The guide to being New but not totally inept
By
Bigbrother87,
Posted on: 2006-04-13 08:36 in Player Guides
Keep in mind that the straight line approach in the hollows is generally a bad Idea.
For instance, if your mission is on the far eastern wall of the hollows opposite the atlas entrance, it is generally better to run north along the roads , then east , then south after you have cleared the gulch than it would be to run straight thru Grendel's gulch.
The Avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
Blue Spot, Son Spot, Cyan Siren, Polar Gale, Scarlett Fury, Stygian Warlock, Lady Lilac, Elsbeth (villian), Furious Squirrel (villian)
Infinity server
Actually, I'd say DON'T say "Level X looking for team." Since I don't know what the heck you are. If I want a tanker, I want to know the person I'm asking for is a tank, not a troller.
And don't yell to people just passing by "Why didn't you heal me!" (or more precisely, it seems, "Y U not heel me!!") Blue shield does not mean Empath. Empath does not mean "I must heal you no matter what, even though I have no clue who you are and you've been vulgar on broadcast for the last ten minutes."
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Actually, I'd say DON'T say "Level X looking for team." Since I don't know what the heck you are. If I want a tanker, I want to know the person I'm asking for is a tank, not a troller.
And don't yell to people just passing by "Why didn't you heal me!" (or more precisely, it seems, "Y U not heel me!!") Blue shield does not mean Empath. Empath does not mean "I must heal you no matter what, even though I have no clue who you are and you've been vulgar on broadcast for the last ten minutes."
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Hahahahah
Related to this, please please please do not scream HEALME!!!11 at your defender/controller. If they are any good at all they know you need healing and will get to you as soon as possible (of course you could HELP by moving TOWARDS said defender/controller or towards a mob if they are KIN instead of running down the hall) and if they aren't any good, it won't matter what you do. 
The Avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
Blue Spot, Son Spot, Cyan Siren, Polar Gale, Scarlett Fury, Stygian Warlock, Lady Lilac, Elsbeth (villian), Furious Squirrel (villian)
Infinity server
Should re-title this thread to "how to not be an annoying newbie". As for this post making you avoid ineptness, well i was told not to spam chat channel, and told not to blame others for my mistakes. What other advice, that is useful, could i use as a noob? You know things such as what powers to pick to help me down the line, types of groups to make to go on team missions, you know helpful kinda stuff?
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Should re-title this thread to "how to not be an annoying newbie". As for this post making you avoid ineptness, well i was told not to spam chat channel, and told not to blame others for my mistakes. What other advice, that is useful, could i use as a noob? You know things such as what powers to pick to help me down the line, types of groups to make to go on team missions, you know helpful kinda stuff?
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Good point, the biggest one I can think of is...
A team does not HAVE to have 8 members.
Sometimes Duos or Trios are all you need.
and
NO AT is ALWAYS needed, there are ways to acchieve victory with just about any team if you will communicate.
The Avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
Blue Spot, Son Spot, Cyan Siren, Polar Gale, Scarlett Fury, Stygian Warlock, Lady Lilac, Elsbeth (villian), Furious Squirrel (villian)
Infinity server
one thing ive noticed that helps make a so-so team good (or bad) is the willingness of team members to actualy listen to/make and or adhere to even the most basic plans.
things like "ill pull someone" or "let me set up my buffs". altho the last one is less likely at low levels.
ive lost count of the number of times a scrapper or tank ignores the offer to pull a foe, rushes in and aggros the whole room, causing a TPK. even when im playing my lvl 49 elec/div blaster.
oh TPK stands for total party kill.
1) When you're putting together a team, make sure everyone knows who's in charge of starting fights. If you have someone who runs off and starts fights? Make it his job. If you don't have anyone like that, give it to the best qualified person [tank, experienced player, whatever.]
2) IF you are pulling: Make sure everyone knows what pulling is, and how to do it.
Pulling correctly: where everyone hides around the corner * except the person who shoots or taunts one [or a few] enemies, and then runs around the corner. *
Then you wait. *
Then the pulled enemy comes around the corner and everyone piles on.
* this is where 1/3 of all screwups happen.
NOTE: Many people THINK they understand how to pull, and they're wrong. Don't take their word for it, explain anyway.
3) If someone screwed up, and nobody died [except maybe the screwup], that's good enough for hero work. Same with screwed-up builds. If it works well enough, let it go.
4) Walk before you run: don't try some complex NFL-style play with people who are still discovering what the "R" and "F" keys do. "Follow [person x]", "[person y] is in charge of starting the fight" and, for the advanced class, "[person z] is pulling" - if you can handle that, you're plenty good enough for me to team with.
