Timmy, Johnny or Spike? Which profile best describes you in ESO?

propertyOfUndefined

I never played "Magic: The Gathering", but I remember reading about these R&D profiles years ago and was instantly fascinated by them. When I'm playing an MMO (especially in a PVP environment), there's a voice in my head that goes "Oh... here's an obvious Timmy", or "Yet another Spike to add to my list". Thought it would be fun to see which profile most people in ESO fit into...

LINK: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/timmy-johnny-and-spike-2013-12-03

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Timmy is what we in R&D call the "power gamer." Timmy likes to win big. He doesn’t want to eke out a last minute victory. Timmy wants to smash his opponents. He likes his cards to be impressive, and he enjoys playing big creatures and big spells.

One of the misconceptions is that Timmy has to be young. While its true that younger players are more apt to fall into this category, players of any age can be a Timmy. What sets Timmy apart from the other two profiles is that Timmy is motivated by fun. He plays Magic because it’s enjoyable. Timmy is very social. An important part of the game is sitting around with his friends.

Timmy cares more about the quality of his win than the quantity of his wins. For example, Timmy sits down and plays ten games. He only wins three games out of ten but the three he wins, he dominates his opponent. Timmy had fun. Timmy walks away happy.


Johnny is the creative gamer to whom Magic is a form of self-expression. Johnny likes to win, but he wants to win with style. It’s very important to Johnny that he win on his own terms. As such, it’s important to Johnny that he’s using his own deck. Playing Magic is an opportunity for Johnny to show off his creativity.

Johnny likes a challenge. Johnny enjoys winning with cards that no one else wants to use. He likes making decks that win in innovative ways. What sets Johnny apart from the other profiles is that Johnny enjoys deckbuilding as much as (or more than) he enjoys playing. Johnny loves the cool interactions of the cards. He loves combo decks. Johnny is happiest when he’s exploring uncharted territory.

Like Timmy, Johnny cares more about the quality of his wins than the quantity. For example, let's say Johnny builds a new deck that has a neat but difficult way to win. He plays ten games and manages to get his deck to do its thing… once. Johnny walks away happy.


Spike is the competitive player. Spike plays to win. Spike enjoys winning. To accomplish this, Spike will play whatever the best deck is. Spike will copy decks off the Internet. Spike will borrow other players’ decks. To Spike, the thrill of Magic is the adrenalin rush of competition. Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory.

Spike cares more about the quantity of wins than the quality. For example, Spike plays ten games and wins nine of them. If Spike feels he should have won the tenth, he walks away unhappy.

Sylvermynx

Sorry, I'm none of those.

svendf

Non of those

ZOS_Kevin

Johnny -

First, I appreciate this because I am also a Magic player. So this is a really cool thread concept, @propertyOfUndefined. Thanks for starting it. I would classify myself as a Johnny. Specifically because of this line, "He plays ten games and manages to get his deck to do its thing… once. Johnny walks away happy."

This is why I play commander in magic and make straight nonsense decks. I just want to do the thing once!

VaranisArano

In PVP, I'm a Timmy.

I enjoy playing in a PVP raid as a support player. I'm a MagDK healer, which is not the meta, but fortunately I found a guild who's leaders understood that you retain more players by building to their strengths than by dictating their build. (BTW, ZOS, it's a real shame that limiting group size to 12 makes it harder to experiment with unique group-oriented builds.)

On the other hand, one doesn't play in an organized raid without the understanding that we're all working together to win. And we do win - ball groups and organized raids have dominated the Cyrodiil campaigns for years, to the point that ZOS is designing multiple new sets specifically designed to try to deal with the power of teamwork, voice comms, and dedicated roles all following orders. We don't win every fight, but when we do, it's a great feeling to know we're executing our chosen gameplay style effectively.

When Cyrodiil performance allows, its an amazing night of having fun with my friends, win or lose.



Also, I'm not a Spike. The problem with copying builds from other content creators is that without the hours of practice those players have put into the build to make it perform at a high level, I just plain suck.

Seriously, I once tried out the Blazeplar. The forums assured me that this build was pure 1xX glory, able to kill whole raids of PUGs with nothing more than Green Pact, Plague Doctor, Blazing Shield and Block. So I made myself one, rolled into Cyrodiil, and died and died until I accepted that, "No, maybe it's not as easy as the videos make it look..."

The good part of that rather brutal learning experience is that I realized the only way to get better was to put in the hours of practice, which has greatly benefitted my Timmy-like play on my MagDK and StamWarden.

EvilAutoTech

Timmy

TIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ghanima_Atreides

What's the name of the one who just likes to casually have fun, and is more interested in the story and interesting character concepts than "winning"?

