The intrusion of TS/Vent into mainstream PvE

I'll go with this as adequately representing my opinion on voice.

...Actually, I'll add a couple of extra points:

- I play late at night next to the neighbours' thin walls. It's headphones all the way (I've packed up my PC speakers, even) and I get complaints if I talk out loud at 2 am! So while I have a mike, I usually have to go listen-only.

- There's something about an Australian accent (mine) that's insanely jarring when heard contiguously with a US one (US server). So while I don't mind US TV on its own, and I don't mind conversational Australian English, voice chat between us makes me want to punch the other guy's teeth out. Or mine.

- Finally: "I'm not used to the laughter of children, it cuts through me like a dentist's drill." - Moe Szyslak

... You don't really roar when you beat a boss do you?

To paraphrase Thom Bangalter, I've never seen a good player refuse to use voice comms.

If you don't have a mic or if you can't use it for some reason, that's fine. You can still download the client and listen in.

But speaking of PvE, I assume it's in DoA where people are asking for TS/Vent. They're doing that because it's a zone which requires coordination, and using voice comms is a far better way to communicate than through pinging ingame. While it's not needed in PvE by any means, it helps.

i dont see much roleplay in killing countless of overpowered but stupid mob.

but anyway

1) People who join on vent have less change to leave the game. it not may always true , there are some but definitly less.
2) Like people said before it help organize the team
3) it give something to do between the long boring DoA waiting.

This is a bad thing? ^^

At risk of sounding snide, if a player is experienced then they'll know what works and what doesn't work in certain areas, and be able to work as a team, reducing the need for TS to around 'none'.

Man, that is sooo funny, almost wet myself. Glad I aint in his group/guild.

HEAR HEAR! /puts on frilly dress to play GW O_O

Voice chat isnt "necessary", but does help alot at conveying information faster than typing it. I would use it, but I think its still broken(updated sound driver other day, may be ok now). As to the "immersion" thing, never felt that in any game i played, RPG or otherwise, just not something that I feel, so voichat doesnt bother me in the slightest, in that regard.
ps 50 dkp? Thats nothing! I just wagered 400 quatloos on the newcomer!

I'd take a voiceserver group over a non-voicerserver group anyday.

Voice just makes it easier and more fun.

DoA does not equal mainstream pve (or at least i dont think its intended that way).

Vent/TS has been used in Urgoz/The Deep too.

And yes it can do more harm then good when some1 bursts into laughs cuz of some joke just when you aggro-d a group too many.

There are plus & minus to everything. If you don't like TS/Vent then don't use it. Sure you won't get to join groups that are using it, but on the other hand you will be able to group with all the other players who don't have it.

In my experience, voice-using PuGs only want you to have a headset; mike is not required as they like to limit the chat. What they want is the leader/caller to be able to give commands by voice. Guild groups are different, but that's not what your complaint is about.

I usually dont talk on vent/ts because i dont like how i sound over the phone/internet etc. However i do listen in.

I think voice chat should be welcomed by mainstream PvErs. It helps a lot.

I will give that it can ruin your fun if you get a jerk who just mouths off/curses, but thats what you ban for...

I have occasionally used voice communication while playing with my guild, not so often with random teams. But still, now and then.

For a non- native english speaking person like me, it's sometimes hard to catch what the others are speaking, since they speak english as their first language and normally bit faster and with different accents.

However, if the group leader wants me to use TS/Vent, I have no objection, because, like already pointed out, it does make the group seem a bit more reliable

Within the guild Section Five one of the officers runs a TS server himself. This can make certian missions easier as everyone can discuss what to do next. But if relied upon too much can become a handicap if noone can agree on what to do next. I use TS when I can but most of the time it is not a necessity for me. I just watch the other players and follow them. If I am leading then I will call teh targets out. I have used both TS and Vent, and they are both good. But they are no match for a team that is in sync with the others on that team even if they have not got either.

