Passing the Torch

Hey there, Sli here. It being October and all, I know that the usual Halloween activities are probably planned, and the highly anticipated arrival of the Mad King is closing in. Just wanted to put my two cents in before it got too much closer.(To skip Anecdote, GoTo:Line 10 The Point)

Last year I had quite a bit of fun with the Halloween event, but not until it was over. I was feeling rather disappointed that Canthans weren't being involved, and some probably didn't know about it if they only had Factions. I had missed the first Wintersday celebration because I wasn't aware of the event and I don't like to see other missing out on the fun just because of the starting place they chose. (Don't worry, I'm getting to the point.)

I tossed on my pumpkin hat, painted my armour orange and ran through every major city in Cantha claiming to be the Emissary of the Mad King Thorn. I wrote up a few Rp phrases about how I had been charged to keep the poor Canthans happy, etc. It was amusing when several people actually asked if I was an NPC.

HERE'S THE POINT :
I'm not going to be able to attend the Halloween festival this year. I wanted to let y'all know how much fun it can be to do something a bit random for the community. I've seen some interesting things crop up in the community lately (such as the Storytelling in Gunnars). I hope that some of these things grab an early foothold in GW2, but for now I want to try and stir the pot before me.

So I'm passing the torch, if you will. I'd like to see some of you run around this Halloween or Wintersday. The items you get are free, and in the end are just a bunch of pixels. It won't hurt to share the wealth a little and maybe make some poor newbs day. Just try it out for a couple days around the holiday times, and maybe the players will begin to feel the community just might be worth spending some time in.

I realize that many of you do this on a daily basis, but for those of you that don't, just consider it a themed challenge. Have some fun with it.

But that's just my two cents

Sli Ander
Emissary of His Majesty King Thorn

Give a noob a Fiery Dragon Sword, make him leet for a day,

Teach a noob not to pack Frenzy Heal Sig with Peace and Harmony, make him leet for a lifetime.



Lately, I've just been helping out new players. I'm actually quite enjoying it.

I think I'm doing my part for the community already.

Let Anet handle the events.

Thats an awesome idea.


*teaches n00bs to use Frenzy + Mending in HA*

I've done enough good deeds for the community. The last time, some idiot called me a n00bzer for giving his lvl 6 Ranger a 30k bow. The community can kiss my ass, as this has been a GROWING problem when trying to be nice.

KANE

the idea of giving something to someone they can get on their own sort of bothers me.

That's why I'm suggesting this around Halloween, as people that only have Factions can't get it on their own unless they know what's coming and decide to buy prophecies.

But that's just my two cents

i thought it was in all 3 campaigns?

I'd rather tell them to keep the frenzy healsig and use them properly.

I'll be there. Lock and load, mofos, it'll be one hell of a ride.

They aren't celebrated in Cantha. Only LA and Kamadan.

Because as everybody knows, Asians don't celebrate Halloween, but Africans do? *cocks his head to the side and looks confusedly over at Anet*

What, do they use cactuses instead of pumpkins?

That must be a b**ch to carve out.

Fun to set on fire and throw at people, though!

Umm, here ya go.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Oktoberfest

Come and have some fun even though I relinquished hosting of the event, I may still come to see how it turns out.

Our guild adopted a district last canthan new year and it was very enjoyable. The scavenger hunt was very involved and the screenshots of the whole guild on the steps of Shing Jea with our masks on still brings a smile to my face. As we were spamming at the time 'The bacon is on us.' I'll make sure I run through some towns in Cantha in the coming weeks with a pumpkin crown on boasting of 'The Mad King's yearly visit to Lion's Arch and Kamadan'.

Thanks for the heads up.

**Flame alert. Kane next time you see a thread and your only reaction is to be negative. Do us all a favor and just keep it to yourself. Didn't your mother ever tell you 'If you don't have anything nice to say , it's better to say nothing at all.' Fine I know from your many posts that you give stuff to people and they don't appreciate it. I have never ran into that but I don't just hand out stuff to complete strangers either. I help the individual with quests and materials and information. If the person is doing nothing but begging for a handout, you should be able to tell what type of person they are and the response your going to get. Another point these indivduals that don't show you the proper gratitude ingame...Now don't quote me on this but...I don't think they're reading the forums.

Apparently my point has been missed. And what I'm asking for is quite different from Oktoberfest, though I applaud the determination it takes to get such a large event off the ground. Here's the thing:

The Mad King gives away free items, and it's really easy to get the collectables for the npc's as well. People from Cantha don't get the Mad King, so take a couple of minutes and just visit a random Canthan city. If you have those items and don't think you can use them all, let a couple slide to someone that can't get them. And then go back to your normal routine.

