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Battle Etiquette 101.

AuthorMessage
Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
So, after a particularly-frustrating encounter in the test realm earlier, I feel obligated to remind people of basic battle etiquette:

1) Don't beg or be a pain.

I am a Balance wizard. Yes, I /can/ buff and heal you, but I don't *have* to. And I won't, if you're underleveled/unprepared/rude/any combination of the above.

Don't spam healing requests or beg me for stuff.
I don't care what school you are, why you joined the fight, or what stats you have... If you ask me for buffs/healing after I've already told you no, regardless of the reason, you'll earn yourself a one-way ticket to Ignore-land (and probably the Commons). And, if your random level 15 wizard joins my battle in Azteca, you have no place being there and I won't sustain you.

And, unless you want to earn a permanent spot on my ignore-list. DO. NOT. FLEE. I can't stress this enough~ it's rude, it's unfair, and it's a waste of time for us both.

Slightly-different story if we are friends or teammates in a dungeon and have agreed on our specific roles beforehand.

Note: Dr. Von plays with her ports and friend requests turned off at all times.

2) Not questing doesn't mean I'm available.

I might be reagent-farming, trawling the Bazaar for neat treasure cards, hatching, decorating my castle, or hanging out with friends... Or maybe I just don't feel like questing at that particular moment.

Whatever the reason, I'm not a henchman you can summon whenever you feel like it. If you continue to ask for help after I've said no, the only thing you'll get from me is a spot on my ignore-list.

3) Take the advice you are given.

If I agree to help you, pleaaaaase listen to what I'm telling you! This is especially important if you've never done the instance before~ I don't have the time to coach you through every round of an hours-long dungeon. You asked for my help, and you're getting it: if I tell you that casting X triggers the cheat, please listen to me and don't do it (and subsequently waste valuable hours/pips, yours and mine).

Eh, that's my rant. If I missed anything, or if you have something to add, please feel free!

-von

Geographer
Dec 14, 2009
916
I don't disagree, but sadly ignorance and rudeness run rampant on these boards,in the game,and beyond. Anyone guilty of the grievances you list in this post or others, probably doesn't even care. Still... kudos to you for trying to enlighten/inspire others.

Defender
Apr 17, 2009
191
I love the fact that your stating this, When all 4 of those rules are broken by players that don't listen to me, it seriously angers me, I deal with the same problem cause I'm one of those people with decent to good stats so they usually pick me out of the group, and I wont help someone if they beg for it at ALL times, I solo'd most of Azteca, I don't see why you can't [And I didn't use crowns] It's possible on all schools so I don't want to hear "I'm storm so I die quickly" There is gear that gives amazing healing stuff, Like the Storm Owls Favorite Trackers, Excellent for healing, I wont gift unless I know you, I wont work for you, and don't think I'll ask for your help unless I NEED it.
One thing I think you should of covered was how guys try to talk with some girls, they try to flirt and date with them in game even though it's clearly not implemented in the game for a reason, Bringing that up I would like to say another thing but this time about dating in game: It's okay if it happens, but just do not try and get ACTUAL feelings for the person or it could ruin YOUR game experience, not theirs, And please, for the love of everything that's holy, DO NOT, EVER try and complain to others about how it is going, It is a game no one else cares to be honest.

Survivor
Oct 01, 2010
2
Completely agree. I don't mind chatting, but if I turn down a request let it go, we'll do something later. Also more of a social etiquette, if you're going to friend request me at least have a few conversations with me, or ask if you can add me first.

Delver
Dec 30, 2012
291
Well, Dr. Von, I do think we have a Wizard101 version of Coach Z
(Toontown Player on youtube who taught battle etiquette)

Delver
Mar 10, 2009
236
Nicely said. Firm but guiding tough love. Well done.

Squire
Feb 29, 2012
502
What about people asking you to attack or help them power level?

I find that as I help more and more people it's always "Use Storm Owl now!" or "You have a full collection of pips, Tempest now." appear more often. I would like to point out that first that many people keep a large deck of cards. They may not find any attacks soon. Also, it is entirely up to the player what card they use. I don't use Storm Owl on regular street monsters because I'd rather waste the power pips on Sirens and hurt all of the enemies, if not kill them. Sooner or later I can follow it up with a Tempest and kill them all. Sometimes their strategy seems weird, but if it's worked for them it's most likely going to continue working.