5) Small controlled teams are best, when you're learning. The chance of finding seven other people and NONE of them are idiots is. . .well, small.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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Should re-title this thread to "how to not be an annoying newbie". As for this post making you avoid ineptness, well i was told not to spam chat channel, and told not to blame others for my mistakes. What other advice, that is useful, could i use as a noob? You know things such as what powers to pick to help me down the line, types of groups to make to go on team missions, you know helpful kinda stuff?
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You can learn all that by following alot of the afore mentioned things, because, if you follow these, People will not think you are an idiot, and will gladly answer questions. All those other things are covered all throughout the forums.
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6. If you are new to the game, it is sometimes advisable to say in broadcast, "Level So and so, looking for experienced players to team." Generally, there is someone who can answer questions and/or team with you that can teach you a few things that will greatly increase you and your teams survivability.
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Looks pretty good but I just *have* to disagree with this one.
I know that people have always used broadcast to find teams. But lately its becoming more and more common; its spreading like a disease and players are either forgetting how to use teamseek or just never learning to use it in the first place.
For example, the level 16 blaster in Atlas Park, spamming broadcast over and over today, LFT.. LFT.. LFT.. I clicked on search and sure enough, no LFT flag on. Regardless of my growing unease with the way in which people create/form teams now, I was polite. I suggested turning his looking for missions/any flag on, and trying another zone.
Please, guys. We have teamseek for a reason. If you are hoping to get on a team with experienced players, type it in your search comments and turn the little white circle or little green diamond thingie on. The experienced players will see it, read it, and invite you. Spamming broadcast for teams only serves the break down the system; it is simple, and effective.
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Please, guys. We have teamseek for a reason. If you are hoping to get on a team with experienced players, type it in your search comments and turn the little white circle or little green diamond thingie on. The experienced players will see it, read it, and invite you. Spamming broadcast for teams only serves the break down the system; it is simple, and effective.
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Unless you don't know how to search for a team using that system. I don't, yet, so maybe that should be added here.
Where did that huge thread of "How to know you're in a pick up group" go? It was wonderful to show me what to NOT do.
Yes, I got the game Tuesdays, and have teamed a whopping 2 times since then. First was just with one defender, then the team expanded to 6. We were doing fine too, until the server hiccuped and spit us out.
Second time was that same mission, but with only a blaster as a team mate this time. We did great, and afterwards I asked if they wanted any help with they're missions. They said no, and that was that.
I know I would have been a better teammate if I'd known how to instantly start typing in the team chat area (enter key), instead of jumping around like a moron trying to type something.
Me thinks the OP had a bad Hollows experience.
A lot of what he said was true, but it's not all that difficult.
The groups of mobs on the streets are big - if you want to street hunt make sure you have a good team (it can be a team of 2, 3 or more as long as you work well together).
If you want to get across the zone - just keep your eyes open. The groups are large, but there's always a way around them - just take your time.
And taking debt is a part of any team, but the exp. more than makes up for it.
For anyone confused on how to use teamseek and put their LFT flag on, this is a screenshot of my character Thistle.
LFT
She is looking for any, has a search comment, and has clicked the "find member" button to see who else on the infinity server is looking for any or looking for missions.
Now, any other hero can see that she wants a team from any zone and even on mission maps. All they need to do is enter the search parameters they want (level, AT, zone, whatever), right click the name to invite or send a tell.
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Where did that huge thread of "How to know you're in a pick up group" go? It was wonderful to show me what to NOT do.
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It was moved to the Games section, where it rots on page 5.
Help support the Bad PuG thread!
I get that all the time. Looking for a tank is hard at higher lvls sometimes. Seems that ppl start them and just never take them to the top. Or a defender thinking he's an empath and when he shows up hes dark/dark.
To use the search function, either type in /search or click on the little toggle that says "Search," which you will find right next to the word "Team" on top of your chat window. This will open up the search window, wherein you can search by archetype, level, zone, origin, name, and about fifteen other criteria. This will allow you to find people with which to team.
Things of interest:
In the search window, the light blue names are the people who are not currently on a team. Grayed-out names show people who are currently teaming.
You might not be able to see all of a person's search comments, but if you hold the arrow over the start of their comments it will show the rest of them.
Most peolle don't know how to use search comments or set the flag that shows whether they are looking for a team. I know I didn't when I started. When you're not currently in a team, click on the word "Team" at the top of your chat window. This opens up a window that allows you to type in your search comments. I usually say something like "No blind invites; please send a tell." That, or "NOOOOOOOOOOO," which seems to only infuriate the spammers (which is neither here nor there). Above the search comments window, you will see a line of text that probably reads, "Not looking for a team," or something similar. If you click on that, you can select different options like "Looking for any team," or "Only looking for missions."
