When to draw the line on being "helpful"

i used to help out a lot more than i do now. heck, i used to go back to an earlier mission as lvl 20 and just look for randoms to help out.

nowadays i pretty much only help someone in my guild or alliance, and typically only on things that require it. it gets tiring when you help out someone else, and they pm you multiple times after that asking for more.

i guess it goes back to the old "teach a man to fish" saying...but it can take days-weeks to beat the noob out of someone and theres too many needy people out there. so choose wisely who you help.

I don't help people outside my guild, mainly for the reasons stated above. Every time I've helped someone on a whim, they come back a day later and want me to help again, then get angry when im busy or dont want to.

My guild has a very good recruitment policy, so the kinds of people we get there are usually the people who, if you help them when they need it, will be happy to help you whenever and wherever they can in the future, purely out of friendship. That kind of attitude in a community goes a long way towards making me more helpful

i find that giving build suggestions and strategy tips over alliance chat is usually more helpful than doing the work for them.
as for freebies, i never give away money, and if i happen to have a cheap but decent item sitting on my storage character i will give it away if someone needs it. but begging gets an outright ignore.

If you had that attitude in my guild you would be out on your butt instantly.

I'm often annoyed at people in my Guild or Alliance constantly asking for help. In the 33 months I've been playing I haven't asked for help once. I will usually help if it's a coordinated guild effort, or a planned effort, or if it's something I can do quickly like help someone to EotN or NF through LA. I don't mind giving money in amounts of 5k or less and I'll give away a whole stack of common materials. As an officer in my guild, I'm expected to help new guildies, so a gift of 5k or materials or a quick run will usually be enough for me to keep my "helpful" status.

If I do help someone though and am afterward bombarded with requests for help/items/gold, I just keep putting them off, or ignoring them and they usually go away. I've found that that sort of person either corrects their behavior, or they don't remain in a guild for very long.

I once helped someone get through a few missions after he got where he wanted he simply left without a bye or word of thanks, now i dont help people apart from close friends on the game.

Well, there's a difference between asking for help and constantly bugging everyone with "can you do this for me" and "can you do that for me". If you help others, there's a good chance you will get help when you need it. (At least if your guild/alliance isn't a crappy one.)

I don't mind sharing stuff I don't need for someone who can find use for it and I know will appreciate it, but I guess everyone knows these people from their alliance/guild who just keep asking for more stuff and never seems to know the limit to others' kindness.

yeah because everything should be free, and as a new player they shouldnt have to do shit, everyone else got it easy why cant they?

please, gtfo

I agree don't trust any new recruits. We actually have a policy in our guild that any begging for freebies will result in a single warning followed by kicking from the guild if the trend continues. Hell I had a new recruit a few months ago who asked me if I could spare any tormented weapons, seconds after he joined -> instant kick.

I've helped low level players with some mission here and there BUT I stop after three mission. I NEVER give anything to people unless I am the one who is spamming free stuff. I will always try to help anyone in my guild or alliance if I can, because i've had people help me. As for ANYONE who ask for gold or platium I say "GO FARMING". If all else fails shut off or ignore all chats. HELP PEOPLE WHEN YOU WANT TOO!!! Some people want everything handed to them.

My guild is cruel, maybe that is why all new members QUIT in a few days, we don't walk you through low level mission, don't give out money, and at times will even ignore you if you complain or ask to many damn question, we tell all team Members Wiki is your best friend, if it's Underworld, HM, or some tough areas we will help, our newest member ask so many question I gave him the handle the Riddler.

actually if you want an example of a very effective damage dealer in low lvl areas a melee charater, especially one weilding a scythe, would be better. they get tons of crits because theyre low lvl, melees do more dmg than eles anyway, and they do big domage everytime they swing their weapons, not every 10 seconds when their skills recharge

I belong to a large guild/alliance and there are constantly people asking for help. As an officer (and a genuinely nice person) I feel obligated to help out. There are a few that take advantage or want you to run the whole game for them, but I let them know up front: I am helping you with 1 mission and then I'll play my own game, no exceptions. If they whine about it (which they usually don't), then I leave and won't help them again.