Because...

Danikat

Johnny -

I don't think any of the profiles entirely fit this game because there's a lot more to ESO than just designing builds and winning fights, so to a lot of players that will just be something which happens along the way.

But if I had to choose between them I think I'm most like Johnny. I almost exclusively play PvE and what's important to me is having a build which fits the character's personality and which I enjoy using. If I'm usually the one alive at the end of the fight it's good enough and I don't care what exactly the numbers are or how long it takes to kill things or how any of that compares to other players. If someone wants to insist they have a better build I'm happy to agree they probably do and then carry on doing my own thing because it's just not important to me. I'm here to explore the world and the stories ZOS created and make up some of my own along the way and while combat happens to be a part of that it's not what motivates me to play.

ArchangelIsraphel

Johnny -

Hmmm, I'm afraid I don't really fit into any of those categories as "winning", in the traditional sense, is not the main focus of my experience on ESO at all, though if I had to pick one, it would be Johnny. ESO is a form of self expression for me when it comes to character creation, costume design, and development. I also like to come up with creative/different means to get the things I desire to further build upon my characters aesthetically or in terms of personality.

For instance, I main a thief/stealth stamblade, and during PVP events, if there is a motif I want, or some other goal I wish to meet, like obtaining my tickets, I prefer to take advantage of that stealth kit to stay out of combat rather than enter into it. I enjoy going into enemy territory to get the things I want, thinking about where players on the opposing side will be based on the tactics I know are being used and which areas (whether it be IC or Cyro) are under attack, in order to remain in those areas undetected. I'll engage in direct combat when in the mood, but it suits my character's personality to slip in and out. When I get caught, it's a lot of fun to evade players who are bent on killing me in either zone by knowing the topography and how to use it to get away. I'm not skilled in PVP, and don't really like PVP combat, so I do what I enjoy in order to enter those zones and find my fun in them. I'm not sure if that counts as "winning", but it sure is fun to get chased and succeed in getting away. (I also like to apply the same concepts to my templar and necro, who don't have the advantage of stealth unless I choose to use potions. Which I frequently forget exist XD)

I also get a lot of joy from escorting my parents (who enjoy ESO but don't enjoy PVP at all, and find it stressful to engage in it) through these zones without getting caught, so that they can have skyshards, dolemens, AP and event tickets.

We also like to conquer a lot of dungeons as a three person family group, and are working our way slowly into harder content by thinking about how we can achieve our goals.

Basically, I like treating the game as a puzzle I need to solve in order to get the things I want within my means, and I like to be surprised when I succeed in areas that other people said I'd fail in if I didn't do the right thing. Winning for me usually involves getting a cosmetic, item, or house that I never thought I'd have because the difficulty made me believe it wasn't within my skill level, when in reality, I just had to think about it differently.

I guess maybe I am like Johnny, because I enjoy the process of solving the puzzle as much as I do meeting the goal at the end?

Sylvermynx

Ghanima_Atreides wrote: »

What's the name of the one who just likes to casually have fun, and is more interested in the story and interesting character concepts than "winning"?

Because...

Yeah. That!

DinoZavr

What about classifying players you normally face in Cyrodiil / IC ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psgn0kMfafo

Ippokrates

Johnny -

Definitely Johny, in pve & pvp, using sets that nobody is using - win with this is a really great feeling ^^

Saucy_Jack

I would classify myself as a "Saucy": a player who could care less about winning the battle or whatever, because his ACTUAL fight is against cynical and too-serious players in the form of his chaotically good disposition and overwhelming ridiculousness, because life's too short to be a sourpuss.

If I play with people in a game and they come out smiling more than they went in, THAT's a win, and I'll walk away happy.

P.S.: HUZZAH!

propertyOfUndefined

Johnny -

I really think of myself as a Johnny too! Most of my time is spent thinking about ability and set combinations that nobody has thought of, and crunching some numbers to see if I can make it work somehow.

I do feel like Spike personifies most of the players I encounter in PVP though. They are very much about what is “meta”, and seem to pattern their play styles after what they see from their favorite streamers. Not a bad thing really, but many of them spout so much hate when they end up killed by my unorthodox “non-meta” build. It’s amusing.

Moonsorrow

Spike

Hey, i like min/maxing and winning so it is what it is.

In reality things are not so black and white as these stereotypes. Yes, can use things that are universally known to be the meta and then mold them to a setup that is also fun to play to you instead of the "oh this is boring and same as every other top tier player uses but i am winning every fight so gotta keep going..".

Creating "secret metas", new builds that makes others whisper you and asking for what you are using is the best, then use them until the Spikes finally caught up, then move on to the next thing you come up with.

