Etiquette

Harold_Hedd · April 15

Is there an etiquette in mmo games ?

I am still new to the mmo genre, and see myself as a guest in the game, since I only play solo.

But recently I have experienced several times, players with an open microphone broadcasting loud music, the sound from their tv-show and their family arguing.

It is pretty annoying and it is not fitting into my expectations. Is there an appropriate way to stop this behavior, or is it the way things are going to be ?

I am also confused when encountering other players in delves, public dungeons and wb. Most just rush in and joins the fight, others wait untill the dying breath and attacks once or twice to get a part of the loot, and some offers healing to me.

I must admit, it is bothering me when someone just joins the fight. I always keep my distance when others are fighting and observes the battle to see how it is going. It is only when the character dies in the fighht or they run towards me, that I join.

Is it acceptable behavior to join in when fighting wb ?
They are often harder to fight and takes more time and resources, and the help could often be appreciated - but again, not when they are almost out of health. That, to me, is just cowardly.

I have also read a huge thread about Hardened Ward and how it should be nerfed. To me it is an absolute life saver when soloing. I do have the Regeenerative morph instead, and combined it with Inner Light, Bound Aegis and Dark Coversion.
To me it would be preferably, if there were more delves like in Blackwood, instead of trying to get the solo players being capable of playing all content. The delves in Blaackwood fills in a level between the normal delves, group delves and public dungeons and the wb, and it is nice and rewarding.

So perhaps it would solve the gap between new players/solo players and the veteran players, if there were more differentiated challenges to find

I know I will never be anything other than a solo player, and I do not wish to interfere with the dna of the game or detsroy the experience for veteran players, just because I am part of a growing customer group.

It is already possible to craft a decent set of armor and jewelry and to buy items from guild stores, so there is already opened up for a solo player niche, it is just missing some content to make us happy as guests in the game.

fizl101 · April 15

Assuming you are on console for the noise in zone voice chat you can leave the voice chat so you don't hear them, and just join guild chat/group chat if you want to (under social> voice chat in menu)

With regards to combat, unless it is obvious someone is trying to solo a world boss or something it is fine to jump in and join in. World bosses are designed for multiple players.

Malyore · April 15

You can leave voice chats. Explore the options settings and see what all sorts of changes you can apply. Some help the game feels more solo focused.

Most players are in a rush to kill things in order to get rewards. Joining a fight is what you are supposed to do in this type of game, and it is probably expected from most players that are doing world bosses. Why does it bother you if someone helps you out? If you're looking for a solo challenge there are other options, such as arenas, infinite archive, or even some dungeons can be done without other players around.

A game is supposed to be fun. If you're doing entirely pve content, I wouldn't be worried about whether something is cowardly or not. If you want to play that way because it's immersive for you, you can. But most people who play this game are not gonna be in that mindset and may step all over it. You'll have to decide how you wanna view things to keep it the most enjoyable for you while doing public content.

frogthroat · April 15

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

Is there an etiquette in mmo games ?

Many.

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

I am still new to the mmo genre, and see myself as a guest in the game, since I only play solo.

I recommend farming dungeons/trials for better gear. Helps with soloing, if you want to solo harder content.

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

But recently I have experienced several times, players with an open microphone broadcasting loud music, the sound from their tv-show and their family arguing.

I don't think this is specific to MMOs, but to all online games with a voice function. And in all of them this sounds like bad behaviour. I guess you play on a console? This is not a function on PC.

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

I am also confused when encountering other players in delves, public dungeons and wb. Most just rush in and joins the fight, others wait untill the dying breath and attacks once or twice to get a part of the loot, and some offers healing to me.

I must admit, it is bothering me when someone just joins the fight. I always keep my distance when others are fighting and observes the battle to see how it is going. It is only when the character dies in the fighht or they run towards me, that I join.

Is it acceptable behavior to join in when fighting wb ?
They are often harder to fight and takes more time and resources, and the help could often be appreciated - but again, not when they are almost out of health. That, to me, is just cowardly.

No, this is working as it should. Overland is open for everyone. There is no need for you to wait and observe while someone else is fighting. Just join in.

And others who do not join and only come when the boss is almost dead might be doing it for various reasons. Some might be more of questers/role players/home decorators who are only doing this for an achievement or a daily quest, but lack the skill to actually fight. And that's ok.

I sometimes contribute pretty much nothing to fights, too. When I am levelling up some skill lines and have nothing useful on my skill bar, I still want the xp if I happen to see a dolmen/wb being taken down. Of course I run there to get at least one light attack in to get the xp.

