Breakfast Topic: When they are not prepared
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?