And winning 9 out of 10 is fine, as long that 1 loss does not end up in exp0sed clip with bad rap music in it.

Tandor

None of them, I've no interest in "winning".

propertyOfUndefined

Johnny -

@Moonsorrow Definitely agree that things are not so black & white. I think I read an article a while back where the R&D guys at Wizards expanded their profiles to include Timmy-Johnny, Johnny-Spike, Spike-Timmy, etc.

I think Johnny-Spike is where I’d be if those were options.

Kiralyn2000

Yeah, none of those.

And I wasn't any of those when I played MtG, either. (I'm not a very competitive player, I focus on trying to enjoy playing the game, and interesting decks - frequently with themes. If I win, hey that's cool. If I lose, if it was an interesting game, that's cool too. A runaway smash, regardless if it was me doing it, or me taking it? Lousy game.)

edit: when I played MtG, I didn't have One Perfect Deck, I had a card box with a couple dozen decks in it. Dragon deck, Angel deck, Falcon deck, Merfolk deck, Big Green Creature deck, sneaky poison deck, Unreal Tournament deck (unique Legend creatures, equipment like swords/rocketlaunchers/armor, and the Arena land for them to fight people ), etc. A lot of them were pretty bad, because they were terribly slow. This was late 90's, early 00's. Before all this Commander stuff.


(so yeah - I don't play PvP, and PvE-wise I don't measure my DPS or "perfect rotations", don't play "hardmodes", and don't chase leaderboards.)

Fischblut

I'm a bit Johnny and a bit Timmy, and a bit myself... Jimmy? Or maybe even Tony?

Sylvermynx

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

(so yeah - I don't play PvP, and PvE-wise I don't measure my DPS or "perfect rotations", don't play "hardmodes", and don't chase leaderboards.)

Heh. Sisters under the skin....

FrancisCrawford

Clearly a deckbuilder here. (My coolest innovation was using Sleight of Hand to modify those knights that tapped to counterspell.)

And I won a match in my first tournament by Drain Lifing an opponent's creature, about one turn before sudden death would have run out. (This was in the early days of MtG, when tournament rules were still made up on the fly.)

That doesn't mean I identify with everything in the profile ...

phaneub17_ESO

I am None of the Above. My decks were creative and downright annoying to play against, one of my builds was a blue tax and control type where I put out all the things that made the other player pay mana for every action they did like with Mana Chains, Errant Minion, Propaganda, Psychic Venom, and other crazy stuff while holding other cards hostage should they manage to make a move. It did very little damage from my end, but it was made to annoy the other player and push excess cards in hand into the graveyard.

AzuraFan

None. Those three profiles don't cover all playstyles and motivations. Maybe it's only for PvP players?

propertyOfUndefined

Johnny -

AzuraFan wrote: »

None. Those three profiles don't cover all playstyles and motivations. Maybe it's only for PvP players?

I do think PvP is closer to home since this was taken from Magic The Gathering

DarcyMardin

How come they’re all dudes?

JoDiMageio

None of the above.

However, at the end of the article the OP linked, it states that "Be aware that these profiles apply to the motivations of the players and not the formats they play."

Keeping that in mind, I am mostly a Timmy/Johnny hybrid in terms of my motivations - I want to have fun as well as get creative. But in terms of gameplay, I don't care about being competitve or winning at all, mostly just enjoying the game and letting my imagination loose.

DarcyMardin wrote: »

How come they’re all dudes?

Well, traditionally, more boys play these kinds of games than girls - and it was originally developed in 1993 - which probably has something to do with it.

Edit: By doing a little research, some sites talk of Timmy/Tammy, Johnny/Jenny and Spike... Inclusivity, yay!

Edit 2: I love that it gets more specific with subgroups for each one. Through a little reading, I can say I am probably a Timmy (diversity subtype) and a Johnny (Offbeat designer).
https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Player_type <- if anyone is interested

propertyOfUndefined

Johnny -

JoDiMageio wrote: »

By doing a little research, some sites talk of Timmy/Tammy, Johnny/Jenny and Spike...

Hah! I like that Spike is still Spike!

alberichtano

None... Though I like Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer..? Not that Spike, eh? Darn.

ESO_Nightingale

Johnny -

Johnny, because i only play magden. pvp is a bit of a bad idea rn.

oterWitz

alberichtano wrote: »

None... Though I like Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer..? Not that Spike, eh? Darn.

Call me naïve but I preferred Angel, no option for that either though

Jokes aside, I think it'd be cool if you did another poll like this but more ESO centered (Are you a Maiq or a Raz, that sort of thing) that could also address some of the gaps in the poll that people brought up @propertyOfUndefined

SirAndy

Can't vote, no option for "Other" ...