Mega Mouse

TS/Vent does kinda shatter the whole "Roleplaying" feel of Guild Wars, but it is VERY helpful. If you spend 2 seconds typing out "HEAL ME!" it will already be too late. If you spend .2 seconds screaming "HEAL ME!" in Ventrilo, then you will most likely be fine

If you need to communicate the need for healing AT ALL, I sympathize. I'd find another group.

I wouldnt join a PuG using TS as you'll always get a complete tard who thinks he/she's really that character IRL and mouth off at anyone as he/she thinks they're some sort of commander.

I use it with friends I regularly team up with as it just saves typing

I wouldn't want a role-player in DoA. Whether they use voicecom or not. Stay in grotto, and role-play your heart out. DoA is serious gameplay. What's next: "I don't kill torment creatures since they are my soulmates?" Immersion is all fine and dandy, as long as it doesn't affect team and gameplay.

Vent/TS are both free downloads.

Vent/TS groups rarely if ever require members to use mike. I never do, I've never been rejected because of it.

Vent/TS groups generally include more dedicated/experienced players. While they are no guarantee, they are just another notch towards better teams. Just like various ranks, armors, etc.

Vent/TS groups in general are much more moderate, and tend to be solid. The worst vent groups I've experienced are the ones hosted by higher-ranked GvG guilds. Once again, not a rule, but those were the only exceptions. It has something to do with them not caring even in slightest about PvE. Voicecom groups will generally be more patient, and will take more time to coordinate skills and roles, increasing their chances of success.

Unlike Factions missions, where the one and only reason to do it is loot, DoA currently requires different goals.

Vent/TS makes it more likely for inexperienced members of the group to be productive.

Voicecom is also a measure of overall proficiency. Inviting someone who turns out to be unable to set it up is a big warning mark.

Being unable to run voicecom is another indication. Dial-up is fine, but much more likely to suffer from lag issues. Having a computer unable to run GW and voicecom also isn't too desirable.

Lastly: DoA is not pre-searing. Be prepared, and be dedicated. Those are too often associated with hardcore, although they have absolutely nothing to do with that. You cannot run your custom role-playing build, you cannot frolick around, you cannot be an ass.

On the record. Of all the voicecom groups I've been in DoA, not one has wiped, not one has had a bad seed, not one has had any kind of teamplay issues. Although we didn't finish entire mission most of the times, either to err7, simply not bringing enough dps, or group starting to lose focus after several hours, those are DoA related issues. So that's over 10 groups, and 20-30 hours of playtime without any PUG-related incident.

I really don't see the need for it really. In FPS games, I used to be on TS a lot because everything was happening so fast that we needed to communicate faster than typing. On Guild Wars, it's a different story. Monsters aren't that unpredictable that I need to yell at somebody in a mic to heal or kill or rez, everyone pretty much knows their roles before starting out.

I was in a group once where everyone else was on TS except me, and it was working out just fine. Then we came to a mob that we planned on killing, and the rest of the team just stood there doing nothing. So I put up all my spirits over and over, waiting for them to do something, and then one of them said, "You're not on TS?" and I said no, then they started quitting. So, I guess they thought I was on TS that whole time, but then figured out I wasn't, and that was bad? Oh well. Besides, everytime I've used TS with people on GW they all sound really drunk and annoying or both, so I would rather not most of the time.

iam on vent sometimes but NEVER when i play GW just because it takes away the fun and when iam monking in a "hard" area i wont talk much anyway because i want to concentrate on my screen and not on some 12 year old kid that yells in my ears HEAL ME HEAL ME YOU N00B!!!!!!11!!! in my opinion when you have a good guild or good friends that plays GW also then you dont even need vent while playing GW..... it is more fun on FPS games not on RP games.

This isn't a problem with voice com.

It's a problem with your monk. "My health is 55 of 515", "My energy is 25 of 85" and all that. That's what those things are there for.

How will your monk be more productive or react faster, when "sqeeky voice #4" yells heal me, and "squeeky voice #2" yells heal me too, while "muttering voice #5" yells: "skj #@ ... ff ...... target ....".

