Newbie helpers

Immortal Posts : 111 Join date : 2010-01-22

World of Naruto has the aim to be a game which is:

Easy to play
Difficult to master
Fun the whole way through

A big part of doing this is to have new players. Oh sure, they come by themselves through Mud Connector, our web page and google but a key is to try to get them to stay.

You don't need to be a newbie helper to help players. Anyone can do it. Just go on OOC and give them tips and advice.

A newbie helper gets access to the NEWBIE channel (as well as the HELPER channel) and they can use HANKI and go through the Ninja Academy. In this way, they can show a new player how to do new things, if they are stuck.

Immortal Posts : 111 Join date : 2010-01-22

How you can become a newbie helper:

If you are an immortal yourself, you can make yourself (your immortal character only) a newbie helper at any stage if you want to help out.
If you are a particularly helpful person, you might be asked to be made a newbie helper.
Other people can ask. Unlike being an immortal, there is no real way to abuse being a newbie helper.

Immortal Posts : 111 Join date : 2010-01-22

Someone who can clearly explain to new players how to play the game.
Someone who is cheerful and helpful, yet not pushy or overbearing.
Someone who welcomes new players and doesn't rush them into anything.
Someone who is there for new players no matter what they might ask.
Someone who gently guides them through playing the game.

Immortal Posts : 111 Join date : 2010-01-22

Someone who attacks new players, either making fun of them or abusing PK rules or otherwise scares them off.
Someone who shows new players how to cheat/abuse bugs.
Someone who buffs new players or otherwise makes it really easy for them, something which they will then expect long-term.
Someone who gives bad advice.
Someone who doesn't help at all.

Immortal Posts : 111 Join date : 2010-01-22

There is a misconception out there that helping out new players with buffs and levelling with them is a good thing. It really isn't long term.

If you start out and make it easy for new players with buffs and such, then they will expect that long term. What if you aren't on? They will start begging everyone for these buffs. Then if they don't get them, they won't bother playing. They will whinge and complain and carry on.

I recently saw 3 new players start off all together and they were really enjoying the MUD, each at their own pace, then one long-term player suggested that they group together. The group size grew to 7 as many players joined. Everyone got high level buffs, and a nexus was made to go straight to a high level levelling area in Land of Waves. There they gained levels very quickly, within 4 fights, in about 1 minute per level. They went from level 6 to level 21 in no time flat.

Those 3 players then had to do the Genin exams and then found that, because of power levelling, they had actually lost out, because they hadn't trained their stats in between time. They also hadn't learned to play the game and suddenly were left in the lurch at a high level with no idea how to fight.

It seemed helpful and very friendly to do that but actually it wasn't. Actually it scared off 3 players who otherwise loved the game. Those 3 didn't come back again, yet for their first 4 or 5 hours of playing, getting up to level 6 or 7, they really enjoyed it.

There are many ways to be overly helpful to players. Generally speaking, it is ill advised. It isn't so bad to do that for existing players but for genuinely new players it is a really bad thing to do.

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