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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Dos and Don'ts of getting a port
by Robin Torres 
Dec 23rd 2008 at 2:00PM
I'm a dork. I admit it. I love my mage and I love making portals for people, even non-tippers. In fact, you have to work pretty hard not to get a port from me. Which is why, even after decades of dealing with anonymous jerks in BBS chat rooms and on the internet, I was a little shocked at how rude a level 62 Tauren Shaman who shall remain nameless was when demanding a port from me. Maybe he just didn't know any better. So here is a little guide as to how to increase your chances of getting a port from a mage you don't know.
Don't just invite to a group without saying anything
In general, this is a bad idea for anything. You should always send a tell to the person you want to join your group for any reason before inviting.
Do make it a request
Captain Obvious is snickering in the background, but demanding anything from a stranger is not likely to get you what you want.
Do say please
You can even say PLZ if you want, though that may not work with people for whom that is a pet peeve.
Do get your levels right
A level 60 mage cannot port you to Shattrath City, for example. They can't train that Portal Spell until level 65. Mages can port you to Stonard at 35 (if they went there to get the spell) and the major cities in the old world (except Darnassus and Thunder Bluff) at 40. They get the more out of the way city at 50. And if you want to get ported to Dalaran, ask a mage who is level 74 or higher.
Do offer to pay
Portals are not free. They require a reagent that the mage must purchase and keep on hand. Since they cost 20 silver a piece, you should offer at least that much as payment.
Don't make the mage come to you
Go to where the mage is or ask where is convenient to meet.
Don't get belligerent
Even if you do everything right, the mage may not want to port you. Mages don't owe you a port just because they can do it. Just try to find another mage or get to your destination on your own. You certainly aren't going to convince the mage to port you by being angry.
The Spousal Unit later saw Mr. Rudeguywhocan'tspellchief in Orgrimmar about an hour after I refused to port him. I don't know if he found a willing mage or if he made his way from Thrallmar himself. I wish I had asked him if being that rude ever works for him.
Does rudely demanding ports work for any of you?
Filed under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, How-tos
Reader Comments (Page 11 of 11)
Meanisak Dec 24th 2008 4:16AM
I offered 25g for a port to Dalaran yesterday (desperate to get a Winter Veil achievement) and ended up getting ported for free, just because I asked nicely. It does pay to be polite :)
Ash Dec 24th 2008 4:53AM
Tbh I get the same with my rogue and lock boxes, I will open any lock box for free if you're polite and ask, the number of people who just open a trade window, and then get difficult when I just close it is quite amazing. Be polite say please and thank you and you get a lot further
Lemons Dec 24th 2008 5:30AM
Meh, i'm not so stern about that, half the time the people who pull that crap are like lvl 12. I just pop open the lockbox and leave it be. I kinda like helping the noobs.
I'll definately deny some1 if they're pushy about it however. Sometimes I just don't want to open the lockbox and no amount of prodding is going to make me open it.
But lockpicking is kinda removed from portals the way I see it. We don't burn a reagent every time we pick a lock.
Lemons Dec 24th 2008 5:23AM
Yup my irl friend is a mage on the game so I know what can happen if you're not nice about asking for a port : \
I was aware of all these things, and I've seen a lot of ppl ask for ports and not received them because they're idiots.
As far as going to the mage, that's not a hard rule exactly. Sometimes the whole reason you want a port is so that you can get out of some godawful hellhole like Darnassus/Exodar and you need the mage to port there first to port u out. You should prolly give him/her a big tip for that tho, they did use 2 reagents.
But for a general purpose port I'd say try to find a mage that's actually in the same city as you are.
Syrandel Dec 24th 2008 8:39AM
Its amazing how many people don't pay attention. Whenever I have someone ask impolitely or flat-out demand a port, I simply reply "Sure" and ~*POOF*~ they find themselves somewhere far from where they wanted to be.
I love when people demand a port to Dalaran and find themselves in Exodar. Muwahahahaaaaaaaaaa!
Blayze Dec 24th 2008 8:44AM
I would like to extend this tread to also include Warlock summoning as well. Like Robin I do not mine handing out summons and I’ve been experiencing a greater number of people asking me to help summon lower levels to instances where the stone there will not summon. This usually involves summing me there via the stone then using my summoning spell to get the lower lv there. A little kindness definitely goes a long way in this game.
Sloegin Dec 24th 2008 9:54AM
Another one to add to the guide; if the mage you're asking is in a group, *don't* ask to be added to the group, or ask the mage to drop group just to accomodate you.
I had a clown bug me for the better part of 2 dozen tells while i was doing some group quest stuff just before an instance and wouldn't take a polite 'go away' for an answer.
Farrell Dec 24th 2008 10:13AM
Not a mage, but I feel so much of this applies to rogues as well, for the opening of lockboxes.
If they open a trade window without asking - you're likely to either get an angry message from me [if I had another window open, etc]... or, I'll alt-tab and do something else for a few minutes and see if they've still got it open when I come back.
All that is required is a simple matter of asking me if I can open a lock box before you do anything, and I'll be happy to do it [tips are nice, but since it didn't cost me anything, except time, I'm not tooooo bothered].
But expect it as a right? no chance...
[I also offer, to guildmates/friends, to just mail me the box and I'll return it opened when I next log on - even though it costs us both 30c]
Kas Dec 24th 2008 10:39AM
If asking for a port in chat include where you are at the moment:
Looking for port from IF to Dalaran please, will tip.
If I'm near the requestor I usually respond, but if I don't know where they are to begin with I ignore chat requests.
David Dec 24th 2008 4:59PM
You should have opened a port for him to Silvermoon City or somesuch, and seen if he'd be dumb enough to take it. :P
yoshimitsu Dec 25th 2008 10:02PM
When I require a port, I purchase the regent and offer a few gold for tip and announce the request in general before i search for a local mage to whisper. Some never respond but I always ask with proper manners.
No one sits around spending their money every month to port little whiny brats at their demand.
As for invites, as a general rule of thumb, I never accept one from a hunter and I always wait to find out what the invite is for.
Jescar Dec 30th 2008 7:24PM
The part where I hate most:
Unknown Portal Wanting Person (UPWP): prtl 2 dlrn plz?!
Usually I will just ignore him for not using proper writing, but I tried to be polite...
*Jescar invites UPWP to group* UPWP comes to Jescar...
Now this is where I find out if the person is sensible enough to trade with me and tip me since he didn't said he will give any amount of gold while he pmed me (which most polite people do when they pm you).
So I wait him to at least click on me (I can see who he has his focus on, thanks to the awesome blizziard interface). 2 mins pass after he came to me...I'm getting really pissed off by him not opening trade window with me (And just for the note: You will probably will never ever get portal if you don't tip the mage FIRST, rather than tipping them later, its your choice)
And then to my surpsise he says:
UPWP: OMFG! FFS! opn teh fkin portal im in a hurry m8!
...
*Jescar leaves the group*
Please people! If you know the portal is your only way to reach there quickly enough, as WoW's tip says: A little kindness goes a long way...
Deadly. Off. Topic. Jan 5th 2009 10:13AM
I tend to ignore mostg people if they ask for a port... especially most people who don't even offer to pay at least the regeant cost.