What are the incentives for helping new players?

Barto92 · October 1

For the past few years, we’ve noticed the game’s direction shifting (for better or worse) towards being more casual and focused on seasonal players, rather than those who log in regularly. The game and its features are becoming increasingly accessible, and naturally, we’re seeing more new players starting out. Many of them don’t understand the in-game systems, and often it’s their first encounter with the MMORPG genre, which can make their initial experience a bit of a struggle. This naturally leads to players helping them in various ways.

In other games, helping new players is often rewarded with extra experience points, currencies, special achievements, mentor ranks, and more. Some games even mark new players with a special status next to their character’s name, so others know they are beginners. Running dungeons with them may not be a typical speedrun (which is a whole other discussion), but the game systems compensate for the extra time and effort with various rewards.

I haven’t been able to find similar mechanisms in ESO, but maybe they already exist. How is helping new players rewarded in the game? What incentives does ESO offer for this? If there aren’t any, what motivates you personally to help new players? Wouldn’t a better new player experience and veteran support help improve player retention in the long run? Could helping others be considered... a form of narcissism or selfishness?

Happy to hear your opinions!

moderatelyfatman · October 1

To be honest, nothing in game. Quite often it is the opposite as running past the trash in a public dungeon/delve and dumping it onto other players seems to be a time honoured tradition in ESO. Or the players that run to the final boss in a random daily dungeon while ignoring the other player's request to do the story quest.

However, I do get a certain personal satisfaction helping low CP players through vet and HM content PUG dungeons. It's a way of paying back those senior players who carried me through harder content back when I was a newbie.

colossalvoids · October 1

It's a personal thing here, when I was helping people left and right it was because I've enjoyed the game and a progress so wanted others to feel and have the same.

oldbobdude · October 1

I like to help new folks to be helpful.

coop500 · October 1

I just like helping people because it's the right thing to do as humanity. If that has to be rewarded, then maybe the game deserves to die.

LunaFlora · October 1

i help people when i can, because i want to.
no incentives needed.

belial5221_ESO · October 1

If you group with a new player you still get the bonus xp,as long as it's jsut both of you.Lower level groups doing randoms don't have to worry about DLC dungeons,and ussuualy it's easy dungeons,unless the person has eso+ or bought the dlcs,which most don't.If you help and get them to stay it's incentive they'll keep game alive,maybe more players for dungeons,PVP,etc.So don't jsut go by getting things as a reward,sometimes just helping others or helping keep playerbase to keep the game alive is incentive enough.

Aggrovious · October 1

Could helping others be considered... a form of narcissism or selfishness?

The internet's favorite word lol.

I like to help people because I know how stressful it is to not be able to complete something. Its banished cells as the random daily for the 1000th time, so no problem, lets do your quest. My hope is the karma comes around for me with vet trials.

freespirit · October 1

There are no rewards from the game for helping new players.

I do it all the time because I can and because my friend's list is populated by friends I have made through a helping hand given to them when they started.

Ofc the other part of that list shows people I helped that didn't stick around.

I get a sense now of which type of these two a person is, the questions asked, the willingness to play the game, the ones that want to be max level and have everything immediately, the same people asking everyday for crafting materials rather than learning where to get their own, those that I make sets of gear for that then occasionally pop up with a question about a quest but are slowly leveling and around every day.

I won't stop helping people but my biggest piece of advice to new players now, is to play the game, meaning do the stories, learn your character, so when you do end up ready for harder content you know what you are doing. 💕

DenverRalphy · October 1

I'm rewarded with a stream of willing and able players filling the spots left vacant by retired players. Making it easier to field a group for vet dungeons, trials, event coffer farms, etc..

And it keeps a continuous supply of people to chat with and enjoy the gaming day.

SickleCider · October 1

I'll occasionally help someone by dumping lockpicks, soul gems and repair kits on them. They're clutter to me but valuable to a newbie. I don't like having a more direct hand because I feel like messing around and finding out is a better teacher than being told what to do. Unless I get asked a specific question about a mechanic...

Oh, the incentive. Eh, 'cause I can. Balances my karma out a little bit.

KromedeTheCorrupt · October 1

I help because it’s the right thing to do and makes me feel better about humanity. I don’t necessarily care about “incentive” per se but it would indirectly make a better community in eso. As it would change a lot of the fundamental principles people have within eso itself. If people knew somebody was a new player and not just another toon they’re leveling to 50. It would be like a lightbulb going off in their head that hey these are the mechanics in this dungeon. Watch out for X move, those are optional mini bosses, a chests spawns here, ect.

I wouldn’t mind incentives not because I want something in return but because people would go out of their way to get X item, achievement, currency, ect. So it’s a 2 way street they help you and you help them. So it’s a win win.

coop500 · October 1

Do people not realize if a reward was granted, then new players would just become another thing for vet players to farm? I don't see how that's a good thing. For newbies to be seen as another source of gold, mats or whatever.

Not to mention people exploiting it via alt accounts.

Kisakee · October 1

I'm just tossing some gold or items if someone is asking to sell something that's absolutely cheap and identifies them as a new player. Nothing special but eh, good deed done for the day.

ArchMikem · October 1

How...just, how can helping others be selfish?

JaxontheUnfortunate · October 1

I will generally help players who ask for it, regardless of the content ie: rerunning a dungeon that is not a speed run to get the quest completed

.

Necrotech_Master · October 1

asking for a reward for helping people IS the selfish option lol

C_Inside · October 1

Whenever I try to help someone with their build or with explaining mechanics they'll either ignore me completely and keep doing their own thing, or I'll get called out for "forcing" others to play like me. So I just don't do it anymore.