I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say that you're wrong because almost everyone who plays Guild Wars can hear things like PULL BACK faster than the time it takes for you to type them and they get read. Also, pinging, typing, whatever it is you do with your hands to get your message across, you're not fighting. I guess in the case of running away, you could use the reverse/autorun combo and then type RUN AWAY but... in most other situations, you have to use your keyboard/mouse to get your point across, and that's wasting possibly valuable time. Am I saying it's vitally important? No.

Here's my breakdown of the OP:
My playstyle is possibly hindering my ability to play/get in groups.

Well, you really only have 3 choices:
1) Not RP so much.
2) Start your own groups or accept that you won't be as effective at high end stuff.
3) Try getting Vent and listening, but not talking. When I did SF a lot, we would often have 8 people in Vent, but only 3 talkers, and it worked fine.

I have to agree with the OP. I've never used vent or ts and ive beaten all three chapters and done well in UW and FOW, with armor to boast of it!

Yes it can help out some aspects of team play, but its never been my experiance that you need to tell a well organized team when to run away. Screaming into a mic that your monk should heal you wont help if hes not paying attention to the parties health in the first place. People should know what to do in every situation and act accordingly, no commands in mid battle other than target calling, with voice is useless for, are really needed.

I think most PUG teams ask for vent/ts so that the leader can tell everyone what to do before they go in and pick out any afk or people that just dont seam to follow what there being told to do.

In short it makes conversation faster but doesnt really add anything to the actual game play.

I personally don't care if I'm the only one on vent with a mic. It's been my experience from doing Deep, FoW, UW, etc both with Vent/TS and without it, that the Vent/TS groups go alot smoother and pretty much never fail. Even if its just one person leading the group. Its alot easier to respond to something you hear than to just happen to notice the chat scrolling and by the time you read it, its too late. You can't ignore a voice in your ear as easy as you can some text on a screen, especially when you are focusing on your char.

You win the thread. If you do not have voice communication in this game in so many area's then just pvp purposes, you either IMO do not have a good guild, or are very new to many concepts of the game.

I actually would not get into any group for FoW unless they had teamspeak/ventrilo, Why's that? Because this makes me certain about that group for two reasons:

1, They are actually serious about getting things done, rules and explanations will be laid out. Tactics will be called, not just the target one of the warriors are hitting.

2, I am at a no loss situation compared to other groups, you know, the ones in FoW where 2 random pug monks would come in and both end up being 55 monks

This is probably the most ridiculous rant, the only reason I could see someone complaining is if that they did not have a microphone or.. heck I don't know. People say there are disadvantages to uses Voice Com, I don't see one problem at all. Unless your running on Dial-up, and have the worst sound card in the world.

I completely disagree with the OP. For one, whenever I use VOIP, I almost NEVER look at the team chat. Its much easier for me to actually be playing and talking about strategies than typing them out. Typing something out = 2 seconds of wasted time= death. Plus, once you're doing PVE, if you need coordination, VOIP is key. Sure, you guys could have all done great in pve without voip, but I beat every single campaign with henchies, proving how pointless pve is in the first place. However, try going into HA and running a spike without VOIP, you'll see how essential it is.

I wouldn't say that voice is required to really get through any mission or quest in the game, including elites. I would say that with good people, it makes it both easier and much more fun. I use vent with my alliance, and it's always a blast. I agree with above that you can communicate faster by speaking than typing, plus you can use your hands for playing the game.

That said, we often have at least one person in the group not on mic for various reasons, and sometimes have at least one not on voice at all. That's never a problem either, and I would think it silly to reject on those grounds.

Then again, the only times I join a PUG are when I've forgotten that I've sworn them off.

Given the literacy levels and general attitudes of most of the GW community, I would absolutely LOATH having to engage them in actual conversation.
And all the people I've gotten to know well in GW couldn't give 2 hoots about voice comms for general PvE.

I used to use voice comms when I was in a top flight RtCW clan, but GW PvE isn't anywhere NEAR as serious as that level of competetive play. And even then, we'd NEVER voice chat whilst pubbing, and never join random voice servers.
It's just not the done thing old chap.

QFT.

