DISCLAIMER before you furiously type away without reading the post, this has many satirical elements with the intent of illustrating real issues in an entertaining way and providing genuine feedback in hopes that changes can be made to improve player experience.. If you can't handle that then gtfo of my post.. Otherwise, sit back and learn to exploit the game by being an asshole and exploiting the PNP!
Problem Statement Winning Statement
The game is an easier and a smoother experience when you're an asshole, and luckily the PNP rules support you being one! This community has been playing MMOs for close to 30 years, and now consists of primarily 40 to 70 year old crabby gamers. A large portion of the community (myself included!) doesn't give a fuck anymore, and we don't mind being an asshole to some random middle aged dude we will never meet in real life! Especially when the game so handsomely rewards it!
Issues Creating The Problem Opportunity
- There aren't enough mobs or loot to go around on crowded servers (Trem) causing groups to cannibalize themselves.
- The definition of a "camp" by the PNP is (perhaps intentionally) inadequate and thus exploitative in many cases.
- Petitioning about camps/bad manners is a waste of player and GM time.
- The community has no way of "policing" itself with player BM, and the current culture is to rely on GM intervention... Or KSing them!
- Gaming culture and etiquette has changed over the past 30 years and old MMO solutions don't work as well as they used to.
- More of a personal observation, but I also feel post-covid humanity is more narcissistic and willing to be assholes in general. Society as a whole has changed considerably over the past few decades since old school EQ/MMOs were a thing.
Supporting Discussion
Trem is overcrowded causing a scarcity of exp and loot
If you're not on Trem then perhaps none of this post applies to you. However, if you are then you understand how overcrowded some zones are currently. Camps overlap in this overcrowded setting because there are no other option.. It is player eat player out there at times, and if you're willing to be an asshole and pull/steal from other player's camp then you get the loot and XP (more on defining what a camp is later).
The other day I was playing at 10 fps and aggressively pulling from other group's overlapping areas due to there being 5 groups in a small area for what realistically should only support only 2-3 groups. Of course this caused some squabbling and threats of petitioning, name calling, blah blah blah.. I am an ex-Halo/LoL asshole who genuinely enjoys shit talking, so I love it when players open the door to some good old fashioned verbal jousting.
Anyways, this point is an objective fact in my mind. If you reject the notion that zones are overcrowded on Trem which is negatively affecting player experience, then move along because we are not going to see eye-to-eye.
The PNP's definition of a "Camp" genuinely sucks
If you haven't read the PNP you can do so here -> https://account.monstersandmemories.com/policy/pnp
Indoor zones: A single room, corridor, hallway, or confined area.
Outdoor zones: Enclosed/covered areas (tents, buildings, structures, etc.), known established camp areas, or a single respawn location when no established camp exists.
I can't think of a single indoor camp that I have ever camped at that can sustain a group with just the room that we are camping in. Typically there are 2-5 mobs in a standard room/hall and a mob usually takes 10-30 seconds to kill with perhaps a 10 min respawn timer. Obviously this varies widely, but the point is that you will be sitting with nothing to do for 75% of the time if you are not pulling from other areas/camps.
Thus, this definition is ripe for exploitation my dear assholes!
You see, a group's EXP viability is actually reliant on the adjacent rooms, not it's actual "Camp". Therefore, if you want to force a PUG group out of a camp "legally", all you have to do is sit your group in the adjacent room to their camp and starve their group of XP until it is forced to disband!
As long as you pretend to be nice and tell them it wasn't your intention to cause trouble, they have nothing to petition about! And if in the one-in-a-million chance they do figure out what you're doing and call you out, then just give feign ignorance, give a fake apology and leave. There are 100 other sucker groups that won't be as wise to your tactics!
Disenchanting sucks, so lets bully some low level noobs to make it less painful!
Disenchanting is difficult, you need items with the "magic" tag on them and there aren't many places to find them that aren't crowded or camped 24/7... especially if you're level appropriate and having to split them with an entire group! Sharing sucks! Thus, lets utilize the PNP to exploit the system and have the added reward of getting to be an asshole in the process!
This is best done by utilizing a high level char in a low level zone. 1. you don't have to split loot with a group 2. you can out DPS race a low level group. You see, the rules allow a level 50 to create a camp in a level 10 zone! They may want that gear to upgrade their character, but you need to destroy the items for your guild of assholes! So fuck them - camp their named mobs for 8-15 hours at a time! The PNP rules not only allow, but encourage it!
Pro tip
Rooms with named mobs are often are dangerous for a level appropriate group to sit in and so groups typically sit in a hallway or room next door. This means, according to the PNP, technically the named mob is not part of their camp! You can simply take your high level char which the room isn't dangerous to, and sit in it! What are they going to do about it? DPS race you? Lol, the anger which this causes usually splits groups as there are always some in the group that are non-confrontational and those who become angry little man children! Most PUG groups are made up of guys tired of arguing with their children, so they don't have the time or patience to argue with 50 year old assholes online! Either way, revel in the satisfaction as you watch their group dissolve because they aren't having fun anymore! Congrats, the magic items are yours!
Can't GMs use the "spirit of the law" and still take action against you?
Great news! There is zero chance of ever getting banned or any serious actions taken against you as long as you are smart about it! The GMs are too busy dealing with bugs and overt assholes to care about a small camp dispute!
