OST, Kiteing, New players and... AO

[Pomidor]

Can I own a Beach? Yes. Is this legal? Yes. Will I do it? Yes. How I do it?

I'll bring 220 soldier and will alpha kill each heckler you want to kill. If you want me to not kill hecklers, you need pay... let say 5 mils per hour, so you can lvl.

This story is fake, but only from my part. Its happening all day long and its part of the game since long time.

Each time a NT kites or OST grabs bunch of hecks, player that is not in adventagous team, will be unaloved to gain XP, simple as that. Now few examples from last 2 weeks:

- I was on my gimpy fix, wanted to get some research. Ran through Ely and saw few /kite team. which would only took me to team if I pay them. Other players didnt want to do regular killing, so I ended alone w/o chances to lvl cept solo RK mission or green mobs around Ramp.
- Next day I went with other fixer (which can solo 1 Heck at a time without problems) and I wanted to take few hecks, but then OST get them all and I was not invited to team (they got free spot) cause I refused to pay 2m per lvl, yet I didnt lvled my toon, but did research...
- 2 days later I managed to gear up my NT, and wanted to make few lvls along with research. I was invited to many teams during whole day, but from everyone I got kicked cause i denied to Kite. Also, I was not invited to team when I said I wont kite, when they asked me too.
- Not so long ago, just in last week I went with my doc to support friend of mine, and we ran several times onto OST Teams (mostlikely with NTs), and we couldnt get single heck to kill, so we did pretty nice XP on RK mish. Many playres just sat and waited till they will get chance to kill anything...

So, basicly, if I cant get Hecks cause I refuse to pay, I can kill them and get paid for not doing so, right?

OST in Nasc and Ely is so nice, that everyone does it. No metter that players with uber toons could get easly gear to solo them and it would be same XP/hrs (since hecks have 10 min hard spawn time), but its just not playing the game. What is more wrong, and was said many times, Old players just lvls cause they want to, and new lvl cause its the only way for them to gain lvls (well, only way they know). Situation is even worse on RK, where fresh blood know only borgs from lvl 60 or so, and they dont know a damn thing about game or profession they play. I ended last days in teams where players had lvl 100 and was first time on RK mission (some thought RK is game-addon like SL, dang!), had gear from SoM and they died. Yes, they died and they Didnt liked it, when they easly go /afk at PW borgs without threat.

OST takes all fun from game for new one, learns them bad behavior, and also takes fun from players that Enjoy AO, like Me. I always like to play my character, gearing it up to act better in encounters that AO has to offer, but even so, when I play, most times I need to solo this game - and this part I dont like, because i play MMORPG not to solo from lvl 1, but to enjoy cooperating with others and featured OST in Nasc/Ely takes it away from me.

Experiance that OST gives to new ones has nothing to do with this game. Is what FC devs did all quest lines, build so much places on RK and SL to ppl avoid it whenever OST/Kite comes around? Just take a look at /lft and you will see, that even players that just registered acc. know only this part of the game.

Plase FC, fix it already.

PS: And no, prelvled toons wont fix it, since costs will be to big to skip easy OSTing.

[Lusos101]

The content is there, how you dont play it is up to you.

[Omutb]

- I was on my gimpy fix, wanted to get some research. Ran through Ely and saw few /kite team. which would only took me to team if I pay them. Other players didnt want to do regular killing, so I ended alone w/o chances to lvl cept solo RK mission or green mobs around Ramp.

Supposedly it was deemed against the EULA to demand money and/or level whilst AFK, but I dont know if its still true or still petitionable.

You could always try, the ARKs/GMs will be able to read the demands for money to level, so its not like anyone involved can lie about it.

[Exxxie]

Someone (with a highlvl toon) who is killing all mobs in an area and says he won't stop until you pay him for doing so is kinda blackmailing you which is definitely a form of harassment and you should imperatively petition that!

For all the other cases I guess you/we sadly have to live with that :/ Everyone who's taking money for leveling/xp is a lame schmock!

[Lusos101]

Someone in my org had something like this happening to him, was some quest mob or so. He petitioned, and nothing happened. They wherent caught in the act. And when the GM talked to them they said they where just killing the mob for fun. They kept doing it for one hour or more after that, my org mate gave up before them.