Hope this helps.
I'm not the droid I'm looking for.
MA Arc ID 8121: Rapp'Mas'Ta's War. The Rikti are trying to incorporate sonic effects into their weapons? THAT can't be good. Maybe we should ask them to stop.
Hope this helps those new to the game if they read the boards. SUMMER IS COMING SOON! and we all know what that means
un-airconditioned computer rooms full of loyal City of Heroes/Villains players? Or are you talking about all the bugs flying in your face while playing? j/k
Yes guys, those did help me, a lot. Playing my mastermind I haven't teamed yet, but I'm leveling pretty fast, so I may not need to for a while.
Let's see, more good advice for new players...?
I forgot this, and every new player should know it. After a contact gives you they're cell number, you don't have to run all the way back to them to finish the mission. Just call them up, and you'll complete it and get another one to boot.
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Oh wait, read the pages of bad group experiances in my sig. I think someone already said that, but it can never be said too many times if it prevents bad PUG's.
Best advice to new players?
Post on this forum and say you're a new player who would appreciate teaming up with someone experienced who is willing to answer questions and show you the ropes. Let people know what server you're on, and if you're playing CoV/CoH.
I know that I, for one, would be happy to help a new person, at least for a little while. My toons are all on Liberty, but I just can't bring myself to play a villain: I'm just too good at heart. 
Life - a sexually transmitted terminal condition.
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Post on this forum and say you're a new player who would appreciate teaming up with someone experienced who is willing to answer questions and show you the ropes.
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Or post on your server's forum down at the bottom of the main index.
I'd be willing to help* new players on Triumph, and as an altaholic, I have characters ranging from level 6 to level 41.
*by "help", I mean "Talk about the game and group with for a while," not "Give influence to and power level."
Sorry- that's what I meant but I didn't express it clearly: *do* post on your server forum. When I meant "this" forum I meant the CoH forums in general. Specifying the server forums is a better way of putting it.
Life - a sexually transmitted terminal condition.
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Please, guys. We have teamseek for a reason. If you are hoping to get on a team with experienced players, type it in your search comments and turn the little white circle or little green diamond thingie on. The experienced players will see it, read it, and invite you. Spamming broadcast for teams only serves the break down the system; it is simple, and effective.
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People read search comments? 
Since when? 
Some things that haven't been mentioned yet.
-Regarding debt: It's not bad. In fact, it can be a very good friend. When (not if, WHEN) you find yourself falling far short of the influence you need for the essentials (enhancements), debt can help. Y'see, you earn the same amount of influence with debt as you do without it. The difference is, the debt slows your rate of levelling so you wind up with just short of twice the amount of influence as you would've had without debt (assuming you have enough debt to last a full level). Alternatively, you can avoid debt and just auto-exemplar into task forces but from my experiences, most folks don't have the necessary time to do TFs regularly like that. On a side note, if you find folks who CAN do TFs straight through, add them to friends and keep in constant contact with 'em. We're a rare breed.
Under normal circumstances, you're probably not going to be able to afford to fully kit yourself out in DOs (at 12) and SOs (at 22). But the above method should help alleviate that a great deal. A mid 20s character can rake in a million influence within a week doing TFs under their level (can do it in 4 days auto-exemp'd to do Sister Psyche, which is the best I've managed). Good for those folks who can't bear running around with DOs slotted in their powers at level 27 and such since honestly, they don't HAVE to.
-Regarding teams: I cannot stress this enough. EVERY TEAM DOES NOT REQUIRE 8 PEOPLE. A team of 3 or 4 can be (and in the case of pick-up groups, often is) far more efficient than the lumbering behemoth that is an 8 man team. This goes for task forces as well. If it doesn't require a large team, don't bring one. My experiences have taught me that the more people you add to a pickup team, the greater the chances of inviting that player. You know the one. #3 in the original poster's post. The one with the broken caps lock key (stuck in the ON position). The one who's infatuated with exclamation points. The one who says, "I can pull" and then targets the mob group furthest away from the team and throws an AoE at it. The one who, immediately after causing a team wipe, uses his/her only awaken to rez him/herself WHILE THE MOBS ARE STILL STANDING ON HIM/HER. Then immediately complains about debt, quits the team, and hits the hospital. When you finish the mission, you come out the door to find said person spamming broadcast with 'LFT'. THAT person.
All that said, try to keep an open mind. But be sure to speak up when the group leader wants to turn your tight team of 4 into a "full team for great xp!". Be wary but keep an open mind (yes, I know very well how hard that is ).
