Prizegrabbing Etiquette

I don't mind if someone within a radius of me grabs a gift... but when it's right by your feet and you're about to pick it up when someone zips out of the blue, that's a little frustrating. Of course, there is a solution. I found that if you followed people who did that around for a while and took their gifts, they would stop taking from you.

i was a camper, but i didn't mind if others decided to join me at the spot i was at, since i had no claim whatsoever to it, nor to the prizes that would drop there, as far as i'm concerned it was a free for all and naturally those with faster connections/computers/reflexes would get there first.

it was a nice change from the Wintersday version though, where they would always drop in the same spot and so only the same group of people standing tehre would get them.

I don't think anyone could really lay claim to any spot. I'd have preferred something less like a pinata bonanza and more civilized but it was fine.

The only place where I thought etiquette should come in was when people would get downright nasty to each other over prizes and spots.

Of course, kids with a pinata bite, kick, hit and pull hair. I have no bruises from this so I'd say the online equivalent is a bit tamer, overall.

Heh, I had several people try to steal the drops near my camp site, but I was just too quick for them, and every one of them eventually got fed up and left.
I did give 5 prezzies to one guy who was camping near me, as I consistently got more than he did.

It was quite easy to get irritated about people invading "your space", but at the end of the day, you just had to be quicker.
Also, picking a quieter district made for less competition.

But if ANet really wanted it to be fair, they should have just added set amounts of prezzies to people's inventories.

I tried to follow my own rules and not invade the space of others, but I in no way expected the same behaviour from others.

If you don't understand why spawn camping is generally considered a negative thing try playing one of the various first person shooter games e.g. CSS, UT etc. If you're ever unlucky enough to end up in a game where you get spawn camped you will very quickly appreciate how it feels to be at the receiving end Die. Spawn. Get killed before you go anywhere. Go back to step one. Try to imagine being in that situation, then apply it to the mentalities exhibited here it soon shows how messed up it is.

It's also why many games like that take steps to try to prevent spawn camping as much as possible e.g. invulnerability for a few seconds to give the players a chance. That or decently moderated games have the campers kicked. Fairness isn't a bad thing y'know Bring on the randomisation lol

Horrid analogy. Way off the mark.

I didn't mean it literally - just a reference so folks can empathise with the feelings involved. The basic message being "because of some people being totally selfish, a number of others get no chance at all" From that perspective it's not so far off the mark is it.

Bottom line is that we all do our best to win within the rules. That is what happened, and that is what we wanted to do. The only rule brakers were those people flaming. I noticed that certain triangular spots were great for camping. That is what I did. Sue me

'A number of others' only have no chance at all if they're glued to the ground at one spot, "camping" it themselves. If I remember correctly, there were often between 150 and 200 districts all playing the game at the same time, and an entire city zone in each of them to get away from "selfish" people

edit: I think I misinterpreted, and you're talking about people camping a spot for prizes, not people camping other people and getting their prizes. In that case, there's still 150-200 zones to find an area where you can collect prizes.

With a username like Greedy Gus, you really have to wonder which prize grabbing method ole Gus was using...hehehe

I just picked up a few hundred at the nine rings since loads dropped and everyone was afk.. whee

Nobody has claim, people complaining over 'their' drop getting taken need to grow up. Unless it says 'reserved for X', then it's not yours till you grab it.

First off, what I am about to say does not apply to Celestial Droppings, since they indeed had fixed spawn points.

Presents, on the other hand, did not have fixed spawn points -- they always spawned near a PC or an NPC.

Granted, since all the NPCs were stationary, this system made for some sweet spots, such as near the henchies or right up the Emperor (especially when he was duped).

But, in the end, somebody who came near you only increased the probability that one more present would be spawned in that general area. In other words, when somebody "camped" near you, they in fact contributed to increasing both their and your chances of having a present spawned nearby. In yet another words, everybody already had their own "spots" -- right beneath their feet. Camping near people only condensed these spots.

After that, only one question remained: who would react faster.

It was a fun event. I stole many presents right from under the nose of many a gallant adventurer. And when they could outmatch my reflexes, they did likewise -- almost from my fingertips. I laughed inwardly at myself and my fellow players -- we looked like headless chickens running around mindlessly trying to peck at the grains.

None of my "robbee"s insulted me and never did I insult them when they were faster than me. Those events were (at least to me) pure back-to-childhood selfish/greedy/competitive fun sessions. I read the flames and insults from other people scroll away in the local chat and I (almost, but not quite) could not understand what the big deal was.

Those aside, I think that a great deal of frustration (and the resultant quarrels) could be prevented simply by not assigning drops to NPCs or at least by having the NPCs try to collect nearby drops (now, that would both be fun, and would compel me to finally curse out loud : )

Edit: BTW, when did "presents" began to be called "prices"?
Edit: Oh, I get it. One-letter typo for "prizes". Nevermind then.

This says it all for me, I emphasise with everything arcane is saying

I thought the present dropping was fun - I stood still to get them because I am horribly bad at accurate clicking :P

I had a few swiped but I laughed it off. But both the times I was around for it I was in a good natured area and most people were teasing each other about camping and swiping without getting genuinely irate. Ａｆter all, it isn't as though they were top end greens!

it was easy, just camp by the headmaster / NG / gate

anyway, lotsa whiners with lotsa "lemme have some" "stay outta my zone" blahblahblah ...

u have eyes, a mouse and some hands(usually u have 2 ).. anybody had its chance to get some... it's wasnt hard to get a dozen at least each time, and easily 30-40-ish anyway, nothing really huge in those, but it's free dropping stuff hence the whining

I camped by the armourers.. but there was one player in front of each and we had a really nice time, just chatting and picking them up when they fell. I never grabbed anything that didn't drop right in front of me. I guess it could be called selfish, but hey.. it was nice to have a civil conversation with a few people.

Good fun.

if ppl spent more time pressing 'target nearest item' than spamming the local chat with complaints, they would get more presents

there were a lot of cool spots, especially near afk farmers/mask campers. if too many ppl invaded my spot, i went on to the next.

I think it really doesnt matter where you stand you ll always get sum pressy s dropped at your feet, i do h8 people rushing to even steal these away. I stood 3 times at the guild guys(forgotten spot ,i think). Each time with 1 other (diffrent) person and we equally defidet the presents, no greed. 1 droppes at our feed and 2 drop at the guild people, each got 1 of these.

But i think its sad, that i see in chat. I got 45 this round and someone else said i got 8, not really fair

Mzzls $neekie

rofl @ pve e-drama

p.s. you dont have to click to pick up anything. everyone can be just as fast as the next person

I think it is alright to stand in one spot and grab them. I think anyone that runs up to try and take them too when they see your camping that spot is just doing it to get a rise out of ya. I usually just leave and go to an empty district and get even more lol while they waste their time in the crowded zone fighting like a noob and stealing others.

And didnt you know this is greed wars, argument wars, special olympics wars not guild wars lol.