On power leveling now. While I don't want to throw too much dirt on it, I do think it's wrong. Many people have worked the hard way to earn their level ups while the people who power level rely on higher levels to carry them through a dungeon. My main pet peeve is someone asking me to help them with this because a level ninety Diviner with a Journeyman, Magus, Adept won't last long in a dungeon. I am not meant to be a tank and thus I often die, with the other person fleeing after I leave. The same could go for many other players. I think if you want to get the best out of leveling, you should level the old fashioned way. You get more experience with your school and you will probably be in the right areas to get your spells when you need them.

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
something that drives me nuts is this:

I run a Death wizard and only carry spells that heal me because I do a ton of soloing. People get upset with me when I don't heal them, or they find out I don't carry healing spells. Umm, Im a DEATH wizard, I don't NEED healing spells.

Now, if I'm PLANNING on partying a dungeon or something, I might bring some form of healing others with me, but not usually. If somebody else can't bring the right cards with them, myself included, don't expect a heal. An absolutely ill-timed critical can be an exception, but it depends on the person's teamwork/history.

As for quest help begging, repeated attempts will get you removed from my friends list the next time I come on and you're offline

Adherent
Jul 03, 2010
2634
As the seriousness of the game picks up it would seem we all need to seek our level of what we will/can tolerate in other players and what we will not. We must always keep in the back of our minds that it's "just a game". Letting things bother you that clearly won't bother others is only making a bad experience for you. The diversity of ages that this game attracts doesn't help.

I, unfortunately, have a very low level of competitiveness and a high level of patience, so I can put up with quite a bit. Altho I tend to be the used one, I put up with it because when I started the game it was the thing to help anyone get by, some how I can't get that feeling to wear off me no matter how far I go in the game. I also played so poorly I preferred to solo and still do even though I think I am finally a fair to good player.

I will say I am a little pig headed though and do play the game the way I want to so telling me what to do may just be like water on a ducks back, it rolls right off me. What ever wizard I am playing at the time I am doing the best I can manage, trying to get more from me will be your problem at that point not mine.

Hero
Aug 23, 2009
723
I agreed with original sentiment of thread. I used to help many people out, but as they left no one of consistency replaced them; hence my usually solo playing. I come across too many players who want to power level or use others, from ordering a battle be fought a certain way to begging for items or dungeon repetitions. I love the game, just frustrated with the numerous people whom I keep coming across who either want stuff or not enjoy the game, or maybe not enjoy it in a similar manner to myself. I guess a bit lonely since I haven't come across new or old friends of similar nature in game; which seems odd given those whom I agree wth or get along with on forums.

Defender
Jun 24, 2009
195
I honestly agree with all of this.. albeit I'd like to add one thing. Be nice to the others in your battles even if they do join when you don't want them to. Either they didn't listen in the first place or they got accidentally dragged in. Heckling them won't change anything and your best bet of survival then is to actually work with them instead of insulting them to the point of them fleeing.

Defender
Jun 02, 2013
164
Excellent point(s) made Dr. Von,

I have read the feedback favoring Northlite's the most. I feel, unfortunately, the players that need to read your post Dr, are probably not allowed to be on the internet while their parents aren't around or probably aren't even aware of helpful forums such as this one. I respect that the game has been around for some time and there are players that know exactly what to do in almost any situation, but there is the other end of that spectrum as well.

I am a fairly new player and have experienced much of what is being discussed here:

People join my fight and then proceed to tell me how to play...

People join my fight only to leave after an additional mob has entered just to grief me...

Joining a PUG (PickUp Group) only to have them leave at the first opportunity because the group make up isn't absolutely perfect and killing everything the 1st time...

One of my favorite aspects of Wizard101 is the fact that there is no "raiding". I enjoy the limitation of 4 vs. 4 in PVE content. That said, I unfortunately was not able to convince my gaming friends to play this game with me, and I would very much like to play with others who are more mature as I am an older gamer myself.

I firmly believe that the mentality of the MMO gamer has changed from being willing to grind out content to get it all done as fast as you can (power level), and move on to then next new title. Finding a loyal group willing to assist each other and stick to a title is becoming more rare. I have not seen anything in game that leads me to believe you can create or join a "guild" or "clan" so this only encourages solo play in my opinion as well.

Best of luck to All of us in finding that point in gaming where we can be completely satisfied; I'm still looking

Gabriel lvl 66
Brahm Spellbreaker lvl 65

Squire
Jul 28, 2011
599
Agreed, Von. Especially with listening and being busy. I hate when people beg for our help and accuse us of not doing anything, or say: "Nah, the jabberwock looks easy!" True story there x. x

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Oh, wow~ after reading some of the posts on this board, I'm thrilled at the response from all of you awesome people! And I certainly empathize with most of the situations you guys described as well.

The kind of player mmoluvr described drives me batty: if I started the battle and/or have done the most work, then I call the shots: not you.