Renato90085 · October 1

Not only newplayer ,i alway help people.
like last month I solo tank gf VSS run when group have 6 member first run VSS
or today a 2000+ cp trade guild member pm me he want join my IA(when I farming Necro set) and he can't solo but still want finish weekly endeavors

Syldras · October 1

What the incentive is? You get the joy of having helped someone and you might gain a friend. Of course, these things seem to be worthless for some people.

karthrag_inak · October 1

Khajiit likes to help folks, and feels gratified when they end up staying around and becoming friends. Khajiit has also been helped a great deal over the years and, in so far that this is just a game, still this one feels real endearing gratitude.

Khajiit was nearly carried (he certainly didn't contribute that much) through vMoL back in 2018 by folks in a guild he was a part of back then, the greatest bunch of aussie blokes & sheilas

, and this one still feels gratitude toward those folks for their patience and indulgence. One of the highpoints of khajiit's ESO tenure was getting the Dro-m'athra skin, thanks to those folks.

DenverRalphy · October 1

ArchMikem wrote: »

How...just, how can helping others be selfish?

Ask the people who charge gold for carries.

Stafford197 · October 1

coop500 wrote: »

Do people not realize if a reward was granted, then new players would just become another thing for vet players to farm? I don't see how that's a good thing. For newbies to be seen as another source of gold, mats or whatever.

Not to mention people exploiting it via alt accounts.

I don’t think the goal is to reward helping new players, but rather to disincentive hurting their experience. Case in point, Vet players can easily make a newbie’s experience worse just by playing the game.

What fun is it for a new player when I’ve obliterated everything in a delve/public dungeon before they can approach? How about when I kill a boss, and then they have to either wait for it to respawn, or end up leaving the Delve thinking they completed it only to then have to return later? At the very least, when we’ve entered a boss area, a marker should appear where the boss will respawn so newbies don’t miss it or have to look online.

There’s also the entire issue of players speedrunning dungeons for the end reward via random normal group finder. How about splitting up the group finder reward so each boss drops transmutes? How about increasing drops from final boss based on how many enemies have been defeated? There are more ways but this alone provides more incentive to at least not zoom through the place.

SkaiFaith · October 1

Periodically I gift some soul gems and gold to random low level players in starting areas, and if someone decides to message me I then respond to their email when the next event comes, gifting stuff in excess.

Did this a number of times now but it gets sad when I constantly see those players leave the game and not come back...
I kinda lost my good will, recently.

I don't think it's a bad idea to incentivize helping others, but I wouldn't bind great rewards to it, since it could attract bad actors that could act toxic and discourage newer players...

Franchise408 · October 1

Being a good person.

Not that you are a bad person if you don't help out someone. But the incentive is doing it because it's a nice and kind thing to do.

coop500 · October 1

Stafford197 wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Do people not realize if a reward was granted, then new players would just become another thing for vet players to farm? I don't see how that's a good thing. For newbies to be seen as another source of gold, mats or whatever.

Not to mention people exploiting it via alt accounts.

I don’t think the goal is to reward helping new players, but rather to disincentive hurting their experience. Case in point, Vet players can easily make a newbie’s experience worse just by playing the game.

What fun is it for a new player when I’ve obliterated everything in a delve/public dungeon before they can approach? How about when I kill a boss, and then they have to either wait for it to respawn, or end up leaving the Delve thinking they completed it only to then have to return later? At the very least, when we’ve entered a boss area, a marker should appear where the boss will respawn so newbies don’t miss it or have to look online.

There’s also the entire issue of players speedrunning dungeons for the end reward via random normal group finder. How about splitting up the group finder reward so each boss drops transmutes? How about increasing drops from final boss based on how many enemies have been defeated? There are more ways but this alone provides more incentive to at least not zoom through the place.

If there's a reward, it will be farmed, and that's what OP is asking. Adding actual currency or something to helping players.

IMO noobies should not be a source of currency. And everything else you said has nothing to do with what OP was presenting.

El_Borracho · October 1

There is a difference between a player looking for help and a player looking for a carry. I am more than happy to help the former. They usually gravitate towards guilds or are players you see repeatedly in normal pugs. Often they are very open about being new and needing assistance. The reward for helping them is they will then want to run more group content, so you have built your player base. If that's selfish, fine by me

The latter? They show up in GF immediately posting they want some weapon, then rage quit if the group wipes on the first boss. Not today, not ever.

Katzenzunge · October 1

I don't "mentor" people, or try to heroically carry them to victory, but just a few weeks ago I saw someone asking to buy level gear in zone chat, as a level 20-something, and I swooped in there immediately, whispering I can craft them a few sets until level 50, for free, because duh.

The player then told me someone else offered to craft them a set for XYZ amount of gold, and that they didn't have that, and that they are not able to pay me.

So I did that. Stayed to chat a little about world bosses, dungeons, what gear to wear etc, how to find people to play with etc.

That's my "incentive": just doing things that would have helped me back when I started this game. Some green trash gear, some explanations, just a little chat.

I_killed_Vivec · October 1

Virtue is its own reward.

vsrs_au · October 1

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

To be honest, nothing in game. Quite often it is the opposite as running past the trash in a public dungeon/delve and dumping it onto other players seems to be a time honoured tradition in ESO. Or the players that run to the final boss in a random daily dungeon while ignoring the other player's request to do the story quest.

That 'time honoured tradition' is toxic behaviour (in my opinion). Also, I'll echo what others already said: the reward for helping other players is simply the satisfaction of helping them.

SilverBride · October 1

Someone helped me when I came back after a break so I try to pay it forward. The problem is I have run into increasing numbers of players pretending to be new going zone to zone asking for items day after day. I don't trust anyone any more who makes a point to announce in game that they are new, so I haven't been as helpful as I once was. But I didn't do it for anything other than to make someone else's day better.