What are the incentives for helping new players?

bmnoble · October 1

Warm fuzzy feelings and freeing up inventory space when you give them stuff you don't need.

Vaqual · October 1

Speaking from my personal point of view, handouts are meaningless and have diminished value compared to things I earned for myself through content, trading, etc.
Playing the game, advancing and understanding things are rewarding by themselves, and bypassing that just deprives players of the experience.
I crafted some sets for guildies for free, only to see them ask for replacements the next day. Make them give you the mats and they will feel they earned it. Let them ask you to run a difficult dungeon, so it feels like their achievement, instead of dragging them through random content.

Play the game with them, not for them.
Everything else is self-service.

SeaGtGruff · October 1

C_Inside wrote: »

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.

If they didn't ask you for build advice, giving them unsolicited build advice can come across as bossy and intrusive. The best thing to do is ask them wherher they would like some build advice, then act accordingly.

As far as explaining mechanics, that should be welcomed by anyone, although it might depend on how you explain-- that is, by simply explaining the mechanics and letting the other players decide how to deal with it, or by trying to tell the other players what they should be doing. The second approach is basically micromanagement, which people usually resent.

SgtWinnie · October 2

LunaFlora wrote: »

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

This is the only answer needed. What sort of person needs rewards for doing the right thing.

disintegr8 · October 2

You shouldn't need a physical reward for being friendly and helpful - if more people did it, the world would be a better place.

pklemming · October 2

The worst thing for new players is still that skill reset, werewolf cure and vampire cures are still sold in the crown store, with no mention they can be done cheaply in game. They are even actively pushed. I absolutely abhor that they do this.

This will not generate good will with new players, when they find out they used real money for something that can be done in game.

From a personal point of view, we take in new players, give them advice, run them through dungeons to help get them new stuff, or required drops, and even make start sets for them. As a guild, we actively encourage helping new players out.

I have lost count of the Wayrest 1s I have done to get people Slimecraw helms. Or the sloooow Vaults of Madness and Volenfell skill point runs as the quests are picky and talky, and there is no chance they could do these as a random.

Hapexamendios · October 2

I'll help people if I feel like it and neither need nor want any incentive to do so.

Coo_PnT · October 2

I would like to have a chat channel dedicated to advice (/Advice). I would also like to see a chat channel that users can create. It would allow veterans to answer questions when they can spare the time.

It is a hassle to create a forum account and ask questions, and some of us are not in a guild. Asking in the zone chat would be nice, but when I was a newbie, I didn't have the courage to ask questions.

Treeshka · October 2

There is nothing you get from by helping players material wise. Unless the players you helped gave you stuff after sometime for your help.

In the past i have helped some people. Crafted their gear and told them what to do in the game. Told them play slowly, do quests, get used to your character and just try to reach max item level without rushing. Only to see them not stick around and leaving. Some kept playing though. So that is a plus i guess.

JonesFPS · October 2

Generally if asked i help newer players with the simple stuff. I had a guild once that did training runs in vet content and some HM training runs later on. And my experience with newer players there was quite awfull which in the end led to the closure of that guild, decided by my officers the raidlead team and me. Most "newer" players asked for advice once they noticed that the officer and raidlead team are to some extend knowledgable, and we took the time since we always had logs running to analyze their gear and give hints accordingly or lead them towards known sources (Nefas/Skinny etc. back then, not xynode or the tank club because while they do some fun builds, there is some misinformation here and there) they could draw information from. We didnt force them just gave them hints which they could build uppon. We often got insulted to be meta chasers/sheep and worse,(especially in the oakensorc prime time) all sorts of different things. And as for vet trials we did not care what people where running or taking the advice we where giving them, we mostly had like 4 players that knew what to do so we easily could carry a few people through if neccesary.
Totally different story where the hm training runs which we had some clearly communicated requirements, which in my opinion werent even that high. 60k+ on a trial dummy / decent gear which didnt need to be meta, but atleast according to the role people were playing. This was horrible to say at least, people were calling us all sorts of stuff beeing elitist and gatekeeping where the harmles ones. So me personally i reduced my help for newer folks to the bare minimum, because of that. And i probably will newer organize any trial training runs or hm training runs outside off my closer circle of people. Same goes for Dungeons.

Coo_PnT · October 2

If humanity does not have new children, it will gradually decline and eventually die.
Similarly, if no new people are brought into the game, the game will continue to decline.
I prefer to do what I can solve by myself and not rely on others. As a newbie, I was able to solve some problems with Google, but there were times when it was hard to tell if it was a minor bug or my fault. I wanted to ask the experts about the details of that at that time. Reward for old-timers giving advice to newcomers? No need.
Newcomers don't know what to do, what questions to ask, what bugs to ask, what's wrong with them, or where to ask questions.

There should be a single, easy-to-understand contact point for beginners to ask questions. A dedicated chat channel for advice, etc.

Supporting others is self-satisfying, and we do not know how they feel about it. It is a difficult question. But I think that's all right.

JinKC98 · October 2

I don't think the game officially rewards us anything for helping newer players...

So I'd say it's a bit too personal and up to your preference. Plus not everyone deserves help… such as that one guy in zone chat asking everyone to "send useful items to low-level"

TX12001rwb17_ESO · October 2

This shows what kind of person you are if helping people requires incentive, not someone I want to associate with.

SeaGtGruff · October 2

If I see someone call out in zone chat for help with a WB, I'll generally run to help them if I'm not otherwise engaged. If they had posted something like "type X for group and share" then I'll usually just show up unannounced, because I don't need them to share the quest in exchange for my help-- although if they approach me upon arrival and ask me to group, I'll go ahead and group to be polite. It doesn't matter whether they're a new player or just a long-time player who needs help with that boss. I'll even travel around the zone with them if there are other WBs they want to clear.

If I see someone ask for a crafter in zone chat, I may respond if I'm not otherwise engaged. Again, it doesn't matter whether or not they're a new player. I let them pay whatever they want, including nothing.

If someone asks for gold, I may send them some, although it depends on the amount and whether or not I think they're just someone trying to take advantage of good-natured players. I've given players gold to buy their first mount (yes they would get a free mount as a level-up reward but they were very low level at the time), gold to buy bag or bank upgrades, and even gold to buy one of the more affordable houses-- I chatted with him about some of the houses and helped him decide which one to buy based on their pros and cons (he chose Grymharth's Woe).

I once let a player who was looking for a few furnishings for their new home visit a couple of my "warehouse" homes to pick out a painting or two, and crafted them a few pieces of furniture in the style of their home and character's race (Wood Elf, if I remember correctly).

I once sent someone a Daggerfall Covenant motif page for free because I had several copies of it, and I happened to see their request for that page just a few minutes before the server went down for maintenance. I also sent someone an Impetial motif for free because I happened to have one I didn't need (since all of my characters know it already).

One time a player was begging in zone chat for a pet goat, and other players were giving them a hard time about it, so I gifted them a goat from the Crown Store because I happened to have some extra Crowns and it was the holidays. I gifted another player a dog as a surprise because I'd given him a TP to the New Life event NPC and he commented on my dog and said he wished he had a dog. I also gifted someone a hairstyle and dress they were wanting from the Crown Store.

Aside from things like that, I try to give players TPs to zones if they need them, or answer questions if I can.