@Remianen / @Remianen Too
Sig by RPVisions
my lvl 49 blaster has the serch comment "no i dont pl, so dont ask" and i still get ppl asking me to pl them. go figure. oh and annother thing. if your a low lvl and you invite a high lvl character, theyll likely just go, im too high for this group and quit the team.
ok, with the advent of safegard and mayhem missions (yes i know im a bit late) heres some observations, from my mayhem mission experiance anyway.
in a mayhem mission, a large team (5 or more) is NOT a good idea, unless you know everyone on the team.
Mayhem missions can be insainely hard if the team doesnt know wth thier doing.
heres a rundown of things ive seen in mayhems that have worked or not worked:
-dont have a team where the lvl range is more then, say 5 lvls
-make sure everyone enters at the same time, and kill cops/random stuff till everyone loads
-plan how your going to do the mission *before* entering, ie. straight to the bank then side missions, or clear the streets and sidemissions, then bank
-as i mentioned before, keep the team small, to keep the time bonuses reasonable
-and finaly NEVER EVER split the team up! this causes all ambushes to split too, and can be impossible to find the joe runner to finish the mission on time.
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my lvl 49 blaster has the serch comment "no i dont pl, so dont ask" and i still get ppl asking me to pl them. go figure. oh and annother thing. if your a low lvl and you invite a high lvl character, theyll likely just go, im too high for this group and quit the team.
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Your second point is very closely related to your first.
If you invite me and your team is a significant number of levels below me, I'll assume you're looking for an easy ride - in essence, a PL. That's not cool, and I'll likely quit the team just as you describe. If, however, I get a tell saying "Hey, are you busy? I've been stuck on this mission for a long time and I really need some help" then I'll go help that person/team, at least with that one mission, and try to educate along the way. I won't make a habit of enabling, but a hand up now and again's a good thing.
Oh, and nice necro-posting.
Iscariot's Guide to the Tri-Form Warshade, version 2.1
I'm sorry that math > your paranoid delusions, but them's the breaks -- Nethergoat
P.E.R.C. Rep for Liberty server
We have all been new to City of Heroes/Villians. We have all asked questions. We may have been dumb to the mechanics of the game, but when our questions were answered by a more experienced player, we probably heeded the advice. I felt it neccessary to make this guide, due to an influx of new players, and to get us prepared for I7.
1. When you are level 5 in the Hollows, and you spam the broadcast or request channel.. "Level 5 Looking for Team", don't expect a great team. Mostly because people at this level don't have many great powers at their disposal, not many slots in said powers, and training enhancements. You get what you get basically.
2. When you join this team, and the leader selects a mission, it is sometimes very difficult to get to the missions. Very rarely someone may have teleport, such as a warshade that can teleport you to the mission door. If you die on the way to the missions, please do not spam the team channel with "HELP! I NEED AWAKEN!", in all capital letters. If someone on your team is close, and there are no extremely high level enemies around, they may give you an awaken. But, they may not. When the team says they have none, go to the hospital and make your way back. DO NOT spam the team channel with "I NEED HELP!".
3. When you make it to said mission, and for example, are on a team of 5, but only 2 members of the team are there, DO NOT use your defender as a tanker and make all the enemies you can see chase you to the door. The other members of the team may be loading the mission and not see the angry trolls you just dragged to the entrance.
4. When number 3 happens, and someone suggests, "Lets wait for the team." And your response is "HELP! I NEED AWAKEN!" Don't expect one, unless you explain that it was an accident that you made 73 trolls extremely upset.
5. DO NOT threaten to quit team when you are defeated, unless you are a victim of #3, or, are tired of the moron spamming the team channel with, "HELP! I NEED AWAKEN!". After explaining that you have none.
6. If you are new to the game, it is sometimes advisable to say in broadcast, "Level So and so, looking for experienced players to team." Generally, there is someone who can answer questions and/or team with you that can teach you a few things that will greatly increase you and your teams survivability.
7. When you do find enjoyable/good teammates, DO NOT automatically assume they want to be global friends with you. It is always much more polite to ask if they may be added. It is generally better to just add that particular hero to your server friends list, team some more, and ask later.
8. YOU WILL GET DEBT! After level 10, if you are defeated, you will occur debt, which henders your experience gain, and thereby generally slows the leveling of your hero/villian. It is not always the teams fault, though sometimes, refer to #3.
This is just a small little guide that can hopefully help with the first few levels, especially the hollows, which can be a tough zone at times. Hopefully, someone will read this and adhere to it a bit.
Pure Massacre