It's something you can do that doesn't require much time, effort, or organization. All you need is the ability to map travel and a couple of items that you may not end up using anyway.

But that's just my two cents

/edit
Thank you for your support of Cantha, and thank you for understanding the point of my post. I was beginning to think I'd written one of my unintelligible threads again....

I hear you there Kane.


I love to do more but since I get so few of those kinds of drops (LS) anymore, just not enough to go around. For those that say them items are on the exemptions list you just dont know how LS works.

Not at all Sli it was a good posting.

You know how it is a holiday time and even worse at Christmas some people suddenly remember they might have to smile be nice and even give a present.
Being naturally shy however they do the Christmas or Halloween humbig bit till its over then sigh with relief.

They will probably arrange to be buried with their computer and games in case it might benefit anyone else on the planet.

happy halloween all

ps just don't knock on my door with your trick or treating I celebrate Nov 5th now thats a proper holiday

Kane, you are not alone.

In the early days of GW, players just walked up and gave me nice stuff when I was a new player myself. And, later I returned the favor by helping other new players. It was fun. But those days seem to be gone.

These days, the words of Mark Twain seem to apply. "The only difference between a man and a dog is if you help the dog he won't bite you."

yey i'm going to stand in Shing Jea spamming "I don't have proph/NF give me stuffs"

Don't you think people may go there between getting stuff themselves? I'm all for the community having trust but its hard when ever where you look theres people scamming

Kane isn't alone at all the community in GW are annoying at times. I used to help new players from Ascalon but i had to stop as my "Ignore list" is full. You're bored so you help people out, but if you just want a bit of time to yourself they spam whispers begging you. I just switch to Russian districts and avoid as many players as i can now

Not sure I like this line of thought at all, what seems to be suggested is that because many people are less greatfull for help and freebies you should stop helping and giving.

Just where does that attitude help change anything, ok in real life if you went around the area helping and always got beat up you would of course stop.

This is a game and just because the rest of the gamers seem to be self centered is no reason for me to change the way I feel or behave.
I only help when I have time and give what I don't want or need.

So give as before and if you get abuse then dont give to that person again no reason to judge everyone the same.

hmm seems I shoulda been a preacher

Yea, or as they don't want help just don't give anything away or help at all. GW would be better if everyone just kept to themselves unless there is actually some form of community feeling. Go to a capital it's full of trade spam. Go to a noob area its full of 13year olds spamming about perverse things they don't really understand but think make them look cool to say.
Go to any other outpost 99% of the time it's dead

GW has no community apart from the guild/alliance you are in. That is the community as far as i'm concerned and i'm quite sure i'm not missing out.

I'm not totally self-centred, i do volunteer work for a local charity in real life, but in GW it's not worth the hastle it brings to try

By now I'm not sure how many people will have Factions only. Anyone you give things to could be someone pretending to have Factions only. Just like if you give a max green weapon to a lower level person thinking he/she is new to the game, that person could really have a max character with an "I'm Very Important" title on his/her account.

A rather pessimistic view, but understandable. What I hope is fostered by doing little things like this (even if you only do them around certain times of the year) is to create a sense of community. GW players have a rare opportunity:

When GW2 comes around, everyone will get a fresh start in the social aspect of the game. Everyone will be a new player, but there will be old alliances and friendships to maintain. If certain activities(say, Oktoberfest or storytelling/rp) get a foothold, it can change the face of the entire community and the way we all interact. I'm glad that you do volunteer work in RL, however, as it shows a sense of purpose that people like me lack. Because what I do in-game only effects a certain amount of players, and in the end the objects I give them mean nothing. I can only hope that the acts I perform affect them in some real manner.

True, and a very good point. But just because someone may not need the item given, it does not change the intention. When it comes to non-holiday items, I'm very careful with the items I give away. I usually wait until a low-level in Ascalon starts asking to buy something, and then I check to see if I have something similar available. On several occasions I've been offered free items in this manner. I either refuse politely and explain, or (if they're just trying to offload a full inventory) I tell them I'll make sure they get to someone that can use it.

When it comes to holiday items, I'd sometimes make people try and catch me as I ran around town in order to get a set. In one district, someone was running a trivia game for prizes, and I was able to add to his/her stock.
In giving out items there will always be those that try and take advantage. One can only use their own judgement to determine whom they think truly 'deserves' the item your handing out. I'm a lot freer with my holiday items simply because they're so easy to come by.

