Being a Good Team Member

Since PAX East is still pretty fresh in my mind, I wanted to do another post related to something that I saw while I was there. As I said in my very first post, I plan to do things that are not always related to gaming/geek issues, and I have a great idea for a post that I am researching a bit now.

I went to a panel called "MMO Gamer Behavior 101" while at PAX. I'll be honest, I did not find it incredibly enticing. I must not have been alone in this, because it was the only panel I was at that by the end of it, the room had a lot of empty seats.

Regardless, it can serve as a good jumping off point to talk about online gamer behavior in a few different types of games. While I am sure I could do a whole post about Xbox Live kiddies and their wonderful grasp of the English language, that's not my plan.

Instead, I am afraid I need to pick on one of my friends who I was there with again, yes the same one I got into the DRM debate with. As we are all WoW players, but play the game very, very differently, we obviously come at it with different views. Still, I was surprised at an attitude he took in regards to one of my pet-peeves, sub-optimal play.

The WoW community is a big one. Within that community, there are many different types of players. Some love to play the auction house, some are collectors, some do a lot of PvP (Player vs. Player), and some focus on PvE (Player vs. Environment, or AI controlled opponents). Because within the game there are so many different stats and modifiers to your character, sometimes it takes quite a lot of effort to be able to identify things such as the right gear, stats, or talent specializations to go for. The good news is, there are some VERY smart people who take the time to figure out how to best balance all of these aspects (the best of which are over at Elitist Jerks). They put all the data up on the net, where others examine it for accuracy. In other words, 99% of the player base have no need to figure this out, because they have easy-access to peer-reviewed information about how to be the best at their classes.

Which is why I get so frustrated when I am in a group with someone that is clearly not paying attention to this data, so that their character is far below optimal levels. Totalbiscuit on a recent Blue Plz! episode covered this - in his normal hilarious manner - in relation to Frost-specced mages, which are so far below any other spec it is absurd. Now, the normal response I get to this position is something along the lines of "It's just a game, I am playing how I want to play and how I enjoy it!" (usually without the level of grammar I just used). This is the wrong attitude to have.

When you join a group of other players, you have a responsibility to play as a good team mate. Just because you can do something, does not mean it is the right thing to do, no matter the levels of personal enjoyment you get out of it. If you are playing soccer, you CAN take the ball and put it in your own goal, but that does not mean you SHOULD. That would make you a bad teammate. Just because you CAN spec something, despite it measurably slowing down a group, does not mean you SHOULD. See what I mean?

No one is asking you to do original research here or reinvent the wheel. As I said earlier, the data and information is all out there. Yet even when pointed in the direction of that information, all too often they say they don't even want it, because "it is their $15 a month, and they will play the way they want too." Sure, if they were doing nothing but solo content, that would absolutely be a legitimate position. But the truth is, when you are playing with 4/9/24 other players, your personal enjoyment goes out the window, and it is your responsibility to perform in the best way for the team.

Just remember the old phrase: "There is no 'I' in 'team.'"

-Nova