I have 3 wizards over level 80~ 2 prometheans (Balance and Death), and an archmage diviner. I've been questing in Azteca with Sestiva (my poor Storm wizard) and she constantly gets heckled to "just kill now". Doesn't matter what she has for health or pips: it's always "just kill".

By contrast, the other two get begged for healing often. Balance also gets a lot of "just pass and let me kill" (I tell those people where to go and draw them a map); it isn't as bad for Death, though some folks will be like, oh just use Sacrifice... all while Valerian has about 7 blades up and is prepping for a massive hit. It's like, do you not see these blades? Casting Sacrifice with that many buffs (and his huge damage boost) would kill him, literally.

Ironically, my Life wizard (who is level 63 currently) is the only one who does not get spammed with heal-me requests...

-

I used to quest only with close friends, who I knew were prepared and reliable. It's for this reason that I don't mind helping them~ they are grateful when I help them, but they don't expect me to carry them.

On power-leveling: I do not power-level my own characters, and I will not power-level yours. Simple as that. If you ask me to do the work for you, chances are it won't end well.

-v.

Defender
Jun 24, 2009
195
On that note, when I play and I'm getting help from someone(or helping someone else), I'll never ask for them to do all the work. I'll try to help deal as much damage as I can while providing support with blades and the occasional satyr/sprite. If my DOT is gonna kill the enemy on the next round, that's the only time where I'll tell people to pass and conserve mana or heal themselves. Otherwise I'll never issue orders, I'll request a heal time from time but that is rare as I try to keep healing spells in my hand(link or other life spells). This does tie in because it usually leaves players with better impressions of me as a person to battle with as I won't be a jerk about issuing orders.

Defender
Apr 17, 2009
191
Dr Von on Nov 1, 2013 wrote:
Oh, wow~ after reading some of the posts on this board, I'm thrilled at the response from all of you awesome people! And I certainly empathize with most of the situations you guys described as well.

The kind of player mmoluvr described drives me batty: if I started the battle and/or have done the most work, then I call the shots: not you.

I have 3 wizards over level 80~ 2 prometheans (Balance and Death), and an archmage diviner. I've been questing in Azteca with Sestiva (my poor Storm wizard) and she constantly gets heckled to "just kill now". Doesn't matter what she has for health or pips: it's always "just kill".

By contrast, the other two get begged for healing often. Balance also gets a lot of "just pass and let me kill" (I tell those people where to go and draw them a map); it isn't as bad for Death, though some folks will be like, oh just use Sacrifice... all while Valerian has about 7 blades up and is prepping for a massive hit. It's like, do you not see these blades? Casting Sacrifice with that many buffs (and his huge damage boost) would kill him, literally.

Ironically, my Life wizard (who is level 63 currently) is the only one who does not get spammed with heal-me requests...

-

I used to quest only with close friends, who I knew were prepared and reliable. It's for this reason that I don't mind helping them~ they are grateful when I help them, but they don't expect me to carry them.

On power-leveling: I do not power-level my own characters, and I will not power-level yours. Simple as that. If you ask me to do the work for you, chances are it won't end well.

-v.
I'm not sure if it's what is defined in Wizard101 as power leveling, but I have a friend Irl who plays with me, and when we start a new character the other helps him get through to DragonSpyre then from there we sort of split our ways and let each other go from there, then we kind of "meet up" again at Waterworks, do that, farm the gear, then go back our own ways, meet back up at the end of Mangrove Marsh, and continue from there until we Promethean then we do as we wish, yes at the first few worlds up to Dragonspyre we use our Prometheans to help each other, But I've only gotten help on my Storm, not my balance so far, but I've helped him with his Balance. But other then that I get annoyed when people try to command me in battle because I'll end up doing the exact opposite if you try to push me around, or I'll make you wait for what you want because my pace is one of the best that I know cause I'm not saying I'm the best player, but I consider myself a pretty good one.
Level 90Miguel
Level 90Miguel
Level 40Miguel

Squire
Feb 29, 2012
502
Dr Von on Nov 1, 2013 wrote:
Oh, wow~ after reading some of the posts on this board, I'm thrilled at the response from all of you awesome people! And I certainly empathize with most of the situations you guys described as well.

The kind of player mmoluvr described drives me batty: if I started the battle and/or have done the most work, then I call the shots: not you.

I have 3 wizards over level 80~ 2 prometheans (Balance and Death), and an archmage diviner. I've been questing in Azteca with Sestiva (my poor Storm wizard) and she constantly gets heckled to "just kill now". Doesn't matter what she has for health or pips: it's always "just kill".