But that's just my two cents

/Edit to assign names to the quotes

That's a wonderful idea, Sli. I'll head over to Kaineng this Halloween.

To the rest of you: don't hate on someone who wants to make a positive difference. If you don't want to take part, stay away. Negativity is exactly what we're trying to counteract. If you think that passing along free items does irrevocable damage, stay in your Guild Halls and spend Halloween with the Canthan ambassadors.

Timeless

Brilliant idea... and very cool that you did that last year. As I often give away holiday event gifts to guild members and new players, count me in as an emmisary when I'm on this Halloween and Wintersday.

Edit: And to everyone who thinks this is a such bad idea, I highly recommend sitting down with either the book or a quality movie version of A Christmas Carol. Maybe in bed with a decaf pumpkin spice latte, relax a bit...

In response to all who give things away, you should only do it to make yourself feel good not because you expect people to thank you. While it is customary to thank someone for an item or a good deed done, if you feel good about yourself for having done it that should be reward enough in itself, a thank you is a bonus.
Maybe in time good deeds done will be passed along. Call me what you want but if I feel good for having done it that is enough for me.

I'm glad that there will be others around to take up the torch since I can't be around for it, and I hope what is done impacts the community in some small way(if nothing else). I'm the last person in the world I would have thought would make a thread like this, but I apparently had more fun than I thought. I hope you guys enjoy it as well. If I manage to squeeze onto the game at some point, I'll check to see if I have any leftover items from last year available for distribution.
Slightly off topic:
I'm hoping to be here for GW2 as well, to help establish this community as an open and friendly one. How that is done will depend on GW2 and the community itself. Life may take me in another direction, however, so I hope that the community can handle the transition between games well and honorably.

But that's just my two cents

Myself and my Brother always give free stuff out to new players or as the need arises and if we can cause thats the way we were raised.
We also stared GW about the same time 2 years ago and were helped in the beginning by many people.
Sadly the game has changed but there are still good people out there.
So as they say what goes around comes around.
He gave Rahja a decent amount for the last community event and did not expect any recognition.
Sadly he does not play much now but I am farming like crazy Orr emblems charr carvings ect ect ect
to trade in to collectors at Halloween
for people that won't be at Halloween and or I can give them out to people after so they at lest get something.
We never expect a thanks but hope when one person does something for someone
that person hopefully helps another person out.
It makes you feel good inside and thats what counts.

What do you think I do whenever I get a blue Fiery Dragon Sword during my adventures?

I make a quick trip to Shing Jea or Ascalon and start looking around for nub wammos...

I swear... once I found a W/Rt called "krog" or something like that, and he can't have had more than two brain cells in his head. He thought the Fiery Dragon Sword was like some super-awesome god-sword or something. Me and my girlfriend fell about laughing. We still remember his most famous quote to this very day: "sowrd is intresting me!"
It was like watching a child on christmas morning when I actually gave him the sword.

That is why I'll still do that from time to time. It is an absolutely great way to mercilessly make fun of stupid players without actually offending anyone.

Okey Dokey now, Halloweens around the corner so I thought I'd bump this up. I considered remaking the thread for a fresh start, but it would be a nuisance for everyone wanting the full story, comments and all.

Now I'm the last person I'd expect to be exhorting the virtues of giving back to the community(after all the Holidays are also a great time to make money ingame), but I had so much more fun doing this than my money making schemes that I decided to continue every year. Unfortunately the internet where I am right now doesn't support the amount of farming of orr emblems that I did last year.

So if you enjoy a little RP, or just feel like clearing out those Holiday items when you've used your limit, try giving some to the Canthans or to those that missed Halloween. It's no trouble at all to snag those Holiday collectibles from monsters, and you'd be surprised how fun it can be if you want it to be. I chose to be a pumpkin head, maybe you can try being a Candy Corn Emissary.

The main point is to give back to the community, but mostly to have fun while you're doing it. And Remember: We have a unique opportunity with GW2 coming up. What you do in this community will probably affect the formation of the second. What type of community do you want to be part of come GW2?

Think about it.
Have Fun.
And be Nice to Cantha.

But that's just my two cents

Sli Ander
Emissary of His Majesty King Thorn.

I second JeniM

Ahh yes .. giving to help others. Like the guy I donated to so he could buy his armor. Same guy then promptly pmd for five minutes to tell me how I was just "pwnd to teh max". The community brings such a warm fuzzy feeling to mind.

/agree with Kane.

This is not a game about community anymore. It's guild folk or H/H all the way. The community disappeared the time Heros came about.

that's how dumbRED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOs say, "thank you."