And likewise, if I am with a character that has at least a decent build soloing a wb/dolmen I really don't care if someone joins in, or waits until the last moment before getting a light attack in, or whatever. It's overland and anyone can join at any time. I lose nothing if they also get the xp/loot. If you want to be sure no one else "steals" your glory, solo dungeons. That's what I do for my dopamine. (There's also Vateshran and Maelstrom arenas that are designed for solo, and of course the Infinite Archive.)

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

It is already possible to craft a decent set of armor and jewelry and to buy items from guild stores, so there is already opened up for a solo player niche, it is just missing some content to make us happy as guests in the game.

Yes.

You can craft Order's Wrath when you have 3 traits researched. This is actually a set that can work even in endgame.

Before you get a monster set and/or a mythic item, you can use 1-2 pieces of Druid's Braid. Place them where you are going to put monster/mythic once you get them. For example head and ring if you plan on getting Slimecraw helmet and Ring of the Pale Order.

For the other 5 piece set, you can use Law of Julianos (for mag) or Hunding's Rage (for stam) and replace this asap with anything better. Even if it's something like Briarheart/Mother's Sorrow/War Maiden overland set. But preferably a dungeon/trial set.

I like soloing dungeons - I am in multiple guilds and do a lot of group activities, but I still challenge myself by doing harder content solo. For that you will need better gear that only drops in dungeons/trials. So I recommend joining some guild or otherwise farm sets for your sticker book.

Tandor · April 15

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

I am still new to the mmo genre, and see myself as a guest in the game, since I only play solo.

You're not a guest, you're a player like anyone else. "MMOs" are simply online games with multiple players, but these days many or even most MMO players play either wholly or mainly solo. That is especially true of ESO given that many players have come to it from other TES games which are all single-player RPGs, and ZOS describe ESO as not being a typical MMO for that reason.

Even when soloing players can join in any overland encounter without needing to group up formally. Everyone can just enjoy the encounter alongside others and the basic principle behind One Tamriel means that all the players in the encounter can participate regardless of their level.

Blood_again · April 15

Etiquette in games is usually depends on losing/obtaining something due to players' behaviour. If nobody lose from your move - you're doing great.

Joining the fight in PvE:
By loot, when somebody joins your fight you don't lose anything. (rare exceptions - Imperial City or the pure group of 12, but you barely meet it). So joining a boss fight is OK and often welcomed.
By exp, optimal group for exp is duo. So if somebody grinds solo, it is ok to run with him - you'll both get more exp than separated. If you cross with group of two, you cut their exp - not welcomed. Also competition for the grindspots is a usual thing, especially during the exp+ events. Note: this paragraph is never about the bosses, people don't farm bosses for exp here.
Making just a few shots at the end of the battle is like being a "smart ass". Like you didn't work, but you got the same profit as others. Happens, but not cool.
Also some people play for immersion. Joining their fight may break it. But honestly, not your problem. If I play for immersion, I just make a pause to let runners/helpers go forward.
So usually joining someones fight in ESO is fine.

As for knowing that you will never be anything other than a solo player... If I were you, I wouldn't take a vow

I joined the game as a pure solo/duo player. Todays summary: I've spent more time playing in random or guild groups than solo. Group content has turned to be very exciting.
Nobody was born a veteran player here

SkaiFaith · April 15

Just a quick note: the moment you'll give a single hit to a WB that is going to be defeated by someone else you'll find your map to sign that WB as cleared, on each and every alt you'll create. So if you plan to solo all WBs one day, maybe it's better not to engage in every fight you see is happening, just so it's easier for you to keep track of which WB you have soloed and which not.
BUT... As a solo player myself I can tell you: only a few WBs are really challenging to solo; I wouldn't mind if I have never soloed the majority of the base game - it's a given that I could, since I can solo the harder ones.
Just so you know and can make better decisions about how to approach it...

GimpyPorcupine · April 15

Area chat speaker history, block or mute the person littering up area voice.

ghastley · April 15

My approach to joining a WB fight in progress is:
Multiple players already? Join in.
Solo player who’s in trouble ( below half health, but boss is still strong)? Join in.
Solo player doing fine? Let it play out without helping.

But don’t get annoyed if someone else joins for the final blows. You know that you can come back later and do it again.

There is also one edge case. If a tank and a WB troll have reached a stalemate, join in. Trolls can regenerate health as fast as a tank can do damage.

