Thoughts about new players' well-being

I think generalizations and stereotypes like this hurt the server just as much as the accusations you’re making. Nobody laughs at anyone for running 6 man Zak, nobody is telling brand new players they have to play hyper efficiently, and nobody benefits from painting end game players as a separate and monolithic entity that’s somehow not connected to the rest of the server. The large majority of endgame players want new players to succeed as much as you do and will go out of their way to help others and stereotyping high level and experienced players as something to ignore or disregard helps no one.

 

More double stab buffs.

 

The negativities tend to be more prominent, overshadowing the positive ones because people seldom talk about them.

I feel that maybe we should have a channel in Discord and the forum to express appreciation for players who have helped us along our journey, spreading more positive vibes throughout the community and letting players know that there are still many friendly people out there. It not only uplifts the spirits of those being appreciated but also creates a culture of kindness and support within the community. Recognising and thanking players who go out of their way to help others fosters a positive and encouraging atmosphere.

But there's also an unfortunate side where bad actors learn who the nice ones are and might take advantage of their kindness. These kinds of individuals consistently ask for favors and guilt-trip you if you reject them.

Personally, I would like to thank IGN: NoMoneyToEat for helping me acquire Infinity and Taunt skills for my Bishop and Shadower for free, even when I intended to pay for the service. I had requested help on two separate occasions, and they were the first to offer help for free, which I greatly appreciated. I'm not saying those who charge for the service shouldn't be appreciated; I'd still feel thankful even if I had to pay.

I am not trying to boast (or am I?! Hehe), but I feel it's a pity that many of these positive messages didn't reach many of those nice people. So, here, I'd like to share some of the snippets I personally received from Discord DMs, giving you hope that there are actually many friendly players out there in the community.







The main point is not me receiving the compliments but thanking them for showing positive energy to people who helped them, making the overall experience great for everyone. I've received praises in-game from time to time, and they definitely made my day, even if it's a random fame up, so thank you. Expressing gratitude for those who make a positive impact is more valuable than you think.

 

https://forum.maplelegends.com/index.php?threads/who-is-someone-you-respect-a-lot.49961/

we need more wholesome threads c:

 

new players arent even here on the forums...

 

As someone who APQs regularly, I am very happy with the QoL changes and also the increased EV for my time. It is not only good for someone like me but I already can recommend APQ to anyone else because it is not a waste of time unlike other aspects of this game.

APQ is living its best life, more than ever before.

 

Even though i do agree with majority of what you said, your comment is very one-sided.

ive seen people, regardless or time they spent on server, generalize and stereotype. in fact i see it more from older players (purely because there are more of them in forums).

Ive seen people make fun of new players for playing the game on "hard mode." even if its a joke, its made at new players' expense.

you may not promote "hyper efficient" play, but the balance is centered around "hyper efficient" play and the comments made to new players not following efficient play is overall mocked.

if you think people are "painting end game players as a separate and monolithic entity" then on opposite side of the coin, people are painting new players as stubborn, unwilling to learn, and a lot of comments reflect that.

i understand its frustrating when new players enters the forum and requests a change without knowing the full picture (i get annoyed too), but half the comments in response to those is "new players dont even know anything, its fine as it is right now"

 

We were all new players at some point. Meaning it is up to the individual to form their own mindset and playstyle and even choose to consider playing more.

Where things fall apart is when they think they can do whatever they want and it usually ends badly. This is the case he is trying to make.

The average new player doesn't last more than 120 days from my experience.

Even then, they struggle to continue past if they decide upwards of 6 months.

This information would never be disclosed but as someone who plays alot this is what I have noticed.

 

I think both sides have merit. While it's true that toxicity/mocking does exist (in all communities, not just "end game" communities), the point I was trying to make is that stereotyping and creating divides helps nobody and, although they may express it poorly at times, most people genuinely do care and want the server as a whole to succeed. From my own personal experience, most new players that I directly interact with are eager to learn and open to suggestions, and I generally try to make suggestions based on their own playstyle (I have told numerous players to not even bother with washing and just have fun, and I've also given guidance to others on how to wash to 30k, depending on if they want to know or not).

If we are speaking towards changes we'd like to see to help promote the new player experience, one of the ones I would personally like to see is less demonizing of endgame players. I know many of them who are incredibly kind and helpful (many of them even taught me!) and kind of just grouping them all together as a community who just forces new players to play a specific way and mocks them if they don't comes across as disingenuous.

 

Thank you for chipping in, Pasta. I agree that reward should be proportional to level of the character.

I think KPQ and LPQ is very important to the health of the server. A lot of new players come to play, and what many of them look forward to are the PQs. It's very discouraging when there's no one at KPQ and LPQ, as I've heard from many new players.

I think it'd be great if PQ rewards were somehow buffed that even older players would find it "worth" to play PQs, but that seems so impossible given how profitable other things are. I'm not smart enough to even start giving suggestions off top of my head. what kind of untradeable item would encourage even older players to join in? i dont know. i do think giving more valuable scrolls (even a low chance of 30% scrolls?!) would be a good start though.

I think there are some other ways to make it easier for new players to do PQs though. I think letting people know if there's a party inside the PQ already would be helpful so people know they just have to wait to join that party. Another idea is making a LPQ/KPQ/etc pings on discord that people can sign up for. Or somehow making a "sign up sheet" in the game itself, (which, admittedly, is VERY custom, but maybe its worth it? one could argue that having to rely on discord is even MORE "custom" in a way)

EDIT (because i dont want to spam): agree 100% with what mr. rat said above

 

You'd be surprised how many of the playerbase does not use discord.

It's actually very high lol.

 

yah i believe that, especially new players i'd imagine.

 

if a rich guy is earning 30m/hr, and a new guy is earning 10m/hr.
they both decide to bid for an item, who do u think is gonna win the bid?

 

whichever one has more shadowers obviously

 

the guy who wants it more

 

they're gonna get fake bid up and no one's getting anything.

 

im a lil confused....are you suggesting its unfair that richer players have more purchasing power???

 

1. new players lack in knowledge and infrastructure and can actually catch up within 1-2 months on an income basis
2. being an old player doesn't mean they're endgame or make 30m/h
3. endgame players demand different goods than new players

what matters in the game is a lot of the time things are cumulative and that's why it's important not to compare to some old player who's been here since the dawn of time

 

Knowledge and infrastructure are both incredibly important. Infrastructure refers to the characters you have available, the gear they’re equipped with and the levels they’re at, how much they have washed, and the prequests they’ve completed and the skills they’ve learned, but to a certain degree it can also refer to the connections you’ve made and the communities you’re part of, and the runs and hosts you have access to and conversely the runners you have access to. It’s kind of an all-encompassing term for the resources you can access.