[What do I do in this stuff?]

Went through this myself and posted recently. The majority of the level 50 playerbase is not helpful to real new players. They don't realize it, of course... they will generally say they are happy to answer any questions, but their perspective is generally so far removed from a true newbie they don't realize what being a newbie really means. They take things for granted.

 

You're not alone, but you are VASTLY outnumbered.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

Just a blanket reply to all of the "yOu ShOuLd AsK qUeStIoNs!" responses: this is a pretty illogical view. Teaching special, outstanding and very interested people a leadership skill is a much higher yield solution than demanding that an enormous pile of average folks become special, outstanding and very interested.

 

It just doesn't make any sense. If everyone was willing and capable to suddenly become more knowledgeable and competent... then we wouldn't really need leaders would we? Everyone would just be awesome. This also ignores my overall message... in that the people who you are blaming for a failure may not even know what questions they should have asked... or that there are any questions to be asked.

 

I'll put it another way... none of the people screwing things up are regularly checking and reading a forum about City of Heroes. Your perspective is that of a competent and interested player who would ask questions and do research. When I join a trial I always open up the wiki entry on it because I'm trying NOT to be "that guy." I'm also competent and interested. The big problem here is you want a bunch of incompetent and uninterested people to do things.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

19 hours ago, Veracor said:

I have to agree.  After many MoTFs/iTrials led on Everlasting, I have observed that it really is mostly my fault if something fails.  Most causes of failure are from someone simply not understanding a pre-run instruction, rather than someone being a jerk about following them.  Should they have spoken up about what they're confused by?  Yeah.  But it's still my fault.  A lot of experienced players get on my case for having extremely long and detailed instructions for MoKeyes, but it has proven to make a significant difference in getting through it with new players in the league.

 

1. The leader is responsible for making sure people know what the run entails.  If they don't, the leader is responsible for explaining it to them.  If this is a league, the leader is also responsible for league management to help success, including equalizing levels or level shifts, ATs, and support among the teams.
2. The leader should be putting out detailed instructions before the run to give a plan of action, and then giving simpler versions of those instructions during the run to make sure everyone is on the same page.  You shouldn't be messaging people directly before the run starts unless it genuinely looks like they're going to be in over their heads.
3. During the run, the leader should be messaging anyone that doesn't seem to be following instructions and making sure they understand what's going on.  Sometimes it's just a cat on their lap distracting them.  At the very least make sure they didn't close their chat window after the run started (Yes, this is a thing).
4. If a squishy is bragging about how good their softcap build is and is running into melee range, it is still on the leader when they inevitably die to defense debuffs.  It is also on the leader to be chill and to tell the person what they need to do differently on the re-run.  Be informative and decisive about it, no matter how much it personally irks you.  Sometimes a dummy has to die first before they're open to any advice.
5. The leader is responsible for kicking griefers, and usually immediately as soon as they act.  You must be watchful and suspicious at all times, but also to not jump to conclusions until you get that split-second confirmation.  It is also the leader's responsibility to keep track of intentional leechers and to not invite them in the future.  The team/league's well-being is on the leader.
6. One thing that the leader is not really responsible for is experienced players running ahead of the league in good faith.  I don't care if it's your 100th MoUG run with me and you're simply moving down the hall to where we begin the bomb phase.  Don't go past me until I've run the bomb instructions so that newer players understand how the badge works.  I will give you the Incan of Shame back to my position if you do.

 

You have to be patient when leading public Mo runs.  While you should always shoot to win, in the grand scheme it's not a big deal to lose.  Try again tomorrow or next week.  Be observant for things you can improve upon and treat the failed runs as lessons.

This is why you are most likely a very good leader. Most of the arguments against it being the leader's fault are still based around assuming a certain level of understanding and familiarity. I've seen leaders flip out and cuss and insult a guy for griefing a run including accusations that the guy knew exactly what he did... and the guy will chat back indicating he honestly had no idea.

 

And if you go back to the instructions, it often wasn't explained well.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

3 hours ago, Snarky said:

So. First. You are wrong

 

i do not say this because i am a leader.  I am not.  I hate leading

 

i am saying this because you are wrong

 

maybe the leader could spend more time organizing.  However i am lucky enough to be part of a very organized group that explains things meticulously.   Things still go wrong.  Many times things go correctly.  Good organization helps with that.  
 

fundamentally , and i cannot stress this enough, you are very wrong

You can keep repeating that I'm wrong if you want, but it doesn't make it true or even compelling. I think it's a little odd that you think people don't like to be told why they are doing something when they are told to do something. I've never, ever heard anyone argue that before.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

3 hours ago, Techwright said:

While I've definitely seen some leaders who provide little to no explanation, I've definitely seen a larger share of "Master Of..." trials where seasoned, near-universally respected leaders cannot get folks to pay attention.  I've seen multiple occasions where the leaders repeat the steps of the situation multiple times, before and during the trial, often in bold text or duplicating on bright-colored special channels (that all were informed about before going into the trial), and I've even seen a string of other players adding their pleas for people to pay attention only to see several members of the league still mow down the target with no regard to the reward goal or the instructions given repeatedly. The only thing I've not seen these incredibly patient leaders try is individually getting responses from each player going into the trial that they understand the instructions and will abide by them.  And frankly, that should not be necessary.