AcadianPaladin · April 15

Another soloist here. Soloing world bosses is one of my favorite things to do. It doesn't bother me a bit if other players show up and join in. Maybe they can't solo it so joining me helps them perhaps and doesn't hurt me one bit. If I really want to solo boss fights, I go solo a group dungeon (on normal). I've encountered players that show up as the boss is almost dead and I usually back off my damage to help ensure they get a few shots in. I've encountered players that stay back and just watch - I guess they wrongly assume that soloing the boss without help is a big deal to me. I've never encountered a player who watches the fight, then tosses in a few hits at the very end just to get credit.

If approaching a world boss and a fight is already on, I almost always join in though my tactics change a bit from full on killing to more support via heals, buffs, debuffs. The only time I hold off on a world boss that I can solo is when there is a group standing around that look like they may be waiting for something - usually for one of their friends to join them. So then I /say something like 'Ready or waiting on someone?'

Harold_Hedd · April 15

Okay, thanks. This is really nice to hear, and I have probably misunderstood some of the game.

I will go into settings on my next login and see what is possible, when encountering loud music again.

And I will ease up on players joining my fights

ToRelax · April 15

In some cases players may also wait for you to get a hit in so you get loot as well.

ArchangelIsraphel · April 15

You don't have to think of yourself as a guest just because you want to play solo. Many deeply established vetran players of the game are primarily solo players, only engaging in group content when they want to- and sometimes not at all. ESO is designed to appeal to the solo style. There is even a lot of group content you can learn to solo in order to challenge yourself if you feel so inclined.

I myself am such a player, primarily choosing to enjoy Tamriel solo, grouping up with friends or family when I want to. I like challenging myself to complete difficult content using solo builds.

As for joining in on a world boss, or any boss at all, for that matter- no one has exclusive rights to fight any of these bosses, as they are intended to be fought in groups, and are out in the public where they can be fought by the public.

Regardless of the state of the bosses health bar, you may feel free to join in- it is not cowardly to hit the boss when the HP bar is low. It is common practice, especially during events like the one running now, because bosses and world events are being taken down so fast that sometimes getting a single hit in is your only choice.

You will rarely find anyone who will get angry at you for joining in on a fight, and if they do, it is not common practice within the community. As a soloist myself, I don't mind at all when someone jumps into a fight I'm engaging in. I don't own the world bosses or have exclusive rights to them just because I fight solo.

Enjoy your time in Tamriel

I_killed_Vivec · April 15

When it comes to soloing WBs, if I am then feel free to join in, it isn't "mine".

But please don't bring a companion who will pull the boss out of my Standard and AoEs and make me run around trying to catch it again...

El_Borracho · April 15

@Harold_Hedd you say now you will only be a solo player, just like everyone who came over from Skyrim, but most end up doing a lot of the group PVE endgame and joining guilds. I count myself as one of those people. But if you stay solo, that's fine too.

In terms of people jumping into fights, there is no way to "steal" a kill from someone, so there are few negative repercussions. An annoyance you might have seen during this event is if you can not put out enough DPS on a world boss when there are 10+ players attacking to qualify for loot. The only other negative may be some mythic leads or daily endeavors that require you to kill adds to get something. Otherwise, there is no real downside to others joining in the fight.

ghastley · April 15

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

When it comes to soloing WBs, if I am then feel free to join in, it isn't "mine".

But please don't bring a companion who will pull the boss out of my Standard and AoEs and make me run around trying to catch it again...

Good point about not pulling the boss around. If you do join a fight in progress, stay in it. If you you run away, it may chase you and reset.

Desiato · April 15

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

When it comes to soloing WBs, if I am then feel free to join in, it isn't "mine".

But please don't bring a companion who will pull the boss out of my Standard and AoEs and make me run around trying to catch it again...

This has happened me so often while grinding Salothan's Council in Vvardenfell!

AcadianPaladin · April 15

Interesting thought on companion tanks - since that's what I use companions for. I would imagine this is the result of slotting a ranged taunt on the companion? All my companions use a melee taunt so they have to go to where the boss is to taunt. I can't imagine that would run the boss out of someone's AoE. Companions can't steal taunt from a real player so if the companion taunts, that means there is no real tank and no one holding the boss in place.

I've oft joined a WB fight where the boss is chasing players all over the place. Once my companion taunts them, they stay in one spot. I should think this makes it easier (and safer) to kill the boss since their aggro is focused on my companion and I'm focused on making sure my companion stays healthy. The boss remains in one spot so he stays right in the killing zone - a benefit to all AoE users. Am I missing something?