Given the cesspool that is text chat in this game, why in the world would you let those same people's voices into your living room? Close friends, sure, but random strangers? I think not. Especially when there's no real need to. Well, maybe (though probably not really) except for DoA, but then that's just another item on the incredibly long list of reasons to avoid the place like the plague.

People who don't think voice com does not add or enhance your gameplay is clearly hindering themselves.

Even if PvE is easy, you can make it easier with *proper* use of voice com.

Pinging your energy and health is so inefficient because you are competing with so many other things in team chat. It is already overloaded with target calling and other info.

To say vc is not worth it because of some human behavior is a moot argument. That is like saying 'I hate team chat because some 14 year old is spamming HEAL ME NOOB'


You have to seperate the human factor because that applies TO ALL MEDIUMS. Technical argument like lag is valid but not about some 'noob screaming in vent.'

Not to mention some here just seem to fear real world social contact.

Personally, I would just kick out the player who refuses to get on vent with other players. There is no point of convincing you at that juncture. He/she can find a group to their liking, as well as I can.

Trap grp LF 2 mor trpers MUST HAV TS/VENT, 15 EXPRTIS AND FOW DRIUDS!!

Voice Chat isn't a bad thing to those who prefer it, but I take issue with those who seem to feel it's required for PvE. No PvE challenge in this game requires voice communication.

Golden Rule: BE CAREFUL and you will win.

That being said, a simple guideline like that seems to be out of the grasp of a lot of players in Guild Wars, so yes, while I do not agree with requiring voice chat for any PvE challenge, I do understand it.

If you're sounding like a chipmunk on helium (all timbre), try setting up your mic closer to your mouth. It should pickup more bass that way, effectively lowering your testicles by roughly an inch. Of course, it could just be the low quality codec/mic... meh. Either way, don't worry about it.

Voicecom isn't necessary if you can guarantee that everyone you're playing with is intelligent and experienced. PvE voicecom in an all-friends/guild group is mostly for socializing. PvE voicecom in a PuG is mostly for keeping everyone in line and yelling at people when they screw up.

To be frank, voicecom benefits less-experienced players the most. Without voicecom, a bad player who doesn't know what they are doing will simply be kicked from the party. With vent, you have people giving directions and calling tactics, so as long as you're willing to listen, the experienced players are more likely to put up with you. The end result is that you finish the mission/quest and probably learn a great deal also.

Online games should always give the players a mixture of the cozy feeling of safety of playing in your own safe haven, combined with exiting challanges of playing a role in a game that may be far from who you really are. If online communities start to demand to show yourself, to discuss all kinds of strategies and adapt to what the majority wants... Well I think that's exactly the reality many people want to excape when playing games!

I can imagine top guilds want voice communication in their PvP games. But for PvE its not necessary at all! Everyone can take their time to explore. The only exeptions perhaps are elite content farmers.

I wonder anyway why so many people today love to be part of Big Brother alike 'show yourself and share every feeling you have - or be an outcast if you don't' - communities. To me that's a pretty scarry tendency...

I would agree that the text chat is a cesspool. However, I think you would find, on average, that the players that use vent/ts are not in that category. This is most likely attributed to the fact that people who use vent are much more mature and serious about the game.

QFT

Besides, if someone is a jackass in voice chat, the server/channel admins can just kick them.

Well I can understand the op's post, yet I also more then likely wouldn't play as often if it weren't for TS. We are talking about a very low cost ($10 USD for a mic) way to communicate between team members. Personally i play to be entertained with my guildies and the random folks we pick up. My imersion factor in any game really hasn't taken a hit. I imagine that it won't be a choice for much longer, especially if a-net impliments voice coms (although that would for sure make the game laggier).

If people are concerned with the safety of teamspeak I can wholehearted say it's a very clean, stable and quite secure piece of software. With the telecom moving and evolving the way it is, it most likely will be a demand to have some sort of voice coms to play any online game.

you guys are just shy basement dweller gamers arent you?

Hahaha! That brings back memories. My guild in that game had a raid leader who went crazy like this, but he did it in a more joking manner. Voice communication has quite a bit of entertainment value and should enhance gameplay, however that all depends on whether your group has people with a clue and are not social misfits.