It is very rewarding to help new players adjust to World of Warcraft. It can also be extremely frustrating. In some cases, I wonder if we may ruin players by giving them too much help, like helping a butterfly from its chrysalis.
I remember when I first started playing WoW, I made some serious rookie mistakes. For example I didn't know how to repair my gear until I was level 17 and had no idea that one should train all three talent schools. I got a lot of advice along the way, but I kept more or less to my IRL companions even in game. I never really experienced the MM part of MMORPG until I was level 60 and running Zul'Gurrub. It was exciting and exhausting, but for the first time I really felt like I was experiencing the entirety of the game.
My guild brought in a fresh rookie into the fold in November.
We've all helped him in varying ways throughout his level grind.
He's always been willing to learn and take direction.
He asked good questions and really seemed to enjoy the game.
Once he got to Outland, however, I feared we may have helped him too much along the way.
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry when he ran out of bullets about half way through
Blood Furnace.
All Hunters knows they should check their ammo supply before going into an instance, right?
Well they might not if you've run him through every dungeon since
Wailing Caverns.
True, we must take responsibility for our part. Now I like to direct new players to tools such as
Wowhead and this blog to allow them to discover on their own. We all take
game knowledge for granted from time time to time. Do you think that we stymie the growth of new players by being too friendly or generous?
Tags: Help, Learning, Leveling, Mistakes, N00bs, New-Players, Newbies
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Instances, WoW Rookie
Feb 10th 2008 at 8:00AM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
scal Feb 10th 2008 8:21AM
the games all about discovering things on your own. thats what I did and if you ask me then it will severely ruin the game if your "spoon fed" through it. not to mention you will be awful at playing your class when your going into endgame.
Nick Tiller Feb 10th 2008 8:39AM
Personally, I play in a guild where about 90% of the people I was friends with before playing WoW. Without their help and direction, I would probably not be the player I am now. It was with guildies that I was first comfortable leading an instance, and it was guildies to whom i turned whenever I was curious about gear/BGs/instances/whatever. However, I had to tell them when I needed them to NOT help so much. One of my friends who has been a 70 since I started always wanted to "run me through" instances -- code for do everything for me. I had to tell him that I needed to learn to do it myself. So I think that being there is definitely a huge part in perhaps making the game more fun, all birds have to fly from the nest at some time.
bulgurr Feb 10th 2008 8:56AM
Aside from gold selling, boost runs are the most widespread way of ruining the idea of the game. Blizzard should level cap instances so level 70'ies can't boost level 20'ies through the Stockades and similar nonsense.
You wanna play the game, then play it. Don't ask someone else to run it for you. You wanna help someone? Roll an alt and run the Stockades with them at the level it was designed for.
Pocket Feb 10th 2008 9:18AM
Hear hear! I GM a guild, and sometimes players request solo runs through instances to get the blue gear.
My feeling is that personal development is not increased in this manner, such as skills leading a group, becoming self-motivated, being dependable, searching for others with /who criteria, using chat channels and 'I' to look for more players, putting marks above enemies to focus on, and generally finding an instance network of similarly reckless or stoic playing styles.
At any rate, hopefully the high level cavalary will still come when needed, though!
Deuce Feb 10th 2008 9:44AM
Buff runs for alts and twinks is Ok... For new players I say no also... I have 3 low-mid level alts (22,37,43) that I almost only play when helping a new player run an instance... When someone new to our guild and new to game asks for a run through instance I say no, but I will bring one of my alts... New Players learn NOTHING by buff runs - except how to do an end run around the game... That said - I am guilty sometimes of doing this (Stockades in 12 min lol)... Even on my alts - I like to run SM and ZF with a pug (And I havent run ST, mara, or BRD since 2.0)...
For the most part, instances are where you learn to PVE... You learn about aggro(how to keep it and how not to get it)... You learn about spell rotation, mana management, kill order, MMORPG team work, CC etc etc etc... Instances are optional for leveling - there are plenty of quests for xp and blue loot isnt needed to play the game...
As for learning how to play class, my biggest pet peeve is players leveling with a PvP spec (on PvP server) and complaining they have a hard time questing... Not saying it cant be done - just not as easy/fast... I see the game as starting in outlands, 0-58 is learn to play time...
Gold is another huge thing... I was in a guild that helped people buy first mount a long time ago... At the time it seemed like a good idea, but a mount is the first test of whether you understand economics of WoW... I saw too many players decked out in Boe blues with enchants and no money at 20-50 cause they didnt need to save anything... (this lead to a /gquit)... Now when someone wants money for mount, I ask there prof and suggest where to go to make money (and recomend auctioneer)...
All that said, the game is HUGE is size and knowledge... I cant imagine starting to play now and learning it all! If you ask me a question I will answer it, but no free lunch from me!
MaxBliss Feb 10th 2008 9:47AM
You "had no idea that one should train all three talent schools."
O RLY?
Perhaps you mean professions?
C.A. Feb 10th 2008 11:33AM
Nope, I'm pretty sure she meant talent schools. You know when you train skills they are categorized? She must've been hesitant to take skills in a category she didn't want to put talent points into.
