alone can make an area not accessible for players.

Traps would be another issue, having traps in an area is fine.
Having them pop up every 5 steps you take is not, especially when mobs run over them.

New players might get the feeling that everything is made as tedious as possible.


3-20 rule

This rule does nothing for power gaming or balance for that matter.
It just pigeon-holes people into cookie cutter builds and destroys fun RP concepts.
New players need to build around this rule and need to learn about all the custom rules we have.

Another issue with the 3-20 rule is that you might end up playing a weak build up to x level just so you can get reach the demands.
The main argument I hear is 1 dip shadowdancer, but you can just ban that just like monk/druid.

The whole 3-20 rule is something that doesn't fit.



Planning your build

Veteran players don't know all the inside outs, DM don't know them and the scriptwriters can overlook stuff here and there.
New players have no way of knowing what works on this server and what not.
Even when you go through the pile of updates you will still find stuff that hasn't been made clear or isn't documented.

NWn2 builder is different, and the Jecht module has some issues.
When a new player messes up a build they get welcomed by the RCR penalty.
As a result they can go farm more Xvarts.
You are basically punishing people with the RCR penalty for making a mistake on a server that gives you no clear indication what is there.
Besides it is about RP, why is the staff (and some players) dead set on a RCR penalty.

If you insist on keeping the RCR penalty you could consider providing a tool to help out.
What you can do is create an area where people can test their builds/mechanics.
This would help new and old players.



Why low levels aren't fun in general


- Usually you end up being alone, watching the RNG fest with 1 attack is as fun as watching paint dry.
This goes double if you are new to the server.

- There are a group of people who are a lot more eager to settle RP differences with PVP when they know you are low level.

- You pretty much end up being dead 24/7 during DM events.
While DM's are a considerate bunch, it is difficult not to get a low level killed.


What I think is a problem for new players.

When I look at BG mechanics I feel like they are just made to be tedious.
It is not a hardcore RP server, a lot of stuff isn't clear and lag isn't uncommon.

I just don't see why we have an XP penalty on death/ a punishment for screwing up a build with RCR and a 20-3 rule that does nothing against powerbuilding or balance.

The server feels like a MMORPG, where you run dungeons for loot gameplay wise.
It encourages you to make good/power builds while it downplays RP stats/skill rolls.

Faster levelling, no punishing mechanics would also tune down the urge to make fully 'optimized builds'.
Adding more boss monsters and variation in areas would still make grouping viable.


Suggestions:

- Add a room where people can test builds/forbid them to PVP there/spam spells.
- Just up the XP gain, add more quests in general.
- Remove the 20-3 rule
- Remove RCR penalty/death penalty/
- Add some more variety when it comes to monsters in areas, design a few more orcs/xvarts/giants.
- Decrease the amount of traps in some areas.
-Make other zones more attractive , add a few bosses, some more chests and up the spawn rate a little.


As for the RP part, here is what I think.

New players need to realize that this is a medium/social RP server.
People tend to mix IC and OOC a lot around here, and often take IC as OOC.
This isn't necessarilya bad thing, if anything it shows people are caring.

However it does mean that rping on BG tends to involve fitting in, rather than following D&D lore.

When taking this into account BG is rather welcoming towards new players.
There are some cliques as well , how ever with this being a medium RP server you end up having people with different tastes.

Best thing players can do is get new people involved in guilds which is happening.

[Sapper Woody]

This was a well thought out post, and I don't want to belittle that. But there are a couple of things I disagree with.

The current XP gain is low, which makes levelling characters a chore.

I agree with this, but I disagree that this is a bad thing. As I stated in my post, it's not all about getting to 30. We lose so much of the story if everyone gets to 30 quickly. My character's story isn't about him being a powerful wizard. That's the second book. It's about how he became that.

3-20 rule

This rule does nothing for power gaming or balance for that matter.
It just pigeon-holes people into cookie cutter builds and destroys fun RP concepts.
New players need to build around this rule and need to learn about all the custom rules we have.

Another issue with the 3-20 rule is that you might end up playing a weak build up to x level just so you can get reach the demands.
The main argument I hear is 1 dip shadowdancer, but you can just ban that just like monk/druid.

The whole 3-20 rule is something that doesn't fit.

I can see this to a degree. I don't necessarily agree or disagree with it. I do think that the rule does restrict some things. But I also see how it could reduce the power builds. Reineke's build, for instance, would probably not change too drastically with only taking one level of fighter rather than three. The only difference would be two levels of spells per day/known. His caster level wouldn't change. His hp would actually go down. And he'd lose a feat. So, it's a give/take.

Not being a powerbuilder per se (though some would consider his build to be a powerbuild), I can't really comment to much more other than that.

Besides it is about RP, why is the staff (and some players) dead set on a RCR penalty.

This statement I wholeheartedly disagree with. It is because it is all about the RP is why there needs to be an RCR penalty. Otherwise people could utilize the tool to change a level 30 fighter into a level 30 wizard. That just doesn't sit well with RP. Of course, that's just my opinion, not a statement of fact. People's opinions differ.

As I said before, your post was well thought out. I just wanted to point out a couple things where I disagree.