[Ciex]

Well im up for disabling ability to OST if only it would take less hecks to kill for 1 level. Around lvl 100-110 i like to join random heck team and try my new character but with more levels its getting slower and slower and slower while mobs are same. I get bored soon and just grab a NT from lft, log OST and make my way half afk on 10 minute timer.

SL mission revamp was a nice concept but there is not a single thing that makes doing them teamed more rewarding so people do them alone. IMHO it doesnt fit "massive multiplayer" character of AO. They need to be re-revamped

[Strupstad]

You could always try, the ARKs/GMs will be able to read the demands for money to level, so its not like anyone involved can lie about it.

But then we'll need to start speaking in codes, encrypt our messages and so on and so forth. Kind of like Ferrari did a couple of races a go.

Massa leading the race, while (Fernando) Alonso is 2nd (and fighting for the championship).

Team radio to Massa: Fernando... is... faster... than... you. Can you confirm you understood that message?

Fernando passes effortlessly, and the team radio's Massa: Ok mate, good lad. Just stick with him now. Sorry.

[Igri00]

I really don't have any problems with OST or Kite teams, but what in the past few months, I've had a ton of trouble with 220s coming to an area where we have been teaming with a normal team and simply stealing all of our hecks. That really pisses me off. If there is a team at a location, what gives them the right to simple overpower our team and steal our hecks? This happens ALL OF THE TIME! It is a major problem. Happens at all levels, from nasc up. Ely is the worst, though I've had it happen at each location, except Omni side.

[Strupstad]

I really don't have any problems with OST or Kite teams, but what in the past few months, I've had a ton of trouble with 220s coming to an area where we have been teaming with a normal team and simply stealing all of our hecks.

There is no such thing as stealing outdoor mobs in AO. Unless you've spawned it yourself, like a pocket boss, then it's stealing.

I would advice you to go about it politely, send the offender a tell, asking him politely if he could let your team have a good amount of hecklers to level the normal way. 60% of the time, it works all the time!

[Omutb]

Someone in my org had something like this happening to him, was some quest mob or so. He petitioned, and nothing happened. They wherent caught in the act. And when the GM talked to them they said they where just killing the mob for fun. They kept doing it for one hour or more after that, my org mate gave up before them.

Yes, thats because "nobody owns a mob" except for certain player spawned ones.

Its one thing to keep killing something, and another to demand payment to stop.

But then we'll need to start speaking in codes, encrypt our messages and so on and so forth.

I think youll find its very hard to speak in code when you want something, both sides need to be able to understand whats being said.

"You can join if you pay 2mil/level, ok?" is really quite hard to ask in any other way that doesnt result in "huh?".

[Pusipose]

There is no such thing as stealing outdoor mobs in AO. Unless you've spawned it yourself, like a pocket boss, then it's stealing.

I would advice you to go about it politely, send the offender a tell, asking him politely if he could let your team have a good amount of hecklers to level the normal way. 60% of the time, it works all the time!

I agree with Strupstad but it also depends on where the team trys to get the hecks... kite hill has been a NT kite or pocket area for years now so most should just simply avoid killing hecks there...
Messaging politly is the best way to go around it and in my case im allways willing to let afew slide or not make a fuss about it.

Altho theres alot of Aholes pockets out there and low lvls trying to ninja hecks since they deem u have too many so they should take some also happens so it kinda becomes a personal matter then.

Not to mention the famus Choo Choo pocket trains for spots tends to happen to =)
Had to fight a wanker Enf for my spot a long time ago for like 1 hour before he gave up... alot of players died but to my knowlage none that wernt in my team or his team =)

[Lusos101]

Yes, thats because "nobody owns a mob" except for certain player spawned ones.
Its one thing to keep killing something, and another to demand payment to stop.


ETC.

Mebbe I didnt phrase it properly, they asked for $$, 5 mil if I remember correctly. My friend didnt log the demand for money and couldnt copypasta the text. Only thing that would work, according to the GM was to catch them in the act. Which ofc didnt happen, they never repeated the demand clearly.

[crude4gone]

They wanted you to pay them 5 million dollars?