DarknessShallFall · April 15

I play PC, so I dont have to deal with that audio problem you are having with open mics.

As for etiquette, it changes.

For myself. I don't try to attack someone else's enemies if they are attacking some, I only interfere if they ask for help or look like they are having problems. I will sometimes just run pass and deal with enemies that are ahead so then they can have a clear path forward. If I see someone standing near a resource node or chest, I wont interact with it, if I want it badly enough I might wait and see if they ignore it or not and then interfere or if they are afk or not. (Not to say accidents wont happen, I wont see someone and take a node from them and they get upset).

But I believe in first come first serve. In the past I've had people try and drag enemies to me to steal a chest I was breaking into, I killed the enemies before they had a chance since they hit them too and went right back to picking the chest, good thing too, it had a rare painting in it.

I've had people steal resources among other things from me as well. Though a lot of time they're usually bots... Luckily here the past year i've noticed bots a lot less.

For world bosses, it depends. You might have to wait a while if you don't jump in for it to respond, and depending on how many players are there, you might not get any loot at all. I personally don't mind if people join in world bosses, but if they have less than 100k health, then I usually see it as an issue but i don't make a fuss about it.

People who usually ask for nerf's of gear are people in PvP who either don't know how to fight, or don't know how to min-max their gear and get upset that they get killed a lot by people who do and then demand nerf's. A lot of PvP'ers complaining have caused issues for those who only PvE since the servers aren't separated. This will always be an issue that will never be fixed. Sets will always get nerfed or buffed, and players will always complain that something needs fixed. Not much you can do about it but always be on the move changing your gear.

EDIT: Something else I should add, if someone is already tanking, you should not tank the enemy, this includes companions, put them away..

One time I was tanking a dragon in Northern Elsweyr and this player with an ice staff, before they fixed it, taunted the dragon and I lost control, the dragon walked into me, killing me with its AoE, but that player got launched into its ice wall and insta died.. While I was mad, I was also laughing my butt off due to the karma.

barney2525 · April 15

I have never experienced any of that

dvonpm · April 16

Just on the bosses... these are open world, and maybe I am the rude person here, but I am absolutely not watching you slowly kill it to practice tanking if I need it.

My time in game is very limited and these aren't private instances, and I am not a mind reader. Some days I have only an hour or so to get on and get dailies/endeavors done on as many toons as I can. If one of them is a world boss, I am sorry but that sucker is going down

In general, I would not expect privacy on an open world areas. Enter 4 person dungeons solo for a truly solo experience and many of those bosses are similar in difficulty to world bosses. Most are more challenging and you can get your gear book filled up.

(PVP is a different matter. Generally stay out of duels/1vX unless someone is about to die and maybe even then too.)

jle30303 · April 16

I can play a proper part in a given WB fight, or dolmen, or geyser, or whatever else... in fact I can usually carry at least one or two weaker players through the fight except in the tougher ones like on Galen or Necrom.

...But if I rock up near one and find out, rather than being at full health, that it's already nearly dead, you bet your last penny that I'm going to get in there and try to hit it at least once, to count for a clear and for the loot. Because otherwise I have to stand around doing nothing waiting for it to respawn, which is boring.

And it doesn't take anything away from anyone else.

Harold_Hedd · April 16

Thanks again - I can see I have misunderstood the mmo aspect of the game, and I didn't think of it as a private fight, I just find it rude in my experience and strategy, when being overrun by several others - but I have to change my attitude and accept that this is the way.

And perhaps some day, I will try the pvp or join a group, but for now I am still trying to get better sustain and dps.

Again when reading forum posts, there seems to be a lot a problems with roles not being met and people rushing unrespectfully through a dungeon - and I would like to be a happy gamer. There are enough problems already with servers and bugs and strange things happening

El_Borracho · April 16

Harold_Hedd wrote: »

Again when reading forum posts, there seems to be a lot a problems with roles not being met and people rushing unrespectfully through a dungeon - and I would like to be a happy gamer. There are enough problems already with servers and bugs and strange things happening

Those are overblown. Follows the line of thought that people are more prone to remember the negative over the positive. The threads make it sounds like the dungeons are full of selfish dopes intent on ruining everyone else's game. Not true. Same for trials in group finder. The majority of the time players are doing what you are doing, just enjoying the game.

But no rush, those trials and dungeons will be there when you are ready