By contrast, the other two get begged for healing often. Balance also gets a lot of "just pass and let me kill" (I tell those people where to go and draw them a map); it isn't as bad for Death, though some folks will be like, oh just use Sacrifice... all while Valerian has about 7 blades up and is prepping for a massive hit. It's like, do you not see these blades? Casting Sacrifice with that many buffs (and his huge damage boost) would kill him, literally.

Ironically, my Life wizard (who is level 63 currently) is the only one who does not get spammed with heal-me requests...

-

I used to quest only with close friends, who I knew were prepared and reliable. It's for this reason that I don't mind helping them~ they are grateful when I help them, but they don't expect me to carry them.

On power-leveling: I do not power-level my own characters, and I will not power-level yours. Simple as that. If you ask me to do the work for you, chances are it won't end well.

-v.
Your point about a Storm's health and pips is spot-on. After all, it's hard to attack if your head is spinning or if you're waiting for pips. I get that Storm is supposed to be a good attacker, but if it's a 50/50 on whether the monsters will survive I'd rather heal than chance it and die.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
@Miguel~ power-leveling is defined in most games as going to a friend in a zone or area that you haven't unlocked yourself, with the intent of gaining XP in order to level multiple times.

For example, if my promethean balance wizard is fighting in an Azteca dungeon and I have my level 12 Myth port to her. Myth will play very defensively, so the mobs don't touch her; if they do, Balance can heal her, no problem. When the battle is complete, Balance will gain 40,000-odd XP... But so will Myth, who requires much less XP to fill her experience bar as she is a lower level~ as a result, Myth will level 12-13 times, whereas Balance will not.

This is power-leveling and, while not against the rules, it is highly frowned upon by most players, myself included.

@Scarlet~ I agree with you that, in that scenario, I would rather heal than hit.

If, for whatever reason, your hit doesn't kill the monsters, you *will* die~ it has happened to me, and probably every other storm wizard in existence, at least once. So unless the other person has an assurance hit ready (and even if they do), I would rather heal than risk dying and having to start over.

-v.

Squire
Feb 29, 2012
502
Dr Von on Nov 3, 2013 wrote:
@Miguel~ power-leveling is defined in most games as going to a friend in a zone or area that you haven't unlocked yourself, with the intent of gaining XP in order to level multiple times.

For example, if my promethean balance wizard is fighting in an Azteca dungeon and I have my level 12 Myth port to her. Myth will play very defensively, so the mobs don't touch her; if they do, Balance can heal her, no problem. When the battle is complete, Balance will gain 40,000-odd XP... But so will Myth, who requires much less XP to fill her experience bar as she is a lower level~ as a result, Myth will level 12-13 times, whereas Balance will not.

This is power-leveling and, while not against the rules, it is highly frowned upon by most players, myself included.

@Scarlet~ I agree with you that, in that scenario, I would rather heal than hit.

If, for whatever reason, your hit doesn't kill the monsters, you *will* die~ it has happened to me, and probably every other storm wizard in existence, at least once. So unless the other person has an assurance hit ready (and even if they do), I would rather heal than risk dying and having to start over.

-v.
Yes. What really irritates me is that I have what some would consider an imperfect setup for a Storm wizard. (Granted, it works for me as I'm a more defensive player. I love it and still have an okay time soloing, if not an easy time.) I normally don't have the damage to take out the monsters in one hit and most people I quest with regularly know this. However, what puzzles me is the fact that some people still demand that I kill even if I flat out tell them that the only way it will work is if I land a critical.

I find it silly to not trust other people's judgement. I've played long enough with this gear setup to get a good idea of when a hit will kill and when it won't, it's simple calculations now to figure out the damage range I'll deal. It's easier to trust people's judgement and let them attack when they're ready so that they actually kill the monsters in one go rather than to have to rely on a backup hit. This might not always work, but more often than not people who know their gear know that a hit will either kill or seriously hurt the enemies there and if they were pretty close to getting the monsters, I figure they deserve some leeway. Predicting damage isn't easy after all.

Back on topic, I also wonder why people don't listen to others when running through a dungeon or cheating boss battle. I've run through Waterworks numerous times and for a while now I've kept track of when to hit Sylvester and his companions. What irks me is when people newer to Waterworks don't listen and end up casting a spell that they were asked not to cast. It usually gets the team or that person hurt and leaves them wondering why the cheat occurred.

This is why I usually quest with three or four select people.