[Lusos101]

Yeah. And since I was in a good mood I gave them 20 million. Ofc after that I ordered my team of hackers to find out their adress and sent a few business associates to make them an offer they couldnt refuse.

[fortorn]

I see no harassment in controlling a resource free to anyone that can control it. We cannot petition because the "same 5 people" kill zark and razor or dryad campers or soul dredges. Its annoying but not unfair.

If someone wants to extort you by allowing or not allowing you to utilize an obvious noob lvling area of the game I have no quarrel with this. Then again I wouldn't have a problem training someone that did that either. But training is harassment according to EULA and current GM policy.

So its all about how organized a person is, how forward a person is with their intentions and how many people they piss off in the process. Funcom employees have always listened to vocal minority and continuously appeased them so I don't expect that to stop anytime soon.

[Obtena]

Someone in my org had something like this happening to him, was some quest mob or so. He petitioned, and nothing happened. They wherent caught in the act. And when the GM talked to them they said they where just killing the mob for fun. They kept doing it for one hour or more after that, my org mate gave up before them.

So they admitted they killed the mob and the GM didn't do anything? Sounds like they weren't doing anything wrong in the first place.

[Gora]

Can I own a Beach? Yes. Is this legal? Yes. Will I do it? Yes. How I do it?

I'll bring 220 soldier and will alpha kill each heckler you want to kill. If you want me to not kill hecklers, you need pay... let say 5 mils per hour, so you can lvl.

I will pay for your bullets if you let me come watch. If you did enter into such an arrangement, then you should probably expect to stick around and provide protection to the folks who just paid you; other 220s may very well come along and make demands.

I see no harassment in controlling a resource free to anyone that can control it. We cannot petition because the "same 5 people" kill zark and razor or dryad campers or soul dredges. Its annoying but not unfair.

I agree. A few years ago I was on my lvl100ish engi fighting the infector-thingees in the city right next to P7 in Ely. I'd been there for about 15 minutes, kiting & healing my bot, and looting MoPas, when an NT came along and started QQing about how I should be ashamed of myself for fighting such low level mobs and that it was "his" area for levelling (I learned later that NTs come into the city to grab mobs for bigger kites). I felt absolutely zero compulsion about leaving; these were publicly available mobs. I don't recall if he tried to give me grief, but he did offer me 5m to leave, which I accepted. I was there to get MoPas for credits so it seemed like an even trade to me.

I never said "Pay me and I'll leave," or "Pay me or I won't leave," but these statements are no different than an NT or 220 toon saying "Pay me or you can't level here." No matter who says it, statements like these are extortion.

People like to get upset about others telling them how to play their game but OSTs/Kites very definitely dictate how I play my game, so we're all stuck in the mud together.

[drainbamage]

Maybe FC should get some decent logging and tracking implemented on their servers.

This sort of crap is going to drive new players away, shiny new engine be damned.

[Saetos]

We need to remove this giant gulf of grinding between 90 and 160; whether it's hecklers or even RK missions, doing the exact same thing for 70 levels is tremendously tedious. This OST madness has a reason for it's existence; this is a product of that grind.

[Siyra]

The problem is more attitude then act. There's nothing inherently wrong with OSTing or kiting: it's when the people doing it start feeling entitled and laying claim to xx spot/mob/etc that it becomes an issue.

As much as an NT or OST can say "Get out you can't level/play here" or "Pay me to level here" we can say to them the same because they do not own the spot or the mob and we have equal claim to it as them.

It comes down to then the social acceptance of "First come, First serve". If the NT was there first they can lay claim to it, but by the same merit if someone else was there first an NT can't come along and demand you leave.

Of course people don't see it that way, people like to think of places like "kite hill" as belonging solely to NTs. When I was new (to SL) and was in my first heckler team I remember hearing shouts (from a macro) about how we (the team) shouldn't come any closer because we'd be entering a kite zone and if we did that he (the NT) would have every right to train and kill us all.

Now granted I haven't heard anything like that since but the attitude behind it remains, some NTs or OSTs will still try to train people if they encroach on what they deem as their area and it isn't any more right now then it was then.

The mechanics are fine, it's the players that need to be watched and held accountable for their harassment/extortion. But what ARK or GM is gona wanna watch kite hill all day just to catch people in the act?