MaxBliss Feb 10th 2008 11:52AM
Doh. Bet you are right.
syrensilly Feb 10th 2008 10:51AM
My guild has a rule about helping other people, BUT the high lvl ppl (60+ especially) do not just go run people through an instance. If you have quests, and have made an honest attempt at creating a party, but are a toon short (esp something like gnomer, we all remember and still hate that instance) we will help if we have time, but we do NOT just go run a single player thru an instance to get the boss's blue items (if you have run the instance a few times and haven't been successful trying to get that one you just have to get, we might take pity, but it's the exception, not the rule, and based on if we have the time and inclination to run it.) We have been known to do things just to do them occasionally, but that's when we put out that if anyone wants to join (assuming they are high enough lvl to go) we will take them. That mainly happens in instances BRD and higher, not for lowbies that are too lazy to try things their level themselves in hopes of becoming a higher level.
You also make a lot better exp and learn a to more by doing your quests anyway. Even more so since they changed the rewards and amounts for level for 20-60.
One thing I recommend is finding a friend (or 2) and creating toons at the same time. After level 20 or so, go do your questing and instances (mainly) with that person. (You should be able to start hopping continents by then.) You learn to work together, and having 2 people to figure out where that next NPC is or to do the escort and other group things can be really useful. It's also a way to always have the beginnings of a party for your next instance run. You could do the same type of thing with guildies, if you have a few people of the same level running the lines together, it goes really fast.
The secondary professions tho, that I also learned a little late, but I spent the extra time and caught them up. If only I could cook manna biscuits..... (such a monopoly out there on those- darn mages)
About the talent trees...all but 5 points are in one tree, Gotta get that mark of the wild. I refuse to put any in feral, cause I'm sick of hearing how if you aren't feral you can't do anything. Look out, this boomkin is coming.
Syrensilly
Shadowfire on Malfurion
Stooch Feb 10th 2008 11:30AM
I've been soloing the game ever since I started playing. I got to 70 on my own and never ran an instance on the way (who needs Hunters right)?
The only places I've been to are SM, and the Hellfire dungeons. And all those times I was running lower lvl friends through for gear.
I'm now leveling a Priest to 70 in the hope of finally finding a raiding guild willing to take on someone relatively new to instances. I feel like I'd be missing out on a huge part of the game if I leave it too late.
If not, I'll just do Arenas with my Pally friend :P
Stooch Feb 10th 2008 11:31AM
I'm always helping newer players. Whether it be quests, instances, giving advice or whatever.
I guess I do it because no one was ever willing to help me when I started and I know that kinda sucks.
Gimmlette Feb 10th 2008 12:34PM
It's a line that wavers. As a GM of a small guild, you can't always get enough people to do SM, ZF, BF when you have the quests so I have to help out to see that guildies progress. I will only run someone through an instance to get a blue drop if I know they have tried many times and it's just not happened. I also tell them they have to wish to the Blizzard gods for exactly what they don't want or what they do want won't drop when we go.
I'm torn right now between trying to get a 15 year old to understand she needs to solo quest to learn her toon or /gkick. Every time she comes on she asks who wants to help her level. She doesn't have much time to play when she does come on and I know the leveling bit can be a grind, but she's never going to be an asset if all she does is loot while someone else does the killing.
I'm proud that I did 70% of the walk to 70 as a solo player. Without the challenge, I would not be able to help lower levels. You learn what all the buttons on the tool bars mean and what combinations of skills can be used in certain situations. If you respec, you're not penalizing a group of people who have come to depend upon you being talented in a certain way. I generally didn't ask for help and would try to figure it out on my own, even if that meant dying repeatedly until someone said, "Would you like help with that?"
If it's an alt, I'll generally run them solo through something because I know they have done the instance in an appropriate group on their main. I encourage alts of the same level to run instances simply because, when we get into that endgame instance, if you don't know how to play the toon you brought, you're a liability, I don't care if you're solid blue or purple.
I've met two players, so far, who, while wiping the group for the 3rd time, admitted they "inherited" the level 70 they were playing from a college roommate who was leaving the game. A third person was power leveled by her boyfriend. Never going to group with them again. They will always be the person who has to be dragged around. Someone else can do it. Not me.
Good_Idea Feb 11th 2008 12:00PM
I really don't like twinking toons by taking my 70 and running toons through pre-60 content. There's no point, they should just grind it out. It forms bad habits and expectations as well (that everything is easy).
If someone is new to (non-twink) instancing, they are going to make lots of nub mistakes, so it's expected. We all did it.
Andelorn Feb 12th 2008 7:06AM
I actually was ranting about something related to this earlier to my guild.
Since I've levelled my second 70, and now that I'm on my 3rd, I've noticed something very strange about the characters levelling Hordeside. They seem to fall into two categories for most of them: either they are ~5 levels higher than they need to be for the quests (and ~5 levels higher than others doing them), OR they are sporting a level 70 who follows them around everywhere killing everything for them (including any Alliance who comes past them). It's the latter that I ranted about.
Why is it that so many Horde lowbies have a 70 walking them through quests that aren't in any way difficult to do? If it's said that Horde are people focusing on PvP moreso than Alliance, why do they need 70s to guard them and to gank any Alliance lowbies that come near them? Why can't they do it themselves? I'm on Tichondrius by the way.
I've never seen this behavior in Alliance characters levelling. There are sometimes gank squads who wander about but usually not at all often. It's usually very difficult to get any help from Alliance 70s when I'm ganked in this situation too, and as my main is a holy Priest it's difficult to get revenge on my own.