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
Ok, so I'm farming Loremaster for that elusive Deer Knight while waiting for the new world to come out live. When battling her with 3 other wizards, only one of which was below 80, the L40 wizard was giving orders on how to beat her. That takes some brass ones. I mean, sure, how would they know I've soloed Loremaster a ton of times? Right, no way unless I told them, but still, that's a very arrogant approach to take when your 3 teammates are each twice your level or more.

I've found a few people to go on a pickup run for Loremaster and usually our plan is: "Kill it, kill it dead, kill it more, get the loot and repeat". We'll take whatever traps we need to in order to kill them as fast as possible. Nobody has complained, and if they do, I'll buff them if they're the same school with a Sharpened Death Blade to help offset the Feint I took from them. If they're not the same school, I'll apologize and move on (rarely do I use Dark Pact anymore, but when I do, I'll buff any teammate who needs it as I can).

Defender
Feb 27, 2009
130
I agree with a lot of this! I remember back when 7 pip spells were max, Once, I was in apractice ( I get nrevous in real, lol) l 4v4 battle when we had all of our team at pretty good health and three of the four people on the enemy team had fled it was just me (a corporal) and my teammates were all private against a lvl 60 wizard, and one person who's a Warlord and she was a tough fighter. After a while, we got her down to around 650. One lvl 49 guy had used to switch side team for one turn spell. Guess what he did, he has a full rack of power pips and cast a DRYAD on her! I was not happy. So the match was another hour. Ugh!

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
All well said, Dr. Von, as usual! Unfortunately, I suspect that most of the people who need this advise will never take it.

I try to be patient myself, and just tell the bossy ones that I will handle my own spell casting. Rude little wizards who jump into big battles I have at times let know how very rude they are. At other times I have just logged off and left them to their fight alone.

But it sure is great when you actually have good, respectful companions who are willing to talk through what they are planning with you so you can all have a good, cooperative strategy. Seems like there are less of these than there used to be though...

Defender
Jun 02, 2013
164
Dayerider's example reminds me of a little dog nipping at a big dog's leg thinking it makes an impact lol. Those players that have to bark orders to a PUG (PickUp Group) are definitely not my kind of people. To me it would be common sense that if I am privileged enough to be invited into a group with others 2x my level that I would just try my best for a chance at a possible future invite with one or more of the same people.

You can obtain information on a group member once they speak in chat by clicking on their name. I use this as a means to better understand PUGs while I am grouped with them. If they're quiet well then I just estimate their level and spell abilities. Even mousing over player on your side during a duel lets you know their health, and you can somewhat gauge their level.

I feel that PUGs forget that, when they are dictating to others, the other wizard was actually playing solo prior, and has arranged their spell deck to maximize survivability. This may mean that one or more "1 hitter quitter" spells, or buffs/shields aren't in their spell arsenal at the moment. Oh Well! Any landing you can walk away from is a good one in my opinion.

Trust in your abilities to play and put that trust in others. Especially if you join a duel already in progress. An experienced player will know right away if they need to pick up the slack in a group.

And please don't brag...you may have been the deciding factor in a duel's victory, but it's a team effort. Worst case is, if you joined undesirable group, say "ty" and never join them again.

I hope to see some of you positive, courteous, helpful forum users in game very soon, or not if you're burnt out or too busy lol. Have fun, get useful gear drops, and educate our players by spreading the word for "battle etiquette" awareness!

Gabriel Legendary Necromancer
Brahm Spellbreaker Legendary Sorcerer

Explorer
Jun 05, 2011
55
I never liked those guys.

Waterworks. Whenever I go for a run with strangers, I get at least one dictator in the group. The only exception to this is if I get a group of first-timers.

Dictators, in this case, are people who make verbal attempts to control the actions of all the players in the party. They choose who goes where, they choose what spells you put into your deck, and they say whatever your role is in the combat. Got some very nasty ones before, and I just walked off before it got too bad.

I've heard that these guys are tracking into the Aquilan dungeons (Tartarus... I dread going in there without friends...).

Von, lemme know if you ever need help/wanna farm/just wanna talk.

-Mark DeathMask - 86
-Rachel StormSword - 75

Survivor
Dec 11, 2010
31
oh I so agree with everything everyone has said and it about time to I have after four wizards decided to just delete continuous calls for help. I used to help whenever I could and got told what to do or what to use or this the part that got me as soon as I joined to help they port away grrr so now the rule for me is one time ok two times maybe the third time they are deleted I cannot be questing (going solo in Avalon) and always be getting "help" while I am fighting I am not going to kill myself or flee just to go help or you get the once you finish then can you come. if I am questing with the amount of boss fights in Avalon it could take half an hour to finish one by that time usually the person should be finished or found someone else to help anyway just thought I would put my two cents worth lol