Unless I am giving away freebies (high req junk that is too hard to sell, but some noobs can use), I don't give other players anything, but advice...
Don't waste resources on eye candy/things you don't need (yet).
Don't buy pets (yet).
Don't waste money on nice skins (yet).
Buy all maxed equipment even if it means buying blue collectors.
Merch instead of trying to sell that r13 purple item to other people.
Learn how to play the game.
Finish the game. So many people begging who didn't even finish the game.
Don't beg.
If you need help learning how to play, go to www.guildwarsguru.com and do some reading/research.
Type /wiki XXXX for info on XXXX

Btw it's so friggin easy compared to the early days of gw. You can buy maxed greens with perfect mods for under 3k each. You can go get maxed armor with a few hours of creating a new character (if you have enuff gold). You can get heros to help you through most all areas and dont have to wait on pugs or guild for 90% of the game in normal mode. You do much more once you master and properly equip your heros. Now everything is cheaper and takes way less time to get. Heck you can get uber fow armor, chaos gloves, chaos axe, and tormented shield for just over 1k platinum now. Just make an assassin and farm for 2-3 weeks and get enuff for all that.

I believe that there is a big difference between someone who needs a hand and someone who doesnt want to do anythng for himself. The former will get my assistance the latter my scorn.

My alliance has an approach to helping out with gear that has worked out well for us. Those with gear they dont want or need donate to a semi-monthy giveaway managed by one of the alliance officers. We generally end up with 150-300 items which get posted in a thread in our alliance forms. People then post in that thread which item they would like on a first come first served basis. After a week people are alowed to post for a second pick. And so on.

This has allowed people who want to contribute items to do so in a fashion that reduces guild/alliance chat requests. It also creates an odd, and sometimes fun, swapmeet like experience for those looking for an unusual item. It allows a new player to see what kinds of items are even avaiable int he game in a more immediately accessible fashion than wiki. It allows someone who really does need an item to get a decent weapon without feeling like they are begging.

I doubt our approach is unique, and I am sure that it isnt for everyone, but it has been a very positive addition to our alliance.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that deals with beggar noobs, some nice ideas here.

I think I'm going to suggest this one to my AL.


Umm....

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Oh, you are looking for the campfire discussion, tis down the hall and to the left.

Most of the guilds I've been in either expected to get things very easily, looked the other way on those who didn't farm something 10 hours a day or found anyone helpful because of one skill they happen to be using.

As for me being helpful, I only help those when it comes to needing a particular number of materials for armor or Normal Mode missions.

There is a difference between being helpful and giving to charity.

As it stands, I don't join guilds anymore. They're a waste of my time listening to complaining leechers tell me how much I'm annoying asking if anyone wants 100 Glittering Dust for free.

I definitely find that a) it's great to HELP on a mission--not to do it for them, but with them; and b) that's a favor that's rarely returned and often abused.

We seem to have an informal guild rule...don't ask too often, and if you miss a guild-wide chance to do a mission...don't ask for that mission for a little while. A few guildies had JUST done Gyala Hatchery, several times, over the span of a few days, getting it for various people. Lo and behold...I was a couple of days behind them in getting to Gyala. I'd never done the mission before...but I was outta luck. And I was OK with that. Several guildies gave me tips on the mission, and as I was in it, I asked a few questions in vent. Nice and easy, and no one was tooooo inconvenienced.

So, the line...hmmm...when they're obviously annoying or leeching. Or when it would bore you to tears to help any more....

Quoted for truth and to make my post longer, lawl.

If anything I give new players a gentle "nudge". If someone needs some gold for their storage in Shing Jea (as annoying as it can get) I help them out. If someone tells me they "need" 50k then they're on their own. Besides that, it's entirely situational when it comes to deciding if I help out a person or not.

Sometimes it's hard to tell honest people from the jerks. One time a guy begged in such a sad manner for me to help him on this mission "since i has like awsum heros". He ended up afking the whole thing, so I purposely wiped near the end of the mission.

Glad I know who to avoid, then ^ ^

I draw several lines when it comes to helping people:

1. I never give to beggars, EVER. Those people IMHO, should either go out and play the game or uninstall and go do something else. (Want free money? See Ipillu Whupwup in Whitman's Folley!)

2. I won't help people with NM missions/quests before L.A. in Tyria or the noob islands, unless I'm on my Monk. With any other character, that's just making it TOO easy and the new players don't learn anything or have as much fun. (experienced players shouldn't need any help with them)

3. I won't give things away to any random person. The character may be a level 5, but how do I know that the player doesn't have a fully loaded account and doesn't need a hand-out?

4. I will, from time to time, give something away to someone who I've been questing with who I've had fun playing with. I dod this generally with people who've convinced me that they really are new to the game.

5. I'll answer people's questions, unless they're looking for a course in the subject. Then I refer them to guildwiki or the F10 button.