After all, you have the PNP on your side, so even if someone does threaten report you you can follow this set of escalation contingencies:
- Player gets upset at you for taking a room/boss spawn - Be disarmingly nice! Be nice and in a kind yet authoritative tone inform them that you are acting within the rules. Tell them you'd be happy to link them the PNP rules. Remember, GMs will have your chat logs, so don't say anything that would reveal that you're anything but "genuine". Really lean into your narcissism!
- Player threatens to report you (not wise to your tactic) - Inform them politely that you already explained to them that you are are following the PNP rules as you interpret them, and that if they make frivolous reports they can get in trouble ->
Both camp stealing and frivolous or bad-faith reporting may result in disciplinary action.
- Player threatens to report you (wise to your tactic) - Just give a fake apology and move on as it isn't worth your time. However, the only way this can happen is if you slip up in some way. No one can prove what you're actually thinking unless you tell them either via chat or by your sloppy actions. So get better at being manipulative!
- GM contacts you about a report - You politely tell the GM "I was following the rules as I understood them in the PNP. Can you explain how I broke them so I will be more knowledgeable in the future? I genuinely didn't mean to cause any issues, I'll try to be more careful in the future!". In this way you're making it clear that you are following the rules by their definition, and that it was not your intention to cause any trouble. Pretend like you're just an innocent player doing their best to follow the rules, and no action will be taken against you.
Assholes: 1, Noobs: 0
What if the community takes action against you?
This is the icing on the cake! The community doesn't give a fuck if you KS from someone! If you OOC in zone that player X from guild Y is KSing your group in order to attempt to bring community attention to the asshole, the community just victim blames the player! Here are some quotes from what I have seen in-game:
- "If you're actually getting KSed then you should petition instead of telling us"
- "You must just not be able to clear the camp, so stop complaining" (my group being KSed by two players double our level in a zone that is not level appropriate to them)
- "Who cares"
The community supports the assholes! That is the true face of the community!
Additionally, players can't see account names! Thus, you can have a high level "asshole" character who does your dirty work, while your main chars don't get bad community reputation while benefiting from asshole tactics!
Assholes: 2, Noobs: 0
So does petitioning for BM even make sense?
The clear and objective answer is, no. Petitioning a GM when someone is KSing you or forcing your group off a camp is absolutely pointless in almost every situation. It is a he-said-she-said, low priority, trifle, embarrassing (bunch of 40-70 year old dudes past their prime arguing about a video game with opaque rules designed to create player "friction") issue to have. Your only real solution is to ask the player nicely to stop. So if he tells you to fuck off, then you just have to suck it up and let him have your camp (pro tip if you're like me, this is when the fun begins! You can ruin his day by eviscerating the basement dwelling chud with shit talk to make him realize how pathetic he really is!).
Why does it not make sense for the 99% of us?
- Most of us don't have enough time to waste writing a petition, waiting on a GM to respond, telling our side of the story, letting him read through logs, and ultimately come to a decision. What a hassle...
- Most people are just looking to hop on for 2 hours a couple nights a week and chill with friends... They don't like being confrontational. Typically a group will lose members before a petition resolves because they don't want to deal with a confrontation. Most play video games to escape the anxieties of life, not wallow in the mud with degenerate shut-ins.
- To quote the philosophy of the game - "Monsters and Memories is highly focused on the social experience. It embraces both cooperation and competition. We encourage players to share contested content when possible, but recognize that competitive play is natural and acceptable in an MMORPG environment." Thus it is working as intended. Griefing and being an asshole is part of the intended online experience. I realize the devs can't actually say they want assholes intentionally KSing and OG Xbox shit talking, but if you read between the lines that is indeed the intended 'friction' they talk about. You just can't take it too far.
The only people this advice doesn't apply to are the no-lifers. Afterall, the goal is to run 15 hour sessions every day then you you should become the GMs pets and use them as a tool to get your way. I mean with your mom providing the HotPockets and portable bathroom IRL - you still need a virtual "mom" in the game to wipe your ass too, so put on your best charm and cry to the GMs until they tell you you're a good boy and make those bad old players go away from your wittle camp so you can have all the good boy loot/EXP!
Solutions
I am going to be honest. I don't think any of my solutions would be welcome here. Everyone here is too old and so deeply entrenched in their own opinions/nostalgia that posting here seems like a waste of time. Also, devs probably read some posts, but rarely actually participate in the discussions. Every time someone quotes them they have to link a twitch clip or vod rather than a forum link.
Therefore, I won't make any suggestions other than one... If player "friction" is a core feature of the game, then we as a community need a better way to police itself. I don't know if that means a change in culture or a new system that allows reports to be visible in some way. Thus you can have actual in-game "reputation" as a game mechanic. Personally, I would say we need both.
Conclusion
Why write this ridiculously long post that will make no difference? 1. Because it was fun to write 2. Because it is the one game that my friend group could all agree on... well even that isn't true anymore as some are already quitting. Until then, it is a chill thing to do with my friends after their kids go down for the night. That is the only reason I play. I just want to log on, group with friends, make new friends, and not have to deal with assholes every time. Things are different than OG EQ, so some of the systems need to adapt to the modern times (looting, targeting and inventory I am looking at you). The best and worst part of this game is that the devs are trying to build it based on nostalgia of early MMOs. In the end the devs have a clear vision, and it is theirs.. so they can do whatever they want with it. Their choices don't offend me because if the game ends up not being what I want, no sweat. I have a stack of other games in my queue. But EQ does hold a special place in my heart so I do hope they can learn to adapt it to the modern times and the old ass grouchy players that play it.