Right. Those are the ones I'm talking about. I've been on plenty of trials with seasoned, universally respected leaders who explained everything very thoroughly and at each step said what we are supposed to do. That's who I'm talking to. They almost never explain why... and I've only ever seen one guy explain what a "Master Of" run meant. I'm saying that explanations of the "why" will increase compliance. You will probably still get people who don't get it... that's why I said that.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

3 hours ago, Luminara said:

 

Then ask questions.  I have social anxiety disorder and I can ask for clarification when I feel it's necessary.  Rather than point your finger at someone else and complain, speak up.  Not doing so brings the blame full circle.

 

"You decide your own level of involvement." - Tyler Durden

It's definitely easier to teach a very small group of competent, interested people a leadership skill then to teach everyone everywhere at all times to "ask questions" when they might not even know that they have questions.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

3 hours ago, arcane said:

Yeah, if you're joining a "Master of" anything, and you know enough to know that "Master of" means special requirements but not enough to know the requirements... yes you should be proactively trying to figure that out if you're going to join.

 

My point was that a some of the people joining these trials do not in fact know what Master Of means... or that it means anything.

[The Reason "Master Of..." Trials Fail (It's the leader's fault)]

It's the leader's fault almost every time.

 

This is an observation of every single trial, task force or raid team I have ever been a part of... but other than Master Of runs, it usually doesn't matter as you're still going to finish even though leaders are making this pretty significant mistake.

 

The end game content is almost ALL new to me. Sometimes when I'm on these, it's the very first time I've done the trial, let alone tried to do it in a specific way. The leaders of these are typically so well versed in the trial that they take for granted how little people know about it. In fact, many of the people joining your trials might not even know what "master of..." means or why anyone wants it. They may not even know that things they do keep the entire team from getting the badge. This is hard for people who are very competent and knowledgeable to wrap their brain around but it is common in nearly every field. The more advanced you are in a skill or subject, the further your perspective shifts away from the beginner's... until you become an experienced teacher of that discipline.

 

People like to be told WHY they are doing something. If we are not supposed to kill a certain person, or if we are supposed to stay in a certain area... it helps to be told why. "If anyone leaves this spot, we won't get credit for X." is a pretty simple way to cover things like this. If you're confused by this because "Duh... everyone knows why we're doing this" then you need to go back to the previous paragraph. People still might run ahead or lag behind or do the wrong thing, but I bet you would see a significant increase in compliance if you were just more thorough in your explanations instead of just assuming everyone already knows the play.

[The Witch's House NOW OPEN]

Just finished up in there. One of your live actors legitimately jump scared me... like his timing was perfect. I won't spoil anything by saying who or what, but he knew exactly when I would be turning around. I maaaay have turned off walk for that one.

 

Do yourselves a favor and go in there with walk turned on! It is well worth it and really makes the whole experience. I even did some of it in first person which was like playing an entirely different game. It's very obvious how much time and energy you put into this. I am beyond impressed. You were telling the truth when you said making an alt (and I'll add leveling until you get walk) is worth it.

 

P.S. I did find the secret room... not sure if I found it the correct way though.

[Does anyone just like... play regular?]

The biggest blow I think is a little ego, because "back in my day" I was the MAN. I was regarded as a really good team leader and ran a full team all day every day, and this was when everybody was new so you actually had to lead by explaining and coaching. I think once I spend some more time in the game and feel more confident, I'll adapt. I'm trying to figure out this fire-farming craze now lol.

[Does anyone just like... play regular?]

Wow it seems like a lot of you get exactly what I was saying, which is awesome because I wasn't sure myself. I did learn that "tt" thing the hard way yesterday lol... I took off running and they were halfway through the map by the time I got to the mission. I think it's just that most people are doing things they've done plenty of times before so they take it for granted. I've gotten to level 46 on one character, almost exclusively solo except for a few task forces and one raid.

 

I do love this idea of a secret society of "regular" players. I don't begrudge guys who want to blow through things and level level level... I mean I probably would to if I knew how. Thank you for all the advice, support and "welcome home" messages.

[Does anyone just like... play regular?]

Here's what is probably yet another "I played 15 years ago and I don't understand what's going on" thread.

 

The pace everyone is operating at is disheartening to me. I can't get around as fast as everyone... I don't know any of the acronyms... also a ton of this content and task forces are new to me. I feel like Captain America waking up.

 

Does anyone else just play the game at a sub optimal pace? I'm laughing at the LFG chats with a long list of character build requirements to join a team. "Back in my day" we had to pull and herd to get through stuff... are there still strategies and teamwork required anywhere? Do I just need to give it time? Am I the only person that still actually runs around doing regular missions?